Candy Tittesworth sat at her twin computer monitors, frustration turning to tears in her eyes as she stared blurrily at the screens.
"Come on," she cried, as if yelling at the computer could prompt it into action. "Come on!"
She hit the keyboard and collapsed in her chair with exhaustion. She had come back to the office at night, after working a full day, because she needed to finish up an important project that was on a tight deadline. But when she tried to retrieve her saved file from the hard drive, it wasn't there. It was unbelievable! All that work...gone!
She closed her eyes, thoughts racing through her addled mind. First, she should call her husband and let him know she was going to be home even later than planned. Then, she had better speak to her boss, Mr. Dick, to ask for an extension on the project. It would be extremely difficult, but if she put in fourteen hour days, she should be able to recreate her lost work product before the end of the week.
As if reading Candy's mind, her office door swung open and in walked the elegant figure of E. Howard Dick, the head of her department. Mr. Dick was a handsome man, in his early forties, tall, tanned and muscular. He had climbed the company ladder in record time, propelled more by his connections than his talent, and the office rumor mill swirled with suggestions that he was only as good at his job as the employees who worked under him. Never one for office gossip, Candy paid little attention to rumors, even the ones whispered in the halls concerning Mr. Dick and certain comely female employees. He had never hit on her, at least as far as she could tell, and had always behaved like a complete professional.
Still, Mr. Dick was not known for his kindness or his patience and when he looked at her she could no longer control herself. She burst into tears.
"Candy, what's wrong?"
Her boss came around to her side of the desk and put a concerned hand on her shoulder. Through tears and halting gasps of breath, Candy tried to explain what happened.
"The Lincoln Group Project...it...it was on my computer. Now...it's gone."
"Did you back it up on a thumb drive?"
The strikingly beautiful blonde shook her head. "No, I didn't. I was going to put it all together in hard copy tonight."
"Damn it!" Mr. Dick never swore and Candy was stunned into silence. "I needed that information for my meeting tomorrow."
"I know." Candy sniffled as mascara mixed with her tears. "Is there any way you can reschedule? I can have the information by the end of the week."
Mr. Dick scratched his clean-shaven chin, looking down at the pretty young wife dressed in a conservative business suit and blouse that was open just enough to offer a peek at her pert tits, swelling beneath a white, lacy bra. Candy looked up at him, her eyes red and pleading, oblivious to the fact that she was exposed in such a way.
"The Lincoln Group is our biggest client, Candy. You have no idea what I had to do to land them. If I postpone the meeting, it will look like we can't meet our deadline. If they even suspect that is going to happen, we will almost certainly lose their business -- and rightly so."
Candy was horrified. The loss of this account could mean millions. A seemingly small mistake had grown into a nightmare scenario. She had worked so hard for this company -- and for Mr. Dick. Truth be told, he owed his position, in large part, to Candy's dedication and expertise, not that he would ever acknowledge it. Despite all that, she was just an employee at will and it was easily within her boss' power to fire her for incompetence.
Mr. Dick began to pace across the room, as if thinking heavily. Candy edged forward on her seat, her chair a soft supple leather that she had ordered special to celebrate the day she was promoted out of a cubicle and into an office. Just feeling the plush leather made her think of all she stood to lose if Mr. Dick let her go.
"I suppose if you could get the information back by Friday, we might be able to do something."
"Really?" Candy asked, daring to allow herself a glimmer of hope.
Mr. Dick fixed her with a hard stare.
"It means you're going to have to work harder than you've ever worked before, Mrs. Tittesworth, not just on this project, but on whatever else I may assign you, too. From now on, I'll have to watch you closely to make sure that this doesn't happen again, do you understand?"
Candy nodded solemnly. She noticed the formality with which he addressed her, knowing it signaled a shift in their relationship.
"I understand, sir," she whispered, reciprocating his formality. "I won't let you down again."
"I know you won't," Mr. Dick replied ominously, his handsome face breaking into a devious smirk. "In fact, now that I think of it. I have a project you can start on right now."
"But, what about the Lincoln Group?" Candy asked, her shoulders starting to slump from exhaustion.
Her boss frowned. "This one won't take you long and it will show me how much you are really dedicated to your job, and to this company."
"Yes, Mr. Dick," Candy replied obediently, quickly straightening her posture. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."
Mr. Dick smiled and Candy shivered. The malevolent grin transformed his face from the self-possessed professional he had been a moment before to something...lewd.
"Stand up, Candy." He was back to using her first name, but something about the way he said it made her feel cheap and vulnerable.
She didn't understand, but suddenly she was afraid. She had trouble rising from her chair, her legs wobbly under her boss's lustful gaze.
"Did you hear me, Mrs. Tittesworth?"
The gorgeous young wife nodded. What could she do? Losing a critical work file was the very definition of a fireable offense and now her boss's leniency was the only thing standing between her and the unemployment line. What would she tell her husband, John?
She stood slowly.
"Good, so you aren't completely incompetent. You can still follow orders."
Mr. Dick stepped forward, gripping Candy around her small waist and pulling her forward. She tried to push against him but was forced into a strong kiss. She whimpered as Mr. Dick shoved his tongue into her mouth, stabbing forward to the back of her throat. He held her there, his tongue resting in her mouth until she finally moved her own tongue, reciprocating the kiss. They stood in the middle of her office, mouths locked passionately together, and for a moment Candy forgot what was happening.
Then, Mr. Dick broke away, staring with gloating eyes as his pretty young employee gasped and wiped spit from her chin. With strong arms, he pulled her to the edge of her desk.
"Please, Mr. Dick...this isn't ethical."
"You're right. You should report this abuse to your superior," he said sarcastically. "Wait a second! That's me!"
Mr. Dick pushed the lithe young wife over her desk, pulling her suit jacket over her shoulders. He slid his hands up to her blouse, opening the white cotton and revealing the smooth skin and the lacy bra beneath. Candy moaned, but did not fight back; the thought of losing her job and the disgrace she would face was too much. Her boss had all the power and she had to do this, no matter what the price.
As if he could read her mind, Mr. Dick laughed at the beautiful blonde bride.
"It's for the best really," he jeered. "After all, you're doing this for your husband."
