All characters are 18 yrs of age or older.
The vacation had been expensive but the experience had been outstanding. He felt great telling the other guys about the hotel and the great beaches that stretched for a mile along the coast. He and Elizabeth had risen early, dressed in their bathing suits, and walked the beach every day, sometimes not seeing another person until the sun was high in the sky. They'd stayed in their suits all day, only changing for dinner and the nightly rum parties by the pool. It was heaven on earth and they'd been sorry to see it end. Now that he was back at work Lawrence hoped there would be lots of overtime to help pay off the damage to his credit card.
Looking through their pictures even the guys at work who had done some travelling of their own had to admit that their vacation looked idyllic.
Randy the Operations Manager sat in at lunch and welcomed Lawrence back. He glanced at the stack of photos and said he was too busy to take the time now but he'd love to see them and hear more about the trip later on.
Lawrence was pleased to have something to share with him. He was always such a hard ass, Lawrence never felt he had any rapport with the boss at all. Even though Randy was not well liked, Lawrence knew that getting along with him was important
It was nearly quitting time when Randy called him in. "If you've got a couple of minutes I'd like to hear about your vacation. It sounds like something I'd like to do myself some time."
Lawrence was more than eager to extol the experience. The pictures showed what a great hotel they'd stayed at, a perfect location with outstanding amenities. Both he and Elizabeth looked healthy, tanned and relaxed. Wherever they went, staff and the other guests treated them well, although Lawrence had no delusions that it was his gorgeous wife that was attracting the attention. They'd been married just three years and she was a dark-haired beauty that never failed to turn heads. On the beach in her bathing suit, her lovely figure was there to be appreciated and Lawrence was justifiably proud to have such a pretty wife by his side.
Randy flipped through the stack of glossy prints stopping occasionally to look more closely at some. He was taking his time. At one point he asked Lawrence to pass him some papers from the side table and when the young husband turned away, Randy slipped one of the pictures under his blotter. Lawrence caught the movement but said nothing to his boss. Later in the car he realized it was a picture of Elizabeth in her little green bikini that Randy had sneaked out of the pile.
A few weeks went by and the picture incident had been pretty much forgotten. Work was a bit slow and there had been no overtime so things were a bit tight budget-wise for Lawrence and Elizabeth. Still, they didn't regret the vacation. It had been a blast and a timely rekindling of their love for one another.
When a rush project was announced for their department, Lawrence thought it would be a good time to talk to Randy about some extra hours. He'd hinted to the boss before that he could use the extra money and it seemed a good time to gently remind him.
The meeting did not go as the young husband expected. Randy sat back in his chair and looked at him with a smug smile that made Lawrence uncomfortable. For a long moment he just stared and then slowly pulled a picture from beneath his blotter. Lawrence knew instantly that it was the vacation pic of Elizabeth in her bathing suit that his boss had hidden away.
Randy chuckled while he stared at it. "Good looking woman," he muttered without handing over the print.
Lawrence said nothing.
"She really fills out that bikini. Not that there's a hell of a lot of bathing suit there for her to fill out," he laughed cynically.
Lawrence shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to get the overtime settled and get out of there, hopefully with Elizabeth's picture back in his pocket.
"I could work any night or come in on the weekend if that would help," he offered, trying to refocus his boss on the subject of overtime.
Randy smacked his lips and looked dubious. "That's really too bad Lawrence. I'd like to help you out. Truth is I was going to have to call you in and lay you off today. Things have been slow and I have to cut one man."
Lawrence was stunned speechless. The prospect of being out of work when things were so tight at home frightened him. He tried to think of something to say but all that came out was a pleading "Randy, I really need this job ... Elizabeth and I ..."
Randy grinned. "Yeah. What a shame. He took a long look at the picture in his hands and then asked. "Does she have to trim a little to wear that suit or does she shave it all off?"
Lawrence couldn't believe the question. He looked at Randy and held his anger, all too aware that the man controlled his financial well being. Just because he was a pig, he shouldn't react. Randy met his glare with a quizzical look that showed he still expected an answer. Lawrence's tongue felt thick and his words had a tremor to them. "She trims some."
Randy took another long look at the picture. "You can almost see where her nipples are in that top," he mused. "The little bumps I mean..."
"Randy...ah...that's..." Lawrence squirmed in his chair.
"Do you have any of her without the bikini?"
Lawrence glared at him. The man was so out of line he wanted to take a swing at him and stomp out of the office. But he needed the job desperately. The job that Randy was about to take away.
Randy's eyes narrowed as if he were reading Lawrence's mind. "You do don't you?"
Lawrence was silently fuming.
"I could probably keep you on the payroll for a peek at your little darlin' here in the buff. It would be just between us."
The young husband was shaking his head at such an outrageous suggestion but Randy cut him off before he could put words to the thought.
"Suppose you work a few extra hours tomorrow night and you bring me a little eye candy for a thank you. It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request when jobs are so tight."
Lawrence felt trapped. He had some revealing shots of his wife like many husbands have. A few rum punches at the hotel poolside had loosened their inhibitions. Back in the room he had taken out the digital camera and photographed the tan line on her belly for a joke. A shot of her posing topless followed, and then the others as the eroticism took over. There were no prints of course, just the digital images on the memory chip he had tucked away in his sock drawer.