Author's note: A story written and dedicated to a special someone in my life. You always inspire my thoughts and steer them wild. Thank you for bringing out the best (and worst) in me.
==Monday==
Day in day out, the same old grind.
Life for Elaine had taken a different tone of colours of late. The sort of dull monochrome that settled upon everything like soot and ages old dust, blanketing the world with a sense of dreariness. It wasn't so much that she hated her life; her recent appointment to secretary at a high paying firm meant that money wasn't so much of an issue these days. But there was always a trade off with these things: the never ending tasks that rained down upon her from management, expecting her to always deliver her very best. For a secretary, that meant buttoned up blouses and blazers and pencil skirts; stockings and heels and belts.
Corporate was very clear on dress code.
It also meant an unceasing devotion to paperwork. The kind that Elaine would have loved to have been able to push aside at the end of the work day when she stepped through the door of the apartment she shared with her long term boyfriend and into his arms. The sort of man that would help her forget the drudgery of a career when he pushed her down onto his bed, parted her legs and thrust deep into her, whispering embarrassing things into her ear until her satisfaction washed over her like a security blanket lulling her to a perfect evening ahead.
"Babe, I got us takeout tonight." She frowned when she heard his voice from the living room.
"You promised we'd go out to dinner."
"Ah yeah, sorry bout that. It's just that the game's on tonight and..."
She drowned out the rest of his words. They never really meant anything beyond being an excuse to slack off again. She headed for the kitchen, a sealed plastic container of fried noodles sitting on the counter waiting for her. The drab grey colours of her world spun around in her vision, threatening to overwhelm her.
"Hey uhh...if you're not too hungry we could just..."
She turned her head in his direction. He stood there, leaning against the door, erection hanging out from the waistband of his boxers, wearing a shitfaced grin.
"Could use some of that pussy before the game starts."
She sighed, too tired to argue, as she let him lead her back into the living room and onto the couch. The same tired old routine played out then; one where she'd find her panties being tugged down while he positioned his cock against her pussy, thrusting it in with a satisfied groan. It always hurt a little, in her dried state. She'd stretch to accommodate him, his hands around her chest, grabbing her by her nipples in a half-hearted attempt to tease her. He was always proud of that one. "Is it good?" He'd ask to an equally half-hearted nod, moments before the inevitable "I'm cumming!" where he let himself go inside her, panting and moaning as he dribbled his cum between her legs, letting her go as he collapsed in a pool of his own self, recovering.
"That was great, wasn't it?"
She mumbled a response, before getting up to the bathroom to wash herself off.
==Tuesday==
It was 4pm when she got the email. More work, she groaned to herself as she opened it. An extension to a presentation due Friday that her boss had requested of her. The details were with the Upper Manager for Logistics. Putting her best face forward, she made her way to his office. They always expected as much from their staff. 'Nothing you wear is more important than your smile' was one of many motivational posters that dotted the hallways and corridors of the building every few meters, encouraging positive behaviour and attitudes. It was also the sort that drew inappropriate laughter from executives behind closed meeting doors among peers while alliterations of naked smiling interns serving coffee were tossed about casually.
Tom sat in his glass room, arms folded as he reclined in his chair. Situated in the back of the Logistics Department, it was the sort of open office concept that management had always striven for; transparent in every way, accessible to all. These days, most executives preferred their walls frosted over, the contents hidden in a cube of safety. The younger ones like himself, tended towards a bolder form of management. "Elaine. Good to have you. Sit, sit." He offered as she stepped in, closing the door behind her.
"I'll be frank. There's quite a bit to get done." He turned his laptop around to face her, a set of slides earmarked, with notes and comments and addendums peppering the fringes. Elaine did her best not to let her smile slip. "You'll be working nights. Dinner will be catered, not to worry. Half the office will be tied up after hours as it is."
For a moment, the world seemed a little less grey and a little more black.
"Sir, I...I have to be honest, this is really too sudden. I have someone waiting for me at home."
It wasn't a lie. She did have someone waiting at home. Someone that, despite his faults, she loved dearly. Someone who was always pleased to see her, if not necessarily excited. Someone who could always use her around.
Use her.
"Husband?" Tom leaned back, hands stretched above him. "Hopefully he'll understand that you sometimes have to sacrifice in order to move on in this industry."
Pitch black.
"Now don't go frowning like that." The words cut through her bleak thoughts. Had she lost her smile? She reached up to her face, cheeks wet. Had the pressure really gotten to her that badly? She felt the stirring of shame welling up inside of her as she fought a fresh batch of tears from dripping past the hazel fringes of her hair and onto her lap. "That wasn't meant to be a threat. Here now." He reached into his pocket drawing out a handkerchief for her. "There's no pressure to accept. If you can't do it, I'll just find someone who can. No hard feelings. Go take some time to think about it, and let me know before the end of the day."
Remorseful, she kept her face low as she thanked him and left, hurrying to the washroom to freshen up. What a disgrace! She didn't mean to let it out like that. She spent the next ten minutes fixing her smudged mascara while she let her thoughts calm, taking the time to think things through. She thought about the home she'd be coming back to; the same routine that had remained unchanged for months now as they grew more and more comfortable in their relationship. This was an opportunity for a change.
Making up her mind, she dialed her boyfriend. She'd have to let him know she'd be late.
==Wednesday==
For the first time in a long while, her world was coloured again.
The day went by in a blur. She hadn't had much time to slow down and think since accepting the task yesterday. She barely had any recollection of yesterday as it were. Only that Tom had been very pleased to have her on board. That she had still been sitting at her desk, working furiously away at the document as colleagues began shutting down their computers and heading home. She remembered the sun dipping down past the skyline of buildings that made up the view from the 23rd floor of their office, stars lighting up the night sky beyond. She remembered the lights dimming, the bare minimum kept on to support the skeleton staff left behind to finish up any urgent work that was left. She remembered piling a plate full of shrimp fried rice and wings from the catering table to eat at her desk while she continued to work. She remembered Tom summoning her to his room to check on her progress. And then...
And then what?
However hard she struggled to remember, it wasn't coming back. Like a dream, fading into the mists after a shower and a nice warm breakfast. Had she even had breakfast? The memories were all lost to her now.
More than that, she was aware of a dull throbbing between her legs. A sensation she had not been familiar with since she was twelve and she had happened across her dad's stash of pornographic magazines. The pictures of adult men railing women was a thing of wonder. She remembered the school kids saying that it felt good when you rubbed yourself when you watched that sort of thing. It never amounted to more than a tingle.