A series of unread emails displayed on Mark's monitor. His attention was torn away from his work and onto his wife Brooke's incoming text messages on his phone.
I just finished picking up all the booze and food we need tonight.
I'll start laying things out in the backyard when I get home.
The young couple were hosting a New Year's Eve party in their backyard tonight. It wasn't going to be as large or crazy as Dave's Halloween party, but they still expected a couple dozen friends and coworkers to attend.
Mark was looking forward to relaxing and throwing back a few drinks in the safety of his own home. The last few weeks at work had been incredibly stressful for him. Since he had given in to Saul's demands, his personal and professional life had been thrown into complete disarray.
Saul now had an unchecked level of authority at work that he wasn't afraid to throw around. He had recently enacted new security protocols. Both Mark and Dave had each felt the sting of Saul's new position. Privately, Dave had rightly placed some of the blame on Mark for letting the asshole steamroll him without putting up a fight. Dave couldn't understand why Mark had endorsed Saul over email several weeks ago.
He couldn't tell his best friend about Saul's compromising material on Brooke. He also couldn't tell him about the wrench Saul had thrown into their marriage and the liberties he had taken with her at the company Christmas party. Mark wasn't even clear himself on everything Saul had done with Brooke. When she tried to tell him, he'd shut down. He knew the extent of what happened but couldn't bear to hear the details.
His sweet, loving wife now thought Mark had some weird fetish about seeing her with another man. Namely his workplace rival Saul. It broke his heart to keep lying to her to protect her, only to see her continue to support his supposed fantasy. She had been so caring, patient and understanding while he struggled to get the scripted words out.
She'd even gone so far as to dance with Saul at the Christmas party. She told him afterwards that Saul had taken her off the dance floor and had touched her, and she had touched him. She had done it for Mark, assuming he was nearby and watching. That she was seeking his approval by telling him what they'd done twisted the knife even further.
Unfortunately, Mark was doubled over in the bathroom while she was alone with Saul. He had seen them on the dance floor and had found himself sporting a massive erection, something he hadn't been able to achieve in the weeks prior. Getting hard while seeing his wife in the arms of another man didn't make sense. He wondered if the impending responsibilities of fatherhood had short-circuited his sex drive. The only times he'd felt his cock stir recently was picturing Brooke with Saul. Mark was worried that recent events with Saul had stained his mind.
His doctor couldn't find anything wrong with him. She'd run a battery of tests, but everything came back clean. She thought his erectile dysfunction and frequent trips to the bathroom were likely the result of stress and anxiety. Mark had left the doctor's office with a referral to a psychiatrist with whom he would follow up in the new year.
Mark shook his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. He just needed to get through a few more meetings, and then he would be back home and could relax and have a good time at the party. He thumbed a response to Brooke.
Awesome, thanks for that babe. I'm going to duck out of here early. I should be home around 5:30. We'll set up everything and get some food on the grill before everyone arrives.
I love you, babe.
He smiled as he saw three little dots appear on the screen. Brooke was typing a response.
I love you too, baby. More than anything. Well, maybe the little one in my tummy has you beat ;)
Come home to me soon. ❤️
For a moment, everything else seemed to melt away. He couldn't wait to leave work behind and spend time alone with Brooke before the party. Mark hoped that if he was lucky, his dick would cooperate, and they could have fun before their guests arrived.
Clicking away from his emails, Mark stood up and slid his phone into his suit jacket pocket. He took one last swig of his protein powder and headed out of his office and down the hall to a conference for his next meeting.
***
Saul watched Mark from the crack in his office door. He saw the man enter a conference room at the end of the hall. Saul gently closed his door, shuffled back around his desk and turned his attention to his computer.
While his new position had led to increased responsibility and some additional recent direct reports, the best thing about it was the access. Upon assuming his new role, Saul immediately fired the only other person at the company who understood how their network and devices worked. He now had access to everything and no one to keep him in check or rat him out.
His eyes gleamed as he read through the text exchange between Mark and Brooke. Mark stupidly got rid of his personal device when the company offered to pay for his phone plan and gave him a new smartphone.
Saul now had access to every mobile device in the company and could easily monitor everything Mark did, including his communications. Mark had agreed to the company having this level of access to his data when he accepted the phone, after all.
I love you too, baby. More than anything. Well, maybe the little one in my tummy has you beat ;)
Come home to me soon. ❤️
A smile spread across Saul's face at the acknowledgement of the child growing in Brooke's belly. He was positive that the child was his after his encounter with Brooke on Halloween night.
He clicked on a few prompts on the monitor before him, enabling the real-time communication software to which he had recently upgraded the company. He had buried this upgrade purchase in his budget, wondering if anyone would approve of its capabilities.
It allowed him to put anyone's device into a sandbox environment, allowing Saul to control all communications that ultimately passed through it. He had been thinking about this since the night of the Christmas party, and now it was time to try it out.
With Mark's device in the sandbox, he could text Brooke from Mark's number. Her messages would never reach Mark's phone unless he wanted them to.
He typed up a message and pressed send.
***
