So this was it then. His first appearance at a proper, full-blown company function. Feeling decidedly uncomfortable, Darren Campbell paused at the open doorway and took a deep breath. He quickly scanned the room, letting out a sigh of relief, and relaxing slightly when he realized that nobody appeared to have even noticed their arrival. Thank goodness for that small mercy, but still, it did little to calm his nerves.
The reason for his discomfort was because he had no idea why he had been invited. The only thing he knew for certain was that his wife Erica definitely didn't want to be here. He'd already picked up on her nervousness. He knew she could be a bit introverted until she got to know someone, and initially, she could appear to be quite offhand and often abrupt. At times like these, she was usually better if she'd had a couple of drinks to calm herself. He took hold of her hand, hoping that she would feel reassured by his touch. Her hand was clammy; he could sense the tension. Yes, this was definitely one of those times where she needed some alcohol.
"Come on, let's go get a drink," he said to her. She nodded her agreement and clung tightly to his arm as she followed him across the room to the bar.
Having been served, and sipping at his drink, Darren turned away from the bar to survey the room. He nodded to the work colleagues he recognized, although there were plenty that he didn't know. Was it only three months ago that he'd been here in this very room being welcomed to the company as a new starter?
He smiled inwardly. He remembered it hadn't been the best of occasions, mainly due to the fact he and Erica were about an hour and a half late due to a blow-out on the free-way. Not the most auspicious of starts to his job working for Brand Industries. It had certainly put him on the back foot to start with, but now it seemed, all that was forgotten.
Erica sipped at her drink as she too scanned the room. She could already sense his presence. She finally spotted him, his shiny, completely shaved head making him stand out above everyone else. Her heart sank. He was looking directly at her. Even from the other side of the room, she could tell his eyes were locked firmly onto the swell of her breasts. Her stomach turned over. Her husband's boss was such a creep. And what made it worse was that even if Darren knew his boss was ogling her, it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference to him. He seemed totally and utterly ambivalent to it. It was like a massive blind spot to him.
Ever since they had arrived in this city for Darren's new job, Jack Brand had rubbed her up the wrong way. His lewd, touchy-feely nature was far too much for a bashful small-town girl to take on board. Every time she was in his presence he would make a run at her, trying to cop a feel of her ass or worse still, her breasts. She had taken the harassment for the first few times, but had finally complained bitterly to her husband about it.
He, of course, made light of it. She shouldn't have been surprised. This was Darren's nature. Always had been. He could never see ill in anyone. So he placated her. Perhaps she had misunderstood Jack's intentions, as he was probably just a tactile man, and this was his way of being friendly, he'd said. Or, she had just simply misinterpreted his actions. No matter what happened, to Darren, there was always a plausible reason for his boss' actions. But after three months of unrelenting attention, Erica had suffered more than enough.
* * *
Across the room, Jack Brand had noticed their arrival, and his thoughts too went back to the moment three months previously when he had first met Erica Campbell.
Her husband had arrived late to the Induction Meeting for the new starters. Normally, that would have meant curtains for any chance of building a future with his company, because the one thing Jack hated above all else was tardiness. But Darren Campbell was going to get away with one. He was a lucky man; lucky because he had a wife as desirable as Erica.
Jack smiled to himself as he took in the view from across the room. Even from this distance, he could make out the swell of her large, perfectly formed breasts and the shape of her curvaceous legs. He could feel his cock begin to throb in anticipation.
Of course, he was drawn to her body. What red-blooded male wouldn't be. But the thing that got him truly excited was the fact that she was unbelievably naive. She really was the epitome of the girl next door. She'd been so nervous the first time they'd met, and on subsequent meetings her manner appeared aloof and offhand, almost to the point of rudeness. Jack put it down to shyness, but she was undeniably cute, and he suspected that hidden away was a good sense of humor and a lively personality. She was clearly a girl from the backwoods who had no idea how smoking hot she could be, especially when she got all dressed up and put on her makeup. And it was that fresh air of innocence that got Jack really hard.
After the initial indoctrination meeting; or the meat market as Jack liked to think of it; he'd bumped into Erica purely by accident a couple of times. From the outset his initial seduction forays were rebuffed quite firmly, which had surprised him somewhat. He wasn't too dismayed with her reaction. He hadn't been trying that hard because his focus of attention was directed elsewhere. He had his sights set on nailing Sarah Drakes. She was a stunning redhead with big tits, and married to Martin Drakes who was next in line for an upcoming promotion.
But Erica's abruptness and her increasingly scathing and dismissive replies to his lewd comments, only served to spark his interest more. He liked nothing more than a challenge and she most definitely fit into that category, as indeed did Sarah Drakes. He began to manufacture accidental meetings with Erica, bumping into her at the unlikeliest of places, all of which served to seemingly annoy her the more. But he reveled in her discomfort. It was all a game to him. It was all about exerting his dominance over his employees and especially their wives or girlfriends.
*
*
*
In all senses of the word, Jack Brand was a powerful man. Physically large, and angularly good looking, he had a presence and arrogance about him that oozed wealth and success. Broad shouldered with muscular arms and legs, and a narrow waist, he still had the look of an athlete about him.
Larger than average at an early age, he had been an outstanding middle linebacker for his High School team, an ability which got him into a second string college. But it was there he stopped growing. He had no great aspirations to get into the NFL so wasn't unduly bothered when he was told he wasn't fast enough, big enough or savvy enough to play the game professionally. He just liked to hit people, to dominate them, to take them out of the game.
It was a trait he had carried on into his life since then. In his mind he had the world at his feet, and so carried himself with a confidence and bearing that he felt was completely justified.
He was also an utterly ruthless bastard, although he usually kept this side of his personality well hidden. Well most of the time he did. It wouldn't be to his advantage to be perceived as such. But as the boss of his own company he felt he was entitled to be as mean or as generous to his employees as he wanted to be.
And why not? After all, it was his business. He'd built it from the ground up, initially without any help, and seemingly through a combination of good fortune and hard work had achieved his goal of becoming a very rich man. That was the official line. The truth however was a little different.
Whilst it was true that his success was due in part to hard work, what had propelled him from being merely successful to mega rich was his hidden ruthless streak. He had stopped at nothing to see off his competitors, even resorting to violence on the odd occasion when he felt it was warranted.
But this ruthlessness spilled over into his private life too. If he saw something he wanted he would stop at nothing to get it. He was single, had never been married, and had long ago accepted that he never would be. It would take an exceptional woman to get him to settle down. But he actually liked being single as it gave him the freedom to participate in his favorite past-time.
For Jack's chosen post work recreation was fucking married women, and in particular his employee's wives. And once they'd been 'Branded' as he cringingly liked to call it, there was no going back. They always came back gagging for more. He had only ever failed once, but even that rare failure was going to be remedied soon.
Jack turned to his assistant, Glen, who as usual was hovering close by waiting to be called.
"Darren Campbell," he pointed over to where Darren was stood with Erica, "I know he's been with us for three months now, but is he any good at his job?" Jack queried. His eyes were firmly glued on the couple.
"Seems to be doing okay. But he's not been entrusted with a big project yet, so only time will tell," Glen replied. He looked across at the couple.
He knew his boss called the first indoctrination meeting, 'the meat market', but this first quarter one, the one held after three months, this was the actual one that deserved that tag. This was when he knew Jack had picked out the staff he wanted to keep after their probationary period. And it was pretty much a selection based on how attractive their wives or girlfriends were.
Jack turned his head sideways to look at his aide. "Well let's remedy that shall we. Give him something to get his teeth into. I want to test him. I want to see if he's got what it takes."
