Actually, this is beyond bad luck. I take a sip of my coffee and try to force the stress to melt away. I don’t want to start my day in a bad mood. That’s pretty difficult right now, but I’m trying.
I pull into the parking lot outside the office, trying to hurry up, but I look a mess. I reapply my makeup and straighten my clothes as quickly as I can. Then I grab my purse and rush inside the office building.
Work is always busy, so at least it’s sure to distract me from everything that’s happened this morning, I tell myself. As long as I don’t get fired for being late.
Chapter 2
Ben
It’s been a crazy morning here at Morris Financial, the firm I run. I’m in a meeting with my department heads. We are discussing whether or not to close the business for now because of the virus going around. One of them says what we’re all thinking.
“It only makes sense that we close MoFi. Everything else in the city is shut down already.”
I turn to look at him, but I remain silent. I don’t want to make a rash decision that hurts the company, and then regret it later. I start to tune out some of the conversation. It’s true that the rest of the city is already closed. Even Club Lush.
Not many people know, but I have an appetite for BDSM. I have my kinks, just like everyone else. They definitely don’t make me a bad guy, though. Trust me. I work long hours and go there often to let off steam with the submissive pets that hang around there.
But now that it’s closed, I have no idea what I’m going to do to relax. I already feel tired and drained, and it’s barely the start of the workday. It feels like today is going to be no exception from the strain we’ve all been feeling lately. I don’t know how I’ll make it through the day, or the night. I need to come up with another way to relieve this stress.
Eventually I pay attention to what they are talking about again. I could really use some coffee right now. I wonder to myself where our receptionist is. She’s usually brought it in by this point in our meetings. That might help alleviate the monotony of this discussion.
I more or less have an idea of what we are going to do on this matter, so this meeting is just a formality. I just want to give everyone a chance to express their opinions beforehand, so no one gets their feelings hurt when I make my decision.
One of the chairmen asks, “Can we afford to just close down like that?”
Although I agree with his worries, the first board member answers for me.
“We are already extremely successful. In fact, this has been one of our best years. I don’t see how losing a few days or weeks could hurt us. We’ve already had several employees call in sick. It’s better this way.”
He continues to urge us to think about the upside. I consider how closing down could be good for everyone here. It would certainly reduce my stress levels and allow me to focus more on my other activities. Besides, day-to-day life is stressful enough because of this Coronavirus that’s going around. Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that.
“That’s true. I saw when I came in that it’s like a ghost town out there. Is everyone absent?” they ask each other.
“We don’t even have any coffee. Where’s our receptionist? That’s her job, isn’t it?” they ask.
I shrug, and finally contribute to the conversation.
“Maybe she’s sick as well. She wasn’t at her desk when I looked.”
And I always look – because she’s hot as hell.
Right then, as if on cue, she rushes in, carrying a tray of coffee cups. We all look at her in surprise. It’s as if she’s trying not to seem nervous and appears to be in a hurry. The coffee is fresh and hot. I’m impressed. Arriving late, but with fresh coffee?
As usual, I can’t take my eyes off of her. I subtly drink in her figure and features with my eyes while I can. No one notices, because they’re just happy to finally have coffee. She hurriedly starts handing us our drinks. Some acknowledge her with a slight nod, others just ignore her and take their coffee. She’s clearly embarrassed about not being on time, and she starts to ramble an apology.
“Sorry I’m late; I had a big fight with my landlord…”
The others aren’t paying attention and have resumed their discussion. She hands me my coffee, and I thank her quietly, with a little smile. She blushes and scurries out of the room.
Even after she is gone, I keep thinking about her, and about what a perfect opportunity this could be, if I play my cards the right way. She needs a place to live, and I need an assistant to keep working for me, as well as a pet. I’ve always wanted her and she’s just my type: curvy, dark-haired, and big-eyed.