s*x Chained

The Plan Begins

Chapter 9

Many of the Ohio Valley Mutual employees had taken vacation time to make it a long weekend, thus making the office area on Friday afternoon virtually worker-free. Only a few hearty souls remained, two being Chris O'Connell and his ever-loyal assistant. Nat had saved the job of procuring an historical perspective of a major account for the last minute. She and the boss would have to stay and complete the updates before the account manager's Tuesday morning meeting with the head honchos. Chris seemed very apologetic about keeping his assistant at work when the others had already gone off to play, but Nat insisted she didn't mind at all.

With most of the overhead lights turned off, she worked in the semi-darkness with the soft, green glow from her desk lamp her only companion. When Chris emerged from his office with a garment bag in hand, he paused at Nat's desk before continuing to the men's room.

"And what do you have planned for the Fourth, Nat?" Her boss seemed genuinely interested in her weekend plans, and he gave her an expectant smile.

"Nothing special." Nat returned sweetly. "Perhaps, catch up on my reading."

“Oh?” Chris arched his brows. “Hope it's not work related. You need time away from the office. We all do. What kind of books to you like to read.”

As Nat shut the cover of her laptop, she told him, “Oh, mainly romances, but I also enjoy mysteries.”

Chris gave a little laugh. “Well, I'm not much on book-reading at home. I read too much here at the office. I do enjoy movies, though, usually the rough and tough adventure types.”

I bet you do, Nat thought with a thin smile, a little one-on-one adventure movies, usually called porn.

"Well, make sure to rest and relax. Me..." Chris indicated his bag. "I'm catching a late plane to Chicago. Going to see the folks, hang out at the lake, and enjoy the barbecue and fireworks."

His assistant knew exactly what he had planned and with whom. Chris O'Connell was not traveling alone but with Merrill Strang. Going to take your blond bimbo to meet the folks, huh? Though once Nat set things in motion, poor Merrill would be flying alone, a cougar without her meaty hunk.

"Enjoy yourself then," she murmured, then went back to her computer screen.

As Chris started for the bathrooms, he added, "I'll be back in a sec. I'm going to change, then call a cab for the airport."

Once her boss disappeared into the shadows and Nat heard the double doors to the hall open and close, she left her station and hurried into his office. She found Chris's cell phone on his desk and began to type a message to his paramour, thankful that he often used abbreviated words and expressions which make Nat sound like her boss:

M, change of plans, darling. Something came up at work and I have to stay over. Sorry. Go on w/out me and I'll join you Sat. Will call to explain later. Luv U, CC.

With that, Nat programmed the phone to silence and took it to her desk where she placed it in a bottom drawer. Next she sat patiently and waited until her boss returned. When he did return and approached her station, she stood and quietly admired his casual look, the tan Dockers and the open-necked, white cotton shirt.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she began, "when you're practically out the door, Chris, but I need to get some old reports from the vault that somehow hadn't made it to the digital files yet. Can you help me for a minute?"

The "vault" was nothing more than a long storage area on the fifth floor where most of the accumulation of paperwork went into dozens of file cabinets. Although most of the information dating back to the '80s had been translated to computer CDs and then USB drives, the CEO of Ohio Valley Mutual insisted that the hard copies of old cases and client files remain intact.

"Why sure, Nat." Despite this little detour in his plans, Chris didn't allow his friendly, relaxed expression to falter, "but I wish you'd call it a day and don't worry about those reports until Tuesday morning."

Nat remained matter-of-fact. "Better to have them ready to go now, then wait till the last minute. I'd hate for you to go to that meeting without backup."

With an appreciative twist of his attractive lips, Chris patted her shoulder. "Ever efficient, Nat. You are a treasure. Let's go get what you need."

They wended their way past vacant, dark cubicles to the hallway and on to the bank of elevators. As they walked, Chris continued his comments concerning Nat's work. "You know, I don't tell you enough how much I rely on you. In fact, your performance appraisal is due soon, and I plan to give you five gold stars for each category. You deserved a decent raise."

Nat was glad he couldn't see her deep blush in the shadows. "Thank you, Chris, that's so nice of you."

They boarded the first elevator that reached their floor and opened its doors. "You deserve it," Chris emphasized as he pressed the button for five. "Your hard work isn't due to my niceness, but to your dedication to the company. Heck, I'm just background noise. You need to be recognized. Now don't get your feathers ruffled, but I've nominated you for Employee of the Year."

When Nat didn't respond right away, Chris defended his decision. "I know you hate to toot your own horn, Nat, but I really want to see you get your just rewards."

Inching away to the safety of corner shadows, Nat allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. If you only knew, Chris, that the only reward I covet is you. I could easily put you on a pedestal, naked, and make you my golden god. "I consider my job rewarding enough," she replied in a steady voice, "but I appreciate your efforts and I thank you for your vote of confidence."

"No problem."