Final Peace

Author's Notes:

I've submitted this little story for the Literotica 25th Anniversary Challenge.

I'm grateful for Literotica, which gave me my first platform to share stories.

Congratulations, Literotica, for 25 excellent years!

-=-

We're told, "Your perfect match is out there. All you have to do is open yourself to the possibility of love, and you'll find your soulmate."

That's a lovely thought, but it's an inherently flawed concept. A 'perfect' match? Who's perfect? We're only human, after all.

Finding a 'compatible' match can be difficult enough when your hopes and desires follow society's norms. Stray outside those boundaries, and your task becomes increasingly challenging.

Here's a funny notion: Soulmate status doesn't require perfection. Empathy, acceptance, and compromise strengthen relationships in ways no baseless expectations ever could.

-=-

This is a one-off story. There will be no sequel for this one.

All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.

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Final Peace

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Elaine Montgomery wasn't a pleasure to work with.

None of the other executives at the company conferred with her unless they had to. But as she was their in-house legal counsel, sometimes they had no choice. None of them invited her to lunch or any other social events. No one wanted her to join their table at company functions.

This shunning wasn't due to her being rude or sharp-tongued. She had a soft voice and was an eloquent conversationalist once engaged.

It wasn't because she neglected her personal hygiene. She was well-groomed, wore a subtle perfume, and her ebony hair, which reached the middle of her back in gentle waves, was freshly washed and gleaming every day.

It certainly wasn't because the twenty-eight-year-old was hard on the eyes. With her dark, luxurious mane of hair, dark chocolate brown eyes, high cheekbones, slim nose, and full sensual lips, her features drew the eyes. She was tall and lushly curved as well.

All these things would normally bring her attention and companionship, but she remained alone in her workplace and personal life.

Her peers made attempts to connect over the years, but one by one, they determined they wouldn't be around her if it could be helped. There was no malicious intent, and none held any ill will towards her, but they avoided her nonetheless.

Working for her was harder still. Executive assistants never lasted more than three months before they requested to be transferred or resigned.

The comments HR received during the exit interviews all pointed to the same complaint.

Elaine Montgomery was the least happy person they'd ever met.

She wasn't a complainer. She didn't whine, bitch, speak condescendingly or sarcastically, but every assistant assigned to her, by the end, desperately wanted to get away from her.

The more bubbly and enthusiastic the Executive Assistant was, the quicker they became demoralized. Nothing could break through the wall of melancholy Elaine built around herself. Everything seemed to disappoint the woman but people most of all.

She seemed destined to be alone.

-=-

Heather Duncan was the company's head of Human Resources.

She was also at her wit's end.

She was beginning to think it had become her sole task to find someone who could tolerate Elaine's unique method of torment.

Heather even spoke with the CEO about the possible economic benefits of just replacing Ms. Montgomery. That idea was summarily dismissed as the woman was singularly brilliant at her job, and the very thought of losing her was unthinkable.

Heather heard the message loud and clear and never brought it up again.

Her secondary purpose seemed to be finding positions within the company for the CEO's brood of children as they grew up and entered the workforce. All five of them had so far proven to be an epic pain in the ass. None wanted to actually earn their daily wage, and all thought they deserved to start at the top. She saw an entry in her calendar this morning from the CEO herself. Her last born, number six, was back from flunking out of college. Heather knew the CEO was pretty outspoken about how disappointing her son James was. She'd witnessed the woman browbeating the young man before the other execs at a party. That had been particularly embarrassing to see.

Heather pulled up a listing of open positions and frowned. Shit! There really wasn't anything she could place James into.

She jumped when her intercom buzzed.

"Yes?"

"Mrs. Davenport is here to see you with her son James."

"Thanks, Mary. Send them in," Heather sighed. Raquel was early, as usual. Hell of a way to start a week.

The stern expression on the CEO's face was her first clue that this wouldn't be a friendly visit.

"Good morning, Mrs. Davenport. Good morning, James."

"Good morning, Heather." The CEO aimed a frown at her son. "Speak up, James!"

The young man flinched, then turned his blue eyes to Heather. "Good morning, Mrs. Duncan."

She thought he had the loveliest eyes.

"James failed in the courses I signed him up for at university, so I hope you have something to keep him occupied," Raquel snapped, and Heather froze. She wasn't going to like this news, and Heather was worried about how she would take it out on her son.

Her expression must have made that clear as the CEO spoke immediately. "What about that EA position for Elaine?" Raquel suggested.

Heather blinked at the woman. "Work for Elaine?"

Raquel frowned. "Yes, she just lost another assistant, didn't she? I heard something about a blowout in the cafeteria."

Heather sighed and nodded. That was another black mark on her department.

"I'll leave him with you then." With that, Raquel left.

Heather looked at James, and he looked back at her, then looked down, unable to hold her eye. The HR chief felt bad for the boy, but she had her orders. She also felt sorry for herself at being saddled with yet another Davenport brat!

Normally, she would have one of her staff process him, but Heather did this one personally. She gestured for him to take a seat and brought up the interface for new employee intake.

Once she had all his personal information and had no other excuses, she stood and shook James' hand. "Welcome aboard."

He just nodded and looked at her with wide blue eyes. She reflected that he looked younger than his twenty-four years. Maybe it was his five-foot-five height combined with his slight build, pale skin, slightly longer blond hair, and the innocence in his baby-blue eyes.

"Okay, let's go speak with Ms. Montgomery."

James just nodded. She hoped his timid nature didn't hinder his ability to manage the position's responsibilities.

They went up to the top floor and to Elaine's office. The EA desk outside her door was empty, and all personal effects of the last victim—last EA collected and mailed to her home.

Elaine's door was open, so she knocked on the door jamb and smiled at the woman.

"Good morning, Elaine!"

Dark eyes looked up from her desk to acknowledge her. "Good morning, Heather." She looked expectantly at the HR chief.

"I'd like to introduce you to your new Executive Assistant, James Davenport, youngest son of our CEO."

Elaine just looked at her, so Heather turned and saw James was hidden behind her. She snagged his sleeve and pulled him into the doorway.

The young man seemed to lock up when he faced Elaine. Heather looked back to Elaine, who was staring at James curiously. The silence was becoming awkward.

"James, this is Ms. Montgomery. She's your new boss," the head of HR said, watching his face. His eyes flicked to hers then he bowed to Elaine. He bowed! Heather stifled a snort of amusement as his face flushed with embarrassment.

She looked to Elaine to explain away the young man's awkwardness but saw she was standing and coming around her desk. Heather saw an opportunity to leave and didn't want to spend more time on this. Frankly, she wanted to wash her hands of the whole mess.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. Good luck!"

With that, Heather hustled away. She had real work to do!

-=-

Elaine stood before the young man and saw he was trembling slightly. She thought this was strange as she'd only just met him. She'd seen others behave this way, but only after working with her for some time. She wondered if he was going to quit on his first day.

"Do you have any experience as an Executive Assistant?"

"No," James said quietly.

She looked closer at him. "I'll need you to speak up, please."

Blue eyes flicked up to look into hers. "No, ma'am," he said with acceptable volume.

She smiled. "Better, but the ma'am won't do. You should call me Ms. Montgomery."

"Yes, Ms. Montgomery," he said quickly, almost eagerly.

She examined him again and saw him straighten his posture subtly, and his chin came up slightly. A strange sensation tickled the back of her mind at the edge of her awareness.

"This isn't the first time we've met, is it," she asserted as a memory surfaced of a party at the CEO's home.

His face flushed red, and his blue eyes flicked to her face. "We've met."

"Raquel had you working as a waiter at one of her executive parties at her mansion. You dropped a few flutes of champagne."

James' face burned as he recalled the humiliation of the verbal flaying he'd received from his mother before the gathering... before her. He nodded stiffly, and his eyes dropped.

She saw his discomfort and touched his arm. Immediately, his eyes lifted to hers.

"That's not how I treat those who work for me. I expect professional and courteous behavior, and you can expect the same from me." She caught a slight tremble in his arm, so she released it. He swayed slightly towards her, then pulled back.

Elaine gestured for him to sit at the desk outside her office. He moved to do so and glanced up at her once he was seated.

"You know how to use a computer and the suite of business apps?" she asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

She held his eyes. "The calendar application as well. We use that extensively," she stressed.

"Yes, I'm familiar with how it works," he confirmed.

"Good," she said with a smile, and one appeared on his lips as well, briefly.

"Have you used a multi-line office phone?" she asked.

"No," he said.

"The desk phone manual is on your PC's desktop. I expect you to read it and learn it. If you have questions, please ask me. Understood?"

"Yes, Ms. Montgomery!"

She smiled and patted his shoulder, and a wide smile appeared on his face. He immediately turned to the PC and opened the digital manual.

With a nod, she returned to her desk as she had work to do.

She was deep inside a vendor contract when she heard the phone ring on James' desk. She was about to call out that she had it when she saw the line stop flashing.

"Ms. Montgomery's office. May I help you?" James said with only the slightest wobble in his voice. She listened carefully.

"Hello, Mr. Trent. Let me check her calendar for you." There was a brief pause. "Wednesday the twenty-first, you said, at ten AM?"

Elaine opened her calendar as well and listened for additional details.

"I can give you thirty minutes at ten AM or an hour from two-thirty PM until three-thirty PM." James offered, still with a slight wobble, but she was pleased so far.

"Ten AM it is. Thank you, Mr. Trent. Goodbye!" She heard James take a deep breath once he hung up. The calendar entry appeared with the necessary information.

She stood and walked out to his desk. He looked up at her nervously. "You did very well on your first call," she said, and he almost glowed under her praise. "You took to our phone system quite quickly. Normally, I wouldn't make you take the calls in your first week until you understand the button options, but that went very smoothly."

"Oh! Did I overstep my bounds?" he gasped in worry.

"No, it's fine! You just surprised me. Keep it up!" She gave him a smile, and he relaxed once more. She returned to her desk, feeling a little better about his survival chances. He'd learned how to navigate their older and less-than-intuitive phone system and dealt with one of the line managers for her. So far, so good. She certainly found his attitude refreshing.

When lunch rolled around, Elaine left her office to stand before his desk. "I'm going to lunch—just to the cafeteria. The food is pretty good and not too expensive. I usually take an hour and take a walk after I eat. What did you plan for lunch?"

He blinked at her. "I-I didn't bring a lunch. I don't know where the cafeteria is. I've never been in this building before."

Elaine looked back at him in surprise. "Okay, why don't you come with me today so I can show you where things are?" He smiled at her and then picked up the phone's handset while punching in some numbers.

"You've reached the office of Ms. Montgomery. Please leave a message; she will return your call when she's available. Thank you." He pressed another button and then placed the handset back in its cradle.

Elaine smiled at the young man. "I'm impressed by how quickly you're mastering the phone system. Your predecessors all struggled with it."

"I-I get technology. I mean, I can usually figure it out pretty quickly, especially if I get a manual, and I remember patterns easily." He smiled at her shyly.

"Still, it's a really good start." She watched his face as she complimented him and could see how happy he was becoming. She tucked that away and led him to the elevators. The car was empty when it reached the top floor, so they got in, and she pressed the ground floor button. The building was only ten floors, but it was lunch hour, so the elevator stopped on every floor to let hungry people get on. James moved as the car filled until he found himself pressed against the side of the tall executive.

When the car stopped again on the third floor to let more people on, Elaine had enough.

"The car is full. Take the stairs or wait for the next one," she said with a firm tone. Conversation in the car stopped, and the people trying to push on immediately stepped back. As the doors closed, she looked to James to share a smile of disbelief. She wasn't expecting him to be looking up at her in awe. A little tingle ran down her spine. He quickly lowered his eyes as his face turned a delightful shade of pink. She felt a tremble run through his arm pressed against her side.

When they got to the second floor, the doors opened again, and the waiting staff took one look at the uncomfortable expressions on the faces of the silent occupants and stepped back to let the door close.

Finally, they reached the ground floor, and the people quickly left the car, letting Elaine exit with James close behind. The cafeteria had a large seating area at the back of the main floor. It also opened up on one side to a large patio with tables under umbrellas. When they reached the large chamber, they saw a long line of staff waiting. Elaine touched James' arm and indicated he should follow her. "Lunch is my treat today." His mouth opened and closed silently, then he nodded with a timid smile as his face flushed. Blue eyes watched her as she strode forward to a second counter, smaller than the main one. One of the kitchen staff rushed over to attend to them.

"I'll have a pastrami sandwich on light rye with mild deli mustard and a small garden salad with light Italian dressing." She looked back at James. "What would you like?"

Blue eyes scanned the menu boards, then went back to her. "The same?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and turned to the woman. "Make it two."

The kitchen worker nodded and rushed away to prepare their food.

James saw some people in the main line casting less than friendly looks their way. He looked to the executive, but she showed no sign of noticing.

"Do we have a new exec, or did one of the little people pick the wrong line again?"

James turned to look up at the smirking face of a blond man in a very expensive suit. Gold glinted from the chunky watch poking from the cuff of his jacket and from several thick rings on his fingers.

"Davin, try to pretend you can be civil," Elaine sighed. "James, this is Davin Gray, VP of International Sales." She gestured to James. "Davin, this is my new Executive Assistant, James Davenport."

Davin snorted. "They got you another assistant?!? I've only been with the company for nine months, and you've had at least four in that time! Good luck, kid!"

Elaine said nothing as she waited.

Davin's grin began to slip as he failed to get a rise from the woman. Something she'd said was percolating in his mind. Then his smile dropped away completely as the name finally sunk in. "Davenport? As in the CEO's kid?" he exclaimed.

"The same," Elaine said calmly.

"Nice to meet you, sir," James said, holding out his hand.

Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Davin shook it and glared at Elaine.

Their lunches were brought to the counter, so James moved to pick the tray up.

Elaine nodded to Davin and walked towards the cashier's station with a satisfied smile. She picked up two bottles of water from the cooler as James followed. She paid for their meals, led him through the patio doors, and found a table at the far side near the trees.

James set the tray down and looked around. "This is really nice!"

She smiled at his obvious delight. She realized he was very honest with his emotions. The phrase wearing his heart on his sleeve was definitely appropriate for James. She appreciated that as it made him easier to read. "Yes, I like to bring a book and read here during my lunch."

"Oh! Do you want to read it today? I could go back to get your book for you!" he offered.

"No, that's fine. Let's enjoy our lunch and get to know each other. We're going to be working very closely. It's best to get acquainted with each other's idiosyncrasies early on to determine if we can make this work."

Large blue eyes watched her, then glanced towards the cafeteria. "Mr. Gray mentioned you've had four executive assistants. I hope I can meet your needs—I mean, expectations!" he stumbled through his words, his pale skin pinking up.

She watched him squirm under her gaze and felt that odd tingle once more. She pushed that aside and smiled. "So far, you're exceeding my expectations, so keep it up."

His body language clearly showed the effect her praise was having on the young man. His posture straightened. His chin came up as a happy smile spread across his face. She looked closer and marveled at how baby smooth his skin appeared. Did he spend any time in the sun? She also loved how easy it was to see his embarrassment. The paleness of his skin displayed his flush so visibly.

"What were you doing before coming to work at your mother's company?" she asked.

His joy dimmed. "I was in college, but I failed my courses."

"What were you studying?" she asked.

"Mother enrolled me to become a lawyer," he said, looking down.

"You didn't like it?" she asked curiously.

His eyes became a little desperate as he knew she was a lawyer, and she could tell he didn't want to insult her. "It's not for everyone," she assured him, and his relief was evident. He shook his head timidly.

"What do you want to be?" she asked.

He looked into her eyes. "I want to be your Executive Assistant!" he asserted.

He startled a chuckle out of her then she saw he was serious.

"Did you ask for this job?" Elaine asked in surprise.

"No, I had no idea you needed an assistant when Mother brought me in and took me into Mrs. Duncan's office. Mother suggested it," he insisted.