Final Peace

Elaine nodded as she leaned back in her chair. "You must have some aspirations greater than Executive Assistant."

He shook his head. "Unlike my brothers and sisters, I never really gave it much thought. I got excellent grades in school, all A's, but I've never had any specific goals for my future. I'm more of a day-at-a-time person. All the ambition must have gone to my siblings. Of course, my Mother got the lion's share."

She smiled at him for opening up to her. He grinned happily in return.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" she asked.

He shook his head to indicate he didn't mind at all. "I'm almost twenty-five."

She raised an amused eyebrow. "Almost?"

His face warmed up again. "My birthday is coming up soon." The smile disappeared. "Mother insisted I make something of myself before I reached that age. It seems I'll disappoint her again."

They turned to their meals and made happy sounds as the sandwiches were very good.

They talked about their favorite music and books and discovered there were some mutual interests.

She noted he'd gone a little quiet and was squirming once more. "What is it?"

"The party where I dropped the champagne glasses... I want you to know I appreciate that you didn't laugh or look at me with pity. You were the only one who didn't." He looked up from the table surface into her eyes.

She recalled the moment and how disappointed she'd been with her coworkers. She couldn't change them if the issue came from the top and she liked her job. She had felt sorry for the young man, but she was careful not to let it show and make things worse for him.

She nodded to him now, and he smiled and returned to his meal.

"What do you do for fun?" she asked as she finished her salad.

"I play the stock market," he said with a little smile.

She looked at him in surprise. "Really? This is fun to you?"

A little smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. "Yeah. It started as a way to get back at my oldest brother, Garrett, for being such a jerk to me, but I began to enjoy it. I mean, not enough to make a career out of it, but it feels good to beat his investing performance, even if he's unaware of the fact. Garrett thinks he's the Wizard of Wall Street, but my portfolio always out-performs his." He saw her curious gaze and shrugged. "He invests larger sums with each transaction because he gets a larger paycheck, but the net value of my investments is higher. More importantly, my average return is double digits while his remains below ten percent. He takes reckless gambles. That's going to backfire on him one day. Hopefully soon. Did you know he wanted to be the investment manager for this company? Mother's smarter than that. He doesn't come home very much since she told him no. I don't mind that."

He suddenly looked at Elaine in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for airing this dirty laundry about my family. That was rude."

She shook her head gently. "Not at all. It's part of who you are, and I want to know the man I'll be working with."

A shy smile spread across his face, and he squirmed a little under her frank gaze.

"I don't recall Garrett working at the company, but I do recall meeting your other siblings," Elaine said.

He nodded. "Yes, I have another brother, Peter, and three sisters, Mary, Lynda, and Olivia. Each has spent time working here, but none stayed for very long. They're all running their own businesses now. Not well, but they're trying."

"And then there's you," Elaine said with a smile.

He smiled a little sadly. "Yes, the Drifter, as Garrett calls me." Elaine raised an eyebrow, so James quickly explained. "As in drifting along with the breeze, making no effort—"

"You said you got A's in school. That doesn't say no effort to me," Elaine asserted.

He nodded shyly. "Garrett's definition of effort means performing to Mother's level. Launching a new business initiative directly out of college and conquering all challengers. Dominating the business world."

She nodded and fixed her eyes on his. "Is that what drives happiness?"

James froze as he felt himself being drawn into her dark eyes. "N-not for me. I'm not dominant in anything." His eyes widened in embarrassment the moment the words left his lips.

James stood suddenly, collected his food wrappers, and began to stammer. "I-I have to use the m-m-men's room. I'll see you upstairs? Thank you for lunch!" Eyes were turning in their direction as his face flushed with heat. He bowed to her and then hurried away as she watched in surprise.

Eventually, conversation around her picked up again, though Elaine caught glances in her direction. She wondered if she'd frightened off another assistant. She returned to her meal and, with a sigh, wished she'd taken him up on his offer to get her book.

Once she'd finished, she cleaned up and went to the front doors to head outside to begin her walk. Instead, she found herself turning back and taking the elevator back upstairs. She wasn't sure why she skipped her walk, but she smiled to herself when she saw James at his desk on the phone. He glanced up at her as he spoke.

"Yes, Ms. Wallace. Could I ask you to hold for a second? Thank you." He pressed the button and looked at Elaine. "Ms. Wallace is calling to ask about the vendor contract she sent you yesterday.

Elaine smiled. "Put her through," she said as she walked past his desk into her office.

James smiled in return and pressed the hold button once more. "Sorry, I'll put you through to Ms. Montgomery now. Thank you. One moment." He looked to see Elaine was moving behind her desk before he pressed the transfer button. She gave him a pleased nod as she picked up her handset. Before he turned away, she caught the look of happy satisfaction on his face. She found herself smiling and then turned her attention to the call. It was going to be a busy afternoon.

-=-

Heather Duncan sagged back in her chair as she finished reading an email from one of her informers. There'd been another event in the cafeteria with Elaine Montgomery and her latest assistant. The poor boy had apparently jumped to his feet and rushed away from the woman, his face beet red.

She snorted in frustration. He'd probably run back to Mommy.

Damn it! It wasn't fair! Elaine would just have to hire her own assistants from now on! It couldn't be HR's responsibility to constantly hire victims for her to destroy! Heather got to her feet and marched down to the elevators. Her blood began to boil as she thought about all the time she'd wasted trying to make this woman happy!

She went up one floor and charged down the hall to barge into Elaine's outer office with a full head of steam.

She stopped suddenly as James smiled at her from the desk outside Elaine's office. His smile quickly dimmed, seeing her expression. "May I help you, Mrs. Duncan? Is everything all right?"

Her mouth opened and closed silently. She saw Elaine on the phone in her office, stand up, and come around her desk to close her door.

Heather struggled to regain her composure and took some deep breaths as James watched her with concern plain on his face.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I just needed to check with Elaine on something, but I can see she's busy," Heather said hesitantly.

"Yes, she has a very full calendar. I can schedule an appointment for you if you'd like?" he offered.

"No, no, it's fine. I'll just speak with her later," she said with a smile. "So, how is your first day going?"

His face lit up with a broad smile. "Really well!"

Heather nodded with a smile of her own. "That's good news. Okay, well, I won't disturb you any further. Have a good afternoon!" Heather said as she beat a hasty retreat.

As she walked back towards the elevator, she scowled. She almost made a fool out of herself because of that misleading email. She found herself taking the elevator down to the sixth floor, where the sales department was.

Heather spotted Lindsey chatting and laughing with a group of four sales coordinators and headed in their direction. She wondered if Lindsey was laughing at how embarrassed she'd made the head of HR.

Her informant spotted her coming and glanced nervously at the others.

Heather forced a smile on her face as she stopped before the group. "Hello, ladies! Lindsey, might I speak with you for a second?"

Lindsey was wearing a stiff smile, too, when she nodded and moved off to a small meeting room. The others watched curiously as they closed the door.

"What are you doing?!?" Lindsay hissed once they were alone.

The anger Heather's embarrassment was driving would not be denied, and she flared. "What am I doing?!? What are you doing sending me fictitious reports of Elaine's new assistant fleeing the cafeteria in tears!" she snapped.

Lindsey leaned away from Heather's angry body language and the volume of her voice. Then she glanced nervously at the walls of their tiny meeting room. She lowered her voice as she responded. "Keep it down! These rooms aren't soundproof!" She frowned at the exec. "I didn't send anything fictitious! He looked like he was about to cry as he rushed away from Ms. Montgomery!"

"I just got back from speaking with him. He was all smiles and told me the day was going really well! Not a tear in sight. His eyes weren't even red! I went there ready to defend the boy, and they looked at me like I was mad. It was damn embarrassing!" she hissed.

Lindsey immediately became defensive. "It's not my fault he knows how to turn the waterworks on and off so well!"

Heather looked closer at the woman, trying to determine why she'd put her in such an awkward situation. Something popped into her head. "Is this because I didn't give you Cindy's window seat after you reported her leaving early week after week?"

Lindsey gasped and nervously looked to the window next to the door, but she couldn't see her coworkers. They must have gone back to their desks. When she looked back at Heather, she had anger in her eyes. "I sent you what I saw today, and I earned that window seat! I work harder than anyone here!"

"I told you, seating is assigned based on seniority! That's company policy!" Heather snapped back.

The two women glared at each other as they caught their breath.

Heather finally realized she was handling this less professionally than she should be. Her embarrassment had gotten away from her and led to poor decisions. As she cooled, she realized she really shouldn't have come to see Lindsey. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself.

"How will you explain why we were yelling at each other?" Lindsey asked belligerently.

Heather thought about that. "It's safer to say nothing. I suggest you do the same."

With that, Heather opened the door and headed back to her office.

Lindsey straightened her skirt and took a deep breath. She stepped outside and glanced around. The coast was clear. She began walking back to her desk when she heard doors opening behind her. She turned to see her friends stepping out of the small conference rooms on either side of the one she'd exited. The four ladies were not smiling.

"Barb? Gene?" Lindsay began, but all four turned their faces from her and walked away, their silence voicing their disgust for her far more clearly than a shout.

Lindsay looked towards the meeting rooms and reviewed what was said in her mind. Her gut clenched as she realized they likely knew what she'd done to Cindy, who'd been their favorite sales assistant.

Suddenly, her efforts to oust Cindy felt petty, and the value of getting the coveted window seat unimportant.

She knew these women. They'd never forgive her, and her career here was over.

She'd just burned her last bridge in this company.

It may be time to move on, but she wasn't leaving empty-handed.

-=-

Friday morning, Elaine arrived fifteen minutes early for work. This was yet another example of a behavior shift for her. She'd experienced a number of them this week. She normally timed her day to arrive at nine AM and leave at five PM unless a project extended her day.

Being early? Never, until today.

She knew that James got a lift to work with his mother, so he was in the building from six-thirty AM until Raquel left for the day, often late in the evening. He told Elaine he used the early and after hours for his reading time.

They'd begun discussing their favorite authors and books as they ate lunch together, making Elaine anticipate her noon meal. Before, it was just a routine necessity.

Yesterday's lunch hour had been particularly fun as James used his cell to show her his favorite websites for online stories. She spotted a bookmark for a site called Literotica and watched him squirm as he quickly explained how good the stories were there. She enjoyed teasing him about this but had him send her the link so she could check it out herself. He seemed pleased.

While James always appeared delighted to see her in the morning, she'd noted his gaze became somewhat fixated when she wore slightly more form-fitting clothing, especially her leather boots. That attention sent those delightful tingles down her spine. In the week he'd been working for her, she'd come to crave that sensation.

Today, she stepped slightly outside her comfort zone when it came to work attire. She had on a lovely white silk blouse that clung just a little to her full breasts, supported by a sexy black lace bra, barely visible within. Over this was a stylish black leather jacket worn open. While this attire was fashionable and not uncommon in their business environment, it was out of the ordinary yet still acceptable for her.

It was her tight black leather pants that were going to draw attention. The ankle-height leather boots completed the look.

She had no concerns regarding what the other employees thought. Only James' opinion mattered.

When she arrived in the building, she noted eyes were turning in her direction, but she ignored them. She took the elevator up to the top floor and walked down the hall, struggling to keep the smile off her lips as she anticipated James' expression. As she turned into her doorway, she spotted the back of the CEO as she stood before her son, criticizing him for his lack of ambition. She caught a reference to his twenty-fifth birthday.

Raquel turned to face her when she saw James' eyes flick to the entrance and widen in surprise. She took in the bold and aggressive outfit her in-house counsel was wearing and froze momentarily.

While Elaine was less than pleased to see the CEO in her waiting room, the look of absolute worship James was giving her sent shockwaves of pleasure through her. It was far better than she'd expected and gave her pause as she'd never felt this way before. With a sigh, she turned her attention to her boss and gave her a slight smile. "You're a little early this morning, Raquel."

"What the hell are you wearing? We're going to court this morning!" the chief executive complained.

Elaine held her eye. "What I wear has no bearing on my performance in a courtroom. My outfit is suitable for attending a court of law."

"Only if you're the defendant in a solicitation case!" Raquel barked.

"Mother! You will apologize to Ms. Montgomery immediately!"

The two women turned to face James, standing behind his desk, fists braced on the surface, blue eyes boring into the CEO's shocked ones.

"This is a professional office. We keep our words civil and polite," he said sternly.

Raquel's mouth opened and closed as she tried to understand who was speaking to her. What happened to the spineless pushover her youngest had become?

"It's all right, James. I'm sure Raquel didn't mean it and won't do it again. Just a little pre-court jitters, yes?" Elaine said with a smile that spoke volumes about how pleased she was with her Executive Assistant.

Raquel watched her son soak up the woman's approval like it was the most delicious ambrosia. He settled back in his chair, and his eyes pinned hers once more. The force in his gaze actually made her take a small step back. She found herself apologizing.

"He-he's right. That was uncalled for. My apologies." She felt a little off-balance as she glanced between the two.

"Thank you. How about I come to your office in five minutes?" Elaine suggested.

"Yes, fine," Raquel answered as she left with a glance back at her son.

When they were alone, Elaine moved to stand before James' desk. She enjoyed how he struggled to keep himself from running his eyes up and down her body. He appeared to be practically vibrating with his need to do so. Her body was reacting to that need, but she wasn't certain what to do about it. This was new to her.

An impish desire arose. "You don't think what I'm wearing is inappropriate, do you?" She slowly spun before him, giving him tacit approval to look at her tight clothing and her body. When she turned her leather-clad ass towards him, she heard the quietest gasps as he tried to keep his breathing under control. When she faced him again, she saw an almost desperate look in his lovely blue eyes, and his fidgeting increased.

"N-not at all! You look s-s-stunning!" he stammered and gushed, heat flushing his cheeks.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said with a coy smile as she bowed slightly to him, displaying a little more cleavage. If his eyes grew any larger, they'd fall out. That delicious tingle coursed through her body, filling her with an almost euphoric lightness of being. She gave herself a little shake to come back to Earth.

"I'll be in court this morning with Raquel, settling an issue our head of HR created for the company with one of the Sales Assistants who just quit. I may not be back until after lunch.

James tried but couldn't keep the disappointment from his expression. She gave him a curious look. "I was hoping to discuss the next chapter with you," he explained.

She smiled at him. "If you'd like, we can discuss it after work."

"Yes! I mean, I'd like that very much!" he exclaimed happily.

"It's a date," she replied, catching herself once the words were out. Her cheeks warmed up as she turned and walked out into the hallway. She touched her face gently as she went to Raquel's office. She wondered what was getting into her. She composed herself before entering the CEO's waiting room.

Raquel's Executive Assistant asked her to take a seat and then picked up her phone to let her boss know she was here. The CEO made her wait an additional five minutes, then exited her office, and Elaine fell in slightly behind and beside her as they walked down the hall to the elevators. Neither spoke until they entered the limo in the basement garage. The privacy glass was up between them and the driver, so they were free to talk, but Elaine waited for Raquel to begin.

"How has James been working out for you?" she said, launching her opening salvo.

Elaine nodded to the woman. "I have no complaints. He's quickly become indispensable for managing my time for me."

Raquel nodded to herself. She seemed to have something on her mind, but she couldn't put it into words.

They drove for a time then Raquel finally turned to face Elaine. "James doesn't have a forceful bone in his body. No matter how hard I tried, I could never get him to stand up for himself. His brothers and sisters all figured it out eventually and began making something of themselves, but not James. They tormented the boy so much when I wasn't there." She looked out the window, caught in some bad memories. "I thought he'd eventually fight back, but he never did. He never so much as raised his voice, especially to me." She looked at Elaine with a troubled expression. "Until today. He came to your defense. Why?"

Elaine just shook her head gently as she held the woman's eyes.

"I saw steel in my son's eyes for the first time in my life, and I find myself at a complete loss to explain it. I want to be happy, but I don't understand where that strength came from. He's been the victim for so much of his life—"