She was thumbing through a catalogue at her desk. Grace was at lunch and she actually trusted her to watch the business. She wasn't there to work though, and she knew that by then. She was hired for the fact that she was a high profile woman, with high profile friends. For a moment she resented that fact, but the more she got to know Grace, the more she realized that she wasn't that kind of person. She was nice and she didn't judge her. So, in return, Karen refused her paychecks and passed Grace's business cards out to whoever she could. She knew how much the business was struggling so she decided to do her part and help. It was the least she could do since she was virtually worthless around the office.
"You must be Karen." She jumped at the voice in the doorway and turned to face a man. He was tall and she found him very attractive. She smiled, the way she always did when she met a man. She couldn't help herself. She was a flirter.
"Of course I am, honey." She reached her hand towards him and he took it in his own. "Who are you?"
"I'm Will."
"Oh, the gay one." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She rolled her eyes at her sudden boldness. "Did I offend you?"
"No. I know I'm gay." He smiled and she returned it, relieved that he had a sense of humor, even if it did seem kind of dull.
"Of course." She wasn't sure how to make conversation with men without flirting so she decided to skip it. It wouldn't do her any good with a gay man anyway. "Grace just left for lunch a few minutes ago. Sorry you missed her." He pulled a stool up to sit next to her desk. She eyed him suspiciously.
"Is it okay if I wait?" She nodded and turned to look at her magazine. "So, are you married?" She held up her left hand, showing her wedding ring in response. "Any kids?"
"Two stepchildren."
"I'm not married."
"That's because you're gay." He noticed that she seemed to be a distant person. Her answers were short. From what Grace said, she was a very nice woman once she became comfortable. He didn't think he was making her uncomfortable so he decided to continue.
"So, how long have you been married?"
"Too long."
"Do you not like me or something?" She looked at him and squinted her eyes, an annoyed look on her face.
"Why the hell wouldn't I like you? I don't even know you, honey."
"You don't have to sound so rude." He picked up one of the bottles of nail polish off her desk to look at it. She snatched it away and slammed it back down on the desk.
"Look who's rude. You come in here and start digging at my life. It's none of your business. We're not gal pals."
"I was trying to get to know you a little. Grace likes you so I thought I'd make an effort. I guess she doesn't know that she works with a snotty bitch." She stood from her chair and burned his eyes with her own as he stood to meet her gaze. Nobody talked to Karen Walker like that.
"Well, you're a queer so I guess that makes you a bitch too." He came back with an even harsher response and they were soon in a yelling match. They didn't even know each other, but they definitely got off on the wrong foot. Grace walked into the office, early to return from lunch, to hear hateful words being exchanged between her best friend and her assistant.
"What the hell is going on?" Grace shouted over the feud. The room became silent and two pairs of eyes were quick to meet hers. "I could hear you two all the way down the hall."
"I'll call you later Grace." He kissed her cheek and walked out the door. Karen stared after him, an odd steam boiling in her veins. She was so angry. She had felt so numb to life for so long that it felt oddly good to be angry, to argue. She got some sort of rush out of it.
"Karen, what happened?" She shrugged and sat back down at her desk.
"He started asking questions and picking around at the stuff on my desk. Then he had the balls to call me rude." She picked up a nail file and sighed to herself. "He's arrogant."
"Yeah, he gets that way. He just broke up with his boyfriend of seven years so he's been kind of off. Hey maybe you could come over for a game night sometime. You know, you two could try to get to know each other." She had to give Grace credit for trying, but she already disliked the man.
"Maybe, honey." She just left it at that.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She closed her eyes as her husband made love to her. No, he wasn't making love to her. He was just screwing her, hoping to get himself off as he did so. He was heavy against her, for weighing so much, but warmth was building in her stomach so she didn't mind too much. She felt him shiver and fill her before he quickly pulled out, just as she was finding the edge of her feelings. He walked into the bathroom and she was left breathing heavily on the bed, groaning in frustration.
She hurriedly reached down her body to finish by herself. Her orgasm struck her, but it wasn't the same as if it were inflicted by another person. However, it still felt wonderful and she sighed when she was finished. She laid her head back and relaxed.
"Karen, get some clothes on. What would happen if one of the kids walked in and saw you like that?" He had dressed and was staring at her.
"Then they'd learn to knock." He was taken aback. Since when did she talk back to him like that? When he first met her she was very outspoken when it came to her opinion, but he soon tamed her when she agreed to marry him. It shocked him to hear a bit of the old her coming back.
"Get some clothes on." She rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket over her naked body. "That is not the same."
"Honey, don't you have anything better to do than pick on me?"
"What the hell has gotten in to you? Ever since you've started working at that office, you've been lippy. I won't have you talk to me like that, Karen." She sat up and looked angrily into his eyes, holding the blanket to her chest.
"You're my husband, not my father. Don't talk to me like that." He returned her angry look, but didn't speak. For the first time in their marriage, he backed down from an argument. She smiled at the fact that maybe she had won and laid back down in the bed.
"I'm going out." He grabbed a clean change of clothes before he left the room. She felt oddly hurt by his gesture, even though she was furious at him. That was how she always felt after they had sex. He never waited for her, never cared whether or not she was satisfied. He just used her for his own pleasure and tossed her aside. She didn't remember the last time they had climaxed together. She didn't even remember the last time he had kissed her lips. That was such a disturbing thought to her. She didn't realize that marriage to a rich man meant so many things. All she wanted from life was happiness, and clearly she did not have it.
She sighed and stood from the bed to make herself a drink. She was still stark naked, but she didn't care. She felt good when she was naked, maybe free from confinement. She stood at the mini-bar and looked through the bottles. She used to only drink at social events, but recently she was drinking a lot more. It was difficult for her to get drunk anymore, but she loved the feeling of being tipsy. It made her feel like a different person, someone she liked. She took a swig from a bottle of vodka and sighed at the burning sensation in her throat. After allowing the feeling to settle, she walked back to her bed and sat down. Her plan was to drink herself to sleep, and that was exactly what she did. Stan never came home.
