Chapter Two
The first day on the job was full of ups and downs. Alice showed up exactly at eight, even though she didn't have to start until nine. Alice was always on time, it was her one true virtue. She wore a burnt orange silk jersey dress that hugged her body in all the right places. It had a deep v-neck, sleeves that ended just below her elbows, and the hem came to just above her knee. With it she wore a brown silk scarf at her neck to hide her cleavage and a belt made of big gold links. The belt settled right at her hips. Nude silk stockings and dark brown slingbacks completed the outfit. She thought she looked corporate.
Her dress was perfectly respectable, but somehow on her body the dress was more revealing than she realized. Heads turned as she walked through the lobby, her caramel curls bouncing.
She had just made it into the elevator and the doors were sliding closed when someone stuck their hand in and they re-opened. Jasper came in and maneuvered himself against the back wall and stood right by her. Her heart thumped and her knees went weak. Her full lips curved into a smile as she looked down at her shoes. "It has to be a secret." she repeated in her head over and over again. She hadn't realized how hard it would be to hide her smile when she saw him. She felt his hand on her lower back, he slid it further down and caressed her bottom. Alice felt liquid heat between her thighs.
The elevator moved upwards, emptying its occupants a few at a time on each floor. It was a slow process. On the fourteenth floor the elevator doors opened and the last two women got out. The door closed with only Alice and Jasper remaining, as soon as it sealed them in he turned and pressed his body against hers and pushed her into the corner. She responded by pressing herself against his long lean body. It felt so good.
He kissed her quickly and drew away before it became too intense, then lazily murmured, "I'll call Maria at about eleven for her to bring you to my office where we usually welcome the incoming architects. I e-mailed Jonathan this morning and informed him that you were recommended by a professor at Pratt that I know. So as far as they're concerned, that professor is our connection." The elevator doors opened onto the sixteenth floor. Jasper started to get out.
She grabbed his arm to delay him. "Wait! What's the professor's name?" She whispered urgently.
"Plum. Professor Plum." he winked and walked out of the elevator.
Alice burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that she couldn't get off the elevator. She stood in the corner, laughing and clutching her belly. The elevator doors started to close and she hurriedly pushed and held down the 'door open' button and staggered off the elevator, her body still shaking with laughter. She couldn't stop. The receptionist at the giant curving desk looked at her oddly.
Alice gasped, "Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
The receptionist, a pretty young blonde, pointed down the hall to the right.
Alice suppressed her giggles as she made her way down the hallway to the bathroom. She had to take some minutes to recover and repair her make-up. Every time she thought about Jasper, she thought about Professor Plum. How on earth was she going to keep a straight face? Was she supposed to be Ms Scarlett in the conservatory? Or was he Mr. Green? Better yet, was he Mr Body in the library? "That's probably a better choice," she said to herself, "he does have quite a body!" she giggled again.
Alice returned to the reception area after a few minutes. She introduced herself as the new architect and asked to see Ms. Blake or Mr. Reed.
"Ms. Blake isn't here yet, but I'll call Mr. Reed."
Mr. Reed came within seconds. "Hello Ms. Swan, it's a pleasure to welcome you to Hale Designs. As I told you yesterday, I'm personnel manager and Ms Blake is Sr. Project manager. "We'll go to my office, where you'll sign a few papers; your contract and medical benefits." It took no time at all and then she was back in the hall. "I'll show you to your office and you can get settled and then I'll introduce you to your supervisor and your co-workers."
Alice was surprised, she could hardly believe that this was the same morose Jonathan Reed that she interviewed with yesterday. He was smiling and engaging. He stopped by a cubicle every now and then to introduce her to the people she'd be working with and then continued down the hall to her office.
"And here is your office." He said with a flourish as he opened a door. Alice was impressed. The office was much larger than the cubicle she had imagined. There was a large wooden desk a drafting table, a leather armchair and a small table with a bamboo plant. One accent wall was painted in a sapphire blue color and the other walls were off-white. It had an airy, breezy feel. The fourth wall had a large window with a view of the Bay Bridge. "Wow, what a view!" She gasped.
"Take a few minutes to settle in and I'll send my secretary in to help you get supplies and whatever else you might need. Your supervisor will be Paul Kincaid and he will be here at about nine-thirty to give you a rundown of your duties, you will be working directly for him."
"Thanks."
"You're very welcome." Jonathan closed the door and she was alone. "Wow." she said again to herself. "This can't be true."
She wondered what the other offices looked like if this was the office that was given to the newest, most junior architect. Then she started to worry. Was this office given to her because Jasper requested it? She decided that she would start snooping. She opened the door and bumped into a short young woman, who was just about to knock, she was probably in her early twenties.
"Oh,hi, I'm Lauren Yee. Jonathan's secretary, he says that you need some supplies and maybe some other things."
"Yes, Lauren, come on in." Alice tried to make a quick assessment of her. "What do you usually order for the new hires?"
"Well I usually don't order for most of them, they usually go to the supply room and pick most things up. But I guess when they need to they usually order draft paper, pencils, erasers, tape, push pins, markers, you know… supplies. Except for Tommy Grant, he orders a bunch of artsy shit. He's really an aspiring artist, this just pays the rent you know. Then there's Coreen, she is really particular about her brands, so I don't do anything for her." Lauren Yee chewed her gum and waited tapping one foot.
Alice realized that she couldn't ask Lauren Yee anything about her office, if she did it would get around. "Okay, go ahead and order the supplies you think I'll need. Thank you, that's all the help I'll need for now." Alice opened the door and Lauren Yee left. She'll just have to wait for Paul Kincaid.
Alice went to sit at her desk. The phone rang. "Hello, this is Alice Swan."
"This is Derek from IT. I need to install your laptop and your PC, give you a user ID and password. Are you busy or can I come up now?"
"Now is fine."
Five minutes later Derek was in her office. She had to move from her desk, he was crawling under there, hooking up wires and she went to wait by window and looked out onto the view. She wished she had binoculars or better yet a telescope, she was sure she could find her house across the bay in the Berkeley Hills fifteen miles away.
The phone rang again. "Hello, this is Alice Swan."
"Colonel Mustard here."
A laugh burst out before she could control herself. Derek looked up from under the desk. She turned her back to him and bit her lip. "Hello Colonel, how are you?"
"Fine, Ms Scarlett. I'm just missing you, and counting the minutes. Is everything going okay?
"Fine. I just have a few questions for you but now isn't the time or the place."
"Is someone there?"
"Yes, you could say that."
"Okay, about eleven o'clock then."
"Yes, thank you very much, Colonel."
As she hung up, there was a knock on her door. She opened it. A bald, chubby man in his early forties was standing in the doorway. "Hi there, I'm Paul Kincaid."
"Well hello, it's nice to meet you." Alice grasped his outstretched hand with hers and gave him a firm handshake.
"Welcome aboard. I hear you were hand-picked by the boss for the job." He let out a long wolf whistle. "And believe me, I can see why. Congratulations." His nasty implication was clear, and it hit a nerve. Alice was surprised by the direct frontal attack.
"Who did you hear that from?" her voice was also direct, but ice cold. If Paul Kincaid thought that she was a wimp he was wrong.
"A little bird." He was dismissive. Did he rally think she would take that shit?
"Really, I'd like to know that little bird's name." She walked right up to Paul Kincaid and came close enough to have him take a step back. Her voice was low but biting. "I don't think the circumstances of my hire should be gossiped about, do you?" Her green eyes stared into his light hazel ones. He gulped.
"No. I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to come out the way that it did." He started to back pedal. "We weren't gossiping, Jonathan simply mentioned that you came highly recommended by a friend of the boss."
"That is true, one of my professors. And I would appreciate it if you would not discuss this with anyone else. I find it highly unprofessional. You've just implied by your whistle that I got the job not by my qualifications but by my appearance. I wouldn't ever say that again if I were you, or it could get ugly in here."
"I haven't done any work yet and you have no reason to doubt my qualifications. If in the future you have doubts or concerns regarding my job performance, you should probably bring it up with Mr. Hale. I think that's what Mr. Hale would expect. I understand that you are my immediate supervisor and we have to work closely together, so I would like that relationship to be mutually respectful. Or I'll have to make a formal complaint."
"Yes. I'm sorry I wasn't intending to be disrespectful."
Alice nodded. "Well you were, very disrespectful, both to me and Mr Hale. But your apology is accepted, as long as it doesn't happen again." KIncaid nodded. "I believe Mr. Reed said that you would show me around, give me assignments and introduce me to my co-workers."
Derek cleared his throat. "Ms Swan, if you're ready, here is your user ID and you can pick your password."
Alice sat at her desk as Derek guided her through the steps. She realized that Kincaid was standing there waiting like a lackey but she didn't care. When she was done she got up from the desk and Paul opened the door for her as she walked through.
Paul showed her around the office and introduced her to the staff. "How many employees does the company have?"
"Sixty or thereabouts. Twenty architects. And we occupy three suites in the building. Fourteenth is IT and supplies and mailroom. Fifteenth is marketing, clerical and accounting. Sixteenth is architects and support personnel."
"So all twenty architects are on this floor?"
"Yeah. And we work on projects in teams of six or seven. Group leader, mid-level and intern. We have secretaries and assistants."
"Who's in our group?"
"Myself, you and Aleksandr are the architects. The secretaries and assistants are Victoria, Tiffany, Willa and James."
Walking around the office, Alice noticed that the assistants were cubicle dwellers and the architects had offices. She felt relieved. But she noticed that some of them shared offices, or had smaller offices than she did. She hoped that it wouldn't be a problem.
At ten-fifty Maria Blake came to Alice's office. Her black and grey streaked hair reminded Alice of a skunk. She could not be more than forty-five, yet she was like the Ms Grumpy of the office. Yikes! She was even more sour and morose than yesterday. She was clearly not too happy to see Alice in that office. "Mr. Hale asked me to bring you to his office so that we can give you the company welcome." Her voice was anything but welcoming. She had a giant rod up her ass.
Alice walked shoulder to shoulder with Ms Grumpy to Jasper's office. Alice did not quicken her step when Grumpy tried to out stride her, instead she slowed down and asked questions, which forced Ms Grumpy to slow down.
Jasper had the gigantic corner office, naturally. He had two huge windows, one giving a panoramic view of the East Bay, and the other a spectacular view of North Beach, Marin and the Golden Gate Bridge. She was surprised that almost all the architects were gathered there, champagne glasses in hand.
Jasper cleared his throat and with a twinkle in his eyes he introduced her. "Good morning everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Ms Alice Swan. She has her M.A. in architectural design from Pratt Institute in New York, and she comes to us from Gragin and Patton, a prestigious design firm in New York." Everyone murmured their awe. "Ms Swan, I'd like to welcome you to Hale Designs and on behalf of our whole team we hope you will be very happy with us."
They all raised a toast to her. "Here. Here." Wow what a welcome, Alice thought to herself, and all for me.
"Would you like to make a statement, Ms. Swan?" Mr. Hale asked.
She had nothing prepared so she had no choice but to wing it. Her voice was husky with nerves. "Well, thank you Mr. Hale for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I am very excited to be here. I've read that Hale Designs has the very best young architects and that it is the kind of company that values creativity, aesthetic integrity and a personal point of view. I've never been afraid to be bold, different and cutting edge and I hope that I will fit in perfectly."
"Here. Here." and they drank some more.
The group milled about talking. Jasper approached Alice. "Nice little speech."
"Thanks for putting me on the spot." She teased.
"I knew you could handle it. You can handle anything, can't you?"
"I try. By the way I like your little welcoming celebration. It's really a touching tradition."
"This is not a tradition, where did you get that idea? This is just for you, Alice, just for you." He tried for a straight-face but he wasn't good at it.
"Yeah, right! That's not what you said on the phone." Alice laughed, and when heads swung toward them she realized that they were in a corner by the window, bodies almost touching. "I should mingle." she told him, pulling away.
His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, keeping her close. "But you are. You're mingling with me. I'd like to take you to lunch." he whispered.
"I don't think I should. I've gotten strange looks, strange vibes and strange innuendos." She murmured. "Why am I in that big office all alone? I think that some people are going to get upset."
He look puzzled and he requested, "Take me to your office, I want to see it."
They left everyone still mingling and walked back down the hall. Alice opened the door and Jasper followed her in. "Do you see what I mean? I'm the lowest man on the totem pole and I get a large office to myself. I saw other architects sharing offices, and some in much smaller offices than this."
"You're not the lowest man on the totem pole. I hired you as a mid-level architect, not as an intern."
"But why? I have no experience."
"You had two years' internship with a top notch architectural firm in New York. That qualifies you for mid-range salary. And I saw your designs, you have a real gift. You would be wasted as an intern."
Alice still had her doubts. "Jasper, be honest. If we didn't have a…. little thing going on, would my designs and my internship qualify me for this office and this position?"
"Yes, it would. I like your ideas and I feel you'd be wasted on the bottom rung. In my opinion there is no other mid-level architect who has more talent than you." He raised his right hand. "I swear that assessment has nothing to do with how I feel about you."
Alice was genuinely pleased by his opinion of her work. She stepped closer to him, her body barely brushing the front of his, deliberately tantalizing. "How do you feel about me?" she asked as she slid her arms under his jacket and around his waist.
"I'm crazy about you. Don't you know?" He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to his body. Alice's body curved into his and she waited, but he didn't kiss her.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to kiss me here?" Alice whispered.
"I do, but if I start I may not be able to stop." His voice was already ragged and his breathing was heavy.
Alice slid her arms from around him and went to get her bag. "Let's go to lunch." They walked out of her office together. All eyes were on them but Alice didn't care. Let them talk, if worse came to worse, she would quit. She had no intention of flaunting her relationship with Jasper but she wasn't going to go to elaborate lengths to hide it either.
They walked to the elevators together. Not touching but yearning to. Jasper stopped at the reception desk. "Jessica, tell my secretary that I'm going to lunch and tell Mr. Kincaid that Ms. Swan is at lunch with me. We'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Yes, Mr. Hale.
Jasper and Alice waited by the elevators, eagerly anticipating the moment when they would be able to touch. One elevator came and it was packed, so they let it go by. Alice felt Jessica's eyes on her. She turned and directed a clear, steady gaze in her direction and Jessica looked away.
The other elevator came and the two occupants were deep in conversation. They got on. Jasper jabbed at the button and they whizzed all the way down without a stop. Jasper reached for her hand as they walked across the lobby, navigating through the lunchtime body traffic. Finally, they were outside in the sunshine. Jasper and Alice exchanged their first kiss of the day. He raised a hand and yelled, "Taxi."
It was a repeat performance of the day before. Jasper opened the door to his apartment and their lips locked as they undressed. They tumbled to the couch, Jasper pulled her to him and sucked her tight nipple. Then he licked a fire down her body. He opened her like a flower petal "Alice you taste so good." His rough tongue stroked her nub and she moved her hips urgently. She held his head between her thighs, begging him not to stop.
When she was trembling with need he sat up and pulled her onto his lap to straddle him. Alice raised up onto her knees and smoothed the condom on. Her eyes looked into his as she guided him in and slid all the way down. "Ohhh, you feel so big, and so deliciously good."
Jasper held her hips as she moved up and down on his cock. "You have the most beautiful nipples I've ever seen, red and juicy like the inside of a cherry. Fuck, I want to suck all your juices out." he groaned.
"Suck me babe, suck and fuck me 'til I come." she urged.
Alice held onto his shoulders and rocked on his lap until she felt the hairs on her head begin stand up. He slipped a hand between their bodies and his thumb rubbed her nub. His finger rubbing, his tongue sucking and his body in hers combined gave her a pleasure so intense that she moaned his name as her body shuddered in her orgasm." "Ohhh, yeees! Yeees! You're fucking good, Jasper."
"Mmm Good." Jasper held her hips above his and continued to pump up into her until his body released his juices in the pulsing heat of his own orgasm. Alice's sweat slicked body lay quietly against his as she struggled to regain her breath.
The flat was quiet but for their labored breathing. Jasper stroked her back as she lay there in his arms. "I love sex with you." she whispered.
"I love sex with you too. It's perfect, everything about it is perfect." She smiled up at him and he bent to kiss her.
"Jasper, I don't want you to worry about your company and people finding out about 'us'. I don't want you walking on eggshells at the office. I can handle any gossip that comes my way. And if things get too hairy I'll find another job."
He smiled as he rubbed her lips. "I'm not worried about anyone finding out, I thought you were. My only worry today was that I would be screwing you on the floor of your office and that loud noises would be emanating from behind your door."
Alice reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "You just planted a sexual fantasy in my brain. One night, after everyone is gone, I want to do it with you on every surface of that office; the reception desk, the conference table and the boss's couch. And I want to make you moan so loudly that the walls will shake."
"You are the most fantastic woman I've ever met, do you know that? When you say these things I feel as though I've lived a sheltered life."
Alice laughed. "Are you accusing me of using my wicked female wiles to corrupt you?"
"I like wicked female wiles, use them as often as you want to." he bent down and sucked her nipple. He pinched the other one between his thumb and finger and squeezed hard. "I have never in my life seen tits as beautiful as yours. They're full and juicy, and the color of your nipples drive me crazy. They're like red hots. Man candy." and he licked them with his rough tongue, she felt her body clench again in anticipation.
"Suck harder. Bite!" She urged him on.
While Jasper sucked her nipples, Alice closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feeling. He pressed her back onto the couch, he was ready to go again. His lips journeyed down to her belly and kissed her hips. He spread her thighs open as he searched with his tongue for her sweet nub. "So beautiful, like a glass of wine, deep red and delicious." He licked her wet folds and put his tongue in as far as it would go. Alice had no idea how he was doing what he was doing but she was going to come soon. Her hips moved in circles as he ate her into paradise. "Mmmm. Don't stop, it feels so good."
He rose up and put on a condom and shoved himself into her hot luscious wetness. After just a few strokes she was sailing to heaven. "Jasper, Jasper, Jasper. You are so good. You feel so good in me."
"Alice, kiss me." She raised herself up on her arms and licked his lips with her tongue, running it from side to side. Jasper gripped her hair and held her steady as he ravaged her mouth with his. His tongue roved restlessly in her mouth, she licked the insides of his cheek and roof of his mouth, he groaned and she did it again and again.
Alice felt the deep fluttering orgasm start and she fell back onto the couch. She moved her arms around him and gripped his shoulders as she was carried helplessly on the wave of her climax. Her body jerked in spasms, and her heart thumped heavily in her chest. "Ohhhh god , Ohhh god, Ohhh." She opened her eyes and saw Jasper's jaw clenching and his blue eyes looking at her intently. He was drenched in sweat and he shouted as he came to a heart stopping climax and fell on her soft wet body.
They lay there quietly as their pulses returned to normal. Alice was sure that she had never had sex this good. Ever. Was it his length? Was it his thickness? She wasn't sure but it seemed as though Jasper's body was made for hers.
"I'm in lust, so in lust." Alice thought as she smiled to herself.
#
Jasper and Alice took a long hot shower and dressed to go back to the office. "We didn't eat lunch, my belly is growling." Alice complained.
"I'll have my secretary order something when we get back. What do you want?"
"A sandwich and a salad should be fine."
They took the ten minute taxi ride and rode up the elevator back up to the sixteenth floor. Alice realized that it would be obvious to everyone how they had spent their lunch. Jasper's hair was still wet from the shower they had taken together, the end of her fat curls were damp with steam and they both smelled of the same soap. Alice noticed that Jessica averted her eyes when they walked past her desk. Jasper opened her office door and let her in, then followed her inside. "Come here and kiss me." He demanded, and Alice willingly kissed him, running her tongue against his, until they broke apart, hearts thumping erratically. "Mmm. I could do that all day. I'll order Turkey and avocado is that okay?"
Alice nodded and he left. She flopped into the leather armchair. Her mother was right, she was crazy to take up this affair. How can they go on like this? Two hour lunches full of lovemaking were delicious, but not too smart. She wasn't so much worried that people would talk but she did worry that she wouldn't be able to do the job.
Alice was on the laptop when Jasper's secretary brought her lunch. She noticed that unlike the others in the office this woman had a sincere smile as she introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Charlotte, Mr. Hale's secretary, he sent me with this for you."
"Thank you Charlotte, and tell him thanks from me will you?"
"Yes, Ms Swan." and she left. Alice wanted a secretary just like Jasper's, one who wasn't going to bother with judgment and gossip. Her first order of business would be to find someone who can work with her and be loyal, like Charlotte was to Jasper.
She pulled the sandwich, salad and soft drink out of the bag and found a note at the bottom. "Mmm, mmm good." he had written and he signed it 'Colonel Mustard'. Alice sat back and ate her sandwich and smiled, happily remembering the afternoon with the sexy hunk Colonel Mustard.