solved disputes with the Wisdom of Solomon and delivered quips like a seasoned stand-up comic. Birch who sat at the other end of the table chimed in only occasionally. He, too, recognized the high that Davies was on and was more than willing to take full advantage of it. Everyone filed out of the meeting full and happy, and when they were all nearly gone, he turned to me with a beatific smile before gathering his notepad and file folder and following the crowd.
I stood there stunned for a full five minutes before I found my way back to my office. Our little interlude the night before had pleased him. I had to think what to do with this revelation. I had to think whether or not I would proceed. It was clear that he saw it as a beginning, but I wasn’t sure it was something I could do or even wanted to do. I got my purse and told Claire, Davies’s assistant cum secretary, that I wasn’t feeling well and was going home for the afternoon.
Davies called, but I didn’t answer the phone so he left a message on my machine expressing his concern and wishing me well. The next morning I’d made up my mind. I handed Bruce a key card to a room I’d rented at a Super 8 off I-75 south. It was clean and catered to families on road trips to Six Flags or Disneyland. I’d stayed there the night before and watched the mothers sit under umbrella-covered tables and sip soda from cans while their kids splashed around in the tiny kidney-shaped pool just off the parking lot. The fathers spent their time loading and unloading SUVs and Volvo station wagons.
He held the key in the palm of his hand as though he wasn’t sure what it was. The hooded look he cast me seemed uncertain for a moment, but it disappeared quickly and turned blank. I told him to go there at nine, to shower well and wear a polo shirt, jeans and sandals, nothing else. He nodded and tucked the key into an inside pocket. He asked no questions and we continued our day as though we hadn’t spoken of the coming evening. We sat through a brainstorming session with the team assigned to Alex’s new furniture line, had lunch with a potential client, met with another client who was less than pleased with the cost of production for a series of thirty-second spots. The day ended just before five after the two of us met with Claire to update our schedules and give Claire instructions regarding letters and contracts that needed to be generated. Through all of this, he never touched me or gave me a look that was out of the ordinary. I followed his lead, but I must admit that I was a bit nervous and suffered from inattentiveness from time to time, but no one seemed to notice.
When I heard the door click and then open, I was finishing up in the bathroom. “Glory,” he called in an almost whisper.
“Here,” I replied. “Take a seat on the bed. I’m almost done.” I heard the door close, the click of the security lock, followed by the soft swish of the mattress as he sat down. I’d slipped on the thigh high stockings, the black thong and the thigh length black silk robe with the pink dragon embroidered on the back. I’d already done my eyes, shading and lining them with dark colors and brushed out my hair so that it was full and wild. I finished the makeup bit with a smudge of blush, lipstick and a smear of rouge on my nipples as an afterthought. OK. I was ready. All I needed now was courage. He could wait. The wait would be good for him. I slipped my hand deep into my thong and stroked my clitoris and the lips of my vagina until I was moist. The blood rushed into the little nub causing it to jut out between the lips. I held on to the rim of the washbasin to steady my legs. A flush stained my face and my eyes were dark and bright, I moistened my lips with my tongue and smiled at the hot girl in the mirror. Tugging my thong back into place, I stood up, dabbed a quick towel under my breasts to remove any dampness and decided that I was ready to play.
I opened the door and