by Jamie Knight
With a most unladylike sound of frustration, Lauren stomped off to her desk. No doubt steaming over the fact that she had done work that I hadn’t had to achieve the same goal. I had gotten one over on her and she knew it even if she wasn’t about to say it out loud.
At the appointed time, we all met in the conference room, Mitch Peters conspicuous by his absence.
“You want to do the honors?” Max asked as we went in.
“Um, sure,” I said, surprised but pleased that he trusted me with such a responsibility.
“Guard them with your life,” he joked, handing me two index cards.
With Max taking his usual seat at the head of the table, I stood beside him, getting ready for the big moment. I was no mind reader but was pretty sure that I was as curious about the winners as the other agents.
“It has been a very difficult decision. You have all done really well and MP Solutions has gained more new clients in the last month than I ever thought possible. But in the end, the figures spoke for themselves and two winners have been chosen. Carrie?”
“The first winner is - Thomas.”
There was a smattering of applause and a few pats on the back. Everyone at least respected Thomas, if not actually liked him, me included. I tried to keep it subtle to avoid any accusations of vote fixing or whatever, but I was very happy for him.
When things calmed down a bit, it was time to read the name of the second winner. The other person that we would be spending two weeks within the Bahamas.
“And the second winner is,” my heart sank as I turned over the card, “Lauren.”
Lauren smirked in that stuck up way that would make most people want to smack her, just to change the expression.
“Congratulations to the winners,” I said, handed the card back to Max, doing my best to keep my hand from shaking.
By the end of the day, my fate was sealed, for good or ill. Max announced a firm start date for the trip. Which was to commence in two weeks.
Chapter Seven - Max
The time was nigh. I already had my bag packed. The same one from the dream and the only one that I owned in that or any other reality. I laid out my clothes and got into them as quickly as possible. The car was already on its way.
I had more time than I thought when I put my breakfast dishes away. I put them back in the cupboard, as opposed to the sink as I normally would. I wouldn’t be back for a while. I smiled again, once again reminded of what was happening. I was going to be with Carrie for two weeks. Sure, others were going to be there too, but being with Carrie in relatively close quarters in a generally casual setting was paramount in my mind.
Easing into the lovely back seat, I felt the smooth, soft leather under me, and the intoxicating smell filled my senses. I couldn’t help but smile. I wasn’t sure if I had locked my townhouse door after leaving in such a hurry when I got the text from the driver, but I was also too lost in euphoria to care.
Thomas and Lauren were already in the main terminal when I got there. Their drivers were clearly craftier than mine. Thomas and I were dressed in pretty much the same way. The only major difference was the addition of a broad-brimmed straw hat that gave him the vague appearance of a pro golfer.
“How was the drive over?”
“Great!” They both said in unison. It was pretty obvious neither had been in a limo before.
It was a splash out to be sure, but I could afford it. Especially with the extra money the clients they secured would be bringing in. Most of them were from the middle, if not the top, of the list.
“Anyone seen Carrie?”
“Not yet. She’ll be here,” Thomas said, cutting off Lauren.
As though brought about by a magical incantation, the door slid open, Carrie came in looking sexy as anything in a light and breezy blue summer dress that did some wonderful things for her already lovely legs. Her tits looked pretty damn good too.
“Sorry I’m late,” Carrie said, puffing her way up to us.
“You should be,” Lauren snapped.
“There’s still time,” I said, making her silent.
I wanted to hug Carrie and kiss her but figured that would look like I was playing favorites. Instead, I just picked up my baggage like a boss and led the way to the check-in counter.
Again taking the lead, I did all the talking, distributing the newly printed boarding passes like a croupier at a high-end casino. Mildly molested but still intact, we walked from the security checkpoint and straight into the airport lounge.
Without it even needing to be said, we all headed for the bar. Fear of flying was among the most common fears. Likely because while plane crashes were rare, they also tended to be fatal for all involved.
The competition seemed to continue when it came to choosing the stools. Thomas seemed quite happy to sit on the outside, just doing his own thing. Lauren sat beside me to the left and Carrie beside me to the right.
Wanting to fill the empty space and keeping with the theme of the competition, I praised both the winners on their work ethic. Even if it was only really true of one of them. Clearly not as dumb as Lauren assumed me to be, I had done verification on the clients she had brought in.
Something did not quite seem right. It turned out that at least half of her newly acquired client list were members of her impressively large extended family.
I didn’t find this out until after the announcement of the winners and it was too late to take it back. It would have also taken a lot of work to track down that many people.
Even if it might not have taken as much convincing for some of them as others. Besides which, other than Thomas, the only other agent even close to her numbers was Carrie and she was coming on the trip anyway. It was best to keep up appearances no matter how bad it might have tasted in my mouth.
“Are you excited?” I asked Carrie, realizing I was unintentionally leaving her out of the conversation.
“Yeah, I’ve never really been out of America before and - ”
“Really, I used to travel a lot for work,” Lauren cut in, “part of how I got so many clients. Lots of contacts.”
I was annoyed but allowed it. Lauren dominated the conversation with business related chatter. I glanced over at Carrie a couple of times, hoping she wasn’t feeling too left out. Then Thomas got up and went over to keep her company. He did his best, but I noticed Carrie wasn’t as talkative. I already started evolving a plan to get her alone when we got to Treasure Cay.
Finally, our flight was called, and we conveyed our carry-ons to the gate and got ready for fun in the sun. I tried to make the old saying that getting there was half the fun by booking us all into First Class.
The fates once again played their tricks, putting me and Lauren together while Thomas and Carrie were basically alone in the half full section even though it had come up as full on the online booking site. It might have seemed paranoid, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Lauren had hidden computer hacking skills. I certainly wouldn’t have put it past her.
The plane let down with a gentle bump. The sparkling blue water was already visible out all the windows. That part of Great Abaco Island was not particularly wide and exceptionally flat. Carrie and Lauren pressed to the windows like kids. Even reserved Thomas showed a marked interest.
Lauren had to basically lay across in my lap to see out the window. Not that she seemed to mind one little bit. Her boobs pressed against my chest as she lay her hand on my thigh. I looked over at Carrie but fortunately she was still distracted by the scenery to see the shameless display.
I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea, nor did I want to shove Lauren off of me. But that was exactly what I wanted to do. It was important that I appear neutral. While it wasn’t a business trip in the strictest sense, I was still there with employees. The fact that I wanted to fuck one of them sideways was not likely to go over well with the shareholders. I wouldn’t ignore either of them but would also try not to look like I was playing favorites.
Lauren cont
inued to cling to me, figuratively if not literally. She was hanging on my every word and laughing at every joke, even the ones I didn’t actually make. It was an act she continued when we got into the cabs. Carrie and Thomas were in one while me and Lauren took the other.
I was pretty sure that Lauren was going for a raise or even trying to sleep her way to the top. It was a difficult decision but I decided to go along to throw her off the scent so she wouldn’t suspect my feelings for Carrie. Lauren was just narcissistic enough to believe she was the only one I could possibly like and wasn’t about to report on herself.
The resort was one of the newer ones. I would have rented four villas, but it was a bit too much of an undertaking and I wanted to keep us all close. Particularly me and Carrie. Distributing the room keys, we had some down time to shower and change and so forth.
I had just showered the morning we left and was still pretty fresh. The heavy heat and high humidity did want me to change into different clothes.
Trading my khakis for another identical pair, I slipped into a white silk shirt, only fastening the minimum number of buttons to be acceptable in polite society. It was actually a nice break after so many years of corporate formality.
Regrouping in the lobby, we took a cab to one of the finer restaurants in the area. The reservation was made two weeks before. As was the general requirement. I gave a moment’s thought to ordering the pig but wasn’t sure how it would go over. All of us went for pretty safe and standard fare.
Lauren was her usual charming self, all but squeezing my knee under the table and acting like I was the most wonderful guy in the entire world. It was something that was nice to feel on occasion, but I was still self-aware enough to know it wasn’t true.
I did my best but knew full well that I still had drawbacks. I generally agreed with the idea that the unexamined life is not worth living. Lauren could have benefited from a bit of this insight.
As casually as I could, I checked in with Carrie at various points over the evening. Every time I found her to be quiet and reclusive, barely looking at the server as she ordered. She was certainly not looking my way.
Had I had the guts, I would have taken her hand under the table just to let her know what was really going on. I was interested in her, not Lauren. I was just arrogant enough to think that she might light like me too. To be fair, there were clues up long before that.
Freeing myself from Lauren’s heavily perfumed clutches, I retired to my room for the night. I looked forward to relaxing for the rest of the evening and recharging and preparing for the next day. Alas, it was not to be.
The bing rang through the room like Hemingway’s famous bell. Though I didn’t even have to ask for whom it tolled I knew full well that it tolled for me.
“What’s the good news?”
“Sorry man, only bad,” Mitch said, followed by a cough.
“Fires, floods, viral plague?” I asked, meaning it as a joke.
“Two out of three ain’t bad.”
“Serious?”
“As Covid. It actually came. Looks like you just got out in time.
“Lucky me,” I said, not meaning a word of it.
“You have no idea. Then again, I just have a cold and was staying home anyway.”
Chapter Eight - Carrie
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Sometimes there really were cases in which that was the only thing to say. I knew this but never really thought I would be thinking it about one of my actions. Still, I felt really bad about ignoring Max like I was. My jealousy burned a bright green flame, making me act crazy. I guessed that he had noticed. It would be pretty hard not to with how friendly I would go out of my way to be at the office. I had to get him alone so I could explain myself.
We were planning to go to the beach after breakfast. While I still wasn’t confident to dress how I wanted to, even if the restaurant was outside, I decided to go for a layered thing. I wore my very sexy string bikini under a short, gauzy dress. Of course, Lauren had the same idea. Only her bikini was even smaller, and her dress was basically translucent, giving quite a good idea what she looked like underneath.
We nearly bumped into each other in the hall coming out of our rooms. Fortunately, she was surprised enough not to think about breaking into a run, which I did. I got to the table several minutes ahead of her. Max and Thomas were already there in their golfer gear.
Resisting the urge to throw my arms around him and never let go. I took the seat right next to Max, leaving Lauren on the other side of the table. Maintaining my aloof act at least until I was able to tell him what was going on, I did my best just to enjoy the proximity as we ate a lovely breakfast. I stomped on Lauren’s foot on occasion as she tried to do things to Max under the table. She glared at me silently.
Alas, I couldn’t keep her away forever and while we lay in the beautiful sand, she once again inserted herself next to him, sticking to Max like a dark hair barnacle. Max did not seem to mind all that much. He actually seemed to enjoy her company. I suspected that Lauren was trying to sleep her way to the top. Max was high as it went at MP Solutions, except for Mitch, who was openly gay.
What was more, Max seemed willing to let her. I couldn’t blame him, really. Lauren was beautiful, at least in a physical way, and clearly sexually available. Max was only human, after all. Besides, it wasn’t like I had made my interest known. I wouldn’t have gone about it as overtly as Lauren, but I had to explain things and let him know what was going on.
Politely ending my conversation with Thomas, who really was a great and interesting guy, I got out my phone. I texted him, not wanting to talk to him with Lauren around. I said I wanted to speak with him and apologized for my reclusiveness.
He didn’t respond right away. Which made sense really. If he had, Lauren might have figured out what was going on. I didn’t want her to be having any advantages. My phone did ding however, and when it did, the text that appeared invited me to his hotel room after we had eaten dinner.
Dressing modestly as though not to raise any suspicions, I needed to put my brace back on if I had any hope of sitting for an extended period. My skirt might have reached down to my ankles, but I also wasn’t wearing anything under it. This still let me feel a degree of sexiness.
In an interesting, if unannounced, bit of restaurant hopping, we ended up at a different eatery directly across the street from the one the night before with much the same orders, despite the slight variance in the menu. By far the most adventurous was, surprisingly, Thomas, who went entirely for local dishes while the rest of us stuck to burgers and the like.
Like Elsa, I let it go. I didn’t pay attention as Lauren hung herself off on Max, doing her very best to seduce him with her feminine wiles. Both Thomas and I pretended that we couldn’t see what was plainly obvious.
We might have been playing into her delusion that she was the only person in the world. Though it was actually pretty funny when viewed from a particular perspective, because I knew I was about to have his undivided attention. It was a bit of a Hail Mary to be sure, but I still felt that if I explained things, he would accept me as I was and give me everything I ever wanted. I just had to be brave and ask.
I was buzzing as we all went back to our rooms after dinner. My mind was whirring with how I was going to get out to see Max without Lauren noticing. Turns out that had already been taken care of as well.
I jumped with surprise. I honestly hadn’t noticed the door before. The room was a suite. I sprang up off the bed and ran to the door, the skirt waving like a flag around me.
“Hey,” Max said, his beautiful form darkening the doorway.
“Hi,” I said, unable to keep myself from grinning.
My heart raced and my palms were sweaty at the thought of what might happen next. Not to mention the fact that my panties felt as drenched as the ocean.
Chapter Nine - Carrie
Not wanting to sit on the bed as even that seemed like a bit too much of a come on, I took the chair i
n Max’s room and watched with rapt attention as he went and sat on the bed.
“So, what’s happening?” he asked, prompting me.
“I-I was trying to stay away. Out of the way, I mean.”
“Out of the way of what?”
“You. I mean Lauren. I mean you and Lauren. It wouldn’t look good if it seemed like you were playing favorites. I’m here as your assistant and was trying to keep out of things. Unless I was asked of course.”
“This isn’t meant to be a business trip,” Max pointed out.
“True, but I thought I should keep up a professional demeanor. It’s not like I won the contest or anything.”
“You did, actually. Lauren kind of cheated, but I didn’t find out until after the winners were announced. The agent with the next highest number of new clients was you. Given the circumstances, it is probably best if we act like you’re an unofficial third winner. I might still have you do a task or two just to keep up appearances, but other than that, you are released from all other duties.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“As for Lauren, I was mostly just going along with her silliness so she wouldn’t think I was playing favorites because we are together so much. I would actually like to be with you a lot more.”
“You would?” I asked, looking up so fast I almost hear a pop.
“I know it looks otherwise, but I don’t like Lauren.”
“You don’t?” I asked, feeling very much like a broken record.
“Nope. Not at all. She is beautiful, but not the only one. There is so much more to life than that.”
“Who do you like?” I ventured.
“You.”
I actually gasped. Not out of surprise but the thrill rippling through me like a pond that had a stone thrown in it.