by Lauren Wood
“What’s up?”
“I needed to talk to you about the McClennen account.”
“I gave it to you a few hours ago, what do you want to talk about?” I was just happy to hear her voice and I ignored the dirty looks I got when Ashlea realized that I was talking to another woman.
“It’s okay Claire. I am not doing anything important.”
Ashlea made a scoffing sound and I turned to the side a little, telling Claire that it was fine for her to call me now. I could see Ashlea getting agitated in my peripheral vision, but I wasn’t going to try and stop it.
“So what is it that has you worried?”
“It’s the doubtful accounts. Did you notice how high they are? They should be at 3 percent for this industry and it is well over twice that amount at almost seven percent.”
I had noticed it as well, but as the economy was having troubles, I figured that it was going to see an uptick in customers that got things on credit that they were never going to pay for. It was quite high, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t necessary for the way things were going at the moment. When I mentioned my theory to her, I could tell that Claire was not in agreement with me.
“What do you think we should do?”
“I think we need to investigate the process in which they are giving out credit. Maybe there is a flaw in their approval system that is allowing people to be approved that shouldn’t be. If that isn’t the case, then there is going to be a human error. I take it that there are incentives made to the employees who are in the customer care of this?”
“Yes.” Though I didn’t really know where she was going with this.
“Well then we might have to look into the employees. If they are getting rewarded by bonuses and commission for each sale, there may be less of a push to find sound borrowers.”
I had never thought about it like that and before she looked into anything else, I had a feeling that she was right. I was again amazed at how quickly she was able to make out the problem from all of the numbers. This was a huge company and I wasn’t even going to begin to understand how she was so far ahead already.
“If I remember correctly, the salespeople are paid fully in commission, so there is a big incentive to sign people up. You may be on to something.”
“Richard?”
It was the third time I had heard my name in the same amount of minutes. I didn’t want to look over to Ashlea, but she was making it clear that she was going to no longer be ignored. I was realizing quickly that a dinner alone would have been preferable.
“Hold on Claire.”
I covered up the phone because I didn’t want Claire to know that I was on a date. I don’t know why that was so important to me, but it was. I had my reasons.
“What?”
“I thought we were leaving?”
I looked at the plate of food that was untouched since she claimed she was still eating. I had known that she wasn’t going to touch her food and I had been right.
“I thought you wanted to finish?”
She looked at me bashfully. “You know that I don’t need all of these carbs. I have a shoot in two days and I don’t want to be bloated for it.”
I could have argued with her, but I had learned long ago that it was going to do me no good to argue with her or to point out the obvious. Ashlea was a hard woman to deal with and the more I talked to Claire, the more I realized that I didn’t want to deal with Ashlea anymore.
“I knew you wouldn’t. I will be finished on the phone in just a minute Ashlea.”
She threatened to throw the phone away if I didn’t get off of it and for some reason I did not find it very funny. Ashlea said it in a joking manner, but I just looked at her. Turning to the side again, I held my hand up to indicate that I needed another minute. I heard her huff, but was used to her dramatics.
“Sorry about that Claire.”
“If I am bothering you and you are busy, just let me know Rick. I shouldn’t have called, I just saw that and you know, warning bells went off in my head. I wanted to see if you had seen that too or was I just looking into the percentage change too much? It is not that high, but for the industry it is.”
She was going on and I found that I didn’t mind hearing her. She was not like Ashlea or rather my feelings weren’t the same towards the two women. I heard some more sounds from across the table, but I didn’t even look up. It would only invite another exchange that wasn’t going to be any help besides making more of a scene. I liked the restaurant and I didn’t want to have an altercation with her here. I just needed another minute.
It was about that time that I was thinking that, I heard the chair legs screeched on the hardwood floor. Everyone was suddenly looking at us and I wanted to melt into the carpet. She had a knack for doing this.
“If you are just going to ignore me Rick, I am leaving!”
She stormed out and since I hadn’t covered the receiver, I was sure that Claire had heard it all. The other side of the phone was quiet and everyone in the restaurant was looking at me. It really was a mess and I just wanted to leave. I waved to the waiter to take my card so I could do just that.
“Um, sorry Rick. I didn’t know you were with someone.”
“I’m not now. No need to worry about it.”
Claire was quiet for a few more seconds before she got back into her rhythm about the new company I had given her to look over. She reminded me of myself. She got so excited about everything that had to do with the job. I looked at each client like a mystery that I had to solve, several mysteries that would weave together and make the big picture. Claire seemed to like the challenge as much as I did and I can’t say that I didn’t like her enthusiasm.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“No Sir, I am still at the office.”
“Why don’t you come down here?”
“I thought you already got your check and had dinner?”
“It is sitting here cold in front of me. I never got to have a bite.” My plate was empty and had been for a time.
“Now you are making me feel bad.” That was basically the point.
“But I am not going to. You could have said something and you shouldn’t ignore your date. Work is just work. I will talk to you about it in the morning.”
She was rushing me off the phone and while I wanted to stop her, tell her that Ashlea didn’t even matter, it wasn’t in the cards. I didn’t have a choice but to tell her that I would see her the next day.
Hanging up, it was strange to think about how long that night was going to be. I had botched up the night’s plans that I was going to have with Ashlea. Now I needed to figure something else out because the last thing that I was going to do was sit there thinking about my employee in a way that I shouldn’t. It was a rule of mine that I had never even thought of breaking, except in a moment of weakness. But never like this. I contemplated it far more than it was right to do and I had to get Claire off my mind.
I knew just who to call to take care of that.
Chapter 8
Rick
“It’s been a couple of weeks since I have heard from you Rick. Busy, huh?”
I nodded to Cliff and waited next to Ron to get to the bouncer that was letting people into the club. I had been busy, but more recently I had been preoccupied, much like I was now.
“Yeah, work has been hectic. I expanded the clients and then struggled to expand the staff. It is hard to find qualified people anymore.”
Ron agreed. He ran a construction business and I was always hearing him mention how hard it was to fill up his crew. Now I was feeling the pinch as well and I can’t say that I liked it that much.
“Have you looked into those temporary staffing places? Sometimes you can get a good employee that you can hire on fulltime, but I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t hit or miss. Half of them don’t know their head from their ass.”
Cliff scowled at us both. “No work tonight, jeez. I want to get some titties and ass sma
sh in my face and you two are talking about staffing?” He just shook his head and turned his back to us. He was right. Work was the last thing that I should be thinking of.
“You’re right Cliff. I want to see some titties too.”
He chuckled and told me that he was sure I had seen my fair share. “Who are you dating now?”
“I don’t date. It is too complicated and women are better in small doses.”
Ron was the married one out of the three of us and he was happily married, something he reminded us of quite a bit.
“How did you even get your old lady to agree to let you go?”
“To go out? Carol doesn’t care. Besides, she thinks that we are going to dinner and a movie. Told me that it was good I was getting out with the boys.”
I had to laugh like Cliff. Ron was the good one out of us, but even he was as apt to lie as the rest of us. It was hard to get a little freedom sometimes and that was one of the reasons that I didn’t even consider getting together with another woman for any long period of time. After the divorce, there was no way that I was going down that road again.
We finally got up to the man and got in. I could have gotten us in quicker, a bill would have done that, but I didn’t like to draw attention to myself. There was no telling who was around and one bad pic would be a PR nightmare. Some clients might not like the idea of me going to an establishment like this. I had a lot of female clients and even though I had a checkered past, I was doing my best to keep it under wraps. One of the many reasons that I had discouraged Ashlea from making a scene, even though she had in a way.
“Okay, no wives and no work talk. How are you guys doing?”
Ron didn’t have much to answer and I noticed right off that he was no longer paying attention to me and Cliff. His eyes were on a dark-haired woman that was half-dressed, walking around with a tray of drinks and shots.
“I think I need a drink.”
He moved to follow her and I and Cliff laughed amongst ourselves. He really was like a lost puppy and it just cemented the idea that I was never going to get married again. I didn’t want to be like him, not ever again.
Cliff found a couple of seats at the bar and we ordered some beers and shots. The stage was empty at the moment and though I could have cared less either way, the night out was certainly getting the job done. I had forgotten all about the good girl that I wanted to turn bad.
Then the lights went lower and a soft music started to play. The woman on stage just appeared and I wasn’t the only one that thought that way. She was just there, half-clad in shiny material that covered most of her up. Cliff made a comment about the joint going to the birds.
“I thought this was a titty-bar?”
I just shook my head, unable to take my eyes off of the moving body that rolled and danced slowly to the beat. She was not at all like anyone else I had seen before, she was serene and I hadn’t even seen the front of her yet. As her hips rolled and she looked over her shoulder, I had to rub my eyes, sure that I was seeing things. It looked just like Claire.
The cover that the woman was wearing over her legs was quickly gone and now she was showing, long slim legs that went on for days. She was facing away from us again, but I wanted her to turn back around, needed her to.
“That one has a real nice ass.”
I looked to the mentioned body part and I would have admitted along with him that the woman in front of me was beautiful. Her backside was tight and pert, the string doing nothing to hide a bit of her.
While we were talking, the cover of her top came off and now she was only wearing the black string bikini bottoms and stilettos. Her back arched as she moved and I started to breathe a little heavier. Her blonde hair moved and swayed with her hips. The woman was nothing short of hypnotic and I wasn’t the only one in the place that felt the same way. It was as if no one could take their eyes off of her, even if they tried. She was that beautiful and there was an aura in the room since she got on the stage. I had a feeling that people were here because of her and no one else.
When she finally turned around, Cliff was making comments about the perky breasts that were hard to deny, but I was looking at the woman’s face. It was Claire. Or well it looked just like her. I kept looking to see the differences, but I just didn’t see them. This couldn’t be Claire, my Claire. While the guys were jeering and cheering her on, I wanted to rush up there and cover her up. She was mine and I didn’t want anyone to see her like this, only me.
How could I have been so wrong about her? I had been way off, thinking she was innocent. There was nothing innocent about the woman dancing and gyrating against a stranger in front of me now. I had entered some kind of twilight zone and I didn’t like it.
“Hey Rick, are you okay?”
“I think I know her.”
“You lucky bastard.”
He thought that I was saying I had nailed her, but he was so wrong. I didn’t want to say who I thought it was, but I knew they would never forget her face. Even Ron was beside me now and he was slack-jawed looking at her too.
“Damn, I wish I knew a woman like that.”
I didn’t correct either one of them, but I felt an agitation in my body. I couldn’t believe that she worked here. Why would she when she made so much more money with me. Was it more money? Did I pay her so little that she had to resort to this?
The woman on the stage may have looked like Claire, but she didn’t act like her. This woman had a confidence that beamed out of her and it was easy to tell that she rather enjoyed toying with men. I remembered the comments Claire had made at the sushi place. Maybe this was her.
The stage went black and I was like most others, commenting that the show was too short. The announcer gave the name of another stripper as she appeared on the now lit stage. It wasn’t who I wanted and I didn’t even try to pay attention. I needed to find out who that was and if it was Claire. I was still holding out that the lighting was off and it didn’t even look like her. Or that my mind was too worried about thinking about her and I didn’t have the ability to turn it off.
“Where are you going Rick?”
“I am going back here for a minute. I will be back out. You are missing that sweet muff on the stage.”
The woman that I was referring too was dark-skinned and she was upside down, her legs wide open. Cliff smiled and grinned, not even paying attention. He waved me off and the two men scoped out the woman’s pussy like they had never seen one before. I was on a mission. I had to find Claire and find out what the hell was going on.
***
“Some guy is here to see you Amber.”
I heard the bartender telling the girl that I was there, but I didn’t recognize the name. My heart started to alleviate the pounding and I was able to breathe. This wasn’t Claire and when I met her, I would see that she looked nothing like her.
But damn if she didn’t. The woman could have been Claire and I said her name as a question.
“Who?”
“Claire?”
“No, sorry. My name isn’t Claire.”
“You look just like someone that I know.”
“Oh, well she must be pretty.” The blonde smiled and tossed her hair back. She was wearing something so thin, I could see everything that she was showing on the stage, every delicious inch of her. There was no part of her that was hidden and I couldn’t stop looking.
“So you like this Claire? Maybe you should tell her.”
I shook my head and apologized for bothering her. There was a moment that I wanted to take her home with me. If I couldn’t have Claire, I could have her look alike. I don’t know how two people could be so close in appearance, but this wasn’t Claire. No one else was going to do, not Ashlea certainly, but not even a woman that could be her twin was going to do. I just wanted Claire.
The thought was disturbing and so were the subsequent feelings that flooded over me. Why was I not able to get her out of my mind? We hadn’t done anything, yet I thought about her like he
r very touch would justify my existence. It was confusing and I had a couple of shots before I got back to the bar.
A few women came over and invited us to the VIP area, a place where I would routinely go, but not tonight. I waved my two friends on and watched them go up the stairs to the top. There would be lap dances, anything more that they wanted.
My eyes scanned the room and all of the bare flesh. I had one thing on my mind and then I saw the woman that was called Amber again. She was looking at me from across the room. She had a queer look on her face that I wondered about, but after I paid for a drink and looked back up, she was gone.
Perhaps it was time for me to get back home. My mind was not working right and my plans were shot. I would see Claire in the morning, though I could never ask her about it. I didn’t want her to ever know that I was here. I still had it in my mind that with her, I wanted things to be different.
I did think about Amber though, or Claire rather. They looked so much alike, I was sure that the two women were the same one. That meant that I had seen Claire naked and it was one hell of a sight. It was something that I would never be able to get out of my head. It was burned into my memory forever.
Chapter 9
Claire
“The top saver of the quarter is about to be announced. I think you might want to get in here Claire.”
I looked up at Caroline and shrugged. “I have only been here a month. I don’t think I am in the running.”
“You are, besides it will give you motivation for next quarter.”
She made it seem like it mattered. It was one of many awards that would be handed out today. It was a way for Rick to keep everyone doing their best and I had heard the prizes were actually pretty good.
So I got up and followed her out to the large open area where a lot of the assistants and support workers were. The open space was where Rick would rally the people and today was no different.
He was giving out a speech of how well they were doing and how happy he was to see the expansion. I could tell that he was right at home in front of everyone, with all eyes on him. I had to imagine that this was no different than what he was used to. The man drew everyone in and I wasn’t the only one looking at him with a bit more than a professional courtesy in my eyes. It was hard not to see Rick as the man, instead of as the boss.