Big on Education

by Laurie Ames

  Sylvia was clearly her favorite so far, but Natasha was obligated to finish up the rest of the interviews before deciding to hire someone.

  Chapter 2

  It had been nearly a week since the interview and Sylvia was becoming anxious about getting a call back. She wanted this job quite badly and had felt a strong personal connection to Natasha. She thought that Natasha was sexually attractive; anyone would. This made her feel a little extra nervous in the interview, but she figured the crush would likely settle down, especially if Natasha was to become her boss.

  But finally, after a few worried days, Sylvia received a call.

  “Sylvia, this is Natasha calling. I want to let you know we have finalized the job hiring process. We had a lot of qualified candidates and I am finished with the evaluations. I wanted to let you know that things didn’t go quite as we discussed. We will not be hiring you for the assistant position”.

  “Oh?” replied Sylvia. It felt like a punch in the gut.

  “Well actually, I would like to make you a better offer. If you are willing to accept a new higher position as my Executive Assistant, I would like to hire you starting next Monday!” exclaimed Natasha.

  “Wow, Natasha, that’s incredible! I just don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say yes to the job and it’s yours. There will be more responsibility than we originally discussed, but you will be pleased to hear you’re being bumped up to the executive pay scale. I have a good eye for hiring and more importantly, I know we will get along very well. Do you accept?”

  “Yes Natasha, I most definitely accept. I will not let you down.”

  ***

  The weekend prior to starting her new job, Sylvia could only think about how overjoyed she was with getting the executive position. More importantly, she would be working in the fashion industry right out of school, in a management position, and best of all, with her sexy new boss Natasha.

  The first day, Sylvia excitedly got dressed in her finest tailored and most conservative business attire. Arriving early for her first day of work, she took a moment to stand outside the building’s front door. She paused to take a long deep breath before trotting through the front door to begin her day. She went to speak with Natasha and was floored when she saw how attractive she looked. She was dressed immaculately smart, chic and feminine and was wearing expensive perfume. She gave her a very hearty welcome and a big intimate hug. To be hugged by Natasha felt like this was going to be the start of a really great job.

  The business day began with a quick rundown by showing her the particulars of the office, some general training, and introductions to the other employees. Sylvia noticed that most of the other employees—employees that would be her subordinates—were older than herself. Some of them were marginally older and many were very senior in age. It made her feel strange to be so young in a higher managerial position. She thought it might have been her imagination, but she thought she noticed some of them sneering a little bit, presumably at her youth. She figured she could worry about that later.

  For now, Natasha was beginning to show off some of the pieces for the summer line. Natasha laid out the large design sketches on the small desk before them, as the two of them gathered around. Both were nervously aware at how close they were and the way their hands almost touched as they pointed at the designs. They were instantly fascinated with each other. There seemed to be some fuzzy magnetic electricity pushing them closer yet keeping them apart.

  Sylvia was starting to have difficulty concentrating while working with Natasha. The light delicious smell of her perfume as intoxicating. Sexual fantasies were starting to surface every time Natashia was near. The next moment, they were on the sofa, slowly undressing one another…she was looking deeply into her eyes…

  ‘Stop, enough already!’ Sylvia thought as she reined herself in. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with Natasha, but such knowledge didn’t do much to abate the sexual attraction. Despite feeling Natasha’s strong attraction, she knew that it was incredibly important to keep a professional distance. She knew that if something went wrong, she would either lose her position or her reputation, neither of which she was willing to gamble on.

  At the same time, she only wanted to prove herself as a great employee, and she would not come across as such if people discovered she was sleeping with the boss. Especially because of her youth, she really wanted to prove herself; she needed to make something of herself in this industry. She could not very well go about that if there were rumors circulating that she got her position by getting down and dirty with the owner.

  Although they were resisting their attraction to each other, after a couple of weeks, rumors inevitably began to circulate that they were somehow involved. It started off, as rumors often do with two employees complaining about Sylvia and how young she was. One of them laughed, saying she was Natasha’s hot little tramp!

  Unfortunately for Sylvia, the shitshow snowballed from there. Most of the people in the company were ladies who built their whole world around nasty gossip. One thing turned into another and soon it became simply taken for granted that Sylvia had slept with Natasha in order to get the position, even though this was patently true.

  It took a little while for the rumors to make their way to Sylvia and when they did, she was dismayed and deeply alarmed to hear it. She was discussing some details with one of her elder subordinates, Sarah-Lynn, who felt annoyed that Sylvia was bossing her around. Sarah-Lynn thought that Sylvia was much too young and inexperienced to have gotten her position honestly.

  “Well… I’ve been working here for two years and I think I know pretty well what I’m doing!” Sarah-Lynn said sternly to Sylvia’s suggestion that the design needed more work.

  “Yes, I understand that, but I really think you should do it this way and I think Natasha would agree,” Sylvia replied softly. It made her nervous to assert herself, especially as someone’s superior considering the fact that she was younger, less experienced, and “still wet behind the ears.”

  “Of course, you’d know what Natasha would want. I know you two are…” she paused, narrowed her beady eyes behind horn rimmed librarian glasses and eyed Sylvia up and down, crumpling her nose almost imperceptibly and finished her pronouncement … “very close.”

  The blood drained, very visibly from Sylvia’s visage. Her eyebrows shot upward, and her red ringed mouth fell quite unappealingly agape. Though Sarah-Lynn had said what might be liberally called tactful, the simple implication was enough to floor Sylvia. She stammered and shook her head, then attempted to assure Sarah-Lynn, virtually out of nowhere, that she could simply talk to Natasha herself if she had any issues with the project.

  She then sped to the bathroom. She sat in the bathroom stall for three agonizing minutes, processing what had just occurred. Her shoulders were slumped, and her eyes gazed down at the floor. A single tear ran down her face and stained her blouse as she tried not to ruin her mascara. With her head in her hands and her heart beating out of her chest, she tried to breathe regularly but had difficulty doing so. She didn’t recognize her own voice that kept repeating, "I can't take it anymore."

  It took awhile to clear her head, but eventually told herself ‘I need to accept adversity and use it my advantage.’ Thinking that, she delved back into happier thoughts. She regrouped and tried going back into the office like nothing had happened.

  Up until now, Sylvia had been able to brush off the strange looks and annoyed stares from her fellow employees. She had just assumed it was due to her youth, not the fictitious and slanderous idea that she had become intimate with Natasha in order to get the assistant’s position. Now, Sylvia was noticing those looks. They began upsetting her more and more, especially because she knew there was a kernel of truth in it. She was in fact incredibly attracted to Natasha and indeed felt some chemistry there. She knew that Natasha might feel the same way, but truly had no way of really knowing. She became worried that the only reason Natasha hired her was
because she was young and attractive.

  From then on, Sylvia became intolerably aware of every microscopic detail of her body language around Natasha. If they were discussing issues and Natasha came too close to her, she would take a half step back, almost self-conscious of the intentional repulsion of her movement. If Natasha tried to touch her in a friendly manner, Sylvia would maneuver herself so it wouldn’t happen.

  Natasha immediately noticed this new behavior and wondered what it was all about. After a while, she heard a couple of employees talking by the water cooler. They were gossiping disdainfully about Sylvia. “She doesn’t deserve to be manager!” They said while laughing maliciously about the idea. “She had to go down on Natasha just to get hired.”

  Emotionally ablaze, Natasha approached the two.

  “Excuse me,” she said seriously, but with a sardonic smile on her face, “I just overheard the two of you talking, and I would like to discuss this in more detail.” Natasha was talented with handling situations under pressure like this, having become skillful at overseeing office employees for so many years.

  They stammered, choked, aghast, and unsure of what to say.

  “Just so you two know, the info you’re taking for granted is completely untrue and it would behoove you not to discuss such fictitious rumors in the office. Sylvia got this job because she is talented at what she does. She is a fantastic designer and has worked as an assistant. She has the experience and professionalism to work in this industry. It doesn’t seem as if you two are able to hold a candle to this.” Natasha said angrily before strutting back to her office.

  Once she got to her office, she laid her head in her hands, contemplating her next move. It was obvious that she needed to do something. Rumors do not just randomly spawn between two people. If she overheard two people talking, then it goes without saying that the whole office is buzzing about Sylvia and herself.

  Before starting damage control with the rest of the office, she knew she had to first speak with Sylvia. It suddenly occurred to her as to why Sylvia had been more avoidant in the last week or so. She had noticed it, but figured it was nothing, that she was probably not a touchy-feely person, or needed her physical space. With this new information, she realized that Sylvia must have become aware of these rumors.

  Natasha felt frustrated with herself. She wondered if she had subconsciously behaved in a manner that the office might misinterpret her actions around Sylvia. The truth was that she was quite attracted to her; to the extent that she had difficulty stopping her intimate thoughts about Sylvia. She had tried her hardest not to make it an issue, but what if she had accidentally acted in an unprofessional manner? Was that why these rumors had started?

  She sent an email to Sylvia asking her to come to her office at the end of the work day. She figured this would be a good time since it’s likely that Sylvia would be upset, and Natasha did not want to put her in any more awkward situations at work.

  Chapter 3

  When Sylvia got the email, she was nervous about how to respond. She was not sure about the subject of the meeting since Natasha had not made it explicit - but she had a reasonably good idea. She started to worry that Natasha might conclude that the fault for the rumors was on her. Maybe she would be fired for not gaining her subordinates respect?

  Nonetheless, she was glad that Natasha had reached out and perhaps become aware of the situation. Once the workday ended around 5:00, she headed over to Natasha’s office, took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Natasha spoke from her desk. Sylvia opened the door and sat down in the chair across from Natasha as she finished typing.

  “How are you doing?” Natasha said, looking up from her computer and smiling warmly at Sylvia.

  “I’m doing alright,” she replied simply.

  “That’s good…. So, I guess I need to jump right into this. I’m very sorry if this is uncomfortable for you, I promise it’s not my intention. It has come to my attention that there are rumors circulating about the two of us. To be very blunt, the rumors are that you slept with me in order to get this position. Obviously, we both know better, but I just felt we should talk about this. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable in the office. This is unacceptable coming from the other employees. I’m ashamed they don’t know better,” Natasha said, “I wasn’t sure if you had heard the rumors already. I figured I should check in.”

  Sylvia looked down for a moment, withholding tears.

  “I definitely heard them,” she said softly, her voice shaking. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure why I’m even crying right now,” she said as she pre-emptively wiped away a forming tear.

  “No. Please don’t be sorry. It is totally reasonable for you to be upset about these accusations,” Natasha assured her, carefully studying Sylvia’s face.

  “It’s just so upsetting because I really worked hard to get this job, and I feel like I’m doing the best I can, but it just feels like everyone in the office thinks I’m a phony and has no respect for me,” Sylvia lamented.

  “I know. I’m considering a meeting with the office or sending out an email to everyone about the fact that they are disrespecting you. At the end of the day, you’re in a position of authority. They need to listen to you and to respect you,” Natasha said softly, “but it ought to be up to you. Whatever is most comfortable for you is the way that I will proceed.”

  Taking a deep breath, Sylvia responded, “I think an email would probably be best. It makes me nervous... I mean, the idea of you talking to them because I don’t know how they’ll respond. I don’t know, though.” She looked very upset about the whole situation.

  “Listen,” Natasha said with a soft voice, “You want some time to think about it. That’s fine. It’s entirely up to you. You’re new to this company. I’m mortified that this is happening. This is beyond unprofessional.”

  “Thank you,” Sylvia said quietly, dripping sincerity.

  “Listen, if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, please let me know immediately. I don’t want you to feel as if you can’t talk to me about this kind of thing. I mean, about other employees disrespecting you and making you feel bad.”

  “Thank you so much. You’re really being amazing about this whole situation and I truly appreciate it,” Sylvia responded gratefully.

  “Of course. Is there anything else you want to talk about related to this?”

  “Yeah, I mean. I don’t know. I think a big part of this is I’m so young and inexperienced in this industry. I just feel like people are really latching on to that and think I don’t know what I’m doing,” Sylvia responded, “And I mean, I think that’s also one of the contributing factors to this rumor being started and circulating like it is. As if people are frustrated that I’m in a management position because of my youth.”

  “Yes, I agree.” Natasha said, “I think a lot of people are focused on that. I plan on addressing it in the email, or in a group meeting- again, whatever you would prefer to happen. Again, I want you to think about it. Let me know when you’re ready.”

  “Thank you so much,” Sylvia said. She wanted to bring up the fact that she was deeply attracted to Natasha and felt that was a major reason why people were circulating these rumors.

  “I just want to be candid with you right now. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. My intention is honesty and not to make you uncomfortable.” Said Natasha as she hesitated to take a deep breath. “But I have to admit that I do feel some attraction to you. I’m worried that this might also be why this fiasco is happening. I’ve never intended to make you uncomfortable or give this impression, but if I ever do anything to make you feel uncomfortable...I would really like for you to let me know.”

  Sylvia blushed. She couldn’t help it. That affirmation felt incredibly validating since she felt the same way.

  “No. I mean, it’s okay,” Sylvia said, making deep eye contact with Natasha, “If we’re being honest, I feel the same way.” She decided to just leave it at that as s
he was unsure what else to say.

  “Well…,” Natasha responded, almost surprised “What should we do about that?” She suddenly realized it was too late to keep the question from coming off as slightly flirtatious, but she was excited that Sylvia felt the same way. She was now starting to feel a little turned on.

  “I don’t know,” Sylvia responded in a sort of innocent-but-still-up-for-interpretation sort of tone.

  Both of their hearts began to flutter as they could feel the electricity in the room. They began testing each other, now more in earnest - first with glances, then with more intense looks, unspoken confirmations of H.R. – forbidden desires. The tension had been building for quite some time now. Sylvia made the decision to take a risk; Natasha’s hands would be legally and ethically tied if she’d been the one to have initiated anything, and that was exactly what Sylvia intended to do - initiate. She temporarily stowed her hands tied fantasy for later use. She stood up and boldly walked around to the other side of the desk.

  Natasha opened her mouth as if to say something but could not stand up to protest this unforeseen turn of events. Sylvia, having arrived, had kneeled slowly and seductively. Her face was level with Natasha. She placed her hand on Natasha’s face, moving it softly down her neck while stroking the curves of her clavicle and feeling the softness of her skin. Natasha responded, putting her finger on Sylvia’s chin, pointing her face up so that she could lean in for a kiss. Sylvia met the kiss with infinite tenderness, running both her wet lips over Natasha’s lower lip. The smallest sigh escaped Natasha.

  Their kissing began slow and tender as they explored each other’s soft lips, then quicker than either could know, as they explored each other’s mouths, sliding their tongues deeper and smacking their lips together.