Slipperless(4)

"And I see you still enjoy it," he quipped.

I smiled and shook my head just a bit. If nothing else, the brief  interlude of banter took my mind off the remainder of my morning.  Although I was prepared, I never enjoyed situations like this. So the  distraction was welcome, unlike the first time we met.

"Got the planner I trust?" he asked as he looked me up and down, searching for any hint of it.

"Yes," I replied, as I patted the soft leather of my oversized purse.

Gabe smiled and gestured towards my outfit. "Nice to see you loosening  up. Showing both of your forearms and what's this, calves? A bit risqué  for an interview, don't you think?"

I pursed my lips at his incessant teasing.

"Well, you noticed," I replied, with a teasing tone of my own. "It must be working. Right?"

As I finished speaking, Gabe's smile vanished from his face. His  expression darkened as he eased off the elevator wall. I swallowed at  the sudden change in his demeanor. Without thinking, I reached down  towards my charm bracelet, rolling my fingertips over the smooth stones.

He remained silent while his eyes meandered along my body for a moment  too long. Just then, the elevator door opened. Sounds of office busyness  filled the sudden quiet of the elevator, providing me a bit of relief. I  nodded at him and offered a polite smile.

"Nice to see you again, Gabe," I said, trying to take the edge off the unexpected tension. "Are you …  getting off here?"

Gabe shook his head and bending his arm at the elbow, he pointed upward.

"No, still got a little way to go yet."

"Well, have a good day," I began. "Maybe I'll see you around the building sometime."

"Maybe," he replied. Just then, he made a gesture towards his  wristwatch. "Well, better get moving. Don't want to be late for that  interview."

Swallowing, I nodded. "Right."

As I finished, I waved goodbye and readjusted the position of my purse  strap before exiting the elevator. As the doors closed behind me, I  rolled my eyes at the awkwardness of the encounter.

Still, I had to stay focused on the task at hand. And so, after getting  off the elevator, I made my way to the reception area and then took a  seat in the lobby to wait for the interview with my potential  supervisor, Vice President of Lab Operations, Colin Doyle.

As I sat, I grabbed a small container of anti-bacterial gel from inside  my purse. Cracking open the lid, I dabbed a bit in my palm and began to  rub the cool liquid into my skin with series of small circles. After I  finished, I put it away, pulled out my planner and opened it as I  prepared to go over my notes.         

     



 

I doubted there was anything he'd ask me about I wouldn't be able to  answer, but better safe than sorry. Right? Soon the hustle and bustle of  the office faded into the periphery as my eyes traced the marks on the  pages for the next several minutes.

Just then, I sensed a presence close to me and I glanced up to see a man  who I presumed was Mr. Doyle standing there. I say ‘presumed' because  I'd never actually met him, only spoken to him on the phone, twice.

He was a round faced man with a body to match. From the looks of things,  what once was a mighty colony of hair had staged a dramatic retreat  from its territory, probably around the time his waistline had commenced  an impressive counter attack.

"Fiona?" he asked, as he extended a hand in my direction.

"Yes," I said with a smile. "Mr. Doyle?"

"Mmm, hmm. And please, call me Colin. Thanks for coming in today. Are you ready?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay then, follow me," he said, as he stepped back and gestured down the hallway. "Can I help you with anything?"

"No," I began, shaking my head. "I'm fine. But, thank you."

As I finished my thought, I gathered up my things and just then a sudden  pang of nervous energy went straight to my stomach. Because as much as  I'd wanted to make this interview solely about me, I couldn't help but  think of my grandmother. If I didn't pull this off, I didn't know what  we were going to do. I felt the inside of my hand moisten as I wrapped  my fingers tightly around my purse strap.

It was now or never.



GABE

After reaching my floor, I exited the elevator and headed to my office.

I still had Fiona on my mind though. I have to admit, seeing her caught  me off guard. She looked great. There was no telling what kind of beauty  she'd blossom into if she put a little effort into it. Maybe this was  the beginning of better things to come.

And that bit of teasing she tried on me in the elevator, well, it turned  me on. With any luck, she got the hint it had. I didn't mind making her  a bit uneasy in the meantime. Even so, there would be plenty of  opportunity to get my hands on her ample curves if she got the job she  was after.

Seeing her for a second time made me more determined than ever. Not to  mention hard. Tugging at the area of my pant leg near my crotch, I  neared the entrance to my office when from behind a voice called out to  me.

"Oh, Gabe!"

I stopped in place and looked as my personal assistant slash secretary,  Holly, approached, clutching a stack of paper in her arms.

"Morning Holly."

"Good morning."

"Is everything ready?" I asked, as I pointed in the direction of the paperwork. "Is that all of it?"

She smiled and nodded as she offered the stack to me.

Holly was a tall woman, a one-time model with the brains to match. She  was still single. That revelation would probably shock most people but  the fact of the matter is women like her intimidate both sexes with  their looks. And really, it was too bad because she was a great person  and by far the best personal assistant I'd ever had.

I'd been through nearly a dozen now, all of them not making the cut for  one reason or another. But, Holly--she was the pick of the litter. Did I  mention she was stunning? It would disingenuous for me to say I hadn't  been tempted. I didn't have to ask-I know she felt the same way.

But more important than getting my dick wet was having her respect,  especially when it came to someone in a role like hers. Because the  simple fact was that whatever momentary pleasure I would gain from a  conquest of her paled in comparison to the rewards I reaped in other  ways by restraining myself from my desire to have her.

I paid her, and paid her well mind you, and I had no doubt in my mind  she would give almost anything to defend me. There was no way to put a  price on that kind of loyalty so why would I want to ruin it by taking a  chance on a roll in the hay? I'd be a fool. Even so, we both enjoyed  the banter, hints of what could be if circumstances were a bit  different. If nothing else, it kept things spiced up around the office.

In any case, we kept it professional, with flirting optional.

"Thanks sweetheart," I said, as I took from her. Spinning it around, I  gave the papers a quick perusal to make sure there were no glaring  omissions. As I leafed through the stack of pages, I noticed Holly  fidget with her clothing a bit in my peripheral vision.         

     



 

"Did you need something my dear?" I asked, without looking up at her.

"No, I just wanted to know if I can't get you anything. Some coffee?"

I turned away from her as she spoke. Passing through the threshold to my office, I muttered, "Mmm, hmm. That's fine."

"Gabe," she said, one last time. "Your coat."

"Uh huh," I grumbled, as I continued without stopping.

A few seconds later, I slid into my chair and rolled it under my desk.  Leaning into the firmness of the leather, I placed the documents  outlining of the details of my company's biggest project to-date in  front of me.

It was a breakthrough and sure to be worth nearly a trillion dollars in  market value down the road. Even so, there was a lot to overcome in the  meantime. Regulators, endless testing, clinical trials and the  occasional behind-the-scenes payoff were all part of the world I did  business in. Most people would be shocked to discover cutting edge  life-saving protocols were no more free of corruption than any other  industry where billions, if not trillions, were at stake.

But that was the way of the world. Mine anyway.

Even so, getting to a stage where those issues reached a level of  practical concern would require a significant amount of money. By my  back-of-the-envelope math, I pegged the number at about five times the  value of everything I owned. Needless to say, I was looking for  investors with deep pockets and an appetite for risk.

Nothing about this would be easy, quick or cheap.

I scanned the responses I'd gotten to my initial feelers. I had contacts  around the globe but the best prospects appeared to be in Asia and the  Middle East. The good news was that it looked as though we'd get the  funding we needed and, even better, without having to give up any  equity.

I'd insisted instead on a royalty share agreement, heavily loading  payments in the early years. Of course, I didn't have a single dime from  anyone just yet but there'd be additional discussions and meetings to  finalize things soon enough.