Behind The Potted Plant

"So where was Brook hiding?"

"Try to settle down just a little. She wasn't hiding. You have to remember they were all pretty full of champagne, and she didn't know I was there. In fact she was certain that she was in a very safe place just like Linda and all of the other women thought. To answer your question, she was on the far side of the great room well away from the center of action."

"A nice euphemism for a bunch of them stripping naked."

" Jim, this didn't occur to me until later, but she was one of the last to get into the...to get naked. That meant she didn't just jump into the fray. She was sucked into the action by the same conditions I described to you earlier about you and me being with strippers. The loud thrusting music, the naked bodies and all of the sex and touching. Was she wrong? Hell yes she was wrong in what she did, and I mean all of what she did. But that was a long way from a black and white situation. Had I not seen so much I would be damning a lot of the women there. It was an incredible sight to witness Jim, and only the fact that I wasn't supposed to be there kept me out of the action."

"So you would have been in the middle of that fucking whoever was closest."

"No, I would have been fucking Alexis, this other woman that really got my attention and Brook. How does that grab you bro?"

"Damn it, can that shit man, I can't get over the fact that you saw her bare assed."

"Jim I saw her in every way, so get over it. I'm not going to go chasing her or try to make love to her. She's your wife and I love her totally, and I feel honored to have had the chance to see her undressed. But that's where it ends."

He leaned back as much as the chair would allow and looked toward the ceiling as he said, "This shit is unreal."

"You're right, all of this is as unreal as it gets. We both know I shouldn't have even been there so I'm guilty of being an ultimate peeping Tom at the very least. On the up side, I'm glad I learned about Linda. I'm glad I was allowed to see Alexis and a few of the others naked and much more. But that doesn't make what I did right. Jim, Brook loves you and make no mistake about that. She was caught up in a situation that was too much for her to deal with. Women have peer pressure just like men experience. Her friends were grabbing cocks and encouraging the studs to do their thing. That party was no different than an ultimate stag party actually, but the roles were reversed."

"So you still dumped Linda."

"I dumped her because she deceived me and lied to me. She ate pussy like it was caviar."

She what?"

"Linda is bi Jim. How much so and for how long I don't know, but I'm here to tell you she wasn't timid or clumsy in her performance. She was no virgin in that area."

"Shit. Guys dig that stuff, but I can understand why you're reacting the way you are."

"Like I said, it was mostly because she deceived me and then lied to me even after I gave her a perfect chance to tell me. And for the record, the studs and that woman got a lot more sex out of Linda in a couple of hours than I have for the last few months. Life will go on I guess and it will get better."

"So you didn't tell me the rest about you hiding in the hearth room."

"I made my escape as far as the kitchen, but did I keep going? Not quickly enough it would seem because Alexis caught me."

"Shit, there goes one hell of a money train."

"I'll make you a deal. If you'll give it time and work to forgive Brook I'll tell you more."

"It isn't that simple."

"It can be if you love her and want to make it work. All it takes is for you to be understanding and work with her until you can tell her you forgive her. That doesn't mean you will forget what happened. That just means that you can understand why she did what she did and that nothing like that will happen again without your knowledge and approval."

"Neal I don't want us to break up. I don't know how, but I'll find a way to stick with it."

"That's all Brook will need to know. Tell her you love her, hold her and both of you be open and honest about everything. Talk about what happened at the party and remove the mystery element of all of that. But don't condemn her for what she did, when you and I are both vulnerable to the same temptations."

"You really do love her don't you."

"I really do, and I'll do whatever you ask of me if I can help either or both of you in any way."

"Okay, so what's the rest of the story?"

"I'm breaking a promise to Alexis, so this can go no farther than this. Not to anybody at any time. Even Brook knows little about how I was able to watch everything and she knows nothing of what I did and the aftermath. I don't blame anybody for what happened and yet I blame everybody. Okay so here's what happened. Like I said, she caught me in the kitchen and I've never known anybody that was as furious as she was. I thought she was going to stroke on me for a minute. Her face was a crimson red and I could just feel her fury. Had she had something in her hand I'm afraid she would have beat the shit out of me." Then I went on to tell him the rest of the story.

When I got to the part about her all but dragging me to her suite he stopped me saying, "Wait a second bro, she took you to her bedroom?"

"She took me to her bedroom. She was cooling down, but her blood pressure was still up and I was still a long way from safe, but we were making progress." When I told him that she and I made love, I thought he was going to stroke from surprise and disbelief.

"So you two made love and released all of your sexual tension in one explosive and fast event and then she blew up and kicked you out."

"That's it. Have you ever seen lions screw on a nature show? She's all for it and the male takes good care of her. But as soon as the act is consummated she turns on him in a fury of sounds and bared teeth to chase him off. That's exactly how I felt. I'll spare the boring details and just say that as of now, she and I are back together as the best of friends."

"Damn, more unbelievable happenings."

"I feel like I've been reborn."

"So who else was at that party?"

"About a dozen women that I've never met and a few that I have, but I'm not going to mention names. If I did, every time you saw them you'd try to picture them in the buff and with a cock in each hand or something. There was one woman that I've never seen that I'd love to meet sometime. She saw me hiding behind the potted plant."

"You're making this up."

"Hell, I saw and experienced so damn much that I won't have to make up a story for a very long time." I told Jim my story and then said, "Well that's basically it."

"Bro you have a way of getting things stirred up that's for sure. Listen, thanks for getting to Brook and all of that. I don't know if she would have ever told me otherwise."

"She was as scared as I have ever seen anybody, but I think in time she would have forced herself to confess. She thinks too much of you to do otherwise."

"Well thanks anyway." He got up and we shared a rare embrace and I walked him to the door and watched him leave.

Chapter Twelve

Progress on Alexis' house was going reasonably well and even ahead of schedule, but about twice during each week I made it a point to stop and look things over. Wally, my job supervisor was keeping me abreast of events so all I had to do was walk around and talk to the guys, and of course talk to Alexis if she happened to appear. We'd have coffee in the breakfast room and it felt like we were becoming even better friends. She was back to her little flirtations, but now I'd do the same with her. She was quite a woman and the more I was around her, the more I felt I was getting acquainted with the real her. Our kisses were infrequent, but when they did occur they were well beyond a friendly peck on the lips.

Neither Jim nor Brook were confiding in me about how they were getting along, but I figured no news was good news on that front. One thing that was different however was Nina's behavior. She was still an excellent secretary and able assistant, and she still put up with harassment from the guys, but she seemed more relaxed around me. That thought was reinforced one afternoon when she came into my office with fresh coffee, which wasn't something she normally did, and set it on the paper I was reading. "You look like you could use some caffeine."

"Thanks. I'm still awake, but I am lagging a little. Everything okay?"

"With me, the office or the world?"

"Cute. Okay, let's start with you."

"I'm okay, and thank you very much for asking."

"And the office?"

"Still here. No small fires, no shootings and no police presence so I guess we're in great shape."

"Okay then, the world."

"I have days when I'm ready to get off." I looked at her with raised eyebrows because she never showed anger or even major frustration. "No, I'm not talking about sex, is that where your mind always goes?"

"Nina honey, I wasn't thinking about sex at all, but if you want to talk about getting off I'd be happy to listen."

"Oh my god Neal I'm embarrassed now."

"I won't tell the guys so don't worry, and I know I'm not making it any easier for you. So tell me why you sometimes want to get off of the world."

"Oh you know, we all have days like that. Days when nothing seems to go right, the news on TV is horrible, and so forth."

"So you're having one of those days I take it."

"I really am okay, but I came in wearing such a funk for some reason. I feel fine, the world is no different and so forth, so it's just me. I'm out of chemical balance I guess."

"Or something."

"So tell me to buzz off, but I'll ask anyway. So you're past your last crisis and the world is sweet again and you're back with Linda."

"The crisis is past, the world is semi sweet and I'm not back with Linda."

"Sorry, I know I'm being nosy."

"Hey, I'm the one that sobbed on your shoulder that day, so don't worry about it. No boyfriend problems right?"

She parked her butt on my desk just as she had done the day that I confided in her and she said, "Nothing major at all. You know, maybe it's just boredom. Don't you ever get bored?"

"Not very often I guess. I'm busy every day of the week and on the weekends...no, you know I guess I do get bored sometimes. See if this sounds familiar. I have time and opportunity go so someplace or do something, but I just don't feel like it. So instead I stay home and get restless, but not focused enough to do anything about it."

"That sounds very familiar. You know, clinically that might be considered depression."

"I contribute it to being lazy or just tired after working hard all week. Okay so you're saying part of your problem is boredom."

"Not problem really, because I am pretty happy go lucky most of the time. But yeah, maybe I do get bored. I don't have unlimited funds to go chasing adventure and excitement, so I watch television and experience vicarious thrills on crappy movies that are always showing on cable."

I smiled and said, "You just have to stop watching the adult channel."

"Oh my god, have you ever watched that channel?" Talk about bad acting and poor writing. My god we produced better stuff than that in high school drama class."

I was out to tease her now. I turned my chair toward her and leaning back I said, "Oh, I get it, you're looking for quality porn."

"Neal you pervert, I am not looking for porn, quality or not. I was just expressing an observation."

"Okay, sorry I guess I misunderstood."

"Sure you did. I never knew you could be like this."

"Hey, I work with the guys remember? Maybe they've polluted my mind."

"I'm beginning to think it's the other way around boss. I thought I should use that word to remind me not to get carried away."

"You're not afraid I'll fire you are you?"

"Who knows, it's a cold cruel world you know."

"Not in here. We are a warm close family around here."

"I know, the guys keep trying to make us a lot closer and a lot warmer."

I laughed and said, "If they ever get out of hand just let me know and I'll give them a gentle reminder. I looked at my watch and then said, "Okay, which is closest to your ride home. Red Lobster or say...well something farther north?"

"Red lobster and points south."

"Then close up shop and we'll go have dinner before you go home and get bored and depressed."

"Now look, I wasn't hinting at anything, I was just making small talk."

"Great, so let's continue small talk over wine and seafood. I'll tell you a true adult rated story while we chase the blues away."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you mean about dinner or the story?"

"Well both I guess."

"I'm serious about both. I'll even do my best to keep my language semi clean. I'll use anatomical terminology and try to avoid vernacular just for you."

"And this is just dinner and conversation right?"

I laughed and said, "Nina honey, I'm not going to try to talk you into bed if that's what you mean."

"I know that was silly of me, but...well I just wanted to be sure."

"You're as sweet and charming as you can possibly be, but the last thing I need in my life right now is any more complications."

As we left the office she said, "You are aware aren't you that this is the first time you've ever done this for me."

"I am aware and that's wrong, because when the crew finishes a job I treat them to dinner and beer."

"I know you do because I pay the bills remember?"

"That's right. Okay, so tonight we start a new tradition. When they are treated to dinner you will be as well."

"Oh no, I'm not going to dinner with any or all of those guys."

We stopped at her car and I laughed and said, "No, you and I will go to dinner just like tonight."

Chapter Thirteen

I followed her over to Red Lobster and we walked in together. "What if you run into Linda?"

"I'll smile, nod and keep going. I might even say hi. I don't hate her. I just can't trust her now."

"Oh. Sorry, I guess I'm prying again."

"Relax Nina. If there's something I don't want to share I'll let you know."

We were seated by a window and were sipping our first glass of white wine when Nina said, "Neal, thank you so much for doing this for me."

"You're very welcome. You know I can feel the blues slipping away from both of us even as we sit here."

"So tell me this adult rated, semi clean, true story. By the way it really is true right?"

"It's absolutely true, and I'll reinforce that later because...well to me at least, it was an amazing and unbelievable experience."

"You certainly have my curiosity built up."

I created a fictitious location and timed it a couple of months before the true event, and I gave Alexis a different name. I even altered some of the events leading up to the story to further disguise the real truth. It took me until our food was delivered to set up my story because I was taking my time and encouraging questions. Nina and I wouldn't have a whole lot to talk about beyond office minutiae, so in addition to having fun with the story, our evening of dinner and drinks would be full of conversation.

I really didn't know how Nina was going to handle the adult theme, so all I could do was spin the story and watch her reactions as we went along. I created a situation that would put me in a large house with a huge entertainment room I called it. I told her the truth about my phony measuring to impress the customer, and that was how I came to be trapped. She broke out laughing and said, "You were trapped and on your knees behind a potted plant?"

"I was, and believe me, at the time it wasn't all that funny The hen party started and it took off at a run, so I was tucked into my little pocket trying to decide what to do. Of course we both know I should have just calmly walked out and that would have been the end of it. But you see, there was a woman there that I knew and I was amazed to see her in such...sexy clothes and acting so...well she was really having fun." I was playing loose with the facts, but the real essence would still be there and that's what counted. I ate a few bites and then continued my story.

"Now wait a minute Neal. You're huddled in your little hiding spot, the women are slowly getting naked and the male strippers are doing their thing and you can see all of that?"

"Enough to know exactly what was going on anyway. People would block my view, but nobody was standing still for long, because there was too much to see and do."

"So the guys were only wearing those tiny thongy things and of course they were all totally...ready."

"Yes, they were all in full tumescence," and I thought she was going to laugh. I refilled our wine glasses and then continued to spin my tale. I even gave her more detail than I had shared with anybody else, and that wasn't easy with my vocabulary restrictions. But I continued to do my best as I stumbled along. The first time I used the word vulva I almost laughed and penis seemed like a foreign word to me, but on I went bringing Nina along on my true adventure.

"Neal, is just some of this or maybe most of this true?"

"I told you it's unbelievable, but it's all true. I was spellbound, afraid of being discovered and then losing the contract at the very least. And I was..."

"You were horny as you could get of course and you were...oops sorry, never mind the last part. I keep forgetting you're my boss and we have to work together every day." She smiled, tasted her wine and I waited while the waiter removed our plates. "Okay so go ahead."

"I'm not offending you am I?"

"You're doing great and you don't have to be quite as careful with me." I didn't know what she meant by, quite as careful, so I stayed with the way I was telling it.

Her next comment as the story continued was, "No way."

"Oh there is so much more to tell you."

"And you knew these women?"

"Some of them, but most of them I didn't know."

"So had they seen you they would have recognized you."

"Oh yes. There's something to tell about that whole subject too, by the way."

She emptied her glass again without even taking her eyes from me, but a minute later she said, "Oh I better go home, I'm getting drunk."

"Then you can't drive Nina. I'll take you home and we can get your car tomorrow."

"I'll be okay if I go now. I only live a few miles from here. But damn it, I want to hear the rest of your story. I have to know how this ends and what happens next."

I smiled and said, "Yes, I can see in your eyes that you're not in real good shape. Let me at least get you a cab Nina. Then use a cab in the morning to get to work. I'll pay for it and then we'll get your car tomorrow night."

"Maybe I better say yes. God, I don't drink a lot and that wine really hit me hard."

"I'm afraid you're on your own with the hangover though."

"Gee, thanks."

With the call made for the cab, we went out to wait for it, standing just to the side from the restaurant entrance. Nina leaned against me for support and I put my arm around her. She looked up at me and said, "My boss got me drunk and told me dirty stories. That's so damn funny." Oh yes, Nina was going to have a nasty hangover. I helped her into the cab and gave him a twenty and told him to keep the change. I kissed Nina's cheek and sent her on her way home, and I went home feeling sorry for her, but smiling at the same time. I couldn't wait to ask her why she'd had so much wine if she wasn't used to alcohol.

When she came to my office in the morning I looked at her, smiled and shook my head in sympathy, and gave her the money for the cab. When she returned later, she gave me coffee and put the pending contracts by my right arm for review and the other mail in front of me. A routine that we had established long ago. "I'll talk softly and ask you how you feel."

"Remember how I said I sometimes wanted to get off of the world? Well this is one of those times."