Behind The Potted Plant

"How was last night?"

"Before or after I threw up?"

"Damn I'm sorry I did that to you."

"Boss, you didn't do anything to me. I did this to myself."

"Okay, I'll ask. Why did you do that to yourself?"

"Like I said, I don't drink a lot because I don't care for the taste of a lot of things. Besides it's expensive. But for whatever reason, the wine was okay. I was enjoying having dinner with you, I loved listening to you tell your story and I just lost track of how much I was drinking I guess."

"I'll keep an eye on you the next time then. If you feel too rotten, go home and sleep it off."

"I'll feel like this here or at home so I might as well do what I can. Besides, as the day progresses I'm sure I'll feel better and better."

"Okay. I'll be out from about eleven until two or so, but then I'll be back to tackle those contracts."

"Okay," and she retreated to her desk just outside of my office.

Wally called me about ten and gave me a progress report and I asked him if he'd seen Alexis, but she wasn't around so I cancelled my plan to go talk to her.

Chapter Fourteen

I was back to the office by three fifteen and stopped at Nina's desk. "Okay, so give me a report on how you feel."

"On a scale of one to ten, I started out at minus one. By late morning I had progressed to a three plus, by lunch, which I passed on by the way, I was a good five. Now, I'd give myself a solid nine."

"Encouraging report, but what about starving yourself?"

"I've been nibbling since about two so I'm not suffering too much. Besides I could stand to lose some weight."

"You could not," and I went to my office to review the contracts.

I came out a little after four and handed the contracts to Nina saying, "Here are the pending contracts ready to go and the completed contracts for the files. The rest of the stuff can wait. By the way, is there anybody else in the building?"

"I saw Scott in the back about twenty minutes ago."

"Thanks," and I disappeared, only to come back a few minutes later and told her, "Grab your purse. Scott is going to watch the front and I'm taking you to your car. You're getting a whole hour off with pay. I want to be remembered as a big spender."

We rode in silence for a couple of minutes until I asked her, "Hungry?"

"I am, so I guess that means not only will I live, but I think I'm healed."

"Good. We'll have dinner again, but this time with iced tea or coffee or something."

"Neal, you're not going to buy me dinner again."

"Look, it was my fault that you got soused yesterday so it's my fault that your day was so screwed up, and we have to go retrieve your car. Why should both of us eat alone when we'll be right by the front door of the restaurant? Now don't argue with your boss. Just don't order something rich and heavy. I don't want you to throw up on my table."

"That's gross. Okay boss, but you have to tell me part two of the story."

"I had that plan in mind in fact."

We didn't get very far with my story. The family at the table behind me had a young daughter that had this thing for getting off of her chair and coming to our table. I'd have to stop talking about sex and wait while mom or dad retrieved her. I finally gave up and I convinced Nina to go to the bar where there would be nothing but adults, and we could talk without fear of being overheard.

I ordered her a Shirley Temple and for me an amaretto sour, and I continued with the story. Picking up my glass I said, "Okay now where did we leave off?"

"You were hiding and horny." I guess my reaction to her comment was significant, because she laughed until she had to put her glass down and cover her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were dancing as she settled down and said, "I'm sorry, go ahead."

I could only smile at her and say, "Well there was so much going on all over the room and at the same time, that it's hopeless trying to keep a true timeline. Let's see. I'll call her woman number three was down to her panties and..."

"What did she look like and how close were you to her?"

"Damn, you do want details. Okay, she was curvaceous in a Romanesque way, a pretty face and she was all energy and excitement."

"So big breasted and all of that."

"Oh yes, and one of the...performers planted his face right between them before getting more serious with her. She lost her panties and they...they toyed with each other let's say." Nina's eyes continued to dance and she smiled as I did my own dancing with carefully chosen words. I knew that by being careful I was losing some of the excitement of the story, but all I could do was my best. "Not long after that one of the performers was with one of the women I know and they were really getting acquainted. I knew she had a boyfriend, but that issue wasn't significant I guess, because she went to her knees and..."

Nina was smiling as she leaned over our little table and whispered, "She sucked him, it's okay to say that."

"Shit Nina, this is harder than I thought it was going to be."

"I better not say what I was going to say. Okay, go ahead boss."

"Okay she was taking him down her throat. Like I said, I know her so that event had extra meaning to me."

"That was Linda wasn't it."

"Where did that come from?"

"Well the time line is wrong, but that just fits. Whenever this event happened isn't important, but if I'm right and that was Linda, I'll bet you were freaking out."

I did my best not to react to what she said, but I couldn't stop a small crooked smile sneaking onto my face. I softly told her, "You're too damn smart," and said, "Okay, moving on now," and that almost made her laugh again. "There was another very striking looking woman there that I know, and I'd hold my breath every time an article of her clothing disappeared. It was like a slow intense tease for me"

"And you were hunkered down and drooling down the front of your...your shirt," and she laughed again.

"You're enjoying watching me struggle as much as you're enjoying the story."

"I told you before that you don't have to be quite as cautious. Can I taste your drink?"

She switched topics almost in mid breath and I almost stuttered before I gave up and just handed her my glass. "Oh wow, that tastes good."

"Would you like one?"

"That's so tempting, but I better behave myself."

"It's too late for that. You've enjoyed watching me struggle and stumble." I couldn't decide if she looked coy or devilish, but I suddenly felt the need to focus on my tale.

Before I could say anything more she said, "I went to a male strip show once."

She had to be studying me so she could slap me with these surprising comments, because she'd catch me off guard and once again I would stumble. "What...no I mean when...what was that like?"

"Not a lot like what you describe, because the so called dancers were banned from getting naked, but they did their best. One of the hunks thong was more mesh than anything else so I got my eyes full and he got ten dollars of my money tucked into his pouch. And I wasn't even drinking that night. The women were raising hell, and the guys were all over the place doing their bump and grind thing and pawing the women. Of course they weren't allowed to actually touch any of us. That's the advantage of a private show. Still illegal, but who's going to report them? Anyway, a lot of women pulled their tops up to flash the guys and one pretty drunk woman that I saw pulled her shorts down far enough to prove to them she was female."

"And how was all of that for you?"

"I was a few years younger, and I had a blast that night. I've often wondered what went on that I didn't see."

"An interesting thought and I have the same one. I know I missed things because it wasn't possible for me to see everybody."

"And impossible to keep up with what areas you could see."

"That's right. I did see two naked women go to the floor and enjoy each other's charms."

Her smile disappeared as she asked me, "And what did you think of that?"

"Well you know how guys feel about that sort of thing."

"I'm sorry that you had to witness that."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because we're talking about Linda again."

"Damn it Nina, why Linda every time I talk about something that happened."

"Hey, don't get mad at me, I wasn't even there."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but what's the connection?"

"Your expression. I don't even know why you brought that unpleasant event up, but your sweet expression suddenly went sober and your eyes left me for a minute. Maybe talking about that experience helps you come to terms with it."

Maybe I did need to talk about it because I opened up to my secretary. I'd beat my head against the wall later as I berated myself, but I spilled my guts to her. "Yes, that too was Linda."

"I'm sorry Neal."

"I was already mentally scrambled from just seeing her there, because she didn't tell me that she was even going to...to a party. She knew what would be there and what would almost certainly happen. She dressed slutty so that told me she went with some big plans in mind." I took a deep breath and focused on my empty glass as I said, "Even now I can't sort out what exactly it is that infuriated me. I was pissed that she kept that significant secret from me. I was confused about how I felt when she grabbed that cock. But...I've known Linda for a long time and I never even had a clue that she was bi. But okay or whatever. But damn it Nina, she lied to me when I brought up the party afterwards. I wanted to talk about it and have her help me sort out my feelings, but she just piled one lie on top of another. Sorry, let's get back to something more pleasant and happy."

"No, let's talk about this Neal," and she took my hand in hers. "Look at me. So the bisexual issue isn't necessarily an awful thing then."

"I don't know. I mean if she's with a woman, how does that differ from her having sex with a man? Either way they're sharing a sexually and maybe even an emotionally satisfying time and I'm left out to dry."

"That's a good point. Okay, what else bothered you about her?"

"That's about it. It keeps coming back to the deceit and the lies."

"But had she confessed, would you have been able to forgive her?"

"I would have tried to. But had she told me about going to the party in advance, that alone would have helped. In fact I wouldn't have been nearly as shocked when I saw her."

"Maybe that's so and maybe not. You would have still seen her get naked, be pawed by the guys and see her grab cocks and the lady friend."

"See, I can't sort that whole thing out."

"Have you talked to her since?"

"No and I don't plan to. If I was important in her life, she could have at least called me later."

"She was obviously important to you."

"You know, I didn't really think I was as wrapped up in her as it seems I was. I still can't say that I loved her, but there was something special there. Let's talk about something else. The past is the past. I don't hate her now like I did in the beginning, and I'm enjoying being here with you too much to ruin it talking about unpleasant events." That's when she asked me for an amaretto sour.

Chapter Fifteen

We didn't go back to the orgy story, and we left unpleasant topics behind. We talked a little more about her experience at the male strip show and that put us back into a happy and fun frame of mind again. Then I smiled and she asked me, "What are you smiling about now?"

"I just remembered that you said something about Linda and a cock."

"I told you to relax a little. I hear words like that every time the guys are in the office. They do try to shock me you know."

"I know and I'm going to tell them to cool it."

"I'm not fragile."

"But you deserve better than that and I'm sorry I didn't intervene sooner."

"Neal, I'll bet there were other women at the orgy that you know perhaps a little too well."

"Damn you Nina, how do you come up with these things?"

"Well think about it. How much more intimate can you get than lovemaking? Okay, screwing, caressing, kissing and so forth. Now this area where we live and work isn't huge and it doesn't have a huge population."

"I didn't say the party was in this area."

"Well it had to be is my thought, because you don't take on jobs that are too far out of the area. You don't have to reach out to stay busy. Or if you do, you send Wally and trust him to run the show. So we're back to this area. Now since we're here that means the attendees will also come from within a reasonable radius of here."

"I know, you were a cop before you came to work for me."

"No, but I read a lot of detective stories. Now stop interrupting me because I'm on a roll. So all of the ladies are going to be past the age of consent and they aren't going to be all that old, so that's another fact I can be safe in assuming. It had to be a very large house to have a party like that indoors and in one area of the house only. Wow, now that really brings down the possibilities. I mean we're talking about a house of...oh maybe five thousand square feet and maybe more. Within that radius that I mentioned, there can't be more than, oh what, maybe half a dozen homes of that scale? Maybe twelve if we reach way out. The next thing to consider is you were working for her. Not them, because with a husband in the picture those things probably wouldn't have happened. Oh they could have, but not really likely. So now we have a single rich woman in the area with a huge house that you're doing some work for. Oh wait I know," and she smiled at me. "I'm going to guess Alexis had the party and recently, not a couple of months ago."

"Damn it Nina, I promised her I would keep my mouth shut. Damn it, when will I learn to do what I say I'll do."

"Relax, you didn't tell me anything. I heard a rumor and I put things together, and that's not even a total lie. You're secret is safe with me boss and that is a promise. But damn it, now I want to hear more and leave out the euphemisms. So Linda and some other gal got it on, you saw cocks being mauled, pulled and used for their intended function on various ladies and in various positions."

"Damn this whole idea of telling the story and us having some fun with it is now getting very complicated. How can I talk about cocks and p...okay pussies with you and then go back to work like nothing ever happened."

"What do you think will happen at the office? Should I be afraid that you'll accost me or something?"

"Of course not."

"I hear dirty words almost every day so I'm not going to sit up nights and stew over that issue."

"Okay, I give up. So you don't think any less of me for all of this craziness and me hiding behind the potted plant when I should have been making my escape."

"Now that issue is different. You were so wrong in what you did, and were you my husband I would have knocked you silly for that alone. Very poor judgment. But the fact is, you're a single, chronically horny and a healthy guy that had the chance to see a bunch of naked and sexy women, all in one place and almost at the same time, to say nothing of what else you got to see. I really can picture you there barely breathing and not blinking and your mind going like a recording machine. Tic, tic, tic and it logs every significant image, both in stills and in full motion. You're...your manhood could be used for a cane and your crying inside because you can't be out there playing with all of them."

I sat back and stared at her and she just smiled back at me and said, "Well?"

"Yeah okay, you nailed it. I am ashamed for doing what I did."

"But you'd do it again given the chance."

"I don't think my system would survive another event of that magnitude, when it was just me, the plant and my cane." Again she smiled

"We still have to talk about what other experiences you had, and I still don't know how you escaped without being caught."

"I didn't."

She quickly leaned forward as her eye grew large and she said, "You didn't? Oh my god," and she continued to stare at me.

"That's a little farther along in the story."

"Damn you Neal, you can't just leave me dangling like this now, I mean knowing what happened to you."

"Well, I'm still alive, so you do know that I didn't die that night."

"But that leaves so much to still be told."

"I know, but in the meantime use your detective skills and see if you can figure it out. Now we better go before I order another drink and then you'll have to drive me home this time."

She was smiling, but as she moved her chair back she said, "Damn you Neal, you are so mean."

"Just keeping you interested in my story hon." I threw money on the table and we walked out into the night, and the glare of all the street lights and the brightly lit signs for all of the other businesses around us. I stopped near our cars and turning to Nina I said, "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Tomorrow is Friday so come over for dinner tomorrow night, and though it will take awhile, I'll tell you the rest of the story. All of the dirty little details, but be sure you're up for that because I'm going to reveal some intimate details."

She broke into a smile and asked me, "About you I hope?"

"Maybe, but remember, we still have to be working together at the office, and we have to go on as though nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened between us."

"Nothing will happen between us, but we will be sharing some dynamite information."

"Don't be difficult, you know what I meant."

"Okay boss, you can let me know what time tomorrow night when I bring you coffee."

"You don't have to do that you know."

"I do know, but that way I'll make sure you haven't forgotten about dinner and story hour."

"Trust me, I won't forget."

I watched her walk to her car and then I turned toward mine as she called out, "Hey handsome," and I turned back to her. "Thanks for dinner again and thanks for telling me a story. See you in the morning."

"Night Nina," and we went our separate ways.

Chapter Sixteen

Friday morning, Nina came into my office and I stared at her. "Damn you look nice."

"What are you talking about, I've worn this to work before."

"I don't think so or I'd remember it."

"Well I have, so maybe you were out of town or on vacation or something."

"Maybe so," and I let the subject drop, but I watched her backside as she went back out to her desk. She kept me in coffee until ten, and I watched her some more, and then I went out on some appointments. Then on to lunch and then back to the office. About three o'clock I went out to see Alexis and how our project was looking. I'd just talked to Wally so I knew, but it didn't hurt me to see for myself and it certainly didn't hurt me to see Alexis again.

She met me as I got out of the car, so it was an easy decision to go with her and leave the job site for later. As soon as we were inside we shared another of our special friend kisses and then we went to the kitchen. It was well blocked off so we could use the barstools, which we turned toward each other and talked "So how is my beautiful friend doing?"

"I've been busy but just fine. Have you recovered from all of your crisis's?"

"I have. Brook and Jim seem to be doing fine and so am I, and thankfully I too have been busy."

"Are you too busy to have coffee with me?"

"Never."

We sipped our coffee and talked about anything that didn't relate to the past party, except we did talk about Linda for a minute. It was good to see Alexis again and be close to her. Neither of us showed any signs of being serious about our relationship beyond friends, but we were both merciless with our flirting with each other. There was just that edge of danger with us. If we went too far, either or both of us could get in over our heads, but we both enjoyed being on that thin precipice between being friends and being lovers or even something beyond that.