Does It Rub Off?

Authors note: If you didn't like my story, "The Racist" you won't like this one either.

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I met her eyes across the room and she smiled a knowing smile and then turned her attention back to the woman she was talking to. That little knowing smile had said it all, loud and clear, "You want me and I know it." She was right. I did want her, but I also knew that I could never have her.

My relationship with Tasha had not gotten off on the right foot. I had not wanted her in my department and I'm afraid my feelings about that were well known. When the opening occurred I had submitted the name of the most qualified man in the department, a man who could do the job and who was worthy of and long overdue for promotion. Two days later I was called to the personnel department and Bill, our Human Resources guy, introduced me to Tasha and said, Tasha will be filling the vacancy in your department." The look I gave him said, "You have to be joking" and he read the look right and gave me a small shrug.

"She still has to go to the clinic for the drug test and then come back here and fill out the rest of her paper work so she won't start until tomorrow, but I thought it would be good to get you in here to meet her."

"Fine. Nice meeting you Miss Portly and I'll see you in the morning."

"That's Mrs. Portly," she said.

I smiled and nodded my head and left the office. Five minutes later I had Bill on the phone; "Can you talk?"

"Yes, she's on her way to the clinic."

"What are you doing to me? That job was supposed to go to Ben, not to someone from outside the company."

"Not my call. The word came down from on high to hire her for the opening."

"What idiot up there in the Ivory Palace made that decision? Does he have the slightest idea of the damage this will do?"

"Oh come on. What can hiring her possibly do to hurt your department?"

"You got a week to sit and listen? First she's a female and she's going into an entirely male environment. Secondly she has just stolen the promotion from the man best qualified for the job and a man who has earned that promotion twice over. The effect on morale alone is going to hurt our productivity. Third, she's black and two thirds of the men in my department are Southern and are not going to take kindly to taking orders from a black and a woman at that. That will be another hit on morale and productivity. Fourth, she has an attitude problem. Did you catch the way and the tone of voice she used when she told me it was Mrs. and not Miss? She has a chip on her shoulder and that isn't going to set well either."

"Tough my man. This came straight from the CEO. He was at a meeting of one of his civic groups and someone commented on the fact that he had no minorities in management at any level in his company. Now he can say he has."

"Well you can tell the asshole that I'm shooting him a memo on this and putting him on notice that I'm not going to be held responsible when my department goes to shit."

"All that will get you is "You are a manager, so manage. If you can't, we will get some one who will."

"I don't care Bill, I was looking for a job when I found this one. Oh hell, send me her resume so I can see what I have to work with."

"Can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I don't have one. All I have is a phone call from Maxey's executive secretary telling me that Mrs. Portly was on her way over and to hire her."

"Well fuck me."

"I think they did pal, I think they did."

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It is my policy to be up front with the people who work for me so the first thing I did when I got back to my department was call Ben in and give him the bad news. He took it well, but he was also very blunt.

"I'm not happy, but if she can do the job I'll work with her. On the other hand, if she can't do the job I won't carry her and if I get any shit because of it I'll quit."

Next I called the whole department together and told them what was coming down. There were a lot of "It's not fairs" and a lot of grumbling, but I cut it off when I said, "It's what we have to live with people. Lets not borrow any trouble until we see how it shakes out. So far Ben is okay with it and he is the one who got screwed so lets just see how it plays out."

The next morning when Tasha reported for work I took her into my office and laid it all out for her. I told her that she had taken Ben's promotion and that there was a lot of resentment on the floor because of it and that she was going to have a tough row to hoe. I'd told Bill that she had an attitude problem and it surfaced right away. "So which is it that pisses you off the most, the fact that I'm a woman or the fact that I'm black?"

"What upsets me most Tasha, is that..." and she cut me off.

"I prefer Mrs. Portly."

"I don't give a rats ass as to what you prefer. As I was saying, what upsets me most about this is that a long term and loyal employee got shafted on this deal. And I'll tell you right now that your attitude sucks. The lowest seniority on the floor is eight years and they got along without you up till now just fine. A lot of them are male chauvinist pigs and a good portion of them are from the South and have never worked for or with a woman, let alone a black one. If you take that attitude of yours out onto the floor they will break it off in your butt. If they do that and my production goes to pot I will have you out of here in a heartbeat and I don't care who your sugar daddy in the front office is. I don't give a shit about your sex or the color of your skin. All I care is that you get the job done. Are we clear on that?"

"You can't speak to me like that!"

"Oh yes I can lady. As long as this is my department and you work for me when I talk you will listen and when I am done you will say "Yes sir" or "Right away sir" and "I'll get right on it." Do we understand one another?" Her eyes blazed defiance, but she nodded a yes and I took her out on the floor and introduced her around.

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She surprised everybody. It didn't happen right away and there were some severe bumps in the road, but Tasha could do the job and she did it well. Once Ben saw what she was capable of he warmed to her and when the other guys saw that they all came around. Inside of six months she was stopping after work now and then to have a drink with the crew. It wasn't until Tasha had her first year performance review that things started to get sticky. As she sat across from me and read what I'd written I watched her and I was struck by just how beautiful she looked when she was relaxed. Most of the time I saw her she was busy and concerned about things and the planes of her face sharpened and made her look severe. When she was done reading the review and handed it back to me I said, "Okay, now it is your turn. How do you rate the department and the department management?" I saw a look of alarm come over her face and I said, "Your review is done and signed Tasha. Nothing you say now can have any impact on it. That's why I do it this way. Nothing is perfect Tasha. Anything can be improved on. What, from your point of view can we do better? What can I do better that will help the department meet it's commitments? What can we do on the floor to improve? What about your fellow workers? Speak your mind Tasha, you won't get another chance until your review next year."

"Nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing needs to be changed; everything is running smoothly."

"You have no concerns at all?"

"Well, only one."

"What is it?"

She hesitated and then, "I don't think that the guys on the floor respect me."

"What makes you say that?" "They are always hitting on me. They know that I'm married and that I love my husband, but they keep coming on to me."

I smiled when she said that and she said, "What's funny?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? That isn't lack of respect that you are getting, that's desire. That is the male animal being attracted to the female of the species."

"But I'm black and they are all white."

"And that is supposed to mean something? You are a great looking woman Tasha and that isn't going to change because of skin color."

"But what about the fact that I'm married?"

"Most of them are too and it doesn't mean a thing to them. All they care about is will you play or not."

"You really think that?"

"Of course I do."

"But you don't do it and you are a male animal."

"I don't do it Tasha because you work for me and sexual harassment is the new buzzword these days. The fastest way in the world to shoot myself through the grease would be to make a pass at you. Even if you didn't file charges someone else could and might if they perceived that you were getting ahead because there was something going on between us."

It was at that point that our relationship changed. What I can only call an 'evil grin' came over Tasha's face and she said, "You are telling me that if I offered you this tight, brown body you would turn it down just because I work for you?"

"I'm afraid that pretty much sums it up." I saw something change in her eyes, but at the time I had no idea what it was. I didn't know it, but I had just issued a challenge.

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The change was subtle and I didn't notice it at first. Tasha started coming into my office more frequently. I use the term office, but more realistically you would call it a cubbyhole. It was small and cramped and not made for two people to move around in. Tasha would bring in a production report and lean forward to place it on my desk and I'd get a great view of her cleavage. If I asked her a question about something in the report she would come around behind me and lean forward to see what I was pointing to and I'd feel her large breasts press into my back. When she came and sat down in the chair opposite my desk she would sit so I could look up her skirt and get a great look at her legs. She would cross them and uncross them and once or twice I got a look at her panties. It finally dawned on me that Tasha was teasing me. I got confirmation of that at the company Christmas party. I was sitting at a table watching the couples on the dance floor when I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned and saw Tasha standing there. "May I cut in?"

"If I had a partner and was on the dance floor you could."

"Well then I guess we need to get out there" and she took my hands, pulled me out of the chair and led me to the dance floor. Once on the floor she moved in close and practically plastered herself to me. The smell of her perfume and her tits pressing into my chest had the predictable result and as my erection grew. I tried for some separation, but Tasha wasn't having any of that. She kept herself close to me and when she felt the erection she giggled and said, "Oh boss man, are you allowed to do that to me? I work for you, remember?"

"That's true Mrs. Portly which is why I'm trying to put some distance between us" and once again I tried for some separation.

"Oh now it is Mrs. Portly is it?" and she kept herself tight against me.

"I have my own theory," she said.

"About what."

"About this you can't do this or that because I work for you."

"Oh? And just what is your theory?"

"I think that it is because I'm black. I think you've heard the old wives tale about the color rubbing off. I think that's what it is all about."

"That's just ridiculous."

"Is it? Prove me wrong. Dance me over to the mistletoe and kiss me."

I glanced around and she cried, "Aha. I was right!"

"Right about what?"

"You just now looked around to check out who might be watching us. Wouldn't do to be seen getting a kiss from Brown Sugar, would it?"

"Don't be silly. I was just looking for your husband. I want to get a look at his face and see how he is taking this."

"Don't you sweat my husband sweetie. If he was going to get upset over my getting kissed under the mistletoe there would have been a dozen fights in here by now. Now, are you going to dance me over to the mistletoe and kiss me or are you just going to admit to being a closet racist hiding behind the supervisor/employee thing?"

You ever have someone push one of your buttons just a little too hard at the wrong time? Tasha's remark did that to me. I didn't have a racist bone in my body and to have her suggest that I was a closet bigot sent me right over the edge. Closet racist, huh? Well we would just see about that. I steered us in the direction of the mistletoe, but I didn't stop when we got there. I went through the doorway and out into the hall casting one last glance into the room to see if her husband was looking our way and saw that he wasn't. I stopped waltzing with Tasha, took hold of her hand and pulled her along behind me until I found an unlocked door. Tasha was protesting and trying to pull away from me, but I ignored her. I pulled her into the room, kicked the door closed and pushed Tasha up against the wall. I looked down into her wide-open eyes and inwardly I smiled at the confusion on her face.

"Racist am I?" I bent my head and kissed her. She hadn't expected it so my tongue pushing into her mouth came as a complete surprise. With my body pinning her to the wall I used one hand to free up my hard cock and the other to rub her tits. While I was doing that my tongue stayed busy in her mouth. Tasha wasn't struggling, but she wasn't responding either. I broke the kiss, put both hands on her shoulders and pushed her down to her knees. Her face was on a level six inches in front of my cock and she stared at it as it bobbed up and down. "Go ahead Tasha, touch it. Reach out and take hold of it and see if you leave any black on it. I'm dying to know if that old wives tale is true. Will the color rub off? Come on Tasha, touch it. No? Don't want too? Or could it be that you are afraid that the white will rub off and stain your hand? Is that it Tasha? Or is it that you are a reverse racist? Do you have a prejudice against whites Tasha?" I took my hands off of her shoulders and just stood there to see what she would do. She didn't move, just stayed there and stared at my cock. I took a step forward and my cock was now only the thickness of a sheet of paper from her mouth and I said, "Go ahead Tasha, stick your tongue out and taste it. What are you afraid of Tasha? Isn't this what you wanted? Isn't this what all your teasing was supposed to bring about? Come on Tasha. Either do something or admit to me that you are a bigot where whites are concerned."

Tasha looked up at me and I saw a tear in the corner of her left eye. "I can't" she said, "I'm married and I can't."

I reached down grabbed her let wrist and brought her hand to my cock. Using her wrist to move her hand I made her stroke my cock a couple of times and then I pulled her hand away and held it in front of her face. "See any white there? How about my cock, see any black on it?" I let go of her wrist and stepped back from her. "You are a cock teaser Tasha, and so far you have gotten away with it, but the next time you come into my office and tease me I'm going to push you down on my desk and fuck your eyes out and sexual harassment charges be damned." I offered her a hand and pulled her to her feet. "Best we get back to the party before we are missed."

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The teasing stopped and for the next month or so Tasha had trouble meeting my eyes and then things began to gradually get back to normal between us. Normal lasted less than a week. Tasha just walked into my office and sat down on the chair across from me, pulled her skirt up a little and spread her legs and then sat there and gave me a shot of her beaver - a real shot! She wasn't wearing any panties. Several moments passed as I sat there and stared and then Tasha said, "I seem to remember you telling me about what you would do if I ever teased you again. Or were you just jiving me?"

"What happened to the "I'm married and I can't?"

"I caught the worthless asshole fucking my cousin."

I stared at her as I debated doing what I said I'd do. After all, my office at high noon would be a little risky. She interrupted my thoughts, "What's the matter white boy, afraid it might rub off?"

"We all ready proved that it doesn't."

"Maybe we just didn't have enough heat and friction that time."

"Well, I guess we had better find out for sure then" and I got up to go over and lock the door.