Tables Turned Ch. 02

Chapter 2 -- First Impressions

Jack followed the red head into the office and nervously looked around whilst she made herself comfortable. She removed her coat to reveal a sharp business suit with a white blouse & Jack could not help himself but to glance at her cleavage gaping through the top. As she sat at her desk she beckoned Jack to sit.

As she sat opposite him at her desk, she delicately & slowly removed her black leather gloves (almost seductively thought Jack?) to reveal immaculately manicured long red painted nails which tentatively stroked the leather as they were being peeled off of her hands

'Coffee?' She asked

'Err, no thank you. I'm fine' he nervously replied

'Well I will. One thing you will learn about me is that Coffee is a big part of my daily schedule.' And with that she pressed a button on her phone which must have acted like an intercom. Without waiting for an answer, she snapped into it 'My usual, & make it quick'.

'Mental note with the coffee' thought Jack.

'Ok, well lets start then shall we? My name is Helena Sharp, but you can call me Miss Sharp' she said and without pausing continued 'Now tell me a little about yourself, your qualifications & experience'

'Well...' stammered Jack 'I finished my Uni degree in July & since then have been gaining practical experience in a placement at my Uncle's company. I assisted with the setting up & implementation of a new local radio station -- THB.FM, you might have heard of it?'. Jack was quietly confident that this would impress Miss Sharp, as the station launch had been a blaze of publicity & had been set up in record time coming in well under budget -- something of a local success story.

'I have your application & CV here & that sounds very impressive.' She replied. 'I had heard something about a new station, but this company prefers to focus on national & international media. We leave local media to the amateurs & has beens.' 'So, before we start the process off, I am going to tell you the finer details of the job & the expectations that I have of you' She said, as she glanced up from the papers in front of her & piercingly stared directly at him through her dark smokey eyes 'Is that understood?'

'Yes Miss Sharp' answered Jack

'Good. Now, the advertised position & job title is Assistant Finance Manager, for which the starting salary initially is £37,500 per year with other company perks & benefits which we shall discuss in detail at a future time. I am the Finance Manager, & you will report directly to me. The primary purpose of your position is to assist me by completing tasks & projects that I set you within the scheduled time scales, as well as any other menial jobs that may need attending to.' With that, she sat back in her chair & wryly crossed her legs so that one of her boots became visible out of the corner of Jack's eye & as she placed one of her hands on her knee's -- tenderly yet inadvertently, starting to stroke the top's of the leather with her red nails.

'Is that understood so far?' she finished, with a glazed twinkle in her eye & a mesmerising smile starting to appear across her succulent red lips.

'Yessss, Miss Sharp. That all sounds fantastic' Stammered Jack, almost drunk with excitement & exhilerence.

'We will also shortly be implementing a new IT system, with digital conference accessibility & wireless stations placed all on this floor. This will need to be project managed by myself, with my new assistant overseeing implementation & set-up. How are your IT skills Mr. Peters?' she asked

'Good Miss Sharp. As an extension of my Uni degree, I undertook advanced IT programming & data transfer management to central servers, linking to a central HUB providing online access & broadcasting.' Jack replied. This was one subject that he had confidence in. If he could impress her with his IT know, this could be his ticket to a well paid job with instant benefits!

'Excellent. Well, it sounds as though you know what you are talking about. It will be a double win for me to have you Mr. Peters as unfortunately, my own IT skills are a little vague. I can use office functions & know my way around basic operating system. It would seem that you were meant for me Mr. Peters.' With that she reached out a hand. Jack did not know whether to shake it or kiss it. He gingerly took her hand in his and tenderly shook.

'Good. Well, it is Friday afternoon & that is me done for the weekend. I am sorry to cut this short, but I must be going. I have to head to my stables as I have an urgent task to take care of. I have a riding competition this weekend & must prepare.' She snapped.

'A riding competition!' Jack thought. Suddenly, the images of Miss Sharp in full riding attire drifted into his mind. 'No, that's no problem. Do you need any help at all?' Jack stumbled as the last sentence left his lips. He was sure it was wrong. No, he knew it was wrong -- she would think it very strange that an interviewee would offer help in this way?

'Actually, you can assist me to my car with some items. Consider it your first task!' she exclaimed as she pointed to two brown paper shopping bags & an oblong shaped box. 'There, take those & follow me' she said as she was finishing putting her coat & gloves back on.

As they left the office, Jack loitered behind watching & admiring. As they stepped into the elevator Jack became entranced by the combination of the smell of musky leather & her sweet scented perfume. His head was swimming with all sorts of dreams when suddenly there was a 'Ping' and the elevator doors opened. Miss Sharp led the way, with Jack gladly following, to a small but sparkling convertible.

'Put those in the trunk' she said as the trunk popped open automatically. As Jack lowered the bags & box, the lid came ajar & he could see a pair of shiny polished riding boots. Miss Sharp was doing something inside the car, so Jack gingerly lent forward and quickly sniffed the riding boot. 'Hmmm, recently used' he thought as he inhaled the musky aroma. He quickly gave the toe of the boot a kiss then slipped the lid back on & shut the trunk. As he stepped around towards the drivers door, he noticed that Miss Sharp had one leg in & one leg out of the car as she fiddled with something in her handbag. Transfixed on her long booted leg, he glanced upwards to see the split in her skirt revealed a silky stocking top & suspender clasp. Mesmerised, he stood there for what seemed like an eternity.

'Lift?'

Suddenly he was snapped back to reality. He must have looked extremely guilty & could feel himself turning bright red again.

'I'm sorry?' he babbled

'Do you want a lift. Where are you headed?' She snapped, as though in a rush.

'Err, I'm heading home -- to Ashcroft' he answered.

'Get in. I'm going straight to the stables so I'll be passing Ashcroft. I'll drop you off.' She replied.

Jack shot round to the passenger door and got in. Fumbling with his seat belt, he cold feel his stomach doing what felt like cartwheels. His heart was racing. As they left the car park, he couldn't help but stare at the way her leather gloves gripped the wheel & slid round as the wheel turned. When she changed gear, he glanced down at her hand gripping the gear stick. He felt sick with envy. As the car sped along the road, he glanced down and noticed her booted feet pressing on the pedals. Never before had Jack felt so intimidated yet so excited in his life.

'Whereabouts?' Miss Sharp asked.

Jack looked up & suddenly found himself in his own neighbourhood. He hadn't noticed the journey at all or where they were. The last twenty minutes had been a hazy whirl.

'Err, just up here on the left thank you.' He murmured.

'Not a bad area. Have you been here long?' she asked

'No, I moved into my flat 3 weeks ago. I am still putting it all together really.' He gingerly replied

'Well, enjoy your weekend because the real work starts on Monday. Prepare yourself as I am going to work you hard!' she said, with that wry smile once again appearing on her lips

'Yes Miss Sharp. Good luck with your competition this weekend. Sss see you on Monday. Thank you for the lift.' Jack stammered as he got out of the car.

As the car pulled away, Jack could not help but stand and stare as it sped into the distance. 'What the hell just happened?' he thought. He couldn't answer, but was looking forward to finding out!

To be continued...