The Pain of Success

by LadynStFreknBed©

Sandra sat at her desk, envying the male salesmen, each of whom were busy assisting customers at the car dealership where she worked. She craned her neck to peer out the large showroom windows in hopes of spotting a new customer. The parking lot was empty, except for a couple who was already working with Ron.

She shuffled some papers on her desk, trying to appear busy when the sales manager looked her way. Apparently her efforts failed, because Dan, the sales manager, approached her desk. He sat down on one of the empty chairs across from her small desk.

"Is everything ok, Sandy?" he asked her in a hushed tone.

Sandra could have cried. For several months now, she had struggled to make even a few sales each month. She blinked back the beginning of tears and cleared her throat.

"I'm fine. I'm just not attracting customers like I used to," she said softly.

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" he asked.

"Not unless you can turn me into a man. It seems like customers don't want to work with a woman any more. I think they believe that men know more about cars," she said.

"I agree that you may have a tougher time achieving high sales. I think the trick is to find a niche. You know, capitalize on what you have that these men don't," Dan explained.

"Well, I know more about cars than half the men who work here do," she said. She was right. She had grown up in a house with five brothers. Her father was a mechanic, and three of her brothers became mechanics. Information about cars had been common dinner table conversation. She even helped her father at his garage when she was younger.

"Yes, I know you do, but that's not really what I'm talking about. Remember when you first came here? This was your first full-time job, right?" Dan asked.

"Well, yes," she said.

"What has changed since then?" he asked.

Sandra thought for a minute. Of course, she had been an eager learner. She's sure the customers had picked up on her positive energy at that time. But, she doubted that was what Dan was talking about. She tried to remember anything that would have looked different to the customers now as opposed to when she started.

"You mean the way I dressed back then?" she asked.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Don't you remember how the men used to flock to you when you stepped out into the parking lot? I bet over ninety-five percent of your customers were single men," Dan chuckled.

"You really think I should dress like that again?" Sandra said as she remembered the short skirts and painful high heels she used to wear.

"No," he said.

"No?" Now, she was confused.

"No, you need to take it to the extreme. Back then, you wore business suits with short skirts, remember?"

"Yes."

"Well, maybe you need to increase the sex appeal even more. I'm not talking about dressing like a common whore. Sandy, you have good taste. I'm sure you can pull this off. I would really like to see you crush the men's sales numbers. You deserve it," he told her.

Sandra sat silently for a second and thought about what he was saying to her. She hated the thought of using sex to sell cars, especially since it was her body in question. But, even worse than that, she hated sitting here day after day with very few customers.

"Ok, I'll try it," she said with a smile.

"Good! In fact, why don't you take the rest of the day off and go shopping?" he suggested.

"Good idea," she said. Sandra stood up and smiled. She fetched her purse from beside the desk and proudly walked out of the office area.

When she sat in her car, she took a look at what she was wearing. She began to think that Dan was right. Her clothes were business clothes; brown slacks, a cream colored blouse, and shoes with a very short heel. "Not only are these clothes out-dated, but they look almost frumpy," she thought to herself.

She drove to the nearest mall. As she entered the large department store, she felt a little overwhelmed by her task. She had to find clothes that looked sexy, but not slutty. She recognized that this could be a fine line that she would have to be careful not to cross.

She perused the women's clothing department. She searched rack after rack of clothing. Every glide of the hanger seemed disappointing. Then, she found a corner which contained camisole tops. She carefully selected a black one and a pink one to try on. She found a rack of short skirts that had several that looked to be suitable for business. There was one that caught her eye. It was a short, black and gray plaid skirt. She took her selections to the changing room to try on.

As she tried on the skirt and the black camisole, she doubted that they would really look business-like enough to wear to the dealership. When she looked in the mirror, her doubts were put to rest. Yes, the camisole made the outfit a little racy, but it was a neat, clean look.

"Fashionable and provocative," she thought as she examined her new look in the mirror.

"But what about shoes?" she said to herself with a sigh. She knew that she had let her wardrobe go downhill. She remembered the high heels she used to wear. Just thinking about it made her feet hurt. She knew she would be in for some long days of foot pain, but she needed to do this. She needed to prove to herself that she could be a top salesperson once again.

She went to the shoe department. She ran her fingers along the edge of the shelf and she judged each pair. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a display of black stiletto heels.

"Stilettos!" she exclaimed. She was embarrassed at her excitement. Truth is, she had always secretly wanted a pair of stiletto heels. She was a bit uneasy at the thought of how hard they would be on her feet, but this seemed like the perfect excuse to finally buy a pair. She chose a black pair to try on.

The salesperson brought her the box of shoes. Sandra sat down and tried them on. Walking in them was a little awkward at first. It had been a long time since she had worn any heels of significant height, much less stilettos. But soon, Sandra was walking in them with ease. She made her purchases and went home.

As soon as she walked into her living room, she collapsed onto the sofa. It had been a somewhat stressful day, but at least she now had hope of doing better at work. She laid there and closed her eyes. She visualized what it would be like to be able to strut around the office as top salesperson again. "I better not get my hopes up to high just yet. I have no idea if this is going to work," she thought.

She took her new clothes and shoes upstairs to her room. She decided to go through her closet and see what sexy clothing she could find. There wasn't a whole lot there, but she rescued a short gray skirt from the back of the closet. She thought it would look good with the pink camisole she just bought.

Then she remembered one more thing she needed to check. She would need some dark pantyhose. She rummaged through her dresser drawer. Just as she thought, there were two unopened packs of black pantyhose. One pair was plain and sheer. The other had a black seam that went up the back of the leg. "Hmmm... too slutty maybe?" she questioned. Oh, well. She could play it safe and wear the sheer ones until she decided if the seamed pair was too slutty.

She went through her usual routine. She showered, ate a light dinner, then retired in front of the TV. She decided to give herself a pedicure tonight as she watched her favorite shows. She felt as though she was almost apologizing to her feet for what she was about to put them through during work.

She selected a dark burgundy nail polish for her toenails. She loved the contrast of dark polish against her pale skin. She carefully applied the nail polish to each toenail. She hated her toes. She felt that her toes were too big. But, she felt that the nail polish made them look better.

She caressed her feet, checking for any rough patches of skin. She found that there were small patches of dry skin on the insides and bottoms of her heels. She took out her strongest moisturizer and applied it liberally to her feet. The moisturizer was greasy at first, but eventually she was able to rub it into the skin.

She went to bed early. She wanted to be well-rested for what was likely to be a tiring day. Before going to bed, she laid out her new black camisole top, her new black plaid skirt, and her sheer, black pantyhose. She took a black bra and silky, black panties out of the top drawer of her dresser and laid them with her clothes for tomorrow.

Her alarm went off at 6:00 am. She got showered and changed into her clothes for the new day. She put on the stilettos and walked gingerly around her bedroom. She remembered that the key thing was to look confident with her new appearance. She took a long look in the mirror. The heels were incredible. The whole outfit just worked well. She looked sexy, yet sophisticated. She was ready.

On her way out of the house, she stopped by the bathroom and grabbed a couple band-aids in case she would need them for her feet. As she drove to work, she happily sang along with the radio. She was excited to try this new approach to attracting more customers.

Once at work, she proudly walked to her desk and set her purse behind the desk. She sat down at her desk and slipped her shoes off. They were already feeling snug, and she had a few minutes before the first customers were likely to show up.

Dan was standing in the corner of the room. He watched her rub her feet along her legs. She then stretched and pointed her toes. He approached her desk.

Still in stocking feet, she stood up and presented her new look to him for his approval. He was more than happy with her new look. He seemed to be looking at the floor. She wondered if her new look made him uncomfortable. She thought it was odd that he abruptly excused himself and rushed into the bathroom.

Dan rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. "She wore stilettos!" he thought. He imagined how she might struggle to wear them all day at the dealership. He would watch her today.

He wondered how long and how often she would have to wear them until she risked getting a bunion. He felt his cock press against his pants. He freed his cock by opening his pants. He put the lid down on the toilet and sat down. He stroked his cock as he imagined her limping in the stilettos by the end of the day. Oh, how he wished he was close enough to her to feel comfortable to ask if he could rub her feet for her when they begin to hurt.

He continued to stroke his cock thinking about those sexy toes encased in black pantyhose. He would love to lick and suck those toes. He masturbated faster, with the picture of her toes fresh in his mind. When he wondered if he would ever get to see her with a bunion, it sent him over the top and he came.

Dan thought about how he hardly even got to see her in the stilettos this morning. He wondered how he would manage to remain calm and focused around her. He cleaned himself up and tucked in his shirt. "I'm s professional," he said to himself. "I'll be fine."

Sandra was greeting a customer in the parking lot when he emerged from the restroom. He watched her. She looked so confident. He was proud of himself for suggesting her business wardrobe makeover. "Surely, she will see remarkable results," he applauded himself.

Sandra was busy all day. Customer after customer, car sale after sale, she continued at a frantic pace. By the end of the day, Dan watched her limp to her desk. She sat down behind her desk. Dan could see that she slipped her shoes off. She stretched. Then, she began to rub her toes. Dan desperately wanted to get a closer look.

He went over to her desk. Watching her rub her feet, he said, "I just wanted you to know that you are doing a great job."

She noticed him watching her rub her toes and she got embarrassed. She hurried to stick her toes back in her shoes.

"No, it's okay, really. I understand. I know it takes time to get used to heels when you haven't worn them for awhile," he said to her, trying not to sound too eager.

"Yes, I hope it gets better," she said as she proceeded to rub her toes and the balls of her feet again. She pressed into the arches of her feet. It felt so good to massage her aching feet that she was oblivious to the stares from her manager.

When she looked up at him, he said, "Well, I hope you keep it up."

"Oh, I will," she replied.

"In more ways than you know," Dan thought.