A Quiet Lady's Place

Prologue:

This is my 11th erotic story and Literotica submission. I am always indebted to Candy_Kane54 (CK) for her continuing commitment to helping me improve my writing style. CK has provided 100 percent of editing and style advice for all 11 stories. I am so grateful, since I would have never written these stories without CK's enthusiastic and continuing support.

My Lesbian Romance stories focus on the trials and lives of strong and powerful women. Romance and not sex is the driving factor in these stories, which are 100 percent Fiction; however, some are based on a few real-life experiences of friends or acquaintances.

Since these are lesbian love and romance heavy stories, there are always children about. As a general rule for my stories, no sexual activity occurs while children are present in the home. This rule requires that grandmoms, sisters, aunts, and friends share active roles in the stories, allowing the little ones a place to visit when the sex heats up.

The stories build slowly with lots of personal and business background detail before there is any sexual activity. Most sex scenes feature a dominant but absolutely loving character as the definite TOP controlling the action.

If this is your type of Lesbian Romance-Love-Sex Story ... ENJOY!

***

It was nearly eight o'clock pm on a Friday evening, as Eva sat with a nice glass of Margaret River Cabernet contemplating her future. She had moved to this small Charleston, SC waterfront suburb a month earlier to manage Extravagance LLC, a failing subsidiary of her nationally known New Jersey pharmaceutical brand company. This was her first night out socially in Charleston, following a month of brutal twelve to fifteen-hour workdays.

Extravagance was established as a wholly-owned LLC (EXTV) while operating independently from the National Pharmaceutical Company's Brand. EXTV had a separate President, Management Team, and Advisory Board. However, their pre-tax profits (if there had been any) were rolled into the Pharmaceutical Company's bottom line.

Extravagance LLC (EXTV) sounded like some type of Cosmetics or Trendy Company; however, nothing could be further from the truth. Neither was it a clothing brand nor any other business related to the fashion industry. The primary product focus was producing custom interior designs for high-end performance motorized items such as Fast Cars, Yachts, Private Jets, and other toys for boys. Subsequently, it seemed strange for the 100 percent owner of this unique LLC to be a major player in the pharmaceutical industry. However, such diversification in the American Corporate Structure was not unusual. Senior management's first question about a new business investment opportunity or acquisition was, can we make bundles of money?

Conversely, no one in the corporate boardrooms asked if such a product was necessary, safe for everyone, added value to one's life, or any other altruistic purpose. Just, will we soon be rolling in the dough?

Eva Jane McAdams (Eva) was sitting in A Quiet Lady's Place contemplating the WHY of her accepting the transfer to EXTV in Charleston as their newly minted President. Most people addressed her as Eva and a few as Eva 'J'. Those she trusted completely got away with calling her 'J', which she really preferred, although it was a slightly personal greeting.

When first offered the position as Vice President of EXTV, Eva immediately understood it was some sort of banishment to the jungles of South Carolina, although the startup LLC was actually based in the historic waterfront town of Charleston.

Eva's failure to turn EXTV around was pre-destined since the entire concept of this division was absolutely nuts and never would have happened, except for nepotism. EXTV was the brainchild of a Senior Board Member's wayward son - Wonder Boy, who could not think his way out of a paper bag. A boatload of capital had been invested in his folly, and now it was time to dump the blame in someone else's lap other than Wonder Boy. Welcome to the folly, Eva J!

At twenty-eight, Eva was particularly young for this high-level position. However, she was also brilliant, tenacious, energetic, and a Royal Pain In The Ass at corporate headquarters. Additionally, she threatened Wonder Boy's ascension to a future corporate leadership role, so someone in corporate leadership tossed Eva's hat into the ring. She would be promoted to VP of a no-win business experiment in Charleston, SC, and out of Wonder Boy's way for two years.

Once Eva failed to turn around this disaster of a company to a profitable bottom line, she would then take the total fall and would be out of Wonder Boy's hair forever. It was quite intriguing and telling that Eva was chosen to lead EXTV out of this nightmare, not Wonder Boy, since it was his idea.

Eva completely understood their idiotic thought process better than those whose brainchild it was. She immediately realized her only future with the major pharmaceutical holding company was to blow this mucked-up opportunity out of the water, or she was toast.

Knowing corporate management needed her to be the proverbial fall guy, Eva milked the so-called promotion. She got them to increase it from the original offer of Vice President to be President and General Manager of EXTV. Eva doubled her current base pay, increased her performance bonus percentage by 10 percent, obtained a few more five-year stock options, and finally, the complete authority to hire and fire at will based on effort and work ethics. Eva was brilliant, so she had researched the Charleston business environment, learning that SC was a Right to Work state, with unions having minimal power there.

Eva was actually very pro-union, fully acknowledging that much of today's Middle America resulted from the early strength of unionization. She just did not desire fighting union rules in an attempt to turn this EXTV folly around into a profitable venture. Eva was most likely to fail since the probability of her succeeding was less than 1 percent, which was actually being generous.

Eva's brilliance was unmatched at the Pharmaceutical Company's second-level corporate management group. Her thinking was light years ahead of most of her male counterparts, who were battling for relevance in junior executive positions at Corporate Headquarters.

If she failed to establish EXTV as a high-flying subsidiary, Eva would still be quite wealthy, primarily because of her great five-year stock options. The company would pay her dearly to exercise those options. Eva was not above a little corporate blackmail as payback for protecting Wonder Boy's denseness and/or stupidity.

They would accept Eva's demand that she be allowed to exercise her stock options. She would exercise her options at the stock's highest NYSE trading price in the past twenty-five years, as agreed to in her two-year contract, or they would really see what a pain in the ass she could be!

EVA'S ESCAPE PLAN:

If the turnaround failed, Eva would take her negotiated financial Golden Parachute and form her own company. However, if by some miracle, she was successful in reviving EXTV, Eva retained sole management control of the LLC. If they objected, the Pharmaceutical Corporate Board would face an excessively messy sex discrimination lawsuit.

Eva realized she absolutely needed a full partner in crime to transfer to EXTV with her. She immediately summoned her feisty Executive Assistant Manager, Jodie Davis.

"You rang, Your Highness," Jodie smirked as she entered Eva's office.

"Real royal pains in the rear are you," countered Eva.

Eva explained her banishment to Charleston, SC. She then confessed that there was no way she could possibly succeed as EXTV's President. That is unless Jodie followed her to that little sinkhole of a place near Charleston, SC.

"You're friggin out of your mind crazy 'J'," screamed Jodie! "All I need to do is dump my great boyfriend, quit a good-paying job at corporate headquarters, and then follow you to the boondocks. There, we will most likely fall flat on our collective asses."

"An Exquisite Summation Of My EXTV Offer," quipped Eva.

Jodie hit back with, "Okay, Boss, when do we leave?" She then added, "I want absolute control of the hiring, firing, and all other aspects of general operations, with only you authorized to overrule me."

"You got it on paper, Babe! Let's roll into Charleston next week."

"Hold up 'J'. What's my friggin title?"

"How does General Manager (GM) suit your winning personality?" Eva asked. "Hell, I negotiated two titles of President and GM, which means twice the work, so you take one.

"Welcome on board General Manager Jodie Davis!"

***

They had slammed into Charleston a month ago, and now Eva sat there in A Quiet Lady's Place, contemplating, "What the hell have I done?"

The tantalizing bouquet of her choice Margaret River Cabernet had just delightfully assaulted her nostrils when a shadow briefly fell over her glass. As Eva looked up, the shadow morphed into a somewhat attractive peroxide blonde.

She introduced herself as something Eva didn't catch, asking, "Would you like another wine?"

Eva stared intently into her half-full glass, cutely tossed her hair, and replied, "No!"

The peroxide blonde countered with, "Are you here alone?"

Eva looked sharply left and right, then cutely tossed her hair again and said, "Yes!"

The persistent peroxide blonde made her final play, asking, "Want some company?"

Eva raised her eyebrows at Jackie, the bartender saying, "No, this is A Quiet Lady's Place!"

Blondie, confused, "Huh?"

Eva called Jackie over, asking, "Is my table ready yet?"

"Yes. Please follow me, and I will find your waitress," replied Jackie.

"Thanks for your support regarding my non-dining request," commented Eva; for sure, Blondie was not A Quiet Lady.

Bellowing a full-throated laugh, Jackie sighed, "You ain't just spoofing me!"

Eva was not in the mood for company or inane bantering with someone who could not or would not take a hint. She badly needed a night out after several consecutive twelve-hour workdays, and decided on this place after being told it was not a pick-up bar. She was also told the lounge and inside bar area was particularly lady-friendly, whatever the hell that meant.

Eva asked Jackie, "Can you stay and talk for a minute, or must you return to the bar right now?"

Jackie could visit for a few minutes since she had not taken her break yet. "Wait a sec while I tell the boss I am on fifteen minutes," she said. "Shall I bring you a menu?"

Eva said, "Perfect, and thanks!"

Jackie returned and sat across from Eva, asking was she new in Charleston and why was she alone in the lounge tonight without any dinner reservations?

Eva introduced herself as Eva Jane McAdams, and that most people called her Eva. She then explained the reason for her relocation to the greater Charleston area as President of EXTV. Eva had been pretty much working twelve to fifteen hour days for the past month; therefore just needed to chill out a bit tonight with a nice glass of wine. Eva was not looking to get picked up or for a date. That's why she chose A Quiet Lady's Place, which was billed as being perfect for after-work intimate conversations as well as lady-friendly.

"My full name is Jackie Ann Evans. May I ask what type of services or products your company offers?" Jackie queried.

Eva answered, "Nice to officially meet you, Jackie Ann Evans. I am the President of Extravagance LLC, which designs, manufactures, and installs custom interiors for the high-end marketplace. We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company. EXTV is on the brink of failure unless quickly turned around, so here I am, Eva, the new President, and miracle worker.

"My Executive Assistant and bestie, Jodie Davis, accepted the transfer with me. This included excellent promotions, substantial raises, and corporate stock options; however, our awesome financial package is only fully guaranteed for two years.

"So Jackie, what are your life interests other than bartending? Oh, and here is my business card with contact information."

"I am studying Design and Business at our local Technical College, which has been a refreshing learning experience," replied Jackie.

Eva asked, "Are you good?"

Jackie, startled, replied, "What'd you say?"

Eva smirked, "Are you good at designing things? What did you think I was asking? Certainly not are you good at sex?"

Jackie was totally flustered now, so Eva gave her a break and invited her to tour the EXTV facility on Monday morning. Jackie accepted, asking Eva, "What is the best time for me to visit?"

They settled on midday, and Eva said she would have a nice lunch delivered for them and the entire front office staff. Eva then apologized to Jackie for not really being hungry since all she wanted to do was avoid Blondie. Eva also suggested Jackie wear something casually attractive since their office did not have a strict dress code. She thanked Jackie for her warmth, saying she would likely revisit A Quiet Lady's Place again when thirsty.

Eva waved and said, "See you around, and I will catch up with you again on Monday at noon. Bye Bye Jackie, and have a nice weekend."

"You too, Eva, and see you Monday," answered Jackie.

Jackie's boss, the restaurant's owner, stood behind the bar as Jackie returned from break. She showed her boss Eva's business card. She said this lady was definitely a different type of woman, although quite impressive.

"What does your gaydar say?" her boss asked.

"Absolutely Zero Reading," answered Jackie. "Guess I'll see what happens at lunch on Monday."

***

Eva rolled into the office fairly early Monday morning while most of the staff was busily working on their various projects. She met with Jodie for three hours, discussing which staff members should be fired and/or laid off when they reorganized EXTV later that week.

The two long-time business associates and steadfast friends were on the same page as usual in decision making. Therefore Wednesday would be a difficult day at EXTV with several full-time staff being terminated.

"By the way, hotshot, we are entertaining a guest for lunch today. Can you give me a read?" Eva asked.

"Any reason for the read, 'J'?" asked Jodie. "Or is this another one of your wild guesses?"

"Definitely a hunch. I have a good feeling about our guest being a team player," smirked Eva.

Jackie arrived right on schedule, and Eva introduced her to a few staff members working or congregating in the reception area. At the same time, a soft-spoken, possibly introverted young lady quietly asked to speak with Eva once Jackie's introductions were finished. Her timing was perfect, allowing Eva to hand Jackie over to Jodie. The latter would take her on a brief tour of the facility while Eva spoke with the young lady.

Once alone in Eva's office, the woman stammered, "I am Wanda Emerson, and you may not know me."

Eva replied, "Yes, Wanda, I know who you are, although we have not talked. I read the files of all current EXTV senior staff, but yours was a bit thin for being a project manager."

"Honestly, Ms. Eva, I do not know why I was hired. I am a shy person, and none of the senior managers would listen to my ideas, which made me even more nervous than usual. Since no one listened to me or gave me much work, I reviewed many previous annual projections for sales and gross profits of certain product groups. I felt several of these profitability projections were dead wrong. There is a minimum of three products which could be very profitable in a few months. We need to simply rework some incorrect overhead costs and gently tweak the sales approach emphasis."

That really got Eva's attention! She excitedly said, "Okay, let's stop here for now since we have a guest today. I would like for you to work with me tomorrow providing full detail on your costs analysis and sales recommendations. If we agree to proceed as you outlined, I want you to take the lead in introducing these changes to our senior staff. I understand you're a shy person, Wanda. However, your great work ethic brought us to this point, and the presentation belongs to you!

Eva continued, "I will help prepare your presentation as well as respond to questions or offer further clarification on a specific item when needed supporting your plan.

"Is meeting early tomorrow morning okay for you, Wanda, and then presenting the final package to Senior Staff sometime next week?" Eva queried.

"Yes, Ms. Eva, I can do that with you!" Wanda answered.

"Please call me Eva, or 'J', which I accept from committed management staff and close friends," said Eva. "If you feel comfortable, just call me 'J' from now on.

"What was the second item you wanted to discuss with me?" asked Eva.

"My family is from the rural West Charleston area 'J', and I have a six-year-old niece, Bella, whose life has been difficult at times. Bella's mom, my sister, has a great husband. However, he is Army Special Forces and is often deployed on secretive Temporary Duty Orders (TDY). I pitch in as much as possible, helping relieve my sister's burden of almost being a single mom. I enjoy helping her with Bella since I am such an absolute Nerd. You may or may not be aware that Nerds tend to relate really well with younger children.

"Bella participates in a special advanced-learning program staffed by volunteers such as myself. Our primary objective is to expand the reading and retention skills of six to eight-year-olds and bring a little excitement into their lives with half-day field trips to local businesses.

"We want to expose them to businesses and successful people, especially women. Therefore it would be nice if their group could visit here for a half-day once the office restructuring is settled, maybe later next month?

"We ask the companies to provide small gifts for the children such as corporate T-shirts, art supplies, convention booth give-a-ways, participant certificates, and maybe a snack in the canteen. The program strongly focuses on helping little girls from six to eight years old learn about business and economics."

Eva enthused, "This program is wonderful, and yes, we will definitely participate after our restructuring is finalized!"

"Really, the previous GM was very angry at me for wasting his time on such foolishness. We can settle on a date during one of our future EXTV's profitability meetings!" exclaimed Wanda.

"Absolutely Perfect Wanda," said Eva. "Please give me the girls' names, ages, and individual clothing sizes when we meet tomorrow?

"Hey Wanda, one important point of information; I like Nerds, especially ones with impressive work ethics!"

Meanwhile, five minutes into their facilities tour, Jodie was totally sold on Jackie. EXTV would offer her a part-time design internship for up to twenty hours a week on a flexible schedule. Her Technical College major and curriculum merged perfectly with some of EXTV's future projects, which also seemed in line with Wanda's comments to Eva.

Wanda was a Gold Mine of financial, sales, and marketing ideas that could help quickly turn this division around. Eva and Jodie both thought it best to team Wanda up with Jackie, whose low-key approach to life was an ideal match for Wanda's shyness and insecurity. As an excellent bartender, Jackie had perfected the art of intently listening to inane chatter, which roused her customers to feel that she really cared. Conversely, Wanda's in-depth understanding of business finances would provide Jackie with excellent guidance during her internship.