Camaraderie

"Sorry, Jocelyn, I really have to run. Another Monday staff meeting."

Wyatt takes off his headset, stands up from his mesh office chair, and walks away from his desk toward the conference room. The conference room, like the open office area, is furnished in light grey, in an unsuccessful attempt to offend as few people as possible. There's a boat-shaped conference table, a set of whiteboards, and windows facing out to the open office, covered by narrow light grey blinds.

Wyatt is right on time as he slides into the last open chair. Wyatt's boss, Richard, nods from the end of the table. "Thanks, everybody, for coming. Well, let's get to it. I know a few of you have met her already, but for those who haven't, this is Melanie Trentino, the new procurement manager." Melanie is in her early 30s, a little shorter than average, with maybe a few extra pounds but carrying it well. Wyatt would have guessed she was Italian from her dark hair and olive complexion even if he hadn't heard her name. "She's transferring to us from the Sacramento office - as you know, most of them moved to the new office in Reno when Sacramento closed, but we're glad to get Melanie down here. Welcome, Melanie. Let's do a round of introductions."

They go around the room, introducing themselves and giving their job titles: procurement lead, agents, and clerks; warehouse manager and clerks. Finally, Wyatt introduces himself as the contracts compliance officer.

"Thanks, everyone," says Richard. "Now I know how everybody looks forward to the icebreakers, so I had Monique schedule them; they're already on your calendars. Melanie, you have one per day at the end of the day for the next couple of weeks. Remember, have fun and get to know each other. Okay?" Nods around the table.

"Okay, now let me go over the new org chart..."

* * *

Wyatt's icebreaker appointment is set for Friday, but that's the night the kids are sleeping over at Wyatt's in-laws. So he talks to Monique, and it's the next afternoon that he finds himself in the elevator vestibule, pressing the "up" button. He spends a moment looking at himself in the mirror. He's 37, tall and slim, with fair hair and skin, and ears that stick out. The polo shirt and jeans he's wearing seem boring, even to him.

Melanie walks into the vestibule pulling a small pilot bag. She's wearing a plain beige blouse, black slacks, and flats.

"Hello, Melanie. I guess it's our turn for an icebreaker?"

"Is it? Um, Wyatt, right?" She pulls out a phone from a pocket and looks at it. "Oh, I guess it is. I thought I was going to have Richard tonight."

"I'm sorry if it's awkward, I have something else I need to do tomorrow so I arranged to trade."

"Oh." She looks at him intently for a minute, then smiles. "Well, sure. Happy to have you."

"Great," Wyatt smiles back. "Is this your first icebreaker in our department?"

"No, I was with Selena yesterday. Of course, that's always different. I mean, also because she'll be reporting to me."

Selena is the purchasing agent assigned to Melanie's team. "Sure."

The elevator opens and the two of them get on. Wyatt places his employee badge against the reader and then presses the button for the eighth floor. The door closes.

"So where are you staying?"

"Well, for the first month they're putting me up in a corporate apartment around the corner. I've been trying to find a place, but rents are a lot higher here than they were in Sacramento."

"Yeah. It's hard to find anything close in that doesn't cost a fortune. It's even harder if you have a family."

"Hmm."

The elevator opens, and they exit through the vestibule into a long hallway. On the right there is a door marked "Camaraderie Lounge 2," and Wyatt opens the door with his employee badge.

As they enter, they see that the décor inside marks a radical shift from the corporate void of the rest of the building. It's still light gray, but it looks like a luxury hotel room - thick patterned carpets, a king size bed, and a loveseat with coffee table. Windows with views of the city are shaded by drapes.

Wyatt goes to the minibar. "Want something to drink? Might as well, the company's paying."

"Sure, some kind of white wine?"

Wyatt gets a small bottle of Chardonnay and pours it out into two glasses. "To camaraderie in the office," he says, and they both drink.

Melanie says "OK, I need just a minute," and takes her pilot case into the bathroom.

After Wyatt hears the door close, he begins removing his clothes and puts them aside. Soon he's wearing just a pair of boxers, patterned with the corporate logo. He stands by the bed until Melanie comes out.

Melanie is wearing a sheer satin babydoll, with see-through cups and a sheer slip, also patterned with the corporate logo. Her nipples are small and brown on her full breasts; her dark hair trimmed to just a triangle above the slit. Wyatt's jaw drops a little. "Wow, Melanie, you look amazing in that."

"Thanks! Glad you like it. I was one of the buyers, so of course we had to make sure they looked good on ourselves." She looks down at his boxers. "Although I'm not sure we did you men any favors." She comes up to him, says "May I?" and after his nod, pulls his underwear to the floor. "Yeah, you definitely look better without them." She lightly runs her fingertips along the top of his cock.

Wyatt shakes his head. "Well, I guess somebody thought if women get lingerie, men should get something to wear too." He looks down at her. "Listen, Melanie, one thing that really helps me get excited is kissing. Do you mind if I kiss you?"

"Not at all." She looks up at him, and he bends his head down to kiss her. They hold the kiss, and Wyatt pulls her to him, using one hand to push up her lingerie and feel her ass. She presses against him, and he can feel his erection begin to grow, pushing against her.

She stops the kiss and leads him toward the bed. "Come here, kiss me some more and touch my nipples," she says. She drops the lingerie off herself onto the floor, and pulls the covers down to the foot of the bed. She lies down, and Wyatt lies next to her, kissing her again and with his fingers lightly brushing her breasts and nipples through the fabric. He can feel her nipples become erect at his touch. He breaks the kiss and begins a run of light pecks down toward her breasts, which he starts to suck through the fabric.

"Oh, yeah, that's good." She reaches down and feels his erect cock. "Fuck me now, I'm ready."

"Just a sec, let me get a condom," Wyatt says, and turns toward the bedside table.

"No. Don't. Just fuck me." She spreads her legs for him, and pulls her pussy lips apart with one hand.

Wyatt doesn't need to be told again. He centers himself between her legs, enters her now-wet pussy and begins thrusting, holding himself up with one arm while using his other hand to continue teasing a nipple. Melanie uses her hands to rub her other nipple and her clit; she moans with pleasure as he goes in and out of her with quick, hard strokes.

After a couple of minutes, Wyatt says between heavy breaths, "I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come..."

Melanie responds, "Do it. Come inside me. I want you to come," and Wyatt grunts and ejaculates.

A few seconds later he pulls out of her. "Lick my clit, babe, I wanna come too." Wyatt bends himself to reach her and uses his tongue on her clit while finger-fucking her. After a moment, she gives a yelp of orgasm.

Wyatt lies down in the bed next to Melanie and they both rest for few moments, naked on top of the sheets. Eventually Wyatt breaks the silence. "That felt great. It's not every woman who's okay with bareback during camaraderie-building."

"Yeah. Well, I'm hearing my biological clock tick. And I thought, I'm starting a new life here in the city, maybe I ought to create a new life while I'm at it. So I asked Monique to arrange the icebreakers to line up with my fertile time."

Wyatt is surprised. "Oh, you're not on birth control. Wow. I didn't realize... I'm not sure..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's 'impregnation in the course of employment' -- the company is responsible for the child, not you. You don't have to worry about child support or anything like that."

"Yeah, I know, the company will even be listed on the birth certificate as the father. Still, it's my DNA, and my kids will have a half-sibling. Biologically, anyway."

Melanie pulls herself up on her elbows to sit against the upholstered headboard, which has the effect of pushing out her breasts and distracting Wyatt from the conversation. "Look, what's done is done. To be honest, I was expecting Richard tonight. I thought it would be good to have my boss be the father. Or donor, or whatever the right word is. The company's the legal father. But you know, you seem like a good donor too." Wyatt frowns a bit. "Look, if you want, I'll have a paternity test done, and at least you'll know whether you're the donor or not. Okay? Can't promise you any role in the parenting though."

Wyatt nods. "Yeah, okay. Listen, just don't tell my wife, all right? I mean, it's not like we both don't do icebreakers, but this is a bit more than she might be able to handle."

"Dude, I didn't even know you were married."

"Yeah, fifteen years. We were just out of college. It's not always been easy, but we make it work."

"Oh. It must have been a big adjustment when this" - she waves around at the room - "all came in."

"Yeah. I mean, the first companies having mandatory camaraderie-building sessions were before we were married, but we thought it was just a fluke. We never thought it could catch on so fast. Now I think every company does it. I haven't heard of any that don't, anyway."

"Well, you can see how it improves morale. I first started working here just before we started it, and I had a couple of coworkers I just didn't get along with. After the first sessions, it made it a lot easier to see them as fellow team members rather than the enemy, you know? We still had disagreements, but it wasn't so personal."

"I guess. One of the reasons my wife and I both work here - she's in IT -- is that we wanted to avoid the camaraderie sessions. We were one of the last ones in California, you know? By the time they started here, we figured the writing was on the wall. Still, it's been a hard adjustment. I mean, when I go up to IT, and I know that every man in the department has fucked my wife..." He looks into space.

"Every man, and every woman too, right? I mean, the whole point of it is that everybody fucks everybody, so it's not discrimination. And it's not harassment because everybody knows that everyone on the team has an icebreaker session whenever someone joins and then after that it's once a year, scheduled ahead of time.

"It's all in the open, and hopefully people who fuck each other will get along better. Like we're doing now. You wouldn't normally talk about all this with a stranger you just met the other day, would you?"

"No, you're right. I get it. Things are smoother in the office now. But I couldn't quite make the adjustment."

"Yeah, Selena said something about working for you at one point? I don't understand."

Wyatt shakes his head. "So, when camaraderie came in, I was the procurement and materials director, the job Richard has now. But I just... look, I could do it with women, no problem. At first it felt like cheating on Allison, but I mean, she does it too, and now it's just part of the job. But when I've tried to be with other men... I just can't do it. It's like, I don't know, every time we touch, my gorge rises and I just can't. So I made a deal. I took a lower job where I didn't have anybody reporting to me, and I wouldn't have to do camaraderie sessions with men."

"Wow, I didn't know that happened. I thought the whole point was to be with everybody. Don't the guys get jealous?"

"Some of them. Steven in the warehouse, and Pedro--I think they feel rejected, even though I know neither of them are with men outside of work. Richard and Tom don't seem to mind, we were friends before all this and we still are. Richard pushed hard to make my deal work. But someone like Bryce - he came on in the last few months, and I know he feels left out. It seems like he never really came to terms with it. I feel bad, but... I know it sounds like I must hate gay people or something, but that's not it. I'm fine with what other people do. I just... having guys touch me that way freaks me out."

"You can't, you know, just arrange to give them a quick blowjob? I mean, it's not like they have to touch you anyplace sensitive. Most men would be glad to have it."

"I tried it, but it just doesn't work for me. Believe me, if I could, I would -- I didn't want to get demoted. As it is, I'm grateful just to have a job. At this point, nobody else will hire me."

"Oh. Well, that sucks for you. Still, I guess I should be grateful, as it opened up this job for me. I'd rather be here than Reno."

"Well, you're replacing Marcy, who became procurement lead when I started doing contracts. But yeah."

Melanie nods. She then looks over at the clock. "Hey, it's only 4:40. You up for another round before we head out?"

"Again?" Wyatt says with surprise. "Not sure I can."

"Oh, I bet you could." Melanie turns her body down to kiss his cock, and then takes it into her mouth, running her lips up and down the shaft and using her tongue on the underside. It's not long before he's erect, and she lies on her back and spreads her legs once more. "Come on, Wyatt, do me again."

Wyatt once again places himself over her and penetrates her. This time the intercourse is slower, gentler. Wyatt's hand runs up and down her side, around to her ass, and then back up to caress her hair. Melanie rubs her clit again, but places her other hand on Wyatt's chest for a moment before pulling him down for another kiss, this time with tongue, moving it in and out in time with Wyatt's thrusting. Before long Wyatt is again coming inside Melanie and at the same time, Melanie's own orgasm comes.

Wyatt lies on his back next to Melanie. After a couple of minutes he has enough energy to say, "Woah. Pretty sure I never did it twice in a session before."

Melanie smiles. "Just doing what I can to build team solidarity."

"Well, I'm certainly glad to have you on board. I don't know when our annual session is scheduled but I'm looking forward to it."

They lie back for a moment, resting, before Melanie says, "Listen, this may be a crazy idea, but hear me out. You don't like the idea of touching other guys, right? Have you thought about a threesome?"

"Huh? Three guys?"

"No, no. I mean, what if instead of you and Pedro fucking, you and Pedro got together to spitroast someone? One of you would be in her mouth, the other one in her pussy. You'd be sharing that intimate moment that builds camaraderie, while at the same time, not triggering your weird guys-can't-touch-me thing."

"I guess... I never thought about it. I don't think that would bother me. You'd be willing to do that for me?"

"Uh, well I wasn't actually thinking it would be me. But, sure, okay, at least until I go out on maternity leave. I was actually thinking you might want to get your wife to do it, you know, to let him get as close as he can to fucking you without actually doing it." She takes a breath. "I'm sure your problem is real, but I think it's a really bad idea for you to be fucking some of your team members and not all of them. Someone who feels left out might be upset with you, but he might also be jealous of all of us who aren't left out. And you can't just drop out of camaraderie sessions, not in this day and age. If you can't overcome your queasiness I think this is something you have to try, for the good of the team."

"You think it will work?"

"Well, I'm not really sure, but I think so, if we handle it right - if you focus on the brotherhood of the shared experience rather than on the woman you're sharing. Let her just be a body, at least for that one hour. This is why ideally it wouldn't be a fellow member of the team. But it's my idea, so I'm happy to do it as long as I can. Let me set up a meeting with Richard and HR and we can talk it over with them, work out any issues."

"Well, thanks, Melanie, that's really great of you. Even if I can't ever get back to the career I once had, at least it's a way of feeling like a full part of the team again."

"Hey, sure. I'm part of the team now. I really believe in workers coming together to help each other out, and if this is a way I can do that, I'm glad to." She looks at the clock again, and then gets out of bed. "Listen, I'm going to an apartment showing at 6:00, so I have to get moving." She goes into the bathroom, and Wyatt sluggishly gets out of bed and moves over to where his clothes are.

Melanie comes back out again, carrying her clothes and pulling her pilot case. Putting her clothes on the bed, she picks up her lingerie from the floor and puts it in the case. "I want you to know I had a good time, both times, and I'm really glad to be coming on board, and I'm happy to help with your issue. Thanks for the welcome." She reaches out her hand, and Wyatt, conscious of their shared nudity, comes over to give it a fatigued shake.

"Thanks, Melanie. Sorry, I'm pretty beat. You really take it out of a guy."

She laughs and pats the part of her abdomen over her uterus. "I hope so!"