Emily's Home - Ginger's Out Ch. 08

I smiled and slid my fingers over her pale, smooth skin. The blues were still dull. I lay my head in her lap and hugged her hips. All that mattered was her. The job was everything. I knew it. I respected it. Her hips shifted ever so slightly. Hmm. If she needed me, I would, of course. I lifted to kiss her. The response was hungry. Lover, whatever you need.

I unbuckled the belt, opened the zipper, and lapped at what the denim covered. Reenie lifted her hips to help me get the jeans off. I bent to her. My tongue and lips drew soft sighs. I lifted her legs over my shoulders. She moaned her need as I took her. Give me everything Reenie, every last bit of your frustration, your need. I'll gladly take the weight from you. She surprised me when the spend took her over. She cried out, her body shook, her legs pinned me to my prize, her fingers deep in my locks. One wasn't nearly good enough. I demanded every last bit she had to give. Her cries of pleasure were music. The spasms I felt -- my fingers inside her, her belly quivering, her legs clamping, her head lolling, her breaths panting ... I gave her everything I could. The last spasm, the last gasp, the last shiver signaled she'd had enough. I lay my head in her lap as she recovered. She had become my everything. I smiled.

This wasn't how the night should have played out but 'should' didn't matter. We were better for having done what we'd done. Not the loving, the two of us working through her turmoil. She had come to be with me; she could have stayed home. Her turmoil was our turmoil. The fact we were in this tiny back room of the bar was proof that we mattered. Once dressed and fixed up, we headed back through the bar. I winked at Candy; she smiled. Reenie and I kissed and cuddled in the parking lot. We would spend the night apart. We both knew it was what she needed. I loved her and told her so, passionately. She loved me and told me so, tenderly. I cried most of the way back to the cave. I guess that's part of being in love. I made a quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up. In bed, I fell asleep with a satisfied smile on my face.

Friday - waking up alone is miserable. Friday -- technically it's my last day as employee; my boss and the boss (me) would share the campaign with my staff. Friday -- Reenie had the day off, dammit. Friday -- the last work day of March. I had the last of the bagels. While I showered I wondered if Reenie would mind shopping before dinner -- if we were going to have dinner together. I was sure she'd be up but I didn't want to call too early. What to wear? I wanted to look nice but didn't want to try too hard to look 'boss-ish.' I doubt that's even a word. I think you know what I mean. George was just George. It's one of the really good things about him; he never put on airs. I was so glad he would still be my boss. He would be my anchor while I adjusted to my new role. I laughed; yeah, another new role.

Navy blue button down blouse, black pleated skirt, and comfy black flats were my choice. A demi cup bra and ribboning were for my personal pleasure. Yes, if you're wondering, it's a pad-free Friday. I looked in the mirror as I ran the brush through my hair. Good grief girl, if you're as nervous as your eyes say you are, it's going to be a long day. Okay, so don't stop for coffee on the way to work. On the drive I wondered if a parking space came as a perk. How random!! Jodi would know. One other really good thing about the house -- I'd always wanted a dog. Bill was allergic. Now, with a house of my own (sort of) I (we) could go to a shelter and find a dog. I hoped Reenie would agree. She was a cliff dweller and never had one. One more 'us' thing we would do together. Dang, we still need to do date night planning!

Jodi started off my Friday with, "Good morning boss." I blushed and shushed her. She smiled and asked for my credit card. I fished for it and asked about the parking space. George heard me; yes, there would be a space for me. I admit; I giggled a little. It's just a little perk but still. Okay, this is just between us: a couple of other things perked as well. Jodi smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.

I stuck my head in the door and asked if I could make a quick phone call. George rolled his eyes and smiled. Tammy wanted to know if we could have a going away party for me. I gave her a playful punch in the shoulder and laughed. She's a goof. I headed to the conference room with my notebook and purse. I called my honey.

"Hi babe, I hope I'm not calling too early on your day off."

"Nope, I slept in a bit but I'm awake. Sorry for being such a bitch last night Ginger. Thanks for being so understanding."

"Reenie, when you care about someone you do what's needed. When I was scared witless, you went to the doctor's office with me. You had a miserable day. I couldn't undo it or make it better but I could be with you and be there for you. I love you!" I could hear the smile.

"I love you too. It sucked not waking up next to you too."

"Tell me about it! Hey, can we have dinner tonight? And maybe do our date night planning? And if there's time, maybe do some shopping for furniture."

"Yeah, you have a full day right? Let's meet downtown. Do you know where you want to furniture shop?"

"Umm, there are several, but the one I think I'd like to start with is Morris Home Furnishings. They're in C'ville and they have designers, which may be helpful since we're working from scratch. Ashley Furnishings is another; both are open till nine. I forget; are you working both days this weekend?"

"No, I'm off today and Sunday. Okay, well I'll call you later this afternoon. Good luck Ginger. I love you."

"Love you too Reenie. Enjoy your day."

Okay, let's get this party started. I thought I'd try a little humor. "Okay boss, the boss is ready to get her Friday started."

Jodi laughed; George smiled and shook his head. "Dear god, what have I unleashed." I laughed, blushing. He grabbed a file and headed to the conference room with me. Tammy waved; I stuck my tongue out at her. She giggled.

"Wow, my last day with all of you. You get to move into my office, Ginger, and I have to move to another floor. I think you got the better deal." Why not jump right into the deep end of the pool.

"So boss, the new boss has a question. I've never liked that Tammy and I are separated from the rest of our team. Do you think my new boss could consider moving my office to this conference room and taking the walls of my old boss' office down or moving them?"

George stared at me. The smile came slowly. "I don't believe it. You said it; I've thought it. Good for you Ginger. Let me see what I can do. Your idea of using the conference room as your office works -- at least in the short term. That was the piece I hadn't come up with. It's important that you have your own space but I like the idea of having the rest of the group together. What other ideas have you come up with?"

"Umm, I think I'd like to have this project done in teams. There are nine of us, ten including me. Does this project lend itself to being divided in two parts and letting two teams work collaboratively? By the way, the germ of this came from the day I bought lunch for everyone. The ideas flew around the room. I thought if we could get people working together in groups of four or five it might work." Once the words started they came in a flood. "We could draw numbers out of a hat so that the groups wouldn't get stale or cliques form. Sort of like 'Survivor,' except the teams wouldn't really be competing ... and at some point, the two would merge and finish collectively. I think if everybody knows they have ownership in the finished product they'll own it earlier."

"Damn." George stared at me in wonder. I blushed under his gaze. "You haven't even officially taken over and you've radically changed the way this department will work. It's brilliant. Yes, we'll introduce the idea at lunch. Would you mind if I step out for a few minutes Ginger?"

"No of course not bo... George." He nodded, smiled and left. I didn't want to tell him that what I'd said just popped into my head. Whatever. I have to admit - it was a pretty neat idea. I wanted to call Reenie and scream in delight with her. I'd had a new idea and my boss liked it. Oh god! Was my idea so good that he was embarrassed he hadn't thought of it? Oh my god, I hope not. Of all of the jobs I'd had over all the years George was, by far, the best boss ever.

George came back with another man behind him. Uh oh. "Ginger, this is Ron McDermott, one of the execs that I report to. I wanted him to meet you." What! "Ron, this is Ginger Butler, who I believe is going to be a rising star." I stared at George in wonder. I stood; the handshake was firm. We all sat.

Cool blue eyes looked at me. "Ms. Butler, I hear you've come up with an amazing idea for team building. Would you share it with me?" I had a fish out of water moment and gathered myself.

I laid out what had been cobbled together in an instant. I somehow managed to remember it all. No, I'm not kidding. That's really how impromptu it was!! The whole time I was talking, George's head was bobbing up and down. The smile on Mr. McDermott's face got bigger, brighter, and broader as I outlined my idea. When I finished, he asked if he could call me by my first name. Geez! Of course you can. (Inside voice)

"Ginger, this is great stuff. Moving the pieces around the board, having teams competing without really competing, bringing them together to finish -- it's very creative. I believe we'll use your ten person team (nine) as an incubator and see how it works. If it produces as well as you've outlined, well, who knows." He turned to my boss. "George, you've got yourself a winner here. Good job. We're close enough to the Blue Grass state that I'll use their analogy. Give her enough rein to run." He looked at me and smiled. "You're not even in your new position and you've come up with a brilliant new idea." I blushed furiously. He stood. "It's been a pleasure Ms. Butler. Good luck to you." I thanked him.

He closed the door behind him; I fell back into the chair. George chuckled. "Sorry to spring that surprise on you Ginger, but I had to get out in front of this quickly -- that's how good your idea is. You saw how positively Ron reacted to your thoughts. I can't lie. It's a little about you and a little about me." I looked at him; he shrugged. "I'm the one who put you up for this promotion. If you do well, I do well. That's ... well, it's how the game is played." Ginger: learning.

"If you'd excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." I grabbed my purse and hurried to the washroom. I desperately needed a spend. It only took a few flicks of a finger on my pearl ... and, oh lord! Between being ribboned and the morning I was so on edge it took only a few seconds for a (giggle) splendid spend to blossom. I'm sorry for being so silly. It really was glorious. It took the edge off and, umm, oh god, I'm such a goof -- it added to it. As I sit here writing about the moment I'm sipping on a glass of wine, typing, and laughing. You know who is looking over my shoulder. She's impossible. I can hardly get any writing done with her 'bothering' me. Yeah baby, bother me all you like.

I had to splash some water on my face to dim the flush. Would George notice my soft, warm eyes? I laughed out loud. My reflection was that of a woman satisfied. Somehow I had become a boss without understanding exactly how. Lunch, and my new charges, beckoned. I hurried back to the conference room - which was empty. I turned and looked at Jodi, who pointed to George's office. Oh, okay. He was on the phone. I went and sat at my desk. Tammy looked at me with curious eyes. I smiled. She would have to wait to hear the news with everyone else.

I headed to the lunch room and found what I was looking for. I went back to my desk, grabbed a piece of paper and scissors and put the final touches on my idea. I took the plastic tub and went into George's office. He looked at it and at me. I smiled. "It's a surprise." He shrugged. We finished talking about how we would describe the project to the group and the order of it all. Jodi stuck her head in the door, "Show time." We all laughed; the food had arrived. I went to my desk, grabbed my purse, and headed to the big conference room with Tammy. Within a few minutes all twelve of us were in the room. It was Friday, there was pizza, and everybody was curious about the project and, naturally, me.

I sat between Jodi and Tammy. Everybody grabbed some pizza. There was soda and water as well. George started the meeting with the obvious: my promotion. When he finished it was my turn.

"Let me start by saying - I have some really big shoes to fill. I'm so pleased that George will continue to be my boss; he's moving up the ladder a step. I expect great things from all of us. We have a wonderful group. I'll do my best every day to earn your respect and trust. Feel free to come to me with ideas. Keep the complaints to yourself." I smiled as I said it; everybody laughed. "George and I will lay out the details of the project then I'll get to our little surprise." That had everyone buzzing. We took turns laying out the new campaign and what was expected. Heads were nodding and people were whispering. Good!

I stood, took a deep breath, and began. "Everybody but Jodi, George and I will take a wad of paper. When all nine of you have yours, you'll read off your number and Jodi will write your name on the board." I passed the tub to Tammy, she passed it on to Craig, and it went around the room. Jodi was at the board; she'd drawn two lines. One by one, everybody gave their team. Tammy 1, Craig float, Chris 2, Nick 1x, Roy 1, Deanna 2x, Bryan 2, Natalie 2, Kayla 1. "Okay, here's how we play. Nick and Deanna are captains -- Nick of Team One, Deanna Team Two. Craig is the floater. I'll explain in a moment. We'll divide up the tasks between the teams. Each team will come up with a name. At some point we'll have the teams combine when we're nearing the finish line."

Craig chimed in first, "Like 'Survivor?'"

"Yes. Craig, you'll be available to either team every day for whatever they need - just not coffee or silly stuff like that."

"Well damn." That from Natalie; everybody laughed.

I continued, "Each team has absolute autonomy to do their tasks anyway they choose as long as it gets us to the goal."

Kayla asked, "What about you Ginger?"

"Me? I'm the boss; I'll be keeping my sock drawer organized." There were some groans and some laughs. "I'll be in meetings I'm sure." George nodded. "But I trust my boss will try and keep them to a minimum." He laughed. "I'll be with each team as often as possible, helping in any way I can." I made sure to make eye contact with each person in the room. "I'm hoping this little experiment will up the level of team work and excitement. If this works it will be because each of us 'owns' this project from start to finish." George was beaming; Tammy was in shock. Everybody was buzzing. "When everyone is finished with lunch we'll clean the conference room. Then Deanna will take her team to the small conference room. Oh yeah, teams will switch every day so no one gets stuck in the little room. Is everybody okay with this?" Tammy clapped. One by one everybody joined her. I blushed, George beamed and Jodi had tears. "Thank you all. Let's enjoy lunch and get started." George motioned for me; we headed to his office. He closed the door.

"That was fantastic. I was watching every one of them. You have won them over completely. Any jealousy, any resentment is gone. In one fifteen minute stretch you've earned your stripes as their leader, Ginger. Congratulations."

Wow!! "Did you get the synergy part? I'm really hoping that this will get people to work faster and get the projects finished sooner, and with better ideas and results."

"Yup, absolutely; it's positively brilliant." We headed back. The table was being cleaned. People were already huddled in their teams.

"Captains, when you've got a name for your team, come write it on the board please. Whenever you're ready, Deanna, head out to the small room with your team." She nodded and gave me a wink and a thumbs-up.

Jodi hugged me. George spent the rest of Friday sticking things in boxes. I wandered from room to room, listening, adding, being congratulated, being gracious.

I got a few minutes alone and called Reenie. "Hi lover; any idea yet where you want to meet?"

"Oh shush you; how is your day going?"

"It's much too good to tell you about in one phone conversation. As the boss, I'm thinking an extended pillow talk session is needed." She laughed and laughed.

"Yeah right; whatever Kool Aid they served at lunch has muddled your brain."

"Bitch!" We both giggled. "We could just get more ribs."

"Ooh, a body painting session?"

"Mmm, it could happen." I had to whisper this, "Plus, I'm ribboned." I could hear the gasp.

"Oh you are such naughty girl. How delicious!" I giggled. "And I bet you're wearing a skirt." More giggling. "Meet me at Cheeseburgers. I want to sit next to you in the booth and check for myself." I was blushing furiously. "We might not get much furniture shopping done."

"I know. I'd better go. I love you."

"I love you too boss." She made a kiss sound and we ended the call. Oh dear, tonight would be fun!

Naturally, it was at that moment Tammy came back to her desk. She looked at me and said, "Well now, sounds like you and Reenie have night of celebrating planned." Busted! I could only nod. It was too late to hide the blushing. "Ginger, where in the hell did you come up with that brilliant idea?" I could only laugh.

"It's sort of embarrassing to admit but it just came to me -- totally off the cuff." She gaped. "I know, amazing, huh?"

"Dear god! Okay, well I won't share your secret. Everybody is so impressed, Ginger. The energy in our little group is sky high." Jodi came flying around the corner.

"Ginger, you have to come see the team names!!"

The three of us walked to the conference room. George was there as well. Team One was 'Moore's Marketeers.' It was a play on Musketeers -- the nickname of Cincinnati's Xavier University. How clever. Team Two was 'Team T.O.W.N.' I looked at Jodi.

"They used initials in their names -- Tillman, Ortiz, Webb, Natalie!!" In my wildest dreams I could never have come up with such clever names.

George chimed in, "Ginger, if these names are any indication, you've hit on something really special." I agreed wholeheartedly with him. This was wonderful. I went to the small conference room, knocked, and said to the group,

"Congratulations to you all on your name. It's fabulously creative. How's everybody doing?"

Deanna said, "Fine boss; we're flying high and already into our stuff." I smiled, shook my head in wonder and left.

I walked to George's office. He said, "It's already four. I'm going to send everybody home a little early; it's Friday."

"Ya know what George. Team Two is already busy with their part of the campaign. What if you tell people they're free to leave whenever the group agrees?" He looked at me sheepishly.

"I think I'm going to let you be the boss. Just promise me you won't give me wind burn when you get promoted again." He's such a nice man. "Have a great weekend Ginger. You ought to go celebrate." I blushed.

"Thank you for all your support George. You have a good weekend as well. I guess I'll see you Monday. You probably know the extension." We both laughed. I hurried to call Reenie.

"Hi babe. If you can leave, I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Oh goody. I'll see you in about ten minutes."

I pretended to whine, "Geez, that long?" She giggled and hung up. I went and stuck my head in Group One's door. "Did George tell you that you could all leave whenever you decide?" The group was still together ... amazing. I told them all to have a great weekend and closed the door. Tammy came out. She was near tears; she hugged me fiercely.