Exceeding Expectations

Exceeding Expectations

Nicole's office was one of seven that lined the outside of the cubicle farm for Starlight Publishing. Of the seven, she chose the smallest. She felt it received the best sunlight without heating the space up to an unbearable degree. As the Director for New Procurement, she really just managed a small team of book scouts, she was always on the lookout for Starlight Publishing's direction into new genres. Predominantly publishing and marketing for Young Adult, children's, and small print graphic novels, Starlight was pushing to break into New Adult and Romance. This drive in a new direction had her team scouring and receiving the self-published titles out there as well as asking for manuscripts from newer or unheard of authors.

Because of this, Nicole was busy during most of the day, but always made sure to be available to her team whenever they needed her. In fact, her door was only ever closed during lunch, if she was in a remote meeting with her older clients, or if she had to have a private conversation with one of the "subs." This was short for "subordinates," and wasn't necessarily a derogatory term, even if it described the employees in the cubicle farms, since this was a term they gave themselves. To be fair, the term was used when she was hired as a "sub" nearly five years ago. Nevertheless, she was now one of "The Seven" (also a term given by the employees), having worked her way up and presenting some innovative approaches to finding new talent. Why the directors were never called the "doms," was curious. Regardless, Nicole and the other six directors never tried to use language that would cause division and exclude management and staff. Sometimes, it worked well. Other times it didn't- especially during mid-year reviews.

Nicole signed out on her final remote meeting of the day, taking a last look at her dark brown hair, pulled back and swirled into a bun. She brushed a few stray hairs behind her ears as Dustin Worthington lightly knocked on the doorframe to her office. She looked up to see the young man. He stood in her doorway, and with his middle finger, pushed back the glasses on his face and then ran some fingers through the side of his short, dirty blonde hair. "Are you ready, Ms. Smart?"

Nicole smiled, and motioned for him to sit. "Hey, Dustin, I am. Please sit and we can go over the last bit of your review. You already received your preliminary evaluation- did you have any questions?"

She looked at Dustin as he sort of squinted his eyes, and pursed his lips. He crossed his right leg over his left, with his right ankle laying on his left knee. She could see several colorful stripes of his sock bridging the gap between his khaki pant cuff and his dark blue shoes. She smiled outwardly while looking at Dustin- a young man caught between his raucous twenties and the seriousness of his thirties. She remembered that awkwardness all too well.

"Well, Ms. Smart, I wanted to see about maybe extending my telework situation," Dustin said, lightly drumming his fingers on his knee and shin.

Nicole let out a long sigh. "Dustin, I've already discussed your telework several times. COVID's over, and you know Starlight wants all of its employees back in the office. Believe me, if I could do it myself, I would."

"I know, Ms. Smart, but it's easier to get my work done at home- I can do it faster and longer there."

Nicole smiled inwardly at his last turn of phrase.

Dustin continued, "And I have met all of my goals and then some."

He wasn't wrong, she knew that. Not only did he meet all of his goals, he exceeded them. She had never thought about young men much, most of the time, finding them too brash, too cocky, or utterly useless in the workplace. Not only was Dustin none of those things, he didn't come off as whiny even while asking for an extension of his teleworking. In fact, there wasn't anyone, male or female, that was as productive as Dustin was at home. She looked past his thick, brown frames into his hazel eyes. "How is your father, Dustin?"

Dustin sat up a little straighter. "He comes and goes. It's easier for me to help him when he has his timeslips."

"Timeslips?"

"Sorry, that's what Pops and I call it when his dementia hits."

Nicole could see the ache in Dustin's face. She hated to see pain on his face, though she wasn't sure why. She forced a smile, "I personally have nothing against it, Dustin, but I'm going to have to sell it to Ms. Greene, and possibly up to Mr. Dunbar. And, as you well know, because he's the founder, owner, and CEO- he is the final decision maker."

"I know I'm putting you in a weird spot, Ms. Smart, and I'm sorry for that."

"Dustin," she leaned forward, pushing her breasts together ever so slightly, "if you didn't work as hard as you do, with such impressive results, we wouldn't even be entertaining the idea."

Dustin smiled wide, "Thank you, Ms. Smart- I appreciate that."

There it was. That smile.

He looked so cute like that. She felt the flush from her chest creep up her neck- was he looking at her breasts? She felt a flush from her abdomen to her core. "Okay," she exhaled, louder than she should have, "let's finish this review up and get you back out there."

Remembering, she said, "Oh! And before I forget, you got the email about the Christmas party, right?"

Dustin seemed to be distracted, staring at the cabinets behind her desk. "Um, yeah, I did."

Nicole said, "And... you are coming, right?"

"Maybe? I don't know. I don't really care for big crowds where I don't know many people."

"Well, you'll know me, Ms. Greene, Sarah, Don and Dawn, Harris, and Lena. That's what, seven people?"

"Almost a baseball team," Dustin chuckled.

Nicole knew she couldn't literally feel the vibrations of the sound Dustin made. So what the hell was she feeling? "Almost a baseball team," she laughed. "Although we would probably get hammered by anyone we played."

"So might as well get hammered at a party?"

Nicole did laugh at that. "Something like that. It would mean a lot more than you think if you came."

Dustin nodded. "Okay, I'd love to come."

"Sounds like a plan, then." Nicole giggled inside again, accompanied by another flush creeping up her neck and down her abdomen. What the fuck was happening?

****

"As he left Nicole's office, Dustin ran into Don, the newest member of The Seven."

"Hey, Mr. Diaz, how are you," Dustin said.

"Dustin, it's Don, y'know. None of this 'Mr. Diaz-stuff, yeah?" Don brought his arm up in a finger gun, "Unless you get in trouble! Then you'd have to answer to me!"

Dustin chuckled. "You're the only thing keeping me in line, sir!"

"Sir?!"

"Don."

"Better."

"See you later, I'm gonna go get some work done."

"Good for you, Dustin."

Nicole watched the entire interaction with a grin. Don, wearing a green cardigan with a large white snowflake on it, stared after Dustin walking away. She watched the man shake his head and snicker. He said, "That boy is weirdly attractive."

Nicole thought about it. Don wasn't wrong. There wasn't anything stellar about the way Dustin looked. But the way he was put together somehow made everything else work. She even caught several hushed conversations among other women in the office talking about Dustin. Even her mentor, Mrs. Greene had said as much.

"I'm pretty sure you can't call someone in their late 20s a boy. Or girl for that matter," Nicole said.

"I call you 'girl' all the time." Don sat down in the chair previously occupied by Dustin.

"Certainly shouldn't call a woman in her mid-40s a 'girl' either. But you get a pass."

Don raised his eyebrows. "So? Is he coming to the Christmas event?"

Nicole shrugged. "I think so? He didn't want to at first but I think I sold him on it. He's not really into big crowds."

Don nodded. "Well, we can keep him company and protect him from Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar- those two are hellions at any party let alone the Christmas one. And this is the first time we have both Starlight branches coming, so there you have it- more people to get lost in."

"That's true," Nicole said while running her pendant around her necklace chain. She noticed Don was staring at her with a deadpan face. "What?"

"You're fidgety. You look flustered."

"So?"

"I'm no detective-"

"No, you're not."

"-but could it be about a certain someone with a certain je ne c'est quoi?"

"Shut up, Don. You know there's nothing there. And there can't be."

"Why not?"

"The fact that I have to explain to our new HR director why that's the case makes me question you."

Don dramatically gasped. "Me? Nicole, in all seriousness, have you tried looking for anything yet?"

"What? Dating?"

"Yeah. Any apps or anything?"

"That takes work. I'm too tired for that mess."

"Well, you look tired. Maybe you need to get out of this funk you're in and live a little. See what's out there."

"Oh, thanks for that," she said, throwing a paper clip at Don.

"I'm serious, girl, it's been long enough."

"I've only been divorced a month."

"But separated for much longer."

Nicole looked out the window. "And I'm 45."

"So? I'm 41. And look at me. I'm falling apart!"

"Mentally or physically?"

Don threw the paper clip back at her. "Both, obviously, but I'm still pulling in some younger men."

"It's a little bit easier for men, you know."

"Maybe."

"Not maybe. Your sex drives are powered by jet fuel. Women, not so much."

"Women may not be jet fuel, but you're not supposed to be sludge, either."

Nicole laughed. "No, no we're not. We're more powered by diesel."

"That's what gets those trucks moving. Anywho, I'm loving your skirt today."

"Ha ha. That's the other problem. Guys still want women who are plucked out of magazines, or at least look like sports cars in their skirts."

"Girl, please. I get you're older than dirt-"

"Only a couple of years ahead of you!"

"-but you're thinking of the yesteryear. There's a lot of guys into older women. Even some with extra curves and bounce."

Nicole deadpanned Don now. "What."

"Yeah! Curves, experience- y'know, the term 'B-B-W', right? That's not a bad thing anymore."

Nicole kept her deadpan face. Don continued, "I don't know if society has moved on or shifted, or whatever. All I'm saying is there is a helluva market for more-"

"-older-"

"-more experienced women. I can't tell you how many videos I scroll through where it's an older woman and a younger man."

Nicole felt the heat creep up again. She willed herself to stop it.

Don slapped the armrests of the chair and said, "Anyways, we'll talk more about this later if you want. Now it's time to go be the HR director again."

Nicole shouted after him as he left. "That should have never been something you stopped being!"

She sat forward and smiled, looking down the front of her blouse, pushing her arms together wondering how much cleavage she was giving Dustin's eyes. No, it wasn't necessarily his looks that worked. Something about his personality- soft humor, work ethic, accountability- something most men tended to have issues with.

A conference call chimed in, breaking her reverie. She smiled with her thoughts and shook her head, ready for the rest of the day

****

Dustin walked back to his cubicle and sat down. Harris, his cube-mate, spun around to greet him. "Welcome back, man."

Harris was about the same age as Dustin, and while the two of them were very similar in their professional lives, they were quite different in their personal lives. Many times Harris had tried to get Dustin to come out drinking with him and "the rest of the subs." On rare occasions, Dustin would reluctantly agree and spend the night jumping from one happy hour to another, hitting one brewery for trivia, or another bar for karaoke. While Dustin didn't care to spend too much time away from home, Harris reveled in it.

"Hey, Harris," Dustin said, booting up his laptop, "what's happening?"

"Nothing much, nothing much. So... did you want to come out tonight?"

Dustin smiled, "No, thanks, man, I haven't been feeling up to going out much lately but thanks for the offer."

"I hear you. It sucks, though, because we need you for trivia. We got me, the sports guy, obviously, and we got our current events chick, our nerd-shit guy, and the science guy, but we need our history and books guy."

While he needed to be home to watch his dad, Dustin knew two things about himself: he loved trivia, and his biggest weakness was peer pressure. He also knew these nights out rarely ended with just trivia. It was like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, rettitled If You Give Harris a Beer. And it would be fun, no doubt about that, but Dustin also had commitments.

"Sorry, man, not this time. But next Friday I think I could go out."

Harris beamed. "I'll hold you to it. Oh, wait! Next Friday is no good- it's the Starlight Christmas party. Please tell me you are coming to that."

Dustin's mind immediately flashed to Ms. Smart's reaction when he told her he would go. Remembering how great her office smelled and how lovely she looked in her blouse with her hair pulled up. "I'll be there as long as someone can watch my dad."

While his dad's dementia was progressing poorly, he was still a far cry from hospice care. But that meant a lot of the responsibility of his care fell to Dustin. He'd have to see if Carla could watch him. She seemed to have a soft spot for both him and his dad. Plus, she owed him for losing the bet over the Lions game.

"If you can't find anyone, man, let me know. My abuela can handle anyone. Seriously, she's one scary woman."

Dustin leaned back, "You mean, since you won't be home and at the party, your grandma will be free."

"Yeah, man. She loves cooking for anyone. Who knows, maybe they would hit it off and get married or some shit. Anyways, I'm glad you're coming out. This time all of us will get to see the party when both branches come out. I think it'll be crazy, man."

"Even crazier than the Dunbars getting drunk and dancing with every single man and woman?"

"Hell, yeah. Because there's more women to choose from, man. Check it- there's some eye candy here, no doubt. But we see them all the time. The others, we don't."

Dustin reached over and took out a bag of nuts from his desk drawer. "Yeah, but we don't get to see everyone here all dressed up either. I mean, even you look halfway decent with a suit on."

"True, true. I mean, don't get me wrong. Seeing Dawn in a cocktail dress would be worth it anyways- and you're right. I don't mind seeing any of the ladies of 'The Seven' dressed to the nines either. Mrs. Greene- she's 'office hot,' but that green thing she had on last year had me questioning if I was into GILFs."

"GILFs?" asked Dustin.

"'Grandmas I'd like to fuck,' you've heard of that. Like 'MILFs,' but for even older women."

"I don't think Mrs. Greene is old enough to be a grandma," said Dustin.

"She just got some grandkids, man, like- I don't know- two months ago or something."

"She 'got' them? Like at Wal-mart?"

"Anyways, then you got Ms. Smart."

Dustin felt a surge in his belly. "Yeah?"

"I mean, she's recently divorced, she's a MILF, and her curves are in all the right places."

Dustin remembered looking at the pictures behind Ms. Smart. It seemed there may have been fewer photos hanging up but he couldn't pinpoint why that was. It made sense now. The only pictures up were of her and her kids or just her kids. "You think she's a MILF, hunh?"

"Hell, yeah. And she's newly divorced. Anything can happen at these parties."

"Right. Because 'The Seven' are going to dip into the peasants' pool," said Dustin.

"I mean, stranger shit has happened. Alcohol and dancing can be a helluva combination."

Dustin nodded absent-mindedly while Harris went through the rest of what his friend called, "the female roster." But Dustin was only half-listening. His thoughts kept drifting back to Ms. Smart's curves, her wide hips, nice legs, and the way her cleavage looked when she leaned over her desk in their meeting.

Shit. Dustin hoped she didn't notice him checking out her breasts. It was unprofessional, but his eyes kept coming back to them. when she leaned over in the meeting.

But, more than her curves, it was her smile and the way her eyes lit up that really fascinated him. And, he liked her chuckle too. When he thought about it, Dustin had never heard her laugh. Only chuckle. Maybe he should consider trying to make her laugh. It could be one of the greatest goals in his life. Just to hear what it would sound like.

*******

Nicole patiently waited for the meeting to begin. She and Shelley Greene were in the meeting room on Teams about ten minutes before Dustin joined to discuss his telework extension proposal. Nicole knew that Shelley was on the fence with taking the request higher to Mr. Dunbar. Not for lack of compassion, she knew, but rather the concern that if one employee were to be granted this extension, other employees would try to do the same.

Nicole looked around her desk noting the lack of her ex-husband. While her divorce was recent, her separation had gone on far longer than necessary. And if she was truly honest with herself, she had used that time to emotionally distance herself from Greg. By the time they got to the actual signing of the papers, it was nothing more than going through the motions.

The sex had died first in the relationship, followed soon by the touch. And while there was a difference between sex and touch, they were both equally important. And she missed them both fiercely. Sometimes, once the physical side of her marriage died, she found herself worrying that she'd never be able to find that desire again.

The desire to have a man hold her close. Rub his hands up her legs, up her sides, over her nipples. To have a man press his body heat against her, kiss her deeply, and run his hands through her hair.

But eventually, she realized it wasn't her desire for intimacy that had died. It was the desire to be intimate with her husband. Well, her ex-husband now.

She felt the fluttering heat extending from her chest to her core thinking of- "Hey, Nicole."

Shelley's voice brought her back to the present. "Oh- hey, Shelley," she squealed.

"Wow. You sound weird." Shelley's video showed a slightly older woman with thick, auburn hair that fell to her shoulders, wearing blue-framed glasses that had always reminded Nicole of an eccentric librarian. "You okay?"

Nicole cleared her throat. "Ha ha, yeah, yeah- I was working on something and you surprised me. That's all."

"Okay. So I guess we have about five minutes before Dustin gets on."

"Yes."

"And he knows that he needs to explain his situation a bit better so we can better determine whether to approve his extension?"

"Yes, he does."

"Okay, well, I know Mr. Dunbar isn't exactly trying to start a new precedent after this COVID bullshit. I would also like to know-"

They were both cut off in mid-sentence as they saw the video go live with a much older man's face taking up the screen. He was looking all around, almost in a panic and just as they were about to ask him who he was, both women heard Dustin's voice in the background. "Dad? Where did you go?"

Dustin's dad got up and walked out of frame. In the background, they could see a modest living room and a mid-50s Hispanic woman in a sort of nurse's uniform walking briskly across their view. They heard her say, "He's in the back hallway, Dustin."

"Are you okay, Carla?" Dustin said as he came into view. More specifically, his torso and hips came into view only covered by a thin pair of gray sweatshorts.

Nicole's heart jumped.

Carla answered. "I'm fine, Dustin. Here, you clean the wall, I'll get your father to bed."

A large dish cloth was thrown from off-screen and caught by Dustin. His body then spun facing the camera of his laptop. Nicole watched as he leaned forward over the laptop and started cleaning what must have been the back wall. His motions caused his body to sway, causing a clearly unrestricted outlined lump to sway as well.