Fool's Reward Ch. 02

Andrew smiled. "Well, those are two of my favorite subjects. It's good to see you staying on top of things, Michael." He turned to the others. "Since you are all here, I'd like you to be the first to know that I've decided to step down from my duties and take a smaller role with the company. Michael here will be taking my place, a bit at a time until such time as he feels ready to fully take over the reigns." He looked purposefully at each man's face. "So I guess you'll all be working for him from now on. You better be on your best behavior."

He turned back to Michael and nodded toward the hallway. Michael turned back toward the room. "Excuse me a moment, won't you?" He took secret pleasure in the shocked faces staring back at him.

"So how is it going?" Andrew asked as Michael closed the door.

"They seem to be taking me seriously, sir."

"Good. I want this done, and done forever."

"Yes sir. And Mr. Stanton..."

"Andrew," he interrupted.

"Yes sir, Mr. Stanton," Michael replied respectfully, ignoring the older man's rebuke. "Thank you again for your confidence."

"Michael," he said fondly, "When I hired you I thought I saw in you the man who could take this company to the next level. When you and Janie came over last night to try to salvage this mess, I realized I was right. All I did was speed up the process a bit. You'll still have to prove yourself before things are finalized, but I have no doubts you will do it with ease."

"I want my company in the hands of someone I can trust to run it in the spirit I've established. You've proven to me that you are the right man. I already knew that you were qualified to do the job, it was just a question of making sure you were a strong enough man to make the difficult decisions. You've proven that without question. Now go finish the meeting, then take that lovely woman to dinner. I expect you two to join my wife and I for a weekend at our summer home as soon as you feel it's appropriate. I've always admired her."

He leaned close and whispered, "She was the most beautiful woman I've ever hired, and one of the sweetest. If I was thirty years younger and single, you'd have a hell of a fight on your hands." He then winked. "And if you ever tell my wife I said that, you'll be working on the assembly floor for the next five years."

The two men laughed, then shook hands. Michael watched him go with unmatched admiration for the man's heart. He broke his promise to Terry for the one and only time, he swore to himself. Janie and he had spoken to Andrew about her problems, stemming back to her divorce before being hired, and the way she was treated at work because of the stories told about her. It turned out that the older man was quite fond of her, although he hid it to avoid the appearance of favoritism. He was outraged at what had happened, and pledged any help that Terry might need to recover from her personal problems.

It was his idea to announce the change of leadership. When he heard the situation and Michael's desire to not only solve it, but do so in a way that didn't harm the business, he knew his instincts in choosing a successor had been correct. Announcing it now was premature, but would give him the authority necessary to resolve it without needing to involve anyone else. It would also allow him to finally get away from the business without worrying about what might happen. He loved the company, but it was virtually impossible to do his job and not be forced to make compromises with his personal life.

Michael sighed, knowing that this was the first of hundreds of these kinds of fires he'd be putting out over the years. It was daunting, but a challenge he relished. Now his first test would involve separating his personal feelings as well as Terry's from what was best for the company. Not only that, but he had the added pressure of knowing Andrew was watching this one closely. Just because he told a group of employees what his plans were, didn't mean they couldn't be changed if Michael failed.

He pushed open the door and stepped back inside. "All right, where did we leave off?"

No one spoke, the shock of Andrew's appearance taking the fight out of the men. He surveyed the room, making sure he had their undivided attention.

"What I said before was true. I am here to take care of everyone in the company, which includes you. This company doesn't run as well without you men. I need you to make this place a success. Obviously I have strong feelings about the situation, but I will put them aside if you are willing to live with the condition that you keep your mouths shut to avoid harming Ms. Davis, or other women here who might feel threatened by what happened that night, or what might happen with loose talk later."

"So I'm going to let you decide what you want to do. When you're ready to talk to me, I will be in my office ready to listen."

He turned and walked out, feeling he'd given the situation his best shot. Now he had to trust in them to do the right thing.

Twenty minutes later, Missy knocked on Michael's door. "James is here to see you, sir."

"Tell him to come in," he answered, waiting impatiently at his desk.

A somber, defeated James walked into the office. Michael gestured for him to sit.

"Well?" he asked.

"Everyone has agreed. There will be no discussion of Friday's events, and no more talking about the things that have happened involving her."

"James, can I be honest with you?"

"Sure," he replied, looking agitated.

"I don't like you. Never have. The moment I met you, I thought you were too obnoxious, too boastful, and over-confident. This situation has cemented those feelings."

"So now what?" he asked, looking like he expected the worst.

"Well, we have two choices. Number one is that you leave the company and seek a job situation where you don't have so many conflicts with your boss."

"And number two?"

Michael sighed. "Number two is going to be a lot more difficult, for both of us. Sit down, please."

~~~~~

"Terry, someone's here to see you," Janie called out.

Opening her office door, Terry was shocked to see James standing there, looking sincerely contrite.

"I...I" she stammered, unable to form the words.

"Terry, can I please talk to you for a moment?"

She looked at Janie, unsure of what to do.

"Please?" he repeated.

"Sure, come in." She stepped back and waved him into her office. She regarded him warily.

"Listen," he said, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "I want to apologize about Friday night. I know I pushed it too far."

She fought the urge to look away in shame, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "I was there too. I could have stopped you if I had really wanted to. What I did was stupid, but I'm not going to pretend I wasn't an active participant. But you need to know; that part of my life is over. Friday was a wake-up call, and I need to change before something happens that can't be dealt with over an apology."

"I understand. The thing is Terry, I like you. I've always liked you. You're a beautiful woman and I wanted to be closer to you from the moment I saw you. But you weren't interested in me and it hurt. So when I found out you would be willing to be more...open to things under the right circumstances, I guess I felt like it was fine to take advantage of the situation. To be honest I was always a little angry that you'd be willing to hook up when you were drunk, but didn't even want to have a cup of coffee when you were sober."

Her eyes got wide. "James, that was never about you. It was about how I felt about myself for doing those things."

"I think I get that now," he said, sounding sincere. "I swear to you, I never meant for anything I did to hurt you. It seemed like you enjoyed it, although I should have realized you weren't from the way you acted afterward.

"There's more," he said, looking ashamed. "I told some people around here some of the things that happened. It was nothing but vindictiveness on my part because I was upset about you refusing to even be friends after...well, you know," he stammered. "For that I'm very sorry. It won't happen again, and I promise that I'll do everything in my power to disavow any stories about you that people choose to say in front of me. And you won't have to worry about me hassling you here. Once I leave this office, I promise I won't ever bother you again unless you talk to me first."

She looked at him in stunned silence. This was a side of him she had never seen before. For the first time since she met him, he was actually treating her like a person who he respected.

"I don't know what to say," she answered. Terry could feel the blood rushing to her face, and her eyes tearing up.

"Say you forgive me? At least maybe some day?" he asked, looking at her hopefully.

~~~~~

"So how did it go?" Michael asked.

James shrugged noncommittally. "She forgave me; right there on the spot. You were right. She's a better person than I am."

"That much I knew," Michael said with a sly grin. "James, it means a lot that you decided to stick it out. You and I have our problems, but you are without a doubt one of the most promising talents in the company. I won't forget this."

"Thank you sir, but to be honest, I didn't do it for you."

"I appreciate you being candid," Michael said. "And it lets me know I made the right decision." He rose and the two shook hands.

James walked toward the door, then paused to look back. "If it works out between the two of you, you'll be the luckiest son of a bitch I know. She really is special."

Michael smiled comfortably. "On that, we are in complete agreement."

~~~~~

The ringing of his phone startled Michael from his thoughts. "Yes?"

"Terry is here to see you," Missy announced.

"Thank you." He rose and strode quickly to the door. He opened it and noticed her aggravated expression.

"Hey you," he said with a smile.

"Hey yourself," she answered, pushing past him into the office. "What did you do?" she asked accusingly.

"Who me?" he said, trying to draw a laugh from her. Seeing that he failed miserably, his expression turned serious. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Are you going to tell me that you didn't have anything to do with it? Seriously?"

"Ok, I surrender. I had the talk and maybe I went a step further than I told you I would."

"I'd say," she answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest defiantly.

Michael sat back on the desk and studied her. "You're right. The truth is, I had a long talk with him and told him that even if he was a gigantic pain in my ass, he was very good at his job and I was willing to put my personal feelings aside if he wanted to stay. In fact, I indicated that once my job was free, he would be the person most qualified to take it."

"And that's all?" she said suspiciously.

"We might have talked about you a bit." Seeing her raise an eyebrow he quickly added, "but nothing that violated any confidences."

"So he just felt so bad that he wanted to come apologize?"

"Actually, he did. He had convinced himself that what was going on was harmless, but he didn't think about the fact that it could be hurting you. When I pointed that out, he really did feel badly about it. So I told him it would be good for him to get it off his chest."

"And nothing else?" she said, clearly not convinced.

"You mean like me threatening to change his job title to the guy who sweeps the parking lot?"

"No, I mean was there anything else?" she demanded, not showing interest in his humor.

"I told you before," he answered, "it's important to keep the mystery alive."

"Argh!" she growled, taking him by the face and pulling him close, kissing him fiercely. "You're lucky I like you."

"You're welcome."

A confused look crossed her face. "Wait, what do you mean when your job is free?"

~~~~~

Michael pulled up in front of the two story house at the end of the cul-de-sac. He got out of the car and walked to the door, carrying a bouquet of roses and whistling happily. The rest of the week at work had gone incredibly well. Everyone kept their word, and there were no stories flying around about the wild night at the bar. James had even started to kill the previous rumors, many of which he had started in the first place. The entire company had heard about Andrew's announcement, and Michael's efforts to streamline production were gaining traction. He found that the news he'd be in charge one day managed to motivate a lot of people to cooperate.

Andrew had been thrilled at the way things worked out. He really was fond of Terry, and was happy that the business he started was no longer a place where she was made to feel ostracized. Missy and Janie had done wonders in convincing people who hadn't gotten to know Michael yet see that he was someone they could trust with their problems and concerns.

Things with Terry continued to get better every day. Michael had managed to break through the wall she had built, and unconstrained by her fears and guilt, they had grown inseparable after only a week. Every day they spent as much time together at work as possible. Every night they were together until it was so late they feared neither would be able to make it to work in the morning. Despite their mutual attraction, they forced themselves to take their time getting physical to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the budding relationship.

Michael was certain at this point that Terry was the woman he'd been waiting for. Everything flowed so easily between them that it was difficult not to feel like they'd been dating for months instead of just days. He tried not to get ahead of himself, but he'd never been more sure of anything in his life than of her feelings for him. He knew the only thing that could harm their relationship was her doubts about herself. Although she had definitely turned the corner and was accepting support from her family and friends, there was still a part of her that believed she was capable of sabotaging that happiness for no good reason.

He reached the door and knocked, pushing the swirling thoughts from his mind. Tonight was going to be about nothing but them enjoying each other. Neither had any plans for the weekend, so they could relax and enjoy their time together. The door opened and Terry stepped into the light, drawing a low whistle of approval from him.

"Well thank you."

"You're welcome," he responded, handing her the roses and leaning in to kiss her briefly.

"They're beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Come on in. I'll go put them in water."

He looked around at the house, noticing that it lacked the spark that she displayed when she allowed herself to be free of her doubts. It had no life, and didn't reflect her personality at all.

"What do you think?" she asked, coming back into the room.

"It's nice," he answered noncommittally.

"Gee, that sounded sincere."

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Don't be. You're right. This place is a museum to my old marriage. I don't know why, but I never could change things here. It's not like I ever believed he'd come back, but part of me just couldn't let it go. This isn't me anymore and I'm going to get rid of it as soon as possible."

"Well, if you need a place to stay..."

"No thank you, I'm going to enjoy my new life on my terms. But," she said, eyeing him slyly, "if you feel like giving me the option to crash every now and then, I might be predisposed to taking you up on the offer."

Michael put a hand behind her neck, pulling her close. "I can pretty much guarantee it," he said, leaning in to kiss her.

"Hey, none of that. I have dinner waiting for us."

Michael grumbled, but allowed her to lead him to the dining room. They enjoyed a dinner together, slipping into a casual conversation that again reminded him of how easily they seemed to click. He hadn't shared with her much of his dating history. The truth was that his gift for reading people had proven to be a huge impediment to finding someone to be with throughout his life. He usually knew by the second or third date if he could coexist with a woman on a long term basis. If the answer was no, he usually lost interest, no matter how attracted to her he happened to be.

Michael had begun to wonder if he would ever meet someone compatible, since at 35 he hadn't even come close. From the minute he met Terry however, she had caught his eye in a way that no woman had before. The more he learned about her, the more fascinated he was. Her unpredictability and zest for life touched him in an unexpected way. He cursed her ex-husband for his short-sightedness in dealing with the remarkable woman. His departure had left her scarred and unsure of herself. But what Michael had found made him believe that there was a woman inside who was beyond his wildest expectations of a partner to spend his life with.

Stop getting ahead of yourself, the voice in his head scolded. We're a long way from that. I'd be thrilled to just spend the night at this point; even just to hold her until morning.

He tried not to allow frustration to set in, but everything else was moving so fast, it was difficult to hold back his desire to make love to her. He knew waiting was the best chance for them to have long-term success together, but that didn't make it any easier to walk away when she pressed her body against his as they kissed. Every curve was already seared into his memory, although he yearned for seeing it in an intimate setting instead of the one memory he had of seeing her without her clothes.

"Could I get a beer?" he asked, desperate to stop the cacophony of thoughts streaming through his head.

"Are you all right?"

He sighed, "You know, the truth is, I can't stop thinking about everything that's been happening between us. It's just been amazing, and it has me on edge."

She looked confused. "Why on edge?"

"Because you are so spectacular that I can't take it all in. I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but it's all I can do not to grab you, drag you upstairs and throw you down on the bed.

"Wow," she giggled, "You really do need a beer."

They both laughed heartily as she went to the refrigerator. It took extra time as she appeared to be having trouble finding any. He was about to tell her not to worry about it as she continued to fidget with the contents. Finally she turned with the drink in her hand, plus a surprise. She had unbuttoned her blouse all the way to the bottom. He stared at the exposed flesh hungrily. The curves of her breasts were only partially concealed by the fabric as it hung loosely off her shoulders. It opened wide at the bottom, showing her flat, toned stomach.

She slowly lowered herself to his knee, straddling it as she sat down and rubbed the ice cold bottle across her shirt where her breast lay beneath. She looked down and gave him a devilish smile.

"Oops, look what I did," she whined in an innocent voice, pointing at her nipple, now clearly visible through the material.

"Oh Terry," he groaned, unable to disguise the naked lust he felt for her. His hands reached out, fingertips sliding the material apart, exposing her breasts fully; her pink nipples already erect. He leaned in, taking one of her nipples between his lips, alternately nibbling and sucking the sensitive bud.

"Yes," she moaned, running her fingers through his hair encouragingly.

Michael stood up unexpectedly and holding Terry securely, laid her down on the table. Her blouse slipped off her chest, fully exposing her. He leaned in and ran his tongue around her nipple, then took as much into his mouth as he could. She held his head in place, enjoying the sensations as his hands worked on her belt. As soon as it opened, he popped the button of her jeans, then slowly slid the zipper down; grazing her mound with his hand.