Honour Thy Mother Ch. 05

Note: This is an alternate version of XtinaSmith2017's story Behind Closed Doors, posted with the author's permission.

*****

Jenna groaned into the silence filling her office as she put down her cup of coffee. Its increasingly lukewarm temperature was a reminder that another hour or so had passed since the muted sounds of activity in the office space behind her door had faded while she revised the portfolio of Victor Bailey, head of a successful local business specializing in plasma cutting. That idiot Jenkins should have handled it a week ago. Or rather, what he should have done is to not follow such a cowardly investment strategy so there wouldn't have been complaints about dissatisfactory returns in the first place. And on top of letting this issue come up and failing to fix it, he had done such a poor job of appeasing the client that he had threatened to close his account.

Handling the details of private clients' portfolios wasn't worth her time but it had been just a few months since she took over Apex Financial Group's local branch and while it had developed nicely, losing a long-standing relatively important client wouldn't look good. And so she had ended up on the phone with Bailey, forced to hide her disdain for the sniveling bastard arrogant enough to make demands of her and agree to personally handle the issue and ensure a return on investment that left absolutely no doubt in her mind that he didn't have the slightest clue about finance or he wouldn't even have thought to demand it. She'd have to meet him face to face to renegotiate.

She honestly hadn't expected Jenkins to fuck up like this. He had been around longer than she had and was generally respected around the office for being reliable, generally satisfying clients - especially those who preferred to err on the side of caution - and contributing to an amicable climate. She had always given him the benefit of the doubt, scratched his patronizing comments up to him wanting to mentor his juniors and paid no mind to the occasional unwanted compliments about her hair or clothes as he was generally quick to give genuine-sounding compliments and encouragement to everyone. Of course, she had noticed him stealing glances at her chest but that simply meant he was no exception to the general rule of men being unable to act like civilized adults. Now that he had caused the capstone of an already frustrating week though, it was time to notify HR about his gross incompetence and sexual harassment. Even as she had informed him with a terrifyingly friendly demeanour that she would handle the issue with Bailey and he should feel free to head home early, she had noticed his eyes darting to her chest. Of course, if she had been in a better mood she might have been more lenient and it hadn't been Jenkins who had been a constant source of disappointment for her all week, but his bad timing was his problem.

It was Alex who had caused her such frustration. She had sacrificed so much to raise him, done everything humanly possible to help him grow into a decent adult but last week she had been forced to realize that all her efforts had failed. Seducing his first girlfriend had been a moment of weakness, self-indulgence born from a rare dry spell. It was among the few things about herself that Jenna wasn't proud of, but it had felt like some sort of small revenge for what Alex's father had done to her. When Alex had eventually fallen in love again, she simply couldn't resist getting his second girlfriend to cheat on him as well just so she could relive that sense of satisfaction, though it was a guilty pleasure. By the time his third girlfriend was just as quick to fall for her and even quicker to leave him than the others, though, a pattern had started to emerge. Alex had not only utterly failed to satisfy them sexually, whatever it was about him that they had fallen in love with in the first place seemed to grow stale rather quickly as none of them bothered to keep him around and stay in a hollow relationship with him while sleeping with her on the side for long. Instead, they all outright left him, preferring to be her option rather than his priority. And finding Alex reduced to a sobbing mess after his third breakup, which was admittedly more vicious than the others, had made it clear as day why.

Alex was, at his core, still a weak, immature boy. Jenna didn't know if it was because she had coddled him too much or if in her efforts to help him develop the skills and mindset he would need to get ahead in life while making sure he wouldn't turn out like his bastard of a father she had overstretched the potential of what was at the end of the day still just a male. Whatever it was, there was no indication that he would change. He would never be able to hold on to a relationship and with how meek he was he was wide open to being exploited by everyone who didn't simply ignore him, which made his silly dreams of a film career even more unlikely than they would be for others, so he would never be financially independent either.

Forced to accept that her hopes for her son would never come to pass, Jenna had had to come up with some way to salvage the broken mess that Alex had ended up as. She had made a snap decision that since he was bound for a life of constant and inevitable romantic and professional failures and she, being the only one who had any sort of meaningful bond with him, would always have to be the one to pick up the pieces, the best thing for her to do was to take charge of his life and protect him from himself. Of course, she'd had to tear him down to rebuild him. The way he had kept glancing at her chest with his head resting in her lap as he slowly recovered from the harsh truths Jenna had had to confront him with, along with his eagerness to touch her, had confirmed her suspicions that there had been more than late-puberty hormones behind her having occasionally found her bra drawer in disorder and his troubles keeping eye contact with her over the last few years. Jenna was hardly even disappointed by his incestual desire for her, knowing all too well how irresistible she was, though he had probably imagined their roles reversed. And if Jenna were to ever be completely honest with herself, she would have to concede that she had repressed urges towards him in turn as his inexperience and insecurity marked him as perfect prey to sate her ravenous sexual appetite on. Best of all, she could use sexual domination and humiliation to make him accept her new plans for his life, tools she was very familiar with. Introducing sexuality into their relationship also offered so many beautiful ways for Alex to show his gratitude to her. And he should be grateful for all the burdens of responsibility she would free him from and all the stress and rejection she would shield him from on top of all she had already done for him, and even for getting to pleasure her which she knew many others would envy him for.

Yet he wasn't. The fact that he gave in to her every demand, quietly accepted every violation of his boundaries and, quite simply, hadn't fled or gone to the police after what she had put him through confirmed that he was just as weak and submissive as she thought. She could see in the way he looked at her how much he desired her. She hadn't failed to notice how much it aroused him when she made him worship her cock, hell the first time she'd had to forbid him from making himself cum without her permission which he seemingly still obeyed. The ease with which he had taken all of her cock down his throat, which others who were far more enthusiastic about it regularly failed to do, was remarkable in the first place. She knew she was the only real source of affirmation for him and could see in his eyes that he was desperate for her approval. Everything came together to make it seem like he was born to be her perfect submissive plaything, the irony of which wasn't lost on her. And still she had to push him every single step along the path she knew was best for him and he stayed reluctant, refusing to accept his new role no matter how hard she pushed.

"Uhm, Jenna?" a hesitant voice brought her back to reality. It was Natalie Zhang, her secretary who should at this point really know better than to address her so informally but old habits die hard, Jenna thought as she kept her gaze on her screens, ignoring Natalie until she realized and corrected her misstep. Until just a few months ago, Natalie had held Jenna's current position and considered herself something of a mentor to Jenna. Rumour was that Natalie had leant on HR to hire Jenna in the first place as she had figured that with most competitors being very quick to come up with some reason not to hire a single mother this woman who had displayed impressive intelligence, drive and force of personality in her interview was a bargain of sorts as she showed promise and was probably well aware of her lack of alternatives and thus should be brought on as an associate in spite of her unimpressive references and recommendations, at terms that only someone desperate to get their foot in the door would accept.

"Ms Martin?" Natalie tried again but Jenna kept ignoring her. Natalie had taken a risk with Jenna and so was quite interested in seeing her succeed as any failure on Jenna's part would also reflect badly on her. And while Jenna's good but in all honesty not exceptional head for finance had cast some doubt initially, she was great at whipping analysts into shape and showed a knack for networking and office politics. When Natalie, seeing that Jenna and thus her decision to get her hired was bringing in good money, decided to keep her close, see if she could groom her into real leadership material and make sure Jenna remembered whom she owed her fledgeling career to, Jenna got her first real taste of client contact and really began to shine. When she pitched something the confidence radiating off the fierce redhead blew any doubts from most clients' heads, in negotiations she thought on her feet and while she clearly favoured a hard style she could invite, suggest and guide on the rare occasion that she had a hunch that being demanding wouldn't get her far. On less formal occasions she could conceal the natural aura of superiority that came ever easier to her apparently at will and be complimentary and pleasant. Although Natalie hadn't approved of Jenna's occasional flirtatious behaviour and figure-accentuating outfits at these evening events, the effect it had on male prospective clients was undeniable.

Natalie had come to increasingly rely on Jenna, quite content to use her protegé's talents and take credit until one day Jenna pulled her ass out of the fire in a negotiation that had threatened to go south and the two of them had gone out for drinks to celebrate. One thing led to another and the next morning Natalie was wracked with shame and guilt whereas Jenna found herself in possession of some compromising photos that definitely shouldn't find their way into the hands of Natalie's beloved wife. From that point forward it had been trivial to get Natalie to request to be relieved of some of her responsibilities and suggest Jenna as her replacement, and although she wasn't officially Jenna's PA, in actuality that was her job.

"Mistress?" Natalie eventually muttered, her barely audible voice sounding quite defeated.

"What is it?" Jenna asked disinterestedly, still keeping her focus on her work.

"Your correspondence is sorted out, I updated and forwarded your appointments for next week, checked that everyone sent in their hours and went over the office supplies. Everything's in order," she listed. After a brief pause to muster her courage, she continued, "Well, I promised Lisa I'd be home by 7 for dinner so I'd like to head out, unless there's something else you need?"

Jenna cast a quick glance at the clock on her screen. 6:42 PM. Even if Natalie were to rush out the door right now, she still would leave her wife waiting. Jenna wondered for a moment how long Natalie had spent working up the courage to ask to leave the office before Jenna did, something Jenna had made clear early-on she wouldn't accept from her secretary. Or maybe Natalie had simply dutifully taken care of the menial tasks that were beneath a woman with her skills. Either way, Jenna enjoyed just how much control she had over her former superior. She finally took her eyes off her screens and tortured Natalie with a moment of silence as she gave her an appraising look.

Natalie was a short woman in her early forties with the figure of someone who had a year or two ago started a regimen of cardio exercise and strictly controlled diet to make up for years of neglect in pursuit of her career. Jenna saw a mix of impatience and uncertainty in her brown almond-shaped eyes in the brief moment that Natalie held her gaze before lowering her eyes. She was wearing heavier eyeliner than she used to, just like her thin lips and the rest of her round face were more noticeably made up than they were before Natalie "reassessed her work-life balance". Since, as Jenna had put it, she no longer needed to worry about commanding respect and should instead focus on creating a pleasant environment for her co-workers, she had also foregone her staple updos and instead begun to wear her jet black hair in a simple braid or ponytail which was more often than not draped over her shoulder and guided eyes towards her usually partially unbuttoned blouse where a push-up bra turned her rather modest boobs into a decent bit of cleavage. A pencil skirt which showed plenty of her toned legs and modest heels completed her ensemble. Seeing Natalie follow her revised dress code in spite of how obviously embarrassed she was by it never failed to amuse Jenna, not even on days as bad as this one.

Jenna had been so absorbed by her frustration that she had all but forgotten that Natalie was still around. Reminded of her presence, Jenna relaxed her posture and sat back in her chair as she took a moment to consider whether she should let Natalie leave. The idea of ruining someone else's evening in turn appealed to some part of her and odds were Natalie could actually give her some ideas on how to approach Bailey, having dealt with him herself for years, but Natalie hadn't done anything to offend Jenna so there really was no point in punishing her for Jenkins's fuck-up and Jenna refused to let anyone, especially Natalie, get the idea that Natalie still played a role beyond being a trophy, so Jenna settled on simply telling her to fetch a fresh coffee before letting her go.

"One more thing," Jenna began before being caught off guard by Natalie's immediate reaction. With a raised eyebrow, Jenna watched Natalie give a heavy sigh and start walking around the unnecessarily large black desk which dominated what used to be her office. As Natalie approached her with an expression of tired resignation, Jenna realized that Natalie must have mistaken her legs spreading as she relaxed into her chair as a hint at what it was that Jenna wanted from her, but Jenna was not about to correct her. A grin crept onto her lips as she rolled back and swivelled her chair to give Natalie easier access, taking care not to roll over her bag, which she had dropped behind her desk as usual.

With another heavy breath, Natalie got on her knees and unceremoniously pushed Jenna's skirt up before reaching for her sleeping cock, secured against her thigh by a stocking as usual, and began massaging its soft flesh. Her movements were honed by recently-acquired experience but almost clinical, clearly devoid of any kind of passion or enthusiasm. Still, between the physical stimulation and the pleasant sight of Natalie on her knees, it wasn't long before Jenna was fully erect. At that point, Natalie wrapped her lips around Jenna's tip, not even trying to get at least her whole glans into her mouth, and continued jerking her off with both hands. Natalie's blowjobs, if they could be called that, were by far the least satisfying sexual experiences Jenna had had in recent years, but it wasn't just because with Natalie's mechanical, stilted motions they were not very physically stimulating, most of all it was the simple fact that Natalie quite obviously didn't enjoy them. While Jenna did relish the sense of control and dominance she derived from being obediently served by someone who once tried to exploit her, being eagerly pleased by someone who was happy to submit, as tended to be the case with her lovers, simply felt much more rewarding.

When she felt one of Natalie's hands move down from her cock to roam over her sack and lightly squeeze each of the heavy orbs inside in turn, Jenna remembered how Natalie had experimented and tried to vary her ministrations of her own initiative, if only to get Jenna off quicker so she'd be done with her new duties. Jenna couldn't help but notice the contrast to Alex who unlike Natalie obviously wanted to please her and seemed to enjoy the twist she had added to their relationship almost as much as she did, unwilling to admit it to himself though he might be, but had never tried to find a way to better serve her.

As Natalie settled into a rhythm, Jenna's office fell mostly silent aside from the soft sounds of Natalie working her former protegé's cock, her passionless efforts failing to elicit a single moan from Jenna. The office was quiet enough for the sound of a phone vibrating to be heard quite clearly. Jenna leisurely leant over, fished a several generations old phone from her bag and answered it with a simple, audibly frustrated "What is it?"

"Will you be here tonight?" the woman on the phone asked hesitantly, "There's someone here who's very insistent on meeting you."

An amused expression crept onto Jenna's face. The opportunity to work out some frustration that had just dropped into her lap was quite welcome. "In about three hours," she replied sharply.

"Well he's quite impatient, could you-" the voice coming through the phone was almost shaking as if its owner was afraid to request something from Jenna.

"No," Jenna cut her off, "He can wait. And I'm not in the mood for small talk. He better be prepared to get to business right away." she ordered. "And I won't waste my time unless he has a sound proposal," she warned after a moment's thought. "So?" Jenna pressed for an answer after listening to muffled voices on the other end of the line for some seconds.

"He'll be waiting for you," the woman reported. After a short pause, she added in a whisper, "Me, too."

Jenna ended the call without further comment and returned her attention to Natalie, who was still going through the motions of what amounted to more of a handjob. Frustrated by Natalie's unsatisfactory efforts, Jenna placed her free hand on Natalie's forehead and roughly shoved her back off her cock. "God, you suck at this," Jenna grunted as Natalie got back to her feet.

"Just bring me another coffee and get out of here. And be in my office at 8 on Monday. Don't bother with makeup," she ordered before returning her attention to her screens while Natalie hurried out of the office.

Having decided that since she would have to renegotiate with Bailey anyway, she might as well give up on trying to get anywhere near the demanded returns without outright gambling and settled on adjusting his portfolio to something that was more her old style. With the impossible goal thrown overboard, Jenna had a new more promising if less risk-averse plan wrapped up soon enough and then all that was left was to write a carefully worded mail to that presumptuous bastard, concealing the contempt bubbling inside her while asking for an opportunity to apologize personally and present the revised course. As Jenna finally left the building and walked to her car, she wondered if whoever was so insistent on meeting her had any idea what he was getting himself into.