Kate and Ted - Act 01

"Of course." I pushed back from my desk and stood. She closed the door and walked toward me. Her chest was definitely bouncing more than I had ever noticed before and her hips were definitely swinging more than was her usual motion. As she smoothed her skirt under her with one hand I noticed three things. First, no note pad or pen. Second, that skirt was shorter than her typical skirts. Third, her nipples were hard.

This was absolutely a first! Maybe I had missed any previous times he had a case of Nipplus Erectus but until right now I had figured she just didn't have very big nipples or even had inverted nipples because I had never seen them.

"About the analyst position, I'd like it if it's available. I think it would be exciting and thrilling working under you on a full time basis." The sparkle from her eyes and the radiance from her smile were captivating. God, she was beautiful. The thought flashed through my mind that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I let it pass.

I stood up and extended my hand. "Congratulations. I'll call HR in the morning and we'll get things sorted out." She stood and met my hand. Her handshake was firm but appropriate. She wasn't trying to prove she was a guy. Her hand felt small in mine but her skin was soft, smooth and warm. I realized that even with her heels the top of her head just made it to my eyes. She might have been only 5' 3".

The next morning she came in and told me that one of her roommates was looking for a job. The company he worked for was downsizing and his division was being phased out. They offered him a small 'package' as severance. She said that Aaron was capable, reliable and could easily handle the Administrator job. I told her to speak with HR and asked her to have Aaron send me his resume.

I noticed two things. Her nipples were hard again and there was a small slit in her skirt over her right thigh. Hmmmm. I was wondering about her 'roommate' situation but I figured it made sense. She probably wasn't making a lot of money as a temporary and so it was unlikely that she could afford much of an apartment on her own. The analyst salary was going to be a big bump in income for her.

I met Aaron two days later and he started the following Monday. His availability was a real benefit because that way Kate could spend a week with Tyrell to transition and she could also get Aaron up to speed.

It was strange for me to see Aaron at Kate's desk and Kate in Tyrell's cube but I got used to both pretty fast. Aaron was almost as good as Kate and even added an improvement or two of his own.

Meanwhile, Kate seemed to be blossoming in her new role in more ways than one. First, she grasped the concepts and purpose of her job very quickly. She was very bright and she was up to full speed almost right away. Second, maybe it was the fact that she was now a full time member of the company and my team, she sure seemed to be a bit more, seeking of my attention shall we say.

Her skirts and dresses were definitely shorter, most of the time with a slit in them. Her necklines definitely were lower and she had taken to wearing necklaces that either had a pendant that nestled into the top of her now exposed cleavage or draped over her bust so as to attract attention. Her footwear, while still professional and fashionable, started to include open toe pumps that showed off her always painted toes.

She also seemed to be touching me, on the arm, the shoulder, and the hand a lot. She almost always seemed to be dropping something when it was just the two of us in my office. She always bent from the waist to pick that something up. She was in the habit of approaching my desk before I could get up and then putting her hands on my desk and leaning forward to point out something in a spreadsheet, giving me a good view of her breasts every time. She also started coming around my desk to stand beside me to point out things on my monitors, invariably pressing one or both breasts into my arm or shoulder.

Finally, after about six weeks of this, we were seated next to each other in a meeting. During a change in presenters she leaned over to me, put her lips especially close to my ear and rested her hand on my thigh. While the comment she whispered to me was right on point her lips were brushing my ear in a very enticing way and her hand was not just resting but stroking my thigh.

I waited until I was back in my office after lunch and dialed Kate's extension. She picked up right away.

"Kate, can you come into my office for a minute?" I asked, my voice flat and calm.

"Be right there," she responded in her usual vivacious manner. In seconds she was at my door.

"Please, shut the door."

"I feel like I've just been called to the principal's office," she said as she approached my desk, which I stayed behind. "Did I do something bad?" she actually asked in in a voice that sounded like a little girl.

"Kate, sit." I pointed to a chair. "What's going on? And don't give me a 'whatever do you mean' all innocent response. Is something bothering you?"

She started to speak, stopped, as she clearly thought better of what she intended to say and then came right out with it. "I'm trying to get you to take me out. I know you're not married. I know you're not seeing anyone. And I certainly know you are not gay. I'm not naïve, I'm not dumb and I'm not really innocent, though I like to play that way, a lot. I really like you. I want to see a lot more of you, like, outside the office see a lot more of you."

"You're kidding right? Did the guys in accounting put you up to this? Is there a hidden camera the IT guys installed in here? Is this a test or some sort of sexual harassment trap?"

"No, none of that. It's all me. After working with you for the first few weeks I realized that you are truly a genuinely nice guy. I couldn't believe you weren't involved with someone. I saw all the late hours you put in. I see your emails coming at 8, 9, even 10 at night. I know you're in here on weekends sometime. I want you to have more of a life. I want to help you and to be part of your life, or at least make a try at it and see what comes of it."

I was dumbfounded. I sat back in my chair and just looked at her.

"Kate, what I'm about to say is completely off the record. I'm speaking to you as a friend, which I hope we are to some degree. You are a beautiful, intelligent and sweet young woman. I'm 25 years older than you. There have got to be hundreds, maybe even thousands of guys out there who would love to date you, get to know you and maybe more. Don't waste your time on an old fart like me."

"I don't care about the other thousands of guys, I want you. I don't care about our ages. I like that you're much older than me. Your age is a big part of who you are and why you're interesting to me. I care about you and I want to do things for and with you. I want to make you happy." She was serious. Or she was worthy of an Oscar. But as I searched her eyes I couldn't detect anything false.

"Are you planning on taking a new job?" I was stalling for time.

"No, why?"

"Well, we certainly can't have a relationship while you're working for me. We'd both be fired if anyone found out."

She relaxed in her chair and a look of relief came over her. "No one will find out. I can be extremely discrete and I know you could, too."

"Kate, I can't tell you how flattered, as well as outright amazed, I am. I just can't believe this is what you're really feeling. Maybe it's a phase, maybe it's some form of delayed grief from your grandmother's passing, I don't know. I do know that that whatever you believe you feel, it's not real and it's certainly not in your best interest."

"Please, Ted, don't dismiss it so quickly and easily. I'm pretty mature, I know myself very well. What I feel for you is real."

How do I tell her 'no' firmly without hurting her? I wasn't even thinking about the physical aspect of a relationship with her. I was thinking about what a wonderful, sweet person she was. How smart she was and the range of subjects, work and non-work related, we discussed regularly. How being with someone like her would most assuredly add greatly to my life. But I was 25 years older. I was her boss. It just wasn't right.

I guess I had been silent for so long she decided to keep going. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that it wouldn't be fair to me, that even though there might be something there and even though we already get along well, you don't think it would be good for me. And you're wondering how to let me down without hurting me."

What was this, a Jedi mind trick?

She wouldn't let up. "I'm right aren't I? Those are the things you're thinking." Her eyes bored into me.

"Kate...." I just trailed off.

"Please, Ted," she pleaded. "Please. Just meet me somewhere outside the office for a while. Please."

"Kate, we can't," I said firmly. "Take the rest of the day off. Go home, go shopping, or see a movie. Clear your head and then come back in tomorrow. We'll get back to things like this discussion never happened."

She stood up, she actually stamped her foot. Her voice was petulant, insistent, "No, I'm not going home and we won't forget about this tomorrow because this is happening." Her voice softened, "Think about it, Ted. When you get home tonight and you can't sleep because all this is running through your mind, think about how good this could be. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this won't work out. But maybe, you have to admit, maybe, I'm right and this could be extraordinary for both of us."

She turned and walked away.

I stared at the ceiling. Hoo boy, now what do I do? I thought about calling HR and telling them everything. But why stir things up and maybe get her in trouble?

About 9:30 that night I was watching a movie I'd seen a hundred times and my phone buzzed. I had one new text.

--Hi Ted. I've been thinking about what you said. Everything you said is rational and sensible. But I know what I know. I know I want you. Think about it tonight. I'll be thinking about you. Kate—

I hope she isn't some bunny boiler psycho and I just missed it!

I didn't sleep well. I was thinking of Kate.

I was in at my usual time. Kate was already at her cube. She came into my office mid-morning to go over some projects she was working on. She rubbed up against me and touched me every chance she got. I swear she wasn't wearing a bra! I had had enough. She was actually getting me aroused.

"Kate, stop it!" I snarled at her.

"Yes sir," she replied in that little girl voice.

She came back in after lunch and her nipples were ready to tear through her dress. She was rubbing them against me in the first minute.

"Kate, no! I mean it." I was growling at her under my breath. "Go back to your cube until you can act like a professional."

Thirty seconds after she left my phone buzzed, one new text message.

--I kinda like it when you use that stern voice with me, Daddy!—there was a kissy face emoji after the words.

Daddy? The switch flipped. The lights came on. The little girl voice, the petulant foot stomp, the acting up, it all clicked now. I wasn't unaware of the Daddy/Little girl relationship thing. So that's where she was coming from. Foolishly I actually sat there for a moment or two and thought about what it would be like. Then I gave myself a virtual slap across the face and snapped myself out of it.

I walked out of my office and over to her cube. Everyone was at their desk and we were in plain view of perhaps a dozen or more people. She looked up at me all sweetness. I spoke to her quietly. "I get it now. But it isn't going to happen. I won't be your Daddy. You're not my Little Girl. It's not happening. This is a big enough company that if we need to find you a job in another area on another floor we can do it. Get yourself together and get this out of your head."

I walked casually back to my office, feeling good that I had put an end to it.

Just before 10 that night my phone buzzed, one new text message.

--'Night, Daddy. Kate—and that kissy face emoji again.

Damn it!

I held out for two more excruciating weeks. Two weeks of her flirting and exposing herself to me. Two weeks of her using suggestive double entendre every chance she got. Two weeks of her touching and rubbing her body against me. Two weeks of that little girl voice whenever she could get away with it. Two weeks of texts.

It was Friday. It was about 5:30, maybe quarter to six. The place was deserted as I made my way back to my office. My office door was closed, and locked. Maybe Aaron did that when he left thinking I was gone. I unlocked the door and walked in.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I dropped the file in my hand.

There, in the middle of the floor of my office, kneeling, completely nude, with leather cuffs around her wrists and ankles all joined together by a leather "X" with a metal ring in the middle was Kate!

I rushed to her and unclipped the cuffs from the "X" as quickly as I could. I took off my suit jacket and threw it over her.

"Kate, my god, what are you doing?" I finally had the presence of mind to look behind me and close the door.

"I had to get your attention somehow. I had to show you how serious I am."

"Take those things off. Get dressed. I need a drink and you're coming with me."

All I heard was "Yes, Daddy" from a happy little girl as I walked out of my office and closed the door behind me.

I sat in Aaron's chair, my head in my hands, trying to unsee what I just saw. Not because it was something repulsive, but because I was scared by how I couldn't get the image of her incredible young body out of my mind.

She emerged in a few minutes, dressed as smartly and professionally as ever, a large handbag slung over her shoulder and my suit jacket in her hand. She started to speak but I shook my head at her.

I took the suit jacket from her and handed her a sticky note. "Meet me here in half an hour."

She walked to the elevator and I swear even from behind her I could see a smile on her face. I went into my office and shut everything down and locked up. As I put my jacket on I could smell faint traces of her perfume on it. So not fair Kate, so not fair.

I ordered a beer and sat in a booth. It was an old bar. The clientele was predominantly business men and women. I knew chances were slim anyone from my company would be here. Most of them would be at one of the hip, new bars on the other side of town or already on their way to their country club for dinner with spouses and friends.

She walked in and spotted me. I stood when she approached the booth and asked her what she wanted to drink.

"A Tito's with soda and a lime."

I went to the bar and placed her order, I added another beer for me. I turned to look and she seemed so small, so young sitting alone in that booth. When I returned with her drink I slid into the booth beside her. She looked up at me in surprise, then she smiled that unbelievable smile and said, "Yay!".

I clinked her glass with my bottle and we both took a drink. "You wore me down. You win Little Girl."

I think she had tears in her eyes as she giggled, "Oh, Daddy!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek.