Love Around the World 11: København

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Aly," I whispered back.

We did love each other. We just weren't in love with each other. The sex was fantastic. We worked well together. But we also admitted that we simply didn't share enough in common otherwise. Basing an entire relationship on sex was bound to fail in the end. It didn't stop the feelings from developing, but we were adults, had discussed our feelings long ago, and admitted to having them though it wasn't enough to be together permanently.

I hated hearing her cry though, feeling my own eyes getting wet as she released her emotions. "How long have you known?"

"Bob told me last month. I fell apart in his office, and he knew why. He's never really been blind to what's going on. He only ever approved of the fact we cared for each other."

"I'm sorry. You've never given away that you had an idea."

"It's why I've been distant for a little while, Mark. I just couldn't be with you alone without blabbing."

Riding me a few minutes later, she stroked her girlcock and came all over me within a couple of minutes of stroking herself. That put a smile on her face before she leaned down to kiss me, running my hands down to her arse as I knew what she wanted, pumping my cock up into her harder and harder before she slid off, resting her head on the mattress while wiggling her arse in my direction.

Mounting her and fucking her hard immediately had us both groaning and grunting. When she was really in the mood, Alison loved it when I just absolutely nailed her. Having already cum twice, I knew I was going to last quite a while before I came again. Alison knew that, and I loved it when she talked dirty about owning her arse and all the other naughty things we could get up to later.

When I did finally explode inside her, I knew that was me done, and when Alison rolled to move out of the way, I noticed she'd cum again from the wet spot on the quilt cover. She could often cum without touching her girlcock when I was really fucking her. After a quick shower, although she loved feeling my cum leaking out of her, it was also distracting, we snuggled in bed together.

With her head against my chest, she needed another little cry. "Trying to find your replacement won't be easy," she whispered, "Maybe I'll get a mould of your cock and just fuck myself silly with it, but the problem with that is a dildo doesn't cum!"

"Alison... I'm going to miss the hell out of you too..."

"I hope you do find a beautiful Danish woman just like me..."

"I find the English version of you just as delightful."

"I'm glad you came into my life, Mark," she said softly, "You do make me happier than I can remember."

"If I'd ever asked you to move in, would things have been different?"

"I don't know. Leave it as a 'What if?' and don't worry about it."

Waking the next morning, she was up and off early to head home and change. Seeing her off at the front door, we shared one last kiss as I ran my fingers down her cheek, watching her eyes close and her lower lip tremble for a moment.

"Love you, Aly," I said softly.

"I love you too, Mark. Thank you for last night. I needed it. I really did. I just needed you."

"We'll get together as often as we can before I go."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I signed the new contract and handed it in on Friday morning, Bob was almost beside him with happiness. I could understand as he'd been a firm supporter of mine once I'd moved into management. With the contract signed, I sat down with the board on Monday morning to iron out some of the details. They were not wasting time as I would be in position in Copenhagen at the end of the next month.

Alison was aware of the timetable and for the next seven weeks, we were together at least once during the working week and spent nearly every weekend together. The friends I'd made all knew about Alison. Some of them knew she was transgender. Others didn't as it wasn't any of their business. We spent most of the time in the bedroom as the sex was fantastic as always, but we actually spent time 'dating' and it was a lot of fun.

I'd packed and sent most of my things to Copenhagen by the time of my departure. I'd ensured the house was ready to be rented out. Given the location, I was charging enough to cover the mortgage plus make a slight profit. On the day of my flight out, Alison was next to me in the backseat of the taxi, my luggage in the boot. After checking-in to Business Class, Alison held my hand all the way to the security section.

"I love you," I whispered as I held her in my arms, feeling her start to shake, "And I've loved these last few weeks we've shared."

"I love you too. I know you're going to have such a great time overseas. All the girls know I'm going to be miserable for, like, the next year so promised me that I'd be taken out all the time."

"Search for my replacement?"

"No-one can replace you," she whispered, feeling her clutch me tighter as she really started to cry. She nearly got me going as I kissed her. It was so intense, so full of emotion, I was left wanting to just take her through security with me and we'd figure it out. "Go," she finally said softly, "You've got to go otherwise I'm going to just handcuff you to my wrist and take you home with me."

"I'll see you again?"

"Not anytime soon. I've got to get over you first."

"I hope you do find that someone special."

That made her eyes gaze into mine. "I already have..." Then her lower lip trembled, she whispered that she loved me again before she turned and strode away quickly, knowing she was crying. I noticed a few glances in my direction as I needed to wipe my cheeks dry. That had been far more difficult than I'd ever imagined. With a sigh, I picked up my small backpack and headed through security.

*****

The company had set me up in an apartment in central Copenhagen, barely a ten-minute walk from the office, and not far from many of the famous sights of the city. Greeted at the airport by a rather attractive woman from the Human Resources department, her impeccable English wasn't a real surprise, having to admit that I had barely begun to learn Danish.

"All Danes speak at least acceptable English," she assured me, "But learning Danish will certainly help ingratiate yourself with your employees and your community."

"Is it difficult to learn?"

That question made her laugh. "Absolutely not. As an English speaker, it's actually quite easy as all the rules in English are the same as in Danish. It's the same with Swedish and Norwegian. The only Nordic or Scandinavian language that would come across as completely foreign is Finnish." She paused and laughed to herself again. "Well, there is also Icelandic, but we'll not mention that crazy lot."

Catching public transport was a reminder of living in London as I was led to my comfortable apartment. I didn't even want to ask the cost of setting me up though I knew my wage in Danish kroner was nothing to sniff at. I would be living comfortably no matter what. Kirsten, the woman I'd met and who had this rather reassuring manner as she led me around my apartment, explained some areas of the city I might be interested in, bars I'd probably like to visit, restaurants that serve the best food in the city...

"And women?" I had to ask.

Kirsten gave me a look, shaking her head. "Well, you are a single man, so I guess you'd like companionship and more given that this is a permanent move. Danes are, well, different to the English. And I've only met one Australian in my life before you and he was... Are all Australians extroverts?"

"Probably those that travel. I think Australians are good at making friends, even if it's only for a few hours."

"Danes are usually more reserved. We're seen as quite shy people until we really know someone. Just keep that in mind."

Given a couple of days to acclimatise, my first day in my new office was on Tuesday. Kirsten met me in the lobby once I'd been given my pass by security. There are no tall buildings like you'd see in London. The centre of Copenhagen still has that old city feel. Not quite medieval, but there are no skyscrapers like you'd see in Canary Wharf in London. Escorted by Kirsten to my new office, it was rather plush and a sign of my new position. Everything looked rather new as I took a quick look out the window.

"I have an itinerary for your first week that you could glance over," she said once I was turned back towards her, "Today is all about getting to know people, of course. What you will probably want to focus on first is hiring a personal assistant."

"You won't just give me one? I'm not sure how that would work here."

"No. Your PA is going to be someone you will need to trust and rely on so that decision should be yours alone. I have a shortlist of people you may wish to interview." She paused and added, "Don't want to make assumptions but most men do prefer to have a woman as their PA."

"To be honest, women are generally more organised so that's one good point."

"And eye candy?" she teased.

"I'm not foolish enough to answer that question, Kirsten." I did meet her eyes and asked, "What's it like here? Is everyone highly stressed or is everyone at least a little chilled and laid back? I mean, in my previous position, I would crack the whip when necessary, but I'm not a micromanager. I hate having to look over people's shoulders all the time."

"You'll figure it out in time, Mark, but rest assured that you have some excellent people working here."

"Why don't you call a general meeting for... 10am, and well go from there? And interviews for my PA from tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good, Boss."

"Mark. I prefer first names with people. Definitely don't call me anything like 'sir'. Ugh..."

Walking into the conference room at 10am, I was greeted by a sea of faces. Some people smiled. One or two looked a little worried. I certainly understood why as a new CEO, or any sort of manager meant a possible change in direction. I introduced myself, letting them know where I was from, so they understood why I had a different accent to perhaps one they imagined, let them know my history with the company and what I hoped to achieve in my new position. I hated using corporate speak when talking to people, preferring to meet them at the human level.

"I'll come around during the week and visit each department, get to know you by face. I'm horrible with names, at least to start with, so apologies if I don't remember them all immediately. I anticipate I'll be rather busy, but you have managers to speak to, and I do have an open-door policy at the same time. There is a chain of command, but if something is urgent enough, it will end up on my desk quickly. What I can assure myself is that you're all here because you are good at your jobs and earned your position with the company. All I need from you is to keep doing the same job as you were doing under the previous CEO. If I can perform as effectively as you can, then this will continue to be a success in the future."

Honestly felt like I was talking bullshit, but the smiles and nodding heads suggested at least some approval of what I was saying. I knew quite a lot of my job would be high-level stuff, and I'd end up sitting in more meetings than I could imagine, but the pressure to deliver results would be on my shoulders in the end. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that stated 'The Buck Stops Here'. In the end, I was responsible for each employee and the overall success of the company each and every day.

Interviews the next day started in earnest. In all, there were a dozen applicants. Kirsten had me chuckling as all twelve were women, and there was a surprising amount of detail in each application. I had no idea they would allow ages, for example. I thought that sort of thing was considered outdated due to elements of ageism.

Approaching each interview with an open mind, all of them had qualifications and an employee history that would have made them a shoo-in regarding most avenues of employment. But I knew my PA was going to be under quite a bit of stress. Long hours. More than likely working weekends from time to time. I could organise my own life, but having someone who I could rely on, and trust was what I would need most.

My seventh interview, and the second on Thursday, was with a young woman named Astrid. She was late twenties, a university graduate and had a previous history as a PA. Another young lady from Human Resources, Annika, was helping out until I had a PA in place, knocking on my door to announce Astrid was waiting for me.

I rarely made anyone wait too long and would always apologise if I was delayed. Being polite didn't cost anything. Greeting Astrid with a smile as she rose from the chair as my PA would have their own small section outside my office, I was immediately taken aback as she was rather tall for a woman. Even without her heels, she wouldn't have been more than an inch or two away from being six feet. She had luscious brunette hair, a pair of sparkling blue eyes behind thin-framed glasses, and a pair of lips that were coated in red lipstick. I tried not to check her out further though did notice the skirt that ended above her knees.

"Astrid?" I asked as I offered my hand, "Delighted to meet you. I'm Mark."

"Nice to meet you too," she replied in absolutely perfect English. That wasn't any real surprise as everyone I'd spoken to could speak it fluently. Hell, they spoke it so clearly, and I remembered times I could barely understand people in certain areas of England.

Leading her into my office, I asked if I could get her anything. Assuring me she was fine, we sat opposite each other as I opened her file. I'd already retained the important information I would need. The interview was about how she'd answer particular questions, and I knew from experience that interviews were nerve-wracking and stressful situations. A couple of previous interviewees had stumbled over perfectly simple questions. Unfortunately, they were designed that way.

Astrid was a confident young woman in how she answered any questions I threw her way. More than once, she returned a soft smile before answering, aware of the game we were playing. There were one or two moments she was using her femininity to her advantage. That way a woman curls some hair behind an ear. Perhaps a light laugh that is music to the ears of any man. And sitting opposite me, I couldn't help noticing the blouse she wore was tight to her upper body.

By the end of the interview, I already knew she was the one. Yes, I found her beautiful, but her answers were perfect, and I usually went with my gut feeling. My gut was telling me that no-one was going to be better. I would be able to trust this woman with my career and my life. Escorting her to the door, I shook her hand again, feeling her squeeze my hand back, letting her know that someone would be in touch with her no later than Monday of the next week.

Returning to my desk, I called Annika in and asked her to close the door. "She's the one," I stated, "I guess you can't cancel the rest."

Annika grinned at me. "Well, it's your choice in the end, but maybe you should just see them, just in case there is someone even more spectacular waiting for you?"

I took the advice but there wasn't. Astrid was the one. I completed the rest of the interviews, approaching each of them with an open mind, but while they might have been fantastic people and employees, none of them matched everything I knew Astrid would be able to provide. I let Kirsten know I'd made my choice, I would have liked to call Astrid on Friday, Kirsten chuckled at my enthusiasm and stated again that it was my choice.

Calling Astrid on Friday afternoon, she was ever so excited as she would have known the call from our company would only be to offer the job. Everyone else would be sent a letter or email thanking them for attending the interview but they hadn't been successful. Asking her to come in on Monday morning, I had to admit that I ended the call with a smile on my face, Annika poking her head through the door and grinning at me.

"It's a good thing we were not taking bets on who you would be calling today," she said.

Everyone had learned rather quickly that I was usually in the office quite early and stayed late. I wasn't first in the door on Monday morning, seeing eyes rise and smiling faces as I made sure to greet everyone on the way to my office. Annika knew her temporary role as my support would be ending, knocking on my door not long after she arrived. Rising from my desk, I shook her hand and thanked her for all the help.

"Oh, I was very happy to help," she stated with a smile, "Can I be honest about one thing?"

"Sure."

"Well, there were so many people who wanted this position that Kirsten pretty much made it a lottery." I'll admit I didn't know what to say to that. "I mean that in a good way, Mark."

That had me smiling. "Ah... Did I make an impression?"

"Kirsten was messaging us all not long after she dropped you off at the apartment. No-one is going to be jealous of Astrid. She's just going to be a very lucky woman."

"Why didn't you apply?"

"Because I'm a happily married woman, but I wasn't going to turn down the chance to work alongside my new boss, even if it was only for a few days."

Astrid turned up a few minutes before 9am. I knew she'd spend time with Human Resources before coming to me, so that gave me time for the usual Monday morning meeting I would always hold with management. I was aware many hated such meetings, but I thought a Monday morning meeting to set and review targets for the week, month and year, review the previous week's results and discuss any positives or negatives, and go over anything important was better than a series of smaller meetings.

I'd just finished the meeting, finding Annika and Astrid waiting for me outside my office. Astrid looked gorgeous in her blouse and skirt combination, glancing down to see she was likely wearing thigh-high stockings and black heels. She was rather tall for a woman though was aware women could be quite tall in this part of the world. Her brunette hair hung loosely over her shoulders. She greeted me with a warm smile as I offered my hand.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mark," she stated immediately, "I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you'll be just fine as I selected you for a number of very good reasons. Annika, is she sorted out otherwise?"

"She'll have access to all the systems that she'll need by the end of today."

"Excellent. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Just that half the girls in this building are now rather jealous, Mark," she teased.

Astrid started to blush as Annika laughed as I knew my face was likely a picture. For apparently shy people, Annika was quite the little flirt. I guess it was harmless as I was her boss, and she was married. But from the moment she'd sat outside my office, she'd been very friendly and flirtatious. It had actually made me feel rather good about everything.

"I'm going to head out for lunch," I said, looking at Astrid, "I've been told of a few places nearby that serve good food and quickly. Would you like to join me so we can just talk?"

"I'd like that," Astrid replied, a slight smile on her face.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Annika stated, "Don't be a stranger, Mark."

Astrid did have things to organise as she set herself up outside my office, one of the guys from I.T. arriving to help with her systems. He was still hard at work when I popped my head out the door and told Astrid I was going to head out. Walking outside together, she suggested a nearby café would serve a light meal that would keep me filled until the end of the day.

Finding a table inside, the menu was in both Danish and English. After we'd made our order, Astrid met my eyes and smiled rather shyly before asking, "Know much Danish yet?"