Moist Drippings

I started this job a few years back. Well that is to say in this department. I've been with the company for a couple years more than that. We are, what I thought was, a small manufacturing division of a larger bio-medical company.

My department started out assembling what we called 'The Array'. A small computer that would analyze a drop of blood for a number of illnesses. A revolutionary home healthcare device.

When I came over to this new department, I was put in charge of half of the manufacturing team. The other half was managed by Holly, we shared a lot of responsibilities but each ran our own teams. It was the first time I'd had my own office, not a cube or a desk but an actual office.

Initially Holly had been very friendly to me. Almost welcoming. She is a physically beautiful woman. Had she been an inch taller she might have been able to model. Still, a nice shape, powerful and with grace. Obviously augmented breasts, dark hair, and dark eyes. Against my better judgment, I was immediately attracted to her.

Over the first year, that initial attraction turned to a kind of perverted disgust. Holly was clever but poorly educated and intellectually lazy. What's worse she seemed to be proud of that fact. She liked to say "VEEE-hicle", but instead of "car", she ordered "EYE-talian" sodas. Talking to her was an exercise in patience, waiting for her rambling sentences to get to the point, any point, was exhausting. It's like she's not sure what her own objective is, but if she just talks long enough, somebody will nod and agree with something she said.

I say perverted disgust because I started fantasizing about all the ways I might trick Holly into doing something compromising. How I would be able to hold something stupid she had done over her head, turning that into a weekly blowjob or something dumb like that. It was never more than fantasizing. I'm a married man, even though my marriage had turned into more of a roommate situation, as a serial monogamist I never saw the need to complicate things.

Still the thought of Holly reluctantly getting on her knees under my desk and sucking me off, slightly angry, but resignedly compliant. Well those kinds of thoughts can get persistent, almost real.

We stayed out of each other's way for the most part, she didn't care for me. I caught her complaining a couple of times about what a snob I was. She accused me of using "big words". I've never felt my vocabulary was anything special, but she was always suspicious I was trying to get something over on her. To her credit I was.

A group of us used to go for beers after work sometimes. There was a bowling alley down the street from our building. It was exceptionally dark there. On rare occasions Holly would come out with us. Our boss was into her, and would always invite her.

On nights she would show up, the boss would be very generous buying rounds and shots. Inevitably Holly would get sloppy drunk and need a ride home. My boss offered her rides, but somehow she always ended up in my car.

To be honest those rides were kind of nice, she was usually pretty quiet or would talk about her personal life. She was always really candid, like she forgot we didn't really like each other. I just took it as another sign that she just wasn't that bright. It was easy to look at her when she was half passed out, the curve of her breasts, the 'v' shape between her legs and the slight rise of her belly. It was easy to imagine unhooking that bra and letting the straps fall forward, her shoulders unable to stop the inevitable reveal of the twin surgical wonders. How easy it would be to slide those tights down and spread those legs apart.

After one of those nights, my wife met me on our front porch. She asked me about Holly and if I had any 'feelings' for her. I was still a little buzzed from the bowling alley and I told her that yes I thought she was hot, but there was no way I could ever be 'into' her. It was that night she told me I was free to find a physical relationship outside of our emotional one. I took that in stride. I had no intention of looking outside of my marriage for any sort of satisfaction. Ours was a marriage where the good things were good enough. It was easy to forgive the bad things.

Somewhere in those first couple of years, the director of our department got fired. A sexual harassment situation that nobody knew about until it blew up. It ended with him threatening the woman's husband and the police got involved. As a result my boss moved into that spot, and I got his.

Holly was furious when that happened. They didn't even open it up to interviews, one day we were co-workers and then next I was her supervisor. I assume this was the company's way of moving forward and quickly applying corporate amnesia to the sexual harassment situation. Holly had been there longer, but I was married and stable with a history of being a solid, down to earth guy. She was single, and a liability I assume because she was hot and dumb.

I brought over a gal named Brandi, from my previous department to take my spot and work alongside Holly. During this shake up, our department lost some office space, I kept my office but Holly had to share with the new manager. It seemed like this was even worse news to her than my promotion. She valued that space with her fake plants and vaguely Jesus-y sayings in vinyl on the wall. Her world was cut in half and she took it personally. I was relieved, as her anger seemed more directed at Brandi, my old co-worker, than me.

Brandi had started at the company a little after I did. She was quick witted, but temperamental. Her personal life was always fascinating to me, she spent weekends as a dancer for what she described as 'punk rock burlesque.'. I've seen photos on the internet, mostly sweaty semi-nude, cheap polyester lingerie, things you might find at Wal*Mart or Ross.

She simulated sex acts with bottles of Coors Light, and was always photographed with a cigar jutting out the side of her mouth.

Brandi dated a lot. Mostly men, some women. She liked to tell me about them. Judging my reaction. She was attractive, if not pretty. Her raw sexual energy sometimes felt like a lusty humid aura. I enjoyed the charged atmosphere. I liked her and always thought she was a good ally at work. If I'm being honest it was the way she always slightly deferred to me, even before I became a shift supervisor that I liked the most.

I could never understand what motivated her. We didn't move in the same circles. I always thought it might be that we were both always alone, and socially weird that made us friends. One night at the bowling alley it was just the two of us. She told me she had "daddy issues", and that's why she and I got along so well. At that point in the conversation she opened her eyes really wide and just stared at me over her beer. I smiled at her, and changed the subject. Then I went home.

Up until then, that was the only time I saw that side of her. At work she remained the tough, efficient, foul mouthed co-worker I had always known. I just chalked it up to Coors Light and Jamesons.

There was a period of time when Brandi's internet presence became common knowledge around the department. There was a lot of whispering and sideways looks. One day my boss dropped in and after a few "how's the weather" type sentences asked me.

"Did you read Brandi's bio on that website?" He asked with a leer.

"I did"

"Do you really think she's into anal sex, or is that like, you know for the, uh, her fans?"

"I've heard her talk about it before." I answered honestly.

"I mean, it seems like she really, uh, likes it. You know, in the butt." He made a gesture with two of his fingers penetrating an imaginary asshole.

"I guess, some people do."

His "yeah" kind of trailed off and he left my office without another word. After that his interest in Holly seemed to waver. He still stared at her when she walked by, but his entire demeanor towards Brandi changed overnight. I imagine his thoughts were fairly singular and highly focused.

As for me I've always tried to keep my secrets closer to the vest, but I like knowing what makes those around me tick. Especially those in charge of me. Being able to categorize my boss and file him away by his predilections made me more comfortable in my own underlying wants. In my head I nicknamed him Ass fucker, and if he really made me mad somedays, Wannabe Ass Fucker.

This whole episode appeared to make Holly even more miserable. I always suspected it was her that spread those dirty URLs to Brandi's team. That's why she was unhappy with how it turned out. Brandi superseded her in Ass Fucker's fantasy world and at the same time and for the same reason became more valuable to me as a political asset. As for Brandi, she didn't really care. It was already public knowledge as far as she was concerned.

Eventually everything settled into a sort of détente. Ass Fucker wasn't able to convince Brandi to let him fuck her ass. Holly couldn't get rid of Brandi. I continued to fantasize about Holly, and Brandi was able to annex half of Holly's office. Medical array's continued to roll out of our building and onto the next stop wherever that was.

Brandi and I were better friends than ever.

One night at the bowling alley I slipped and told Brandi about my conversation with Ass Fucker.

"He asked you that? At work?"

"Yeah, like it was a totally normal situation."

"That's gotta be some sort of harassment."

I nodded yes, and said,

"Maybe you should talk to HR."

"Not for me, for you." Brandi laughed.

I hadn't thought about that. That I might be somehow offended by the conversation with Ass Fucker. It's not like I hadn't rubbed the bulge in my pants almost daily to the thought of cramming Holly's panties into her mouth while pumping hungry dick into her body, but nobody knew about that. Just me. I realized that to the world, I had achieved what I always wanted. The face of a nice man. A good person that respected everyone around him and was safe to talk to.

Sometime last summer I was holding a planning meeting with Brandi and Holly. Like most meetings the important stuff only took a couple of minutes. I always took more time than I wanted making sure Holly understood. After that we tended to socialize.

As one of these sessions was wrapping up, Brandi started talking about a road trip she had just finished with her burlesque friends. A few anecdotes about late nights in strange towns, and the amounts of alcohol consumed. Brandi had started to explain to her co-worker the mechanics of sucking a cock while getting railed from behind by some redneck.

Holly interrupted,

"I'm going away this weekend for a trip. My brother-in-law works there, he lives in a trailer but they have nicer rooms for the guests. They have bands too."

"Where are you going?" Brandi asked, annoyed at having to stop talking about her sweaty threesome.

"It's a hot spring, like a resort like Lava, I always have fun at Lava but my brother works at the other place."

I was bored already, but made a mental note to check Holly's Instagram for swimsuit pics on Monday. Brandi wasn't giving up.

"What's the name of your brother's place?" Brandi asked.

"Oh it's not his, he just runs it. He's like a manager."

"Right, what's it called?"

"It's a hot spring..."

"What's the name of it though?"

"Oh, it's called Terrapin Hot Springs. It used to be owned by these hippies but then they got new owners and they've been spending like a ton of money fixing it up and cleaning it. It's really nice."

"Where is that at?"

"Near Lava, it's sideways from here"

I interjected.

"Sorry, sideways?"

"Yeah, sideways. Near Lava."

I laughed and Brandi joined in. Holly was just staring down at the table.

"What?".

"How do you go sideways?." I raised my eyebrows.

Brandi joined in.

"Like a crab?"

Holly looked extra confused.

"No, it's a hot springs."

Holly turned red and became insistent. Her cute little chin shaking up and down.

"It's near Lava, Sideways from here.."

Brandi and I were both laughing. I said

"Well Holly, you've finally done it, you've broken me. I cannot process this conversation anymore."

Holly got up from the table and left the room. Brandi and I looked at each other.

"I think you hurt her feelings."

I honestly didn't care and told Brandi as much.

Later that day I got a call from Ass Fucker and was summoned upstairs to his office.

"Holly's been up here crying. Something about over sideways?"

Wannabe Ass Fucker told me about all the mean things Brandi and I had said to Holly. Making her feel stupid. Again I had to correct him.

"Realize she was stupid."

"See that's it right there, you can't... humiliate her like that."

I pressed him,

"But you agree she's not that bright."

"She's a good manager." He answered sternly.

I rolled my eyes at that,

"But dumb."

"Okay yes, not smart. But how smart is it to make fun of your manager to her face?"

I admitted it wasn't the best way to run my teams.

"She used the word 'harassment'." He looked at me with grave reproach. Harassment had become very serious around the office in the last little while.

"So?" I replied.

"Well, I don't know if she intends to pursue this whole thing further but I think you need to apologize to her before she goes to HR."

I was angry but outwardly I put the dullest expression on my face I could fake.

"I will apologize to her."

"Make sure she doesn't go to HR."

"Yeah of course."

I left Ass Fuckers office and hit the elevator. I walked across the manufacturing floor and went into my office. I sat at my desk and stared at the wall.

From an early age I had learned this trick. Stare into space and let my face relax. I could imagine the most violent things without a single change to my eyes. I used to spend whole days imagining myself driving around in this body. Divested from any instinctual need to furrow a brow or cock my chin to one side. Perfect stillness. I became the ghost inside of me, a separate being from the body I inhabited.

No. Who the fuck did she think she was? No way I was going to let this mentally deficient princess ruin my work. I had built a kingdom here, where I ruled. I had loyalty from my people and appreciation from my superiors and now this bitch, this cunt, threatened to ruin that? I spent a good hour trying to figure out how she'd tricked me into this position. Had I not been paying attention? How did this big titted idiot get me like this? No way she strategized this by herself. No way. And Ass Fucker telling me to apologize? The hypocrite. He had harassed me without even thinking about it. Could they be working together to get rid of me?

I had to be smart and cunning. Holly couldn't be allowed to beat me.

The next Monday I called Holly into my office. I asked her how she was feeling. She was nervous and cagey. I talked about our history working together, especially nights I drove her home drunk from the bar. I asked about her personal life and followed up on some of the more intimate details of those slurred conversations we'd had in the car. She actually began to physically squirm.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

Taking a long pause to figure out what I meant.

"No, I don't have anything to be uncomfortable about"

I smiled.

"Not that, I mean the chair. Do you need to stand up?"

She stopped, a little sideways glance.

"No, no it's fine. I'm...it's fine."

"Oh good, look Holly, I guess you know I've been asked to straighten things out about our conversation last week."

It was obvious she didn't know that. She looked down at her feet. She didn't think this would happen. This hadn't been her endgame at all. She was just trying to undermine me to Ass Fucker, she didn't have a plan, She thought this wasn't ever going to come up again. I could see her doing the math on why she was here, Ass Fucker had just pulled me into his confidence, She didn't have any secrets from me, what else had he told me? I was left in charge of the outcome of my own behavior. Suddenly she was without power. She was flattened.

"You are worried that I think you're stupid."

She didn't like that. A little more of the fire came back into her.

"Look Holly, if I thought you were stupid I wouldn't have kept you on my team"

I had no control over who was on my team that was up to Ass Fucker, but it was apparent she didn't know that.

"I think our misunderstanding is about background. You come from a small town, I was raised here. I spent four years at the University and you...where did you go?"

"I got a certificate from C-Tech"

"Oh? I'm not familiar with that one, anyway, like I said it's about background. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Sure"

"Sure, there's lots of stuff you know way more about than I do, and vice versa."

"Yeah"

"That doesn't make you stupid about directions, or me stupid about...What did you study at C-tech?"

"Cosmetology."

"Right, that."

I stopped to nod my head, like a great point had been made. How many more times could I call her stupid? She began to nod along with me.

"I'm glad we agree, look Holly, I'm going to try to be more sensitive to your feelings, Are you okay with that?"

She looked defeated.

"Yes... Thanks."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else we need to discuss? Anything you want to bring out into the open?"

Like your tits?

She shook her head and gave me a half smile. I stood up and put my hand out, she took it and got to her feet. She made the hint of letting go, I ignored it and stepped in closer.

"I feel like you and I are going to do good work here."

She agreed.

I resisted the urge to hug her. To feel that spongey flesh pressed against me. I let her hand go and motioned her to the door.

"Feel free to drop in any time."

Things settled after that. The occasional flare-up between the two managers. Settled over crying fits in my office.

I invented a face that was stern, yet friendly. Both ladies seemed to like the face when they were crying about the other. I even felt that Holly might have softened towards me a little. I rarely agreed with her, but I defended her where I could and consoled her where I couldn't. I found her confiding in me more and more about her personal life and her insecurities at work. I still thought she was rock stupid, but the face I had invented, thought she was a feeling creature, a flower that only needed to be nurtured to bloom.

As we entered December our department was informed we would be going through some "re-tooling". We would no longer be working on The Array. No information on what we would be doing, but that it would be exciting and innovative. Ass Fucker pulled me aside and told there would be some changes in the management structure but nobody was going to lose their job.

Not being in on the specifics of "changes in the management structure" I could only take this as a bad sign. If it were positive for me he would've spilled it. I decided it would be a good idea to appear as "managerial" as possible in the coming days.

He also let me know we would be shut down for two weeks, with pay. While the build floor was reconfigured for whatever the new project was going to be.

The Friday before our shutdown was the annual Christmas conference that took place in a nice hotel ballroom. An unofficial office party that took place at the bowling alley directly after.

Every year the management teams would show up to the ballroom dressed for a gala event at ten a.m. Listen to the higher ups rave about production numbers, make a few announcements, give out some silly awards, and distribute bonus checks. Then the majority of us would head over to the bowling alley bar and drink ourselves comatose.

It started to snow the morning of the event. I drove to the hotel wearing the only suit and tie I own. This conference is literally the only time I wear it. Other supervisors showed up in similar costumes. Holly and a couple of other gals in her orbit showed up wearing bright red evening dresses trimmed with white fluff. Holly of course, a little lower cut in the chest and much shorter in the leg than her compatriots. It was the opaque white tights I really liked.