Moving On Ch. 03

The rain had cleared up nicely as James cycled towards the DDDesigns office, reflecting his mood. When he came out of the shower (for the second time) that morning, he had expected to have yet another drawn out argument with Julie over the merits of getting back together, despite her leaving in three weeks and, more importantly, the fact that she was a heartless cow. Somewhat surprisingly, James had come back to an empty bedroom. Julie and her wet things had just upped and gone, as had his last clean towel, but James was sure he'd get over that particularly devastating loss quickly enough.

He had spent the rest of the morning preparing and planning a route to Dani's office on the other side of town. He didn't want to rely on public transport, and since he didn't own a car, he figured the best way to make sure he was punctual was to get there on his own steam. He packed a change of clothes and some toiletries so that when he got close he could find somewhere to change and freshen up. First impressions and all that.

As he approached the offices, a renovated old factory that had been turned into what James assumed was a number of slightly smaller industrial units, locking up his bike in one of the purposefully placed bike sheds that walled off one side of the car park. He had found a nearby bar and had asked nicely if he could freshen up in the bathroom. He liked to think that he was doing his homage to Superman, walking in as the scruffy cyclist and emerging as a smart, sophisticated potential employee.

Walking into the reception area, James looked around to survey the environment. Whilst the exterior of the building looked slightly old and industrial, the interior was the complete opposite. White crisp walls adorned with bright multi-coloured pieces of art and punctuated by attract sculptures that he was want to even describe surrounded an open plan work space. There were a number of desks around the edge off the work area, with what looked like a large, lime-green beanbag in the centre. 5 or 6 people were all sitting on the beanbag, designers he guessed, each with what looked like the latest MacBook laptops. The reception, slightly off from the main workspace, consisted of a large counter with the latest spec Apple computer system and a number of telephones, behind the desk was a youngish looking blonde girl who was dwarfed by the huge counter in front of her. From the door, James could only see the top of her golden locks. He was going to like it here.

Peering up at him, she smiled. "Hello, welcome to DDDesigns, how can I help you?"

"Hi" James said holding out his hand over the counter for a handshake. A calculated move, offering his hand made the young receptionist stand up to reciprocate, offering him a view of her skinny, young frame. She couldn't have been much older than 18. "My name is James Sharp, I'm here for an interview with Miss Davis?"

"Oh yes, Mr Sharp, Miss Davis is expecting you, but you are a little early. She has an important meeting for the next 15 minutes before she will be able to see you. Will you be alright to wait a little while?" she asked, motioning to a number of chairs placed by the door to resemble a makeshift waiting room.

"Of course." He said, smiling. "Thank you, er..."

"Lauren" she volunteered abruptly, blushing slightly. "I will come to collect you when Miss Davis is ready."

"Thank you Lauren." He smiled and made his way to the waiting area, peering at the counter as he sat, catching her gaze. Lauren quickly looked back at her computer screen and began typing.

James waited, taking out his phone to find something to occupy himself.

'2 new messages' - Charlotte, Bitch(Tits)

James smiled as he remembered that he'd changed Julie's contact info in a fit of drunken rage one night. 'This should be interesting' he thought. He decided to open Charlotte's message first.

"Hey, workout needed tonight, you in? x"

His smile broadened, it had only been a day and a half ago that Charlotte (his 'secret' admirer) had given him of the most intense orgasms of his life and then suggested they become fuck-buddies. She wasn't wasting any time.

"Maybe, have work @ 5. After? x" he clicked send. Next he opened Julie's message, expecting a barrage of abuse. He was right.

"Who is Charlotte? Is this why u want nothing more to do with me?? If ur fuckin sum1 else, u cudve at least had the guts to tell me b4 fuckin me 2! Is dat revenge or summit?? Asshole!"

He cringed at the text speak as he read her message in his head. So she'd looked at his phone while he was in the shower, things made more sense now. He had no doubt that this wasn't over. He wondered how long it would be before she put the dots together and told Tim that he'd been fucking his ex. He'd cross that bridge when he got to it. However, there were more important things to concentrate on at the moment. He went over the dialogue he had prepared to describe his portfolio pieces. Words that his high school graphics teacher started ringing through his head.

"Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance" he mouthed, giggling at the memory of one of his old teachers openly swearing in front of his students.

A door on the far side of the office opened, grabbing his attention. Walking through it was a smartly dressed man child, who James immediately recognised as Bastard!, the guy who was on the date with Dani a few nights back. He made a silent prayer that he didn't work here.

Bastard casually walked around the workspace towards the reception. Leaning over the counter, he whispered something in Lauren's ear before turning and walking out past James without so much as a glance in his direction. He looked back towards Lauren and could see that she was blushing heavily. He wondered what he had said to her.

A phone behind the counter sharply buzzed, snapping Lauren out of whatever daydream she had just fallen into. Answering it, James could see her nodding and whilst talking quietly down the line. She placed the phone down and stood up, straightening her white blouse and black pencil skirt before nervously walking over to the waiting area. "Miss Davis will see you now, if you would please follow me."

James' heart was in his mouth. This was it. "Thanks Lauren, please lead the way."

They walked around the workspace in the reverse route that Bastard had just taken. He looked more closely at the designers in the middle of the room. All relatively young, four women currently occupied the beanbag whilst an older gentleman sat at one of the outlying desks facing away from him. He noticed one of the other designers had disappeared. As they approached the door that Bastard had emerged from, Lauren turned to face him and mouthed "Good Luck", motioning for him to knock before retreating back to her duties. He casually turned to look at her tiny ass in that skin tight pencil skirt as she scurried away before checking to see if anyone noticed. He was in the clear.

He knocked at the door, hearing an angelic "Come in!" from within. Opening the door, he smiled instantly as he saw his most recent obsession rise from her seat to welcome him into her office. Her silky brunette hair up in a bun, she looked all business with a white blouse and a grey pencil skirt over the top of, what looked like, sheer black suspenders (Oh how he wished they were suspenders!!).

"James! Hi! Welcome to DDDesigns! I hope you found us ok?" She beamed as she offered him her hand from across her desk.

"Nothing a quick google search couldn't solve!" He replied, shaking her hand firmly. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

She flattened her skirt before sitting, bending forward slightly, offering James a quick glimpse of her subtle cleavage. His heart skipped a beat. "It's my pleasure, James. Like I said on the phone, this could just as easily be an induction as opposed to an interview."

He blushed slightly. She had offered him the job already but James felt he may be under qualified and wanted to see if he could get the job on merit. "If it's all the same though Miss Davis..."

"Dani" she interrupted, smiling at his nervousness.

"Sorry, Dani. If it's all the same, I feel like I need to at least show you what else I am capable of so that you have a better idea of what I am capable of."

"I can respect that." she nodded. "Let's see what you can do."

James spent the next half an hour showing Dani some of his previous work, explaining the brief of each piece before outlining his influences and his methods. He had prepared well. He watched her facial expressions as she looked at each piece. She wasn't giving much away. Just a series of nods and 'I see's punctuating his delivery. Once finished, he gathered his things together ready to replace in his bag.

"Well, James, I have to say I'm glad you brought your other works in. You may have just saved me from making a big mistake." she said as he knelt down to fasten his bag.

His heart plummeted. 'Oh my God! She didn't like it? She must have only liked the menu? She had already offered you the job, Idiot? Oh God, why did you insist on this fucking interview! Idiot' His panic must have been visible. He could feel the sweat begin to push through his skin, making a James-shaped water feature in the middle of her office.

Retaking a seat, he looked up at her. She was still smiling! Was this some sort of game? Was she taking pleasure in this? He had to get out of here! He couldn't stand the embarrassment of it all. He'd go back to Giorgio's and work behind the bar for the rest of his life if he had to. It wasn't all bad, right?

"Sorry to waste your time, Miss Davis" he said solemnly, gathering his bag and heading for the door, dragging his shattered dreams behind him.

"Where are you going James?"

He paused, turning around, he could see that she was still smiling.

"I wasn't quite finished. Please, sit down"

Confused, he slowly sat back down on the chair, as if expecting some sort of trap to be set off when he sat down. What was going on?

"As I was saying, I think seeing your portfolio has saved me from making a big mistake." she was still smiling, though it looked as though she was stifling a laugh now. "The role I was offering you over the phone was only a part time asset designer role, making smaller pieces of merchandising and PoS (Point of Sale). I can see now that you'd be completely wasted on that." His heart was suddenly in his throat. "I have another opening in our main talent pool." She motioned out into the open workspace. "The role would be as a full time Graphic Designer. Is that something you think you can handle?"

He fought the urge to jump over the desk and kiss her. This was it! THE DREAM JOB! He had done it! He felt like he was floating. He almost tripped over his bag as he jumped to his feet and offered her his hand.

Dani laughed at how giddy he was. "Sorry about the confusion there. I feel awful for putting you through that. I take it you're on board?"

"Like you wouldn't believe! Hell yes I'm on board! Thank you so much for the opportunity Miss Dani, I mean Davis, err Dani!" He was still shaking her hand.

"You're very welcome James. We do need to go through a few things first before we make things official, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course" He said, retaking his seat again.

"Firstly, how soon can you start?"

***************

James and Dani chatted a little while longer, ironing out the details of his employment. He was offered a modest salary of £24,000 a year to start off, with incentives thrown in and a view to a raise on review. He would have to work his notice at the restaurant, but could switch a few shifts around to make himself available during the day for inductions etc.

She showed him around the workspace, introducing him to his new colleagues. He introduced himself to everyone, telling them how excited he was to work with them. Finally, when Dani walked him back towards reception, Lauren walked over from behind her desk and shook his hand this time. "Congratulations!! Welcome to the team, Mr Sharp!" she beamed. "We're all looking forward to seeing more of you!"

James shot a nervous look at Dani, who just shrugged, trying not to laugh at her receptionist's forwardness. He was going to have to keep an eye on her. "Lauren, I forgot to tell you. James here was the Barista I was telling you about!"

"Oh, that was you!" She almost squealed. "Dani told us all about how good you are at making cocktails. That's going to come in very handy on staff nights out!" she winked at him, making him blush slightly.

"I look forward to it." He replied, "but first I have to go and get paid for it. Thank you again, Dani, for everything! I'll not let you down." He looked at his phone to get an idea of the time. Half past four. He was running late. It was going to be a rush to get back to Giorgio's on the bike, and he hadn't changed back into his cycling gear yet. "Dani, Do you have a bathroom or somewhere where I can change? I need to be at Giorgio's in half an hour and I've only got the bike."

"Yeah sure, there's a full bathroom with shower just through there." She pointed to one of the doors off the main workspace. "Feel free."

"Thanks" he said as he rushed off to get changed.

When he emerged back in his cycling gear, he heard a wolf whistle coming from behind the reception counter. Turning, he saw Lauren staring a hole into his shorts. "I'm definitely going to like you!" She said, raising an eyebrow.

*******************

James arrived at Giorgio's 25 minutes later in a big sweaty mess. He'd put everything he had into that ride, and it showed. He locked up his bike and ran inside to freshen up before his shift started. Pulling his manager to one side, he told him about the job offer and that his notice would be going in the next day. He felt bad to be leaving him in the lurch, but he was a good guy and knew how much James had wanted to move on.

The evening shift seemed to fly by as James continued to ride the wave of euphoria from the interview. As the manager spread the word of James' job offer around the staff, the calls for celebratory drinks afterwards began to spread. By closing time, he had been cajoled into a night out. Fortunately, he still had his smart clothes from his interview so at least he would look the part. Checking his phone, he found he had another, almost indecipherable hate message from Julie and a new message from Charlotte.

"Can't do late, have the early shift tomorrow. Maybe next time. x"

Hiding his disappointment, he went to the bathroom for what felt like the 50th costume change of the day.

Within the hour, James, Fabrizio, Mike, Izzy, Tom, Danny and Holly had all gotten ready and met in George's pub for some pre-drinks. James was glad Izzy and Clare had managed to make it out. Whenever there was a night out with just 'the guys', there was always far too much macho bullshit for his liking. Nine times out of ten it always ended up in a pulling contest. Until recently, James had never fared well on that count.

Izzy, or Isabella, if she was in trouble with the manager, was half Italian, and she had the quintessential mediterranean look. Tall for a girl at around 5ft10, she had dark brown hair with hazel coloured eyes and olive skin. Her large breasts were always a good tip maker, and she knew exactly how to use them. She was wearing a pretty conservative looking deep blue dress that effortlessly floated off her frame to around halfway down her thigh. Although not massively revealing, the dress seemed to magically draw the eye to her best assets. James, and the pretty much the rest of George's, were entranced as she joined them at the bar

Holly was slightly different to the usual type of girl that worked at Giorgio's. Very small frame, blonde hair, petite breasts, tiny little arse. She was a fighter though. By far the hardest working member of the team, she would do all the hard graft while Izzy flirted with the husbands and boyfriends. She'd had a brief relationship with Mike that had burned hot and but burned out fast. The rumour doing the rounds was that she was just as tenacious in bed as she was in life, having apparently snapped Mike's 'banjo' during a particularly frenetic session, sending him to the hospital. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans and thin strap vest top that just about covered her small breasts, showing off her toned stomach.

The group started the festivities in earnest, each buying a round of shots and spreading them round them. Within half an hour, they were tanked up and ready to hit the bricks. Arriving at the club, they all piled in and continued to hit the bar. The lights and the bassline getting everyone pumped up, James could tell it was only a matter of time before usual service was resumed. Finding a booth, they had just finished their first round of drinks when the first of the group began to get itchy feet. Fab always used to complain that booths were 'bad for the soul' because they forced you to become a voyeur of sorts, constantly scanning and appraising the women on the dance floor. Putting his Italian accent a little thicker than usual, he set off to try and thin the herds.

James was always fine being a voyeur, he loved watching girls dancing and laughing. He was all to used to being rejected in places like this. Outside of work, he was far too bashful to make a good first impression with a girl. It was if he needed a bar between them to strike up a conversation. One by one, the group of waiters hit the dance floor, leaving him alone in the booth nursing his drink.

"Come on James, we're celebrating, remember?" Izzy yelled over the thrum of the music as she returned to the booth. He smiled as she scorched along next to him. "Why aren't you dancing with us?"

"Have you ever seen me dance?" James replied, leaning into her ear so as not to shout. "It's not pretty!"

She leaned over towards his ear. "You just haven't had the right partner!" She winked at him as the words sunk in. She motioned to the dance floor as Holly made her way back to the booth for a quick drink.

"Hey, you got him out of his seat? I was beginning to wonder when he was going to get of his arse!" She yelled a little too loudly.

Izzy leant in close to Holly, saying something in her ear whilst looking James in the eye. Holly started grinning what could almost be described as an evil smirk, raising an eyebrow as Izzy detailed some sort of plan. Eventually, when the plotting subsided, the pair walked forward and grabbed James by each wrist, dragging him into the middle of the herd.

Izzy naturally took the lead in the little threesome and started to gently twist and sway to the music, shaking her voluptuous ass to the beat. Looking him in the eye, moved closer to him, gently raised the hem of her dress, and lightly ground herself against him, winking as she felt him twitch. James looked around and saw that every guy within 5 metres of them had their eyes glued on them or, more likely, her.

She set his senses on fire as she turned away from him, rubbing her ass against his rapidly swelling crotch. He was struggling to hide his reaction.

Seeing an opening, Holly took over. Whilst Izzy swayed her hips from side to side over his crotch, she gently placed her hand on his cheek and hijacked his field of vision, grinning as she started to gently squat and raise herself to the beat of the music. He had to admit, she was a great dancer, but his wooden frame would make anyone look like a ballet star by comparison. She drew him closer and placed her arms around his neck. He could tell from her constant glances at Izzy that their plan was still in motion. What were they up to?

She started grinding herself against him, slowly, methodically, making him feel every second of it. She gasped as she realised just how hard he was getting. James turned his head to see what Izzy was up to. She had been whisked away by some roided muscle bound freak of nature, with a comically small head. Was that her type? 'Oh well' he shrugged, each to their own