Party to Change

Note: If you are unwilling to read this whole story, don't waste your time writing a comment. It will look out of place and foolish.

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Marcie and Jeff left for the party at the home of Marci's boss and her husband with different attitudes. Marcia was a social animal who liked mixing and talking with people. Her smile seldom left her face and she always charmed most of the people she came in contact with. At 27, she had changed jobs eight months previously. She had been a rising star at a small advertising agency as an account executive until this larger agency had recruited her away. Part of her success had been that she built close relationships with her clients. Once she got to know them and what they wanted to achieve, her intelligence and creativity came to the forefront. Since the change, she had struggled a little as she had to learn about new clients and their needs. At the six month anniversary of her change, she was beginning to feel comfortable with several of the new clients and her talents were beginning to shine through again. She was harder on herself than others were, but that was the way she was.

This party was the first time that the owner of her agency had hosted a party since Marci had been hired and she wanted to shine with her new peers and clients. The new dress she had bought for the occasion was intended for her to be noticed and Jeff felt certain that only a dead person would fail to pay attention to her tonight. It showed a decent amount of cleavage without being excessive. The skirt had a number of panels that flared or moved as she did. Even walking to the door, she radiated movement and sensual grace. She had spent two hours at the salon earlier to get her hair and nails perfect. For her, it was show time and she was ready to make her entrance.

As a counterpoint, Jeff was wearing a cream colored turtleneck sweater with a light camel hair sport coat and dark brown slacks. For him, show time was to stand in the wings and raise and lower the curtain for the stars. On a professional scale, Marcie and he were about equal. The difference was that she was a show room girl and he was a back room boy. He was a business analyst with an investment banking firm. His show time people did the schmoozing and brought him paper and digital files on companies that wanted their recommendations sent to their wealthy clients. His front room people took clients to elegant buffets and courted them with the charm and finesse. Jeff's idea of a really good business lunch was to share a platter of bar-b-que and a pitcher of beer with the Operations Manager of a company. He could learn more about a company in an hour with one of these guys than he could at a four hour buffet with the owners or managers of the firm. In his mind, he specialized in separating the wheat from the chaff and passed along his recommendations on how to use the wheat and where to dump the chaff.

Jeff was 28 and had worked his way up from a data analyst at the firm to his present position. While not as glamorous as the front room folks, he liked to think that they respected his work. That satisfied him. As he and Marcie walked up to the elegant door of the large house, he knew what his function would be today. It was his job to cover Marcie's back. He would keep a drink in her hand after making sure that it was not overly strong or enhanced with anything but the proper ingredients. He would make sure that she met any important people that she might have overlooked. And most importantly, he needed to watch her to insure that the barracudas, which inevitably are at these parties, would not be able to sink their teeth too deeply into her.

After six years of marriage and escorting her to many parties like this, he felt comfortable in his role and she invariably thanked him when they got home and compared notes. This was usually the next morning as she usually left a party with a great deal of pent up energy which she took out on Jeff in bed when they got home. His only concern today was that he didn't know any of the people here and would have to take his time figuring out who was safe and who was on the prowl. Previously, he had known who the regulars were and was successful at keeping them at bay.

This was not intended to be a dinner party, but according to Marcie, her boss always had a great array of hors d' ouvres and things to eat. As a result, neither of them had eaten anything since lunch. Jeff knew from experience that the first two hours would be relatively calm and safe. People would be meeting and chatting, but also just scouting the field of attendees. After a couple of hours, both the tigers and tigresses would begin to focus on their chosen prey for the evening. That would give him a chance to eat something and to figure out who to keep an eye on.

With this confidence, he rang the door bell which was immediately opened by an extremely beautiful woman who was probably five or six years older than Jeff or Marcie were. Besides her obvious physical beauty, she had a smile and a pair of eyes that would penetrate even the coldest of personalities. She immediately took Marcie's hands and pulled her into a hug and cheek kiss as hostesses often do.

"Marcie; you look fabulous. I just love that dress. But you know that it isn't nice to upstage the hostess."

"Give it a rest, Electra; no one can upstage you and you know it. Electra, this is my husband, Jeff. Jeff, this is the woman I always talk about, Mrs. Electra Benson."

Jeff felt Electra's eyes totally absorb everything about him as he replied, "It is a pleasure, Mrs. Benson. I feel that I know you because of all of the things Marcie has told me about you."

"Thank you Jeff; I feel I know about you too because Marcie talks about you frequently. Now hold out your hand." He did as she asked. Then she gave it a light swat. "Consider yourself punished. My name is Electra or Elec. If you call me any other name but those, the next punishment will be on your ass and won't be nearly as gentle." Marcie giggled as Jeff turned pink.

"Elec?" He asked as he tried to regain his composure.

"Yes, my sorority sisters thought that Electra would scare off half of the male population of the school, so they called me Elec for short. I kind of liked it, so I kept it. At work, I am Electra but here, I am Elec to those who I don't intimidate. Do I intimidate you, Jeff?"

He could hear the tease in her seductive voice and could feel Marcie's smiling face watching closely as Jeff tried to wiggle out of that trap. "Find me in an hour and I will tell you. For now, I will go with Electra but reserve the right to change that later."

"Oh my, Marcie; he is a charmer. Come in and let me introduce you to some people you need to know. Jeff, you can get out of my dog house by getting us each a drink. I will have a white wine. Tell the bartender that it is for me." The smile never left her face and the tease was still in full force. Marcie winked at him with a smile as Electra led her into the main living room. Jeff followed and discovered a full and elegant bar built into one wall of the very large room.

The bartender was probably a college student, but he seemed to know what he was doing as he prepared a small pitcher of margaritas for another group. As Jeff waited, he looked the bar over and saw that it was well stocked with good brands. That alone gave him confidence.

Then the young man turned to him and smiled, "What can I get for you, sir?"

"Thank you. I would like a margarita, light on the tequila, for my wife and Electra would like a white wine."

He grinned and replied as he prepared another margarita. "I see that you are Electra's designated cover for the night."

"Oh, did I miss something?"

"Probably, Electra doesn't trust many people to get her a drink. Too many guys try to add some enhancer to drinks. So she usually selects someone that she trusts and will ask you to get her what she wants. Usually with a small group, Mr. Benson over there gets them for her but tonight, they both have clients here and will both be busy. So she has designated you to see that she only gets wine and nothing else."

"Smart woman. Since you seem to understand the game, do you see the woman that she is introducing around?" He nodded. "That is my wife and I also want to see that she only gets what the recipe calls for. If anyone else asks for a drink for her, just get my attention and I will take care of it." I took out a twenty dollar bill and slipped it into his jacket pocket. "Do we understand each other?"

"Electra is smart and so are you. I understand you completely. What would you like?"

"I will stay with a mineral water for now. Thanks. I'll be right back after I deliver these." He nodded.

Jeff carried the drinks to Marcie and Electra and waited patiently for them to break their conversation with another couple. When the other couple moved away, he handed Marcie her drink and got a smile and a kiss in return. Then he handed the wine to Electra.

"Thank you Jeff. You now have your head out of the dog house. A couple more like this and you will be out all together."

"Uh Elec, I don't mind at all being your cover for the night. Just tell me what your signal is for more wine or whatever."

Electra looked at Marcie and said, "I think the boy has broken the code. Is that true, Marcie?"

Marcie grinned and replied, "Probably. He always keeps me covered at these things. He is very good at it and also very discrete. If he is willing, use him."

Electra turned to Jeff and smiled, "You heard her, and I will certainly use you tonight. If I set my glass down, I either don't trust it for some reason or I want a refill. If I wiggle my ass impatiently, I need to be bailed out. We will start with those."

He looked back at her and replied with a grin, "That means I will have to be staring at your ass all night. All right, I guess I can suffer to do that."

Electra looked at Marcie and said, "Punch that boy. He will look at my ass either way and we both know it."

Marcie smiled, and lightly punched her husband in the ribs."You watch her ass for signals; not because you want to. You have to watch mine too, you know."

Electra then added, "Good girl. Now Jeff, you should know that I am spoiled and I like it that way. The better attention you pay to me, the more I will enjoy myself. So tonight, you spoil both of us and I will reward you later." There was a sparkle in her eye as she dangled this carrot in front of him.

"Fine. Would either or both of you like something to nibble on?"

Electra licked her lips seductively and said, "Yes, but for now why don't you get each of us a plate of something tasty."

"Is there anything in particular that you want or don't want?"

"Oh, he is really good, Marcie. Bring us both a selection of things, but nothing that drips or makes a mess on our fingers. We will get those when we can sit down and eat more comfortably."

Marcie beamed and smiled while Jeff felt proud to have this small talent appreciated. He went to the buffet table and filled two plates with a variety of things. He left the meatballs and bar-b-qued riblets for later. Then he carried the plates to them while they were talking to another couple. Marcie was mostly listening and he could see that she was absorbing as much as she could. He assumed that the couple was a current or potential client.

When he turned back towards the table, the bartender was signaling him. When he got there, the young man quietly said, "The guy standing over there asked me to make a strong margarita and his eyes have been all over your wife."

"Thanks. Make it light and I'll take it to her before he has the chance."

"I thought that you would want to do that. Here it is."

Jeff took it and walked up behind Marcie. He took her glass and handed her a fresh one without her even turning towards him. That she released her glass and took the new one told him that she knew that it was him and that she knew why he refreshed her drink so early.

Jeff went back to the wall near the buffet which gave him good sight lines to the whole room. He also saw the lounge lizard sidle up to Marcie holding the more potent drink. She smiled and indicated that she had a full one. He put the other one on a table and then turned on the charm. Jeff would give him five minutes to get his motor running before he would save her by telling her that Electra wanted to speak to her.

As he was watching Marcie talking to the guy, he felt someone sit down next to him. "You aren't watching my ass very well."

"You were talking to a safe couple, but Marcie has had her first encounter of the evening."

"Oh that's James. She can handle him easily. He is about as subtle as a freight train. Some of the others are much harder to recognize."

"Oh, like who?"

"That one over by the French doors can be, but it looks like he has already found a dolly to pursue. The main thing here is that if they both have gray hair, they are probably safe. If either one of them doesn't have gray, pay attention to the one without the gray, especially the women."

"I usually don't pay attention to the women."

"Here, you should. See the one in yellow. She is James' wife, Glenda, and she is already after that young one who works in our back room. From the looks of it, I'll bet you a kiss that little Beth will be licking her first pussy before 10:00 tonight."

"Oh."

"Most of the women are safe, but there are a few who would love to rub their faces in Marcie's cleavage while fingering her pussy. And they usually get what they want."

"I'll add that to my list of signs. I think I will go save Marcie from James." Jeff started to rise when Electra took his arm and held him back.

"I'll save her. There are a couple of new arrivals that she needs to meet. When you see us heading for the patio, why don't you get us each a refill and a plate that has the drippy and sticky things on it with a couple of forks and napkins. We'll be on the patio. And for your information, the serious ones won't make their move for another hour or so. They are just scoping out the action right now."

Electra rose and walked towards Marcie and easily moved her away from a disappointed James. From the look of things, all he would be doing would be playing chauffer for his wife tonight. He picked up the loaded margarita and began to drink it himself and walked away.

With Electra's information in mind, Jeff scanned the room for the lookers and spotted three or four that were carefully inspecting the available talent. He also picked out at least two women who were watching Marcie closely. Soon after that, Electra led Marcie towards the patio. He asked for fresh glasses of wine for them. He knew that Marcie would want to change to wine while eating. After he delivered these, he filled two plates with more substantial fare than he had previously provided. He set them in front the two women before he went back in and fixed a plate for himself. When he got outside to sit with them, there was another man sitting next to Marcie and he had to sit next to Electra. She smiled and patted his leg.

"Jeff, this is Peter Benson. He owns an internet advertising company and will probably be trying to entice Marcie away from me. Peter, this is Marcie's husband, Jeff. He is watching our backs tonight."

"Pleased to meet you, Jeff. I am usually the one who has to watch Elec's back. You will probably be very busy soon. The vultures are here in force tonight."

"Thanks for the update. So far it hasn't been hard."

"I've got to run and see people; I'll talk to you later, Marcie."

"Thank you. It has been a pleasure to meet you, Peter."

Jeff could see that Marcie was taken by this tall and charming man. It didn't bother him, but he knew that Peter would be one of the topics of discussion in the morning.

Marcie turned to Electra and asked, "Is he your husband?"

"Not hardly; he is my brother. Few people know this, but the printer screwed up a batch of my cards a number of years ago and put Mrs. Electra Benson on them. I discovered that it helped keep some of the vultures at bay if they think I am married. I usually use Peter as my date and protector, so most people think that we are married. Don't spread that around. Speaking of that, Marcie, I was serious when I said that he might try to entice you away from me. He would be serious and you need to think carefully about what he will offer you. You aren't in any danger from my end, but my agency isn't likely to grow that much more. I cater to a certain type of client as I am sure you realize. He is already twice as big as we are and is growing quickly. It might be a better opportunity than what I can offer you. So think about it."

"Ok, I'll listen, but since I just made a change, I'm not certain that I am ready for another one." She frowned. "Excuse me; I am going to the ladies room."

"I'll join you, but I want to tell Jeff something first." Marcie slowly walked back towards the house as Electra turned back to Jeff. "Peter was right about the vultures. What he didn't say is that he is one of the best. He likes Marcie and will talk to her about a job, but he will also be turning the charm on too. Keep a close eye when he is with her. Get us each another glass of wine. You are doing a great job." Then she kissed his lips lightly as she stood up and followed Marcie into the house.

Jeff just sat there and thought about what she had just told him. He certainly would have problems breaking Marcie away from Peter if they was talking about a job opportunity and Peter also knew that Jeff was there to cover her if she was in trouble. He wondered how he could protect her if things went the way Electra had suggested that they might. He shrugged and carried their plates back inside and put them in the kitchen. Then he went to the bar and got two more glasses of wine for Marcie and Electra.

He found them talking to a couple of men, one of whom he had decided was one of the vultures. He handed them their wine and they both nodded in acknowledgement. He went back to his observation post and continued his observation. A few minutes later, he saw Marcie put her glass on the table next to her and turned back to the two men and was talking with her hands. Without looking, the vulture moved his hand over her glass and then moved it away. Jeff was on his feet and as Marcie reached for her glass again, he caught her hand and said loud enough for all of them to hear, "Let me get you another glass, Marcie; this one has a crack in it."

He took the offending glass to the kitchen and got her a fresh one. When he returned, the vulture was staring daggers at him even as he smiled at what Marcie was saying. Electra stepped back and whispered to him, "Good move. That earned you a kiss." Jeff went back to his post as Marcie and Electra moved to a new group of people who appeared to be safer and Jeff relaxed a little for a moment.

An hour later, he had bailed Marcie out twice by telling her that Electra wanted her. He had also told Electra once that they needed her in the kitchen when he noticed her ass wiggling fairly intensely. They both thanked him profusely for his interruptions. Shortly after this, he noticed that Electra was saying good bye to several who were leaving. One of those was James and his wife who, as Electra had warned, was holding hands and leaving with little Beth, who was wearing a shy smile.

Electra then went into the kitchen and checked things out and gave a number of instructions. Jeff now was able to focus on Marcie and he could tell that several of the vultures were beginning to gather and he prepared himself to go into action again. He was about to make a move when Peter walked up to Marcie and began talking to her. The other vultures pulled away and left Peter alone. But now Jeff was faced with his unanswered question about what to do about Peter if he started making a move on Marcie.