Safe Haven

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***

Gina Giordano sighed as she looked down from the tenth-floor offices of Casella and North Investments, watching as piles of snow continued to rise on the streets of lower Manhattan. The storm had already deposited nearly a half foot on the ground, and according to the last weather report, they'd see over two feet by midnight -- not a very promising prospect. In fact, the only good thing that was being said about the Blizzard of '78 was that, since it was a Friday, the city had the whole weekend to dig out before the start of a new work week.

Which mattered little to Gina, because her current work week still had almost another hour to go. Lacking seniority, the twenty-three year old brunette hadn't been included among those allowed to go home early, and to make matters worse the storm was moving faster than originally predicted so all bus service was going to be suspended earlier than planned. A fact that didn't seem to impress Joan Hendricks, the office manager who, among her other responsibilities, supervised the girls in the secretarial pool. In fact, Gina was half certain that the thirty-one year old buxom redhead enjoyed telling her the bad news.

When she had first gotten the job six months earlier, Gina had been living with her boyfriend in a really great studio apartment in SoHo. A twenty-eight year old lawyer who worked in his father's uptown firm, David De Luca had been everything a woman could want in a man, intelligent, good-looking, financially secure, and even great in bed. And as far as he was concerned, Gina was pretty much all he wanted as well. Five foot five and a trim hundred and fourteen pounds, she had a firm, rounded bust that perfectly matched her frame, complementing a figure that even the simple blouses and skirts she wore to work -- today's were white and grey -- couldn't hide, not that she ever tried to do so. While not as educated as most of the girls he dated, she more than made up for it with an exuberant lust for life that he found refreshing, especially in the bedroom.

After almost a year together, Gina had been sure that a marriage proposal would soon be forthcoming. It wasn't that she was in a hurry to settle down, but having a ring on her finger would be a major step up from being a girlfriend and she would settle for that. In fact, with their one-year anniversary coinciding with his grandmother's seventy-fifth birthday party, Gina believed David would use the gathering to pop the question in front of his friends and family.

It was at that party, however, that Gina, having had a bit too much to drink, inadvertently offended Regina De Luca by expressing a few opinions on a wife's role that ran contrary to the conservative matriarch 's core beliefs. Views which, in her opinion, casted serious doubt on her suitability as a granddaughter in law.

At first, Gina wasn't really concerned about Regina De Luca's disapproval. After all, who was David going to listen to, an old woman who still looked at the world as if it was the nineteen thirties, or the babe sharing his bed who was fucking his brains out every night? In fact, it was only last night that, in anticipation of her imminent betrothal, she made one of his most cherished fantasies come true by letting him fuck her in the ass. There was no way he was going to give her up, or at least so she believed.

But Gina had seriously underestimated how much sway the elder Mrs. De Luca had over David, especially since the old lady still controlled much of La Familia De Luca's inherited wealth and had already disinherited one grandson after he'd exhibited what she considered an unnatural interest in other young men. Not only would there turn out to be no proposal, but in less than a week Gina found herself back in her parents' home out in the far end of Queens. A move that traded a two-stop commute with one that was not only an hour longer, but also required transferring to a city bus for the last third of it -- a fact now uppermost in her mind, as it was doubtful that she would make it to the transfer point before the buses stopped running.

Not being able to afford Manhattan rents, many of the employees still at the office also lived in the outer boroughs, which put a number of them in the same quandary as Gina. The big difference, however, was that they had been here before and knew how to make the best of it.

They'd already made plans for an impromptu Snow Bash at Clancy's Bar just down the street, said party starting a half hour after the close of business. Afterwards, they would all fall back to their various offices, where sleeping arrangements, and possible companionships thereof, might be worked out.

Gina had been invited to the Bash by several of her male co-workers, and even one of the other secretaries, but had declined all of their invitations. She'd been to a few of the regular Friday afternoon libations, and almost without fail they had ended with some tipsy idiot trying to talk his way into her pants. Not that she had a problem with guys trying to get her in bed, but lately it always seemed to be the wrong guys.

No, a better use of her time, she decided, was to stake out a claim on one of the couches in the employee break room. Twice, while working late, she'd had occasion to try and nap in an office chair, and knew that they were near impossible to get comfortable in. Not that the couch was much better, but at least she could stretch out.

As she turned away from the window, a flash of inspiration suddenly came to her. Early last month, Gina had run into David at a birthday party for a mutual friend. It had been the first time they'd seen each other since the engagement that wasn't, but much to their mutual surprise it turned out not to be as awkward as one might have expected. In fact, if nothing else, it proved that the sexual spark between them was still there and they'd wound up back at David's apartment.

Even as they stripped for bed, Gina hadn't been under any illusion that their coming romp was going to lead to any sort of reconciliation. Still, she was willing to take it for what it was, a chance for a more satisfying orgasm than she was getting from the battery powered toy hidden in her night table. Not only had it not proven up to the job of late, she could only use it after her parents had gone to bed, and then only very quietly -- which sort of defeated the point.

Stepping over to the desk she'd been working from, Gina dialed David's number from memory. It rang almost a half dozen times and she was about to give up when an unfamiliar voice abruptly replaced the ring tone. To her dismay, it was the voice of another woman.

"Hello?" the voice, which sounded vaguely familiar. said, the salutation more a question than a greeting.

"Is David there?" Gina asked hesitantly, foregoing any pleasantries as she hoped she might have simply dialed the number wrong.

"Sure, hang on a moment," the still unidentified woman said, her voice dimming as she lowered the receiver and said, "David honey, it's for you."

As a more recognizable voice came on the line, any hope that she had misdialed faded, as did the thought that she might have found more comfortable accommodations for the evening. Their conversation was cordial but brief, and left no doubt that not only was this not a good time to call, but it was highly doubtful that the future would hold a better one. Gina lied and simply said she was just calling to say hi, and wished him luck.

Holding the phone in her hand, Gina suddenly remembered where she had heard the woman's voice before. It belonged to the new receptionist at Dawson, Davis and De Luca, a bleached blonde who had been sniffing around David almost from the day she was hired.

Gina had never thought of herself as an intellectual, but Brenda Bailey prided herself on never reading beyond the entertainment or gossip sections, and the next opinion she expressed on anything of import would be her first. She was, therefore, exactly the sort of wife material that Mama De Luca would undoubtedly approve of.

"I bet she even let him fuck her in the ass right out of the gate," Gina snarked as she finally returned the receiver to its cradle.

-=-=-=--=-=-=-

Glancing at the clock on the wall, which had been moving agonizingly slowly, Gina saw only five minutes remained in the work day. Given that she'd only fielded two calls in as many hours, she had no expectation that she'd get another in the short time remaining. So, when the phone did ring, she almost jumped out of her seat.

Answering it on the third ring, Gina was greatly surprised to discover that the caller was Joan Hendricks. As hard as it might have been for someone who didn't know her to believe, the big boobed bitch had the audacity to call and make sure that Gina hadn't snuck out early. Of course, she didn't actually say that, hiding the reason for calling behind a gratuitous thank you for having stayed -- as if Gina had been given a choice.

Joan's resentment of Gina, the latter believed, stemmed from an incident during the office Christmas party two months before. The party had been held in the restaurant that occupied the top two floors of the building and just about all the employees had gone up there as soon as the work day ended -- Gina included. But then, about two hours later, she remembered that she had left a folder on her desk that was supposed to have been delivered to Mr. North's office. Not wanting to get herself in trouble, Gina had left the party and went back downstairs to deliver it herself.

Reaching the name partner's office, Gina put the folder on his secretary's desk and was about to leave when she heard a loud sound from the inner office. At first, she didn't know what to make of it, but when she heard it a second time, there was no doubt that it was a man moaning. She was unsure what to do, but fearing that the sixty-two year old executive might be in distress, she opened the door and stepped inside -- only to find that pain was the last thing he was in.

"Oh shit!" Gina gasped, her hand instinctively covering her mouth at the scene before her.

There, only a few feet in front of her, was Randolph North, sitting back in his cushioned leather chair, his eyes tightly closed and a broad smile on his face. Kneeling on the floor in front of him was Joan Hendricks, her dress and loosened bra down around her waist as she pressed her massive mounds around his cock as it slid in and out of her mouth. At least she did so until she heard the senior partner ask loudly if this was another part of his Christmas present.

Confused as to what he was talking about, Joan released her breasts, causing his cock to slip from her mouth, and turned in the direction Randolph was looking. Suddenly aware that there was someone standing there, Joan's face turned, at first, pink with embarrassment, then bright crimson once she recognized who it was.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Joan thundered as, using the edge of the desk to brace herself, she stood up, causing her breasts to bounce wildly as she did.

"I ... I was dropping off a folder and I heard..." Gina stammered, "I mean ... I thought someone was in trouble."

"Someone is about to be," Joan said as she reached her full height, still unmindful that her breasts were hanging fully exposed.

"Just wait a moment, Joan my dear," Randolph said, his manner reflecting that he found the situation more amusing than embarrassing, "let's hear the girl out. He paused a long moment as she shifted his gaze from Joan to Gina and inquired what exactly she had meant by "in trouble."

"I'm not sure," Gina replied, glad for the diversion. "I thought that maybe you were having a heart attack or something."

"See, Joan, the young lady was merely concerned about my health," the older man laughed, unconcerned at having been found in flagrante delicto. "I think she should be commended, not berated."

Joan, who had finally pulled up her dress to cover herself, didn't contradict the partner's declaration, but was clearly unhappy with it. Silently she promised herself that, one way or another, she'd make Gina pay for her embarrassment.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fit as a fiddle, Miss..." Randolph said, pausing when he couldn't recall Gina's name.

"Giordano, Mr. North," she said for him. "Gina Giordano. I've only been with the company a few months."

"Well, Gina Giordano," he said, repeating her full name as if he wanted to be sure to remember it in the future, "as you can see, your concern was, while greatly appreciated, unnecessary."

"I'm glad to see that," Gina said, "and I apologize for interrupting..."

Now it was Gina's turn to pause as she searched for the right word to describe what it was that she had interrupted.

"... your privacy," she finally decided.

"Think nothing of it, my dear," the older man said as he learned forward in his chair, giving himself a better look at his would-be rescuer, "as you said, it was with the best of intentions."

"Perhaps I should just head back up to the party then," Gina suggested, his forward shift making her more mindful that he still had his cock hanging out.

"I think that would be a good idea," Randolph replied with a broad grin, adding, "but rest assured, I'll be keeping my eye on you, young lady, a close eye. I see a bright future for you here at Casella and North."

"Thank you, sir," Gina said with a neutral smile, not sure if she should take that as a good or bad thing.

"Oh, and I trust I can count on your discretion about, well, about all of this?" he added, the inflection of his voice showing that it was as much a warning as a question.

"About what?" Gina smiled. "As far as I'm concerned, the office was empty when I dropped off the folder; after all, everyone was up at the party."

"Good girl," the partner said as he watched her turn and leave, his eyes fixed on the pleasing sway of what he'd call a perfect ass.

As the office door tightly closed behind her; Gina let out a long sigh of relief. She had been told that some of the office parties, especially the big Christmas celebration, were notorious for hookups among the staff, but this was something else. At the end, she had almost thought that Mr. North was going to ask her if she wanted to join in, as if you could imagine such a thing? She certainly couldn't, she told herself before taking a long second breath and heading back to the party.

Joan Hendricks, on the other hand, had no problem imagining it. After all, that was how she had gotten to where she was today. It had only been five years ago that a young, bodacious secretary, willing to give head to get ahead, caught Randolph North's attention. An invitation to his bed had soon followed.

As she returned to what Gina's intrusion had interrupted, Joan looked up at Randolph's smiling face and wondered if he might possibly be imagining the younger brunette in her stead. Every once in a while, some young thing would catch his wandering eye, and Joan would need to do something about it lest they give the older man any ideas. Although she had no way of knowing it, Gina had just moved to the top of Joan's to do list.

The best course of action, Joan had found, was to make the girl so miserable at her job that she simply quit. Over time, she found that, especially with the dimmer ones, it didn't take all that much. So that was how Gina came to be stuck answering the phones after nearly everyone else went home.

The memorandum that had given permission for most of the staff to leave early had also requested that department heads first ask for volunteers among those who lived in the city proper. That would, the memo said, allow some junior employees who might otherwise not make it home to do so. Joan had elected to disregard that provision, even though two secretaries, who lived literally within walking distance of the office, had previously offered to stay.

But Gina had no way of knowing that as she hung up the phone and, looking back up at the clock, noted that it was now definitely after five. She then dialed the sequence that would transfer any subsequent calls to the firm's answering service. Why that couldn't have been done a few hours ago she didn't know and right now didn't care. Finally, she put the cover over her typewriter and locked the drawers of her desk.

A slight rumble in her stomach reminded Gina that she hadn't had anything to eat since before lunch, so the next order of business was to see what, if anything had been left in the break room's refrigerator worth taking. Today being Friday, anything left after hours was fair game. If not, there were always the vending machines. Later on, she would make a few calls and see if any of the more affordable restaurants in the area were still open and making deliveries.

She was halfway to the break room when she remembered that she still had the telephone bill in her purse, having forgotten to mail it on her way in this morning. The mailroom crew was undoubtedly gone by now, but it would still be another half hour or so before the post office picked up the mailbags, plenty of time to drop off the payment. As long as it was postmarked today, they had to accept it as paid on time, no matter when it was finally delivered.

Walking down the long corridor that led to both the supply and mail rooms, Gina was surprised to see the lights from the latter still on. Then, as she got closer, she was even more surprised to hear the sound of letters being run through the postage metering machine. Evidently, there was at least one person still working down here.

"Fuck," Gina said under her breath as a distasteful possibility occurred to her, "please let it not be Dennis."

Dennis McCarthy was the mailroom manager. Thirty-five with short, dirty blonde hair, he had a muscular build and general good looks that most women found attractive. He also had, once you got to know him, a personality that marked him as a first-class asshole.

Last month, Gina had, regrettably, made the mistake of taking his charm at face value and accepted when he'd asked her out. If not the worst date of her life, it certainly ranked in the top five, and while pizza and a movie might charitably be called dinner and a show, it certainly didn't justify Dennis' expectation of a blow job at the end of the evening. A fact that Gina had pointed out to him in most unflattering terms, suggesting that if that was all he'd wanted, then perhaps he could've used the twenty dollars he'd splurged on the evening to rent the company of one of the whores that could be found over by the West Side Highway.

Dennis normally worked six to two, and could rarely be found on the premises five minutes after. So, the idea that she might run into him now hadn't even occurred to her. Today, however, she had to admit, had been anything but normal, so anything was possible.

Stepping into the mailroom, Gina was relieved, and genuinely surprised, to discover that not only was it not Dennis operating the machine, it wasn't any of the mailroom staff. Instead she found a tall, well-dressed woman running a stack of business sized envelopes through the machine.

Kellie Winters was thirty-eight years old and had been the personal secretary of Abraham Bernstein, the financial analyst who was one of the firm's top money makers, for the last fifteen years. Five eight and a hundred and forty-five pounds, she wore her straight, rich black hair cut just above her neckline, framing a visage that barely reflected her age. Always dressed impeccably, her current ensemble consisted of a stylish light blue blouse coupled with a skirt and blazer of a darker hue. A full-figured woman, Kellie had a bust that men admired and women envied, both for its size and the fact that it consistently defined both age and gravity.