Saving the Company Ch. 05

PUBLIC BETA

Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.

You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.

Click here
JoeDreamer
JoeDreamer
6,288 Followers

"So, tell me your secrets," Judy demanded.

"I don't have any," Bradley finally admitted as he found himself once again responding to her.

"Sure you don't," Judy said with a roll of her eyes. She then stood and took off her clothes that she had put on only moments earlier. Jody straddled his hips and sank down on his cock. She leaned forward and bit her bottom lip as her nipples brushed back and forth across Bradley's lips. He opened his mouth and let his tongue graze just the very tips.

'Maybe I'll have to make up some secrets,' he thought to himself. 'Either that or chance dying from pleasure!' Bradley really wasn't sure which he was going to choose in the end.

Judy looked down at Bradley and smiled. She knew he didn't have any secrets. Bradley wasn't the type. She on the other hand had quite a few, yet most of them revolved around her perversity in sex. Thankfully, every time she shared another one with Bradley he seemed to enjoy it almost as much as she did!

***

I walked out of the bathroom and made my way back to the couch. Bethany was standing next to it and stretching. She had no idea how sexy she looked doing that! It was too much for me to resist. I pulled her into a kiss. Instead of stiffening as I feared she might, she relaxed into the kiss. I'm not sure how we ended up back on the couch but when the kiss finally broke I realized we were both sitting.

"Wow!" Bethany said.

"You're telling me!" I replied, reaching for her again. Bethany pushed my hands away and quickly stood. I sighed.

"Let's get something to eat," she said. I nodded and stood, trying to regain control. It wasn't easy.

We went to a local restaurant for lunch. It was nothing special, but the food was good and we talked about a lot of things. Eventually the conversation turned to work.

"So, do you think we're ready for tomorrow?" Bethany asked.

"Not quite," I smiled as I once again thought about what I decided to do not long after I realized Brad and the others were playing us.

"What?" she asked, knowing something was up from my expression.

"Well, remember that we were just going to come up with a plan of what Brad should do when he returned?" I asked. Bethany nodded and I continued, "I think instead we'll just make the changes."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Why shouldn't we?" I shrugged. "If Brad wants to play games, we might as well make it exciting for him."

"What are you planning?" Bethany said, slowly smiling. She knew me pretty well.

"Do you think it's fair to assume that Brad isn't going to fire us when he returns?" I asked.

"Yes, I think that's fair," she said carefully.

"So, if he isn't going to fire us, then I guess he still plans on making me the CEO eventually," I said.

"I expect so," Bethany said in agreement.

"Well, in that case," I grinned. "I'm going to make all of the changes I've been wanting to for months!"

"All of them?" Bethany asked carefully. She and I already had a rough plan of what I was going to suggest to Brad when he returned. We discussed quite a few more changes than were in that plan. Some were discarded as unrealistic, but others I chose not to include because I didn't think they would fit Brad's style.

"Maybe not all," I finally conceded. "But a lot more than what the currently plan states."

"For instance?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I'm going to do a bit more shifting of personal," I smiled. "I want the people I trust and know to get involved in the other areas of the company. I may shift some of them back once I get control, but then again, I may not."

"Who?" Bethany frowned.

"Well, quite a few people actually," I said. "But the most obvious is you."

"Pardon?" Bethany asked in surprise. I laughed.

"Bethany it's time for you to come out from behind the curtain," I said. "You're far more than a personal assistant to Brad and everyone in the place knows it."

"Yes, but..." she began. I cut her off with a loud sigh.

"I'm going to promote you to some position in the next week, so you might as well pick one you like. I don't need an assistant, but I do need help. Pick an area and let's talk about it," I said, and then smiled as I added, "Every position is open for discussion except CEO."

"I'm not qualified for everything!" she snorted.

"I know," I grinned. "But I'm not expecting you to choose being a lead tech or system designer."

"Joe, are you sure?" she asked. "After all, there is our..."

"I'm going to walk out if you bring up our relationship right now as a possible reason not to promote you!" I interrupted. I was serious and she saw it in my face.

"I could take over accounting," she said finally, thinking out loud. "But although I like numbers, I also like working with people."

"You've already got that area organized," I said. "Besides, Brad's been telling me that you and he are working toward Gary taking over accounting."

"You're right," Bethany nodded. "But I'm really not sure what else I'm qualified to do."

"Think about it and let me know," I said. "I'm willing to wait a couple of days."

"Only a couple?" Bethany said in surprise.

"Maybe a couple," I replied pointedly. "We have a lot to do in the next week." Bethany shook her and then changed the subject slightly.

"You wrong about one thing," she said.

"What?" I asked with as frown.

"You do need an assistant," she smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"We'll deal with that later," I said as I paid the check and stood. "What do you want to do now?"

"Laundry," Bethany answered succinctly. "It's been a crazy week and next week isn't looking any better. I'm going to go home, do laundry and go to sleep early. Someone woke me up in the middle of the night."

"I'll drop you at your place," I said, holding in a sigh. Bethany's answer came too quickly for her not to have had it planned out.

'I did promise to give her time,' I thought to myself. Besides, I had laundry of my own to deal with and a full night of sleep sounded like a good idea. This week was going to be crazy.

***

"Where are the love birds?" I asked Bethany as I entered her office. She rolled her eyes at my choice of words.

"You just missed them," she replied. "Bradley and Judy are going to see a show tonight." I opened my mouth to speak, but Bethany cut me off and added pointedly, "It is six thirty."

"I wasn't going to say anything about them leaving," I said. "I was just wondering if they took their cell phones with them."

"Let them be for one night," Bethany said with a shake of her head. "You've already made so many changes people are walking around stunned and it's only Tuesday!"

"Fine," I sighed, not really happy, but realizing Bethany was probably right. "What are you doing for dinner?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said firmly. "I'm going home and going to soak in a hot bath and then go to sleep."

"I do have a hot tub," I offered, trying one last time.

"No, thank you," she said. I frowned.

"You are..." I began, but she interrupted me again.

"Yes, I'm still thinking about us and our possible future," she replied quickly. "I still need a little more time."

"Why?" I asked. "You know we're meant to be together."

"Joe," she said with a shake of her head. "We're both so busy these days that it's hard to concentrate on anything else. Lets talk about this at the end of the week."

"Friday?" I pushed, not really all that gently. Instead of being mad, Bethany smiled. That was a good sign.

"Saturday," she replied.

"Saturday morning, early," I said. Bethany paused, but then nodded.

"You just want me to make you another omelet!" she grinned. There was a knock on the door before I could reply. My back was to the door, but Bethany saw who it was immediately.

"What's up Helen?" she asked.

I turned and added, "How do you like your new job?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," the small redhead frowned.

"Tim or Sara-Jane giving you problems?" I asked.

"Neither is happy to have me or any of the other people you transferred in under them, but I pretty much expected that. They'll get over it," Helen shrugged.

"Then what's bothering you?" Bethany asked. Helen paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. That was interesting in itself because normally Helen just said whatever came to mind. She was a great analyst and a good system designer, but she wasn't someone you wanted in front of the clients unless they knew what to expect.

"I can't put my finger on it exactly," she finally said. "It's just a lot of little things. Key paperwork is missing and getting answers to simple questions is so much harder than it should be."

"Why not give it a few days and let's see if it gets any better?" Bethany asked. Helen nodded, but I could also see her frown. I decided to take a different tact.

"While you're here, why don't you tell me your initial thoughts on Tim and Sara-Jane?" I asked. Bethany and I met with them both individually the day before, but I wanted to hear Helen's opinion. Her bluntness sometimes helped me clarify my own thoughts. Besides, her answers might help her to understand what was bothering her.

"It's only been a day and a half," Helen said, but then continued when I waited without comment. "Tim is pretty bad. He's got a big power trip going and he is not thrilled with the changes you're making."

"I figured as much," I sighed, but Helen wasn't done.

"I think he's probably a pretty decent designer based on some of the specs I've seen of his, but he makes my management skill look spectacular."

"Oh, I'm sure yours aren't bad," Bethany put in kindly.

"Actually, Helen is a good workflow manager," I said honestly.

"It's the people part I don't do well with," Helen grinned. "I'm not the most patient person and I don't deal well with overly sensitive people."

"We were talking about Tim," I said pointedly.

"Like I said, it's still too early to be certain," Helen replied. "But from what I saw and what I overheard some of my new coworkers saying, he's pretty much lives by the old 'Squeaky wheel gets the oil.' saying. He's also not good under pressure, especially from clients."

"How about Sara-Jane?" Bethany asked.

"She's much better," Helen replied, however something in her tone wasn't right.

"But?" I prompted. Helen shrugged.

"I don't like her," she said, and then smirking added, "But then again, it's not like I'm best friends with all of my coworkers anyway." I frowned. Helen might not be friends with everyone, but on the other hand, there were very few people she didn't like. She was actually a pretty good judge of character. It was more of an instinctual ability than a thought out one.

"Talk to me," I said. "You wouldn't have brought up your dislike if it was simply personality." Helen looked at me for a moment before nodding.

"I'm not sure where to start," the slightly built woman sighed. "Sara-Jane tends to favor specific clients, but she does a decent job of balancing."

"That's not so unusual," Bethany offered.

"I know," Helen sighed, and then took a moment to think before adding, "I can't really explain it. She doesn't come across as insecure, but getting information out of her is damn near impossible! It's almost as if..." She stopped speaking suddenly. Something had obviously hit her.

"What is it?" I asked. Helen shook her head and refused to answer at first, so I prompted her again, "Helen, tell me what your thinking."

"Okay, but you're not going to like it," she sighed. "I hope I'm wrong, but the way Sara-Jane is acting reminds me of how Marlin acted toward the end."

"Who is Marlin?" Bethany asked in confusion.

"I hope you're wrong!" I groaned to Helen, ignoring Bethany for the moment. "If you're not, then this could get ugly very quickly."

"Who's Marlin?" Bethany asked again, her confusion turning to annoyance. "What are you two talking about?"

"Marlin was one of the guys involved with embezzling from our old company," I replied, watching Bethany face as what I said sunk in.

"Oh my!" she said with raised eyebrows.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," I sighed. "I don't want Sally the rumor queen to get hold of this! The three of us will just have to keep our eyes open and see if we can find anything else incriminating."

"Um Joe," Bethany said carefully. "It may have nothing to do with anything else, but Barry came by earlier. He was supposed to pull Karl's old computer, save whatever was on it just in case, and then wipe it."

"And?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"He says someone already reformatted the drive," Bethany answered. I groaned again.

"It couldn't have been Karl," Helen put in. "He never made it back to his desk after Brad fired him." The three of us looked at each other.

"It may be premature," I finally sighed. "But I think it's time to bring Gerty in on this."

"Oh no!" Helen cried. "I was afraid you were going to say that?"

"Who's Gerty?" Bethany asked, looking surprised by Helen's reaction.

"She and her partner Tom run a small company that specialized in this type of situation," I explained. "She was involved with the review of what went on at our last company. She's very good." I watched Bethany turn to Helen. I knew what the small redhead was going to say. I also knew that it was true, but we needed Gerty if what we feared was true.

"Probably one of the best in the country. Certainly the best in our area," Helen added, not sounding happy. "She also happens to be one of the most off the wall characters you'll ever meet."

"Gerty is a bit of an oddity, but she's harmless enough," I added.

"Sure!" Helen snorted. "All the guys say that!"

"Well, it's true," I shrugged.

"Oh come on!" Helen cried. "If she were a guy, she'd be up on sexual harassment charges every day!"

"She's not that bad!" I insisted. I liked Gerty, but then seeing Helen expression I sighed and admitted the truth. "Okay, maybe she is that bad, but we need her."

"I know," Helen said with a shake of her head. "I just hope she finally got over wearing those low cut blouses of hers! A woman with breasts like hers doesn't need to flaunt it quite so much!"

"They are rather indecent," I said, and then seeing the expression on both women's faces quickly added, "I meant the blouses!" Bethany frowned and I fought hard not to laugh. I could just picture Gerty and Bethany meeting! Gerty was the biggest flirt I ever met and Bethany was...well Bethany.

"Are you sure we need to get her involved?" Bethany asked.

"If Karl took part in something illegal, then the sooner the better. That's especially true since we're guessing that there is at least one more accomplice still working here."

"If we're not overreacting to shadows," Bethany reminded us. I nodded, but I still had a bad feeling about what was going on.

"I'll give her a call right now," I said. "The sooner she comes and proves to us that we're overacting the better."

"Amen!" Helen agreed. Bethany still didn't look thrilled, but she didn't disagree.

***

"Joe!" I heard someone call from the doorway. It could only be Gerty. No one else would sound so chipper five o'clock in the morning.

"Hello, Gerty," I smiled, taking one more drink of my coffee before standing. Gerty came in and hugged me close. Her large breasts seemed even bigger than I remembered.

"It is so good to see you again!" Gerty smiled. "It's not often I get a chance to visit a handsome, single man near my age who can appreciate my abilities."

"I see your still just as demur as always," Helen said sarcastically with a shake of her head. She and Bethany were the only others in the room.

"You like my blouse? I picked it up in Paris last month?" Gerty grinned. It just barely covered her nipples.

The call the night before with Gerty went well, but I was surprised when she agreed to come the very next morning. Okay, surprised and dismayed. I was exhausted. Bethany and Helen didn't look much better. Gerty's first visit was always when the employees weren't at work. Gerty's team would probably already be out on the floor copying hard drives. They didn't have passwords, but that didn't matter.

"Gerty, this is Bethany," I said in introduction. Gerty looked at Bethany and then back at me before raising one eyebrow.

"I see that I may have been mistaken about you still being single?" she asked me. Gerty never ceased to amaze me.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. Gerty frowned and turned back to Bethany.

"You can't possibly be thinking about not marrying him?" Gerty asked.

"Pardon?" Bethany said, obviously stunned.

"Oh dear," Gerty said with a loud sigh. "You're one of those."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bethany asked, her confusion turning to annoyance.

"Do you have any idea how many women would kill for a man like Joe to look at them the way he looks at you?" Gerty asked, ignoring Bethany question. "If he looked at me that way, I'd..."

"My relationship with Joe is none of your business!" Bethany snapped, interrupting Gerty.

"Of course it is," Gerty insisted. "I was planning on inviting him to dinner tonight and possibly to something even better after dinner. Now I'll have to eat alone."

"Joe is free to do whatever he likes," Bethany replied tartly.

"Very good," Gerty said, and then turned toward me and asked, "Would you care to go out to dinner?" I was pretty much stunned by the whole conversation.

"Aren't you and Tom partners?" I asked, and then quickly added, "I mean more than just business partners."

"Actually," Gerty sighed. "Tom and I broke up a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear," I said. "What are you going to do with the company?"

"Why, split it of course," Gerty shrugged. "It should all be finalized next month."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"But of course," Gerty said, smiling once more. "Now about dinner?"

"Well, I don't have any plans," I said, looking at Bethany. She refused to meet my eyes. "But maybe another time. It's been a crazy week or so."

"Perhaps next week?" Gerty asked.

"Actually, next week may be good," I said. Bethany finally faced me as I added pointedly, "I'll let you know on Saturday." Okay, maybe it was juvenile, but it also felt good. I was tired of waiting.

"Fine," Gerty said. "Let me go check on my people and then we'll meet and go over the plan."

"I'll go with you to make sure your people don't miss a computer somewhere," Helen said.

"You aren't serious about going out with that tramp?" Bethany asked as soon as they were gone.

"Jealous?" I teased. It was definitely the wrong thing to say based on Bethany's reaction.

"I'm sorry I asked!" Bethany snapped and turned to leave. I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back around. Her eyes were flashing angrily, but that was okay because so were mine.

I kissed her hard enough to bruise our lips. She fought at first but I ignored it and thrust my tongue into her mouth. A moment later Bethany stopped fighting and was kissing me back just as passionately. I moved one hand to her breast and squeezed. Bethany moaned into my mouth. I brushed her nipple with my thumb before finally breaking the kiss.

"Bethany, you are the woman for me," I said, still angry. "I've told you it! Everyone in the office knows it and even Gerty's recognized it the first time she saw us together!"

"But she..." Bethany began. I cut her off.

"She's Gerty," I snapped. "She's a flirt and a tease, but she's also a very smart woman. She didn't ask me out because she wants to date me! She asked me out so that you'd have to face the possibility."

"Maybe," Bethany said grudgingly. "But I think she would have been happy if you agreed."

"And I may," I said in annoyance. "If you decide to give up on us."

"I knew it!" Bethany cried angrily.

"Be angry," I sighed, letting my own anger go. "Just be sure to know why you're angry."

JoeDreamer
JoeDreamer
6,288 Followers