Sir, A Moment of Your Time Ch. 02

"Thank you again, Mr. Black. But I'm not sure how we are going to pay the mechanic." I said humbly.

"You and Alan are both working full time now, I imagine your finances will work themselves out quickly. Mylo is an old friend; I'll ask him to defer payments for a little bit."

"Thank you again."

"Thank you for a good excuse to get out of a few boring meetings." He said with a smile.

I looked at him stunned. Then started to laugh when he broke into a chuckle.

"I wouldn't have figured you wanting to miss your meetings, you're always so... serious." I said, trying to find the right word.

"Most of the time, but not always. It's easier to keep that image of being so hardworking and serious, makes it easier to inspire others and keep order in the office."

"Keep the employees a little intimidated?" I suggested.

"Something like that, but not exactly."

"If I'm serious and consistent it makes it easier for employees to approach me on work matters and less for social visits."

"So, you have an image for work and another for rescuing damsels in distress?" I said with a smile.

"Let's say one for employees and another for friends."

"I'm a friend now?"

"Unless you think we aren't?"

"No, I think friends is good."

Pulling into the garage, I opened my door and got out when Mr. Black did. We headed up to the office together. Mr. Black walked at a leisurely pace, the shoes making squelching sounds from being soaked.

"What did you do with the meeting this morning?" I asked.

"I had Linda cancel the first and had her tell the CFO we wouldn't be in for the accounting meeting after either."

We sat at our respective desks. Mr. Black had the door open, and I watched as he pulled off his shoes and socks. Putting them near the windows forced air vents to speed up their drying. I put my car keys in a padded envelope. After looking up Mylo's address from Mr. Black's contact list, I wrote the address on the envelope and then put it in a special delivery basket on my desk. I arranged the company courier to pick up the envelope.

Logging into the computer I could see that one of the clients Mr. Black had worked with this week was ready to sign and would be in next week to finalize the deal. There were a few other changes to his appointments, and after I got them sorted out, I knocked on Mr. Black's open door.

He looked up from his computer, "Mr. Black, Looks like Ralph Jenk's lawyers are good with the paperwork, they'll be coming in next week for signatures to complete the deal. And Mr. Stone needed to reschedule for next week, his wife is ill."

"Okay, Thanks Kimberly."

"Excuse me, Mr. Black. If you dry out those shoes too fast, you'll probably ruin them." I told him. I had done that to a pair of Alan's before I figured out what I should have done.

"Huh?"

"Your shoes." I said, stepping inside his office and taking a few handfuls of paper towels from his private bathroom. I pulled them off the vents and stuffed the wads of paper towels in them.

"If they dry too quickly the leather warps." I reiterated. "I researched it once when Alan drenched his new work shoes. And I ruined them by not following the recommendations."

"I'll take your word on it."

"Well, it seems we have no appointments today then. And if Ralph is signing then a little celebration is in order."

"Sir?" I asked.

"You know, celebrating a new client? Go ahead and close the door."

I did and turning around found him pouring something from a brown bottle into a couple of small tumblers with a few cubes of ice. I walked back to the couches where he was now taking a seat and pushing a glass towards me.

"Always celebrate your wins, Kimberly. To getting Jenk's Sports." He toasted and raised his glass.

"To Jenk's Sports." I said and followed suit, bumping glasses with him.

He took a small sip, and leaned back on the couch, savoring the whiskey.

I took a small sip, uncertain as to what this was or how it would taste. I'd never had anything like this in my life and I nearly spit it out as it burned all the way down to my stomach. Once there I started to feel a localized warmth in my stomach and generally warm all over. It was almost as if someone turned the heat up in the room. I took another swallow, followed by a cough.

"First time?" he asked.

"I've tried Alan's beer, but never whatever this is." I said with an uncertain expression. I didn't know what to think of it. It had a really good aftertaste, but the initial burn was not trifle.

"Whiskey, Kimberly, 80 proof Tennessee whiskey." He said with a smile.

Deciding I liked it, I told him, "After you get over the shock of it burning your throat on the way down, the taste is pretty good."

"It's got a little bit of a burn, but a good flavor."

I looked at the spartan office and focused on the single picture on his desk. "May I ask who the picture is?"

"That would be my best friend Jason from College."

"Oh, do you guys hang out very often?" I asked.

"That was taken a week before he died."

"Oh, I'm sorry." And I took another sip of the whiskey.

I like this stuff, where I was cold this morning, I was feeling warm and floaty now, maybe a little lightheaded too.

"This has a little kick to it doesn't it." I laughed, feeling giggly.

"Only because you're a lightweight." He smiled.

"Are you trying to get me drunk Mr. Black?" I replied.

"If that was my intention, I'd say you were almost there already." He replied. "But I'm afraid I'm going to try to be a gentleman and restrain myself."

"Well thank you, sir." I giggled.

"You are a happy drunk aren't you, Kim." He said.

"Apparently so." I continued to giggle. I had only tasted Alan's beers. When I drank wine, it was never to the point of getting buzzed or drunk. But I knew I was then.

"I think you should hang out here until you are a little less drunk. We wouldn't want others to see you inebriated, they might get the wrong idea." He said with a chuckle.

"You're cute Mr. Black, all being serious again." I giggled.

Then my stupid mouth opened, "You don't look at me like Alan and normal guys. I'm not as pretty as the girls you chased, am I?"

"That's it. You're cut off." He said.

"I'm not pretty and that's why you can be my friend and not devour me with your eyes."

He leaned close and whispered to me in a firm voice, "You're very attractive Kimberly. When you say things like that, I want to put you over my knee and spank that fine ass of yours."

"Uh oh, Big Boss wants to spank me." I giggled, not able to stop.

He reached out and lifting me by the armpits pulled me to the corner of the couch.

"Very much, but not today."

"Only my papa ever spanked me, and he hasn't done that for a long time." I said thinking aloud.

"I can imagine you were a bit of trouble for your dad." He said while rummaging through his private bathroom.

"Nope." I boosted and pushed my chest out with pride, "I was a good girl."

He came out of the room with a small comforter and placed it over me. Then finished off the whiskey in my tumbler before taking both glasses to the sink in his little room.

"So, you didn't get into trouble with all the boys, huh?"

"Noooo. All they wanted was to play with my boobies."

"I bet they did. What about Alan? Didn't he want to play with them too?"

"No. Alan was a good boy. He waited until I said he could."

"You should rest for a minute, before you have to get back to work."

I blew a raspberry. "I don't want to rest."

"How about you close your eyes for a minute and see how many stars you see?"

"Okay, I don't see any stars."

"What about clouds?"

"I see some clouds."

"What shapes are they?"

I don't know how long he talked to me before I passed out. I remember waking up with the comforter wrapped snugly around me in the late afternoon. My head hurt and I only remembered bits of the conversation. "I should have had a bigger breakfast." I thought through my foggy head.

Mr. Black must have heard me moving about, he turned from his desk to see me still lying on the couch. On the coffee table was a packet of ibuprofen and a bottle of water. I gratefully took the medicine and drank the entire bottle. He looked at me sympathetically.

"We didn't..." I asked, leaving the question out there.

"No, we didn't. I didn't think you were that easy to get drunk either." He said.

The ringing phone was still painful to listen to as it started up.

"Hello." Mr. Black answered.

"Oh, hey Mylo, what's the news?" he asked.

"I see. Okay. Okay. Yeah, go ahead and fix it, charge my personal account with you."

I sat up. I'm sure I looked like a wreck with messy hair.

He was saying something else on the phone and then hung up.

"I didn't make a fool of myself, did I?" I asked.

"You were a bit friendly, but nothing more."

I was embarrassed again. "Thank you for letting me nap on your couch."

"You've had a rough day."

"You shouldn't have put my car's repair on your personal account."

"We'll say you owe me one."

"You and your book say you say that it isn't wise to give things away for free." I replied. "What if I come in early until I've paid off the repairs? You've essentially given us an interest free loan for a working car, and I'll get a few more hours to cover the costs."

"It's a good offer but what if I want more?" he asked, figuring she was trying to put her new skills to the test.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"That's where your market research comes in. What if I was a cad and asked for something you couldn't give me? You would be in a pickle because at this point you feel like you owe me something. I could set an extreme option and you would have to seriously consider it. You also shouldn't bargain when you're not feeling good or well rested. So how about we keep this simple, you can put in a few hours of overtime to get your household finances in order, and we'll settle the bill as I suggested."

I had started to panic as he went through the options. What if he had asked me to do something I didn't want to do? He had taught me another valuable lesson. I happily agreed with him, "Deal."

"How much are the repairs going to be?" I asked nervously.

"Mylo said there wasn't too much, just some minor things. Your fuel and air filter were clogged, and you needed some new spark plugs. He replaced the windshield wipers. All said it was around three hundred, so it isn't anything that I can't consider a bonus for hard work here. We can pick it up tonight after work."

"Thank you, Mr. Black, for being my friend." I said and moved to the door, anxious to put at least a couple of hours of work in.

The rest of the afternoon was quiet. I finished my list of things that needed done and read some more of the book Mr. Black had given me. Before I logged off, I saw a new email had arrived regarding me.

FROM: tlinsey@sii.com

TO: Kirch Enterprises:

Subject: Re: Kimberly Jeffries

C/o Mr. Justin Black:

After review of all public records and criminal databases, Smithfield Independent Investigations found no evidence of any criminal / negative activities or associations to report.

Sincerely,

Tavis J Linsey

Senior Investigator

I flew to Mr. Black's office. "What the hell is that email about?" I asked, feeling enraged.

Mr. Black looked up at me, then motioned me inside his office. He pulled up the email and quickly read it.

"It means that you cleared your background investigation, Kimberly. If you want to work here permanently, we can offer that to you now." He casually explained.

"Oh, I forgot about that. I'm sorry."

I sighed.

"I'm expecting one for your husband here in the next day or two." He then said, "We run them for anyone being hired, or moving from a junior to a senior position, or to managerial or directorate position. The latter have more responsibilities and thus increased risk."

"Okay, I'll keep my eye out for it. I know Alan hasn't done anything to get in trouble so it will be the same as mine." I told him.

Mr. Black gave me a ride to Mylo's to pick up my car. He was an older black man in his forties, maybe late forties with some gray in his beard and short black hair. I gave him a huge hug and told him thank you probably a dozen times.

As I drove home, it was nice not to see the check engine light. The car sounded and ran better. We still needed new tires, but this was a marked improvement.

At home I felt indifferent. I enjoyed leftover spaghetti and took a soak. Alan called while I was in the tub.

"Hey babes." Alan said.

"Hey love."

"How was your day?" he asked.

I thought about telling him the craziness of my day. The rainstorm, the car breaking down, getting drunk with Mr. Black, and trying to make a deal to cover the costs. It was a lot of drama, and I didn't want to go over it again.

"A little crazy but not too bad. Found out today that my background check came, and I can work there permanently if we'd like."

"Do you want to?" he asked.

"I think I do, for a little while at least. I like the work and it's engaging. I had to take the car in today, it had some issues. The mechanic took care of it and is letting us make payments." I quickly explained covering the essentials, knowing he would be able to see the difference tomorrow when he came home.

"Wow, how much was it?" He asked, concerned.

"Some filters were clogged, and it wouldn't run, but after labor and parts, it was around three hundred."

"I guess that isn't so bad, especially if we are both working." He said.

"That's my thoughts. How was your day?" I inquired.

"It was awesome babe. I'm tired but it went really well. I'm pretty sure I got everything I was supposed to get." He said with confidence.

"That's awesome baby, good job!" I congratulated him.

"Maybe since we are both working, we could visit our parents this Christmas. And if there is enough left over, have a weekend vacation for our anniversary?" I asked.

"Anniversary vacation definitely has my vote, and if we can afford it, we can save up to visit our families." He said.

"I love you, tell you what. You make visiting our parents happen for Christmas, and we will save up for a beach house vacation on the Florida Keys for our anniversary." I offered him, knowing he'd been dragging his feet about visiting their families.

"You have yourself a deal." He said.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too."

"What time do you get home tomorrow?"

"Should get to the airport at 3pm."

"Want me to pick you up then?"

"I would like that."

"Okay, call me when you land, and I'll drive over."

"I'm going to get out of the tub and go to bed." I told him "I love you."

"I love you and I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." Alan said.

"Goodnight."

--

The drive to work Friday was already better. I had set my alarm to wake me up an hour earlier with the plan to beat Mr. Black into the office. Unfortunately, he was already in. I found out however, that he had only been a few minutes before me.

Mr. Blacks day was busy with several meetings, a few of which I attended with him taking notes. It seemed like any other 'normal' day without me embarrassing myself. I got texts from Alan that he made his flight and was on his way home. My heart skipped a beat. I was so excited. I was going to ravage him tonight.

Marie came in with her husband and their little baby just after lunch. The baby was so cute, and I couldn't wait to have one of my own.

Marie looked at her desk and told me, "I'm surprised it's this clean, the last time I was on vacation it took me a week to get everything sorted."

I explained, "It was that bad, I cleaned it up the first few days I was here."

I showed her where I had organized things and she nodded approvingly, Mr. Black's meeting ended, and he invited them in. Marie had let me hold their baby, so I naturally just followed them in carrying the child. Which is when she dropped the news that her husband and her had decided to have her stay home to care for the baby. Mr. Black told them he entirely understood and let her know that she would have work here anytime she wanted it. After everyone had a chance to visit and Mr. Black had an opportunity to hold the baby, Marie and her family left.

Mr. Black looked at me, "Well. I was hoping that she was coming back, but I guess I should have known better."

"You can't blame yourself, Sir. It's a hard decision to stay home, I can only imagine how difficult it was for her."

"I know I gave you the position temporarily, but would you be willing to stay on either permanently or until I can find a replacement?"

"I'm loving this job. I would be happy to stay on for as long as you will have me." I answered honestly.

"I'll send the offer through to HR this afternoon then. Thank you and congratulations." He said and shook my hand again.

The rest of the afternoon went well. I delayed my lunch in order to pick up Alan at the Airport. When it was time, I let Mr. Black know and left to pick him up.

Waiting at the airport seemed to take longer than the week had. When I finally saw Alan, I jumped out of the car and about knocked him over, jumping up and clutching him in a vice-like hug, locking my arms and legs around him. I kissed him repeatedly over and over.

Finally, I let him breath and stood on my own feet.

"I missed you." I said with a kiss on his cheek and my big eyes staring into his.

He was grinning from ear to ear, "I missed you too. If this is homecoming, I might have to take a few more trips."

I scowled at his remark.

"Not if you want a happy wife." I said sourly.

I refused to stay mad though, I touched his back as he loaded the suitcases into the trunk. He sat in the passenger seat, and I drove us back to work.

"I'm assuming you're not done for the day; I have to go back to work. But if you are, you can take the car, I'll get a cab." I offered.

"I can do a few things at work while I wait for you." He said.

I smiled and touched his leg as I drove us back. He told me about the flights and some craziness with a passenger not wanting to check an oversized bag. I listened without comment.

As we pulled into the office, he commented, "The car really does sound better."

"I know, right?"

"How long do you have to stay?" he asked.

"I think we are done at 5 today," looking at my watch, "so only another hour."

"Okay, I'll start on my travel expense report then and come get you at 5. Love you."

We both stepped out of the car.

"I love you too." I said smiling. I was already wondering how we'd make love tonight. Maybe we could do it twice?

I came back to my desk ecstatic and ready to be done for the day. Mr. Black was on a conference call and his door was closed.

Getting back into my computer, I started to see if there was anything new to deal with. There was another email from Smithfield Investigations with Alan's name on the subject line. I read the email and my heart stopped.

'Review of all public records and criminal databases yield no evidence of any criminal / negative activities or associations to report. However, review of the subject's work product identified inconsistencies in the following accounts and transfers to accounts outside identified Kirch Enterprise accounts. We recommend verifying our review and proceeding with disciplinary and legal recourse measures.'

I had to read the email over again. There was no way Alan had done something wrong. He was a good man, but this looked like he was going to be fired and maybe sued for negligence or embezzlement if I understood the implications.

When Mr. Black call had finished, I knocked on his door.

"Sir, Could I have a moment of your time?" I asked, trying to hold in my fears.

"Sure, what do you need?"

I stepped in and closed the door.

"Um." I started to lose it.