Tanner Logistics

While Paul was one step from being upper management, Joe was one step below him. It was understood that when Paul moved up a step, Joe would take his place. Joe walked onto Paul's office as he was hanging up with Sara. "Hey, Joe, what's going on"

"Nothing much, how's our project being received?"

"Good, good," came the reply. Then, absent-mindedly, Paul said, "that was weird."

"What's that?"

"Oh...I just got a text from my niece, Shannon, telling me to call my wife. She texted me from a phone number I didn't know, and told me to just call Sara and tell her I was thinking of her."

"Why's that weird?"

"Well, first, it was a strange number. Why not use her own phone? Second, its two in the afternoon and Sara was still out having lunch with Ashley and your wife."

Joe shrugged. "I'll see what Lisa says when I see her after work."

"Yeah, Shannon said she would call me later and fill me in. Do me a favor, don't say anything to Lisa unless she brings it up, OK?"

"Sure, was there anything strange about the conversation?"

"No, not really, she said she was just thinking of me too. Said she was with the other two having lunch, and that she loved me, then we hung up just before you came in."

"So the weirdest part was Shannon telling you to call her?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll find out later."

^^^^^^^^

At 5pm, Paul packed up and left the office. He and Sara didn't drive together because their work hours were offset by an hour and neither wanted to sit at the office for that extra hour. No sooner had Paul gotten into his car when there was a loud knock his side window.

Paul jumped a little, then with a stupid grin started the car and put the window down. "Shannon! You trying to scare the shit outta me?"

"Sorry," she said laughing. "Look, my car is at the Wawa near your house. Take me there and we can talk on the way."

"OK, what's with all this secretive shit?"

"Paul, you are NOT going to believe what I'm about to tell you. In case you don't, I have some of it recorded." Paul pulled out of the lot and Shannon began telling her story. When Paul got the gist of what Shannon was saying, he pulled into a Walmart lot.

"Look, I can tell Sara I got hung up at work. We need to go over this now. Let me get this right, your saying that Sara plans on taking me to the company retreat in a couple weeks, and while we're there she plans on spending the first night in Mark's room?"

"That's what I'm saying, Paul. Ashley is talking her into it. She's trying to talk Lisa into it too, staying with Mark on Saturday night. She figures that if Joe sees that you're OK with it then he'll follow your lead."

"You gotta be shitting me. Are you serious? There's no way Sara would do this."

"I recorded some of their conversation."

"I take it Sara doesn't know you were there?"

"I don't think so. I'm sure she would've called me by now to do some damage control."

"This has got to be some kind of prank."

"Who would they be pranking? You don't know about it so they're not pranking you. I guess it could be a prank against Lisa. Here, let me play the recording for you."

After the recording had played, Paul asked, "Shannon, can you send me that?"

"Of course." A few seconds later, Paul's phone dinged with the incoming text.

"I gotta get with Joe, too. Can you keep this just between us for now? I'm really not sure what I'm gonna do. I hope this is some kind of a fucking joke."

"What are you gonna do? I mean, i know what you just said, but what if she goes through with it? Will....."

"We'll be getting divorced. She has to know I wouldn't put up with that."

"Ashley almost has her convinced that you will."

"I assure you, I will NOT. I always pegged Mark for an asshole, but I never saw this coming. I wonder how many other couples he's done this too?" Paul was looking out the windshield and talking to himself out loud. "Ashley mentioned that John and Marlon and Brian were 'OK with it',... fuck."

"Anything you need, Paul...."

"I may need a ride back from the Poconos Friday night."

"No prob. Take me back to my car, and think about what you want to do."

"I'm torn between confronting her right now, and waiting to see if she tries to go through with it."

"Look, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. If she goes through with this, I don't see myself talking to her much, if at all, afterwards. I guess you're gonna get stuck with me in the divorce." That was said with a big smile that wasn't lost on Paul.

"Yeah, we'll see. Lets hope this is all some fucked up misunderstanding." The remaining ride to Shannon's car was quiet, with both lost in their own thoughts.

^^^^^^^^

As Paul was dropping off Shannon, Joe was walking in the front door of his own house. He put down his briefcase and walked through the home and into the family room at the back of the house. Lisa was laying back in a recliner with her hands on her stomach, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey Lisa? You OK?"

"No, Joe, no I'm not. We have a problem and I don't know what to do about it."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Yep. Can we go out back and build a fire in the pit?"

"Of course. Let me go change, I'll be out in a minute. Want anything to drink"

"Yeah, I could use five Long Island Iced Teas, but I'll settle for a beer."

"OK," Joe laughed, "go throw some cardboard and kindling in the pit, Ill be out in a minute."

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting next to the pit with a small fire going and Lisa told Joe what happened in the restaurant. "Joe, you have to know I would never consider doing anything like that. If she goes through with this, I won't be able to be friends with her anymore."

"Wow. That's a tough situation. Wanna hear something funny? This afternoon, Paul got a text from Shannon telling him to call Sara and just tell her he was thinking of her."

"Oh my God! Yes! She talked to Paul while we were sitting at the table! How did Shannon know to have him call her?"

"Don't know. She said she would tell him later."

"Oh my God! This can't be hidden. Even if Paul lets her get away with it, it won't be just people in the company that know about it."

"Lisa, there is absolutely no way that Paul will be OK with this. I'm telling you now, If she goes through with this, he'll divorce her."

"I don't know what to do. If I flat out tell her to knock it off, she might just go behind his back. The only reason I didn't try to smack some sense into her was I figured that if I acted interested they would keep me in the loop and tell me what they're planning. I guess if I can't stop her, at least maybe I can keep Paul from getting ambushed and humiliated "

"I'm proud of you, Lisa. You're a really good friend to Paul."

"He's like a brother to me, Honey. When I thought about it today, he's more important to me than Sara is."

"Well, lets hope it works out and you don't have to choose."

"It's not about choosing, Honey. If she goes through with this, I just don't think I can be friends with her. Even if they stay together."

"Well, I have a feeling that Paul already knows about this. I'll give him a call in a few and see what his thoughts are. For now, keep doing what you're doing and let them think you're interested so they'll keep you in the loop."

"I love you, Joe."

"I know you do, Sweetheart. I love you too."

^^^^^^^^

At the Nelson house, Paul walked through the front door and smelled the aroma of steaks on the grill wafting through the open back windows. When he walked into the kitchen, Sara was heating up some canned veggies on the stove. She heard him and turned and gave him a big smile and said, "hey, sweetheart, got some steaks on. Dinner should be ready in about ten."

It was all Paul could do to not have a confrontation right there. He took a deep breath and pushed it out. "Wow, steaks on the grill. Is that beer in a frosted glass? OK, did you do something, or do you want something?" Paul smiled as he said it.

"Nope, just doing something nice for my man."

They had dinner on the deck under an umbrella and made small talk about their day, but the conversation with Ashley never came up. Paul was still trying to figure out how to handle the situation.

Later that night, Sara acted as though she was trying to kill Paul with sex. "Wow, what brought that on?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking about you ever since you called me today. You're the sweetest man on earth. I love you so much."

"Is that right? How much do you love me?" Paul smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"What would you be willing to do for me?"

"I would do anything for you. I like to think we would do anything for each other."

"I do love you, Sara. I would do almost anything for you." He was hoping she would pick up on the 'almost' and say something like "what wouldn't you do", but she snuggled into him and drifted off to sleep.

^^^^^^^^

The next morning at work, Joe came into Paul's office as soon as he could get away and closed the door behind him. "Mornin' Paul, I had a very interesting conversation with Lisa last night."

"Mornin' Joe. I figured you would have. Did you bring it up, or did she?"

"She did, without me asking. Couldn't wait to tell me. She's really distraught over this."

Paul took a deep breath. "OK, lay it on me."

Joe relayed the conversation, including the part about Lise no longer being friends with Sara. "She thinks the world of you, Paul. If it was anyone else, I'd be concerned," Joe said with a smile.

"I feel the same way about Lisa. I really appreciate you two being there for me."

"Lisa is gonna act as though she's interested as well, just so they keep her apprised. I don't know how long she'll be able to do it, though. It's really bothering her. I think she feels like she's cheating on both of us," Joe chuckled.

"Hey, bottom line. This is a problem between me and Sara. I appreciate the help and support, but if it gets awkward, I'll take care of it myself."

"It's all good, buddy. Wanna get together for lunch? Talk some more?"

"Sure, how about that little eat-in deli on Main? My treat."

"Sounds good. Talk to you later." With that, Joe left the office and went back to his own, smaller, office, to get some work done.

^^^^^^^^

Sara was at her desk outside Mark's office. Mark buzzed her through the intercom and asked her to come in with a cup of coffee. A few minutes later she entered his office and he motioned her to have a seat. She put the coffee on his desk as he was talking to someone on his phone, and took stock of her boss.

Mark was a big man. Probably 6'4" and going 250. He had put on some weight since Sara had first met him a few years ago, but he was still in pretty good shape. He was the owners son. His father was Tim Waters, the man that owned Tanner logistics.

He was a very attractive man. Dark hair and dark eyes. She knew he had been a professional football player (He would constantly remind everyone about his "playing days"). She considered him a nice guy, and he always seemed to be looking out for her. Sara knew that Ashley got promoted because of Mark, and Sara knew that some of the other employees were taken care of because of Mark's influence and generosity.

Since she had become his personal assistant a few months ago, they had become very close. Mark wasn't married, but seemed to have a string of girlfriends. Whenever there was a company function, Mark would have a different girl on his arm. During one of their conversations, Mark had told Sara that he didn't see himself ever getting married. He didn't want to have children and didn't want to be tied down. He saw sex as a casual thing and had no intention of staying with one woman. He told her that he had a curiosity about different women and usually, after having been with a woman once or twice, the curiosity went away and he wanted to move on.

Lately, he had been coming on strong to Sara. He said that he had a curiosity about her, and after they had been together once or twice, the curiosity would be assuaged and they could move on. Until then, he was becoming obsessed with her. He promised that once they were done, he would take care of her the same way he took care of Ashley, and would also take care of Paul.

While her and Paul were comfortable now, it would be really nice for the future owner of the company to be looking out for her and her husband. She knew that Mark wanted to sleep with her, but she did NOT want to cheat on Paul. To say that Paul was everything to her would be an understatement. She adored him and loved him with all her heart.

Now Ashley was suggesting that Paul was basically a submissive kind of guy and would actually enjoy having Sara be with another guy. She was conflicted, she didn't want to hurt Paul. She knew that anyone who said that they had absolutely no desire to ever have sex with someone other than their spouse was lying. People were faithful in their marriage because of the possible consequences, not because there was no attraction.

Paul was a kind of submissive personality guy. He let her have anything she wanted, and always deferred to her about daily stuff. He never argued with her and never really got mad at her. He never argued with anyone, really. His father was a police officer (still was), and treated Paul's mother the same way that Paul treated her. Sometimes she wondered if Paul's father had ever watched Paul's mother having sex with another man.

Since Ashley had told her what Mark wanted to do at the companies semi-annual retreat, she was feeling nervous. She was certainly attracted to Mark, but had absolutely no desire to hurt Paul's feelings. Was Ashley right that ultimately it would be better for their marriage? While Paul would be upset initially, would it be good for them in the long run?

"Earth to Sara."

Sara had seriously zoned out. "Oh..... sorry"

"No worries. How does everything look on our agenda for the day?"

"Fine, Mr. Waters. You have a lunch meeting with Mr. Houseman at 11:30, and a 2:30 meeting with Mr. Lightman. Other than that, its a light day, sir."

"Sara, when we're in the office, it's 'Mark'. He stood and looked out the window. "Have you thought about the retreat? It's less than two weeks away. Ashley told me she talked to you yesterday."

"Yes, umm...I'm not sure I could go through with something like that."

"Of course you can. Hey look,I'm not gonna force you or anything, but it's gonna be fine, I promise."

"I've been thinking about this. I'm just not sure my husband would go for something like this."

"Sara, talk to the other women. They'll tell you. They were nervous when we did it as well. It all worked out for them and their husbands. They thought their husbands would be mad, and they weren't. They got a kick out of it. It turned them on and now their sex lives are better because of it." Mark didn't know it that was true, but who cares?

Mark walked around behind Sara and started rubbing her shoulders. "Sara, this is going to be a one time event for you and I. Two of the other couples that participated in the same kind of situation wanted to keep doing it, but I said no (a lie). I'm not looking to wreck any marriages (not necessarily a lie) and I'm not a threat to anyone's marriage (a lie). I'm not looking to replace any husbands (not a lie), just help you spice up your sex life and help us be closer as a work family. Kind of like the retreat that me and my dad's been organizing for decades (complete bullshit). I know you feel the same spark that I do and we need to get it out of our system. At the same time, your husband will get to live out a fantasy of his own."

"I don't know, Mark. He's never said anything about having a fantasy of either one of us sleeping with other people."

"Sara, think about it. Think about Paul's personality. He's a quiet guy who avoids confrontation at all costs. He takes orders without question and never argues about anything. Worse case is he lets you know afterward that he didn't enjoy the experience and you guys never do it again. I mean, we already know that we're never going to do it again anyway. When he realizes that he actually likes it, you'll have to find another guy to fill that role anyway.

"He wants someone to take charge of him, Sara. When was the last time he even raised his voice to you?" Ashley had prepped Mark on the relationship dynamics between Sara and Paul, so he knew that Paul basically acquiesced to whatever Sara wanted. He didn't know what this would do to the relationship between Sara and Paul, but he didn't really care. He did assume that Paul would suck it up and take it the same way that Ashley's husband, Brian, did as well as that pussy Marlon and the other little bitch, John. He was looking forward to the initial shock on Paul's face as he led Paul's wife away to the master bedroom suite.

"I'm just trying to help you, Sara. This will get this out of our system, and allow Paul to get it out of his system as well. Paul needs someone to take control of him. As his wife, it's your job to give him what he needs. It doesn't make him a bad guy, just a guy with different needs than most men."

Sara sighed. "Let me think about this some more. I really need to get back to work, though. Stuff is backing up on my desk."

"No problem, sweetheart. You having lunch with Ashley and Lisa again?"

"Probably, we've been spending a lot of time together."

"That's good. Ash is kind of my right hand man around here and her recommendations mean a lot when it comes time for me to make promotions. She was the reason you were promoted to the job you have now."

"Yeah, I kind of owe her for that. OK...ummm,... Mark, I've got to get back to work." With that Sara stood and turned towards the door. Mark stepped in front of her and placed a hand on either side of her face.

"Sara, it'll be fine, you'll see." With that he tenderly kissed her forehead, then walked around his desk and sat in his overstuffed chair. Sara stood still for about 3 seconds, took a deep breath, then walked out of the office without looking back. Mark sat in his chair with a smile on his face as the gorgeous young woman walked from his office. He had been working her for quite a while and was looking forward to finally getting her. Ashley was telling him that she was giving in...so far.

While Mark didn't know Sara's husband personally, he knew of him. He didn't work in the same division as Mark, and therefore Mark wasn't really his boss. However, since Mark's father owned Tanner Logistics, he was kind of everyone's boss, right? He was a lot shorter than Mark's 6'4" and couldn't be going more than 170 lbs and was very unassuming. That's what made Sara such an attractive target.

Like all the husbands he had done this too, Paul was quiet and would suck it up. Mark was sure that his own size, and the fact that his father owned Tanner, would intimidate Paul into acceptance. He was hoping that this would be the first one to shed tears. Marlon had been close.

Mark wouldn't rub Paul's nose in it after the initial night. He would take Paul's wife for the night just to show Paul who the alpha was, but if the affair continued after that, he would keep it discreet. If, on the outside chance that Paul decided to get physical, he would humiliate him just enough to silence him. Someday, when the old man finally retired, or better yet, died, Mark would take over and these guys would already know and accept him as the alpha male.

^^^^^^^^

Lunchtime found Paul and Joe in the small deli, at a table in the back corner. They sat so both could see the door and the street through the glass.

Joe was the first to bring it up. "What do you think?"

"The way I see it, I have two options," replied Paul. "One, I do nothing and see if she goes through with it. If she does, divorce her. Two, confront her and try to keep her from forcing me to divorce her."