The Affair Ch. 01

"Fiona's had some bad news this morning. One of her colleagues from London, Connie White, was supposed to be coming down to help her out but she's been taken ill."

"Right," I said, nodding dumbly, still trying to figure out where all this was headed.

"So Fiona's in need of some assistance and as you've been so supportive, we were wondering if you wouldn't mind helping out."

"Oh, I see," I said, glancing across again.

"Yes, you were so accommodating last week, attending to my every need," she said, a hint of a smile on her glossy pink lips as her cool, green eyes briefly flicked up and down my body.

"So we were wondering if we couldn't make your arrangement more formal," Terry said.

"Yes, maybe set aside, say, fifty per cent of your time so that you can support me properly, make sure I get everything I want," Fiona said, sitting on the desk and crossing her long legs. My head was at the same height as her hips and as her skirt rode up I was treated to a fine view of her smooth, creamy thighs.

"But my team..." I started to say.

"I think your team will be able to manage without you for a few weeks. Gwen's quite experienced, isn't she? I'm sure she'll step up and take over some of your duties. So what do you say?"

"Well, if you really think I'm best placed..." I said, already considering the possibilities of spending more time with the object of my lust.

"I do, and I know Fiona's keen as well," he said, glancing across to Fiona, who nodded her head in agreement. "And you'll be 'inside the tent', so to speak. With full access to the details of the re-organisation, so you can assume your role is safe. Wouldn't be fair to have you participate in a process that resulted in you leaving us."

"What kinds of things will I be expected to do?" I asked, stalling as I struggled to take in this turn of events. As Terry and Fiona talked, I barely heard them over my mind screaming, "My job is safe!"

"Oh right, well that's good to hear, thanks," I said, when they'd finished.

"Great. So that's settled, you'll start asap," Terry concluded, standing up and offering his hand to signal that the meeting was over.

It was only later when I was driving home and the euphoria of knowing that my job was safe had worn off that I started to coolly consider what duties my new role would cover. Giving Fiona technical support, taking minutes at meetings, screening her phone calls. When I thought about it, wouldn't that make me little more than her personal assistant? Still, that was a small price to pay to keep my job, right?