The Package

"No, nothing at all," Julie quickly said, thinking that after last night, it would be a long time coming before she put anything else before her job.

"Well, then let me make it as brief as possible," the older woman continued. "It seems that Doug Clarke has decided not to return to the company. His recent illness has made him reconsider waiting until next year to retire."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Julie offered, her concern genuine as she really liked her boss. "I hope he's going to be okay."

"He assures me that he plans to have years ahead to spoil his grandchildren and I'm sure we all wish him the best in that." she went on. "On a more practical matter, his sudden decision leaves me with the problem of replacing him on short notice."

"I see," Julie said, wondering if what was coming next was good news or bad.

"My first thought was to hire a replacement from the outside,'' came the answer, hitting Julie like a sledgehammer, "someone that could hit the ground running and pick up where Doug left off."

Julie didn't trust herself to say anything at the moment, sure that whatever came out of her mouth wouldn't be good. What Mrs. Harris said next made her glad she kept her silence.

"But Doug has been on the phone every day this week trying to convince me that it would be much better to promote someone from within. That he had two fine assistant editors, either of which was more than capable of doing the job."

That Doug would put Connie in the same category as her surprised Julie. Then again, perhaps her rival had spread her charms a little wider than she had imagined.

"Anyway," Mrs. Harris said, drawing the conversation to a close, "I finally agreed with him and it was only a matter of deciding which one of you got the job. I'm ashamed to say I really don't know either of you that well and was forced to make my decision just on your records. As of yesterday, I still hadn't made up my mind but when I came in this morning and discovered what had happened with Wilkes and how you dealt with it, well I knew I had my new editor. So congratulations."

"I ... I don't know what to say," Julie said, almost too shocked for words.

"You don't have to say anything, just don't prove me wrong." she finished. "I'm leaving myself in a minute so I'll see you Monday morning."

"I certainly won't, Mrs. Harris," Julie promised her, "Thank you, thank you very much."

-=-=-=-

Heading down the stairs, Julie couldn't believe what had just happened. The irony of it all was overwhelming. By actually doing what she had said she would do, something Julie still couldn't believe, Connie had given the promotion away.

The lower floor was a lot darker now with only basic lighting still on. The last of the weekenders had gone home while Julie had been upstairs. Or so she thought. There, in the reception area, stood a solitary figure. To her surprise, it was Connie.

"Connie, I don't know what to say," Julie said, promising herself that whatever happened before between the two of them, they would start over with a clean slate.

"Well, how about goodbye?" Connie said, her voice filled with satisfaction.

"Goodbye?" Julie repeated, "Connie, I know we've had our differences, but that's no reason for you to quit."

"Quit?" Connie now repeated in confusion, "Who said I was quitting?"

"But you said goodbye."

"Yeah, goodbye," Connie explained. "Goodbye to you."

"Connie, I'm not going anywhere."

"You didn't just get fired?"

"Fired?" Julie said, now even more confused. "I didn't get fired, in fact, I was just promoted. They're giving me Doug Clarke's job. He's going to retire now instead of next year."

"They gave you want?" Connie said in shock. "I can't believe that. Not when I've been fucking that old man twice a week for months."

The look that appeared on Connie's face a second later told Julie that was a little more information than the older woman had actually wanted to share. Still, it might have explained the worsening of Doug's heart problems, Julie thought. Just a little addition to the irony of it all.

"If you wanted the job that badly, then why would you cover for me and make sure the package was delivered to the printers before this morning?" Julie asked.

"Are you out of your fuckin' mind," Connie called out, losing any semblance of civility. "I didn't do any such thing. In fact, I almost came in my panties when your fat little friend believed me when I said I would. I was out of here ten minutes after she was."

"Really, well someone did," Julie smiled, thinking how nice it was that her original assessment of Connie had been right all along.

"I'd like to find out who," Connie said, the anger still in her voice, "so I can kill the bastard!"

"Look, Connie, I know you're upset right now, so lets not say anything else we might regret come Monday morning," Julie said after taking a deep breath. "Take the rest of the weekend to cool off and we can start with a clean slate."

Connie opened her mouth to say something but then closed it without a word. She really wasn't ready to quit her job, at least not without having another one lined up. And with her actual skills, that might not be so easy.

"Okay, I guess I am a little upset," Connie said, swallowing her pride.

Julie repeated her offer of a new start and watched as the elevator doors closed behind Connie for a second time.

-=-=-=-

"If Connie didn't send it, then who did?" Julie asked herself for the tenth time as she sat in the dark and empty office. She couldn't bring herself to leave until she figured it out.

Then it hit her, someone had to sign the shipping form down in the mailroom. How could she have forgotten that? It was so simple.

As fast as she could, Julie ran to the mailroom, thankful that she had the keys to open any locked cabinets. It only took a few minutes to locate the forms she was looking for, but when she read them, she was even more perplexed. There, in undeniable black and white, was her signature, authorizing the shipment of the galley proofs.

"This is impossible," Julie said to herself as she looked at the form for a second and then a third time. "This is my signature. I'd bet my paycheck that it was. How could anyone have copied it so perfectly, they'd have to have been some kind of ..."

Then the answer hit her, in the form of a beaten knapsack sitting next to the mail sorter. A bag with an equally battered sketchbook sticking out of it.

"If his bag is still here, he has to be too," Julie quickly thought, "he never goes anywhere without it."

The mailroom was deserted, as had been the outer office she'd passed through on the way here. That left only one other place to look.

Set between the mailroom and the outer corridor was the office supply room. The door had been closed when she went by it but as she noted before, she had the keys to just about every office.

"Joe, are you in here?" she called out from the doorway after finding the lights behind the door on.

A sound of movement from beyond her vision, around the bend in the L shaped room told her that someone was indeed in there. When no one answered her call, she repeated it.

Finally, Joe appeared, a look of worry on his face. In his hands he was carrying a small basket of supplies.

"I'm sorry, I really wasn't planning on taking them," he quickly said. "I was just catching up on some work."

It took Julie a moment to realize what he was talking about, then she had to suppress the urge to laugh. The cost of what he had in the basket couldn't have been more than ten dollars. There were people who took home twice that in office supplies to their kids on a weekly basis. He hadn't even taken whole boxes of pens and such, just what he needed for his college classes.

"Oh forget that," Julie said, "If anyone says anything, tell them that I said it was okay."

A look of relief appeared on Joe's face.

"I've something more important to ask you about," she went on. "Do you know anything about how the Myerson proofs were shipped out last night?"

"Is something wrong?" he asked, not really answering the question.

"No, nothing's wrong," Julie assured him, "I just want to know if you knew anything about it."

Joe seemed to think about it a few moments, then broke down in a confession.

"I know I shouldn't have done it," he said, "but after I saw Connie leave after promising Dina that she'd wait for them, I knew that you'd probably be in all kinds of trouble for not making sure they went out."

"You signed my name to the invoice," she said, more of a confirmation than a question.

"Yes, he admitted, "I know I shouldn't have but..."

"Do you have any idea what happened because my name was on those forms?" she interrupted.

"I'm sorry," Joe replied. "I'll go up to Mrs. Harris the first thing on Monday and tell her that I'm the one who signed it, not you."

A look of worry flashed across Julie's face. That was the last thing she wanted him to do.

"No, there's no need for that," she assured him. "In fact, what you did was a good thing. I'm actually very grateful that you signed my name to the forms."

"You are?" he answered, a sense of relief in his voice.

"Definitely," she smiled. "I just don't think it's a good idea if you tell anyone else that you did it. They might not understand your signing someone else's name and all."

Joe seemed to accept that premise, giving Julie a minute to think about what to do next. She's certainly fallen into it, getting that promotion after royally screwing it up. The only problem she saw was, what if someone else found out? Could she really trust Joe not to, even accidentally, spill the beans? After all, if she could figure it out, what would happen if Connie or someone else did too? Her now beaten rival certainly had a strong enough reason to keep digging until she found out. If she was in Connie's place, Julie knew the lengths she would go to if she wanted to get back on top.

True, Joe was a friend. A good one, at least in his own mind. But what if something were to change that? What could Connie offer him that she couldn't? It didn't take more than a few seconds to come up with an answer to that question.

"Can I go now?" Joe asked.

"Actually, I was just thinking that maybe we could go and grab a bite to eat," Julie said, "so I can thank you for doing me that little favor."

"That would be great," Joe said.

-=-=-=-

A late lunch proved to be nice enough, their having gone to a nice casual restaurant not far from where Julie lived in the East Village, a short train ride away. In fact, Julie almost felt guilty having asked Joe under false pretences since she was actually having a good time. Still it wasn't like she was doing anything to hurt him. In fact, unless she was really a poor judge of the male character, he was really going to enjoy what she had in mind for dessert.

"I had a really great time," Joe said as they exited the restaurant.

"You make it sound like the afternoon's already over," Julie replied.

"Isn't it?" Joe asked.

"If you have somewhere else to go I ..." Julie suggested.

"Nowhere," the younger man answered, cutting her off in mid-sentence.

"Well in that case, I was wondering something," Julie went on. "You're always sketching people at work during your breaks, how come you've never sketched me?"

"I have offered," Joe said, surprised that she didn't remember. "At least a half dozen times."

"You did?" Julie replied, remembered that indeed he had. "Well I guess I forgot because I never seemed to have time at work for things like that."

"Well if you like, we could sit in the park across the street and I could do your portrait," Joe offered. "It won't take that long."

"Those benches don't seem all that comfortable to me," Julie countered, then paused a second as if the next thing out of her mouth had suddenly occurred to her. "I know, why don't we go to my apartment, it's only a few blocks from here. That way we can both be comfortable while you do my picture."

"I guess that would be okay," Joe agreed.

It only took a little over ten minutes to walk over to her apartment, during which time they'd continued the talk they'd begun over dinner. Joe, it turned out was a far better conversationalist than most of the men Julie had dated over the last year. He was quite intelligent and even witty once he got comfortable enough to get over his natural awkwardness. A prime example of which he had exhibited back in the supply room when he'd been caught with the goods.

Julie lived in a small apartment on the second floor of a six family walkup. It was little more than one large room with a small kitchenette and bathroom but it was all that she needed. After all, she hardly ever used it other than to sleep or entertain, and none of those who fell into the latter ever category ever complained about the small size of her home.

"Just make yourself comfortable," Julie said as she led Joe into her humble abode, "Just give me a few minutes to use the bathroom and change into something a little more comfortable. Then we can get started."

Joe just murmured an okay as he sat on the couch and got out his sketchpad, laying it and a couple of pencils on the small coffee table. Looking about small room, he didn't even notice Julie had come back out of the bathroom until she was practically right on top of him. When he did look up and see her, the young artist was taken somewhat aback.

Julie had changed into a thin, almost translucent white robe, the material of which did nothing to hide her naked body beneath. Try as he could, Joe couldn't help but stare at the dark outline of her nipples pressing against the cloth. Standing in front of the lamp on the end table, the hairs of Julie's crotch were even outlined between her legs.

"Is this okay?" Julie asked in her most innocent voice.

"Ah, that would be fine," Joe managed to stammer out.

"Where should I sit?" Julie asked.

"Over by the light would be good," he replied.

Julie sat on the folding chair that she usually used to drop her clothes on, moving it into a position so that the light of the table lamp would fall on her. After she sat down, she adjusted her robe so that a good amount of cleavage was visible.

As he began to draw, Julie had to give Joe a lot of credit. Few guys she knew could keep there minds on the task at hand with her not far from naked and sitting only a few feet away. The final product, she was amazed to see having been produced in only a half hour was one she would've gladly have paid for. It was that good.

"I'm impressed," she said.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Like it, I love it," Julie said as she moved from the chair to the couch, leaning over to give him a thank you kiss.

This time, unlike the one she'd given him this morning at work, her lips pressed against his, not his cheek. Also, as she bent down, her robe managed to come undone in such a way as to give him a momentary, yet unrestricted glance of the dark delights beneath it.

"Oops," Julie said as she quickly closed the robe and sat down next to him on the couch.

"I guess I owe you another kiss since that one got interrupted," she smiled, leaning closer once more as she said it.

Now her kiss was slow and soft, her lips brushing against his as she let her tongue tease his for a fraction of a second. The kiss she got back wasn't half-bad either, she thought.

"That was nice, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was," Joe agreed.

"Want to try it again?"

This time he kissed her, and she opened her mouth to admit his tongue. With a skill she found surprising, the younger man explored the dark recesses of her mouth. By unspoken consent, another kiss followed, then a fourth.

"This is going to be easier than I thought," Julie said to herself as she again let her robe open and invited him to let his hand slip inside.

The touch of his hand on her breasts was soft and warm, the tips of his fingers applying just the right amount of pressure on her nipples to make her feel a sense of spreading warmth. It felt so good that Julie began to feel almost guilty at what she was doing. She managed to compensate for that by promising herself that she'd make it up by going further than she originally planned to.

Instead of just letting him feel her up and maybe giving him a hand job before sending him on his way, she'd upgrade that to a blow job. That way, when she expressed regret come Monday morning that they'd gone too far in light of her new managerial position, he'd at least had the memory of that.

Opening her robe all the way, Joe brought his mouth down to her dark nipples, sucking on first one, then the other. Julie let him have his way for a little while, then gently pushed him back when she felt one of his hands drop down between her legs.

"Joe, maybe we're going a little too fast," she said, her voice filled with as much regret as she could manage.

"I guess maybe we did get a little carried away," Joe said, choosing a reply that she couldn't have scripted better herself. "It's okay if we stop."

"I'd hate for you to think that I'm the kind of girl who gets a guy all worked up and then sends him home with a hard-on," Julie said, thinking that much was true. She couldn't remember the last guy who'd sat on this couch and hadn't gotten at least a blow job.

"It's okay," Joe said, "I understand."

"No it's not okay," Julie retorted. "Girls like that should be ashamed of themselves."

"You don't have to ..." he started to say, but she cut him off.

"You do have a hard-on, don't you?" she found herself saying. After the way she'd thrown herself at him, she'd hate to think he didn't.

"Yes, I do," he said, almost in embarrassment.

"Then let me at least take care of it for you," Julie said, "it's the least that I can do after getting you all worked up."

No one would ever believe this, Julie thought. This guy really was one of a kind. He had a hard-on and she had to practically beg him to let her get him off.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Trust me, I'm sure," she replied. "Now why don't you just sit back and relax and let me take care of everything."

Giving in, Joe did what she said and Julie quickly opened his belt and pulled down his zipper to get to the package beneath. Reaching into his shorts, she found his hard cock and pulled it out into the light. In that moment, she was sure she was seeing things.

"Blessed Mother!" she exclaimed, her choice of words in this particular situation hardly to the sort of things the nuns at Saint Matthews would've approved of. Yet, if somehow one of the good sisters found in their hand what she held in hers, Julie was sure they would've understood.

From the time she'd first become aware of boys, Julie had heard those mythical stories about guys with ten inch cocks. It was true that some men were more endowed than others, with a few being amply so. But nowhere, even in a movie where she was sure they'd enhanced it with trick photography had she ever beheld anything like the cock in her hand.

If not ten inches, Joe had to be at least nine, with a girth that she could barely cover with the length of her fingers. Running her fingers up and down its span, she finally convinced herself that it was real.

"It's okay, I've gotten that reaction before," Joe said, his voice a little disheartened.

"What reaction?" Julie asked.

"That I was some kind of freak," he replied.

"That you were a what?" she said in surprise. "What idiot told you something like that?"

"Most of the guys in high school use to say things about me, when we changed in the locker room," he explained. "They said it wasn't normal for a guy's thing to be that big."

"I take it none of them were as big as you," Julie commented.

"No, they were all normal size."