Tech Specs Inc. Ch. 01

She was a mass of jangled nerves. Sweat ran down her back under her business-like blouse. She felt sticky and dishevelled and completely unready for this interview. While the security guard checked her identification and papers, Sarah shifted restlessly from foot to foot, craning her neck to see the clock on the wall behind him.

'Fuck!' She bit her lip to keep the word in. She hated being late and had deliberately splurged on a cab to avoid the hassle of having to find parking downtown. Not that it did any good...the cab had cost her the same as a pair of three-inch heels on sale, and it sat in traffic for so long that she had run the last two blocks and was late anyway.

Receiving her pass and instructions to the 19th floor, there was no time to stop in the restroom and pull herself back together. 'Why isn't it standard practice to have a mirror in the elevator?' she thought, as the only other passenger got off on the 7th floor. She did a visual check, tucking here, tugging there, adjusting the once-crisp pink top under a good charcoal suit that decorously went to mid-knee and dragging the stockings tops up.

As the chimes sounded and the elevator doors slid open, Sarah hoped she looked marginally more collected and strode to the reception desk.

"Sarah Jones for Mr. Kerr. I had an appointment for 1:30. I'm a little late." Sarah tried to look calm. The receptionist looked up "I'm sorry, Ms. Jones, Mr. Kerr is interviewing and can't be disturbed. If you like to wait?...."

Nervously, Sarah twisted the longest strands of her shoulder-length brown hair as she assessed her options. She couldn't afford to write this interview off; she needed a job badly and had liked the sound of this one. "Yes, please," she told the receptionist. "I'll wait."

The receptionist indicated a group of chairs around a low table; Sarah turned toward them. Pausing, Sarah had a thought. She turned back and asked "May I use the washroom while I'm waiting, please?" The receptionist smiled and said 'Certainly. It's down the hall past the elevators and around to the right. Take your time," she said." The interview just started. He'll be a while."

Sarah's low heels clicked on the tile down the hall towards the restroom. She pushed open the heavy door and almost collided with a woman on her way out. Startled, Sarah pulled back and allowed a tall, cool-looking blonde in an expensive suit to sweep past her, a cloud of pricey perfume trailing in her wake. She felt a bit steamrolled as the woman stalked by without even muttering 'excuse me'.

Sarah was relieved to find the washroom empty and, pulling a comb and cosmetics from her bag, touched up her hair and makeup, washed her hands and tried to feel some of the confidence she'd had looking in the mirror at home -- when she'd been on time. "C'mon, Sarah," she told herself. "You can do this. You got top marks in your class. You've got good references from your freelance jobs. You know how to write. You just need to ace the interview." Staring into her hazel eyes, she willed herself to believe. She knew in her heart that she could do the job if she was given the chance. She was good enough.

Returning to the reception area, Sarah sat on a hard chair and flipped through some of the publications that showcased the firm's work. She tried to project an image of professional detachment, calm and poise, not to fidget and bite her nails as she longed to do. The hands on the clock crawled.

About fifteen minutes later, a petite brunette came hurriedly down the corridor, heels clacking fast on the tile floor, colour high in her cheeks. She stabbed the elevator button and shifted from foot to foot, not looking at the receptionist or Sarah. "Are you sure you won't reconsider?" asked the blonde that Sarah had bumped into as she came down the hall. "No!" said the woman waiting for the elevator. "No, thank you. I don't think this will work out at all!" The elevator arrived and the woman got on, pressing the 'door close' button quickly. The blonde smiled and shook her head. Turning to the receptionist, she said "Not a one, Daphne. We struck out."

Daphne smiled at the blonde. "Not yet, Ms. Shaw." Nodding towards Sarah, she continued, "Ms. Jones was late but she was pleased to wait in case Mr. Kerr had time to see her."

The blonde spun on her heel and walked towards Sarah, extending her hand. "Oh, he has the time! I'm glad you made it." Smiling, she looked more approachable than she had in the washroom and Sarah decided she had just been distracted.

She smiled back and shook hands. "I'm so glad. I'm sorry I was late."

"Not at all! Daphne tell Mr. Kerr that Ms. Jones is here and I'll show her to the office." She ushered Sarah down the hall and around the corner to an unmarked door, knocked sharply and opened it saying "Mr. Kerr, your last interview is here." She put a hand on Sarah's back and gently prodded her into the room, stepping back and closing the door behind her.

Sarah started, looking over her shoulder at the closed door. For some reason, she'd thought the blonde was going to be in the room too. She looked at the tall, slim man behind the desk as he stood and put out his hand. "Good afternoon," he said. "Please sit down." Noting her backwards glance, he added, "Alicia will join us in a bit. I like to meet the candidate and do the first part of the interview on my own."

Sitting back down, Mr. Kerr assessed her frankly. "I'll be honest with you, Ms. Jones. This won't be your run-of-the-mill interview. You've made it through a rigorous screening process that we apply to all our candidates. We've read samples of your work and spoken with your previous employers. This may seem backward to traditional hiring methods but we find it saves time to see only candidates that meet our strict criteria. So, you've already been assessed for knowledge and abilities. However, we've seen 12 applicants over the last two days and it seems that the combination of aptitude, experience and willingness to learn that we are looking for is a difficult collection of qualities to find. So, let me outline what our company will do for you and what we need to see if you'll fit the bill, eh?" Mr. Kerr leaned back in his chair and looked her in the eye. "You want a permanent position as a technical writer. We offer a competitive salary, match the pension contributions of our employees and offer an above-average package of medical and dental benefits. We believe in work-life balance and, when overtime is required to meet deadlines, we compensate our employees in a variety of ways. That's what we have to offer you. Let's talk about what you have to offer us...You have a good portfolio of freelance articles. I can see you are used to working on your own. How well do you work in a team?"

Sarah brightened visibly. She could answer this! "I enjoy working with others. The exchange of ideas and experience makes working on project teams dynamic and, I think, leads to better products. That said, I have no problems working on my own and meeting deadlines. I don't rely on others to motivate me."

"Well said. You know that writing ultimately comes down to putting words on a page and no team can do that for you. We have a good group of people here, however, and it's important that whomever we hire fit in well and get along. We have several projects underway that require good team players." Mr. Kerr named three well-known companies and Sarah was suitably impressed.

Nodding, she said, "Those are big accounts! Do you handle all their work?" They chatted back and forth about industry requirements and dealing with multiple deadlines. Sarah was electrified. It all sounded so exciting! She wanted very much to be part of it.

Mr. Kerr smiled at her and leaned back in his chair. "I like discussing this with you, Sarah. And I really like your enthusiasm. You have a fire in your belly, a real love of the work. That impresses me." Sarah beamed and wriggled a bit in her chair, happy that she was impressing him.

"Let me tell you where our difficulties lie right now. You see, Sarah, while there is a market for quality technical manuals, it is small and many companies are now producing them in-house to cut costs. We still have those three regular clients, clients who need what we offer and can't match the product doing it themselves. They are satisfied with our work and recommend us when they have the chance."

"However, to keep doing what we love and stay solvent, we've been forced to branch out into other markets. We've gotten a bit, hmmm, resourceful and are working outside our usual range. This is a challenge for our team and we are using all of our creativity and innovation to succeed in this new field. I'll admit it's a bit outside our comfort zone but, so far, we're pleased with our progress and it's making us money."

"I have to say that I admire that, Mr. Kerr," said Sarah sincerely. "I believe finding those out-of-the-box solutions can make an organization really pull together and it's good for the individuals as well as for the company."

"I'm very glad you think along those lines, Sarah. Let's bring Alicia in and discuss this further, shall we?" Mr. Kerr pressed a button on the phone and spoke, "Daphne, please have Alicia join us now." The cool blonde must have been hovering in the hallway because Daphne had barely said "Right away, Mr. Kerr" when the door opened and Alicia came in. She smiled at Sarah. "I guess we're ready to discuss the new product line, now?"

"We are, Alicia," said Mr. Kerr. Turning to Sarah, he added, "I find it easier to have Alicia explain what we're trying to accomplish in this new market."

"You find it easier to have me illustrate it, you mean," smirked Alicia to the boss, as she slipped the jacket of her expensive suit off and laid it on a chair. Walking over to Sarah, she rested her rear on the desk and looked down, right into Sarah's eyes. "There is one market that always seems to be growing, Sarah, even when the economy is doing poorly. Maybeespeciallywhen the economy is doing poorly." Putting a hand to the top button of her blouse, she continued, "and that's erotica...porn....smut....People want to feel good even if they don't have a job or are behind in their mortgages, they want to get off." She slipped the button through the buttonhole. "The thing is, our technical writers are very good at what they do. One quality of a good technical writer is the ability to understand the subject and communicate it in an understandable way. And they're very literal folks. So, in order to write good, realistic stories, we've taken to providing a step-by-step visual for each other to deepen our understanding. It certainly helps us get the action right."

She slipped the open blouse off her shoulders, folded it and laid it on the desk beside her. Sarah gasped at the turquoise lace demi bra that supported Alicia's teacup-sized breasts, leaving the nipples exposed. The colour made her skin glow and set off the peach tint of the stiff nipples. "We find that it's much, much easier to describe than it is to invent," Alicia continued, looking into Sarah's wide eyes. "And the benefit is that the whole staff is relaxed together. Bonded. And happy. It's an unforeseen benefit, this 'team-building'. Staff are relieved to know the company isn't going under, jobs are secure and, of course, being sexually satisfied is a bonus." She undid her skirt and stepped out of it, standing in the half bra, matching bikini briefs and a strappy garter belt holding up sheer tan stockings that ended in classic pumps. Her long lean body was beautiful. She could have modelled the lingerie for a prestigious catalogue.

Sarah gaped up at the mostly nude woman before her, her mind reeling. One part of her mind was simply appalled that there was a half-naked woman standing in the middle of her interview for her first serious, full-time job. She was devastated that the opportunity she thought was so golden seemed to have evaporated. This was crazy! They couldn't expect her to pose for other writers, tohave sexin front of others so it could be written about and sold to porn sites. Surely this was beyond illicit or immoral. It must be illegal. She should report this. You don't call 911 for porn...

As the thoughts of how to go about calling the vice squad raced through her mind, Sarah realized some part of her was looking at the woman before her with other eyes. Eyes that were appraising Alicia's figure, that were lingering on the evidence of Alicia's arousal and that were envious of Alicia's lingerie. Sarah had a weakness for pretty underthings and that half-bra and panty set was delectable. With her dark colouring, she'd prefer it in red....or black. She must ask Alicia where she bought it.

Sarah shook her head vigorously to get rid of the thoughts wandering through her mind. Seeing the classic 'no' move, Mr. Kerr interjected, "Don't say 'no' quite yet, Sarah. There may be benefits that you haven't thought of yet."

"We are being very responsible with what we produce...socially responsible. Our message is that lust is not evil, bodies come in different shapes and sizes and are given to us for pleasure. We're proud of the work we're doing in this field and are applying the same standards to it as we do to our mainstream work. Some our stories have won critical acclaim. Some of the publishers that work with us have asked what other fiction we could show them."

And just like that, Sarah's secret dream of showing that nascent novel buried in her bottom drawer to a real, live publisher roared forth. In the heartbeat between sentences, she saw the novel edited and submitted for publication...herself accepting the prize for the best novel published that year and the cheque that went along with it.

Mr. Kerr added gently, "We know that you have substantial outstanding student loans. Permanent employment would go a long way towards helping you pay those down." Sarah looked up at him. He smiled down at her. "It's like a family here, Sarah. We have your best interests at heart. We wouldn't ask you to do anything in bad taste."

Half-hypnotized by his kindly tone and the visions of her prize-winning novel, Sarah nodded up at him. "Excellent!" Mr. Kerr exclaimed, shaking her hand while Alicia beamed behind him. Sarah was smiling back, buoyed by their obvious enthusiasm. "Now, strip."

"Pardon me?" the smile stayed in place, fading slowly.

"Well, we've agreed to take you on, you've agreed to the terms. No time like the present to see if you'll actually be able to do the job. Slip off that blouse, dear, and show us what you've got." Sarah stared up at him. Mr. Kerr smiled down at her, warmly; then, glanced at Alicia and tipped his head towards Sarah.

Alicia left the desk and circled behind Sarah's chair, resting her hands on Sarah's shoulders. Sarah started, looking up over her shoulder at the cool blonde standing there in her lingerie. Beaming at her, Alicia eased the jacket off Sarah's shoulders and down her arms. She folded it and put it on the desk, then returned her hands to Sarah's shoulders. Sarah shivered. Leaning close to her ear, Alicia said in a low voice, "Did you wear a pretty bra, Sarah? Do you have lucky 'interview' undies? I want to know if your bra and panties are as pretty as mine..."

Sarah's chin came up and there was a glint in her eye. "Oh, yeah, they're my lucky underwear, alright. And my lucky colour too..." Fingers flying, she slipped the buttons on the heavy satin blouse through their slots and shrugged it off her shoulders. Standing up, she undid the zipper and button on her decorous skirt and, as it puddled around her ankles, smiled at the quick intake of breath she heard from Alicia.

Sarah's lucky underwear was imperial purple with glittering gold embroidery in scallops around the edges of the underwired cups. The matching panties had a sheer frill with the same scalloped pattern in gold and had long garters that held up her sheer grey stockings. The purple and gold colours brought out the pink tint in Sarah's pale skin. She was rounded and dimpled but not soft, there was muscle definition in her arms, legs, abs. Alicia's lean elegance looked a bit scrawny next to Sarah's curves and her long, defined waist made her breasts and hips look that much fuller. Alicia watched Sarah closely, noting the flush climbing on the brunette's cheeks and how her nipples pebbled under the silky bra. 'Was it adrenaline?' she wondered. 'Or a rush of arousal at exposing herself to them?' Alicia was intrigued.

Mr. Kerr stepped closer to her, looking at her seriously. "You are simply beautiful, Sarah. And those undergarments are lucky indeed." Putting one finger under her chin, he tipped her face up and smiled down at her. "I'd say 'you'll do' but let's seewhatyou'll do before we sign papers, hmmmm?" Leaning back against the desk, he undid his trousers and waved Sarah back into the chair. Sarah stared at the open fly, then up at his face. The half-naked blonde moved behind and put her hands back on Sarah's shoulders, gently massaging out sudden knots of tension and encouraging her slightly forward. "Go on, hon. Show him what you can do." Alicia said in Sarah's ear.

Sarah looked up at her and Alicia gently kissed her and slid a tongue between her lips. Sarah moaned low and sucked the tongue into her mouth. Pulling back, Alicia smiled down at her and said "Yeah, hon. Just like that. Suck him like that."

Eye-level with the erect cock now protruding from Mr. Kerr's trouser front, Sarah leaned forward. Alicia massaged her shoulders, urging her on. Sarah put out a tentative hand and grasped the thick shaft, sliding her hand up and down. A drop of pre-cum oozed out of the slit in the fat purple head and Sarah stuck out her tongue and lapped it up. Looking up at him, she circled the head with teasing, twirling strokes, bathing it in saliva before sliding it into her hot, wet mouth. She sucked slowly and steadily, taking a little more into her mouth with each bob of her head. Mr. Kerr started rocking his hips, forcing a bit more cock gently between her lips. Sarah let him set the pace, using lips and tongue to keep a steady pressure, sucking hard every time he drew back. Every gasp and moan from his lips, she took as a personal tribute and redoubled her efforts, sliding a hand under his balls, squeezing gently. Mimicking her, Alicia gently squeezed Sarah's breasts, making her moan around Mr. Kerr's stiff cock. It wasn't long before Sarah felt his balls tighten and the head swell between her lips. The first shot hit the back of her throat and she swallowed it down. Mr. Kerr pulled out and the next two jets landed on her breasts and neck and hung there, glistening. Then, he slid the head back between her parted lips and she licked him clean, his hand stroking her hair while Alicia stroked her back.

"Welcome to Tech Specs, Sarah. You're hired." Mr. Kerr said.