Emma Maes a Decision

The following story is true, expect for the parts that aren't true. The names of the people in this story have been changed to protect the innocent and/or guilty, depending on your point of view. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I hope you enjoy!

<<Late September>>

This time of year was always incredibly busy for Emma, who worked as an Account Executive, with a nice-sized portfolio of clients whom she did a lot of work for, including the upcoming Christmas season. Emma was an attractive woman, late 30's, tall at around 5' 10" with long, brown hair, athletic figure, small but still nice breasts for her age. She wore her typical work attire; buttoned up white blouse with the top button undone as she was getting tired and was a little warm, black pencil shirt, black sheer nylons, and a nice pair of Louboutin's as shoes were something of a vice. On her chair behind her desk was a black suit jacket; she liked the look, and on days she had to talk to a client in person she preferred a more professional look then the standard office casual.

Emma was at work late one night with Michael, her boss and one of the VP's of the company. He was an attractive man, maybe mid to late 40's, a little over 6' tall and a body that visited the gym regularly, wearing a casual but elegant cashmere sweater and slacks with a pair of nice brown leather dress shoes to finish the look. Michael was a recent widower, his wife Becca having died of cancer four years previous. Michael was her boss but the two had worked closely together for the last 10 years and knew much of each other's lives, so Emma was privy to the hard times Michael was going through before, during and after Becca's passing. She also knew that Michael wasn't interested in a relationship right now, so she made no effort to set him up with her single friends.

No one was at the office save for the janitor and a graphics designer this late at night; everyone else had gone home hours ago. Emma and Michael were at a conference table, various spreadsheets, graphs, and projections littered across the room. Once, Emma's hand brushed up against Michael's as they both went for the same booklet; Emma's heart raced for a moment, her cheek's flushed. She knew that there were a handful of girls in the office that had a wager to see which one of them would sleep with Michael first, and she also knew that one or two of those girls felt more than a little threatened by Emma's prospects of "winning", even though she wasn't a part of the game. She liked Michael just as a friend, nothing more, and didn't think of him in that way.

It was 8 o'clock, and the pair realized that it was getting late and probably time to head home. On the way, they stopped off together at a Japanese restaurant they liked, Emma getting some Udon soup and Michael ordering sushi. They ate their meal for the next hour, talking about strategies regarding their client while eating away at their food. More than once they looked into each other's eyes, but Emma on her part knew that there was no move to be made; Michael was still in mourning, and she had her own marriage to her husband, Kurt. Their marriage was good; he was a lawyer of some renown so between them money was never an issue, but the long hours between their respective jobs made a relationship difficult to manage and maintain at times.

When dinner was over they walked to their respective cars, shared a possibly longer than customary hug, and went their separate ways. Once she arrived at home Emma opened the door, kicked off her heels, put her doggy bag in the fridge, and went to the living room where Kurt was watching a movie. She recognized the movie quickly, the second Lord of the Rings, his favourite trilogy. For being one of the best defense lawyers in the city, Kurt could be a little 'nerdy' at times with his likes and preferences. This didn't bother Emma in the slightest, in fact she found it rather endearing that someone like him would have a hobby like that while other lawyers were travelling abroad, collecting expensive cars, or going to their second or third homes in the wilderness.

As she went in to snuggle with Kurt, he paused the movie and, instead of giving Emma cuddles or attention, she turned to her on the couch with a 'I have something important to say that you're not going to like' look on his face. Emma, realizing immediately that something was serious, sat there on the couch with Michael and let him speak. Kurt came out with it quickly; he loved Emma dearly but he wanted a little bit of spice in his life, and there was a new woman in the Firm that he's been tasked with integrating into the company. Long story short, he liked her too and they decided to start dating so he asked Emma for an open marriage. He said that if Emma wanted to leave he would be devastated but he'd understand, however he was going on a date this weekend.

Emma just sat there, crushed. She thought about yelling at him and screaming but she was in shock and really tired, so she just wished him a good time this weekend and said they should talk about this later. She went upstairs to their room, packed a small travel bag of work clothes then told Kurt that she was going to stay at a friend's house and she'd be back on Friday or Saturday after she had some time to think and cool down. Honestly, Emma didn't know what she was going to do; the first thought of course was divorce and it was still on the table, but she wasn't in the habit of making rash decisions, even for something as jaw-dropping as this. She still loved Kurt, but she was of course feeling a bit betrayed that maybe he didn't love her as much as she loved him.

She jumped into her car can called her friend Liz, an old friend from when they were 10 years old. Liz and Emma still talked a lot and hung out from time to time but their marriages and jobs meant that visits were not as common as they used to be. Liz let Emma in and showed her to the guest room. As soon as Emma got there she lost it and started to cry, releasing all of her feelings and emotions all at once. Liz went up to her and gave Emma a huge hug, and the two just sat on the edge of the bed and cried together for the next 15 minutes. Once Emma calmed down a bit she told Liz everything that had just happened; Liz stayed silent at first, then offered a few comforting words as best as she could. Emma, drained, got ready for bed and fell asleep right away.

The next two days were a bit of a mess; she texted Kurt a couple time and he texted her too, but no "cute names" and no "I love you" from either party. Kurt was open and honest; he and Melanie, this 'new girl', were going to get drinks on Friday night with people from work and spend Saturday on a date together. He suggested the two of them sit down on Sunday morning and talk about things, see where they wanted to go from there. Emma agreed; she wasn't sure if it gave her enough time to pull herself together but she was determined to make a go of it. She talked about this to Liz on the Thursday night after supper while Liz' husband did the dishes. Liz, ever the more adventurous of the two, had an interesting idea herself and she posited an idea to Emma.

Since, by Kurt's own words, he suggested an 'open marriage', did that not work both ways? If there was nothing stopping Kurt from dating this Melanie, what was stopping Emma from dating someone else? Even if it was just for a night or a weekend or whatever, Emma, and perhaps Kurt too, could go on dates with separate people and let the chips fall where they may. That didn't leave out the possibility of either divorce or reconciliation between them either, which Liz figured was the best part of this whole plan. At first, Emma was horrified by the idea but, as the night went on, she started to realize that maybe Liz had a point. The problem was Emma wasn't a "cheater", and she didn't have anyone else she could go on a date with, so she wasn't sure what to do.

That Friday at work, on the day of Kurt's first of two date nights, Emma was nigh-useless. Michael, her boss and also her friend, noticed and took her out to lunch, which was more a demand then a request. Emma agreed and the two talked for a bit; she couldn't tell Michael everything but she alluded to that fact that she was having some problems at home. Michael, not wanting to press the matter, told her to take the rest of the afternoon off. He suggested, as the two had a client to talk to soon, maybe come into the office on Saturday when no one would be in so they could get some work done in peace. Plus, it might help take her mind off of everything. Emma agreed, realizing she did need to take her mind off Kurt and make back some work she missed.

Emma went home that Friday night for a change of clothes. Kurt was gone, as he said he'd be. She went inside and headed upstairs to take a shower in her own shower for once. She took off her clothes, left them in a pile, and went into the nice, hot shower to relax. The shower did help relieve some tension, but then her mind started to wander to Kurt, and what he might be doing tonight. She started the cry, wondering if her relationship was over, but then her mind started to question exactly what they were going to do tonight. Was Kurt going to kiss Melanie? Hold hands? Was he going to sleep with her? What was she going to do to him? What did she think of him? She immediately started to get defensive, upset that another woman was going to be with her man.

When she got out of the shower the put some clothes on the bed for work tomorrow. It was an off day so she picked out some casual things; a nice sweater, jeans, scarf, and ballet flats along with some sleepwear for later. She put them into the bag and put the bag down beside the bed, her mind wandering again to Kurt and what he might be doing. She wasn't sure why but she couldn't get her mind off of what Kurt was doing on his date. She was picturing Melanie putting her hand on his thigh, caressing his leg like she loved to do to turn him on. As she thought about this, Emma's hand started to wander towards her inner thighs, mimicking the caressing that she believed that Melanie would be doing to Kurt. She stopped for a moment, got onto the bed, and relaxed.

She imagined Michael going down on Melanie, and while doing so let her hand explore her flower, feeling around her opening, around her clit. Her fingers started to encircle her love button as she imagined the times Kurt had gone down on her, the feeling between her legs, torso, and whole body while Michael tantalized her. Emma tried to imagine being in the same room, watching Melanie arc her back in ecstasy as she knew her climax was approaching. Emma, wishing right about now that she'd have bought a vibrator, started to rub herself furiously, imagining Kurt going down on Melanie, bringing her to climax as she screamed and caressed his head in encouragement. Emma could feel her own orgasm build, her toes and back arched as release overcame her.

Realizing it was time to go, and feeling a little embarrassed even though it was still her own house, she jumped in her car and made her way to Liz's house for the evening. They had another small pow-wow, during which Liz suggested, "Since you two are working on the weekend together anyway, why not make it an event too?" Emma thought this was a terrible idea, especially as she knew of Michael's feelings towards his deceased wife, her own marriage to Kurt, the fact that Michael didn't have feelings for her, not to mention the fact that Michael was her boss. The girls went downstairs and broke open a bottle of wine, going over random topics for the rest of the evening. However, the thought of what it would be like to go out on a date with Michael lingered.

Saturday arrived, and Emma made her way to work. She passed Carl, the security guard who usually worked the weekend shift, at the entrance and said some hello's while passing him a coffee and muffin with a touch of small talk in between. In the elevator, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was alone and, on impulse, decided to pretty herself up a bit; she adjusted her scarf just a little, fixed her hair, and checked her makeup. When the elevator opened the office was almost empty, which was expected, save for a handful of people either working on projects before deadlines (much like herself), the odd person who worked weekends on the regular, and the weekend cleaning staff. She walked to her office, put her stuff away, and got ready for the day of work ahead.

A satchel lay on her desk, some of her work and notes for her project she left behind in her mess of a day previous. Emma grabbed the satchel and made her way to the board room, where she saw Michael working, head down and probably not having noticed her yet, a hot coffee and bagel beside him as was his custom. She pulled up beside him and placed her own coffee and muffin on the table, pulling out her lap top and mouse, and got set up for the day's work. The two worked beside each other, not saying much, for the next couple of hours. Emma was glad for this actually; it sucked to work on a weekend, but she needed to be doing something to keep her mind off Kurt and this was helping. Her coffee was empty so she went to the kitchen for a refill.

Michael noticed her get up and, for the first time in over two hours, acknowledged her, offering to accompany her as his coffee was out too. Emma gave him a smile and said of course, and the two walked together towards the kitchen. She poured her coffee then his; two milk no sugar, just the way he liked it. He reached for the cup and, just for a moment, his hand was clasped over hers as Emma held his cup out for him to take. A thousand and one emotions started to infiltrate Emma's mind; was that an accident? Was he flirting with her? His hands were really nice. Should she say something? Did anyone notice? What was Michael thinking about what just happened? Emma's cheeks flushed as she passed Michael his mug, her gaze locking with his as the transfer finished.

When Emma looked into his eyes she wasn't sure what in the world came over her but she was curious what it would be like to have sex with him. She knew, with good reason, that Michael would never make the first move. Oh god, did she want him to?! She was married, he knew that, and he wasn't the kind of guy to hit on a married woman; well, at least as far as she knew. Plus, Michael was possibly still pining for Becca, but there was little point worrying about that if she wanted to take this anywhere. Getting an idea, she said she wanted to make it up to Michael for lunch yesterday, so Emma offered to take him out to dinner, his choice and her treat. Once he decided, she told Michael that she'd pick him up at his place around 8:00 pm and to be ready to go.

When work was done, Emma told Liz about what happened, and after some gossip the two decided to go out and get Emma an outfit for the evening. Liz was trying to tempt Emma into all sorts of suggestive outfits but Emma said she wanted to go on a date, see what happened, and go from there. With that in mind, she eventually picked out an outfit; a nice little black dress with a nice clutch, which she accentuated with some jewelry Liz offered. Liz, not sure how far Emma wanted to take this, suggested Emma bring some protection just in case she wanted to go all the way tonight. Although Emma was nervous about going on a date with someone not Kurt, she took Liz' advice and brought along a couple of condoms just in case. With all that out of the way, the two girls took one last look at Emma in the mirror and concluded that she was dressed to kill.

Emma didn't have a lot of time left before she had to pick up Michael so she grabbed her car and headed out. Traffic wasn't bad and Michael lived on the outskirts of town, so it wasn't too hard to get there in time. She sent him a message that she was around the corner and for him to come out to meet her. When Emma pulled up, Michael was walking down his driveway, his Prius sitting there beside him as he walked past it. He was wearing what he typically wore to work, which didn't bother her as all as Michael did tend to dress nicely whenever he was out of the house. He opened the door and walked into the car, giving her a smile with lots of pleasantries. Emma returned his greeting, giving him a quick glance and smile then they were off to the restaurant.

The restaurant was quite nice, higher end then Emma was used to. The Maître d', an impeccably well-groomed man whom she guessed was in his late 40's to early 50's, confirmed their reservation information and guided the couple to a seat near the window overlooking the lake. Wine was brought to the table in an interesting artistic carafe, the waitress pouring a glass for the two of them as they thanked the young lady and debated entrees. Every now and again Emma took a moment to glance at Michael when she could sense that he wasn't looking at her; he was taller, broader than Kurt, as good looking but in a different way. She thought to herself what life might have been like had she been the one to first meet Michael all those years ago instead of Becca.

The meals were quite nice, with Michael getting a smaller steak and lobster tail combo, and Emma getting veal braciole. The two talked most of the night, sharing the occasional eye contact. As the meal drew to a close, they shared one last drink before it was time to leave, with Michael offering to drive as he could probably handle the wine a little better than Emma. When Emma passed him her keys their hands touched but, instead of pulling their respective hands back, each held their hands there for a few moments, locked in an embrace that Emma wasn't expecting. Her face went all red again and she withdrew her hands, making her way to the ladies' room to freshen up before they departed. On the way, she lightly grazed her hand against Michael's shoulder.

In the washroom, Emma sat down on the toilet and debated what she was going to do. Did she want to make out with Michael? Watch a movie? Have sex with him? The events of the last few days aside, her relationship with Kurt was fine and she was happy, but was it fair to her to keep their marital vows, if there were any at this point, which Kurt might be fucking the new bimbo as she sat there while Emma was expected to what? Go home and watch TV, maybe make him dinner? Hell no. That still didn't mean that Emma knew what she wanted from tonight; she was having a great time and it was a perfect evening even if they went their separate ways from here. Sure, work might get a little bit awkward for a while, but those sorts of things happened in her workplace.

Still not sure on her plan of action she decided, if that was what you wanted to call it, to just 'go with the flow' for the moment and headed to the mirror, washed, and fixed up her makeup. There was a lady there maybe 10 years her junior doing the same to her right; this other girl was a blonde, attractive, nice breasts, but her clothing wasn't as chic as the restaurant's usual clientele. For reasons she wasn't quite sure of she asked her mirror neighbour what she thought of the restaurant, and if she was here on a date. She said that she was on her first anniversary, and although they didn't have much money, they wanted to do something special for each other at least once a year. When Emma left, she went to the Maître d' and paid for the stranger's meal.

Her makeup now refreshed, she headed back to the seat, giving Michael a smile as she passed him on the way to her chair. Their dinner date was reaching its conclusion but one thing that Emma had decided on for 100% sure was that she probably shouldn't drive, just in case, so she was glad that she'd handed Michael her keys earlier as her buzz kicked in. She thought it'd also be a nice little romantic add-on with him driving her back and not the other way around. As they entered the car and started to drive he did bring up a good point; he mentioned that he'd drop Emma off at her place, and take a taxi home. Feeling both a little guilty and seeing an opportunity, she suggested they just head back to Michael's for a time, maybe have a coffee, and wait the alcohol off.