John had always been careful as a boss to avoid the complications that went with office relationships. If you added the sort of trouble that sexual harassment can get you into to all the "how about you give me a pay rise" and "she's only got the job because he's fucking her," issues and its just wasn't worth it.
Most of the time it wasn't an issue because the people that applied for jobs weren't attractive enough that he'd risk all the ugly consequences anyway. And he was fine with that, because employment isn't about how good you look, but whether you are capable of doing the job. This wouldn't preclude him from choosing the better looking one if they both proved equally capable of filling the job. He was a bloke, not a saint after all and he saw nothing wrong with improving office aesthetics.
That all changed the day that Linda walked through his door. She was tall, thin, blonde and had the sort of smile that lit up the room. As soon as he saw her he thought, "If she's any good, I'm in trouble."
He made sure that he wasn't the only one on the interview and evaluation panel and was thankful for that as if she was successful he might avoid the, "we know why you hired her," type comments (though he'd probably still get them knowing the people that already worked around him).
As the evaluation team went through the process, he kept making sure that he was evaluating her on her answers and skills, not looks, to the point that he wondered whether he was starting to be unduly harsh.
When all was done and dusted, Linda was easily the most qualified and suitable applicant. She got the job.
At first he was probably overly stand-offish towards Linda, conscious of being polite, but also of not showing any favouritism. It got to the point that their receptionist asked him if he didn't like Linda because he didn't seem to be as friendly as he was with all the other staff. He needed to relax and set about doing just that.
It wasn't long until Linda was just another member of the team. Of course, it went a bit further than that. One day he went so far as to position himself favourably around the table because the blouse she was wearing was gaping slightly between the buttons, giving a tantalising glimpse of her black bra. He always looked forward to any meeting that Linda would be involved in. When he found that Linda liked to eat her lunch outside in the sun, he stopped eating at his desk and took a break for a change. He didn't do it every day and was careful to do things like be there half way through her lunch break rather than the start. Some days he even got out there first and left before she did. It was all so secret agent of him!
The two of them got along really well and John loved the times that he spent with Linda over lunch. He would have loved to have asked her out, but was too conscious of his position and what a relationship would entail with regards to work.
Things got more difficult for John the day that he bumped into Linda out and about town ... on her bicycle. She was dressed in black lycra riding pants and a tight cycling top.
"John!" she called out to him as he was about to enter a shop. She was walking her bike down the footpath at that point. He couldn't help but take in the perfection of her figure. The lycra clung to her intimately and her nipples stood out against the fabric of her top, teasing him. Not to mention that the pants were so tight that her pubic mound was also prevalent.
It turned out that Linda had a flat tyre and was walking to try and find a shop with a repair kit (she'd finished hers the week before and forgotten to replace it) or a phone so she could call someone to take her home.
"I can give you a ride if you like," John said, his tongue suddenly starting to feel like it had swollen to ten times its normal size as he realised what he was doing ... inviting Linda into his car.
She accepted and after John grabbed what he needed from the shop, they went to his car. The bike fitted in the boot (once the wheels had been removed) and John drove Linda home.
Linda thanked him for the ride and then to his surprise, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek! He recovered his composure eventually and helped her remove the bike from the boot. Then John watched as she walked the bike up towards the house, her butt mesmerising him as it swayed with her motion.
That sight alone fuelled his fantasies for months! But other than in a fantasy sense, he thought no more of the day.
Then Christmas came around and it was time for the office Christmas party. As always, John was highly conscious of behaving at these events and setting the right example. There was always plenty of carry-on and he was always relieved when another year's party passed without significant incident.
As the night wore on, John relaxed and had couple of quiet drinks. He spent some time chatting to Linda, wishing the whole time that he could break out of the work relationship. But he also ensured he spent time with all the other staff, chatting and thanking people for their year's efforts.
John kept an eye on the rest of the guys, as a number of the younger ones, with a bit of drink under their belts finally found some nerve to try and take things further than a bit of flirting with Linda. She handled it well and none of the boys pressed themselves to the point of being a nuisance.
John was just starting to think that things were fine as the last of the people were leaving the party. He was saying goodnight to Linda, who had had quite a bit to drink herself when the last group of young guys were leaving.
"Let's hit a strip club!" one of them suggested with a slight slur and stagger, too loud due to the alcohol. John cringed, wondering what Linda's reaction might be.
There was an enthusiastic chorus from the others and then a series of 'oops' like remarks when they realised that Linda and John were standing there. There were a couple of half-hearted and drunken attempts to explain it away, but Linda just laughed at them.
"Can I come?" she said, stunning both John and her co-workers.
"Hell yes!" was the enthusiastic response.
"What about you John, are you coming?" Linda said, turning to him.
"Wha? Er I don't know ..." he said. Strip clubs really weren't his scene.
"Oh come one it will be a laugh," Linda said, stumbling slightly and grabbing John's arm for balance. He was conscious of her proximity and started to think about the trouble that could result from this lot taking Linda to a strip club, particularly with all the alcohol that had been consumed.
"Oh what the hell, why not."
"Alright Johnny Boy!" one of the guys said loudly, only to slink quietly out the door at the look that call brought out on John's face.
A couple of taxi's pulled up at a local strip club and the group piled out and up the stairs, taking up seats around the 'catwalk' and ordering drinks. John found himself sitting next to Linda, but placed himself furthest from the action.
They guys then started to get into the action, sticking bills in the girl's g-strings, encouraging them and leering with intent. They seemed to take turns working on Linda, asking her if she liked what she saw, asking if she'd ever stripped for anyone, or kissed a girl? Linda took it all with good intent and being drunk herself surprised (or maybe that was excited) them with a couple of her answers.
Linda turned to John who wasn't getting into it a whole lot, "What's up John, not having any fun?"
"Oh its fine, its just I always find with these places that I feel like I'm stuck in silicon valley." A girl walked past us just at that moment with obviously enhanced breasts and he glanced at them pointedly. Linda followed his glance and laughed as she clicked with what he meant.
"Not a fan of boob jobs?"
"God no. I can't understand why a woman would put herself through that," he said.
"She might not like having small boobs though," Linda replied.
"Well, I think, for one, that a small breast has just as much allure as a big breast. And given the horrible shape that some of the fake ones end up, I think they should all be left alone to be enjoyed as nature intended.
"Well that's a refreshing attitude," Linda answered. "I thought about having mine done once, but decided that it was just because the guy I was seeing at the time was a fuckwit."
"God, that would have been a crime, yours are the perfect size!" John said before realising exactly what had come out of his mouth. "I mean, I don't go looking all the time or anything, but with what you wear at work sometimes, its just obvious ... oh shit there's nothing good I can say now," he added, a blush flooding his face.
