Kaitlin had a reputation at Cooperate Image Consultants for being a ball-buster. As an account executive it was her job to see that our advertising agency was being prudent with our clients' money and that every dollar was being spent wisely. This sometimes placed her in direct confrontation with designers and advertising executives like myself. We had to go to Kaitlin with our proposals and convince her that our ad campaigns were worthy of the budget we had submitted. She had the final say on everything and that caused more than a little resentment between her and us graphic designers.
In all fairness to Kaitlin, I realize that it must not be easy for a woman to be working in a male-dominated environment. She was walking a razor's edge -- be too friendly or pretty and she was perceived as an airhead or slut -- be too diligent and she was perceived as a bitch. There was no winning for Kaitlin and she probably lumped me in the same dung-heap as the other men at the company. I couldn't really blame her because I had made no effort to be friendly with her. Our relationship was strictly business. After work I would occasionally go out for drinks with the other guys in the company, but Kaitlin was never invited along. This was not simply an oversight on our part; we did not particularly like her and assumed the feeling was mutual.
I don't know if it was by design or just her nature, but the image that Kaitlin put forth at work helped to consolidate the perception amongst us that she was a cold-hearted harridan -- although this was probably just the perceptions of us insecure men in the company who resented having to seek the approval of a woman before proceeding with our ad campaigns, if the cliché was to be believed. But the fact that Kaitlin kept her brassy hair pulled back tight and wore navy blue pantsuits did little to dispel the preconceptions that her co-workers had that she was an androgynous shrew.
Kaitlin and I only had reason to interact when it was time for me to submit my budgets for clients, then wait for her to approve them. Occasionally she would question my numbers for the cost of a photo shoot or commercial for television, but ultimately she would always approve my expenditures. She and I had a good working relationship and I respected her business-like demeanour. That was all I ever expected of her.
A few months ago I was assigned a new client, Intersat Technologies. They provided civilian corporations with satellite imagery and were about to start a nation-wide advertising campaign. I was tasked with going to their cooperate headquarters in Baltimore to over-see a photo shoot for a print campaign and production of a television commercial. This was all scheduled to begin on Monday and run till Wednesday. That Thursday Mr. Baldwin, the owner of the agency, called me into his office.
"I'm sending you and Kaitlin to Baltimore on Sunday for the Intersat shoots, Michael. Is that alright with you?" he asked.
"Yes, of course, Chester," I said.
"The only reason I ask is because, well - I've heard that Kaitlin rubs some people the wrong way and I wanted to make sure that you had no problems working with her," he explained.
"I've got no problems with her. Maybe you should ask her if she thinks I'm an asshole though."
Chester Baldwin laughed as he got up from his desk. He walked around to the front and sat down against it. "She has no problems with you, Michael. We've already discussed it. Go see her. She has your plane tickets and company credit cards. The reservations at the hotel have already been made."
It was with a little trepidation that I knocked on Katherine's office door; it always was the case. She had her head tilted down as she poured over paperwork. When she looked up her hazel eyes met mine. She smiled. This was a rare occurrence. I returned her smile, thinking that she looked pretty when her features softened.
"Come in, Michael," Kaitlin said. She dropped her pen and pushed herself away from her desk. "Chester said you'd be coming to see me."
"Yes. I guess we're going to Baltimore on Sunday," I said.
"Yeah... the Intersat account. That should be fairly straight-forward." Kaitlin reached into the top drawer of her desk and withdrew a plane ticket and credit card. She handed them to me. "I'll meet you at the airport at four o'clock. Here -- you'll be needing these."
"Okay, thanks. I'll see you then." I left Kaitlin's office, surprised by how short our meeting had been, but almost relieved.
###
That Sunday afternoon I wandered through the airport searching for Kaitlin. I was dragging my wheelie suitcase behind me and carrying a black case containing my company-assigned laptop over my shoulder. When I first spied Kaitlin at a distance sitting on a blue plastic chair I hardly recognized her. Instead of the usual drab, business-like attire she normally wore she was wearing a short-sleeved white floral dress and sandals. Her honey-blond hair hung loose over her shoulders, making her appear younger than she ever had at work. Although I did not know Katherine's actual age I had guessed her to be around my age -- a few years shy of thirty. When she saw me approaching she looked up and smiled.
"There you are. Our flight leaves in ninety minutes." Kaitlin's hazel eyes met mine and she smiled.
I would have been nearly mortified if my co-workers, especially the men, had have found this out, but at that moment when Kaitlin smiled up at me and our eyes met I felt my cock begin to stiffen.
"We should go get our boarding passes," I said, feeling uneasy.
I'm a nervous flier, to put it mildly. A few times a year I'll be assigned as art director for an job that involves flying to another city and I always dread it. If I can, I will take a train or rent a car rather than fly. Hell, walking would be preferable to flying. During our flight to Baltimore Kaitlin and I discussed the advertising campaign I had planned, including my ideas for the print ads and television spots. On my laptop I had mock-ups of how I wanted the finished product to look to show the client. I had already emailed them copies, but I wanted them to see them again and okay them on Monday before we shot even a single frame. I also planned to show them to Kaitlin later so she would be familiar with what I had planned in case the client asked her any questions.
About an hour into the flight I found myself less nervous and more preoccupied with Kaitlin sitting beside me. As we talked I found my eyes moving from hers down to her chest. It was then for the first time that I noticed her breasts. They appeared to be sizable handfuls judging by how they filled out the taut front of her dress. This was the first time that I was actually aware that Kaitlin had breasts. It's not like that discovery surprised me, but their size and attractive shape certainly did. The clothes she wore at work definitely had done a good job to conceal just how nice her body was. Once again, my cock began to swell and stiffen. At one point we encountered some turbulence and I noticed Kaitlin's firm mounds give a noticeable bounce beneath her dress. By the time our plane landed I was horny. It was the first time I actually enjoyed flying.
"Are you hungry?" Kaitlin asked as our cab took us to our hotel.
"I wasn't till you asked," I replied with a laugh.
"Let's grab something to eat after we check in," she suggested. "After that, I'd like to go over your mock-ups for the photo shoot tomorrow," she said.
"Sure. No problem."
By the time Kaitlin and I checked in at the hotel I was very hungry. She and I were given rooms next to one another and we headed directly to them. During the elevator ride up we agreed to meet back down in the hotel lobby in a half hour so we could go to the hotel's restaurant, after we each had a chance to freshen-up from our flight.
I was sitting on a leather sofa beside a large plastic plant in the lobby when I saw Kaitlin emerge from the elevator. As she strode towards me I wasn't sure if her gait was different than usual or my perception of her had changed. Whatever it was, I was taken with how her lithe body moved with each step she took. Her hair and breasts reacted to her movements and I found myself captivated as I watched her walk across the tiled floor. It was hard to believe that the enchanting young woman walking towards me was actually Kaitlin.
"Ready to eat?" Kaitlin asked.
I nodded, my mind still filled with somewhat lewd thoughts about my co-worker. "I'm starving," I mumbled.
Kaitlin and I made our way to the restaurant and found a table. I was hungry, but my desire for Kaitlin was also growing. When she began making conversation I was glad because it forestalled any awkward silence.
"So, how long have you been with the company anyway?" she asked.
"It will be three years next October."
Kaitlin nodded. "I'm coming up on two years, but I still feel like the new girl."
"Why's that?" I asked.
Kaitlin lowered her menu to her plate. Her eyes met mine and the right corner of her mouth turned up while she seemed to be thinking. "Let's just say I'm not going to be voted Miss Congeniality by the rest of the people in the office," she said with a frown.
