She was the perfect vision of carnal innocence. There she stood naked, bathed in the white light of the window, leaning against the footboard of the bed. The entire morning had been a dream come true for Jack. Now exhausted, he tried to control his heavy breathing while he thought about the first time they had met.
"Excuse me. Excuse me, you're Jack, Jack Munroe, aren't you?" The question came from a small pert, brunette who accosted him as he tried to enter his office. There was urgency in her approach. "Excuse me, I'm Marie Burns. I've been assigned, by head office, to help with the FSA's and I need to set up some appointments with you."
Jack knew all about the FSA's and he was not impressed. The Future Sales Assessment program was designed to keep sales growth and earnings on track. However, there was one problem. It worked well for the stores located in the big malls and in the thriving urban centers, but his store was located in the inner city. The FSA program would not and did not work for his store. He informed management that the program did not represent the buying patterns of his store's clientele and that had not made him popular. Now it appeared that senior management had sent Marie Burns to ensure that the sales assessment program was implemented properly.
His working relationship with Marie was a pleasant surprise. They worked well together. Jointly they found ways to maintain the popular product lines, introduce the new items that their clientele could afford to buy, and continue to maintain the store's high public profile. Jack's store had in the past been involved in many community projects. With Marie's help, the store participated in even more. She helped implement a reading program in a neighbourhood school. Sales in the children's book section doubled. Together they organized a community CPR program that was run out of the school's gymnasium. As a result, pharmaceutical sales increased. While management was not happy with the sales figures on the new upscale products, they could not argue with the enhanced image the store had in the community. The media coverage the store received further helped to increase traditional merchandise sales. Marie and Jack were making it work.
It began innocently enough with a piece of chocolate. Marie had brought a report to Jack's office along with a chocolate bar. At the end of their discussion, Marie had broken off a piece and held it up to his lips. He had opened his mouth to accept the offering and for a fleeting instant, her fingers touched his tongue and gently caressed his lips. The contact was electrifying. Jack gazed into her brown eyes and received a broad, sly smile. After a brief second, Marie turned and was gone.
The flirtations continued and intensified over the next few weeks. With each touch by the water cooler, risqué comment by the photocopier, or knee contact under the conference table, Jack's interest in the woman increased. Marie was in his thoughts almost constantly and she seemed to be enjoying the game as much as he was.
The task of finding accommodation for the FSA senior management review team had been assigned to Jack. He had sought Marie's advice. The next day she had entered his office with the latest sales results and a list of possible hotels. As usual, there had been no place for a visitor to sit in the small office. Both guest chairs were overflowing with files.
Marie sat on the edge of his desk and placed the spreadsheets before him. She was casually dressed in jeans, a heavy cardigan, and a simple wide collared, 4-button blouse. As they spoke, she played with the top button. She leaned forward over the desk to point out some important information on the spreadsheet. With her pencil, she drew his attention to the most recent sales figures. As she did, Jack was greeted to a gaping view of her small pert breasts.
She said coyly. "Here are some items that perhaps you have not thought about before. Perhaps we could..."
