Jennifer awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. The fact that her head was a little clouded from what must have been a fairly serious drinking session didn't help matters. She raised her head and surveyed her surroundings. The sight of lots of little empty spirit bottles, scattered around her on the bed, began to jog her memory. Her flight had gotten in the previous night and she had checked into this hotel, which her company had booked for her. As she had arrived in the early hours, the bar had been closed, and that led to her ruthless attack on the mini-bar. Now aware of her situation, she knew she had to prepare for work, so she crawled from beneath the covers and got into the shower.
As the warm, soothing water washed over her body, Jennifer began thinking about her day ahead in Head Office. Her company, CJT Industries, was in the business of site and property development and expansion, and had many offices in various regions around the country. Jennifer had worked in one of the smaller regional offices for a few years now, and had recently been promoted to the position of manager. This meant that she was now obliged to make frequent business trips to Head Office with the other regional managers to engage in often pointless board meetings with the senior partners. This was another of those business trips, and as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair, she hoped the day would go quickly so she could get as early a flight home as possible. Deciding to not think about work any further until she reached the office, Jennifer turned off the shower and grabbed a towel.
As she dried herself, she caught a glimpse of her form in the full-length mirror that stood in the corner. She let the towel slide down her smooth body, and took a better look at herself. Her shoulder-length black hair framed the soft features of her face. She knew her face was probably her most attractive feature. However, as she looked at her virtually uncovered body she was slightly surprised at how good her shape looked. Her breasts weren't very big, but they were perky and suited her 5ft 5" frame. The amount of jogging she did at home gave her a very trim and tight stomach and also shaped her legs nicely. She turned to the side, still eyeing herself, and was impressed by her tight little ass. Jennifer flexed her cheeks playfully to emphasise their perky quality.
Feeling good about herself she decided to put on her short skirt instead of the trousers she had intended to wear. She added some heels and white blouse, to be topped off later by her jacket, and again looked at herself in the mirror. "Damn, I look good!" she thought, somewhat excitedly. The outfit really made her look and feel incredibly sexy, but still had that professional look she needed for mixing with senior management.
Just then she noticed a mark on her ankle, and she bent over to examine it closer. It turned out to be just a bit of dust that she easily wiped off, but before she straightened up she again caught her image in the mirror. "Well, hello there!" she purred to the reflection of her perfect, bent-over figure. Jennifer had never realised how flattering this skirt was to her ass, especially when she was bent over like this. She thought about how a man would react to seeing her like this and it excited her. She began to wonder if she'd have the courage to tease a guy by bending over in front of him like this, and started to feel a little aroused. She considered touching herself and bringing herself to a quick orgasm while she looked in the mirror, but realised she didn't have time, so she just laughed and smiled to herself as she finished getting ready. On her way out of the room she jokingly thought about taking that magical mirror with her, but managed to leave the room and check out before she thought too seriously about it.
The day in Head Office went very well for Jennifer. During the morning she attended a couple of meetings and senior management told her they were pleased with the work she had done since her promotion. She spent some time collaborating on some of the projects of the other regional managers, in an effort to mix well and make a further positive impression while she was in Head Office. She was due for one final board meeting, and then she would be finished for the day, and she could get her flight home.
However, this meeting didn't go as well as she had hoped. It turned out that one of the senior partners, Ian Johnson, was expecting an important report from Jennifer on one of the biggest projects she was heading. This was news to Jennifer. The Wolfburg report was not due for another two weeks and she had barely started on it. Even though most of the other managers knew this, they kept their mouths shut so as not to engage in confrontation with the fearsome Johnson. Jennifer knew she would not be able to argue with him on her own, so it soon became apparent that she was going to have to stay late, complete the report, and get a flight in the early hours. She accepted the decision professionally, but she was seriously pissed off that she had not gotten any support from any of the other eight regional managers who knew the truth. She looked across the table at one of them in particular. His name was Matt McCarthy. He was one of Johnson's favourites and Jennifer knew that he could have explained the situation easily to the old man, and then she wouldn't be facing the prospect of this late shift.
As everyone left the boardroom, Jennifer noticed that Matt was making his way over to her. He caught up with her in the corridor, and offered his olive branch. "Hey, everybody knows the truth. We all know that the report wasn't due for two weeks at least. But with Johnson being such a prick recently, no one wanted to say anything."
Jennifer wasn't impressed. She knew McCarthy was the one Johnson was grooming for greatness in the firm. The rumours were that McCarthy would be offered a partnership within the next 2 years. Jennifer stopped and turned. "I can understand everybody else being too scared to speak up, Matt, but you have Johnson in your pocket," she said. "You could have cleared me with that charm you always use on the old man. Everybody knows you can get whatever you want from him. In fact, some of us are starting to wonder if you are 'working' for Johnson outside of office hours!" Jennifer smirked. Nobody thought that, but it had become a bit of an in-joke between some of the managers.
Matt smiled. "I know everyone thinks Johnson favours me over the other managers, but it's not true. I know when I closed some of those big deals a couple of years ago, particularly the Dillon account, Johnson was impressed and took an interest in my progress. But recently I haven't been doing as well and the big guy doesn't treat me any differently than you or anyone else."
Jen was surprised. "But you're working on the Ardiden project! Johnson wouldn't give that to just anyone."
Matt looked a little bit sheepish. "Maybe some years ago, but the Ardiden project has had some serious problems, and most of the backers have pulled out. Everybody still thinks it's a big deal, and that's the way Johnson wants to keep it, but it's no bigger than anything that you're working on right now."
Feeling quite stunned, Jennifer had to ask him straight out. "So you're saying that all the rumours about you making partner in the next 2 years aren't true?"
