Part One
Pete was feeling very nervous. He was sat in a training room with four other new starters. They had just finished their training but Pete was struggling to remember anything that had been said over the last two weeks. This was his first "real" job and didn't want to screw it up. He was quickly flicking through his notepad, trying to make sense of anything he'd written. It might as well have been hieroglyphics.
Dave, who was sitting next to him, was not helping with the arrogant swagger of someone who oozed self-confidence. Something which Pete lacked and resented in the people who had it.
'Right guys, that's it. Your training is over. How are you all feeling?' asked Shelley, the chief trainer. 'I said it wasn't a very hard job.'
'Yeah, good,' Pete muttered as Shelley went around the room. He didn't think it was very fair having her as a trainer; full breasts and a shapely arse in a perfect hourglass figure made her very distracting, the only thing that put Pete off was that she was practically lacquered in fake tan.
'So when you go out onto the floor you'll be going into different teams to backfill for a few people who have left,' Shelley said. 'I was hoping they'd keep you all together but that's what the higher-ups have decided.' She hit a few keys on her laptop and a chart appeared on the screen showing everyone's names and places. 'Dave you'll be joining Team Julie. Pete, you are going to Team Dougal. Craig, it's Team Dan for you. Betty and Claire, you'll be joining Team Clarissa. So take a five-minute break and someone from your new teams will be along to show you to your desk.'
'You lucky bastard,' Dave said as the others bustled from the room.
'What do you mean?' Pete asked, confused as to what Dave meant.
'Team Dougal, you lucky git,' Dave said. 'All the fittest birds in this office are on that team. I sat with them when were listened to calls. They are all sexy as fuck. I'd have a hardon all day long working with that lot.'
'Do you always have to be so crude?' Pete asked, faking a laugh.
'Hey, I'm just trying to warn you,' Dave said, clapping Pete on the back. 'As soon as I can I'm going to try and switch teams.'
Right now Pete was more concerned with not getting sacked for incompetence. He felt at a real disadvantage compared to the others. He was only 18 and all the other trainees had done jobs like this before but for Pete, it was the first time.
After the break, they all reconvened in the training room. There was a brief bit of chat then a string of people came in to collect the new starters. Dave was introduced to an old harridan who looked more like a nun than an office worker. Others came and went until it was just Pete and Shelley left.
'I sent them a message,' Shelley reassured him. 'They'll be along in a minute. She probably got caught up on a call. It does happen.'
'As long as this isn't an elaborate way of saying I'm not good enough I don't mind the wait,' he said, trying to make it sound like a joke.
'Oh don't worry about that,' Shelley said. 'If you were crap I'd have kicked you out ages ago. You'll probably do the best out of all this lot.'
'You think so?'
'Sure, you have the advantage of not working anywhere like this before,' she said. 'You don't have any bad habits yet.'
Just then the door opened. 'Hi Shelley, sorry I'm late. A call overran,' said a woman as she entered. She crossed right over to Pete and offered him her hand. 'Hi, you must be Pete. I'm Nalini, nice to meet you.'
She looked young and Pete guessed she was only a little older than he was. She was obviously Indian or at least descended from Indians, given her Newcastle accent. Dave had been right about one thing. Nalini was sexy as fuck; she was slim and smouldered in a pencil skirt and white blouse, office sexy.
'Hi, yes, I'm Pete,' he said, banging into the table as he tried to stand to shake her hand without pushing out the chair.
'Pete's a little nervous 'cos this is his first real job,' Shelley said. 'You'll look after him won't you Nalini?'
'Of course,' she said, smiling. It was a beautiful smile, Pete noted, that lit up her face. 'Come on then, let's get you settled in.'
Nalini set a brisk pace as she led him through the warren of corridors from the training room to the main office. Pete was surprised she could walk for fast in that tight skirt and heels.
'Welcome to Team Dougal,' Nalini said as they reached a bank of desks in one corner of the office. 'The others are all on the phone so I'll introduce you when they get free. This will be your desk between me and Beth.'
On each bank of desks, there were four workstations on each side. His place as second from the end. As he sat down the lady on his right, Beth, waved and gave him a smile even though she was having a heated discussion on the phone with a customer. Again Dave's assessment was true. Beth was another beautiful lady. Older, but only in her 30s at best, and slightly more casually dressed than Nalini but fuller figured with some sexy curves.
'So this is Team Dougal,' Nalini said. 'But you'll quickly find that Dougal is hardly ever here so Alex is usually in charge. He's the one hiding in the corner.'
'I'm not hiding, Nalini,' Alex piped up, taking his headset off. 'I'm still sorting out Gemma's shit accounts.' He got up and walked around the bank. 'Hi, Pete, nice to meet you. Yes, Dougal isn't here so if you need anything managery then you can come to me.'
'Thanks, I feel like I don't really remember anything from training,' Pete admitted.
'Don't worry, everyone says that when they come out,' Alex laughed. 'We're all one big family over here, we'll make sure you do all right. Nalini will your buddy during your probation period. So feel free to bug her about anything and everything. Learn everything she can teach you.'
'Alex taught me everything I know, so if there are any gaps it's his fault,' Nalini said, bumping her shoulder into his. 'I'm happy to be your buddy though, I think we'll work well together.'
There was something strange to the way she said, buddy. Pete wasn't sure whether it was the accent but it seemed like Nalini was deliberately leaving out a word because there was always a brief pause when she said it.
'I can't wait to learn,' he said.
--
The week that followed flew by in a whirlwind. By Friday afternoon Pete felt drained both physically and mentally. He learned so much more than he did in training and was beginning to feel like he might actually be able to do the job.
It was all thanks to Nalini. She was such a kind and patient buddy. He was pretty sure that if it wasn't for her he'd have been a write-off. They had spent so much of the week together in close confines that it had been hard to hide his near constant erection. On an intellectual level, he knew it was just a crush but she was so beautiful that it was difficult not to be enthralled with her.