Airtight is a continuation story from my Coke and Friends series:
"Coke Makes Everyone Cum"
"Lilly Wants a Baby"
"Chad's Choice"
"Denise's Descent"
Airtight can be read standalone, but may be more enjoyable after reading the others in the series.
*****
Denise Longly sat at the small round table in the Human Resources Director's office. Nancy Jenkins, the H.R. Director, and Denise's boss, Darren Davis, sat opposite her. They didn't look happy. Darren shuffled his feet, wringing his hands, then looked up.
"Might as well just get to it," he said, gruffly. "Did you have sex with a customer named Ray West?"
"What?" Denise's stomach clenched. "What business is my personal life to you?" She looked at Nancy. "He can't ask me questions like that, can he? Isn't this sexual harassment?"
Nancy's face darkened. "It's a valid question. We had a complaint that you are trading sexual favors for good reviews from your customers to get ahead. This is a very serious charge."
"I did NOT trade sexual favors for anything!" Eyes wide, Denise looked from Nancy to Darren and then back. "Who told you that?"
"You know we can't reveal the name of the whistleblower, Denise," Darren said. "Please answer the question."
"Why? Is there a policy stating who I can and cannot see on my own time?" Denise was getting defiant. How dare they even ask this question?
"We shouldn't need a policy about this sort of ..." Darren started but Nancy cut him off.
"Yes. Yes there is a policy that states quite clearly that fraternizing with customers beyond the scope of business is not allowed. It is there to protect the reputation of Symtec from being destroyed by people like you," Nancy said with heat in her eyes. She leaned forward. "Now answer the question, and do not lie to us, Denise, it will go much worse for you if you lie."
Denise was taken aback. She sat, stunned, for several seconds and then she nodded. "Yes, I had sex with Ray West, but it was not to curry favor or to ruin Symtec's precious reputation."
Nancy sat back in her chair, looking over at Darren, waiting. Darren's shoulders slumped. When he looked up at her she saw sadness in his eyes. She glanced over at Nancy, sitting there with a smug look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Denise. You were good at your job, but this crosses a line we can't ignore. We're not Daltech, and I for one am happy about that. Symtec's reputation is precious. It is what we have built this business on. Reputation, good service, and excellent products are what keep the doors open. You have sullied our reputation by your actions and we must respond to that."
"So, what does that mean? A demotion? A cut in pay?" Denise asked, fearing the answer.
"We're letting you go effective immediately," Darren shook his head. "I'm sorry. I have no choice."
Nancy stood up and handed a cardboard box to Denise. "A security officer is waiting outside to escort you to collect your personal belongings." The H.R. Director actually smiled as she waited for Denise to take the box.
Forty minutes later, Denise parked her car off Las Colinas Boulevard near Lake Carolyn. She and Chad, her ex-fiancé, used to come here. That was before she'd met Ray; before she'd fallen from being the 'good' girl to whatever she was now.
She walked along the paved track that ran near the shore. When she'd met Ray, she immediately crushed on him, hard. Inexplicably, he'd invaded her dreams and her fantasies. Then he'd taken her to a concert and he, with his wife, had seduced her. It hadn't been hard, she admitted. Before she knew it, she'd become involved in their lifestyle. They hadn't forced her, or even pressured her, but somehow they drew her in. Along the way she discovered that her parents and sister were already living in the lifestyle as well. It had all been too much and she fell from her pedestal. As the saying goes, the higher you are the harder you fall.
When she told Chad of her affair with Ray, he'd broken off the engagement. He hadn't been angry, just disappointed. Denise thought he knew before she told him and had already worked through the anger, but she wasn't sure. He'd just asked her for his ring back and then walked away. She tried to talk to him. She'd called him and begged to just talk, over and over, but he never relented. All he would say was that she'd lied to him and he could never trust her again.
Now she realized she'd lied to herself too, had been lying to herself her whole life. Funny how you can tell yourself a lie so often that you believe it is true. She'd told herself, she was a one man woman since her earliest childhood. Now she knew that was a lie. She had been shown a different way and she could never return to Neverland.
At a table outside a small restaurant that featured patio dining she saw him. Chad was sitting, drinking iced tea, facing her direction. He didn't see her. His attention was on a woman sitting across from him, but his posture was defensive, one arm across his chest. She stopped, watching him for a moment. He was a handsome man, for sure. Rugged good looks, broad hairy chest, thick arms; she remembered how it felt to be held by him and her already pained heart flared with new hurt. The woman across from him had her back to Denise, but she looked full figured, not fat, but not small. Her blouse had a low back that exposed most of her wide shoulders. Freckles speckled her back. Denise started to go talk to Chad. If she went up to him, he would have to talk to her, unless he made a scene.
What would she say? Stopping, she contemplated the internal question. As she stood there, dithering, the woman reached across the table and touched Chad's arm. He didn't pull back from her and his face softened. As she stroked his arm, he smiled. His smile wasn't happy, though, it was a sad smile. Suddenly it occurred to Denise that if she talked to him, she would only hurt him more. She couldn't tell him the only thing that would make him happy. If she did, he wouldn't believe her anyway. She'd lied to him. She'd destroyed the best thing in her life. Turning, she walked back to her car.
Sitting in the driver's seat, tears streamed down her face. For the first time in a very long time, she felt completely lost. She'd fucked up bad. She'd cheated on her fiancé, something she'd swore she would never do, and she'd been fired; her career destroyed. All because she allowed Ray West to seduce her. She felt like the biggest fool in the world. Seeing Chad had hurt so bad, but worse than her pain at seeing him was the pain she saw in him. How could she have done that to him? Her tears became sobs.
Finally, the sobs exhausted themselves and she stopped crying. Looking around she hoped no one had seen her. There wasn't anyone looking at her, or even in her direction. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove. Aimless at first, she eventually turned toward the house she shared with her sister, Carla. Carla was out of town at some conference and wouldn't be home again until late Saturday. It was just as well, Denise didn't want to be around anyone right then anyway.
Sitting in her quiet house, television off, lights off, she cried some more. She should be working on her resume, she knew, but she didn't have the will to do that right now. She stared at the cup of hot tea she'd made when she got home, but didn't drink. How could she have let it go this far? Her tea grew cold, but she didn't notice. She just sat there, staring blankly, with tears streaming down her face, and emotional agony filling her heart.
Her phone rang. Glancing down at it, sitting on the coffee table beside her cold tea, she saw that it was Ray West. Punching 'Decline' she shook her head. Ray was the last person she wanted to talk to just then. After a few minutes, her phone rang again. Ray again. Again she declined the call. Two more times he called, each a few minutes apart. Each time she declined the call. Ten minutes after Ray's last call her phone rang again. This time it was Jill West, Ray's wife. She declined that call too, and the next four calls from Jill after that. Finally she picked up her phone and turned it off.
At noon she finally stirred. She turned her laptop on and sat in front of it, watching it boot. An hour later she had her resume updated and ready to go. After being fired from Symtec, she didn't know if anyone would hire her, but she had to try. Visions of having to work in retail for minimum wage filled her head and tears threatened to fall again. She printed her resume, intending to proof read it again, and wandered back over to the couch. Just before she sat down, the doorbell rang.
"What now?" Denise tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling.
