Corporate Revenge Pt 05

Author's Note: This story is a work of fiction and is based primarily on the fictional country of Nordland, a small island nation in the North Sea between the UK, Norway, and Denmark. All characters, events, and places described in this narrative are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All comments and feedback are welcomed.

HF

------

Wednesday morning slowly dawned over Nordhaven as the city started to come to life, the inhabitants rugged up against the cold, wintery weather. It had snowed the night before and the roofs of the buildings of the Nordland capital were covered in a light dusting of the white powder while the snow and sleet had turned to slush on the ground. Maybe we can open an oilfield in the desert, Astrid thought to herself as she hung up her coat and looked out the window of the office. Little chance of that, she mused, all those areas have been explored already.

Placing her bag next to her desk, she pulled out her laptop and placed it in the docking port on her desk. While it was warming up, she took a sip of water and pulled the rest of the files from her bag. She'd scanned them last night after Ingrid had gone to bed in preparation for the board meeting this morning. At least she'd woken up a little more refreshed than the previous day -- a brief, but intense, early morning session at the gym had woken her up and gotten her ready for the day ahead.

It was dark outside, and Ingrid was still asleep as Astrid had snuck out of the house in her gym gear. She'd kissed her beloved daughter on the forehead while she lay sleeping in her bed before heading out to the kitchen where Erik was brewing his morning coffee. They'd agreed for him to get Ingrid ready for school this morning so that Astrid was able to get to the gym and then to the office to prepare for the upcoming board meeting. They worked well as a team though Astrid noticed that Erik had seemed a little more quiet than usual the previous afternoon when he'd come home from work.

The gym session had certainly helped put her in the right frame of mind for the day ahead: a brisk warm-up, followed by a cardio blast with both a strength and core crusher set to follow. Wiping her face down with her towel, she looked at herself in the mirror of the workout area. The trim, toned figure with long, blonde hair, sparkling azure-blue eyes and pale, flushed complexion looked back at her. Heading to the female change room to shower and change into her work clothes, she pulled her tight-fitting workout attire from her body, dropping it into her bag before heading to the showers to freshen up.

Snacking on a protein bar, the thirty-eight year old woman had emerged from the change room half an hour later after a quick shower and changed into her work attire: a navy-blue knee-length A-line Hugo Boss skirt, a crisp white Theory blouse, a black blazer Burberry blazer along with a pair of black, knee-high Stuart Weitzman boots paired with black opaque stockings. To keep her warm in the chill Nordland winter, she wore her favorite Max Mara woolen coat along with a pair of leather Prada gloves and a burgundy cashmere scarf from Johnstons of Elgin. Given her predilection for exercising, she had worked out a very quick method to complete her hair and make-up in the change room. She now looked the very image of a successful Nordic professional woman -- a position she had worked hard to obtain as a key senior member of the North Sea Oil and Gas Corporation.

Placing the files down on her desk she glanced at the title of the one at the top of the pile: North Sea Initiative; the joint project with Horizon Energy that Marcus was working on. The thought of the Black man brought a little flutter to her stomach as she logged on to her computer, watching her inbox update with new emails. Astrid shook her head slightly -- do they ever end, she thought?

Sitting down at her desk, Astrid knew that her PA, Elin Bergqvist, would be in shortly to go through the day's calendar but she already knew that the board meeting this morning would likely dominate her day, leaving her precious little time to do any of her other work. Between the couple of hours she had taken off to fuck Marcus in his apartment on Monday afternoon, the discussions with the Texan investors yesterday that led into the social drinks with them in the North Sea Oil and Gas Corporation head office with other members of the C-suite and senior leaders in the corporation, not to mention the pile of emails that she still needed to work through, she felt like it was all getting too much.

As she slipped off her boots and replaced them with a pair of black Jimmy Choo Romy 85 suede pumps she extracted from her bottom drawer, Astrid reflected that it wasn't that she minded the workload; in fact, she worked better, much better, under pressure. It was that her mind was still torn over the implications of her on-going affair with Marcus. The events in his apartment on Monday afternoon had proven to be a watershed moment, the unleashing of her desires had pulled her into an intoxicating, and slightly unnerving, encounter with Marcus. She could still recall how she'd given over to her most base passions; begging him to fuck her harder with his stiff black cock, to cum inside her, to make her a snow-bunny. Less than a year earlier she would never have dreamt of saying or doing any of these things -- but a lot had changed in that period of time.

Her unwilling affair with Richard, a Black corporate executive from Horizon Energy, one of NSOG's corporate partners in the United States, who had blackmailed her into having sex with him as well as providing sensitive corporate information, had been the start of this journey for her. It had continued forward to her recent adventures in the Congo, securing a deal on behalf of the Nordland intelligence service, through to now and her burgeoning affair with Marcus, another young Black executive from Horizon Energy, working on a joint project with her Corporation.

Despite her acceptance of her newfound desires, part of her was still apprehensive about being unfaithful to her husband, Erik. She realized this was a natural reaction to what she was doing, especially as, deep down in her heart, she truly loved him. He was a good man, a loving husband and father; yet she couldn't resist the undeniable attraction between her and Marcus that had rapidly grown into an illicit and taboo relationship.

There was a soft knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Elin's smiling face. "Hi Elin," Astrid said, pushing the thoughts of her husband and black lover from her mind. "Hi Astrid...you're looking better this morning," her PA replied as she entered the office, her tablet in hand.

"Thanks...a better sleep last night and a good session at the gym this morning really helped," Astrid replied. Elin grinned at her boss. "I was going to ask if you wanted a coffee but perhaps water is better," she said, indicating at Astrid's water bottle on the desk.

Astrid gave a little laugh. "I'll be in the board meeting all morning, so I'll probably need a couple of cups to keep me going...especially when Karl starts on about his numbers..." she said with a grin, referring to the Corporation's Chief Financial Officer and his legendary attention to detail that he liked to share with others in meetings.

Elin smiled. "One long black coming up," she told Astrid. If only you knew how much I now like something else that's long and black, Astrid thought naughtily to herself. Elin glanced down at the tablet. "Ok, you've got the board meeting scheduled all morning. Then a gap after lunch, I'll keep that free for you to get any other work done. Then at two you have the Diversity and Inclusion meeting."

Astrid nodded and then glanced at the clock. "Ok, let me review the briefing pack one more time and then I'll head up to the boardroom." Elin turned and headed to the door. "I'll get you that coffee..."

Long and black, Astrid thought as Elin closed the door, the words reminding her of a certain part of Marcus's anatomy. She sat down at her desk and started to clear her email, prioritizing them, and quickly deleting the irrelevant ones. A moment later Elin returned with a steaming cup of coffee that Astrid gratefully accepted as she turned her attention from her emails to the briefing notes for the board meeting.

As much as she tried to focus on the notes, her mind kept returning to Marcus. He was like an addictive drug to her, his touch causing her to want more and more pleasure. It was a potent and slightly scary feeling but one that she knew she wanted to continue, despite the risk it posed to her marriage and career. She doubted very much that Anna Bergman, the CEO of the Corporation, would be impressed if she learnt that her star protégé was fucking a Black executive from another company.

Then there was the risk to her marriage to Erik -- it had been stable and solid for over a dozen years. Despite the numerous attempts from other men to get into her pants, she'd always rebuffed them. It had taken Richard Thompson, a Black executive from Horizon Energy, to get her drunk that had allowed her defenses to come down. She was grateful he was now dead; she still loathed him, aware that he had set her on this path, a path that had led to Marcus Harris, her current black lover.

Sighing softly, she leaned back in her chair, her eyes catching sight of a family photo on the wall; a picture of a perfect Nordic family -- her, Erik and their beautiful daughter, Ingrid. Was the passion worth the risk, she asked herself? Reluctantly, she was forced to conclude that it was. Every encounter with Marcus, or any of the other black men that she had slept with, further fanned the flames of interracial passion that now burned deep in her heart. Reluctantly, she realized that she knew of no way to extinguish them now.

With one last glance at the photo, Astrid stood up from her desk; collecting her phone and laptop, she straightened her shoulders and made her way to the door of her office, her face a picture of cool Nordic calm and poise. As she headed towards the lifts that would take her to the meeting, she greeted her colleagues as she passed them -- if only they knew what I'd been up to lately, she thought to herself.

As she entered the lift, she ticked off things from her mental to-do list, making sure that she was across not just her work issues, but also those of her family. There were several things that she needed to take care of: arranging the servicing of her car, the upcoming parent-teacher meeting, taking Ingrid shopping for a new dress for a friend's birthday party that was coming up. She quickly made a mental note to see if Erik would be able to take their daughter to the party -- at least that would give her some time to pop into the shops to take care of some shopping.

As she thought about Erik, she idly recalled that he had been particularly quiet the night before. She'd arrived home around 8.30pm from the social function to find him helping Ingrid get ready for bed. His responses to her questions had been perfunctory and he'd seemed distracted. Astrid had shrugged this off as work-related pressures and she made a note to ask him that evening if he was feeling ok.

Astrid arrived at the boardroom and greeted the other attendees, doing her best to push the thoughts of both her husband and black lover from her mind. She cursed herself; dammit, why can't I stop thinking about how good it is to fuck Marcus, she thought to herself? The events of Monday afternoon still loomed large in her mind, and she had to take a deep breath and a sip of water to center her thoughts in preparation for the meeting.

The rest of the attendees slowly filed into the room, greeting each other, and taking their seats as the prepared to start the monthly board meeting. As the VP for Strategic Initiatives, Astrid was well-versed in the corporate formalities that often dominated her scheduled meetings. Today was no exception and the meeting started on time with typical Nordic precision.

One by one, the board went through the agenda items as Astrid listened intently, absorbing the details, and developing ideas about how to incorporate the board's thoughts into her future initiatives. Sitting around her, the senior executives were engaged in a detailed discussion about the monthly results. Her turn to present was coming up next.

She shifted slightly in her seat, adjusting the hem of her tailored navy skirt, her mind racing ahead to the update she was about to deliver. But despite the importance of the meeting, her thoughts kept drifting back to Monday afternoon and to the intense, private encounter she had shared with Marcus. Focus, Astrid, focus, she thought to herself.

The meeting moved forward through the agenda, and Astrid did her best to focus herself back on the present. The Chairman of the Board, Harald Andersson, turned to her with a nod. Astrid couldn't recall a time when she'd ever seen him other than impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit. "Astrid, could you provide us with an update on the latest strategic initiatives?" he asked in a voice that echoed gravitas.

Astrid cleared her throat and sat up straighter, her demeanor professional and composed as she forced herself to focus. Time to deliver, she thought to herself. "Certainly, Mr. Andersson. Good morning everyone, as you are all aware, over the past quarter we've implemented several key initiatives aimed at enhancing our operational efficiency and expanding our market presence."

She clicked through her slides, presenting graphs and charts that depicted the corporation's progress across several key initiatives. "Firstly, our initiative to streamline the supply chain has resulted in a 12% reduction in costs. This was achieved by renegotiating contracts with suppliers and optimizing logistics."

The board members nodded approvingly, making notes as she spoke. "Secondly, we've launched a new training program for our on-site engineers, focusing on advanced safety protocols and new technologies. This has not only improved our safety record but also increased productivity by 8%."

"That's very impressive, Astrid," Harald noted as he nodded at Anna, the CEO of the Corporation. "Are we confident that this will continue?" he asked her.

Anna, looked startled for a moment as if her mind was elsewhere but she quickly recovered. "Yes, we believe so. We're continuing to refine our procedures in this area based on the feedback from staff and this should continue to deliver results at this level or better."

The Chairman nodded, pleased with the result. "Thank you. Astrid, please continue."

Astrid nodded, her blue eyes meeting Harald's briefly before she continued. "Of course; I'll now outline our progress on the digital transformation initiative."

She tapped her laptop, bringing up that part of the presentation on the large screen behind her. "Over the past few months, we've implemented several new technologies aimed at improving our data analytics capabilities. This has allowed us to optimize our drilling operations, resulting in a 15% increase in efficiency. Additionally, we've integrated a predictive maintenance system that has reduced equipment downtime by 20%."

The board members nodded approvingly, their attention fixed on Astrid. She continued, "We've also made significant strides in our sustainability efforts. Our recent partnership with Horizon Energy on the North Sea Initiative has been particularly fruitful. We've launched a pilot project as part of this Initiative for carbon capture and storage, which has the potential to reduce our carbon footprint by 30% over the next five years."

Harald interjected, "That's excellent news, Astrid. Can you provide more details on the collaboration with Horizon Energy?"

"Certainly," Astrid replied, shifting to the next slide. "The collaboration with Horizon Energy will involve extensive research and development efforts. We've combined our resources to develop a cutting-edge carbon capture technology as a subset of the broader North Sea Initiative. This technology has the potential to not only captures carbon dioxide emissions from our drilling operations but also convert them into useful by-products, such as building materials and synthetic fuels."

She paused to let the information sink in, then continued, "Moreover, we've established a joint task force with Horizon Energy to explore additional renewable energy projects. This includes the development of offshore wind farms beyond the scope of the North Sea and the further integration of solar power into our existing infrastructure."

One of the board members, a senior executive named Leif, leaned forward and asked, "Astrid, can you elaborate on how these initiatives will impact our financial performance?"

Astrid smiled, anticipating the question. "Absolutely, Leif. The digital transformation initiative alone is projected to save us approximately 50 million Euros annually through increased efficiency and reduced maintenance costs. The sustainability projects, while initially capital-intensive, are expected to provide long-term financial benefits through regulatory incentives and reduced carbon taxes. Additionally, our enhanced reputation as a leader in sustainable energy practices is likely to attract new investors and partners."

Astrid continued, detailing further initiatives designed to harness renewable energy sources and improve environmental sustainability across the respective North Sea Oil and Gas business units. Her voice was steady, each word carefully chosen to convey competence and confidence in her abilities. Yet, even as she spoke, a part of her mind wandered back to the intimate moments she had recently shared with Marcus.

Somewhat to her shock, her body responded to the memory involuntarily even as she presented to the board, a subtle warmth spreading through her. She could almost feel Marcus's hands on her skin, the way he had looked at her with such raw desire. She shifted again, crossing her nylon covered legs in an attempt to quell the rising tide of arousal.

Doing her best to push these thoughts from her mind, Astrid continued her presentation, detailing the expansion of offshore drilling operations in the North Sea and the partnerships with leading tech firms around the globe. The board members listened attentively, their expressions serious and engaged. Astrid moved on to the topic of workforce development and inclusivity, aware of the significance of this particular initiative to the senior leadership team of the Corporation.

"And, lastly, this afternoon," she continued, "I'll be meeting with the Diversity and Inclusion working group from my team to discuss our latest efforts to enhance diversity within the corporation. We're working on several initiatives to promote a more inclusive workplace, which I believe will be crucial for our long-term success."

Harald jotted another note. "Can you outline some of these initiatives?"

Astrid's pulse quickened slightly as she recalled the notes from the report the Diversity and Inclusion working group had provided. She took a deep breath and continued, "Certainly. As part of our commitment to fostering a more inclusive workplace, we've exploring several new initiatives aimed at increasing diversity within our organization. One of the key strategies we're looking to implement is targeted recruitment efforts focused on minority groups, particularly within the skilled migrant population in Nordland."

She glanced around the table, noting the attentive expressions of her colleagues. "We're exploring options to partner with local universities and community organizations to identify and attract top talent from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, we're examining way to establish suitable mentorship programs to support the professional development of underrepresented employees," she told the board, recalling the points contained in the report prepared by her team.