Chapter 122: Mistake 002

"I'm SO sorry about this, Doug. I knew they were rushed, and I--"

"I know, I know, I'm sure you're sorry, and I have no doubt that you won't let that happen again. But the missing data meant that Miller had to re-file, past the deadline, and they incurred some heavy fees. About $140,000."

Ginny's eyes bulged. Fuck. That was over twice her salary. The Miller Corporation was probably 20% of her firm's business. If they were to lose an account like that due to her stupid mistake, she could kiss this job goodbye. FUCK. She was 43 years old, and had worked here since she was in her late twenties. Her husband Mark had just changed careers and took a big pay cut. Their daughter was in college, and their aggressive refinance last year had bumped up the mortgage payments considerably. Ginny made good money for an office manager, and with her salary they'd be fine. But without it, they were screwed.

"Is Miller going to...?" She trailed off.

"Are we going to lose the account? No. Our board met yesterday about this. We've compensated them partially in future fee reductions, and I'm doing a couple of other things for them...the details aren't important, but I took care of them, and they're satisfied with the solution. But Ginny..." Doug sighed and stood up behind his desk.

"Ginny, I'm not fond of delivering bad news to people, but I guess I have to ask you to read this." He grabbed hold of his monitor, and carefully managing the cord, turned it around to face her, then slid it toward her a little. She saw it was opened to an email, but still couldn't read it. She stood up and leaned on the huge desk to get close enough to read the email, which was sent by Dan Greaves (whom she'd always hated) to Doug and the rest of the board. Doug walked around the desk and paced a little as she read.

"Ginny, Dan has asked that you be dismissed, and several of the board members are in agreement with him. I know you and Dan don't like each other, and I know this could be at least partially a vendetta,"--(several years ago Ginny had called out Dan on a lot of extra 'vacation' time he'd been submitting, and Dan had been reprimanded)--"but the truth is, this was a serious fucking fuck-up, and people lose their jobs all the time for less than this."

She was near tears. This was the end for her here. Still leaning at the edge of Doug's desk, Ginny collapsed her head into her arms on the slick wood surface, trying not to cry. Doug was still talking, pacing behind her.

"I don't exactly have a free hand to do whatever I want here, Ginny. I know this was a mistake, I know it's not the kind of thing you do very often, and I personally don't want to fire you. But Dan's on a tear, and he's got some important people on his side. Now, I've been the CEO long enough, and have enough people in my own court, that I might be able to overrule Dan. But I'd be calling in some favors, and I'd end up owing some favors of my own."

She pulled up her head, but kept leaning on the desk, pretending to look at the email from Dan Greaves. Doug approached the desk and stood right next to her, so close that their hips touched.

"Ginny, I can save your job. But it wouldn't be without cost to myself. I'm willing to go out on a limb for you, but I would want you to do something for me in return." Doug spoke quietly, deliberately, and she could feel his weight push in on her just slightly.

Instantly Ginny went from almost crying to being indignant. She stood up straight and walked around to the other side of the chair, putting a few feet between her and Doug. She spoke slowly and evenly: "What exactly are you saying to me, Doug? Because it sounds like you are proposing something that could get you and your company sued. It SOUNDS like you are sexually harassing me. I could almost swear you were on the verge of saying 'I can save your job, Ginny, if you'll just fuck me.' I really hope that's not where you were going, Doug."

Doug looked nervous. He put his hands in his pockets and went back to pacing. He seemed several times to be about to speak, but stopped himself. Not knowing what else to do, Ginny simply waited. Finally, Doug went back to his chair behind his desk and sat down. He started talking, but he couldn't look at her. His eyes darted around the room.

"Ginny, I'm not asking you have sex with me. This is just a bad situation, and I-- I see a way we can...I don't know. OK, I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I have been attracted to you since...forever. I...fantasize about you when--I mean, you are a VERY attractive woman. I would LOVE to have sex with you, OK? OK, so I've said it. I can't stop watching you, some days I can't stop thinking about you. But I know you're married, and I respect you, and I have always found you to be an asset to the firm, and have just set that attraction aside."

Now Ginny had something entirely new to occupy her mind. What a fucking day! If Doug had ever given the slightest indication that he was attracted to her, she had missed it entirely; and she didn't miss shit like that. So he must be pretty adept at covering up what he was feeling and thinking. For her part, Ginny had not once thought about Doug that way. He was not unappealing as men go. He had a nice smile, was obviously smart, and kept himself in good shape. Almost too good...he was very lean and muscular. Which, to be truthful, just wasn't her type. He was a little too image-conscious for her taste. Not to mention ten years younger. It simply wasn't something she'd thought about. And now he was telling her that HE thought about HER that way all the time.

"--and, so, ultimately...to be completely honest, yes, you're right. I'm being inappropriate here. I've thought about this a lot, and I kept changing my mind about it. But in the end, I just decided I had to try...I just really want to see you...to touch you. Kiss you? I know, this is fucking insane. And I know, how is it any different from asking you to actually have sex with me?"

"It isn't."

"Right. I know that. And I know I'm risking not only losing you as an employee, but also getting my company into a lot of trouble. And I don't want that, obviously. I'm just...you are nearly irresistible sometimes, Ginny, and this Miller thing just put it into my head that maybe I could--look, I'm a guy, OK? I'm a fucking pervert. Let me just put the cards on the table here. You're hot. I get an accidental glimpse down your shirt, or a button comes undone, or you bend over to get something out of the bottom file cabinet, and it's 2 minutes until I'm here in my office with the door locked, jerking off, and when I cum, I imagine I'm spraying it all over your tits, or your ass."

Despite the gamut of emotions she'd experienced this morning Ginny let out a small involuntary moan at that. She hoped Doug hadn't heard. She'd sat back down while he talked, and now she squirmed just a tiny bit in her chair, feeling warm.