Chapter Nine
I felt him get out of bed, and the sudden cold on my still cum-wet ass cheeks. I didn’t look at the time, assuming it was too early to be awake. When I heard the shower turn on, I pulled the covers up to sleep a little more. I wasn’t even hung over yet. Or, if I was, it didn’t hurt that bad.
Alec was dressed and ready when he woke me up.
“We’re gonna be late, man, c’mon. Get up,” he said, shaking my shoulder.
When I threw the covers off, exposing my nudity, and morning wood, he looked away. “Hurry up, man.” Was all he said as I padded to the bathroom.
He was sitting on the edge of the unused bed when I got out. Not even on his phone. Just staring at the floor. I dressed in silence, then returned to the bathroom to finish my routine. Once I was presentable, he looked at me, but not before.
“We need to talk,” he said like he’d finish the sentence with you’re fired.
I sat on the other bed, facing him. “What’s up?”
I knew he’d want to talk about it. He needed postmortems about trips to the bathroom. A discussion about fucking his subordinate in the ass was expected. His face and tone, not so much.
“I am very sorry for last night. Not only was that unacceptable behavior on my part as your manager and colleague, but as a person. We should not have had sex at all, but my domineering attitude was well beyond the pale. It will not happen again. If you need to speak to someone about it, I will not stop you. I’ll accept any decision they make, and the consequences that it brings. ”
My laugh wasn’t real and much too high-pitched, but I couldn’t believe what he said.
“Alec, are you for fucking real right now? This again? Like seriously!? We fucked. It happened. I clearly wanted it. What the actual fuck?”
That did not assuage him. If anything, it made his resolve harder.
“That’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have gotten that drunk. I shouldn’t have hit on you at the event. I shouldn’t have sex with you. And above all, I should not have treated you that way.”
I rolled my eyes so hard they hurt. “Oh my fucking god, Alec! Stop! I liked it, you liked it, we’re both single. Give it a fucking rest, bro. JE-sus.”
His eyes tensed. “No, I will not give it a rest. I fucked you like some piece of meat last night. You’re my Jr. Rep. That’s such a bad look. I… I don’t need to tell you.”
“I am your Jr. Rep., and I was just following the boss’s orders last night,” I said in a more than wayward attempt to be funny, sexy, or both.
His nostrils flared, and his eyes tightened. “It’s not fucking funny, Blackwood.”
Hearing him call me by my last name, in that tone, brought me back to the night before, and my cock tingled.
Was that my new normal? Would his sway over me be that powerful forever?
Because the harder he glared, the more aroused I was.
Maybe I really did want to be his sexual plaything, used for his pleasure, and told how much of a good boy I was for it.
That was so unlike who I thought I was, it made my head hurt.
I flushed and stumbled on my words. “I, uh… I know, sir—I mean Alec! I wasn’t trying to be funny to make light of it, just saying you’re making a bigger deal than needed.”
Alec saw my reaction and had his own. His cheeks got red, and his breath caught. My arousal for him caused his own for me—a self-sustaining cycle bound to end in more ass-fucking. Something neither of us wanted that morning.
He softened. “You don’t need to call me that. It was weird but kinda hot when we were drunk. Now it’s just weird.” He chuckled.
“Sorry,” I said with a smile and a chuckle. “Kinda slipped out there.”
“Figured as much.” He patted my knee like a coach, telling his player better luck next time.
“Maybe it’s not as big a deal as I’m making it.
It was fucking fun.” He looked away and smirked with half his mouth.
“Best sex of my life. And honestly,” his cheeks went red again, “it was hot as hell. The whole sir thing and telling you what to do. Got me off hard.”
“Yeah, I didn’t hate it,” I said, but I thought I might just hate loving it. “It’s not. We’re adults. Both single. No one needs to know. I trust that you’re not gonna get weird with me at work, and you know I couldn’t use you to advance my career if I tried. Not a big deal.”
“Those are good points,” he said, his smile creeping into his eyes. “But it can never happen again. Understand, Blackwood?”
Damn. More than a tingle. My cock got half hard. The smile, the drop in octave, and my last name were potent aphrodisiacs coming from him.
“No, sir. Never again.”
His eyes tensed, but his smile remained. “Good.” The unsaid boy lingered on his lips. “I’m serious, Blackwood.”
“I know. I am, too.”
“Good boy.”
◆◆◆
I didn’t see Alec for hours. I wasn’t supposed to; we had different schedules, but I missed him. More than I’d miss a friend I came to a party with. Before we parted, we discussed our plans for the day on the way to meet our coworkers.
“They’re gonna want to go to the networking event again tonight,” he said.
“Yeah? And?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to drink again? Can’t trust you all liquored up. Can’t trust myself either.”
“Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess.”
“We’ll go, but not drink, and head in early. Sound good?”
I know what I wanted to say. He knew, too, and looked at me over his shoulder. A warning not to. I nodded, so did he.
Right before we were within earshot of our colleges, he said, “I'm serious, Blackwood. Never again.”
“Yes, sir.”
Conferences are dull, as a rule. Because I was so new to the industry, I was on a learning track.
Speeches and presentations meant for customers.
The group that put the conference on was composed of a few prominent small players in the space.
Everything I sat through was a veiled slight at the Silicon Valley giants, who dominated the market.
Look, I believe in every product I’ve ever sold, up to the point that I need to so I can sell it.
If I hadn’t worked at FinCrest, I might have never thought about financial or accounting software.
Do I think Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and the rest make shitty products?
Not as much as those presenters, that’s for damn sure.
Do I speak about FinCrest’s software suites as if they’re the custom-tailored Parisian suit compared to Microsoft’s Walmart discount jeans? Damn fucking right, I do.
I saw Alec for the first time after meeting with the broader team for dinner. He was normal. We were normal. It was a normal working dinner. Some ordered a beer with their meal, but most didn’t. I didn’t. I was tired. Listening to hours of pontification drained me.
Alec wasn’t. He was just as alive and vibrant as ever.
I sat across from him, a front-row seat to the show.
We were both in sales, and damn good at our jobs.
When pitching or closing, I was just as on and engaged.
Alec was rarely off. It wasn’t the first time I watched him perform in all his glory, but it felt different sitting there with a sore butt.
More than anything, Alec paid attention.
And remembered. He knew what he was talking about and did so with confidence, but it was the same with people.
Alec could remember minor details of a person’s life after having met them once and then bring them up in perfect context.
He didn’t do it to win points or look good.
He was curious and cared about things and people. More than I did, anyway.
He was funny, too, with a humor that takes deep intelligence to master.
An observation or turn of phrase that would earn a chuckle from someone else got a roar for Alec.
Put those skills together, and he could master a crowd.
Laughing, heartfelt, yet individualized enough to come away thinking he was speaking only to you.
My butt hurt more at dinner than it had the rest of the day.
Most likely because it pulsed with my heartbeat, elevated by the man who made it sore.
Also, taking time to observe him in that new context.
There were so many parts of him, so many facets.
He was dazzling, like a diamond. Brilliant in the sun, but just as shiny in the dark.
“You good?” Alec asked as we walked over to the event.
“Yeah. Yup. Why?”
“You were quiet at dinner. I can tell when something’s brewing up there.” He dropped his voice, but not his smile. “And I saw you wince when you sat down.”
“Just tired. Boss kept me up late last night.”
Before we walked in, he smirked with half his face, shook his head, and said, “Never again, Blackwood. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, sir.”
We weren’t the only ones from our company who skipped the drinks that night. No one batted an eye when we said we were heading in an hour later, or why we left together.
My chest slammed into Alec’s arm as we were about to round the corner to the elevator bank. I nearly tripped over him and dropped my phone in the middle of a text.
“What the fuck, bro?” I said.
Alec’s finger was to his lips, and his eyes were wide. They beckoned mine to follow across the elevator lobby. There was CompComm’s new VP of Global Technology.
“Holy fuck!” I mouthed.
I saw the glint in his eyes. It reminded me of the night before, but also when we were about to walk into a difficult pitch. I blamed my hormones for not making the connection sooner.
“Follow my lead,” he mouthed, as if there was anything else I’d do.
As he started walking, he said in his most professional voice, and loud enough for her to hear, “That’s exactly the point.
With a faster launch time, twenty-four-seven tailored support, and a software suite designed by hand to meet each customer’s unique needs, there’s no way the big guys can compete with FinCrest.”
The VP was on her phone, unaware of our existence.