Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 10:01:53 -0800 (PST) From: Orrin Rush Subject: Corporate Headquarters 4 Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page. CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS Copyright c 2000 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved. Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed electronically or in any other manner without the express, written consent of the author. All rights are retained. SILICON VALLEY - Part 2 I browsed several art galleries, but didn't see anything I couldn't live without, my criteria for an art purchase. After an hour or two of this, I realized my heart wasn't really in it. All I could think about was Ted. I found a bench by the water and tried to analyze my feelings. I was no stranger to one-night stands, but usually forgot them, and the guy, by noon the next day, if not by breakfast. Ted was different. He held some attraction that I couldn't pinpoint. Hell I barely knew him, much less anything about him. He was good in bed, granted, but not fantastic, and I only had one blowjob to judge even that! Why was I obsessing over this guy, mooning around like a schoolgirl? My thoughts moved on to Mike and Joe. I wondered what was happening. If things hadn't gone well, I'm sure I would have heard from one or both of them. On the other hand, they might be so totally pissed at me that I wouldn't even have a job when I got back. Anything could be happening. Carmel is lovely, but I don't want to be there, I concluded. Might as well go home and face the music. If, for some strange reason, Mike and Joe were still at my place, I could get a motel. Neither of their BMW's were in evidence when I got back. Not being suicidal, though, I knocked first before putting my key in the lock. The place was empty. I walked into my bedroom, and the glory- hole door was gone without a trace, and so was the video camera. Oh shit, I thought, they removed all the evidence. What worried me most was the video camera. What would they think my motives were for making a record of the little setup? It could be misinterpreted too easily. Blackmail came to mind. My intentions for the whole thing had been good. Maybe, this time I had taken my desire to do my job too far. It had seemed pretty harmless when I planned it. About the worst that could happen, I had thought, was that they'd fire me and give me a black eye professionally. That would have hurt, but could have been overcome. Blackmail, if that's what they were thinking, could be serious - for me. Difficult if not impossible to prove, but the word, properly placed, could end my career forever. Oh, what the hell, why worry about it. Things were out of my hands, and only time would tell what my fate would be. I took the cowards way out. I drank myself to sleep. A Class AA hangover, fear, dread and uncertainty was what I woke up to. Coffee helped a little, but the thought of food had my running for the bathroom to barf. I was not a pretty sight. Nothing on TV, so I got the Sunday paper and determined to read it all, even the ads, to keep occupied and give my shattered body a chance to recover. I was working on the crossword when the phone rang. Fear turned to panic as I reached for it, certain that I was about to hear my death sentence. Instead, I heard a raspy, panting voice say "I wanna suck your dick." I recovered fast enough to respond in kind, "Oh yeah, baby, do it to me." "Do you say that to all of your obscene callers?" Ted asked, laughing. "Sure do," I said, "some of them give pretty good head, too." We were both laughing by now. I already felt better. Cheerily, he asked, "and how are you this fine sunshiny day?" I groaned. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Tied one on last night," I said. "Any particular reason?" he asked. Before I knew it, I had blurted out the whole story of what I'd found when I got home and all of my fears about the implications. "Take it easy," he said. "You did those guys a favor. They might get mad, but they'll get over it. Don't worry about the job. Hell, if they fire you, I'll hire you." "Yeah, right," I said. "You and who else?" "I've got a few friends," he said enigmatically. "You've cheered me up," I told him. "Want me to come down and hold your hand?" he asked. "If you do, you'll have to hold more than my hand," I told him. "Umm, yummy! How about phone sex?" he said. "I want the real thing," I said, "How about Tuesday? My fate should be sealed by then." "Great, but I'll call you tomorrow night to see if you've survived. Relax, it won't be that bad." He gave me his home address in Atherton, and another phone number. Monday was THAT bad. In fact worse. I had hoped against hope that when I went in to the office on Monday that Mike and Joe would be there, embracing, and that everybody would live "happily ever after." Not even close. Joe and Mike were usually the first to arrive in the morning as well as the last to leave. Their parking spaces were empty. An ominous sign. When they still hadn't shown up by ten, I called their homes. No answer. I tried to conduct business as usual, casually noting that the bosses were finally taking a little much needed time off. I don't think anybody bought that, but it dampened the rumor mill. No sign of them all day, and not a word. I went home. To sweat. I called Ted and told him what had transpired. "C'mon," he said, "they're off somewhere fucking their brains out, and'll show up when they're all fucked out with big smiles on their faces." "I hope so," I said, not very sure of anything. "Speaking of which," he snickered, "there's been a slight change of plans." Here it comes, I thought. He continued, "I have to be down your way tomorrow afternoon, so, how about we get together there instead of up here?" I'm sure I visibly brightened. "Fine with me," I said. "Let's meet for dinner first so I don't jump your bones and we forget about eating," he said. He suggested a restaurant and the "date" was set. "Hang in there, man," he said, "it'll all work out." Tuesday. No change, no Mike, no Joe. Somehow I got through the day. That evening, I was determined to leave work behind and concentrate on Ted. I popped a boner in anticipation. We pulled into the parking lot at about the same time, Ted in a new Mustang convertible, me in my rental. He was grinning as he got out, and when he was sure I was looking, stuck his tongue out at me. The mood was set. We were both laughing. It felt good. "I haven't done that since I was a little kid," I told him. "I don't know what got into me the other night." "I know what might be getting into you tonight," he said with a leer. "Promises, promises," I shot back. Over dinner, the conversation was light. I tried to steer it toward him, hoping to learn a little more about him. He caught on quickly. "Nosy fucker," he laughed. "I'm single, gainfully employed, and I want to talk about 'us'. Will you settle for that?" "Sorry," I said. "I know we've only spent a few hours together, but I've been thinking about you ever since. I just want to know more about you, but if you insist, go ahead and be a 'Mystery Man'. You can't blame me for trying." "You'll learn everything, in time," he said. "I have to admit, I've thought a lot about you too. What the hell happened the other night?" The feelings were mutual! And he was already thinking long-term. This was definitely welcome news. "I don't know what happened," I said, "but something sure did." "Let's go with it!" he said. I most definitely agreed. Once inside my place, he took me in his arms, and those wonderful lips met mine. My arousal was immediate, and I could feel him having the same reaction. "Long and slow, remember," he said. I nodded. "Want a drink first?" I asked. "Nope, maybe later, between..." he said. I led him to the bedroom. Another kiss, and he was unbuttoning my shirt. "Let me," he said, taking off my shirt, then my pants, sox and briefs. He stepped back and started the process on himself. I sat on the bed and watched. I looked into his eyes, they were smiling and smouldering at the same time. I broke the connection. I wanted to see that gorgeous body as he unveiled it. His chest was wide, defined, but didn't look gym buff. More of a swimmers build. A hard, flat belly showed the hint of a six pack. Arms that were muscular but not overly bulky. His narrow hips joined long muscular legs with just a hint of hair. His cock stood proudly, eager. The word understatement crossed my mind as I drank in this magnificent man. He joined me, and soon we were lips to lips, chest to chest and dick to dick, both leaking a little precum. On my back, he started the journey downward, not missing a spot, but bypassing my pubic area. Down the inside of my thighs to my knees then back up again, stopping at my balls to give them the sweetest stimulation. I didn't try to get to him, just held his hard cock in my hand, exploring it with my fingertips. He licked upward, following the underside of my shaft to the tip, then back down the sides. He bathed my entire cock with his tongue before giving any attention to the sensitive head. When he got to that, he licked around the rim and the sensitive underside for a long time before taking it all into his mouth. It was pretty obvious that he was enjoying this as much as I was. Long slow strokes had me moaning in no time. He could sense when I got close and would leave my cock completely and work on my tits, or my thighs, or my balls for a while to cool me down. I lost track of how many times he repeated this process, but I reached the point where I needed to cum before it became painful. He sensed that, and instead of stopping, continued the slow strokes, holding me on the edge, then gently pushed me over, never stopping. It was one of the sweetest, most intense orgasms I'd ever had. The euphoria subsided a little, then I did it all over again. When I stopped flailing and jerking, he crawled up beside me and put his head on my chest. His dick was still in my hand, and I hoped I hadn't hurt him during all of this. We lay there silently. Nothing needed to be said. "All you're going to have to do is look at me, and I'm a goner," he groaned. "I don't think so," I said, relaxing my grip on him and moving around so I could get at him. I didn't want to take any chances that he was being honest, so went directly to his dick, which was throbbing with his heartbeat. A few well placed licks and he was lubricated enough so that I could take him fully into my mouth. He felt so good there, the perfect fit I remembered from the other night. I slid down, just letting my tongue follow, no extra stimulation. I wanted this to last as long as possible. I felt him tense up, and tried to pull off, but I wasn't fast enough. He blew. Hard. When the afterglow subsided, he said "I'll take that drink now." "Scotch ok?" I asked. "Fine, a little water," he answered. I got up to get our drinks. Ted followed. We sat on the couch together. "Do you always cum that hard and that long?" he asked. "Not very often," I said, "only when I'm really turned on, and you do that to me. Actually, I had a 'double' tonight, one right after the other." "Wow, I've never been able to do that. Close but not quite." he said. "Yours lasted longer tonight than the other night," I said. "I'm not surprised," he said. "I get so close just getting you off that it doesn't take much. It was really intense." We chatted, sipped, and soon were kissing and touching all over. For the first time, his finger grazed my ass pucker. I tensed up involuntarily. "No?" he asked. "I want you," I told him. "But I had a bad experience. Give me a little time." "I want you, too." he said. "We'll save that for our wedding night." "Church bells already?" I asked, unbelievably pleased. "This is the first time I've ever felt this way," he admitted. "I don't know what's going on, but I kind of like it." "Me too. Does this mean I can dig out my wash-and-wear wedding dress?" I giggled. "Whatever it takes," he said. We finished our drinks and headed back to the bedroom. I was in the mood for an all night suckfest. Ted agreed. We settled side by side, dick to mouth. Slow and easy. No frantic stimulation, just pure enjoyment. I loved having him in my mouth. Our hands were exploring all the while. We would break long enough for a kiss, then go back to it. Time didn't matter. It just felt so damned good. "Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded, not taking him out of my mouth. We didn't really speed up, just let ourselves go, and the result was a powerful orgasm that swept over us almost simultaneously. We planned to spend the weekend together, but Thursday, Ted called to say that he had been called out of town and wouldn't be back until the following Wednesday. He promised to call every day, and did. I sweated out the rest of the week, and had a miserable weekend. Monday morning when I drove up to the office, something strange was going on. All the gates were closed and Security was passing out pamphlets to everyone as they arrived. I walked over to see what was going on. I took a pamphlet and started to go into the building. It was locked. I stopped to read it. It was printed on company letterhead. "TO ALL EMPLOYEES:" It started. "Please report to the Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel for a very important meeting. "You will be asked to sign in. Attendance is manditory. "The meeting will start at 9:00 AM promptly. "You will receive regular pay. "Transportation will be provided to those who need it. There was no signature, but it was official. I followed instructions, driving directly to the Marriott. The ballroom was set up for a meeting. Row upon row of chairs were lined up in front of a small lectern. The room was filling fast and I headed for the front and found a seat. At exactly nine o'clock, Joe and Mike walked in from a door at the back of the room. They were uncharacteristically dressed in suits, rather than their usual, very casual, sometimes sloppy attire. They looked like a couple of kids dressed up for a special occasion, but they looked calm and self assured. Joe spoke first. "Good morning everybody. We're sorry that we had to drag all of you down here this morning, but it was the closest place where we could accomodate everyone. "Mike and I have several announcements to make that will affect all of you, and we want you to know, from us, what to expect. "First, I would like to assure everyone that there will be no layoffs, no 'downsizing', or early retirements. In fact, we project that our staff will double over the next twelve months. Hiring will begin in about 60 days. "Second, we would like to apologise for our unexplained absence last week and any problems that may have caused. As you will see, it was necessary, and in the long run will prove to be the best thing that could have happened. Joe was poised and in control as he spoke to his audience who was hanging on every word. Even though I was in the second row right in front of him, he avoided looking at me. "Now, Mike has a few things to say," Joe continued, stepping aside so Mike could use the microphone. Mike, boyish and almost shy started speaking. "Good morning," he started. "I also apologise for our disappearance, but it was necessary." He paused, acting almost embarassed. "I don't think it's any secret that since our combination with Joe's Company, there has been a certain amount of animosity between Joe and me. That condition no longer exists, and I think that the spirit of cooperation you'll all see will allow the Company to realize it's full potential. "We have spent a lot of hours analyzing our strengths and weaknesses, relying a lot on the advice and recommendations of our Outside Consultant, Dave Rush, and have developed a plan of action that, we feel, will build on our strengths and minimize or eliminate our weaknesses." Again, Mike avoided looking at me even though he was talking about me. He continued, "This will mean a lot of change, and we ask all of you to get involved in this and help us reach our full potential. Most of you are stockholders, through your pension plans and other programs, so our success is your success." He stepped aside and Joe took the microphone again. "Consider today a paid holiday. Tomorrow, it's business as usual. Temporaries are manning the phones today, so there won't be any interruptions in service. "As soon as we can, we will be distributing copies of our plans to everyone - by the end of the week, for sure. We both feel pretty sure that you'll all like the new direction we're taking. "Have a good day, and we'll see you all tomorrow." The meeting was over. They turned and left the lectern, and disappeared. It worked! That's all I could think about. My devious ploy had brought the two guys together, but what would happen next. My self preservation instincts kicked in, and, the, by now familiar feeling of uncertainty set in again. I didn't have long to wait. The ever present cell phone in my pocket buzzed. I took it out and said "Hello". "Be at The Winery at noon." Click. It was Joe. It was an order. I had more than two hours to kill. I didn't want to think about what might happen next. I also didn't know what to do with myself to pass the time. I arrived at noon on the dot. Joe was waiting at the Maitre d's station. "Follow me," he sneered. He led me back to one of their private dining rooms. Mike was already there, and looked really pissed. "You sonofabitch," he said. He paused and glared at me. "You managed to do something we never could have done ourselves." A wide grin spread across his face. I relaxed a little, but was in a state of amazement. Joe, standing next to me, gave me a big hug. "Thank you," he said. "Everybody got what they wanted." We sat down. "Let's get drunk and celebrate," Mike said. "I'm ready," I said. "Let's get started," Joe said. A waiter came in to take our orders. "Three double Scotches," Joe said, "and just keep 'em coming til we tell you to stop." "What happened?" I asked. Before answering my question, Mike giggled and said "Understand that you sweated a little." "More like a whole lot," I answered. "You deserved to," Joe chimed in. "By the way, what's with the video camera?" "I was going to show it to you guys to prove that you actually did what you did." I said. "I see," Joe said. "Well, we have some hot home movies to watch, now, if we ever need one." We all laughed at that. Then they told me the whole story. In a nutshell, they had talked, and drank, and smoked, for hours. Neither would give an inch, then, the pot did its job, and, horny as hell, they decided to try sex again, this time out in the open. The living room floor of my suite had been the scene of some pretty wild coupling. They woke up in each others arms and decided that this was a helluva lot better than fighting. They removed all the evidence, then drove up to the Russian River where they had spent the rest of the week at a gay resort. Eventually, sated and drained, they had decided to go to work. In just a few days, they managed to plan all the changes that needed to be made to make a real success out of the company, and had come up with a lot of new ideas that hadn't been considered before. "Ideas, good ones, just seemed to come from nowhere," Joe said. Although they appreciated what I had done, they decided to let me sweat. Perverse little assholes! Then the stage was set for the grand announcement that morning. The rest, I knew. Damned Drama Queens!!! At this point, we were all still reasonably sober, and they both sat and stared at me. I got a little nervous. "Now, the question is: What do we do with you?" Joe said. "We've talked it over," Mike took over, "and think you deserve something special. We're pretty sure you're not into S&M, so beating the hell out of you wouldn't be much fun. For you, at least. "We've come up with something else. You took a big chance doing what you did. We appreciate it - now, so how does this sound? "We'd like to extend your contract for an extra three months - at double your current rate, then we'd like you to go on our payroll as a regular employee at a nominal rate. That way, we could give you a stock option rather than a bonus that would end up mostly as taxes. The option would be for a hundred thousand shares at $10.00. How does that sound?" I'm flabbergasted!" I said, "you guys are too generous." "You did us a favor, now it's our turn," Joe said. "It's not all one- way, either. With that kind of stake, we know you'll help us make things happen, and maybe the market will catch on and we'll all make some real money." "You know I'll try," I said. "One other thing. I know the timing's bad, but I'd like Wednesday afternoon and Thursday off." They looked at each other, shrugged, then Mike said, "Why not?" They didn't ask any questions. To be continued. Author's note: Feedback and comments are always very welcome. I carefully consider all suggestions and constructive criticism. I'd really like to hear from you guys. orrinrush@yahoo.com