It was Sunday, over breakfast and the two gentlemen were quite friendly, so Gina got in the mood and ventured into asking a question that could have been disadvantageous to her if the response had been negative.
"What do you think of tattoos? Especially on women?"
The gentlemen grinned and looked at each other. Abram thought The Boss should respond.
"I think tattoos, proper ones, are a work of art. They add to the beauty," he said. "Why, you have one you want to show us?" he teased.
"Yes, I do, and you have seen it already. Would you like me to add more?" Gina said, h
"Oh, goodness! Why are you still in bed?" Gina found Rhonda on the bed, lying down, watching a Netflix series, gliding into the late Sunday afternoon with nothing to desire except a full glass of red, fully naked for nobody to appreciate. Until now. She yawned and stretched, pulling everything taut. Flat stomach, muscled thighs, and pert breasts. She smirked, reached for the glass, and downed a swig of her wine insolently—spilled the liquid off her lips, wetting her breasts, then her stomach. Gina admired her friend's body with no envy, as she knew hers was as good if not better. Her legs were as muscled as Rhonda's, but being two inches taller, her calves curved further and tapered toward her ankle more gracefully. Her breasts were fuller and rounder, and the nipples were pinkish, while Rhonda's were light
Gina dressed in a black pin-striped suit and matching high-heeled boots, while Rhonda wore a gray suit with black stilettos. Their pants clung tightly to their shapely upper thighs and outlined the curves of their derrières, but fell loose from their knees. Nothing was exposed except their glorious selves. The ladies' silky, fine hair exhibited a sharp contrast with their suits—auburn against black and brunette on gray. The same Eggs and Flowers' concierge escorted them to the Boss' private room. As the alluring pair walked by, the other patrons wondered which table these fine creatures would be seated at."They must be headed to Georg's table," said one fine-looking gentleman to the other three envious colleagues seated around him—two men and one particularly handsome female. 
Rhonda's first order of business was to arrange the first dinner with Trelleco's chief officers. This wouldn't be simple calls to their secretaries asking them to schedule it in their bosses' calendar. Nevertheless, Rhonda tried the said customary method first, and of course, they were all busy and offered no alternative date. "Can't Abram just tell them to set aside time to meet with us over dinner? He is the big boss, isn't he?" Rhonda asked Gina. Gina explained Abram had to stay in the background to be perceived as impartial over any of the two competing companies. Choosing them over Kronos had to come unanimously from his executive team. Abram could tilt the balance once they entered the later stage of negotiations, but for now, the
Nothing momentous was going on in the office. Every consultant was trying to be at the clients' premises at least fifty percent of the time to earn billable hours. Those who stayed in the office did so quietly and were in shame. They felt useless and were afraid that the company would see them as a cost burden. Except for Dungi. As Gina entered Abalido & Quinaeros' headquarters and walked toward her glass-walled office, she saw Dungi on the phone, like he always was, loitering in the halls, king of the almost-empty workplace. Gina was never sure what his contribution was as a Program Manager, other than offloading the administrative workloads of the swamped project managers and consultants—which he hadn’t been doing. His function was to collate progress reports and integrate them into a single vi
Rhonda drove her convertible along the I-5 highway, slightly above the speed limit. As she drove past other cars without having to accelerate, wind in her hair, she felt the joy of cruising and mused about her father, the person responsible for this delight. Really, all she did was get her first job, a secretarial role that promised no career path nor did it pay well, and that was all it took to make the old man ecstatic. At first she didn't understand what the big deal was until her mother told her it was all about earning her own living. In retrospect, she now understood how hard it must've been for her father to refrain from pampering her, from distracting her from what mattered in adulthood: work and getting paid. A car! He couldn't
The café played a jazz rendition of Lennon's Imagine. The topic on Feynman and all others that it brought about had ended. Noon, still one hour to go. They both looked through the window at the colorful street; the foliage of green, yellow, red and all colors in between threw shades on the passers-by, parked cars, and a blue USPS box across the street. Who still sends actual mail these days? she thought. He observed her while she was busy with her inner thoughts, and looking over the window. Beautiful, he thought. Sexy. He liked her short brunette hair, and the way her lips parted when she smiled. He had watched her as she was walking toward the café that morning. She was dressed in a business outfit, ankle-length business pants, a navy blue blazer, and a white blouse. As she was seated, h
At half-past-twelve, they went out of the bookstore/coffee shop and walked across the street to the bistro where they were supposed to have the meeting. He wanted to drink a glass or two of Portland's finest brews before meeting Tom—their managing consultant in Portland—and his clients. "I was supposed to meet with just Tom last night then head back to Seattle this morning, but then yesterday he strongly suggested I also meet with his clients. That's why I need you." "For what, exactly?" Rhonda was still in a flirtatious mood. She couldn't turn it off just like that, especially after she knew she had an incriminating effect on him. He didn't let himself be baited; he offered a smile. He had handled things like this in the pa
"No, I'm not jealous. Not at all. But I do think it's sluttish what you did," Gina said, slightly upset and simultaneously amused upon hearing what Rhonda tried to pull with the Boss. She scoffed, then went back to looking at the menu, trying to deal with the mixed feelings she had. The feelings that sat between curiosity and fear of not liking what Rhonda might say next. But Rhonda knew when to stop, and how much was to be divulged. "I don't know what got into me, but he felt like a challenge and I kept on losing—I threw in all I got. Nothing that should've happened, did. But Gina, like I said, he reacted to it—excellent control but a man nevertheless," Rhonda summed up her experience with the Boss the day before.