Fool's Reward Ch. 01

This story is a sequel to Fool's Envy, which I wrote a number of years ago. It works as a stand-alone, but if you want to know more about Terry's history, you need to read that story first. Thanks to DawnJ for her suggestions and to all the people who took the time to share their thoughts about the original saga.

"James, I'd like you to meet Michael. He's going to be our new rising star in charge of the production line."

Michael paused a moment to take stock of James as he leaned in and the two clasped hands in a firm shake. He knew immediately that the man was definitely sure of himself, if nothing else.

"Good to meet you, Mike," he said with a wide grin.

"Michael," the older man corrected him.

"Sorry, Michael," he replied a bit stiffly.

Well, I know he doesn't like to be corrected, Michael thought. He better have his shit together, or he's not going to enjoy this at all.

"So I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Andrew said. "Michael is already up to speed on the product specifications. Why don't you introduce him to the team while tech support sets up his computer?"

"You've got it, boss," James chirped. He turned to Michael, extending his hand toward the production floor. With a friendly nod, Michael slipped on his safety glasses and fell in along side him.

"You're going to really like it here, Michael. We've got this place humming. It's a tight crew, and the new equipment has made everything fall into place."

"So I hear. Andrew speaks very highly of you and the rest of the workers."

"Oh, we love the guy," James said respectfully. "He built this place, and he's the first one to jump in when anything needs to be taken care of. He's definitely hands on. I know you're going to want to put your stamp on things, but you'll want to hear him out. He's the kind of owner who knows his business from top to bottom, and everyone here understands he earned his success."

"Absolutely," Michael concurred. "I really wasn't interested in moving out here and starting over until I talked to him. The guy knows how to pitch his product."

They toured the plant, meeting many of the workers present, with James walking him through their procedures and the idiosyncrasies present in their production method. Michael was impressed, but played his cards close to the vest. He'd been through these introductions too many times to be loose with his opinions until he knew who he could trust to be discreet.

He was to be one of twelve people in charge of making the company work. His position was to oversee the largest portion of the workforce, but he had accepted a lower salary than he initially sought on the condition that if he could improve the procedures and save the company money, he would see a commensurate bump in pay and responsibility. Andrew really liked him, and Michael got the impression he was being groomed to eventually move up. He chose to leave his last job because the owners family wanted to control the business, even though they sorely lacked the qualifications or vision, but Andrew assured him that wouldn't happen here, since he had no kids of his own.

It was a significant risk. Michael knew better than anyone that just because someone makes a promise, that doesn't mean it won't disappear the minute something better comes along. Still, Andrew was a great ambassador for his company, and Michael believed him when he said that the company was in more trouble than anyone knew, and he wanted someone with energy to have the kind of fire he used to feel to keep it growing. The only stipulation was that he couldn't cut the work force.

Andrew was firm that his employees were more important to him than anything. Without children of his own, he involved himself in his employees' lives, and treated them like family. The last thing he wanted was someone to come in and get rid of good people just to save a buck. Not only did he dislike the practice, but it was short-sighted. Most of his best employees were people who'd risen from within. It was a business strategy he believed in, and it had made him quite wealthy. As he neared retirement, he wanted that business ethic to be continued in his company so his legacy would live on.

Michael accompanied James to the lunchroom, where they talked about the inner-workings of the company. James was more than happy to share what he knew. Michael let him feel important, vowing to believe only what he could later verify. Gossip in a company that size was bound to be half-truths at best. Any time James strayed into more salacious aspects of what was happening behind the scenes, Michael politely steered him to safer territory. It wouldn't be good for him to get a reputation as someone getting involved in people's personal drama, assuming any of it was even true.

Suddenly he noticed a woman enter the room and walk to the counter, where she picked up a tray and shared a laugh with several women already waiting. She was blond, average height with an amazing figure and looked to be in her late twenties. She was quite beautiful, but what made the biggest impression were her sparkling light blue eyes. It was an amazing image that took Michael's breath away.

Lucky at business, unlucky at love, he thought glumly, knowing he'd never have a chance with a woman like that.

"Hello?" he repeated. "Are you still with me?"

"I'm sorry," Michael replied, unable to tear his eyes from the beautiful young woman. "Who is she?"

James' eyes lit up as his expression changed to a particularly dark grin. "Oh, you mean Terry Davis?" Michael was powerless to do anything but nod, as the other man continued gleefully. "Yeah, she's a special one."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, noticing a troubling implication.

"Oh, I'm not one to talk," James said ironically, since that's all he'd been doing for the last thirty minutes. "If you come out for drinks with us Friday you'll probably get the chance to see for yourself."

Michael's interest was piqued, but he decided not to pursue any more information about her from James. The man seemed to have some kind of dirt he wanted to share, and Michael didn't want to give him the satisfaction. He saw a ring on her finger, so assumed she was married, but chose to indulge the idea that she might be single and someone who'd be interested in a workaholic like him. Sadly, that was about as close to a relationship as he had achieved over the last few years.

~~~~~

"Terry Davis?" Missy repeated with a curious tilt of her head.

"Yes. Why is it that people keep acting weird when I ask about her?" Michael asked, clearly frustrated. After the third time he queried someone who then seemed to be party to an inside joke, he decided to ask his secretary. As someone who fancied himself good at reading people, Michael had an instant respect for her when they had been introduced. In the days that followed, he found that judgment well founded.

Not only was she very sharp, but she had her ear to ground when it came to watching what happened within the company. Unlike James, her interest was mostly professional and he could tell that she'd be an invaluable asset in helping him smoothly adapt to the culture of the organization. Still, it was taking a chance for him to ask, as he was risking his reputation as being a professional, brought in to be all business.

"Well, she's a bit of an enigma," she said mysteriously. "She's a sweet woman who is very competent at her job. However, I don't think there's anyone here who has more rumors flying around about her. I can warn you that you should definitely not ask any male employees' wives. She's definitely persona non grata."

"Really?" Michael mused, clearly bothered. "I keep hearing about how she's good at her job, that she's a nice person, and a loyal employee, but everyone seems to think poorly of her without any real explanation why." He looked at Missy closely. "You don't know anything for a fact, do you?"

She shrugged. "No. I don't have a bad word to say about her. I just know that I keep hearing the same vague stories about her causing trouble with the guys in the company. I try not to put much stock in those things, but you know, where there's smoke..."

"Yeah, yeah I know," he responded. "But she's not married?"

"She was, but she and her husband broke up a few years ago. She came to work here just after, trying to put her life back together. That's all I really know. You should ask Janie. She works closely with her in advertising."

"I don't know. I've been here less than a week and I'm already going to get a reputation as a skirt chaser." He looked at her sheepishly. "And a gutless one, considering the fact that I'm behaving like a teenager, asking everyone else about her. The next thing you know I'll be asking you to pass her a note," he moaned.

"What I need to do is stop worrying about a woman I haven't even said hello to, and do my job instead."

~~~~~

"Terry?" Janie said, her eyes rolling. "What do you want to know?"

Michael immediately regretted going back on his pledge to let the matter drop. "I don't know," he said noncommittally. "I've seen her around and she seems nice."

"She's wonderful," Janie said defensively. "She'd be a lot better off if you guys would leave her alone."

"Woah, I didn't mean to offend. I was just asking." He held up his hands, surprised at her biting response.

"So you haven't heard the rumors?" she said accusingly. "That's not what prompted your interest?"

"All right, we've gotten off on the wrong foot," Michael defended himself. "I don't know what's being said, but I honestly just thought she seemed nice. I'm not in the habit of chatting up women wearing wedding rings, so I thought I'd ask someone who knew her. Missy said you'd be the person to go to."

She studied him closely, trying to figure out the answer to some unspoken question. "Well, most of the time guys start asking me about her, it's because they've heard thing and have a preconception about her. If you are honestly asking me about her, I'll tell you that she's one of my dearest friends. She was hurt badly by her husband, and never got over it; hence the wedding ring."

Michael looked at her hopefully. "Do you think she might be inclined to let me take her out? You know, if she's not seeing anyone."

Janie sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Michael. You seem like a good guy, but she really doesn't date much."

"All right," he said raising his hands in mock surrender. "It's just that I don't usually have much time for dating myself. To tell you the truth, she's one of the most stunning women I've seen. It's a bit intimidating. I thought maybe if I asked her friend I might get an idea of what to say to her."

Janie's expression softened. "What she needs is a good guy to help her move on. You seem like a nice person Michael. Andrew speaks very highly of you, and his word means everything to me."

He blushed, hoping her praise meant he was going to get some much needed assistance.

She looked straight into his eyes. "Michael, she is my friend and I love her." He beamed as he finally seemed to be catching a break.

"You should probably avoid getting involved."

~~~~~

A week passed, but had done nothing to relieve the nagging feelings Michael was having about Terry. He tried to put her out of his mind by focusing on work or anything else that could occupy his time, but he kept coming back to her.

There's something about that girl, he thought idly, watching the production floor from the second level. As if on cue, he saw her out of the corner of his eye walking out to speak with one of the bench technicians. He stared intently, trying to understand why he was so drawn to her. She was beautiful, but there were many attractive women at the company. There was a quiet confidence in the way she approached her job, but he knew that wasn't it either.

For some reason that escaped his understanding, he felt drawn to her in a way that bordered on being inappropriate. None of his attempts to find out about her sated his need to know more. In the few times he had the chance to talk to her, he got the impression that she really was a kind, quiet person who seemed to put her job before her personal life. He could identify. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the chance to speak to her when there weren't others around, and had thought it unprofessional to instigate a meeting when she was busy working.

"I don't care how it looks, I need to do something about this," he said to no one in particular.

Walking toward the stairwell, he lost sight of her on the floor. He hurried his pace, hoping to catch her before she went back to her office. He turned the corner and headed down the stairs quickly, only to see her turn the corner coming up the stairs, just ahead. His pace slowed, and they exchanged a nod and a smile, then passed without a word. He cursed himself for being such a coward. Stopping, he steadied his resolve and turned.

"Terry?" he called out, his voice sounding far too loud in the echo chamber of the stairwell.

She stopped and turned, a pleasant smile on her face. "Hey Michael," she said, walking back toward him. How are you settling in?"

"Everything's going great," he replied, his thoughts as far as possible from work. He leaned against the railing and studied her face. If anything, she was even more attractive up close. He felt his burst of courage failing as he looked into her eyes. He briefly considered stammering an excuse so he could walk away without embarrassing himself, but decided it was time to stop behaving like an awkward teenager.

"How are you enjoying the job so far?"

He smiled, wishing he could say exactly how much he liked it at the moment. "It's been a bit of a challenge, but I like it. This is a great company, and I'm really enjoying the team I'm working with. Plus Andrew is a great guy to work for."

"He is, isn't he? I'll tell you, I came here without much to offer, but he took a chance on me. He hired me personally, and made sure I felt welcome."

Michael nodded, then realized in a panic that he had nowhere for the conversation to go. Their meeting had happened so unexpectedly that he hadn't thought beyond saying her name. He searched for something to say to keep the moment from ending.

"I was wondering," he said, cringing on the inside. "If you'd like to have dinner after work some time." Her expression turned a bit dark, and she looked at him hesitantly.

"Well," she began, her eyes starting to avoid him.

Michael knew that if he couldn't get her to agree now, it would make the subject that much more difficult to bring up again later. Hurriedly he cut her off.

"You know, I'm new here and haven't had the chance to check out the local restaurants. You could take pity on me and tell me where I could get a decent meal. Then it would only be fair for me to return the kindness and buy you dinner."

She studied him for a second, still appearing to be doubtful about the prospect. There was something about the way she looked at him that pushed Michael to not take no for an answer. He still couldn't identify it, but his gut was screaming at him not to let the chance pass.

"Come on, give the new guy a break," he said with his most winning smile.

"Well, all right," she consented. "I'm free tomorrow night if you want."

It wasn't the enthusiastic response he'd hoped for, but a yes was a yes. Michael felt his smile grow, unable to restrain it. She suggested a restaurant, and he suggested a time, giving them both a couple of hours to get home and change before dinner. She resumed her errand, while he went to his office and closed the door, hoping Missy didn't hear his squeal of delight.

~~~~~

Michael arrived at the restaurant just before seven. He went in and was seated, asking for a cold beer while he waited. His mind raced as he ticked off possible topics for discussion, anxious to avoid his stumbling in the stair well. His clumsiness almost cost him the opportunity to secure this date with Terry, he wasn't about to let it happen again.

Just as the waitress brought him a second beer, he saw her walk into the room. His breath caught in his throat at the sight. She was wearing an elegant purple evening dress. It had a plunging neckline, was made of silk, and came down to just below her knees. Her figure was even more stunning than he thought. He assumed she tried to hide it as much as possible at work by dressing conservatively; probably to avoid unwanted attention. Michael had to force himself not to stare at her cleavage, which was drawing glances from all over the restaurant. Instead he studied her face, impressed by the way understated makeup accentuated her natural beauty. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, swaying with grace as she walked.

"Wow...just wow," he said, unable to find the words to describe her impact on him.

"Thank you," she responded, with just a hint of a blush. "This is nice. I'm glad you asked."

Michael realized that she was still standing while he remained sitting, so abruptly rose, moving to her side of the table and holding her chair.

"Thank you again," she said with a chuckle. "So have you been waiting long? I'm sorry, it took forever to get out of the house. I'm a little out of practice."

"No, not at all. I just had a quick drink and you walked in. To be honest, I'm glad you're late." He waited while she gave him a curious stare. "If I'd been standing when you walked in like that, I'm afraid my knees would have given out." She laughed heartily, the sound warming his heart.

They spent dinner talking about his life before coming to work for Andrew, her time at the company, and a little bit about what was happening with the business. Michael didn't want to disclose too much about his future hopes, and was very careful about asking her questions involving her past. From what he'd learned, she had been through a lot, and left it to her to talk about if she felt comfortable.

Dinner ended and Michael walked her to the car. "I had a wonderful time, Terry."

"I did too, Michael. It was...unexpected."

He leaned in to kiss her cheek, then sensing no reluctance, moved to her lips. She leaned her head back, accepting his advance. Within seconds she was returning his kiss passionately. His hands moved to her back, then one slid to her neck, caressing her soft skin where the dress parted. His lips nibbled at hers, causing the kissing to intensify. His tongue ran across her lips, then in between, encouraging her to respond. Michael felt her hands on his sides as she almost lost herself in the moment.

"Wait," she stopped, pulling away from him suddenly. "I...I just can't. I'm sorry Michael, I just can't."

Hurriedly she dug her keys out of her purse with shaking hands and let herself into the car.

"Terry," he pleaded, "I'm sorry."

He stood helpless, unable to process what had happened as she quickly shut the door and shot him a fleeting, unhappy glance before pulling away, leaving him standing alone and utterly confused.

~~~~~

Michael impatiently waited by the railing, watching the front entrance. He was so intent on watching for her that he didn't notice as James walked up to him.

"What's up big man?" he asked jovially.

Just what I needed, Michael thought in annoyance. "Hey James, how are you?"

"Good. I haven't seen you this week."

"I've been in meetings non-stop. There's a lot to catch up on, plus they've been pushing me for my initial suggestions to improve our production capacity."

"That sounds daunting. Hey, why didn't you come out with us last Friday? It's practically an institution."

"I was going to, but still don't have everything set up in the townhouse. I never realized I had this much crap."

"Well, you should have been there. Terry made an appearance," he said with a chuckle.