Sittin' Pretty

"You're right, I would have," I said. "And I may yet. So what was that about me having more cock?"

"Oh God, that's the worst part," Dee Dee said. "When we got there, the hotel 'conveniently' messed up our reservations, so we had to share a room with two double beds. I'm telling you, Doug, I slept in my heavy pajamas, and wore my bra both nights I was there. And the first night, he came out of the shower naked with a hard-on. Poor guy's only got about a 4-inch dick, if that. It's all on the tape."

"So what's the plan?" I asked as we finished our meal.

"Well, my office is transcribing a copy of this tape even as we speak and I should have the completed transcript faxed to me first thing tomorrow," Harlan said. "We've already set up a meeting with Lane Burgess and his legal department for 10 o'clock, and I want you there, Doug, or rather Deirdre wants you there, and I agree. She needs all the moral support she can muster. Snodgrass is due back in the office around noon, and it should all be over by 1 o'clock."

We left Harlan then, as he grabbed a taxi to his hotel, then I wrapped my arms around Dee Dee and we headed for our car.

It was almost dark when we got up on the expressway headed toward home, and as soon as we were up to speed, Dee Dee slid over next to me and ran her hands over my jean-covered cock. It responded immediately.

"I have missed this, big fella," she said as she unbuttoned my jeans, reached in my pants and fished out my semi-hard cock.

She softly stroked it a few times and it got right up to full strength.

"Dee Dee, don't you think we should wait?" I said.

"Why?" she purred. "I want to play with him now. You just keep two hands on the wheel, keep your eyes on the road, and you let me take care of this. You deserve it."

She eased my jeans halfway down my thighs, leaned over on the seat, put her head in my lap and slid my cock past her pretty pink lips. She quickly got up to speed, sucking almost all of me into her mouth, in that way she always has.

I happened to glance over at her, and I realized that she was letting a lot of her own sexual frustrations out as well.

She was holding my cock at the base with her left hand while she sucked me, but her right hand was busy between her own legs. She had her skirt pulled up to her waist, her panties pulled to one side, and she was strumming her clit and fingering her pussy like a woman possessed.

She sucked me hard for several minutes, lapping her tongue around my shaft, then she pulled her mouth off and slid her lips and tongue up and down over the shaft, before stuffing my cock back into her mouth.

She was humming and moaning softly as she worked us both. I kept my attention focused on the highway as much as possible, but it was tough as I felt the wonderful sensations of Dee Dee's talented mouth on my throbbing hard cock.

I was thrusting up subtly, trying to give her just a little more cock than she could take, pushing it just a little bit, the way I always do. Dee Dee's never quite been able to deep throat me, but she never stops trying, and that's part of what make sex fun for us.

I could feel a rusty cumload building up steam, and I looked over at my wife to she that was attacking her pussy with her hand, furiously rubbing her clit with her thumb while she worked three fingers into her cunt.

I think in that moment I began to realize just how traumatic this whole ordeal had been for her, and I felt a little ashamed that I'd ever suspected her of cheating.

Then my attention was jerked back to my cock, to the outrageous feeling of my cock pumping into Dee Dee's mouth. I was right there, and with a gasp and a choking cry, I cut loose with a huge load of cum.

Dee Dee tried to swallow all of it, but there was too much, plus she was in the throes of her own orgasm, and some dribbled out from around her lips. As I squeezed out several secondary bursts of cum, I watched as the exit off the highway to our house passed us, and we had to double back.

We laughed about that, a truly cathartic laugh, and I especially got a kick at the way my cum was smeared on Dee Dee's chin. She cleaned herself up a little bit, got my cock back in my pants and we were semi-presentable when we arrived home.

Needless to say, the kids were glad to see their mother coming home early, plus I think they sensed that whatever had been bothering us over the past few months had been resolved. After Dee Dee showered, we all sat down at the kitchen table and enjoyed some serious family time, playing a rowdy game of Risk. Coming as it did the night after my lowest point, it was a joyous moment.

Later, after we climbed in bed, I held my wife and we talked.

"Dee Dee?" I said. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I should have trusted you more, should have known you'd never cheat on me. Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you for what?" she answered. "You were a concerned husband who saw some things he didn't like, and I wasn't being honest with you. You had every right to be suspicious. I think, looking back on it now, that I should have trusted you more, and brought you into the loop from the start. It would have saved us an awful lot of grief. Now, let's get some sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

We were up pretty early that morning, and I decided to wear a suit and tie. I felt like this was important enough for me to look my best. We swung by the shop and I told my assistant that I was taking the day off, and to close up, then we went to breakfast and were in the lobby of Dee Dee's building by 9:30.

Harlan was waiting for us, and together we went up to Dee Dee's office, then at five minutes until 10, we were in the outer foyer of Lane Burgess' office. We were immediately ushered in, and I got my first look at the inner sanctum of a corporate CEO.

Lane's office was spacious and very nicely decorated, with four comfortable chairs arranged for visitors. We were greeted by Lane himself, and he introduced us to David Shapiro, who was the head of the company's legal division.

I began to get the distinct impression that Harlan Shaw was a figure of some renown in corporate legal circles, because he and Lane greeted each other like it wasn't the first time they had met, and David Shapiro was extremely deferential, saying he was, "honored," to meet Harlan for the first time.

Lane Burgess himself is the picture of the corporate CEO. He is a fairly imposing figure physically, taller than average and well built, with a commanding air. He can be charming when it suits him, but Dee Dee has told war stories of his treatment of those who have incurred his wrath. I was about to see that first hand.

To me, however, he's just another white-collar customer who doesn't know a carburetor from a crankshaft. I've been servicing his vehicles since he came to town, and we are on good terms. We greeted each other warmly and I asked him about his Caddy.

"Running smooth, Doug," he said. "Probably got another 50,000 miles in her, if I choose to keep it that long."

After his secretary served us coffee and Danish, we got down to business.

"Harlan, I'm a little surprised to see a heavyweight like you get involved in a matter like this," Lane said. "I gather, then, that it's pretty serious business."

"Actually, Lane, I'm working this one pro bono," Harlan said. "Deirdre here is an old family friend. I've been her father's attorney for many, many years."

"Her father?" Lane said, and it dawned on me then that he didn't know who Dee Dee's dad was.

"Malcolm McGough," Harlan said.

"Are you serious?" Lane said. "Dee Dee, I had no idea that you were Malcolm McGough's daughter. "

"You weren't supposed to know," Dee Dee said. "I love my father and I respect him tremendously, but I never wanted to use him as a crutch. I wanted to succeed in business on my own merits, on my own talent. Up until Henry Snodgrass came along, I believe I did that. He's made me question a lot of assumptions I had about myself."

"I take it this has to do with him?" Lane said.

"Lane, Snodgrass has been engaged in one of the most egregious campaigns of sexual harassment I've ever seen in 40 years of practicing law," Harlan said, handing over a file with the transcript of Dee Dee's tape and the summary of her documentation of Henry's abuses. "Everything is on this tape that Deirdre made."

He handed the tape over to David Shapiro, who took an evidentiary bag out of his briefcase, put the tape in the bag and sealed it.

"My God," Lane said softly as he perused the file. "That son of a bitch. I assume this file is our copy of Dee Dee's evidence."

"It is," Harlan said. "That's the short version. She's got a notebook full of documented cases of improper advances on the part of Henry Snodgrass."

"Dee Dee, can you tell me about it," Lane said.

Dee Dee nodded her head and told her story.

It was hard, and she broke down several times, but she managed to get through it. I don't think she had ever really let herself react to what was going on until that very moment. She had had to suppress a lot of her emotions just to get through it, and now that it was over, she had a chance to let those emotions out.

I held her hand all through it, and when she was finished, Lane gave her a sympathetic look.

"Dee Dee, I'm so sorry," Lane said. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?"

"At first, I tried to ignore it, then I tried to laugh it off," Dee Dee said. "But when he started having me stay late with him, and he started touching me, I worried that you wouldn't believe me. Then, when I started gathering evidence, I wanted to make sure I had enough. Finally, toward the end, I just wanted to get so much dirt on the bastard that when I finally made my move I'd be able to just crush him."

The way she said, "crush him," sort of took me aback a little bit, and I noticed Lane was having a hard time suppressing an evil grin. Dee Dee was showing a side I'd never seen before, and it occurred to me that perhaps her father's personality was starting to show just a little bit.

"So, Dee Dee, what do you want out of this?" Lane said. "Is there a way we can avoid litigation here?"

"Lane, my terms are simple," Dee Dee said. "I want Henry Snodgrass terminated, with prejudice. He's made my life a living hell this past year and I want him to pay. I don't want him to be able to pussy out with a forced resignation. I want him fired for cause, and I want that cause spelled out in writing."

"I gather you don't like the bastard," David interjected.

"Not in any way, shape or form," Dee Dee said. "But it goes beyond me. I don't want him to be able to pull this somewhere else, with some other woman. Lane, Mr. Shapiro, I'm a pretty strong-willed woman with a reasonable amount of intelligence and I've been around the corporate culture all of my life. So I know how the system works. And it still nearly broke me, and put a serious strain on my family, especially my marriage, which is like oxygen to me. I need Doug like I need to breathe, and Henry's actions began to drive a wedge between us. So what's going to happen if he tries this with someone who doesn't have the assets I have, whose marriage isn't as strong as ours? How is she going to react? I'll tell you. She'll cave in, and he'll ruin her life."

"Is that all?" Lane said.

"That's it," Dee Dee said. "Lane, until Henry came here I considered this the perfect place to work. This is a good company that has treated me well. I have no wish to bring harm to the company. For the most part, I like it here and I'd just as soon stay here."

"Well then," Lane said. "I don't think that will be a problem. In fact, I not only intend to fire Snodgrass, but I intend to promote you into his position. If you're willing to take it."

"I'm inclined to accept, but I want to hear what you're prepared to offer me for it," Dee Dee said.

"First, let's get the ball rolling on Snodgrass," Lane said, as he stood up and walked to his office door. "David, I want you to pull his contract and go over it word for word to see what provisions there are in terms of severance pay. I don't want to pay him a dime more than I have to, but I don't want him coming back in six months, a year, with a lawsuit claiming we violated the terms of his contract."

"I'm all over it, Mr. Burgess," David said, then he scooted toward the door. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Shaw."

Harlan shook the man's hand, while Lane stuck his head out of his office and addressed his secretary.

"Patty, I need you to draft a letter of termination for Henry Snodgrass," he continued. "For cause, let's say for gross misconduct and sexual harassment of subordinates. You know how to dress it up. And David will be back to give you the clauses for his severance settlement. Now, Harlan, could I ask you and Doug to excuse us for a little while? It seems that Mrs. Manning here wants to dicker, and I'd like to chat with her privately."

"No problem," I said. "I could use a bathroom break anyway and maybe a soda."

I kissed Dee Dee, then we left for the canteen on that floor. After I had a soda in hand, Harlan gave me with a serious look and asked me to walk with him for a bit.

"Doug, I've known Malcolm McGough for over 40 years, and I consider him to be one of my best friends," Harlan said. "He's always been pretty crusty, always been a man who doesn't give away a lot of his inner feelings. And he sometimes has a hard time telling people how he feels about them, especially people he's close to."

"That's true," I said. "I've never quite been able to get past that outer shell. We get along OK, but there's just ... I don't know, a barrier."

"Well, Doug, I had a very candid conversation with him yesterday before we left Chicago, a conversation about you," Harlan said.

"Me?" I said. "I didn't think he thought much about me at all."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong, my friend," he said. "I'm sure you know that Malcolm is not particularly close to his sons, but Deirdre? She's his angel, always has been, always will be. I remember when she was a teenager and in college, he used to fret endlessly about what kind of a man she'd end up with. I guarantee he didn't dream it would be anyone like you."

"Harlan, he's never fully accepted me, because of my background," I said. "I've never been good enough for Dee Dee, but that's all right. I've learned to live with it."

"Well, it's not all right to Malcolm," Harlan said. "You know he'll be 70 in a couple of months, and he told me yesterday that one of the great regrets in his life is that he doesn't have a close relationship with you. You have no idea how big an impression you've made on that man. He has a tremendous amount of respect for you, and he is awfully proud of you and what you've made of yourself."

"I don't understand," I said, and I didn't. "I'm just a mechanic without a lot of education. I'm a poor kid from the poor side of town who happened to fall in love with his daughter."

"Oh, Doug, you're much more than that," Harlan said. "You're a smart man who didn't let adversity stop him. You're a man who knew what he wanted out of life, a man who had a goal, who achieved that goal and became a successful businessman in the process. And you did it the right way, through hard work, decent moral values and integrity. That's the kind of man Malcolm McGough respects. And he sees how much Deirdre loves you, and he sees how you've loved her and supported her."

"I didn't know," I said softly.

"That's because you've kept him at arm's length," Harlan said. "You've assumed all these years that Malcolm – and Jeannie – still see you as the grimy kid from the mean streets, and you've never really given them a chance to show you how their attitudes have changed. Doug, I know about your father, how you cared for him and supported your family, and I know about the void he left in your life. Malcolm wants to help fill that void, and be a father figure to you, if you'll let him. But he's a stubborn old Scotsman, and he's not going to make the first move."

"What do I have to do?" I said, my head spinning.

"Doug, I think if you just reach out to him, you'll be amazed at the response," Harlan said. "Call him this afternoon after all of this is over. He's on pins and needles worrying about where this is going to end up. He'll be touched if you call and give him the update."

By then, we had finished our sodas and were back in the foyer of Lane's office. When we were escorted in, Dee Dee had a big grin on her face, and Lane was on the phone.

"Russ?" he said into the phone. "You know Henry Snodgrass, don't you? Good. I want you to monitor the front entrance and I want to be informed the minute he enters the building. (Pause) No, no, don't do anything, just follow him. I've already instructed his secretary to send him up here as soon as he arrives, before he has a chance to get into his office. Good. I want you to handle this personally. OK, thanks."

Then he hung up and looked over at us.

"Security," he said. "I want to know what that S.O.B. is doing every step of the way from the moment he enters the building until the minute he's escorted out."

"Honey, I took the job," Dee Dee said. "David is going to draw up the contract next week, while we're gone on vacation, but I've already agreed in principle. I take over the department a week from Monday."

"Outstanding!" I said, and I hugged Dee Dee and gave her a big sloppy kiss. "Now, does that mean you're going to be working like you have the past few months, or are you going to have a little saner schedule?"

"Douglas Manning, after all that we've been through, you know damn good and well, that I'm NOT going to jeopardize my family life," she said forcefully. "When it's time to work, I'll work and work hard, but when it's time to play ..."

And she flashed me a quick look of lust that made my groin stir in my slacks.

Just then, the phone on Lane's desk rang, he picked it up, listened for a second, then said, "OK," and hung up.

"He's on his way," Lane said.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again, and again Lane picked it up and answered.

"Have him sit in the foyer until I call for him," Lane said. "Make him sweat."

Ten minutes later, after some casual conversation about Dee Dee's job, David Shapiro walked into the office with several documents. Lane looked them over, then picked up the phone and had Henry ushered into the office.

"Lane, I really need ..." he started, then he stopped short when he saw Dee Dee and me sitting in front of Lane's desk. "What the hell are they doing here? That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. She has no business here, and this cretin she's married to certainly has no business here. I fired her yesterday, and she should be cleaning out her office."

I swear if Dee Dee hadn't put a firm grip on my arm, I'd have jumped out of the chair and cold-cocked the bastard.

"Oh, she'll be cleaning out her office, all right," Lane said, "And moving her stuff into your old office."

"What are you talking about?" Henry said.

"Snodgrass, do the words sexual harassment mean anything to you?" Lane said, repeating the line Dee Dee had used two nights earlier.

"Now, wait a minute, Lane, she's ..." Henry started, only to be interrupted by Lane.

"It's Mr. Burgess to you, asshole," he said.

"La- Mr. Burgess, this woman has filled your head with a bunch of lies," Henry said. "She's using those feminine wiles on you the same way she tried to use them on me. And she's brought her redneck husband in here to support her little sob story. But the truth is, I fired her yesterday for insubordination, dereliction of duty and poor performance. Then she tried to offer me sex if I would give her a good performance review. It's all here in my report."

He handed a manila envelope over to Lane, and we all got a grim sense of satisfaction when Lane simply tore the thing in half and tossed it in the trash can.