The Upper Hand

"Cunt," Jack announced for no apparent reason.

"Excuse me?" Lilly asked, turning on him with fire in her eyes. She turned and found him smiling.

"You heard me. I called you a cunt." His playful, boyish grin had faded when he repeated himself. "And I'm going to kick your ass at this convention."

"Like hell," she spat, reacting to his work challenge. That was more familiar ground than what she had been thinking and what had happened last night.

"We'll see," Jack said as he grinned again. The silence had gone on too long. He knew one of them had to break it. He saw how Lilly kept staring at him and knew something more had to be said. "You're not going to fuck up last night by over-analyzing it, are you?" he asked, keeping whatever their relationship was as direct as always.

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," Lilly said, ignoring how she had been doing exactly that in her mind for longer than she cared to admit to herself or him for that matter. She faced forward and stared at looming skyline of Albuquerque. It wasn't much of a skyline. She chewed on her bottom lip again and couldn't help expressing her biggest concern. "Though I bet you can't wait to get back to the office and brag about it." Jack's sudden and explosive roar of laughter startled her.

"Are you kidding me?" he bellowed. "Who the fuck would believe me? You know your reputation around the office. You're a ball-buster and everyone knows it. You're The Ice Queen and don't tell me you haven't heard anyone use that title."

Lilly had overheard that title and worse. She knew the men in the office thought of her as a royal bitch. It was a persona she had carefully cultivated since her first interview with Gregory Jones and one she intended maintaining. "Usually I hear them calling me a bitch," she admitted, smiling. Each time she heard someone mumble that expletive, she felt like she was winning. It occurred to her, she had never heard Jack call her that, though she guessed that didn't mean much. Just because she had never heard him call her a bitch didn't mean he hadn't done it. She decided to call him on it. "So what's you're title of choice for me, Royal bitch or Ice Queen?"

"Neither," he stated, with a glance in her direction as they caught up the last of Albuquerque's morning rush hour. "Never thought of you that way." Lilly believed him without his explanation. "You're driven and tough. That doesn't make you a bitch."

"Thank you," Lilly said and risked patting him on the knee to show her appreciation.

"And you're still a naughty slut who still deserves being pulled over my knee on a regular basis." Jack reached over and captured her nipple between a finger and thumb. His touch was rough. He smiled when he saw her eyelids flutter and her face flush pink.

"You lied to me last night," Lilly said, moving her hand up his thigh until she was caressing his crotch with the familiarity of a long-term lover. His rough, intimate touch had sent a shiver through her, reminding her body of last night's delights at the hands of a man who knew she wasn't a fragile, porcelain doll. She cupped his balls through the silky fabric of his expensive suit. With fabric this nice, she could understand why he didn't wear underwear.

"When?" he demanded at her accusation of him telling a lie. He looked angry as he brushed her hand away from his crotch.

"You told me you were only going to do me up the ass," she reminded him, unable to resist a playful smile as put her hand back between his legs.

"Careful or the only thing your ass is going to feel tonight will be my hand," he said. He appeared content allowing her hand to explore between his legs. She felt the beginnings of a hard-on developing.

"What makes you think anything's going to happen tonight?" she asked, though her groping made it clear what she wanted.

"Fucking cunt," he said, again grabbing her nipple with the same skill and ferocity as before. "You have no idea what you've signed up for, do you?" His large hand visited both tits before he put both hands back on the steering wheel. The stinging thrill his caress left behind made Lilly squirm before she released his growing hard-on.

"Maybe I do," she said. She smiled as she sat back in her seat and picked up her phone again. The words on the tiny screen came back into focus. She began arranging appointments while Jack focused on driving.

He wondered which was more frustrating, his growing hard-on or knowing Lilly was already working on gaining an advantage over him. "Fair warning," he announced. He couldn't stop her from working her phone, but he could distract her. "If you think last night or tonight changes anything about who's going to earn that office, you've got another thing coming."

"Says the person currently in second place," Lilly said without looking away from phone.

Jack smiled. Let her try winning it, he thought as he openly adjusted the lump inside his pants. He would make sure her cute little ass never forgot it if she did. After another half hour of driving, Albuquerque was a memory reflected in the rearview mirror and the open road ahead of him felt like a new beginning. Jack set the cruise control and leaned back ready to enjoy the ride and the amazing woman beside him without ever considering how Gregory Jones had gotten it right.