Office Politics

 
Office Politics – Part I
 
The job search started off just like any other job search. Sarah read the ads in the local newspapers and in trade journals. She also spoke with head hunters, friends, family and with her contacts in the field. After four months of searching, she finally got a bite from one of her previous co-workers, Annette. It seemed that Annette’s company had an open position for a new technical secretary. The company’s laboratories were located in a technical park in Deerfolk, TN. As far as Sarah was concerned, ‘the-middle –of-no-where’ could just as easily have been its nickname. But with only one firm lead in four months, Sarah had no choice. She had to go for this job.
 
Sarah had become a secretary for a technical manager shortly after graduating high school. The job started out as an internship and she was hired at the beginning of the fall. She was then steadily promoted as the years had progressed. She was very good at what she did. Technical offices were very different from the typical office place. More head games were played in ‘the laboratory’ than on network soap operas. She had learned fast; one had to be both good at your job and skilled at politics in order to get ahead there. This new job would be no different. She would walk in and assess the situation to see who was really in charge, and then she would knock their socks off with her abilities both in and out of the office. The interview was coming up fast and Sarah had to make sure that she would be ready.
 
When the day for the interview came, Sarah was a nervous wreck. She had planned every detail for this very moment. Starting with her outfit, she had chosen a very elegant black dress whose look was both classic and understated sexy. It started at the top with a layered-look neckline that showed just a splash of her smooth creamy chest. The neckline dropped in an almost straight line across the top of her breasts and when she leaned forward you would have a clear view of her breasts that were being lifted up in a half-cup, black, lacy bra. The view that one had depended entirely on her posture and Sarah was easily able to switch her persona back and forth between that of a prim, intelligent, ambition laden task-master and that of a alluring, dark, submissive love slave who was willing to do as she was told, every time. 
 
When she arrived to the laboratory, she was surprised to see that the building really was located in the middle of nowhere. The company grounds were located at least five miles off the main road and were not visible from any nearby streets. For the first time, she wondered if this little lab did more than what it advertised it did. Exactly what kind of work was being done here? Why else would the place be so isolated? Sarah knew that in this industry you couldn’t always tell everyone in the outside world what was truly going on in the lab. Doing so could mean the difference between launching a new product that kept your company afloat for the next fifteen years or going bust. This meant that secrecy was the norm. Besides, she really needed this job and she knew that whatever the secrets were she was trained to keep them.
 
Sarah’s first interview was with the lab manager, Tim Hill. Tim reported directly to the Technical Director, John Saunders. John always sent Tim to interview new potential lab staff first. They would be reporting to Tim anyway so it only made sense that he got the first opportunity to see what they were capable of. John would make the final decision, of course, but if Tim didn’t think that it would be worth it for John to waste his time with the interview, the candidate would be told that the company would call them for a second interview if they were interested. Very few candidates made it past Tim to the second interview.
 
She was led into a conference room that held a large walnut conference table that was topped with a one-inch thick slab of glass designed to prevent any damage to the expensive surface of the table. There were six very plush chairs surrounding the wooden table.  This conference room was huge and expansive, this company was definitely profitable. There was also a couch, two end tables, and an oversized coffee table, with an entertainment center that contained a television and DVD player. They must also use this room for wooing potential new customers, Sarah thought. Why else would the room be so lavishly decorated? It was definitely designed to impress.
 
Tim wanted to get done with this interview as soon as possible. He had a very busy afternoon lined up and he was on a strict schedule. He asked Sarah if she was thirsty. There was a small refrigerator built into the entertainment center, it contained water, wine, and fruit juices. Sarah was happy to be offered something to drink; she said that some cold water sounded great. Tim gave her a bottle of premium purified water and got started with the interview. Tim asked “So, what makes you think that you are qualified for this job Sarah?” Sarah was ready for this and she replied “I have worked in a technical laboratory for six years now. As you can see from my resume, I started as an intern and was hired as a secretary at the end of the internship. Since then I have been promoted twice. I understand how to function well in laboratory environment.” As she spoke the last sentence she leaned forward towards Tim conspiratorially, as though she was sharing a secret.
 
Sarah had seen how Tim’s eyes had roved over her body as he had been standing over her handing her the bottled water. How they had lingered just a few moments beyond proper on the swell of her breasts, and the curves of her waist and hips. Sarah knew that she had a classic coke bottle figure, but at five feet two inches and one-hundred and fifteen pounds nobody was complaining. When she sat back up she made sure that she slid right back into her prim and proper role so that she could be sure that she had presented an entirely confusing dichotomy of exactly what kind of secretary she would be. She would damned sure be good at her job, but at the same time she would tempt him daily with glimpses of her hot sexy body and her deliciously dirty sexual thoughts.
 
Besides, Tim wasn’t bad looking himself. He was tall, with dark hair, and had paradoxically light eyes that seemed to be almost out of place among his features. It was a very sexy combination of light surrounded by dark. He was of medium build, neither thin nor heavy. His shoulders were broad and his waist was slim. He did not brandish a ‘beer belly’, but he also didn’t look like the type to have a six pack underneath his shirt. He was not wearing a wedding ring.
 
His reaction completely surprised her. She had been expecting to watch him go through a sequence of emotions beginning with shock and surprise as he asked himself had he really seen what he thought he just saw, then surprise as he realized that she had shown him what he had just seen.