InstructionbySeduction Page 9

  “Can you shut the door please?”

  Leah shut the door and sat down at Bob’s desk to face him.

  “It’s Rusty. He was…belligerent. He went on break and stayed outside smoking for like forty-five minutes. I went out and told him to get back inside and he just wouldn’t do it. He stood there and said no. I didn’t know what to do.”

  Bob leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples with his fingers. “I swear I curse the day I hired him.”

  Leah breathed a silent sigh of relief. She’d been worried that Bob would look at her like a moron, maybe even take Rusty’s side. After all, she was the manager and there was an employee outside smoking for almost an hour. She couldn’t even wrangle in one bad employee. Not good.

  “I’m sorry he did that to you, Leah. Guy’s got a problem with taking direction from anyone, so don’t feel too bad.”

  “I felt incompetent.”

  “I’ll talk to him. Make sure he understands that if he doesn’t get his act together we’re going to have a problem. He’s walking a fine line already.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Anything else?” Bob asked.

  Yes! Leah’s brain screamed. I need training! I need authority! I have all the responsibility of a manager and none of the benefits! I need to know how to manage, not just get thrown to the wolves!

  But no words came out of Leah’s mouth. She shook her head.

  “Good then. Can you help Darla this morning over on register four? She’s new and still getting the hang of how to ring up things that won’t scan.”

  “Sure.” Leah got up and left the office. Why the hell didn’t you tell him how you feel? she asked herself. Why didn’t you say something? She had questions and no answers.

  Leah was on her way to Darla’s register when she saw the second-to-last person she wanted to see that day—Mike, Mr. Hands. And he was late. He was pinning his name tag on as he looked up and saw Leah.

  “You’re late,” she said.

  Mike shrugged.

  “I hit traffic. I have a car.”

  Leah bristled and didn’t even try to hide it. “Well if you have a car, then you should be able to get here a lot faster than me on a bike. Be on time next time.”

  Leah brushed by him and headed straight back into the storeroom. She found herself in the bathroom again but was pleased that she at least wasn’t sobbing. She tried to remember if there had ever been a time when she would have been so quick to insult a manager. Why don’t they respect me? she thought, rubbing her temples. Even if they don’t respect me they could at least respect the position.

  Hale’s voice seemed to permeate her mind. She knew exactly what he would say. They don’t respect you because you don’t respect you. They don’t respect the position because they know there’s no power in it.

  Leah sighed. She already knew what needed to be done. The question was just whether or not she would be able to do it.

  Leah successfully avoided Rusty for the rest of the day, although she caught him staring in her direction a few times with a disgusted look on his face. If you had any nads you’d go confront him, Leah thought. But I guess you don’t.

  * * * * *

  At the end of her shift Leah sprinted out of the store. On her way home she stopped at Fit4Life and found Regina behind the desk again.

  “Hey Regina.” Leah leaned up against the counter.

  “Well hi there, sweetheart.” Regina put down the magazine she was reading. “What can I do for you?”

  “Did you say someone here was selling their car? Do you know how much?”

  “Well, Lance is getting rid of his old Honda. Don’t know what he’s asking for it but he’ll be here on Monday if you want to stop by and talk to him.”

  “I will.”

  “That cold weather finally getting to you?”

  Leah smiled. “Yeah.”

  It was a convenient-enough excuse, although the real reason was shame. Mike’s comment had really hit a sore spot and he was right. How could they respect a manager who shows up for work on a Schwinn like a grade-schooler?

  Leah couldn’t wait to see Hale. She did her homework with half of her attention. The other half was thinking about what would happen when she opened the box that night. After the complete shit of the past several days, Leah was in need of a little TLC. A good, hard fuck wouldn’t hurt either.

  When she couldn’t take it anymore, Leah slammed her books shut and pushed them away. She walked into her bedroom and took the box down off her dresser. She paused a moment to feel it in her hands, marveling at the way it still made her feel like she was in love. Then she lifted the lid and waited.

  Bang, bang, bang!

  Leah sprinted for the door. She yanked it open and welcomed in Hale, who entered with his usual nod, smirk and “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Leah said. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I know.”

  Hale smirked again and headed for the fridge. This time he pulled out two beers, opened them and gave one to Leah. He hung his jacket over one of the chairs and sat down at the table. Hale motioned for her to join him.

  Leah sat down and took a drink of her beer. It was good, refreshing—but really she wanted Hale to open up her pants, not her adult beverages.

  “So you’re having a rough time of it, huh?” Hale took a long chug of the beer.

  “It’s been a challenge,” Leah conceded. Hale laughed.

  “I like your spunk. ‘It’s been a challenge,’” he mimicked her. Leah made a face.

  “Challenges don’t make you come home and do something that makes you feel bad about yourself.”

  Leah looked away, ashamed. How the hell did he know everything?

  “Don’t be ashamed of yourself, Leah,” Hale said firmly. “Everyone falters. You’ve made more strides for yourself in the last week than many people make in a lifetime. So you keep holding your head up.”

  “I will.” A small smile formed on Leah’s face. Hale always knew what to say.

  “So tell me what the problem is.”

  “Well, I’m inexperienced, unprepared and I have no power.”

  “Okay.”

  “I don’t know what to do when the people working for me disrespect me. I don’t know how to properly assert myself as a manager. I need training. I need support and I need some fucking authority!”

  Leah was shrieking now. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She took a drink of the beer, then looked up at Hale. He was resting in his chair, one arm slung over the back, looking completely at ease and totally undisturbed by her outburst.

  “Did you tell your boss these things?”

  “Well…no.”

  “Why not?”

  “I guess I was afraid.”

  “Of…?”

  “Of him thinking I’m weak and I can’t do the job.”

  “If you don’t get proper support doing the job becomes ten times as difficult. I would think that your boss would appreciate you taking the initiative to bring these things to his attention. How can he help you if he doesn’t know what you need? Don’t you think he wants you to succeed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you need to tell him what you want. You need to believe in yourself enough to ask for what you want, how you want it and when you want it. Your needs are just as valuable as anyone else’s. You need to know that and act like it.”

  “It all makes sense when you lay it out.” Leah nodded. “Why can’t you come to work with me?”

  Hale laughed softly, shaking his head.

  “I’ll tell you what I can do right now.”

  Leah’s spirits immediately lifted. She felt something good coming on.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “I can give you some practice in asking for what you want.”

  Hale stood and took hold of Leah’s hand. He lifted her up to a standing position and slowly pushed her up against the wall next to the table. Leaning in, he kissed her hard on the lips. Leah opened to
him and let his tongue caress hers. She melted under his touch. After the week she’d had Hale was like salvation in a tie.

  When he finally released her she was panting.

  “Don’t forget to breathe.” He smiled. “Now tell me what you want. I want you to tell me exactly how and where you want me to fuck you. I want you tell me how hard, how deep and how long. If you want me to spank you or tie you up. I want you to give me specific details on how you want it.”

  Hale’s words made Leah’s heart beat in triple-time. She wanted to do it. She desperately wanted to have full rein over a sexual encounter. But just like when she was sitting in Bob’s office. She couldn’t say the words.

  “Come on, Leah,” Hale said. “Order me.”

  He said it like it was a dare. Leah imagined twenty things and twenty ways she would like Hale to take her but she couldn’t make a single one of them come out of her mouth.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Why?” Hale demanded.

  “I don’t know.”

  “That’s a lie. You can’t do it because you’re letting fear rule you. You’re also believing lies about yourself. Bullshit about how you’re not good enough to get what you want. You feel like you don’t deserve it. Isn’t that the truth?”

  “Yes,” Leah managed to squeak out.

  “If you can’t tell me what you want then how are you supposed to tell your boss what you need?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Hale stepped away from Leah and reached for his jacket.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stricken.

  “Learn to ask for what you want. Then I’ll come back.”

  “Don’t go!” she squeaked. “I need you!”

  “Then learn to tell me what you want. Take care.”

  Hale leaned in and kissed her gently then headed out the door. Leah watched, stunned, then dashed over to the front door. She yanked it open, only to find the empty hallway greeting her.

  “Hale,” she whispered.

  All that night and the next day—which thankfully Leah had off—she thought about what Hale had said. At first she was angry. How dare he come to her like that and then just leave her high and dry? Well, she was more warm and wet but still it was rude. Terribly rude.

  And true. Everything he’d said to her was a hard truth that she’d needed to hear. She did believe that she didn’t deserve it. She was letting fear rule her life. She always had.

  But that doesn’t mean it always will.

  Leah went to her kickboxing class Sunday night. She punched and kicked the hell out of the bag, occasionally surprising even herself with the force she put out. At the end of class, she was still standing. She wasn’t lying on the floor bemoaning the day she was born.

  “I feel sorry for whoever you’re pissed with,” Brenda said. “They’re gonna get it.”

  “Yes they are,” Leah agreed, even though it was going to be herself that was going to get it. Hale wants me to ask for what I want? By God, I’m going to do it and he is going to be shocked.

  Chapter Eight

  Monday after classes Leah went straight to Fit4Life and asked for Lance. When the six-foot-four mountain of muscle arrived next to her she felt like an ant.

  “Hi there,” he said with a grin. “I’m Lance.”

  Leah smiled back. She bet he was a big teddy bear.

  “I’m Leah. I hear you have a car for sale. Can I see it?”

  “Sure,” Lance said. “But I’ll warn you it’s seen better days.”

  “As long as it runs and has heating and air I’m happy.”

  “That it does.”

  Lance walked with Leah out to parking lot. He showed her an aging blue Honda Civic. The paint was faded and the interior was worn but it was clean and it started right up when Leah turned the key in the ignition.

  “How much?” she asked.

  “Seven hundred,” Lance said. Leah winced. She had just under four hundred in her savings account and her raise wouldn’t cover that much more.

  “Four hundred,” Leah countered confidently.

  “I can’t let it go for less than six.”

  At first Leah wanted to give up. It’s too much. I can’t afford it. May as well go on my merry way. Then she thought of Hale. You deserve what you want. Think, Leah, think. How do you make this work? Ask for it.

  “How about if I give you four hundred now and two hundred in a month?”

  Lance looked unconvinced.

  “I don’t know…”

  “I come to classes at the gym and Barbara knows where I live. If I don’t pay you, you can come beat me up.”

  Lance laughed. “I still don’t think I can go for that.”

  “You can hold my bike as collateral,” Leah said. “It’s a nice bike. Fifteen-speed. Good tires.”

  “You haven’t been riding your bike around this winter, have you?”

  “Of course. No other way to get around. I only take the bus when it rains.”

  “Jesus, girl. You got heart. Okay, I’ll take four hundred now and two hundred in thirty days. And I’ll hold onto your bike.”

  Leah smiled.

  “Deal. Let’s make the trade tomorrow.”

  When Leah showed up at work, she marched directly into Bob’s office and said, “Bob, I need to see you about some things. Do you have a minute?”

  Bob nodded, this time swallowing his late lunch instead of breakfast. He took a sip of a Diet Coke. “Sure thing.”

  Leah turned and shut the door and sat down in front of him.

  “I need some things to help me do my new job better.”

  “Okay, fire away.”

  Leah took a deep breath.

  “Well, first I need some training. Maybe a new-manager class or something. I don’t feel like I’m being effective in how I relate to the employees. Second, I need some more support, either from you or from Maria. I need someone to walk through the day with me and show me how I can do better. And lastly, I need some authority. Everyone knows that I don’t have any power to discipline or approve or anything. So they abuse me because they can. And I don’t like it.”

  Bob sat back in his chair looking like she could have knocked him over with a feather. Then he gave her a big smile. “I really like you, Leah. And I like what I’m seeing. I like a person who isn’t afraid to ask for what they want.”

  Leah nodded, unsure if that required a response.

  “And I can help you. I’ll arrange for Maria to walk through your shift with you tomorrow or Wednesday. You find a training class that you think will suit your needs and give me the details so I can set it up.”

  “Thank you very much. And the authority thing?”

  “The authority thing is a different issue. There’s only so much that a shift manager can actually do according to company policy. But Leah, I think if you apply what you learn from Maria and the class you go to, that the employees will begin to respect you because you demand it, not just the position.”

  Leah returned to her apartment after work, blowing into the place like a Midwestern tornado. She was flushed from the ride home but she was filled with energy from the day’s exploits. She was getting a car. She was getting support and training. She wasn’t getting the ability to fire people but she chalked it up to just another lesson. Just because you ask for it doesn’t mean you’re going to get it…but if you don’t ask, you’re guaranteed to not get it.

  Leah ran through the shower and tucked herself into her bathrobe. She dried her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled. Her natural color, it turned out, suited her just fine. Leah smirked at her reflection. “Okay Hale, you fucker. You want me to tell you what I want? Get ready.”

  The box seemed to vibrate in her hands as Leah took it off the dresser and held it. It was full of something—she might never know what but it was changing every bit of her from the inside out. Leah pushed on the lid and held her breath.

  Bang, bang, bang!

  Leah smiled, taking he
r time putting the box back on the dresser and sticking her feet into her slippers. She walked over to the door feeling more in charge of her life than she ever thought possible. Leah opened the door and before Hale had a chance to give her the nod she grabbed him by his shirt collar and yanked him into the apartment.

  “Damn,” Hale said, right before Leah slammed the door shut and pushed him up against it.

  “That’s right. Damn.” Leah pressed herself up against Hale and kissed him hard, pushing her tongue past his lips and devouring him. Hale’s hands moved to her hips, squeezing her encouragingly. Leah released his mouth and said, “I hope you’re well rested.”

  Hale raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Why is that?”

  “Because you are going fuck me in every way I can think of for as long as I can stay awake. Now. Take your pants off.”

  “I like this side of you.” His voice was low and hungry.

  Hale reached down and unzipped his pants while Leah worked on his tie. Piece by piece his suit fell to the floor, right in front of the door. Leah ran her fingertips lightly over his nipples and he shivered. Smiling, Leah kissed his chest then kissed down his stomach, slowly lowering herself until she came to her knees before him.

  “You’re not allowed to come,” she said, then took his swollen cock into her mouth. Hale relaxed his body against the door, then reached down and caressed Leah’s hair as she sucked and licked him.

  Leah had never understood what the appeal was for a woman to perform oral sex on a man until she tried it. She was sure it was a different experience with Hale than it would be with anyone else but the deep connection she experienced was eye-opening. It was like an awakening. She got immediate feedback on if what she was doing was good because she could feel it in her mouth. It was almost as much about her as it was for him. And the more she worked him over the hotter she got. She could think of other appealing places for him to put that stiff deliciousness.

  Releasing him, Leah stood and leaned into Hale, whispering into his ear like he had done so many times to her. “Your turn to lick me.”

  Hale pushed away from the door and took hold of Leah, spinning her then lowering her down to the floor. Leah laughed, marveling at how easily he moved her, like she weighed nothing. Hale crawled on top of her, straddling her body, and pulled on the belt of her robe.