The New Partner

"So, unless you have further questions concerning the contractual obligations of working for this firm...?"

"No, sir. I understand all of this perfectly. I'm very excited to be working for Harrison & Hamill."

"You don't just work here, young lady," Mr. Harrison said with a smile. "You're a partner!"

Bianca signed the contract, and passed it over to Mr. Hamill, who affixed his signature, and then gave it to Mr. Tippling, who filed it away into its proper folder.

"Now then. It was good of you to come in on Christmas Eve to sign the paperwork and to get up to speed."

"I don't want to slow anything down, sir. I know this firm is responsible for several major pending cases, and I want to be useful as quickly as possible."

"Very good. We have to go to a charity banquet, and the office is closed. Mr. Tippling will remain, to fill you in on everything you need to know." The two senior partners rose, and hands were shaken all around. "We'll leave you two to your work. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," the junior partners said in unison.

"I'm sorry to make you work on Christmas Eve, Mr. Tippling," Bianca said.

"Look, the only reason I'm not the most junior partner in the firm is because you are now the most junior partner in the firm. Call me Gary, Mrs. Ross."

"Bianca." The two smiled, and then Gary turned to a new stack of paperwork.

"First thing's first. We have to fill out all of your paperwork for insurance and benefits and... well, you get the idea. This should take us until... oh, I'd say spring..."

Bianca laughed at his joke, and smiled. "It's okay. I'm used to doing lots of paperwork. I worked as a paralegal before I got my degree. Let's just get started, shall we?"

The two sat down and began to sort through all of it, one horrid document at a time.

The pair had been working for four straight hours before they decided to take a break. They had filled out all the necessary paperwork, and had begun to review the important cases the firm was currently involved with. Bianca straightened up, and put her hand to her lower back, trying to ease the pain from sitting so long.

"You'd think they could buy more comfortable chairs," she said ruefully.

"Oh, they have them," he said. "The senior partners have chairs that cost two grand a piece. Us peons get the cheapies."

"I'm going to get a soda. You want anything?"

"No, thanks."

Bianca walked down to the soda machine, which sat in a niche. As she turned away from the soda machine, her eyes glanced out the nearby window. What she saw made her freeze in place. She walked stiffly over to the window, unbelieving of what she saw.

"Gary?" she called out, loudly enough for him to hear her down the hallway.

Gary walked casually down the hall, figuring she was having some kind of problem with the machine. He found her staring out the window.

"Look," she said, her voice hushed in awe. Gary looked out the window, and his jaw dropped.

The pair had been working in a room with no windows, in the interior of the building. They had not heard the howling winds raging outside. When they looked out, what they saw was a world of white. They could not see the ground from where they were standing on the twelfth floor; the snow was blowing that heavily. Pressing his hand against the glass, Gary could feel it shake; the winds had to be above gale force strength.

"I wonder how bad it really is," he said, his voice as subdued as hers had been. "Let's go downstairs and see."

Bianca nodded, but didn't speak. She stayed right behind Gary as he led her to the elevator, and she stood close to him on the trip down. She didn't like storms, and had moved from Florida to get away from the threat of hurricanes. She'd forgotten that northern blizzards were almost worse.

There was no need to do something as foolish as step outside to find out how bad the storm was. In truth, they could not step outside: a drift of snow had piled up against the front entrance, completely blocking access. They walked around the ground floor until they found a door that wasn't blocked, only to find snow two feet deep greeting them.

"Two feet... in four hours. My god, what a storm." Gary said this after he'd managed to lever the door shut against the blowing winds.

"What are we going to do? How do we get home?" Bianca asked, her voice under tight control.

Gary let out a short bark of a laugh. "In this shit, you don't. You stay put, unless you like winding up a popsicle. C'mon, let's head back upstairs."

In the elevator, Gary wondered at Bianca's seeming inability to cope with a simple snowstorm. He didn't yet know enough of her history to realize it was her first. He walked down to one of the offices, which was unlocked, of course, and then picked up a phone. Luckily, it still worked.

"Who are you calling?" Bianca asked. He hadn't realized that she'd followed him.

"My wife. You should probably call home, too, so they won't worry. We're not getting out of here today... or maybe even tomorrow. This could take a while to clear out."

Bianca hadn't considered that, and walked away, twisting the ring on her finger in worry. She didn't like being stuck in a building, no matter its size. The word trapped kept echoing in her mind.

Back in the office, Gary had reached his house. "Hey, Darla. It's me. I'm still at work. What's the weather look like at home?"

"A little bit of snow. No big deal, really. Why?" Gary Tippling lived well outside of the city; he wasn't surprised the storm had missed his home.

"It's a complete white-out here, Honey. We've got like two feet of snow on the ground already."

"Well, you'd better get moving, before all the roads are closed!"

"Darla, I don't think you understand. There aren't any roads here. Everything's covered in two solid feet of snow. I couldn't even tell which car was mine in the parking lot. I'd need a snow plow just to get onto a street."

"Gary, tomorrow is Christmas! You've got to be home!"

"Honey, I want to be home as much as you do, but I'm not superman. I can't magically clear a path through the blizzard."

"But we have commitments! The Adlers are expecting us! And we were going to the Hoffman party, too! Do you realize how bad it's going to look if we don't show?"

Gary took a deep breath, trying to control his temper. Here he was, stuck in the middle of a snowstorm, and all his wife was worried about were their social engagements. "Darla, I'm aware of all that. Somehow, I think they'll understand that I wasn't able to make it."

"You're not even willing to try, are you?" Darla accused him. "I bet it's not even as bad as all that. You just don't care. I've spent two years building up our social status, and you're willing to throw it all away for-"

"Darla," Gary said, interrupting her angrily, "I don't feel like listening to you rant about how this will affect our 'social status.' Maybe you don't get it, but this is a serious storm! If I was going to go out in it, I would certainly get stuck, and probably freeze to death!"

"Oh, let's not be melodramatic, Gary. It can't possibly be that bad, or the phone lines would be down."

"The phones," Gary tried not to snarl, "are underground. Now, I'm going to hang up, before one or the other of us says something he will regret later. I'll call you later. Good-bye."

Gary hung up the phone before his wife could respond. He marched out of the office, ignoring Bianca, who was sitting at a chair across the way, and walked down the hall, muttering to himself angrily about the stupidity and sheer arrogance of his wife. Bianca sat with her arms wrapped around herself, waiting for him to come back. She didn't like being alone in this place with a storm outside.

After about ten minutes, Gary did come back, with Bianca's soda, which she had left on the window sill. He had one of his own now.

"Sorry about that," he said calmly. "Darla really knows how to press all the right buttons to piss me off."

"Sounds like it. What's her deal?"

"Darla married me for status. I thought she loved me at the time, and I know I was in love... well, I was in love with what I thought she was. Anyway, we go to a lot of gatherings of young couples... you know, the kind who don't have kids yet. We stand around and talk shop and brag to each other about how we're going to take over the company one day. It's all bullshit, really, but Darla believes in it. We were invited to three separate Christmas parties for tomorrow. Of course, she's mortified that I can't take her now."

"Christmas parties, on Christmas Day?"

"Like I said, these couples don't have kids, and they're old enough not to want to do the whole mom and dad thing. So, why not?"

"I suppose. So, she's really upset?"

"Yeah. She thinks I'm concocting the whole snowstorm just to cheat her out of her parties. Shit, I don't know what she was going to accuse me of... maybe she thinks I'm having an affair."

They both laughed a little nervously at that thought.

"How did your husband take it?" Gary asked. He had seen the ring on her hand; it was obvious she was married.

"I didn't call him."

"Don't you think you should?"

"Why bother? He hardly notices when I'm at home, anyway. So long as the food doesn't run out, he'll be fine. Hell, why interrupt him? He's probably busy screwing the maid, anyway. It's our third maid. He's felt compelled to fire each one when I've caught them together. I think he thinks I won't know he's just going to fuck the next one, as well."

"Sorry."

She waved her hand. "Ross married me for money. I wish I'd realized that at the time, but, like you, I was in love with an image that didn't last."

"You refer to your husband by his last name?" Gary asked incredulously.

Bianca arched an eyebrow at him. "His family calls him Ross the Third. They call him that not because there are two others before him, but because they named him Ross... Ross... Ross. I don't know who was drunk when they were naming the child, but..."

Gary couldn't strangle the laugh that he was holding in, and finally he had to let it out before he hurt himself. He tried to apologize to Bianca when he settled down, but she wouldn't let him.

"I suppose it is funny to others. To me it's just pathetic... but then, I've had to put up with his family."

"I'm sorry, really. But... naming your kid Ross Ross Ross... is..." Gary broke off in a fit of giggles again. Bianca smiled wanly at him; his laugh was somewhat infectious. After a little bit, she was chuckling, too.

When they had both finally settled down, Bianca grinned at him. "Thanks. I needed that."

"No problem." Gary took a deep breath, and let it out. "Well, we're stuck here. You want to try to get some more work done?"

"Might as well. Not much else to do. Which case were we working on?"

"Simpson v. Skinner. Now, this is interesting..."

Over the course of the next several hours, the two kept working. Bianca tried to focus her mind solely on their task, to try to push the thoughts of the storm outside out of her head. For the most part, it worked, until they would pause to stretch, or get a soda, and then the thought of it would come crashing back in on her, and she would have to hug herself to keep from shivering.

Gary had noticed this behavior, but had been afraid to mention it. He didn't want to pry into her private life, and a person's fears are the most private thing about them. When it started to grow dark outside, though, he figured they'd worked enough.

"What say we raid the snack machine? I'm hungry."

"Oh, there's nutrition for you!" Bianca said with a laugh.

Gary laughed with her. "It's either that, or we go down to the cafeteria, and you can make me dinner, since I can barely cook things that come out of a box with directions on it!"

Bianca laughed lightly. Normally, such a comment would have set off her 'sexism' alert, but coming from Gary, it came out as the self-deprecating joke he had meant it as. "No, I don't think that will work, either. I'm not much of a chef myself. Okay, Cheetos it is!"

The two gathered a fair collection of junk food on a table, and began munching. Once they started, they both realized that they were fairly hungry, even for this completely worthless collection of foodstuffs.

"Bianca," Gary said, trying to approach the subject obliquely, without prying. "Why does this storm bother you so bad? I mean, it's nasty, but it's just a winter storm..."

"It's my first," she said simply. Seeing the shock on his face, she explained. "I was born in Kissimmee, Florida. When I was eight, we moved to Ft. Myers. I did college at the University of Miami, and law school in Florida, as well. I've spent my whole life in a place where it never snows. I came up here to get away from hurricanes, and look what I get myself into!" She shuddered as the building creaked ever so slightly in the winds.

Gary unconsciously reached out and put his hand on her arm. "It's okay. This'll pass. So, you grew up in Florida, huh? I've been there on vacation a couple times... did the Spring Break thing once in Ft. Lauderdale, but... seemed nice enough. I suppose the hurricanes would be a problem."

"I was nearly caught in Andrew. I got out of the area only six hours before it hit. That was it for me. I knew I wanted to live somewhere that didn't get leveled every few years. Now look where I am."

"Well, it could be worse. We have light, heat, shelter, food - such as it is - and good company... well, at least I have good company," he said with a smile.

Bianca giggled at him. "What about you? How did you end up here?"

"My parents always wanted their son to grow up to be President. Well, of course, the best career for a lying politician is a lying attorney, so... I didn't get a whole lot of say in the matter; I was raised with a goal in mind. I don't much mind, though... I like being an attorney. Didn't expect to marry a bitch... oops, sorry, didn't mean to..."

Bianca waved it off. "Can't be any worse than the bastard I'm stuck with. How did you meet her?"

"We met in college. She came up to me during a dance one night and, well, things progressed from there. I think back on it and realize that she must have scouted me or something, like I was some kind of football player. She had planned out every phase of our relationship, and I, being the self-conscious type that didn't know any better, just went along with what she wanted. I was popping the question before I ever really knew what had happened, and she's just sort of always held the reins in our relationship."

"That's got to get old."

"Tell me about it. I hate to admit that her accusation is somewhat true; I do try to spend as much time working as I can, just to get away from her. And I'm not all that sorry that I'll be missing tomorrow's little get-togethers. Most of those people are arrogant assholes."

"Why do you put up with it?"

Gary shrugged. "Mainly, because of the pre-nup. She would get half of everything, and probably manage to get the better half, if you know what I mean."

"Any good lawyer should be able to bust that pre-nup apart, if it's that unfair... hell, you're a good lawyer, or you wouldn't be here..."

Gary shrugged again. "I know... I think I just don't want the stress in my life... I dunno, divorce always seems like such a lonely thing to do."

"I suppose."

"How did you meet Mr. Ross?" Gary asked, chuckling again. Bianca smiled; he had a way of making the annoying funny.

"Bar scene. I was lonely, he was there... call it a one-night stand that turned into a standing nightmare."

"Is he abusive?"

"No. He knows better. I'm not one of those women who'd put up with that kind of shit. I'd have him drawn and quartered, and then sentenced to two years in county lockup. But he plays around constantly. He doesn't even try to hide it very well. I wasn't kidding when I said he was probably screwing the maid. One time I caught him doing it with her in our bed. I really let loose on him that night. Hell, I can't remember the last time he and I had sex."

"Do you ever...?"

Bianca shook her head. "And don't ask me why I don't, because I don't know. He sure as hell wouldn't care, assuming he ever found out, and he wouldn't try. All he cares about is the money. The cars, the clothes, the house: so long as all that stuff is there, he couldn't give a rat's ass about me."

"So, why don't you kick him to the curb?"

"Pretty much the same reason you don't. He told me one time that he was boffing this lawyer, said she told him how much alimony he'd get from me if we divorced... It was a not-so-veiled threat; he knows he's got me over a barrel."

"Sounds like a prize dirt-bag."

"He is that."

Gary picked up his soda, and gestured to make a toast. "Here's to spouses. God's punishment for having fun in our youth!"

"Amen!" Bianca said with a smile, clinking her can against his.

The pair talked for a while after their "meal", and then they each logged on to the Internet, to see if they could get weather reports concerning the storm. It soon became obvious that they would be trapped for at least the next day or so; the storm wasn't easing off. For a while, they involved themselves in purely personal web surfing, just to kill time, but soon enough they realized how futile it was, and decided simply to go to bed.

"Maybe we'll get lucky, and the storm will quit early."

"Don't hold your breath," Bianca said glumly. "Storms generally don't cooperate very well."

Gary smiled. "Well, whatever. I'm taking the couch in Mr. Martin's office. You might want to use the one in Ms. Lewis' office... it looks pretty comfortable."

"Okay. See you in the morning?"

"If the building doesn't fall down," he said with a smile.

"Thanks a lot!" she said, but smiled at him anyway.

Gary took off his shoes, and settled down onto the couch. Even as early as it was, it was easy for him to become sleepy; the wind outside was a noise he'd grown up with, and it was lulling him quickly into a stupor.

He didn't know how long it was before he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He blinked a few times, and then rolled to look up at Bianca.

"Whatsa matter?" he said drowsily.

"I'm sorry. There's no way I can sleep alone in this wind. You mind if I take a piece of the floor?"

Now, Gary was a little too much of a gentleman. He rolled to a sitting position. "No, you take the couch. I'll take the floor."

"That's hardly fair," she said. "After all, I'm the one who's changing things around."

"There's no way I can let a lady sleep on the floor when I have the couch, okay? Call me a chauvinist pig, but that's the way my mom raised me."

"Well, I'm not going to take the couch, either!" she said firmly. Both of them looked at each other in exasperation, and then laughed.

"You want that part of the floor, or this part?" Gary said with a smile.

"I'll take this part here."

"Okay." Gary lay down on the floor right next to the couch. It was ridiculous that neither of them would now be comfortable, but he accepted that as a matter of course. He would not be seen to be rude.

In only a few minutes, they both realized that sleeping on the floor wasn't all that uncomfortable, since the rugs were thick, but it was cold. The heat didn't seem to make it all the way to the floor. Gary got up after only a couple minutes.

"I'll be right back. There are some emergency supplies in the hall closet. Maybe there are some blankets."

"Okay," Bianca said, shivering to herself. She looked over at the couch, but she'd be damned if she would take the only comfortable 'bed' after she'd forced him out of it.

Gary was back in a few minutes. "Good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

"The bad news."

"There's only one blanket."

"Hmm. Well, what was the good news?"

"There was a blanket. You were supposed to ask for that first," he said with a grin. She giggled. "It's a good-size blanket. I think we're adult enough to sleep side-by-side in order to share it, don't you?"

"Yes, I think so."

Gary unfolded the blanket, and then dropped down to the floor. He flicked the blanket to spread it over both of them, and then lay down. He turned his back to her, and he could feel her bottom pushing against his; they huddled close together to keep warm. He would have laughed, but he didn't want to offend her. After only a few more minutes, he was sound asleep.

Bianca knew that this would be humorous to anyone who saw it; she was sure she was the only person in the state who was terrified just then. She pushed herself back until she was fully pressed up against Gary. His warmth and bulk - what there was of it - were reassuring to her. She closed her eyes, and after a long period of restlessness, was able to go to sleep.

...---===EWPUB.ORG===---...

When Gary began to wake up, he did so in his usual way, slowly and somewhat groggily. He felt a warm body pressed against him, and in his sleepy state, he just assumed it was his wife. Unusual as it was for her to be frisky, he knew he should take advantage of it while he could. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and pulled her close to him.

In only another moment, he realized his bed wasn't this hard or furry, and that he wasn't sleeping with his wife. His eyes shot open, to be confronted by a just-awakening Bianca, who could feel his hands, which had nearly reached her ass. He blushed crimson, and tried to move away from her, only to find that, during the night, they had tangled themselves in the blanket.

By the time Gary managed to get himself free of the blanket, he was totally flustered. He made a few unintelligible noises, and departed from the room, to take care of his morning needs, and to hopefully let some of the blood retreat from his face into the rest of his body.

When he returned, he found Bianca sitting on the floor, stretching a little to loosen up. He couldn't really look her in the eyes, but he felt he should say something.

"Uh, I'm sorry about that... when we woke up, I mean. I tend to be a little out of it in the morning, and... I guess I didn't really remember who you were... I... aw, shit," he said, finally, turning away because he was blushing again. He didn't see Bianca trying to hold in her giggles.

As Gary turned back, Bianca held out her hand. He took it and helped her to her feet. She continued to hold on to his hand, and then she very, very lightly smacked it with her other one.

"Bad hands," she said, scolding them seriously. Gary smiled. His smiled was erased by confusion when Bianca embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good boy," she said with a grin. "Thank you for putting up with me last night. I guess I'm just not a bad-weather person."

Gary tried to regain his composure as she let him go. "It's okay. Everyone has their little pet peeves."

"It's still coming down like crazy out there," Bianca said, staring out the window. "I wonder how many feet of snow are out there now."

"You'd probably rather not know."

"We're going to be stuck here until June!" she said glumly.

"I could think of worse people to be stuck with," Gary muttered to himself.

"What?" Bianca asked, not having heard him.

"Nothing. I'm going to go start the coffee machine. Then... hell, I don't know. Might as well do some more work."

As he was about to leave the room, Bianca's voice stopped him. "Gary?"

He turned back. "Yeah?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Merry Christmas."

Gary blushed, then he said, "Merry Christmas to you, too." He retreated from the room before she could make him blush for yet another time this morning. What is it with me and women? I can't keep control of myself around them no matter what! That was pretty much how Darla roped me in the first place.

That line of thought led Gary to things he didn't want to think about, so he focused on making the coffee.

The two coworkers returned to their study of cases for about half of the morning, but after that, they had run out of material to go over. They each took a little personal time, just to be alone, review email, and see what was going on outside their whited-out ping-pong ball of a world. The snow kept coming down, and even Gary couldn't believe it. He estimated, after walking down to the second floor, that there was at least four feet of snow on the ground. This was ridiculous; he'd never heard of such a storm. It had to be the worst in over a hundred years.

They broke for lunch, which consisted of another batch of junk food. Gary had made a raid on the cafeteria, and had at least managed to get them something decent to drink. They sat together, munching away, lost in thought.

"I'd never have thought, six months ago," Bianca finally said, "that I'd be stuck in my office quite this literally."

Gary chuckled. "Yeah. This wasn't really how I planned my life to turn out, either."

"What did you expect?" she asked, apparently interested.

Gary set down his chips. "Well, the whole lawyer thing, as I said, was a given. But I think I more expected to be a trial attorney, maybe a prosecutor."

"Criminal law?"

"Yeah. Protecting the public, that whole thing. But... well, Darla talked me out of that. She didn't see any social future in being a DA."

"Geez, what's she been smokin'?"

Gary shrugged. "Anyway, she managed to talk me out of it, and so here I am, shuffling corporate paperwork back and forth, doing the occasional contractual dispute and a lot of work with corporations negotiating this or that. It's dull, most of the time."

"Why don't you change?"

He shrugged again. "Just caught in the rut, I guess. Plus it would mean a nice long battle with Darla, and I don't know as I feel I'm up to that."

"You can't let her run your whole life," Bianca said, before she could stop herself.

Gary just nodded. "I know. I guess I'm just a little too easygoing... it's too easy for her to push me in the direction she wants to go."

Bianca nodded. "At least she seems to be gentle about her manipulation. Ross does his through thinly veiled threats about my career and my future."

"He's not what you wanted in a husband, is he?"

"Not hardly. When I was in my teens... you know, those 'formative years', I always dreamed that my husband and I would do things together, that we'd sit on the couch and talk about things. I thought we'd spend time at the park, or at the zoo..."

"Definitely not at socialite parties?" he asked with a grin.

"No, none of those!" she laughed. "Darla's not what you wished for, either, is she?"

"No. Darla has no ambitions other than her own self-importance. She wants to look big in other people's eyes without actually doing anything. I had hoped that my wife would be my equal. Darla isn't, really... she just expects me to treat her like she is. She's shallow, vain, and not terribly bright, when I'm honest about it. Trying to explain one of our cases to her would take all day."

Bianca nodded. "I know the feeling. Ross is smart enough, but he doesn't give enough of a shit about me to want to discuss a case." They each looked down, and then they looked at each other. It was a moment of mutual blushing.

"Listen to us," Gary said. "We sound like two old-timers, bitching about what could have been."

Bianca laughed. "Too true. We do have something in common with those old-timers, though."

"What's that?"

"Neither of us seems to be able to do anything about it."

"Going it alone's kind of a scary proposition."

"Yeah."

The two lapsed into silence for a long moment. After an uncomfortably long pause, Gary said, "Look, we can't just sit here. I know we worked our asses off never to have to do paralegal work again, but..."

"But it will keep us from going completely nuts. You're right. Let's do it."

Gary was in the middle of a lengthy email to his brother, who lived in Hawaii - the bastard - when the computer turned itself off. Gary cursed at length until he realized that the computer wasn't the only thing that was off. He hadn't bothered turning on the room light, but he now realized that the lights in the hall were also out. He stepped out into the hallway, and muttered under his breath. It was apparent that main power had gone out in the building, and the only illumination came from the emergency floods at each end of the hallway.

With a sigh and another muttered curse, he decided he should find Bianca, to make sure she wasn't stuck somewhere without power. After banging his shins on two trash cans and a desk, he finally made his way over to the maintenance closet, where he grabbed the flashlight kept there. He wandered down the hallway, looking for her in each office. They'd separated for some more 'alone time' about a half hour before. When he got to the conference room, he stepped in. He didn't see her, but the sight out the window caught his attention.

Walking to the window, he set the flashlight down and stared out. The snow had turned to sleet. It was an ice storm; worse by far than a snowstorm. The snow was something they could deal with, but it was obvious that the ice had taken down the transmission lines outside of town. There was no electric light to be seen within his view, which covered a dozen city blocks.

"Aw, hell," he sighed. Just then, he heard a whimper coming from behind him. He turned quickly, and with his eyes now adjusted to the darkness, he saw her sitting on the edge of the conference table, holding herself and shivering uncontrollably. He knew she didn't like storms, but this was far worse than she'd been.

Gary moved to her side, and put his arm on her shoulder. "It's okay, Bianca."

"What happened to the lights?"

"The storm must have knocked out power. We'll be okay. The heat here runs on a separate emergency system."

"Turn the lights back on," she said. It was as if she hadn't even heard him.

"I can't, Bianca," he said calmly, quietly. "The power went off."

Bianca's shivers turned into shudders, and Gary felt compelled to wrap his arms around her. He sat next to her on the table, holding her against himself.

"God I hate the dark," she whispered, over and over again. Gary pulled her more tightly to himself, and began to stroke her hair. He couldn't really think of anything to say at this point, so he just kept holding her. His hand strayed from her hair down onto her back, and she seemed to ease a little at that. He didn't really know what he was doing now; he only knew that he had to keep her calm, so she wouldn't panic on him.

As Gary continued to rub her back, Bianca slid against him, pushing herself more firmly into his grasp. He didn't really mind that, though his mind was a little confused about what he should do at this point. Part of him told him just to go with it, and another part told him that she wasn't thinking straight.

His hand, however, was now caressing her lower back, very close to the spot it had reached that morning. At that point, Bianca turned her face up to look at him. It was too dark for him to read her expression, but he didn't think she was angry. Her one hand came up to caress his cheek, and she craned her neck upward. He automatically tilted his head down, and their lips touched. The kiss began soft, but it soon deepened into a passionate exchange. When Gary let his tongue slip out to brush against her lips, she opened her mouth immediately to welcome it. Their tongues were soon dancing wetly, first in her mouth, then in his, then back in hers.

Gary resolved himself not to make the first move, but he didn't have to. Bianca shifted herself, raising her body up to be more in line with his, and pressed herself tightly against him. She embraced him, and began to caress his back. He kept his hands moving across her back, as well, though he made sure not to go too far down.

Bianca was having none of that. She kept her arms around him as she leaned backward, pulling him down on top of her. He moved his arms out from under her to support his weight, and continued to kiss her.

By this point, it was obvious to Gary that she was going to let him... or more accurately, probably going to encourage him... to take liberties with her. He had never cheated on his wife, but this wasn't due so much to any sense of honor or loyalty to her, as much as it was that he simply didn't go looking for trouble. Now, with this attractive, vulnerable, and friendly woman urging him on, he simply couldn't resist.

Gary moved his hand softly upward, until it was cupping Bianca's breast through her clothes. She moaned into his mouth, enticing him to move more vigorously. His hand kneaded the flesh beneath it, and she groaned, arching her back to push her tit into his hand.

Emboldened, Gary let his hand move from her breast to the buttons on her blouse. She almost objected at first, until she realized where his hand had gone. At that, she allowed her own hands to begin pulling on his shirt, trying to free it from his slacks. By the time he had all of her buttons undone, she had managed to get his shirt loose, and had already undone both of the cuffs.

The pair broke their kiss for a brief moment, so they could both remove their shirts. Nothing was said, and it was too dark to exchange glances, though Gary could see the outline of her body, waiting for him. He reached out and pulled her up to him, embracing her and returning his lips to hers. As their tongues reacquainted themselves, he found the clasp for her bra and unhooked it. She squirmed against him, helping him to slip the garment off her body without breaking their embrace. He suddenly felt the hot points of her nipples pressing deliciously into his bare chest, and that aroused him in a way that he had not felt in quite some time.

Eager now, Gary's hands reached down and found the clasp on her skirt, which was undone in under a second, and was soon followed by the zipper. Bianca wrapped her arms around Gary and physically lifted herself off the table, allowing her skirt to be yanked clear of her body. She wasn't able to settle before Gary had also grabbed the waistband of her panties and dragged them clear. As she settled onto the cold mahogany of the table, she shivered slightly.

Gary broke their kiss, and stepped back just a bit. He kept in contact with Bianca, so she wouldn't think he was leaving, but there was something he wanted to do. His wife didn't much care for anything more than just missionary-position sex, and she would never have done anything so decadent as to screw on the dining room table, let alone a conference table.

Gary let his hands trail across her body as he knelt. He carefully pulled her forward, until her pussy was just at the edge of the table. Bianca wasn't quite sure what he had in mind, but when his fingers started dancing across her breasts, she didn't much care what else he was doing.

That is, until Gary leaned forward, and his tongue swiped gently across her swollen pussy lips. Bianca squealed in surprise and pleasure, and her hands flew to the back of Gary's head, pushing him firmly against her crotch.

Gary smiled to himself, and continued to move his tongue back and forth. He didn't need to see what he was doing for this; he'd known several girls in college who had loved his tongue. He stiffened it, and thrust his tongue into Bianca's dripping cunt like a small cock. She groaned out loudly in joy as he began to move his head back and forth, fucking her with his tongue. Bianca was rolling her hips, trying to push him more deeply into her.

After a little while, Gary sensed she was almost there, and so he pulled his tongue out - a difficult task, with her hands mashing him against her pussy - and moved upward. His tongue quickly found her clit, and began to wiggle against the very tip of it. Bianca's head rolled backward, and she had to let go of his head so she could use her arms to support herself, as her back arched and she nearly fell flat onto the table. Gary kept up his ministrations, and Bianca screamed in bliss, awash in the wonderful sensations he was causing between her legs.

In only a few more seconds, Bianca gave a loud shriek of ecstasy, and her body twisted and bucked, lost in the throes of orgasm. Gary continued to flick her clit with his tongue throughout her climax, only letting her go when she started to come down. He could hear her breathing heavily as he rose from his position on the floor. Silently, he unfastened and removed his slacks. His cock was as hard as he could ever remember it being, and he hoped she wasn't done for the night.

He needn't have worried; Bianca was far from through. After a few moments to catch her breath, which Gary filled by toying with her nipples and rubbing little circles in her thighs with his fingertips, she was more than ready for more. His patience and caresses were rewarded. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled herself up to him, embracing him and giving him a deep, soul-burning kiss. It was then that she felt his stiff rod trapped between them.

Breaking their kiss, she asked coyly, "Is that for me?"

"Only if you want it," he said with an unseen grin.

Bianca rocked her hips, rubbing his hard cock through her pussy hair. "I want it," she said with a low growl, "inside me."

Gary didn't need to be told twice. He leaned back slightly, and Bianca reached down to grab his rock-hard prick. She slipped it into position, aimed right at her waiting hole. As Gary moved forward, she let her hand slide along his length as he slid into her, slowly and gently. Bianca was tight, but she was also wet and very aroused. Gary's slow movements were not enough for her.

Rocking her hips, she moved her hand back up to his neck. She then leaned back until she was lying on the table, with him bent over her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and purred deep in her throat.

"I think this kitten needs to be fucked," she said huskily.

Gary got the message, and he began to pound into her furiously. Bianca was immediately panting and groaning, her head twisting side to side as Gary thrust into her as hard as he could. He straightened up slightly, to give him a better angle, and he thrust even harder. Bianca's legs came unwrapped from his waist as she was lost in the passion. He grabbed them, and pulled them up until her ankles were on his shoulders. This tightened her pussy around him even more - as if that was necessary - and increased the feeling for both of them.

Bianca was screaming almost constantly now, lost in the waves of ecstasy rolling over her. When Gary reached out and tweaked both her nipples at the same time, she lost it. Her body quivered and shook as a massive orgasm tore through her. Gary kept pounding into her as she climaxed, sending her higher and higher.

Even as Bianca finally started to come down from her high, Gary didn't stop; he was getting close to his own climax, and he didn't want to slow down now. Bianca didn't have the strength - nor the desire - to stop him, and she simply rode the wave as he pushed her over the brink one more time. Her body was wracked with spasms, and her cunt rippled along his shaft. Gary finally reached the edge, and plunged off into his own world of white-hot pleasure. His cum spewed deep into Bianca's pussy, and her body shuddered at the feel of it splashing within her depths.

The couple writhed together for long moments before they were able to come down from their climaxes. Gary gently moved Bianca's legs to the side, and she wrapped them around his waist again, trapping him inside her. He leaned down, and took her into his arms, kissing her passionately. Their kiss didn't lead to anything more only because both of them were thoroughly out of breath.

When Gary finally released her lips, she lay back on the table, and looked up at his shadow. Her eyes misted slightly, as she realized how comfortable she felt being with this man. I've known him for less than two days, and he already treats me better than Ross ever has. I could see us together in a way that I never really did with Ross. Bianca lifted her hands to run them gently over Gary's chest. I only wish he felt the same way.

Gary looked down at the lovely woman beneath him. He couldn't see her expression, but he could feel the way her body reacted to him. She's so incredible. She's the perfect woman. Gary studied her body with the tips of his fingers, noting the slight shivers this caused in her. For a fleeting moment, he thought about his wife, but he held her up against the woman beneath him, and her image faded instantly into the mists of unimportance.

Gary sighed contentedly, and said, "This is going to be..." he faltered for a word.

"Interesting? Exciting? Fun?" Bianca offered.

"Complicated," he said. He gave another unseen grin, and then leaned down and kissed her again. When he released her this time, he stayed closer to her. He said, "But at least I won't feel so alone anymore."

"No. Neither will I. Merry Christmas, Gary," she said, repeating her earlier comment.

"Merry Christmas. And welcome to the firm," he said with another kiss.

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