Equal Opportunity

"How did the interviews go?" asked Kathy, unbuttoning her blouse. Sitting on
their bed, Jeff looked up, still lost in thought.  "Did you find someone to help
you?"

"Nope," he said, watching calmly as his wife unclasped her bra. "Tomorrow will be
looking at four more applicants."  Caught boyishly by the sight of Kathy's naked
breasts, Jeff smiled slightly.

"That's too bad," she said, dropping her pants.  "I thought you sounded hopeful
this morning."  Kathy tickled her faint brown muff and turned to step into the
bathroom.  Jeff watched his wife's bottom shake, always ready to appreciate her
sensual charms.

"I was," he called out.  "She looked good on paper, but it wouldn't have worked
out."  The water began to run and Jeff heaved a deep sigh.

Two weeks had passed since he had finagled the Morgan case away from Epstein, and
Jeff couldn't help but lament the days they'd wasted. It was beginning to seem
impossible to find assistants who could help handle the convoluted legalisms that
plagued the Morgan situation.  With the booming economy, competition for skilled
help offered them a shallow pool of applicants.  This morning, finally, Jeff
really thought the search was over.

He'd been sitting at his desk, reading over her resume again, trying to find an
excuse not to hire this one on sight.  Most applicants hadn't even been close; 
Jeff had turned away twenty.  The work was starting to back up on him, but Jeff
reminded himself each morning that bad help was worse than no help.  The summer
before, he'd been severely burned by the assistant Jack had hired for him, and
Jeff didn't want that kind of trouble again.  He'd spent six weeks undoing the
mess Ben had made, three weeks more than it probably would have taken to just do
the job by himself.  Jeff scowled, adamant he would not go through that again.

But when Jeff read through the list of this applicant's qualifications again, he
found constant reassurance in each well-chosen word.  "Maybe," he thought, still
afraid to be hopeful, "we can actually start to get some work done today."

Jeff took a deep breath when the intercom gave a familiar buzz and Stacy said,
"Beth Carter to see you, Mr. Walters."  Jeff reached for the white button.

"Thanks, Stacy.  Send her in."

Jeff started to stand as the young woman stepped into the doorway, but felt his
knees weaken when she came full into view.  Jeff's eyes opened wide and he put a
hand on his desk to help raise himself up.

"Mr. Walters?" she asked.  Her voice sang pleasantly.

"Jeff," he said.  His voice faltered.  "Please, come in."  He looked back down at
the resume.  "Elizabeth?"

"Beth Carter," she said, reaching forward in greeting.  Jeff shook her soft hand
lightly.

"Please," he said, already drifting down into his chair.  "Have a seat."

Beth smiled and smoothed her plum suit skirt over her lean thigh with an elegance
that pleased Jeff.  "She'd give the team a real touch of class," he thought,
imagining the impact such a smart looking woman would have by his side when he
met with the field group.

"I brought some writing samples," she said, opening a leather folder and
withdrawing several sheets of paper.

"Good," Jeff said, reaching over the desk to take the documents. Looking up from
the well crafted prose, he caught the anxious stare of her bright blue gaze.  A
rush of heat invigorated his heartbeat.

"This is excellent," he said, reacting honestly as he deliberately read another
paragraph.  Jeff looked up at the woman and saw a faint blush color her soft
cheeks.

"Thank you," Beth said.  "I wrote those when I worked for Myer and Baker."

"Right," Jeff said, pulling out her resume again.  "They're a good firm.  Can I
ask you why you left?"

"They weren't challenging me," Beth said, seriously.  Jeff could imagine her
speaking with such insistence to someone like Jenkins or even Bradford.  "I mean,
I have nothing against the paperwork and such, that's just part of the business,
but they seemed to shy away from tackling real problems.  I want to work hard and
have something to be proud of when I'm done."

Jeff nodded knowingly, recognizing with delight his own attitude.  He smiled
wryly.  "What makes you think a job here will be any different than the one you
had with Don Myers?"

"That's why I applied for this position.  Frankly, Mr. Walters, I could probably
find a higher paying job over at someplace like Witherspoon Gaddis, but I'm not
looking to play a social, client shmoozing role.  Not yet, anyway.  From what
I've seen of your work, and of you, I believe I can find what I'm looking for
here."

"Challenges?"

"You're getting ready to handle the Morgan case, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Jeff.

"You're going to fight it, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not at liberty. . . ."

"If you aren't going to fight," Beth said sternly, "then please don't hire me.  I
want to put on the gloves and get in the ring with that one.  If you're just
going to file settlements, I can get that somewhere else."

Jeff leaned forward, excited by her fire.  "Good," he said emphatically.  "I like
your attitude, Miss Carter."  Without thinking he noticed the absence of a ring
on her left hand's fourth finger. "It would mean hard work, and probably some
long hours, at least for the next few months."

"I'm hoping it would," she said, smiling, flush with enthusiasm.  As she leaned
forward, Jeff noticed the gold cross at her breast bone, and then a glimpse of
the untanned curve just beneath the edge of her blouse.  He swallowed
deliberately.

"Evenings, some weekends," he said, his throat dry.  He picked up the glass of
water on his desk and as he took a sip he remembered the long evenings he had
spent working with Ben.  He remembered the proximity of his assistant as they
pored over the figures for some indicia of intent, Ben's head almost on his
shoulder, the dull scent of the young man's cologne irritating him immeasurably
as the nights wore on.

Jeff put the glass down and looked at Beth.  She nodded and smiled. Her breasts
weren't big, but they had substance.  Jeff imagined the way they would press
against his arm as she leaned over to show him some passage that needed
explanation.  Beth pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and Jeff could almost
smell the delectable aroma.

"We'll probably have to take two or three trips to Atlanta this spring, and
there's a chance we'd have to spend a few weeks in Oregon."

"I know," Beth said.  "I know what the work is like.  At this point, Mr. Walters.
. ."

"Jeff," he said quietly, smiling.

"Jeff," she repeated with an indulgent grin, "at this point, I want to log some
miles and put in the hours.  My life is relatively free of commitments right now
and I want to put this time to good use.  I don't know, maybe it's hard to
believe, but I want to get my hands dirty working in the field.  I'm not saying
this to get a job.  I can get a job.  I just happen to know where I stand right
now.  I imagine there will be a day when I want something less taxing.  But for
now, I'm a young woman.  I want the chance to learn from people who know and also
to prove what I'm made of."

Jeff nodded.  He imagined for a brief moment the first week in February, when
they'd go to Atlanta.  He imagined carrying his suitcase into the hotel.  He
remembered the trip with Ben to Montreal, sitting at the hotel table most of the
night getting ready for the meeting at Lystar.  Jeff cleared his throat.

"Well, Miss Carter," he began.

"Beth," she corrected with a friendly laugh.

"Everything looks good," he said.  "I'm going to have to talk this over with
Jack, I think they told me you met him already."

"Sure," she said.

"But we should be in touch with you soon."  Jeff stood and held out his hand. 
"It's been a pleasure meeting you," he said.

"Likewise," Beth said, standing and touching his hand with hers.

Sitting on his bed, Jeff trembled slightly as he remembered watching the young
woman leave his office, leering at the way her skirt moved when she walked.

"What's the matter, Hon?" Kathy asked, towelling off her hair.

"Nothing," said Jeff.  "I'm just not sure I did the right thing."

"About?"

"Well, the woman I interviewed was probably as good as I'm going to get, and I
can't help wishing I could have hired her."

"Why didn't you?" Kathy asked, sitting down on the bed.

"I don't know," said Jeff.  "I think it was because she's a woman." Kathy hit her
husband on the leg.

"That doesn't sound like you, Jeff," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know.  I could even get in trouble, I mean, if she filed an EEO complaint, I'd
have a hard time explaining.  She was really well qualified."

"Then why didn't you hire her?"

"Kathy," he said, his voice implying his reasons, "if you'd seen her, you'd
understand."

"Oh," said Kathy, catching hold of his unspoken thought.  "Well, then, I'm proud
of you."  She smiled gaily and crawled up the bed. "You're a good husband," she
said, teasing the stiffening member shrouded within his pajamas.  Jeff sighed.

"Lead me not into temptation," he said softly.  Kathy extracted his prick from
its confines and kissed the round knob atop the hard staff.  Her tongue played
along his pale cockskin.

"You'll find someone," she promised, tickling Jeff's balls as she let the rod
descend into her mouth.  Bringing it back out, she looked up at her husband. 
"Are you going to get in trouble?"

"I don't think so," Jeff said.  "I told Jack I couldn't work with her and he said
he could take care of it."

"Jack will take care of it," Kathy echoed, suckling down her good husband's dick.

"Yeah," Jeff said, closing his eyes, "that's the way."

"Look, Jeff," Jack had said later that day, "I looked over her resume and I think
you're nuts.  Beth is really too good to let get away and she really wants to
work with us.  So I hope you don't mind, but I hired her as my assistant.  I'll
let her get started on the Morgan case while you keep looking for another hand. 
She won't be reporting to you, so you don't have to worry about that.  She'll sit
at Louise's old desk, and you can start briefing her tomorrow after your
interviews are finished."  Jack smacked him on the back.  "And don't worry.  I
told her you recommended her for the senior assistant position and threw in
another five grand.  I think she's worth it."

Jeff felt the stroke of Kathy's tongue down his prick, but his thoughts filled
with a mad visions of Beth's bright smiling eyes and her tits and her ass and her
lean, stockinged legs and the sweet subtle fragrance as Beth bent down close to
help him understand the operative fucking rule.

Each day and each evening, sitting ten yards past his door and always in sight
and Atlanta still waiting just a few weeks away.

"Oh, God," Jeff moaned as he thrust his prick up and felt his hot fountain erupt
in spurts of wild lust.  Kathy eagerly drank the thick wanton flow.  As his wife
smiled, licking her lips, Jeff shuddered and silently groaned, "please help me."