Chapter 15
By Harold Schlumberg's watch Blanche was one hour and twenty minutes late, and in spite of the fact that things were relatively slow at the mill he was furious.
Fortunately there wasn't that much correspondence to take care of and there had only been a couple of telephone calls so the lateness really hadn't inconvenienced him all that much.
What irritated him more than anything else was the fact that he honestly felt that she was taking unfair advantage of him.
Because most of the higher-ups were away he did have to put his ass on the line like he did the last time in order to save her job, but nevertheless it didn't make him look very good.
In addition his wife was giving him a lot of shit at home and he was certain that they were going to get divorced. He would have liked nothing better but he was afraid that was going to cost him a bundle of money which he didn't want to part with.
So he was between a rock and a hard place. He either put up with her or got rid of her and a lot of his hard earned money in the process.
He was beginning to have sharp pains in his stomach and was afraid that he was developing ulcers which would be perfectly understandable under the circumstances. He had an appointment with his doctor the following week and he was expecting the worse.
All of which put him into a vile mood and very unsympathetic to Blanche and any excuse she might offer which he automatically would not believe.
"Well?" he asked calmly, sitting at his desk when she finally came into the office.
This time she looked a little better. Her makeup was on, her hair neat and she wore her usual heels, medium length skirt and blouse.
"I was out drinking and partying last night and I overslept," she answered.
Schlumberg didn't know what to say at first. An honest answer was the last thing he was expecting and it took him a couple of seconds before he got a handle on it.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked.
"Very much."
"Anyone I know?"
"No. I suppose you're angry now, aren't you?" she asked.
"Not necessarily, Blanche. I'm a human being, too, you know. I've been known to overindulge from time to time. Everybody does. Some of us just pick our spots better than others, that's all."
"I know but it was sort of an unexpected thing," explained Blanche.
"Something that you just fell into?"
"You could say that."
"Or something that fell into you?"
That would be more accurate," said Blanche as she nodded her head in agreement.
"I see. Well, what are we going to do about this?" asked Schlumberg.
"Well, you could fire me on the spot."
"Only as a last resort."
"I could take off all my clothes and do an erotic dance for you."
"That has possibilities," he admitted.
"I've got it! Why don't I masturbate you?"
"Hmmm, I think you're on the right track."
"Not with my hands though."
"Blanche, I can do that for myself," said Schlumberg as he locked the office door.
"How about a nice sucking off? You liked it the last time I did it to you didn't you?"
"Very much but... "
"But what?"
"I think I'd like to try something a little different this time.
"I can see where we're getting into a situation here, Harold."
"Oh, we're in it all right. Unless you want to walk out the door and collect two weeks severance pay. That's always an alternative."
"Not a very attractive one though."
"I agree," said Schlumberg.
"Let me ask you something, okay?"
"Please do."
"How long is this situation going to exist for?"
"It's going to happen every time you're late. Is that fair enough? If you don't think it is I'll give you an excellent reference when you apply for your next job."
"It's fair," admitted Blanche.
"So what are we going to do?"
"Why don't I take off all my clothes? Maybe you can think of something because I sure as hell can't."
"It's a beginning," agreed Schlumberg.