Merging Assets (6 page)

“Damn, I can’t wait,” Roman groaned.

His grunts and gasps made her look at him as he came all over her chest. It felt dirty and wonderful at the same time. She kissed Roman. He moved back to sit on the couch, and she watched him kiss Fred as Andy rode Fred’s cock. Her pussy tightened on Lance as she grabbed Andy’s cock and jerked him off.

“Yeah, make him come,” Fred said.

“You, too,” Andy shot back.

She grinned and bounced back on Lance. He held her shoulders and took over. Quick and hard, he fucked her pussy. Fred lifted faster too until he screamed and pulled Andy down on him. Andy leaned back and stroked his cock. The cum hit her cheek and neck as she watched him climax.

“Yeah, that’s nice. Your turn.” Lance’s fingers slid down between her legs and worked her clit as he filled her hard.

The three satisfied men let her relax and enjoy the last one. Her orgasm was close, and for a second, she wanted to hold off. Lance rubbed her clit faster, and she was helpless. The spasms took hold as the burst of sheer bliss exploded in her. She squeezed his cock as her pussy convulsed on him.

“Just like that.” He filled her one more time and cursed. His release was quiet and hard. As he recovered, he licked the cum off her cheek. “You definitely belong with us forever.”

She grinned and felt as if she’d had a real workout and wanted another. “I’m not going anywhere. Except maybe to the bed where it’s a little easier to maneuver.”

“We’ll follow you wherever you want to go.” Roman licked up some of Andy’s cum.

Lance eased from her body as Andy climbed off of Fred. As soon as he was free, Fred pushed her down on her back on the floor and lapped the rest of the cream from her body.

She kissed him after he’d cleaned her off. “I mean it about the bed. Marathon sex sessions are so much easier there.”

“Lady’s choice. To the bedroom!” Fred said.

Chapter Six

Within a week, the news of the group relationship had spread around the office, but Crystal seemed to be enjoying it. She’d followed procedure and disclosed the relationship, but that wasn’t the end of it. Fred had friends who worked there, so he knew some of the reactions and rumblings weren’t all good.

Fred didn’t want to spark panic, but he had to tell someone. He headed into Andy’s office and locked the door behind him.

“Something wrong?” Andy looked up from his computer.

“Yes and no.” Fred paced in front of Andy’s desk. “It’s all hearsay, but I have to tell someone.”

“Okay. Your connections are usually pretty spot on.” Andy sat back.

“I have a friend who works in HR at the main office. He usually works with the guys in the plant, but I asked him to keep his ears open when we got bought out.” Fred finally sat down in a guest chair.

Andy nodded. “And he has some information now?”

“Sort of. I guess the new HR manager isn’t very popular. She’s a hard ass who wants to make a name for herself real fast.” Fred hated office politics, gossip and in-fighting. None of it served the business.

“She wants to toss us out and replace us with cheaper staff. I’ve been worried about that from the start,” Andy said.

“That’s been discussed, but nothing’s been done yet. Seems the relationship revelation Crystal thought wouldn’t a big deal, hit the higher ups. There’s talk of it being an issue.” Fred pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to tell her and upset her.”

“What sort of issue? We know we’re not the only ones,” Andy said.

“I don’t know exactly. He asked around a bit and everyone loves Crystal. In her department anyway. The accounting people like her. I don’t think this Douglas person likes her, and maybe, this guy Himmel who Crystal reports to is threatened by her.”

“She is motivated to move up. Isn’t that a good thing?” Andy asked.

Fred shook his head. “You’d think so, but how much room is there to grow in a small company? Set in a small town? If she’s only a job or two below him, maybe, she’s the best candidate to take his job one day and he wants to get rid of her.”

“He’s got the job. It seems dumb to want to get rid of a good worker the employees like because she might end up a challenge to him someday.” Andy folded his arms as his face scrunched in thought.

“Maybe, he’s not a fan of women moving up? Maybe, he did something shady that he’s worried Crystal will find.” Fred loved Crystal because she was smart and not afraid to show it.

“She might be from Louisiana, but she’s not a sweet southern belle who always wants to appear nice and prim. I like that.” Andy smiled.

“Me, too. We all do. Her career means a lot. I’m worried they’ll try to get rid of her because of us.” Fred sighed. “Should we tell the other guys? I didn’t want to spring it on them. You know Lance will throw a fit, and Roman will want to defend her.”

“We all do, but you’re right. Lance isn’t a think first sort of guy. Roman is fearless,” Andy agreed. “We can’t do anything until we know how it’ll go. She emailed me she had a meeting with her boss today. It’s supposed to be about the trucking contracts.”

“I bet the relationship thing comes up. If Himmel wants to find something, he’ll use anything to box her into a corner. Maybe make her leave,” Fred said.

“We don’t know the guy. He could just want to scare her. Make her less of a threat. Less ambitious. Why do some men get more threatened by a woman than other men?” Andy asked.

Fred laughed. “Men are conditioned to compete with each other. It’s not right to compete with a girl. Hitting a girl is something good fathers teach their boys not to do, at least when we were kids. It was a society programming thing.”

“That’s in a fistfight not accounting. We’re talking brains not brawn,” Andy replied.

“But it’s still a competition. The old boy’s network is alive and well in plenty of companies. She might be better than he is. Ready for his job in three or five years. Doesn’t matter, it’s all speculation. That’s why I hate to bring it up at all, but they need to know if something goes wrong.” Fred stood up, went to the door and opened it. With a nod, he called Lance and Roman inside.

“What’s up?” Roman asked.

“Secret meetings aren’t good,” Lance added.

“Not secret. I just wanted to talk a few scenarios before we worried anyone.” Fred sat on the edge of Andy’s desk. “There might be some drama or trouble today. Crystal has a meeting with the powers, and it might go badly. Her boss might be threatened by her so we don’t know exactly what’s going on.”

“Who’s the source?” Lance asked.

“I have a friend in HR there. He’s not high up and more plant-based, but he’s overheard things and people tell him stuff. HR is reviewing the worker relationship policy, as well.” Fred didn’t want to give the worst piece of info, but he might have to for his own sanity.

“So we didn’t disclose the relationship after the first date, and we’re in trouble? It’s still fairly new,” Andy said.

“Disclosure is required, but the policy is vague. I checked. My contact thinks they might just be looking for any legit reason to get rid of Crystal so she’s not competition for promotions and so on going forward,” Fred explained.

“Get rid of her?” Roman asked.

“Fire her.” Fred shrugged.

“Or be annoying and difficult enough to make her leave. Throw enough small rocks at someone, and they’ll go the other way,” Lance grumbled.

“She’s been promoted once already. They have to see her value,” Roman replied.

Fred nodded. “I’d like to think so. My friend said her file is sterling, but the person she replaced left the company, another woman who was a strong candidate. I guess she had twins or something and went full-time mom. Crystal’s former boss had nothing but praise, but now, he and she are on the same level managing different accounting groups.”

“So now, she’s the competition for any promotion,” Roman said.

“Exactly,” Fred replied.

“But she’s the most recently promoted so it’d make sense if another job opened up, that her old boss or someone else on that level already would get it first. All things being equal, she’s got the least time managing people.” Andy grabbed his stress ball from his desk and started squeezing.

“But if she’s smarter, quicker, or better—the employees know it. If she’s doing well, it’s not a secret. If they want to keep her down, it won’t be easy, unless they get rid of her.” Lance nodded.

“It’s a lot of speculation. We don’t know what the CFO or HR actually plans to do. We just need to be prepared that she might need us tonight. Or tomorrow. We don’t need to be shocked or interrogate her. Just be there for her, let her tell us what happened, and we can get angry about it then.” Fred resumed pacing even though the office was fuller now.

Lance nodded. “They’ll use us. Our relationship and everything they can. Anything she asked for that was more than the others or her quick promotion—it’ll all be thrown in her face.”

Andy set the stress ball down. “Which is why we need to be strong. Be there for her and deal with whatever we can.”

“She doesn’t need us running to her rescue. She’d be pissed,” Roman said.

“That’s not what I mean. If she gets fired, we can ask her to move in. Save her paying rent on her own place. She stays with us most of the time anyway, now. We’re not going to be jerks trying to rush in there because she can’t handle it. She can. But we can make it easier,” Fred said.

“Distract her.” Lance grinned.

“That’s the right thinking.” Roman nodded.

“Good. Just wanted everyone to know.” Fred left the office and needed a nap. He felt beaten and bruised by the corporation system, and nothing had officially happened yet. The stress of not knowing and waiting was worse. When the shit hit the fan, at least, they could dodge then clean it up.

* * * *

The great relationship had Crystal on a natural high. Most people were supportive. She’d filled out the form to disclose the relationship to HR and put it in the file over a week ago. So far, nothing had gone wrong. Even the trucking contracts had been renegotiated quickly and favorably.

Hopefully, the meeting was about that.

Himmel’s door was open, and she peeked in. Douglas was there again. Crystal had hoped the substantial savings would make the guy’s jobs safe, but Douglas was cracking down subtly around the whole company, making the company feel more like a company in a big city. Lucky Springs had always felt different. People knew each other so certain rules, like not hiring family members of those already working at the company weren’t practical.

“Crystal, come in,” Himmel said.

“I’m guessing this isn’t about the new contracts for the warehouse.” She took a seat and looked directly at Douglas.

Himmel held up a hand. “No, we’re thrilled about that. The savings will be substantial, but we’ll also be doing more business so they were willing to give on rate for more traffic. This is about something else.”

Douglas cleared her throat. “You filed a form about your relationship with four of the warehouse men.”

“It’s not that unusual in Lucky Springs.” Crystal felt her cheeks burning.

“I gather not, and the company doesn’t judge any alternative lifestyle, but you were involved in the acquisition review. You knew them before they were co-workers. Your attraction to them and involvement could’ve shaded your judgment.”

“What?” Crystal sat up straighter. “Nothing happened until the deal was done.”

“Maybe, but clearly, there was a strong attraction, and that could have impacted your work, as well. You weren’t totally impartial.”

“Yes, I was. I can separate my personal life from my work. Whether we bought that warehouse or not wouldn’t have stopped me from potentially having a relationship with them.” Crystal couldn’t believe they were going down this road.

“So you admit you wanted a relationship with them from the very beginning.” Douglas held up her hand. “We’re not making any changes yet. Mr. Himmel and I will review this with the owners and see where we stand. We want to talk to your co-workers and employees, as well. See if there are any other issues related. Then it can all be handled at once,” Douglas said.

Crystal looked at Himmel. “This is ridiculous. I’ve never had one criticism of my work behavior or performance, and now, I’m under a full investigation? I filled out the proper form to disclose the relationship, and it’s being used against me.”

“Just let the process work, Crystal. If they were always co-workers, it wouldn’t be an issue. But that’s not the case so HR needs to do their job.”

“Are you firing the men?” she asked.

“We’re not firing anyone now. It’s just under review. Don’t do anything differently for now.” Douglas smiled a thin grin.

“Is that all?” Crystal shot Himmel a glare. Losing her temper wouldn’t do anything but give them more ammunition. She should’ve thought about the fact that she’d been involved in evaluating the business before they worked together. No one could prove they’d been romantic before the sale because they hadn’t. But she couldn’t prove that they hadn’t dated at all. Either way, she’d still have dated her guys once the deal was done.

“Yes, you can get back to work. Don’t discuss this with anyone. Ms. Douglas will be discreet about her inquiry.” Himmel nodded.

Crystal didn’t believe that for a second. There were no secrets in this place. The relationship was out there, and as soon as HR started asking questions, the rumors would fly. She left the office and the building. With plenty of sick days racked up, she didn’t need to be there for that.

* * * *

At dinner, she’d told the guys all about what’d happened. It helped her worry a bit less, but she was still dropping things as they did the dishes.

“You need a real distraction,” Andy said.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Lance said.

Crystal loved the idea, but it would only be temporary. “Sex can’t solve everything.”

Roman shrugged. “We’re not solving it. Worrying won’t help either so we can ignore it. Forget about it for now. We can be very persuasive.”

She kissed Roman then Fred. “Fine. I don’t think anything but you guys could take my mind off of it.”