As Yasmine stood there having a crisis of self for some strange, unknown reason, she could almost feel the eyes of people around her starting to turn to her. She couldn’t just stand there any longer, she had to suck it up. Whatever it was, anyway. Why did thinking about meeting with Ethan fill her with this unknown existential dread? She honestly couldn’t have explained it even if she wanted to. With a deep breath, she finally found the courage she needed to open the damn door to the finance and accounting section.

Opening the door, she couldn’t help but close her eyes like she was walking in and would be murdered on the spot. But she was not, in fact, murdered. It might have actually been preferred to what actually happened.

“Ummm, Ms. Roberts… everything okay?” A familiar voice called out to her, causing her eyes to open immediately. When she did, she saw a few different people staring at her. They had all stopped what they were doing to see who came in. Yasmine scanned the area, seeing a man and a woman she didn’t recognize before she found Ethan, giving her a concerned smile and a look that to her said. What is this weirdo doing?

Yasmine’s face went beet red almost instantly once she realized what she had just done. Once her eyes actually saw Ethan again, her feeling of existential dread faded, only to be replaced by horrifying embarrassment. She could only imagine how stupid she looked standing there with her eyes closed for who knows how long. She stood there for a few more seconds in dead silence, knowing she needed to say something, anything.

“I finished lunch!” She blurted out suddenly. The words hung in the air for several palpable seconds before one of the men in the office couldn’t contain their laughter anymore and let out a.

“Pfft…” Before catching themselves and looking away before they really broke out into laughter. Realizing how she didn’t actually finish the sentence that was in her head, Yasmine’s mortification only grew.

She was going to have to quit, there was no way she could ever live down this moment. Her rosy life in a small town was done and over with before it truly began. She was going to miss Marla, but if she didn’t commit seppuku she would never live down this disgrace.

“Hey, show some common decency, you two,” Ethan’s voice stated in a loud, commanding tone. The other two employees looked over at the man as he spoke. “I doubt either of you were big balls of confidence when you first started.” He admonished his co-workers as he stood up and walked over to Yasmine, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at Ethan, not seeing the man that she had been overwhelmed with fear to come see for some reason. But her savior, a kind and gentle man that was upset that she was being laughed at. Why had she felt so scared of coming to see him? He was so nice, not to mention handsome. His hand was big and warm on her shoulder. The rich scent of cologne coming from him was almost intoxicating. Soon she found herself blushing for a different reason than shame.

“Sorry about them, Ms. Roberts, please, let's go get your payroll all set up,” Ethan said with a gentle smile. It was all Yasmine could do to nod almost imperceptibly. But that was enough for him, leading her back over to his desk, keeping his hand on her shoulder before he had her sit down on the other side while he got behind his computer.

“Alright, I got most of your information in the system already. I just need your bank information for the direct deposit, " he said, sliding her a piece of paper for her to fill out. Yasmine just continued to nod in response, like she had lost her voice. She leaned over the desk slightly to write her information down, pulling out a piece of paper with that information she had prepared in advance for this very form.

Ethan’s eye watched her carefully, a simple smile on his face as he gazed down at the small busty woman. He couldn’t help but stare as the ample chest of Yasmine pressed into the desk as she wrote, making the blouse under her thin jacket bulge slightly. It was a very appealing sight to behold, but he remained professional, letting her finish the form. His eyes moving back to her face before she looked up again to slide the paper back to him. With a smile, Ethan took the paper and started to type in all the relevant information into the system.

“Alright, so you should be getting your first paycheck on the first of the month, which is only a week away. Then you get your next on the first following month. Did you have any other questions about anything else while you were here?” He said, his friendly smile never fading. Yasmine shook her head slightly as her amber eyes looked up at him with a bit of awe in them.

“Good, well, if you don’t mind me asking, how has your first day been so far?” She stared at him for a moment longer before answering, almost like her mind was on a bit of a delay.

“I-It’s been good. Everyone has been very friendly… well, aside from the mayor.” Ethan’s smile faded suddenly at the mention of the mayor. He let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment.

“I’m so sorry that you already had a run in with him. What did he do this time?” He asked, a sour look on his face.

“He, uhh, well, when I came in this morning, he was apparently sleeping under the front counter? He just gave me a bit of a scare because I thought he was a….” Yasmine wasn’t sure if she should bad mouth the mayor like this. But as it turned out, she didn’t have to.

“Like a vagrant?” She stared wide-eyed at Ethan before nodding to him. “I swear that man gives us all a bad rep. The mayor is supposed to be the face of the town. Just what kind of image are we presenting if our mayor and the town drunk are synonymous? I just don’t understand what the people of this town were thinking electing him.” He groaned with distaste for the mayor, which made her smile slightly.

“I mean, he hasn’t really done that bad of a job so far.” The other female in the room said, speaking up. “A lot has changed for the better since he took office this last year. We finally have a dedicated fire department, thanks to him.”

“Thank you, Glenda!” Ethan said in a slightly irritated tone as he gave the other woman a slight glare. But it was enough to make her shrink back behind her computer screen. Yasmine’s smile faltered for a moment, but when his look of compassion returned, so did her smile. “I won’t argue with results, but I just wish he would show some decorum for once in his life and not perpetuate the small town hillbilly stereotype.” He let out one last sigh before smiling at Yasmine one last time.

“Thank you for letting me vent a little there. Now I am sure that Marla is missing you at this point. I won’t keep you any longer.” Once he was done talking, he got up and walked around the desk. Yasmine got up as well and let him walk her to the door that led out of the shared office space. “We are all happy to have you on the team, Yasmine. Do you mind if I call you that? I prefer to keep things casual around here.” She shook her head with a smile.

“I don’t mind,” Yasmine said softly. His strange desire to be meek and demure in front of him was especially overpowering.

“Great, well, I will be seeing you around then, Yasmine. I hope you have a great rest of the day. Feel free to stop by anytime if you have any questions, need help, or just want to talk. My door is always open to you.” He gave her one last pat on the shoulder before opening the door for her.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She blushed slightly and nodded, taking in one last look at the man, drinking in his handsome visage and scent before walking out of the office. When the door closed behind her, Yasmine froze. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but it felt like she was suddenly woken up from a dream. Her mind was doing backflips as it struggled to recalibrate, like she had just stepped into or out of a different plane of existence. There was definitely something wrong.

When she turned to look back at the door she had just come out of, the same feeling of dread that had made it so hard to walk into the room returned. Goosebumps pimpled her skin and made her shiver. She honestly could barely recall exactly what had just gone on inside that office now, even though it had just happened. The only thing she knew was that she would do everything she could to keep from going into that room again.

Once Yasmine got back to her and Marla’s office, the rest of the day went without a hitch. She got some good work done, and her coworker slash boss couldn’t have been happier with her results. As it got later into the afternoon and closer to closing time, Marla approached Yasmine, who was lost in her work.

“Hey there dear, why don’t ya start packin’ up and get ready to leave? A bunch of us wanted to take you out to celebrate your first day with us. My treat.” Yasmine paused what she was doing to look over at Marla. She took a moment to process what Marla just said.

“Huh, oh, that's not necessary. I’m not that important or anything,” Yasmine said with a weak laugh. She had never had a job that actually thought a new hire was a reason to celebrate.

“Nonsense!” Marla nearly shouted. “You comin’ all the way here to help out this tiny little town with our woe’s. That makes you more than precious in my book, dear.” Her motherly smile shone brightly as she spoke. “Now, I insist that you let us treat you with the appreciation you deserve.”

Yasmine felt herself flush slightly but couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the older woman, who seemed to truly appreciate her. She looked away from Marla for a moment so she could think. She wasn’t sure there would be time to stop by the grocery store if she went out, which made her think of something she hadn’t thought of all day.

“Monty…” She whispered to herself. Marla raised an eyebrow at the soft words from her junior.

“What was that dear?” Yasmine hadn’t realized she spoke loud enough to be heard.

“N-nothing, just thinking. I need to do some grocery shopping before I go home, so I’m not sure if I would have time to go out with you all.” Yasmine didn’t want to disappoint Marla, but she also didn’t want to break her promise to Monty either. Much to her surprise, Marla’s smile never faded.

“Is that all? Haha, well, the local Piggly-wiggly here is open till near midnight since a lot of the folks around here work well into the night. I reckon they are busier at night than mid-day. I promise I won’t keep ya too late. Less of course, ya find yer self in a bit of an entanglement. Then it’s out of my hands, haha.” Marla teased with a giggle. It felt like she was insinuating something, but Yasmine wasn’t quite sure what half of what she just said was.

“Piggly… wiggly?” was the first question that she asked. It sounded kind of familiar, but she never knew what it meant.

“Of course, deary, it's the local market. They got a deli and just about anything ya could ever want food wise.” Marla explained. “What ya don’t got them in that fancy city you came from?” Yasmine shook her head, but it was good to know that there was a grocery store open so late. She figured everything closed down early in this town.

“Not that I know of, but I am glad to know it’s open so late. What did you mean entanglement though?” Yasmine asked, curious as Marla just started to giggle a bit more.

“Oh don’t be coy now girl, don’t try an tell me you and that hot little body of yours don’t know what I mean.” The amount of giggles coming from the older woman would make you think she was some gossiping teenager. Yasmine felt her face flush at the bold statement about how attractive Marla thought she was.

“Umm heh, I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Do you mean something might keep me from getting to the store before they close? Cause I really do need to go shopping; my house is basically empty right now.” Marla’s laughter and smile died away when she saw that Yasmine was serious. It took her a moment to compose herself and explain what she meant.

“Yasmine, I’m talkin' about gettin’ lucky. Ya know, meetin’ a nice gentleman and havin' a bit ah’ fun. Ain’t no shame innt’. A girl got needs, after all. I mean, less ya playin' fer’ the other team. But there are plenty of that type around here as well. In fact, my niece came out a few years ago. If ya like, I could-”

“Marla, no, no, no! That's not it, please stop,” Yasmine said, feeling incredibly flustered by everything the woman just unleashed on her in rapid succession. “I’m not gay, but I also don’t really have much of any experience with men.” Marla stared at Yasmine for a long, hard moment before it all clicked for her.

“Oh my, do ya mean ta say you never-”

“Please don’t say it, but yes. I just never felt comfortable enough around someone to get there. I-I mean, I have had boyfriends before but never went more than over the clothes stuff.” Still blushing furiously, Yasmine rubbed her knees together in nervousness. The memory of being groped roughly back in high school by her first boyfriend was not a pleasant one.

“I am so sorry, love! It was so rude of me to just unload on you like that! Please, there ain’t no pressure to do any of that. I was just sayin that if ya did it would hold ya up. Oh shoot, I done made a mess outta this. I am so sorry. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to anymore. I can tell everyone we are canceling.” Marla looked genuinely distressed by what she said. It was more than obvious she felt bad.

“It’s okay, Marla. I get that you were just trying to help or something like that. I will still go. I just don’t want to stay out too late.” Marla smiled softly at Yasmine before suddenly wrapping her arms around her where she sat.

“Oh you are just the sweetest cherry on the stem, I am so happy I could cry. I promise I won’t keep you out too late.” At this height, Yasmine found herself pressed between the heavy breasts of Marla. Her pantsuit jacket pressed into her face while getting smothered by the large mammaries. No, really, she was being smothered and couldn’t breathe.

Yasmine let out a muffled yell of panic as her claustrophobia kicked in, starting to pat Marla’s back rapidly. She seemed to realize just what was happening and let her go quickly.

“Ope, sorry hon, got a bit over emotional there!” Marla said as Yasmine gasped in a deep breath, trying to calm down. She waved a hand, trying to say it was okay, as she focused on regaining her composure. Marla’s hand softly rubbed her back, feeling bad for stressing the younger woman so much.

“I’m going to go gather everyone up. Take your time packing up, and meet us downstairs, hon,” Marla said, giving her one last pat on the back before leaving the office. Yasmine took this time to get her mind centered. Pulling out her phone, she checked her messages. There were several from Valerie.

Valerie: “I told him for you. He wasn’t happy.”

Valerie: “I think you really missed out Yaz.”

Valerie: “He looked like a sad puppy, I couldn’t help myself.”

The next message was a picture. It showed Valerie in bed with just the sheet covering her modest chest. While a sly smile crossed her face, brunette hair strewn about. Next to her was a familiar face, passed out, his arm wrapped tight around her mid-section. It was Bryant. Apparently, this happened just this morning. Yasmine’s eyes widened and her face flushed again at the sight. It took her a moment to figure out a response to this.

Yazmine: “Well, I am glad that things worked out, at least. Hope you two are happy together! I’m going out with my new co-workers tonight.”

After that, she went to her contacts and scrolled through the small list but realized quickly that who she wanted to text the most wasn’t on there. And probably never would be. She frowned at the realization that there was no way to tell Monty what was going on without driving all the way back home.

“Sorry, Monty. I will make it up to you later, " she said to herself before letting out a sigh and putting her phone away in her purse. Quickly shutting down her computer, Yasmine exited the office to join the others downstairs, only giving the elevator a quick glare. It would be a long time before she gave those demonic contraptions another chance.

Once she got to the bottom floor, she was met by around a dozen people waiting there. Marla quickly spotted Yasmine and waved her over. She smiled and started to walk towards them when she noticed a tall figure not far behind her boss. A sudden pang of fear shot through her but was quickly replaced with calm when Ethan made eye contact with her.

Meanwhile, Monty sat on the railing of the porch gazing out at the long driveway that led off the property.

"She should be getting off soon, I think." He mumbled to himself with a smile. The fact that he wasn't alone anymore gave him such a good feeling that he couldn't wait for Yasmine to get home.