Richard Mountbatten - Up, boy, up!

"How's the little lady?" Mr. Aubrey abruptly asked as he guided the big car through the afternoon traffic.

"Why, uh, fine sir," Bob answered, not knowing what his employer might be leading up to.

"There's nothing quite as important to a young man on his way up as a loyal intelligent wife," Aubrey said. "You know, Bob," he added, "I haven't had much of a chance to get to know your wife."

There it was, Bob thought. The old boy was fishing for an invitation. What for? he wondered.

Was it out of lechery, or was he serious about wanting to make sure that Bob had a woman who could give him moral support in the vice-presidency? There was no choice but to play along with him and invite him to the house. But not now, for God's sake. Not after that mess this morning. He knew how long it took Jill to get over things like that and he was worried she could not help but make a bad impression on his boss tonight. No, he wanted a chance to prepare her first, tell her what to do and say to the old bastard.

"That's really a shame, Mr. Aubrey," he said. "Jill talks about you all the time. I guess you made quite an impression on her at the company party. Do you think you would be free some night to come over for dinner?"

"Why I'd love to my boy. It's really a treat to eat out after you've been married as long as I have. One gets a little tired of the same old meals at home day after day." Bob found himself thinking that meals probably weren't the only thing at home Mr. Aubrey was tired of. He'd met that old cow of a wife of his and he wondered how Aubrey could climb into bed with her, not that he was any prize himself. It wasn't hard to understand why the old boy chased around after his employees' wives and Bob figured he'd do the same thing himself if he were in Aubrey's position. If Jill would only cooperate, up to a point of course. Bob didn't know what he'd do if the old goat really tried to seduce Jill. She'd just have to learn how to string him along.

"Well, let's see, Mr. Aubrey. How about next week, say Tuesday. Would that be all right with you?"

"Why certainly, my boy. But maybe we'd better drop in on your little lady and make sure it's all right with her."

"I'm afraid she's over at her mother's this afternoon," Bob said, thinking fast. "I'll ask her when she gets back tonight and let you know first thing in the morning." He could see that the older man was disappointed, but that was better than having him come in right now and seeing the tension between him and Jill.

They were driving through the suburbs now and Bob decided it would be better to keep Mr. Aubrey completely away from the house this evening, and besides, he needed a drink.

"Do you think you could drop me off at the shopping center," he asked. "I have a few errands to run and it's only a couple of blocks from there."

Bob was relieved when he was finally out of the car and watching Mr. Aubrey drive away. Hell, he really did need a drink. There was a small cocktail lounge nestled back in a comer of the huge shopping center, and Bob generally stopped there on the way home to get his nerves under control after a day's civil war at the office.

"Hi, Mr. Andersen," the bartender said as the young regular walked through the door into the softly lit bar.

"Hi, Harry, make it the usual. No, make it a double."

"Hard day, huh?"

"Yeah," Bob muttered, not wanting to go into details. It had been a hard day right from the beginning. His mind went back to that fiasco this morning with Jill. Christ, when was she going to grow up and start learning what it was all about. Who'd had ever thought she'd turn out to be frigid? Hell, the way she had responded to their necking before they were married had led him to expect something else. True, she had never gone all the way, but he'd figured she was just saving it for her wedding night. As it was, she didn't have anything to save. What a shame, with a body like that, he thought, and his cock jerked a little in his pants at the memory of her nude perfection this morning. He'd almost made it, almost got her to respond. A sensible man would have tried her out before they got married, but what the hell, he really couldn't help himself. He had to admit it, he loved the girl and there was no other way about it. There was nothing to do but keep trying, and hoping that things would get better, but God, he was horny! And it wouldn't help when he told his prissy wife she was going to have to play up to old Aubrey. She just didn't seem to understand the realities of modern day life.

"Hi, neighbor," a throaty voice purred next to his ear.

Bob turned in surprise and saw that a beautiful young woman had sat down on the empty stool next to him.

"Neighbor…?" he said slowly, and then he placed her. Sure it was that girl who lived across the street with that weird old guy who had the dog. Some kind of relative.

"Yeah – neighbors," he said, "but I'm afraid I don't remember your…"

"Mae," she said again in that throaty voice, "just call me Mae."

Damn, she was really easy to look at, he thought to himself, and wondered why he had paid so little attention to her before. He faintly remembered having spoken to her in front of his house one day although she had seemed different then, kind of vague and withdrawn. But now, some kind of smoky sensuality seemed to emanate from her. She was wearing a simple black sheath dress, cut low in the front, drawing his attention to the way her firmly ripened breasts jutted forward in a high taut curve… and the way her lustrous black hair fell over one side of her face, setting off her darkly inviting eyes. She sure was a contrast to his blonde wife, he thought, and the novelty made her seem even more attractive.

"You come in here often?" he asked, looking for conversation.

"Only when I'm lonely," she answered, and he was silent for a moment, not knowing how to take that.

"Another double, Harry," he said, then turned to the girl. "Something for you?"

"I'll have whatever you're having," she said and let her eyes play boldly over his face. Bob began to get a little nervous under her gaze and downed half his drink as soon as Harry brought it. The liquor made him feel better.

"How long you been living across the street?" he asked.

"Oh, years and years. Ever since my mother died and Uncle Bill took me in." So, Bob thought, it was her uncle.

"Strange we never got to know one another, living across the street," Bob said, the liquor making him bolder.

"I guess we haven't been lucky," she purred… "until now." She leaned towards him and the top of her dress fell open a little giving him an unimpeded view of her magnificent cleavage. Christ, was he imagining it or was the girl propositioning him? Perhaps he'd better just find out.

"Maybe we'll get to know one another better, a lot better, and soon."

"I think I'd like that," she said in a half-dreamy voice, her eyes staring moodily at the bar top. She reached over and drew the nail of one finger in an aimless pattern across the back of Bob's hand. The reaction of his body to this simple gesture was amazing. He could feel a thousand tiny tingles spreading over his skin at her touch and an ominous hardness began to form inside his pants. Mae looked around her suddenly.

"I don't like bars," she said. "They're too dark and too… crowded. Why don't we go over to my place for a quiet drink… and listen to some records."

"But won't your uncle mind if we crash in on him?"

"He's out of town for a couple of days," she lied, looking straight at him with those huge smoky eyes. Bob had a feeling that he should steady himself, that he could fall into those mysterious depths and never come up again. Damn, here it was, an open proposition. What was he going to do? His natural physical reaction was to go with this beautiful stranger and to count himself lucky. Things like this didn't happen to a man every day, at least not to him. On the other hand he was a married man, but that immediately brought back to him the humiliating events of this morning, and he found himself getting angry again at the thought of his wife. What the hell, it would serve her right, and he could always change his mind if he thought the situation was getting out of hand. All he would have to do is just go out the front door of this mysterious creature's house and cross the street to his own home. If he could force himself, that is.