“Sure, let’s order that. But shouldn’t I also bring something for Phoebe? I mean, she’s the one who invited me.” And she’s the mother of my child, not to mention the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
MaeLynn gives me an appraising look and I clear my throat, not ready to have that conversation out loud quite yet. “That’s a fabulous idea. What does she like?”
I groan. “I hardly know her. We had lunch together once and aside from that, we haven’t spent a lot of time together.” She grins and cocks a knowing eyebrow. “Besides that,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And neither she nor I remember that night very well, anyway.”
“Okay, okay. Moving on, then. You don’t have any ideas?”
Then I remember her fruit hammock and the picture she showed me of the tapestry she made for Lincoln. “Actually, I think I might.”
By the time MaeLynn and I sort out what gifts I need to bring to Phoebe’s, it’s nearly three o’clock. I promised myself and the staff that we’d all get out of here at three today and it’s a promise I plan to keep, so after sending MaeLynn home, I take myself to the production floor to make sure we all follow through.
I walk through the main doors and call out, “Alright, everyone. Dildos down. It’s time to go celebrate the holidays with your families.”
A cheer rings out and everyone packs up their materials before shutting down the equipment and filing past me out the doors.
“See you after the holidays,” I say, shaking hands with everyone as they walk by. “Merry Christmas, and have a safe and happy New Year’s celebration. And for the love of god, don’t drink and drive. Call me if you need a ride and I’ll find a ride for you.” They all laugh and promise to call. “Good. I want to see you all in the new year.”
Roger is the last to leave the room, and he stops me as we walk out the production floor door. “You sure you want to stop production for the week? That’s a lot of products not being made. We’ve never closed the shop before. You could lose a lot of money.”
“I’m positive, Roger,” I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and steering him toward the staff room. “Now go home and enjoy the time with your family. And tell your son to lay off the sticky foods if he doesn’t want his braces to break again.”
He cracks a grin and nods. “Okay, Mr. Fa—I mean, Archer. Merry Christmas,” he says, reaching out for a handshake. “And Happy New Year.”
After Roger leaves, I take a quick walk around the production floor to ensure everything has been shut down safely before wandering out to the lobby.
The last person to leave for the day is Amanda. “Any fun plans for the holidays this year?” I ask as I hold the door for her.
“Nothing crazy,” she says. “I’ll be spending it at home with my brother, his wife, and their twins. They have some friends and their families coming, too, so it should be fun.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She waves as she walks to her car and I wait at the door to make sure she gets on her way alright. She’s my youngest employee and I think of her as a little sister. I want to make sure she’s good before I lock up.
This is what I’ve worked so hard for this past year, I think as I watch my staff exit the building with huge smiles on their faces and hugs for their coworkers. My plan to turn Fade Toys into an excellent place to work is taking hold now that the staff is trusting it. My father had run this place with an iron fist and when I first took over, the staff expected the same from me. Every meeting we had and every initiative I implemented was met with skepticism and mistrust. They thought I was going to turn around and snatch their higher wages, benefits, and perks away from them eventually, so they didn’t want to let their guard down. I can’t say I blame them, because that’s exactly the kind of thing I could imagine my father doing.
But now, watching them head home to their families for a well-deserved break for the holidays? Yeah, that makes me think I might be okay at this job after all. It’s taken over a year, but I might manage to make this the best sex toy factory to work at yet.
“Oh, before I forget.” She yells from her open car window. “The woman who came to see you earlier? Yeah, she loved my display. I was totally right. The Christmas Cheer bundle is festive enough for the holiday marketing. She even said she wouldn’t mind having a set for herself. So there, I win,” she says with a laugh. “See you in the new year.” She jumps in her car and speeds out of the lot like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me.
Phoebe wants one of the Christmas Cheer butt plug training sets? It’s probably too much to hope that I’d be the one lucky enough to use it with her, but I can’t help the lust the thought inspires. My brain floods with images of Phoebe, bent over, hole slick and glistening with lube, as I tenderly slide in one of the glittery glass plugs while sinking my cock into her sweet pussy. The mere thought has me so fucking hard, it’s like my dick is attempting to occupy the same physical space as my zipper.
Fuuuuck.
I lock the main doors and limp down the hallway back to my office after adjusting my dick in my pants. Images of Phoebe in various states of undress, in various positions, keep playing in my head. I’m excruciatingly hard, yet I can’t stop the thoughts from coming.Do I even want to stop them?I’m debating between taking care of this hard-on right now and waiting until I get home when I discover I’m not as alone in the building as I thought.
“We’ll need to rework the employee contracts once I come back, too. I can’t make a decent profit if we keep paying out this much in wages. What was my idiot son thinking? Keeping wage costs low is the best way to maximize profits.”
I’m walking past MaeLynn’s desk when I hear my father’s voice booming out of my office.Well, that takes care of the boner issue.What the hell is he doing here? And why’s he going on about coming back?He’s retired.
Needing to know what he’s talking about, and who he’s talking to, I stop short of my office door and stick close to the wall. My curiosity is the only thing keeping me from running in there and demanding an answer. I know I’ll get better information if I can be patient and wait for him to slip up.
“I don’t care what you have to do, Gerald. Figure it out. There’s no way I can keep paying these ridiculous wages. Archer’s going to put us in the poorhouse if he keeps this up.”
First, the poorhouse? Gerald is his lawyer. Why the hell is he telling his lawyer I’m putting them in the poorhouse? My parents live in a mansion on the north side of Westborough. The worst they’d ever need to do is move back to a middle-class neighborhood and make do with a normal-sized bungalow.Oh no, what a tragedy.And second, I only lowered my salary and reallocated some of the company profits to pay the staff a thriving wage. My parents’ company-paid pension was untouched. Besides, with the money he’s made over the years, he can live off the interest from his investments, unlike the staff. Most of them are finally starting to dig themselves out of the financial holes they’d been forced into when my father was in charge. There’s no way I’ll let him go back to paying them as little as allowed by law.
“Okay, yes. That sounds good. He still has a chance. If he meets the conditions I’ve laid out, I’ll let him keep playing boss. Production is up, so he must be doing something right. And now that I know the crew can work this hard, they damn well better keep it up, even when they’re back to their old wages. Otherwise, they’ll be out looking for a new job.”
Rage fills me, my fists clenching so tightly they throb. My father is such an asshole. But I already knew that. What I still haven’t figured out is why he’s in my office. It’s taking everything in me not to rush in there, but I know how my father operates. If I want to know why he’s here, I’ll have to overhear it from whatever conversation he’s having on the phone.
