To discuss professionalism

Nicole isn't in any state to have a one-on-one with her boss, but she knows better than to reject the meeting. She works diligently through the morning until the scheduled call. She does her best to make herself look presentable and alert before joining the call.

"There's my social media superstar," Don says as Nicole appears on camera. While he praised her work, she often felt like the older man still thought interns could do her work.

"Good almost afternoon, Don. I'm so sorry about yesterday."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, much. I think I had bad Chinese," she lies. "Thank you for the time off."

"Nicole, please, you should feel safe taking time off when you need it."

"But it was such an important presentation."

"And you knocked it out of the park. Well, mostly. However, I think you did us a favor. Choam's reps softened quite a bit after overhearing your, um, well..."

"Oh, that's good to hear that they didn't hang up after I lost my dinner."

"But, Nicole, really, Stacy could have stepped in."

The suggestion stung Nicole. She felt like Stacy was gunning for her job even though she had zero marketing experience. "I don't know about that," she says. "Stacy doesn't know how to..."

"Wait, wait," Don cuts her off. "We're not here to discuss yesterday's performance, even though that was part of it. It's your overall, well, professionalism."

"I see. Um, I'm sorry. I know I've been a little unkempt during some recent calls. I've had some things going on in my life, but I assure you it's all getting sorted. But, are there some specific issues you want me to address?"

There's a pause from Don. Much like the other day, he's leaned in, looking through the camera and apparently past Nicole. "Don?" she asks. Once again, she had forgotten to turn on the background blur.

"I'm sorry, I was looking at the baubles on your bookshelf."

Why did she keep forgetting to put on her fake background? The bookshelf most in view was where she kept various keepsakes from her life. Little statues from her travels, a couple of awards from work. She doesn't turn around. Instead, she looks at the image of herself on the screen and the shelf behind it. Yes, those things are on it. And then her heart stops. To the right of her head is her 28-ounce bottle of lubricant. The one Huck told her to keep downstairs. Don was a straight-laced fiftysomething. He wouldn't recognize the label on the bottle, would he?

"Yes, um, that's a bunch of random stuff from my life. Uh, but about this call. Is there something specific?"

"On second thought, Nicole, I think having this conversation in person might be better. Could you come into the office on Monday?"

Nicole hated going into the office. She'd been in six times since the company started to allow work-from-home. However, she knew it wasn't a suggestion. "Yes, sure, I'd love to see you in person. It's been months!" she says, hoping it didn't come off as fake.

"Great! I'll take you to lunch. Maybe you can tell me about some of those trophies on your shelf. Anyway, I think you owe me some reports, so I won't keep you." Uncharacteristically, Don closed the call without waiting for her goodbye.

Nicole sits staring at her computer screen. Her anxiety level rises. A stream of thoughts rushes through her head. Was there a reason to panic? There wasn't a reason to panic. Was there? No, don't panic. It's all good. Her mid-year performance review was two months ago and he gave her all high marks. It's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. Maybe she should call off the free-use experiment. It was much more intense than she'd ever dreamed. The lube, the lube, the fucking lube. Nicole finally snaps out of it and moves the lube behind some books on a lower bookshelf. She was in her 20s, so what if her boss knew she was sexually active? He'd probably expect it. She releases a frustrated growl.

Nicole spends her lunch time going back and forth with her Discord group. As usual, she's completely honest about everything that's unfolded. They encourage her not to end the experiment yet. They talk her down from worrying about Monday's meeting. Those in the group with managerial experience assure her sometimes professionalism conversations are better face-to-face.

Racer5XXX: I don't get it. Sounds like you have a lot in common. And you could teach him a few things.

WhoreFromHome: I'm not interested.

MonkeyMunki: Are you sure? Racer is right for once. Starting a relationship so sexually open with one another is promising. My husband of five years still doesn't know everything I'm into.

WFH: I think he wants me to be a ponygirl. I have zero interest.

MonkeyMunki: Are you sure?

Nicole has flashbacks to being on her hands and knees while whinnying for Vincent. It was humiliating, so she loved that part. She might like it a little bit.

WFH: Absolutely.

ReverandBlueJeans: I have an idea for setting your calendar up so multiple people can claim time on it. You'd only see what you put in it, but everyone with the password would see blocks where other people claimed time. They'd only see it as reserved time.

WFH: Reverand. This was supposed to be one guy for three weeks. Now I've been with two men and could have been gangbanged last night.

Racer5XXX: And would you have hated that?

Nicole knows she wouldn't have.

WFH: I mean, probably at first.

Racer5XXX: But?

WFH: I'm not sure all of you knowing me so well is good for me.

There's a stream of laughing face emojis.

WFH: Whatever. I need to get to work so I can get to Mr. Sinclair's on time.

MonkeyMunki: Oh right, so do you think this is the night his grandson will get the courage to ask you out? Mr. Sinclair has been trying to hook the two of you up for a year now.

WFH: Oh god. I hope not. I think he'd be worse to date than Vincent. I'm worried the day I turn him down is when Mr. Sinclair stops making me free Michelin star dinners.

ReverandBlueJeans: But imagine the catering at your wedding.

WFH: You're all the absolute worst. *heart emoji*

Nicole signs out and tries to focus on work. After checking off all of her usual Friday afternoon admin tasks, she gets ready for dinner with Mr. Sinclair and Billy. Nicole always feels obligated to dress fancier than usual for dinner at a friend's home. She did it for two reasons. The first was a sign of respect for Mr. Sinclair and his craft. The second was because it was the start of the pandemic, and it allowed her to feel like she was going out. She always worried that Mr. Sinclair saw it as a sign that she was trying to impress "Little Billy." If Billy was ever impressed, he never made a move. He only walked Nicole to her door on one occasion. As soon as they arrived, he became visibly sweaty, stammered, and scurried off. She was thankful for his awkwardness because it was during a week her Discord group had her edging multiple times a day. She was horny and frustrated enough that she might have settled for Billy.

Nicole wasn't usually nervous about visiting Mr. Sinclair, but tonight was different. She thought about yesterday's conversation as she walked about the stairs to his apartment. He indicated he would ask her more questions about her relationship with the naked man in her window. She was usually honest with Mr. SInclair, except in the case of Billy. She often dodged and gave vague answers when he asked about her interest in his grandson. She didn't want to lose her fancy meal ticket by outright saying she wasn't interested because he was dull and, in her opinion, unattractive. She hadn't thought of a good excuse for why the man was coming and going from her apartment at odd hours and standing in her window naked. And she really didn't want to talk about Huck in front of Billy. It might hurt his feelings to know that while she wouldn't settle for someone dull and unattractive, she would settle for someone who was a bully and unattractive. Not that it was her choice.

She knocks on the door and waits for Billy to answer. He would typically greet her as Mr. Sincliar would be busy in the kitchen.