The Gloucester Room

The Gloucester billiard room was one of many private lounge rooms built inside the convention centre. It was dimly lit, but there were lamps located near every sofa and armchair if you wanted to spend some time reading. Important to Mr. Cowall and Martin was the well-stocked dry bar on one side of the room, and Katie couldn't figure out whether Martin had it stocked specifically for his tastes. It seemed farfetched, but with his amount of wealth, it wouldn't surprise her. Finally, true to the room's name, there was a billiard table in the middle with a set of lights with green shades hanging above it. The four friends enjoyed drinks, conversation and the occasional game as they passed the afternoon by.

Truthfully, it had been a long time since Katie had that much fun. Between the booze, the billiards and the banter, Katie's worries strayed away. It was hard to worry about saving for a starter home when listening to Martin talk about expeditions in Peru, or getting his aviation license. Katie definitely lived in a different world than the rest of them, and it all sounded so enticing. Even Mr. Cowall boasted about worldwide trips and choosing between two different brands of yachts, things Katie had never heard him talk about before.

She was finding it increasingly hard to hide her arousal too. Every time they spoke about throwing money at a problem or using their status to get their way, Katie swooned even more. Her vest did very little to hide her hard nipples, but the worst was when she had to lean over the pool table for a shot. She knew that both men stood back to admire her ass, she just hoped that she wasn't getting too wet to notice. In fact in one game she could swear that Martin was placing the cue ball in just the right place so she'd have to lean over. Even the thought that he was intentionally throwing the game just to check her out excited her a bit.

Now though, she sat on one of the armchairs with a drink in her hand, absentmindedly playing with the glass as she watched the two men play. They were talking amongst themselves a little too quietly for her to hear over the music, a playlist of Carmella's choosing.

"I'm glad you changed your tune, sourpuss," said Carmella. Katie turned around to see her friend sit in the seat beside her. "Even if your name isn't cure like 'Kitty.'"

Katie grinned at Carmella. Her face was feeling flush from the ****. "I'm glad too. This has been fun."

Carmella smiled and looked at the two men playing billiards. Katie followed her gaze, and the two women stayed silent as Mr. Cowall made his next shot.

"You know," Carmella said, hushed enough for only Katie to hear, "Andrew certainly has eyes for you."

Katie didn't change her gaze. "I know," she said.

"And if I didn't know any better," Carmella continued, "I'd swear you had eyes for him too."

Katie whipped her head over to look at Carmella. "What? No way." A look of earnest shock was plastered across her face. "He's my boss, and I'm here as his employee. I love Jake and I want to be with Jake, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

"Okay," said Carmella. "I'm just saying how I see it." Martin beckoned Carmella over to join them at the pool table. She placed her glass on a coaster and began to get up. "All I'm saying is don't lead him on too much. He is your boss, after all." She stood up, straightened her leopard-print skirt, and walked over to the two men.

Katie was still in shock. Did it really seem like she wanted to be with Mr. Cowall? Sure, she enjoyed his attention; his eyes gave her stomach butterflies, but that had more to do with her being able to be stylish and sexy around him, didn't it? Sure, maybe she had been spending the last couple of days fantasizing about living a life of wealth, rubbing elbows with the powerful and elite, but she absolutely, wholeheartedly loved Jake. Of course, life would be more challenging with Jake; it wasn't like they made a lot of money between the two of them, considerably less than Mr. Cowall or Martin made on their own, but challenges came with their own set of rewards. She had learned that through her many years hiking and experiencing the outdoors.

She looked at Carmella, who was excitedly chatting with Martin and Mr. Cowall. Katie wondered if she was truly happier as Martin's arm candy. She was now Mrs. Martin Fairstone, even if they hadn't officially tied the knot. Gone were her days as the owner of a bakery, or the boss of many aspiring artists, or even the hardworking girlfriend of some pencil pusher. Carmella had left that all behind for a life of jewelry, fine wine, and vanity. She seemed happy, but surely she missed leading her own life.

It felt like the same conflict that Katie was having with her personal brands. She knew she'd miss her own independence. Being one hundred percent financially reliant on another person just sounded awful. Katie had been raised to not put all her eggs into one basket if she could avoid it. It wasn't even the idea of being left hung out to dry, but rather that she'd have to justify every action or every expense if it was on someone else's dime. Granted, that's how it felt saving up for a down-payment with Jake. She couldn't even buy new workout clothes without having to explain it to him... But that was different. The money was theirs. The dream and goal were shared between the two of them. Spending their money frivolously was just as big of a betrayal to herself as it was to Jake.

Katie sighed. Two minutes alone with her thoughts and there were her worries and concerns rearing their ugly heads. She shook the glass in her hand and listened to the ice clink from side to side. She brought her mind back to the present, to the music playing in the room, the feeling of the armchair's cushion beneath her, to the sight of her boss and his friends discussing something on the far side of the billiards table.

Carmella smiled and jumped excitedly while listening to Martin. She clapped her hands together a few times and then grabbed Mr. Cowall's hand. They walked together out of the room before Katie could ask where they were going. Carmella looked excited and Mr. Cowall looked like he was just along for the ride.

Martin glanced at Katie and smiled. His friendly demeanor quickly put her at ease.

"Where are they going?" she asked. She had to speak louder than normal to account for Carmella's music.

Martin just held up one finger and walked over to the music controls. The song stopped abruptly before changing to a playlist that sounded like ambient music from a movie soundtrack. Martin turned the volume down so it was easier to talk from across the room, but he approached Katie nonetheless and sat in the same armchair that Carmella previously occupied. He placed a bottle of scotch and an empty glass on the end table between them. Katie silently watched him the entire time.

Martin sighed in content and relaxation and he sank into the armchair. His warm eyes gleamed from behind his glasses as he looked at Katie. She couldn't help but swoon. A silent conversation was spoken between the two at that moment, backed by a soothing melody that felt familiar yet she couldn't place it.

"There's a booth here," Martin said, breaking their mutual silence, "AI-powered VR karaoke." He chuckled. "What a world we're living in where that sentence makes sense."

Katie giggled in response. She felt good. Relaxed. The afternoon had been good for her psyche. She hadn't realized how much stress she had been harboring until now. It had been nice to unwind.

"They have these little cubicles setup, with a half dozen VR headsets in each, and your party takes turns between being the singer and being the audience. Carmella had a lot of fun there yesterday, pretending to be a famous popstar or a sultry swing songstress. I let her do all the singing. She had so much fun. You should have seen her strutting around that little cubicle. It was delightful to watch her, even with that goofy headset over her face." He smiled with a faroff look on his eyes, clearly remembering the moment from the previous day. Katie grinned as she imagined Carmella dressed in her red minidress and gold jacket juxtaposed with a large futuristic helmet. "I suppose I should have been wearing the headset too, so I could have seen what she was seeing, but in my eyes, there isn't any sight as fetching as my Carmella."

He looked back at Katie with an excited sparkle in his warm brown eyes. Katie smiled back at him. She felt like she could listen to him talk forever. His voice was soft, yet portrayed the great intellect that laid behind his golden glasses. She hardly even noticed that she was leaning closer to him as he spoke. They shared another quiet glance before he said, "Well, hardly any, I should say. That's where they are right now, Andy and Carmella. She wanted to show him her lounge version of 'Oops, I Did it Again.' She really loves it here. It's why we keep coming back." He grabbed the bottle of scotch from the table and poured himself a glass. "I have no use for this convention anymore. I've made all the connections and relationships I'll ever need, but seeing all the fun that Carmella has makes me so happy. Not to mention, she always comes up with unique and interesting ways to reciprocate the affection, if you know what I mean."

Katie smiled and blushed. She knew exactly what Martin was talking about. She was sure that Carmella knew precisely how to keep him satisfied, and with the gazes that Carmella threw his way, Martin kept her happy too.

"I'm lucky that I have a woman like Carmella to share all this with. I look at all the men who are alone here with great pity. Men like us deserve to have a companion to share things with, don't you agree?"

Katie blinked away the thought of Carmella riding Martin like a wanton cowgirl, and she nodded. Of course the men here deserved to have partners. Everyone deserved love and happiness, but the men here had so much to share. It would really be a shame if they couldn't find someone to share it with.

"That's why I feel bad for Andy," said Martin. "He has all the material wealth any man could ever want, but he has no one to share it with. And I know he so desperately wants to share it with someone. Don't you agree that he deserves to share it with someone?"

Katie nodded thoughtfully. Her mind began to swim through the music. It seemed so familiar, yet she couldn't place it. She thought about Martin's comment and agreed. Mr. Cowall definitely deserved to share his life with someone. He was a great guy, smart, intelligent, loaded, any woman would be lucky to land him. Granted, she felt pretty lucky herselt that he found it fit to share the convention with her.

"I pity him, I really do," Martin continued, "But Andy, you know him, he's not the kind of man who wants others' pity."

Katie nodded again. A few strands of hair fell in front of her eye and briefly tickled her cheek, but she was too content, too relaxed, to fix it. She thought about people pitying Mr. Cowall. He would never admit it, but he was a proud man. She knew that he usually wanted the upper hand in any relationship, so knowing that someone pitied him would probably drive him crazy.

Martin paused briefly as he filled his scotch glass. "You've been having fun here, right?" he asked when he set the bottle back down.

Katie nodded. Her eyes had briefly drifted to the stream of golden liquid as it fell from the bottle and caught the light of the room, but she quickly snapped her gaze back to sink into Martin's brown eyes.

"You'd like to keep having fun here, don't you agree?"

That wasn't even a question for Katie. The convention had been so much fun and they weren't even through the second day yet. She loved being around all these powerful and admirable men. She loved spending the day with Carmella and Martin. She loved not feeling stressed about going home and cooking dinner, or finishing a project on time. She loved being able to dress sexily and show off her curves. They still had three more days at the convention and she planned to make the most of it. Still, as passionate as Katie was about her answer, she could only muster the energy for a slow, soft head nod.

Martin took a sip from his drink. His face grimaced slightly, not from the drink, but perhaps from what he was about to say. "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Andy told me that he's considering going home early and as his Plus One, you'd have to go with him."

Katie was shocked. Shocked enough to shake the cobwebs from her head. "What? Why?" she exclaimed. She sat up straight and brushed the hair from in front of her face, but her gaze remained transfixed on Martin.

He set his glass down and then gave a small shrug with his hands as if to say he knew she wouldn't like to hear it, but that it also seemed obvious. "He's like me," he said, leaning back into his armchair. "He has already gained everything that the convention has to offer and without a Carmella to keep him here, well..."

Katie remained silent in shock. If they had to leave, then she'd be back at work, back at home, back into her stress-filled routine. She really didn't want that to happen. She wanted to keep having fun at the convention. She wanted to keep dr swing sexy for more men than just Mr. Cowall. Even though she felt bad that Mr. Cowall wasn't able to enjoy himself, she still really wanted to stay.

"I guess there's something work related back home that he can't keep his mind off of," Martin elaborated.

Katie's mind fluttered. What could possibly be bothering him at work? They only had a few open files, and they were on top of it all. Had a client contacted him about something? Were they unhappy? "Do you know what the issue is? Maybe I can help," she said in a mild panic. The music kept trying to lull her down, but she kept fighting against it. She desperately needed to fix this problem. She needed to be a good employee for Mr. Cowall.

"Honestly," said Martin with a sigh, "I don't think there's anything to be done about his work. As far as I know, it's something that can wait, but you know how Andy is. He's proud of his company. Even something small will gnaw away at him unless there's something else to focus on."

"So what are you saying?" Katie asked. Why would he bring this up to her if he didn't think they could fix it?

"Well, someone needs to convince him to stay, and I think that someone should be you!" he said, pointing at her with the same hand that held his scotch glass. He smiled at her, but even his warm, friendly smile couldn't bring a calm to Katie's mind.

"What can I do to convince him?" she asked, seemingly oblivious to Martin's hints.

Martin chuckled. "Well, give him something else to focus on. Use those feminine wiles of yours. Charm him. Be his Carmella."

Katie hadn't expected him to say that. She was shocked, but at the same time she knew it would work. Often her outfits in the office were enough to distract Mr. Cowall from his work, and even Carmella had noticed that he had a thing for her... But... "But you know I'm engaged. I couldn't do that to Jake," she objected. Katie felt bad. She wanted to be able to keep Mr. Cowall happy at the convention, but betraying Jake like that was a line she couldn't cross.

"Of course, Katie," Martin replied. His tone was understanding and reassuring, and Katie felt herself calm down a little. "No one is asking you to cheat on your fiancé. Just a little harmless flirting to keep Andy interested in the convention. Flirting isn't cheating, don't you agree?"

As Katie continuee to calm down, the music seeped further into her mind. Perhaps she had been overthinking it. She looked at Martin's calming smile, and then deeply into his beautiful eyes framed by his golden glasses. He was absolutely right. Flirting in itself was harmless. As long as she didn't go any further than that, she could still be faithful to Jake. There was no problem within that.

But then she had to consider Mr. Cowall. What if he started expecting more because of the flirting? What if he tried to make a move on her? She couldn't allow that... And Mr. Cowall wouldn't like rejection. She had a feeling that he was a man that didn't get denied many things. While that was certainly a fine quality in a man of his caliber, she wondered how he would react if she rejected his advances. Carmella had warned her not to lead him on and flirting with would be exactly that. Katie's heart sank. She wanted to say all of this to Martin, he really seemed like the kind of guy she could open up to, but her mind was rapidly becoming syrupy and sluggish. She continued to swim through the smooth tones of the music while considering all of her objections, but it was feeling surprisingly confusing. She needed a sounding board. Through the haze and stupor, her murky thoughts managed to formulate a coherent sentence. "I don't want to lead him on."

Martin laughed a warm, jolly laugh, putting her at ease. Obviously he didn't think it was a big deal and Katie felt herself sink deeper into her armchair. "Who? Andy?" he asked, "You wouldn’t be leading him on, Katie. Just making him feel appreciated. He deserves to feel special, and you can make that happen. Everyone flirts! Some people even use it as a way to get what they want! But for you it’s just a little harmless fun, don't you agree?"

Her molasses-infused brain had a hard time keeping up with all of Martin's words, but she knew he was right. She thought of the many times she flirted before to have things go her way. Batting her eyes at a store manager to get a discount on his some discolored hiking shoes. Showing a bit of cleavage to a bartender to get a heavier drink. In college she even coyly put her hand on a guys shoulder so she could copy his notes. She wasn't particularly proud of that one, but men always seemed to be so **** for physical contact. Even so, none of the men she flirted with in those scenarios actually expected to get more from her. Well , maybe the note-taker did, but that was beside the point. It was just a harmless transaction. She made them feel special, and they gave her something in return.

That did bring another question to her mind, though. Any example of her harmless flirting that she could think of was from before she met Jake. Why had she stopped? It's not like flirting was cheating, right? The only reason she would have stopped was because she knew Jake wouldn't like it. He didn't understand the world like Martin and Mr. Cowall. They really could have been much further ahead in life if he was OK with Katie flirting with other men. It was really too bad, but she had to be conscientious of his feelings, even if he was wrong. "Jake still wouldn't like it..." she finally responded in a lazy tone, hoping it managed to make sense within the context of their conversation.

"Jake won't know," Martin replied confidently. A mantra began to recite in Katie's head. What Jake doesn't know...

He reached forward to grab his drink. "Look, I can tell that there's some kind of internal conflict going on in your head. Think of it this way: you're just doing your job. You're being a good employee and making Mr. Cowall feel happy so he stays. This convention is important for him. This convention is important for both of you, don't you agree?"

Just like that, the final puzzle piece of contentment clicked in Katie's head and she felt at peace with Martin's solution. Mr. Cowall needed her to be a good employee. Mr. Cowall needed her to keep him focused on the convention. Mr. Cowall needed someone like Carmella, so Katie would have to give him the attention he deserved. She would have to make him feel special. He deserved to have that. He deserved to have Katie flirt with him. And she could do that because flirting wasn't cheating. Flirting was just a transactional way to make a man feel special. And Jake wouldn't know, so it couldn't hurt her. Jake wouldn't know that she was being a good employee. Only Mr. Cowall would know. Only Mr. Cowall would know how good of an employee she was. A warmth began to spread through Katie's body at that thought.

"Good employee," moaned Katie.

"Yes, that's right," said Martin as he sipped on his drink. "And what do good employees do?"

"Make their boss's life easier," Katie mumbled. She felt her eyes flutter as the sounds of the music seemed to swell through her being.

"They make their boss's life better," corrected Martin.

"Better..." moaned Katie. She could absolutely make Mr. Cowall's life better. Her brain began to drown in the music. The warmth continued to spread and amplify within her body. Katie would make Mr. Cowall's life better and keep him at the convention. She was sure of it.

Katie's mind continued to melt along with the music. Her eyes began to close. The last image she saw before she abandoned consciousness was the reassuring smile on Martin's face and his delicious, sweet, caring brown eyes.