Balance…give and take… are all elements necessary to power in most everything. Upset one point of balance and everything comes tumbling down.

 PART ONE

Clearing his throat softly, he asked evenly, "If there's nothing else, Ms. Thebes..." he was careful to emphasize the title. "May I leave now? My...wife is expecting me home."  Seeing Jennifer's dark brows arch in question, he added, "We're going out for dinner.  It's our anniversary."  He hoped that maybe, just maybe she would be understanding and retract her claws and allow him to escape with as much dignity as possible.

       Johanna Royden took a step back from Elliot and immediately understood several things.  She had less than four hours now to finish her assignment and she wasn't about to let anything stop her from completing her mission.  And she was sure that Lothos wouldn't mind her messing up a marriage in the midst of her mission either.

Moving around to be behind her desk, Johanna looked down at the paperwork that was spread out before her then glanced at the clock.  7:00 o'clock.  She licked at her lips lightly then looked back up at the gentleman standing before her.  "Actually, Elliot, you may have to call and cancel.” She saw the stunned look cross his face and knew that she had hit the nail. She saw the daggers that immediately flared in his eyes, and felt something nagging in the back of her mind ... a thought that kept repeating from the real Jennifer Thebes that had remained.  "It's not that I don't understand that you have a life outside of Talmadge, Mr. Snowbury, it's that in your review of them, there are several clearly obvious mistakes that that you missed, and which now have to be corrected in not one but four of the analytical reports that have come across my desk, from yours…”  She glanced at the small label indicating from whom the report had come to her. “…within the last two days.  One in each of these accounts:  Washington Micro-Electronics, Wellington Technologies, Thimboll International Trading, and Umbridge-Stephenson Investing."

She glanced down at the reports fanning her desk then back up to him as she tried to tuck a piece of hair back behind her ear.  "It's a good thing that I read everything that filters up through this division.  If this had reached Mr. Willis, it would have likely meant both of us being in a line in the un-employment office.  What seems to be the problem, Mr. Snowbury?  Are there problems at home that are filtering up and distracting your true focus?"

It was one thing for her to just delay him without reason, or with reason for that matter. But when Jennifer Thebes openly stated that she had found problems with the four reports he'd submitted to her by way of the protocol in the reports getting to the CEO, Elliot Snowbury bristled.  The crack about "problems at home" was just enough to push him over the line.

"There are no problems…ma'am," he stated in a voice that instantly let her know didn't like her insinuation.  "And if there were, ma'am, I wouldn't permit them to interfere with my work."  Lifting his chin slightly, Elliot’s gaze hardened defensively as he met Jennifer's unswerving stare.  "As for problems with the reports... that's impossible.  I went over those reports with an ultra-fine-toothed comb for the past two weeks, twelve hours a day most of that time, researching and double-checking everything about them.  There's not a comma out of place, or a single instance of information that I can't recite by heart, or give the particulars on the source where the information was found.  Frankly...Ms. Thebes," Elliot paused to swallow before finishing. "I resent your suggestion that my work is substandard in the smallest of ways from what I've turned in during my time here at Talmadge."

‘So much for a special anniversary dinner with Gina.’

Johanna's eyebrow arched slightly enough at the resentfulness and she strummed her manicured fingernails on the desk where she was standing.  "I suggest that you call your wife, Mr. Snowbury and break any reservations that you might have made."  Seeing his face harden at that, she inwardly smiled as she looked down and opened one of the files and saw that Jennifer Thebes had not only circled in red the parts that were wrong, but even made notes in the side margin on how to fix the problem.  ‘Bless you, woman... I do love a smart intellectual woman who does her work well... like me,’ Johanna thought.

Raising her eyes, she found his hardened gaze once more.  "Mr. Snowbury, I never in any way said that your work was substandard for Talmadge.  I was merely saying that you have some errors that were in the reports.  If your work was that low, you wouldn't be here... but I'll be damned before a second junior vice-president who was supposed to know how to critique a proposal or a report before it gets to me on its way up through the regular protocol, puts my job on the line with this company.  I've worked too long and too hard for it to come crashing around my ears.  Now, I suggest that you go get the copies of your reports from your desk, and call your wife."  She leaned on both hands on her desk and fixed him with a no-nonsense gaze.  "This evening will end when this...” she indicated the reports on her desk, “is fixed.  The faster you get things done, the faster we can both leave.  It's up to you, Mr. Snowbury."

The idea of telling this bitch to go get screwed lived about three seconds in Elliot's mind.  Instead, it took up permanent residence on his private blacklist and at the top of that list, to boot.  He wasted several seconds wondering just how many other black lists she was already on.

"Yes, Ms. Thebes," he responded then turned and marched out of the office. Once in the hallway, Elliot cursed Jennifer roundly but well under his breath as he went to the end of the hall then turned right and entered the third door on the right.  The office was empty, his own secretary, Harriet, having left shortly before he had made his fateful trip to the senior analyst's office. 

Entering his office, Elliot strode to his desk and found the copies of the reports in question.  Grabbing them up, he glanced at the phone then dropped the reports on the desk and picked up the receiver.  He held it for a moment, glaring at the inoffensive piece of equipment before letting out a frustrated, angry sigh as he punched in the number to his home phone.  It rang twice before he heard Gina's soft, almost breathless, "Hello?"

‘God...she's gonna go ballistic!’ was all he could think as he responded, "Hi, sweetheart."  The lilt of happy laughter in her voice as she responded to him, just confirmed to the junior second vice-president of Talmadge Industrial Securities just how unhappy… ‘that’s the understatement of the year!’ …  she was going to be a few seconds later.  He made appropriate responses to her telling him about confirming the reservation at their favorite restaurant, about the new dress she was wearing, and assuring him that Nicole, their young daughter, was staying the night with her grandparents – his parents.  But when she said, “Well, I better let you go so you can get out of there,” Elliot swallowed slowly, lightly biting his lower lip as he waited a moment for her to give him a chance to respond.

“Gina…” he paused then licked his lips and took the plunge.  “I’m sorry, honey but…” Inwardly he cringed, seeing clearly in his mind his wife of seven years’ angry visage that was a perfect complement to the cold fury in her voice as she screamed into the phone.

“Don’t you dare say it, Elliot Charles Snowbury!”  Gina Snowbury’s voice rose to shrillness.  “Don’t you DARE tell me that that bitch came up with something just HAS to be done by YOU, tonight!  DON’T DARE!!”  But he did.

“NO!” she screamed into the phone, all thoughts of this special night that they had started planning eight weeks ago vanishing from her mind.  “This makes four years in a row you’ve missed our anniversary because of some last minute crisis at that place!!” she reminded him at the top of her lungs.   “FOUR YEARS!! You’ve only worked there four years!  I could understand the first two, and maybe even last year, but this is too much, Elliot!”  She caught a breath then continued, the icy temperature in her voice plummeting as she issued an ultimatum.  Elliot felt the drop of every frigid degree in her voice as his furious wife lowered the boom on him.

“I’ve been dressed and waiting for you for an hour,” Gina stated icily, “so I’m going to Libertine’s.  I’m not going to waste a reservation that had to be made six weeks ago. But if you don’t show up by the time the waiter brings me the check, Elliot… get a room at a motel, because I’m going to change the security code at the house.”  She paused to snatch a quick breath before adding darkly, “And Elliot, if I find out you’ve been screwing that Thebes bitch… especially on our anniversary…get an attorney and then get ready to loose your ass…and Nicole.”

“Gina…honey… Gina, if you’ll just… DAMMIT, GINA, THAT’S NOT TRUE!”  Elliot shouted in an attempt to be heard, trying desperately to get a word in edgewise, but in the next second his only option was to jerk the receiver from his ear as his furious spouse slammed the phone down at her end.  Slowly he replaced the receiver in its cradle then stared at his hand where it still rested on the device.  It was the sound of a certain female’s voice coming from the doorway into his office in the next moment, her voice tinged subtly with what he wasn’t quite certain, that was the last stake through the heart of what he had planned on making one of the best anniversaries he and Gina had shared in their seven year marriage, and the first one in four years.

To the perfectly uttered, “I wondered what was keeping you, Mr. Snowbury,” he slowly swallowed, then again before removing his hand from the phone and picking up the reports from his desk.  Lifting his head, he met her direct gaze steadily.  “Did you want to discuss those problems here or in your office, Ms. Thebes?”

Johanna rested her hip lightly against the doorframe as she looked at Elliot Snowbury ask her where she'd want to discuss those problems.  She tilted her head to the side then said calmly, "My office probably would be best.  The reports that I have on my desk have all my notes in them."  She watched him, tilting her head to the right, already knowing that his wife had blown a fuse. 

Knowing that she needed more time with this man if things were going to work out right, she turned to him when he got up to her side.  "Elliot?"

Elliot turned his head slightly to look at her then she made sure that she had his gaze, especially for any cameras that had them in their eye.  When he didn't respond, she softened her gaze then honestly and sincerely made it plain to him.  "I'm honestly sorry that this happened on your anniversary, Elliot.  I know how much you love your wife..."  She paused then dropped her eyes.  "I know what everyone thinks of me," she added softly.  "I... this is my life, Elliot... it's all I know."  With that said, she turned and couldn't believe when an actual tear slid down her cheek.  She hadn't been trying for that... where in the hell...

'Jennifer... stay in the future... and let me work, dammit,' Johanna thought irritatedly but was more surprised as she began to walk away from Elliot.

‘If you know what everyone thinks of you, then why the hell don't you try changing up a little?  Like putting away that knife you keep hiving your competitors and co-workers with?  Tell me that.’  Elliot thought blackly as he listened without comment.  Seeing the single tear slip down one cheek as she looked up at him, for a second he almost bought it.  Almost.  Well, in truth, it was Jennifer Thebes who cut his wavering moment of 'do I or don't I trust her' off at the knees.  Seeing her reach up and dash the tear from her cheek - not dab lightly at it as most women would do - splashed it through his thoughts that it was all an act.  He waited as she turned and started back toward her office.  He watched her smooth gait as she walked, his eyes tracking upward, unaware that he was appreciating Jennifer's curvaceous figure that was only enhanced by the 'all business' dark blue business suit she was wearing.

PART TWO

Knowing that he had no option now but to follow, Elliot sighed and strode after her.  Hopefully...maybe the problems or errors weren't so bad that they couldn't be fixed in short order, and he could get to Libertine's before Gina's temper was re-lit and he wound up alone in motel room…again.

Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, Elliot put on a straight face and hurried after her.  To his surprise, however, Jennifer stopped about halfway to her office and turned to face him.  The look of apology in her expression ...not just her eyes but also her whole face... took him aback and he stopped then moved to within a couple of feet of her.

"Don't worry about it," he said quietly.  "Sleeping in the dog house isn't so bad.  She'll forgive me... in about a month."  Feeling like the biggest two-face in the world, Elliot offered her a bit of an understanding smile.  "Don't apologize for being good at what you do, Ms. Thebes," he told her as he stepped up even with her.  "Don't ever apologize.  Just keep doing what you do best, and eventually all your hard work will get you where you want to be most."   Seeing what looked suspiciously like a sheen of moisture forming in her green eyes again, he lifted a hand, hesitated then awkwardly patted the top of her nearest shoulder.  "Come on.  Let's see if, between us, we can set some sort of speed record for fixing reports."

Taking a small step aside, he watched her turn to continue into her office, falling into step after her.  Even though most of the staff had left for the weekend, upon entering her office, he closed the door behind him, more out of habit than anything else.

Sometimes though, a good habit can suddenly turn on you when you least expect it.

Johanna was more pleased than anything else at what had happened in the hallway.  It at least showed her to be ... human, if anything else.  Once in the office, she turned slightly when she saw Elliot close the door then pointed to the chair behind her desk.  "Go ahead.  Have a seat."  She saw the hesitant look on his face, and to prove that she meant it, she walked over to him, grabbed him by the sleeve of the gray dress shirt he was wearing and put him behind the desk, standing beside the chair.  "Do I need to push you into it or... what?" she kidded with him and when she saw the genuine smile instead of a hardened glare, she saw Elliot as she was sure his wife did... perfect.

"No ma'am," he responded and sat down in the chair. 

"And for the record, we are off the clock.  Jennifer will do.  No more ma'ams.  No more Ms. Thebes.  Now... let's look at the first one, shall we?"  Seeing the nod that he gave to her, she leaned over beside him and pulled it close.  Opening it to the page marked, Johanna pointed to the circle that her host had marked on the page before she had changed places with her.  "Read that over aloud and tell me how it sounds, then look at my notes to the side."

Listening to him read the information, she glanced sideways to him and saw in his face, in the hesitancy of his reading when he found his own error and then looked to the side at her notes.  It was then that he laughed.  The sound filtered through the room and she smiled at him as he turned to look at her.  "See what I meant when I said that we'd be in the line up together?  Mr. Willis would have had a stroke had he read that... losing over a million dollars on a limp?"

Elliot laughed again then closed the file and picked up the next one.  "Do the same with it as well.  Read it and let's see what you decide."  Again, Elliot found his error, this time in a mathematical equation and turned a lovely sheen of red that Johanna hadn't quite seen before on anyone.  "Isn't it frustrating when a decimal point and the number 1 messes with your brain when you've been working extraordinarily hard?" 

Elliot nodded and shook his head, embarrassed and humiliated that he had done something so haphazardly. 

Johanna then leaned a bit further across the desk and picked up the third one just as Elliot's hand did.  She turned her head to look at him then grinned at him. 

She watched over his shoulder as he opened up the file and searched for her circle.  It wasn't until the last paragraph that he found it and then started chuckling again.  She read over the paragraph and pointed to it.  "You know... I think that Porky Pig said it much better with... "Th-th-that's all folks.'" 

The laughter that bellowed from him was catchy and she chuckled as well.  She leaned over to get the last report and was more than a bit surprised when she felt a hand on top of hers where she had her weight balanced on it.  Leaning back after getting the report, she glanced at Elliot and blinked at him.  "What?  What is it?  You said... speedy... I'm trying to get you outta here... "

She couldn't even finish her thought as a finger placed over her lips hushed her.  Looking at him, she frowned.  'Oh god... what now?' she thought.  ‘I need to finish this... and get this guy to help me down Talmadge... but... he has to trust... he has to.  Come on... think, Johanna... think.'

When she had leaned down next to him, one hand braced on the desktop, the other opening the file on top of the short stack, Elliot had reactively drawn back from her closeness.  Only when he glanced at her face as she urged him to read the circled part aloud and then compare it to the notes written in neat, small script in the margin, did he see that her focus was only on the report and nothing else.  His mind went through a long list of possibilities and 'what-if' scenarios in the space of a few seconds, ultimately discarding them all.  This was a glimpse behind the mask of professionalism Talmadge's senior international securities analyst wore most of the time.  It was only then that somewhere in his mind, Elliot decided to give Ms. Thebes...no, correction, Jennifer... the benefit of a small doubt, and put aside all he knew about her, and turned his focus on the reports.

And he discovered that she had been right.  The mistakes in first three reports were unbelievably, incredibly obvious little mistakes.  But not so little that if not corrected, they would have given a slightly differently subtle tone to that portion of the report, and therefore might have injured the account, and therefore the company.  By the time he reached for the last report, Elliot had forgotten his anger and the fight with Gina about missing their anniversary dinner.  All he was thinking now was that the "Ice Bitch" wasn't as cold or unapproachable as most of the men in the company considered her.

He hadn't meant to intentionally reach for the last report when Jennifer did, it just happened.  His hand closed over hers and both of them went still.  He watched her reaction, keeping his eyes fixed on her green eyes as she questioned him lightly, saying something about trying to get out. 

Elliot hadn’t remotely anticipated what happened next to have a chance of happening.

From one heartbeat to the next, before the thought in his head could shift directions, Elliot reached up to lightly press his index finger against her lips.  Seeing the slight frown start to furrow the smooth little area between her eyebrows, he said softly, "We're almost finished. I think we can slow down for a minute.  Don't you?" 

He didn't give her a chance to respond as he leaned closer to her, at the last instant removing his finger from her lips and replacing it with his mouth.  Softly, tenderly, experimentally Elliot tasted Jennifer Thebes' lips and then demanded a little more from the kiss. 

The kiss ended after another moment, both of them more than a little surprised and for a moment, awkward.  Their glances met then darted away from each other only to meet again.  Elliot tried to make light of what had just happened.

"Not exactly the proper way to say 'thank you' for saving my job," he said softly.  "No," he insisted when she started to speak, again putting his finger to her lips.  "These were all mistakes that should have been…that I should have caught before these reports got to you.  And this one..." he glanced at the last report, and the area circled in red pencil.  "If you hadn't caught that, and Mr. Willis didn't catch it...."  He gave her a sort of 'Oh geez!' look.  "...and , Wellington Technologies had gone with that aspect of it, it would have cost them millions."  He saw her eyes widen slightly at that, and nodded.  "Yeah.  And then, while Talmadge was in an international securities fraud suit that would get them fined....God, I don't want to think about how much that would have been... you and I would be lucky to get hired as bean counters in a pork and beans factory!"  He smiled a little wider at her reaction to the last part then, more relaxed this time, removed his finger from her mouth and kissed her again, hesitating just long enough to whisper, "I always admit when I'm wrong, and I always make it a point to thank those that help me out of a jam. .... Thank you, Jennifer."

Johanna didn't know which to be more surprised at - his kisses or the fact that he had just given her assignment on a platter.  When his lips met hers again, his voice soft, his lips warm and inviting, she kissed him back longingly.  It had seemed to be so long since she'd been able to have some form of enjoyment with the member of the opposite sex.  This time, when he pulled back from her, she felt her heart race and she nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  "Well... since you see the errors... perhaps you should..." she licked her lips and swallowed before her eyes found his lips once more.  "Perhaps you should..." she tried again and even tried to step back away from the temptation but he stood up as well from her chair. 

It didn't make sense to Elliot, the almost total turnaround in his thinking toward the senior international securities analyst.  A short time ago, he would have as soon kissed the wall as her, and suddenly he was following her lead, rising to his feet as she started to step back.  Could it be that he had found a breach in her armor?

"Ms. Thebes....Jennifer," he said, reaching to put a hand on hers, effectively stopping her from backing further away.  The look in her eyes... he wasn't sure about..  "I.. I apologize for that...indiscretion," Elliot said, softening his tone though the look in his eyes didn't quite match the decorum he meant.  "I... It was just an... unexpected moment," he smiled at her.  "No matter how much I appreciate your generosity in this.  It really could have meant my job, and cost the company big.  Really big."

Now it was Elliot who was suddenly discomfited, he who made a move to put a safer distance between them before something else unexpected happened.  Something told him that a second 'something' might not be as easy to sidestep.

Johanna watched him for a moment, felt his hand, how it just seemed to fit right into hers, looked down at it and then watched again as he put a safer distance between them.  She looked down and closed her eyes for a brief moment before she found herself taking a few steps in the direction in which he had gone.  Opening her eyes, she finished crossing the distance and just looked up into his handsome blue eyes and searched them.  It was then that Johanna felt Jennifer Thebes come blaring through once again.

"If you only knew how I've wanted to be with you, Elliot," she whispered softly her right hand coming up to touch his chest, slowly moving up his shirt to his collar to caress his cheek gently.  "I..."  Seeing his head lower slightly, his head turning gently so that his lips were against her thumb, she caught her breath then licked her lips and swallowed.  "Kiss me again, Elliot... please... kiss me again..."

PART THREE

It had been an accident, a fluke. One of those out of left field moments that suddenly comes upon a person and was reacted to with such sudden spontaneity that it seemed the right thing to do.  Now Elliot watched Jennifer close the safe distance between them, his heart skipping a beat with...anticipation?  No, no this time it was dread.  It was dread because she really was so easy on the eye, and he couldn't lie to himself; he had fantasized about her more than once.

Feeling her fingers once again moving up his chest, Elliot knew....*knew*.... that he should back away and keep backing away.  Okay, he had kissed her... once.  But...

"Jennifer," he began, trying not to feel her hand at his collar, then the back of her fingers against his cheek.  He didn't want to hear behind her words what he was hearing too clearly.  "I don't think... I should," he sort of choked out.  But she was leaning up, offering her mouth to him again, still murmuring, "Kiss me, Elliot....please?"

‘Don't do it!’ Elliot heard his conscience screaming stridently in his mind, and for an instant he wavered, knowing that he should listen to it.  But it was the feel of Jennifer's warm breath, the vague whiff of her perfume that did what Elliot couldn't - silence the little voice warning him.

"Maybe just...once more," he murmured just before he tasted her full lips again.  This time, though, he slipped one arm then the other around Jennifer's pliant body and pulled her tightly against him.

The feel of Elliot's lips on hers was something that was to die for.  As Zoe had once put it to her... it was delicious.  It was almost like the first time that she had made out with Todd Timsdale by the pool oh so many years ago.  The way that he pulled her so tight against his body was something that she just wanted to keep going.  As their tongues melted and caressed each other, she was even more pleased with the actions.  It was even more than she hoped for.  Not only did he give her the answer to the leap, he had given it to her with a smile... then a kiss.  It was just too much to hope for.

Reaching her hand up, she let her hands run seductively through his hair and she didn't waste any time to bring her arms around him and begin tugging softly at his tucked in shirt tail.  As one hand slid around, she began to softly flick at the buttons on his shirt and was even more excited as he moaned deep in his throat.  His kiss broke off and she felt his lips on her chin and her neck and she whispered almost in a pout, "Only one?"

‘This isn't happening,’ Elliot thought when he felt Jennifer's hand slide to his waistband and start tugging at his shirt.  That thought faded with the first caress of her breath against his cheek when he broke the kiss, moving to taste her cheeks, trailing kisses slowly then more quickly...on her chin, along the curve of her cheek, her neck.

"Only one?" The two words were like a faint sprinkling of cool water on his libido, and Elliot hesitated.  Swallowing slowly, his lips mere centimeters from the warm pulse in the left side of her neck, he took a slow careful breath, then another as a sliver of reality got through the fog in his mind.

"We...I...should..." he stumbled over the words.  He tried again, this time starting to straighten up.  "Jennifer...Ms..." It surprised him to suddenly find a finger against his lips, and a moment later found himself eye to eye with those green eyes that usually filleted anyone they fell on from across a room.  Only now they weren't icy.  Now they were quite warm and inviting, and God help him at the invitation they were offering. 

"T..The...reports," he tried again.  There was no such thing as ignoring what Jennifer Thebes' hands...at least one of them... was doing.  "They have to be turned in tomorrow...."

As soon as Elliot began to talk, Johanna knew that he was trying to end the moment... and damn what a moment.  She placed her finger over his mouth to try to stop him from continuing on, but he wouldn't have it...but neither did she.  As her left index rested on his lips, her other hand kept roaming over his chest, down his stomach and swirled around his hip then caressed softly back up.

"T...the... reports... They have to be turned in tomorrow..." 

Johanna turned her head slightly to look at the desk then smiled as she turned back to them.  "Don't you worry about those reports.  I have them fixed in my desk already.  I knew that they needed to be handed..."  she let her hand dip lower again, this time brushing lightly over the front of his slacks before bringing her hand back up.  The intake of air that the action alone caused, was something that she knew had gotten his attention.  "Did you hear me, Elliot?  They... are already done.  All fixed."  She leaned forward toward him and gently nibbled at his ear and heard another gasp of air escape from him.  "Elliot?" she whispered right against his ear and waited to see what he would do next.

"That's.... great.  Thank you....Jen..." Elliot sucked air between his teeth, all but choking on the moan that fought to get out of his throat.  But he managed to swallow that down; however, he wasn't as successful in hiding his body's reaction to her touch where his fantasies had always put her hands...and more.  Hearing his name on her lips, her breath soft against his ear, Elliot Snowbury was a man on a ledge.  He could either focus on reaching the safety of the proverbial doghouse at 4718 Cadmen Circle, or he could close his eyes and hang onto a fantasy and for certain sure, take that one more step and step off the ledge into a straight down plummet.  He tried again.  "My wife... our anniversary...Have to meet her at the... restaurant."

That one small, butchered sentence was enough to make Johanna slowly step back away from him, her head slightly ducked as a small grin made its way to her face.  She quickly turned, her back now to him before she took a deep breath, then let it out a bit shakily.  "All those... dreams... fantasies..." she said loud enough for him to hear.  But then it one quick motion, she wiped off every bit of material off of her desk, turned and opened up her blouse that she had untucked and unbuttoned.  Leaning down, she slid her hands down her legs, then slowly back up again, raising her skirt almost as if she was going to take it completely off.  Johanna raised her head to look at him as her hands lowered... her panties slowly slipping down her legs then off completely, landing somewhere she was sure behind one of the chairs in the room.

Slowly, starting toward him, she began to strip out of her elegant soft silk white blouse, one arm at a time, then slid it over his shoulder, around the back of his neck and around to the other side to lay as she made her way back up to the desk, to lean against it gingerly.  "Don't let all of my fantasies be wasted, Elliot... please," she said huskily before she licked her lips slowly looking at him up and down.

He would have denied from the highest pinnacle on the planet... that he had fantasized about such a scene as was being... presented to him at the moment.  But Elliot's body and mind were betraying him, even as he slowly shook his head at the woman making no attempt to disguise her obvious intention of seducing him.  

"No," he whispered, licking suddenly dry lips as he watched the wispy bit of lace clothing drop around her ankles.  "I...I can't...Jennifer.  My wife...." 

What he didn't realize was how his expression, his voice that he could hear was subtly betraying him as he took a couple of steps toward the Ice Bitch who had lost the chill she usually exuded like a cloak, now sending off waves of sexual heat.  A heat that one Elliot Snowbury, now the equivalent of a male moth, was being inexorably drawn toward a flame that, like all flame, was going to burn him.

"Don't do this....please," he pleaded, his voice low and sort of harsh.  His eyes flickered down suddenly, unable not to watch the temptress' hands, now resting on her thighs as she leaned against the edge of her desk...her cleared off desk... and began to slowly....maddeningly... terrifyingly slide her skirt up...up... 

Desperate not to get caught in a compromising situation that could cost him not just his job but his marriage and child, Elliot jerked his eyes away and forced himself to move away and head for the door.  He got about a half dozen steps before the temptress retrieved and put on her cloak again, her words, spoken softly, as deadly as any weapon.

"Why...why me?" he whispered, his back still to her.  But that wasn't good enough for Jennifer Thebes it seemed.

Watching him straighten up and head toward the door, Johanna straightens off the desk, leans down, shuffling through the reports and picked out the last one that he had mentioned.  "Guess it wasn't finished after all... no matter.  I'm sure another job will open for you at another company, Elliot... Oh... Mr. Snowbury." 

With those words said, she watched as he stopped in his tracks, his head slightly bowed.  "It's too bad.  This could have been a one in a lifetime fantasy come true, Mr. Snowbury.  A once in a lifetime.  But I guess it was never in the cards... or at least a fantasy of yours as well.  I read the wrong signs... but I got them professionally."

She watched as he straightened up and took a deep breath.  It was then that she took the initiative, and started toward him, closing the expanse and finally stepped before him.  Meeting his gaze, she let her fingers walk up his chest before her eyes lowered to see his mouth.  She blew out a heavy breath and sighed lightly as her left hand met his hip once again.  She didn't know what to say to him, and she bit at her lip wondering what he was going to do... how she was going to play the rest of the cards she had been dealt. 

Elliot heard the shuffling of papers behind him and a moment later 'heard' Jennifer Thebes unsheathe the knife that she had figuratively stabbed several people with on her climb to the top.

‘And now it's my turn to get knifed,’ he thought, bitterness and anger mixing and roiling around with the fear that the predatory securities analyst had set loose inside him.  And there wasn't any denying what she wanted from him in order to make sure that the Wellington report was corrected before it left her hands.  Still, that didn't mean that he couldn't do a little knifing of his own.

"Guess the stories are true," he said, not trying to brush her hand away from his hip.  When Jennifer looked up at him as she dropped the report on the floor to use both hands at the catch of his slacks, he said, "That you climbed the corporate ladder on your back.... or against a wall."  The slap stung, but the anger that had powered it didn’t deter Jennifer Thebes.

When Joanna Royden heard from Elliot Snowbury that she had slept her way up to the top, she couldn't help but take that comment personally.  She slapped him as hard as she could, daggers flaring up in her eyes as he slowly turned his head back to hers.  "Never," she said as plainly as she could as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "have I ever slept my way into my position.  I earned every single degree I have ever gotten, every promotion I have EVER received -- all of it was earned.  I have never used sex, and I will not start with you, Elliot."

She let her eyes glance back over his body then met his eyes once more.  "What I was trying to do with you..." she saw his eyes narrow slightly at her and could see the heat behind the glare that he was giving her.  "... you know, Elliot... even Ice Bitches who work their way up to the top by using their brains and not using their body forget... what it's like to use it."  She paused, blinked, looked down, then back up to his eyes once more.  "I..." immediate tears brimmed in her eyes and she blinked twice then swallowed then cleared her throat.  "I'm..." Johanna's chin quivered slightly then she licked her lips. "... sorry." 

Taking two steps back away from him, she quickly walked back over to her desk, grabbing at her blouse and slipping her arms back into the sleeves before she felt the sobs coming on stronger than she had actually meant for them to.  'What's going on?' she thought then realized that Jennifer Thebes was acting in again.  'Geesus, does she ever get any?' Johanna wondered as her knees buckled and she went down beside her desk.

It was either the best acting job he'd been witness to, or Jennifer Thebes really did have a heart. Elliot had steeled himself for the worst after the analyst left her handprint on his face and was more surprised than he should have let on at her emotional reaction.  Her declaration of "hard work" having gotten her into this business, this office only went so far.  Yeah, she was damned good at her profession, but there were too many stories repeated in the men’s room not to have some truth in what he'd accused her of.

Now, still where she had left him standing, he watched her yank her blouse on, try to button it then dropped to the floor, her shoulders starting to shake with the strong sobs that suddenly broke loose.

‘Now what?’ he thought angrily.  Good manners nudged him to go to her and help her up.....

‘*And onto her back on the desk.*’

"No!" he muttered under his breath at the little voice in his head.

‘*If you don't give her what she wants, you know good and damned well that that report is going to Willis just like it is.*’

Elliot huffed an aggravated breath and glared at the weeping woman on the floor.  ‘She just said that she never....’

‘Right.  And you believe that?*’

If Elliot could have gotten his hands on the entity whispering in the dark corners of his mind, he'd have choked it.  But he couldn't; all he could do was try to win the argument.

"She...she said she would fix it," he muttered softly to himself, this time half turning away from the sight of Jennifer Thebes.  Running a hand through his hair, his body tensed as he fought against listening to that part of his conscience that he usually kept locked down.

‘*Oh, she'll fix it all right.  She'll fix it so you wind up on the outside of Talmadge Industrial or any other reputable securities firm.   You'll be lucky to find a job as a 'gopher' in any business firm when she's finished.*’

‘I've got my pride,’ Elliot retaliated silently but fervent passion.  ‘If a man doesn't take pride in himself and his work...giving his best....’

‘*Is your pride going to put money in your pocket?  Pay for that new house?  Send your kid to college?*’  The voice paused then slipped its own knife between Elliot's ribs.  ‘*Is your pride going to keep you out of divorce court?*’

That confused Elliot, and he said aloud, "What?"  Hearing a sound behind him was followed by Jennifer hiccupping, "W...what did you say?"

‘*Listen, if she doesn't get what she wants, she'll delay you till you can't get to Gina before you end up, first, in the dog house, and then on a fast track to a divorce that's going to suck you dry.  And...she's your wife.  You know she'll do it.*’

‘Damned if I do, and damned if I don't,’ the tall, frustrated man thought bitterly, trying to ignore the snide silent laughter as that imp in his head won the argument.  He had worked and fought to get into Talmadge, and he wasn't ready to let such a hard won plum of a job get away from him, especially if it meant bending to the Ice Bitch's demands for the few minutes it would take.

Swallowing down his pride, now tainted with the bitterness of the position she'd put him in....’no, that I put myself in for letting those stupid, f**king mistakes get by me’...Elliot took a deep breath, blew it out slowly and turned back to the woman who, at the moment, held his career, his livelihood in her hands. 

He covered the brief space between them in a couple of steps then stood looking down at her, idly noticing how her hair had fallen forward to veil her face.

‘*It's now or never.*’

"Jennifer..." Elliot forced his voice to be steady yet soft as he spoke her name.

Johanna hadn't known exactly how much of what she had told Elliot was from her, or from Jennifer Thebes.  But the tears had come just the same and she found it even harder to hide them.  It was something that was true.  She had given up being with a partner for her job... it was her livelihood.  And it did hurt to finally voice that depth of her life.

She had heard him say something and turned to ask, "W-what did you say?" but he had never responded again and her hands went back over her face and she wept. 

She heard him again, this time, saying her name and sounding so close and his voice so soft.  She turned her head slightly to see his shoes beside her and she closed her eyes.  "No," she said softly as well, and shook her head making her hair shake as well.  "Just... go, Elliot. Just leave me alone..." she said a bit more forcefully then slipped out the last words even softer not meaning for him to hear them, "... like I'm supposed to be."

Inwardly Elliot Snowbury was cursing even as he swallowed again then squatted on his haunches near her, close enough to reach a hand out to gently brush back the veil of her long, soft brown hair.  He ignored her last words, moving his hand instead to cup her chin gently then turn her face up to him.

Normally, the sight of a woman's tears would put a chink in his armor; not this time, but neither could he not 'dance to the tune' that he had to now.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, using his thumb to softly stroke away a couple of tears from her cheek.  "That was... unprofessional and uncalled for."  The look in Jennifer's green eyes was unwary and very emotional, still.   It was clearly going to take more than a simple "I'm sorry" to get ... to keep his job.  So, pushing away the picture of Gina's face from his mind's eye, Elliot shifted onto his knees beside her and brought his other hand up to take her face gently between his hands.

"Can we start...fresh?" he murmured, glancing into her eyes then to her lips before he bent his head and kissed her.

‘I'm sorry, Gina,’ was the last thought of his wife that went through his mind for several long...long minutes.

Johanna blinked at him for a brief moment before she leaned forward toward him.  She raised her chin and kissed his forehead, then his temples, the tip of his nose, both cheeks then leaned back to look into his eyes once more before she planted her lips against his once more.  She felt the kiss that he returned in her very core and grabbed at his shirt as her hands slid around him.

There was a maddening passion that seemed to be between them that both of them were quite surprised at, especially when Elliot's shirt and Jennifer's blouse fell to the floor once more.  She was more than aware of his hands that began to explore not only around her waist, but also up to cup her breast through her bra.  It was only a moment before she rid herself of that bothersome piece of clothing and felt his hand once more pressing more ardently against her... wanting more than just a feel... as his mouth slowly descended down from her lips, to her neck, shoulder and then finally to where his hand had been.

Johanna leaned slightly back and sucked in a breath as he continued his attentions and felt even more blown away by this man.  She reached down to his hair and ran her hands through his soft brown hair and bit at her lip.  A moan of pleasure and a bit of pain went through her, sending chills all over her body as he not only sucked, but also nipped lightly at her.  Her eyes flew open as she felt one of his hands slip slowly up her thigh under her skirt and sucked in a breath of anticipation.  "Ohhh Elliot," she whimpered as his hand slid further up.

All he had to do was not think about why he was doing what he was doing in order to let 'what came naturally' take over.  But it wasn't until Elliot felt Jennifer's fingers gliding through his hair that he simply stopped thinking about....anything.  He started at her lips and then moved to taste the soft silkiness of her neck...then her shoulder before replacing his hand on her breast with his mouth.   Jennifer's breathless whimpers, the way she arched against his touch just added fuel to the fire beginning to burn.

Her body was just as he had fantasized...soft and yielding, the dusky, vanilla touched perfume she wore that never failed to send his thoughts where they shouldn't go when he got the occasional whiff of it, now blended with the unmistakable natural perfume of her excitement and swept away every thought except one.

Moving one hand down her waist, sliding it down her thigh, Elliot stopped then moved his hand up again, this time sliding it up under her skirt, following the satiny smoothness of her leg up higher. For a split second he wondered about getting rid of her panties  then remembered...she had already done that.

"Ohhhh, Elliot..."  Jennifer's reaction to his fingers finding and delving into her warmth, plundering and teasing her, just served to increase his desire for her.  He knew she was confused when he suddenly let her go. Then in the next moment hearing her demanding, "Yes...hurry!  Come on!" told him she understood when he glanced at her as he unfastened his slacks and pushed them and his shorts down.

It wasn't a romantic interlude between them, it was basic lust, and in the throes of lust, romance didn't stand a chance.  All either of them knew or cared about at that moment was finishing what they had started.  Jennifer's gasp when he took her, almost a cry of pain, was a crumb of satisfaction for Elliot.  *If the bitch wants it, she's getting it the way I give it...like it or not.*  Groaning just then as he felt the familiar tightness escalating, he hammered her harder, not caring that his partner was crying...really crying.  *Tough. ...Take it bitch.*

And then it was finished.  Neither moved for a moment, panting, trying to catch their breath. Finally, Elliot removed himself from her, feeling the guilt rushing back at him, but he pushed it away.  He'd deal with it later...after that report was corrected and in Willis' hands.

"W...well?" he said at last, laying on the floor beside her, bringing one arm up to cover his eyes as he waited.

Johanna hadn't realized just how much she wanted him until he suddenly pushed her away and stood.  It was then that she realized what he was doing - unfastening his belt - that she demanded, "Yes...hurry!  Come on!"

It was in that moment that she had pulled her skirt up and before she could even lay back, she gasped out in shock and pain as he entered her.  She cringed and laid back, running her hands down his chest, but she didn't care for the romance... she wanted the release that only this action could fulfill.  It was near the middle of the deed that he began to get rough, rougher than necessary and she flinched and cringed and finally the tears won out and she just cried at the pain that was being delivered... but knew that the wonderful release was building in her as it was in him and in a moment... it would come...

When it did, her body raced.  She felt him on top of her, both of them panting trying to catch their breath and when he finally moved off, she laid still for a moment more just trying to relax from the roughness of the act itself. 

Hearing his one word question, "W...well?" she turned her head to him and knew instantly what he was talking about.  She licked her lips then slowly got up, placing her hand on her lower abdomen as she started toward the door where she had dropped the proposal on the floor.

Retrieving the proposal, she walked over to the shredder where it sat on a table across the room, turned to look at him quickly then unstapled it, placed it on the tray.  Flipping on the power, she watched as it purred through the knives and ended up in the garbage bin as shown through the glass window.

"Is that an answer to your question?" she asked softly as she opened up the garbage and pulled at the shredded papers, making sure that they had successfully been torn apart.

When Jennifer sat up then stood up and started toward the door, Elliot was watching, for a moment alarmed that she was about to not only renege on her promise about the proposal, but was going to call security in and accuse him of sexual harassment or worse, rape.  In that moment he, too, sat up, keeping his gaze on her, then relaxed visibly when he saw her bend down to pick up the proposal from where she had dropped it and carry it to the shredder such as was in every office.  With every page of the flawed proposal that went through the shredder blades, Elliot relaxed a bit more.  And as he relaxed, so did some of his anger at Jennifer Thebes.  In fact, when she fed the last sheet of paper into the shredder then turned it off and even stirred up the destroyed bits of the report, he discovered that he was enjoying the sight of her.  Not of her showing that she had kept her word, but the sight of Jennifer, herself.  After all, it wasn't a common sight to see her walking around her office half naked and with the unmistakable aroma of sex surrounding her.

"Completely," he answered her then let his gaze rove over her body again, this time appreciating the view, appreciating and savoring the knowledge that at least one of his private fantasies had come true.   Now, he eyed her openly, appreciatively as she walked back to him, for a moment standing before him, her eyes saying...a lot.

"Come here," he said, reaching to take hold of one of her hands and tugging it to bring her down to the floor again.  To her soft, "Why?" he responded, "So I can thank you."

This time, the aggression was banished. In it's place Elliot allowed himself to really enjoy Jennifer's body as well as her pleasure brought on by his willing attention.  This time when he settled into the cradle of her body, he made love to her. And it felt so good...her mouth was sweet, and ...everything was so....

Johanna turned from the basket to look at the man now sitting on the floor and saw his gaze rove over her body and she couldn't help but think about how he had made her feel just a few minutes before.  She walked over toward him a few feet away from him and just looked down upon him with heated passion already flowing from her eyes.  To his, "Come here," she questioned, "Why?"   She was more than willing when he said, "So I can thank you," as he took a hand and began to pull her back down on the floor.

It was an awe inspiring feeling when Elliot's hands roamed, his mouth plundered then softly came back to sprinkle around in different directions, sending her into a tizzy.  It was a totally different sensation... the way that he was really making love to her and not just the act itself.  The soft touches, the moans were more than she could almost bear until he cradled inside of her and was tender... she couldn't help the soft moan that escaped.

"Yes..." she whispered then moaned again before his kisses came up her throat once more to find her lips.  It was almost too much for her to take.  She picked up her legs, wrapping them around him as best as she could, wanting to become more...

She rose up slightly to nibble at his earlobe and heard him moan lowly only then and a little too late to hear a rather irritated angry gasp come from the doorway.  Johanna turned her head toward the door at the same moment that Elliot reached his climax and went still on top of her.  She closed her eyes, licked her lips and shuddered at the sensation and let out an appreciative sigh and slowly blew out a breath.  She didn't know if he had heard the gasp or not as she glanced down at him and felt his lips on her shoulder close to her neck and smiled as she felt the footsteps approaching them and closed her eyes as she felt his lips come back up to her mouth once more for ... she was sure... one last kiss before hell stepped in.

        PART FOUR

Gina Snowbury had stormed out of the house after slamming the phone down then seethed the whole twenty-minute drive to Libertine's.  Her fury just continued to boil and mount as she pictured Ms. Jennifer Thebes and her oh so professional smile and aloof smugness.  She had hated the woman from the first time she had crossed paths with her.  But for the sake of Elliot's job, she had let that moment slide.  Too late she realized that it had put her husband, and therefore, herself, in a position that had to be endured. 

The first anniversary he missed - their third - Gina had been sorely disappointed but it was understandable.  After all, Elliot needed to build his relationship with the company and gaining points with the CEO was a big plus, too.  The next year and the one after that, though, the understanding wasn't as easy to deal with…and now, tonight.

By the time she pulled up in front of Libertine's, Gina had had more than enough time for all the missed anniversary celebrations to mix together with the resentment for each time that Talmadge Industrial Securities senior international analyst had taken, what Gina considered to be, a more than professional interest in Elliot.  So instead of parking the car and going inside the classy French restaurant to eat and wait for her husband to show up, she muttered, "Not this time, *Ms. Thebes*," she growled lowly as she pulled onto the street again and headed across town.

It was as if the early evening traffic knew that it wasn't a good idea to impede the angry woman's journey, and thirty or so minutes after leaving the house, Gina Snowbury pulled into the company parking lot of Talmadge Industrial Securities, and went into the building.  She made it a point to smile and pause to chat for a moment with Alvin, the security guard stationed by the elevators before getting into the elevator he summoned for her.  The ride up to the tenth floor took just moments and she made herself clear her thoughts, wanting to have a clear head when she confronted Elliot.  That lasted until she stepped out of the elevator, turned right and went along to his office.

Opening the door, she called, "Elliot?"  Not getting a response, she continued past his secretary's desk and opened the door into his private office...to see that he wasn't in it.  That's all it took.

Storming out of Elliot's office, Gina didn't hesitate or stop to wonder where Jennifer Thebes' office was.  She knew where it was and marched back the way she'd come, passed the elevators and went to the last door on the left of the long hall before her.   She heard it before she saw it.

Fury erupted inside her like Vesuvius exploding as she reached the door and pushed it open.  All she could see from the doorway was her husband's lower legs on the floor behind the desk, and she didn't need to see him to know what –or who- he was doing.  Still, for as furious as she was, Gina was even more hurt that he would turn to a woman like Jennifer Thebes.  In spite of herself, she couldn't hold back the hurt gasp.  But....

‘You started this mister, but I'm damned well going to finish it!’ she thought hotly as she marched across the carpeted floor and around the side of the desk.  Disgust, fury and all the emotions vying for top place inside her, acted as a steeling agent inside Gina as she stood and watched Elliot screwing the bitch.  But that wasn't the worst of it.  No, that 'honor' went to the bitch that lifted her gaze to look up at her just as her husband climaxed.

With a growl of rage, Gina spun around and looked for something...anything to throw.  Spying what looked like a marble pen stand on the side of the desk, she snatched it up and used both hands to raise it over her head and fling it at the copulating pair on the floor.

"YOU FILTHY, LYING, TWO-FACED BASTARD!!" she screamed, kicking at the twosome, doing her best to stomp them so her spiked heels left holes in whatever part of their bodies she could reach.

        Johanna was more than ready for the spitfire that was about to spill forward when she saw the blonde headed woman who stepped up to her desk.  And the moment that she felt Elliot flinch and yelp from the pain of whatever had hit him was enough to make her duck her head closer to the inside of his neck.

As soon as she felt him move off of her, she opened her eyes to hear the stomping and opened her eyes in just enough time to move her hand from the plush carpet as a spiked heel came down trying to put a hole in the middle of her hand.

She rolled to the right away from the woman and her husband and quickly began to grab at her clothes that she had tossed to the side.  It was as she reached for her brassier that she glanced up just in time to see another item come hurling her way and ducked.  It skimmed her shoulder and she let out a hiss as she turned her head to see that it wouldn't just be a bruise.  Her shoulder was now bleeding and she glanced behind her to see her letter opener embedded in the wall.  She turned back to the woman as anger flared up inside of her.  It didn't help that Elliot seemed to be frozen on the floor saying little to nothing.

Seeing the solid marble pen holder slam into the middle of her husband's shoulder blades, followed instantaneously by his yelping and trying to cover his head with his hands, just fed the fury burning in Gina Snowbury's veins and mind.  If she'd been so inclined to see that way, she might have laughed, watching Elliot squirming atop the bitch, still buried in her, and all the while yelling, "Gina! Gina, for God's sake, stop it!"   But all his words did was make her madder still and she looked around for something else to use to inflict her anger on them. 

Her eyes darted around the area and not seeing anything suitable to crush either one, Gina seized the telephone set and sent that 'missile' hurtling at Jennifer Thebes who was trying to reach her bra and stay out of the line of fire at the same time.

"Shit!" Gina growled when the phone missed Jennifer's head by 'this much'.  "You're not getting away with this, this time," yelled at the woman on the floor.  Grabbing open one of the desk drawers near her hand, Gina spied just what would work, snatching at the gold-gilded letter opener then slammed the drawer shut and did her best to throw it to stick in Jennifer Thebes' back.  But the only satisfaction she got was seeing it deflect off the analyst’s shoulder when she ducked, leaving a small slash before the instrument buried itself in the wall nearby.

When it seemed that fate wasn't going to let her use an object to gain some satisfaction in the form of physical pain on Elliot and Jennifer, Gina began kicking at both of them, doing her best to break bones.  She cursed wildly when the spiked heel of her left shoe missed the other woman's hand but only because Jennifer's reflexes seemed to be far better than they should in a moment like this.

She wasn't sure how or when the bitch managed to scramble out of her reach but then Gina didn't care.  She still had a target in the form of her nearly naked husband, laying on his back and just staring up at her like she had lost her mind.

Breathing hard, her bosom heaving, Gina advanced to his side and stared down at him, vindictiveness shining in her eyes and venom dripping from her lips. 

"Gina...honey..."

"Shut up, you louse!" she shrieked at him, adding emphasis with the -thankfully for Elliot's sake- blunt toe of her high heel to his ribs.  It felt good and she liked hearing him squeal, liked watching him at last start to scramble and wiggle to get away from her, his pants around his ankles.  Her husband’s naked butt was too inviting a target to ignore, so she kicked him again and again and again.  In fact, she followed him as he squirmed and crawled to get away from her, using whatever part of his anatomy best presented at any second, to reinforce what she thought of him.

"Four years," she raged at him.  "Four years, I've stood by you and everything you had to do to get in good here.  Twelve-hour days, business trips and dinners that I couldn't go to.  Weekends and holidays and our anniversaries! I didn't even say anything when you missed Nicci's last two birthday parties.  And for what?"  she demanded.  "FOR WHAT?  So you can screw your way higher up the ladder?"

There wasn't anywhere Elliot could get to in order to get on his feet before he again felt the toe of Gina's shoe landing against his body like she meant to drill her foot completely through him. 

"Honey...no... this isn't what..."

"SHUT UP!  STOP LYING TO ME!!"  Once more she aimed to kick but missed.

Johanna wasn't sure when or how she had gotten away from the woman who was ranting and raving and determined to kill her.  But thankfully for her training, she was able to avoid a few of the blows and managed to get away with some clothes.  Retreating to the other side of the room where she had tossed her underwear, she snatched them up and started to quickly dress as she watched Gina kick at Elliot... literally into a corner.  Even as she buttoned her blouse, she looked around the room and mentally prepared herself.

As Gina kicked at her husband as he tried once again to try to tell her that it wasn't the way that it seemed, Johanna felt a moment of pity for the man that had just made love to her.  She glanced at her shoulder and seeing the blood starting to seep through the blouse, she groused and felt the burst of adrenaline that had managed to finally kick in.  Glaring and panting, she marched over to the woman who had just tried to kick at her husband once more and missed, grabbed her shoulder and turned her swiftly and said, "He's not."  It was in that moment that Johanna's hand became a fist and she let her one true defense and power fly.  It came in contact with Gina's right eye and close to her nose, and she watched as the woman who was flaring hot mad went down suddenly to the floor.

Johanna's fist hurt, but she didn't care.  She stood her ground and looked down at Elliot who was just sitting there, looking up at her with awe.  "Get up and get dressed, Elliot," she told him.  "Now."

Elliot Snowbury had never been involved in a cat fight, and seeing how Jennifer waded into the middle of his furious wife, sending her to the floor with a fist to the eye, was as close as he ever wanted to get to such a confrontation.  As for Jennifer Thebes snapping at him to, "Get dressed.  Now!" ... he didn't have to be told twice.  Adrenaline pouring through his veins, along with the fear that his wife had instilled in him with her vindictive tirade, made him a little shaky, but it didn't stop him from jerking his clothes on faster than he would have thought possible.

Stuffing the tail of his shirt in, Elliot tried to speak again, but was cut off by not one of the women but both at the same time.

        "Keep your lies to yourself, you philandering bum!" Gina hissed at him as she glared up at him, one hand over the eye she'd been hit in.  "Save it to tell to your lawyer, asshole.  And if I get my way, I'll have that part of your anatomy cut out and mounted on the wall of my new home by the time this is finished."

Shifting her attention to Jennifer Thebes, now standing nearby in a posture of threatening defense, she spit, "Hope you enjoyed him because he's all yours now.  Just remember one thing, since I intend to take him for everything but his name and soul, get used to the idea that you're going to have to support him."

Carefully Gina got to her feet and swiped at her hair with one hand, then at the Bill Blass dress she had bought just for this evening.  Dividing a dirty look between the two, she turned as if to go toward the door.  She didn't quite make it that far; the sound of Jennifer Thebes' saying in a reasonable voice, "Mrs. Snowbury..." was the entire match her short fuse needed.

"YOU HUSBAND-STEALING WHORE!" she screamed and launched herself at the woman whose eyes she now had every intention of scratching out and keeping in a jar on her dressing table for the rest of her life.

Johanna had kept the defensive stance as long as she thought was necessary, especially as she saw the woman walking toward the door.  But the moment that she licked her lips and said, "Mrs. Snowbury..." the woman turned quickly screaming something that she wasn't sure of and felt her already on her, clawing at her face, knowing for sure that she had some dandy marks on her face as she felt something sticky beginning to run down her face. 

Johanna launched her hands up then brought them down quickly catching the woman completely off guard and twisted her arms catching Gina's arms under hers for a moment.   It was then that she used one of the techniques that she rather hated, but it only seemed the best to use at the moment.  She brought her head back then rammed it hard into the other's forehead making them both blink at the pain that it brought.  It was then that she brought up a knee and jammed it hard into Gina's abdomen.

Once again, Gina went down, coughing and before Johanna could help it, her training continued.  She hit the woman several more times for good measure to make sure that she at least was down.  It was only then that she stooped down over the woman, straddled her then lowered herself down to sit on the woman's chest, her legs on her arms, pinning her down. 

"Listen..." Johanna started but even as she tried, she heard the woman scream at her.

"Get the hell off of me, you bitch!"

Johanna snarled at her, then clamped her hand down on the woman's mouth making sure that her jaw was up and that she couldn't move to bite her hand.  She had had enough with the violence from this one.

"Now, you will listen," Johanna stated plainly seeing the woman heaving under her.  "Yes, tonight there was something that went on."  Seeing the anger flare up again was just what she wanted to see.  "And... God help me, he is an excellent buck but it was only tonight.  Never before has he come into this office or any other with any other woman.  The rest of those days that you had mentioned... those were legitimate work... not just with me... but with groups.  Get it through your thick skull, Gina," Johanna hissed at her.  "Even with as soon as he is... it was my doing.  Mine.  Not his."

Raising her hands from the woman's mouth she heard a line that had sent her into a tizzy earlier. 

"You slept your way to your position, you slut!  Use someone else's husband... not MINE!" 

The moment those words came out of her mouth, Johanna turned to look at the man standing a few feet from her and said, "Elliot, I'm sorry," then immediately turned and planted her fist once more into the woman's face knocking her out.

Getting up off of her, Johanna stepped over her and moved to Elliot.  He looked in a state of shock.  She turned his head to make him look at her then gently raised up and kissed his lips gently one last time.  Looking into his eyes after the kiss ended, she lightly tapped his cheek and moved to step back behind her desk where her skirt had been shoved under.  Grabbing at it, she put it back on.  "If you have any reasons to help her to her car, go ahead, because if you don't help her out, I'll get a guard to... and if he does... she'll be escorted to jail for assault."  She glanced down at her shoulder and flinched as she touched it gently and hissed at the pain that flared there.

Elliot had never felt more lost or, worse, helpless, as he did as he watched his wife and Jennifer Thebes going at each other like a pair of antagonistic female feral cats, screaming, clawing, hitting and more screaming.  He knew he should suck it up and get into it and separate them, but his feet were nailed to the floor and he just watched. His wife's accusing response to Jennifer's more than reasonable explanation, something she didn't have to do, made him hunch his shoulders slightly, wincing when the senior international analyst reared back then planted her fist against Gina's jaw.  The sight of his wife's body going limp from one second to the next was both a relief and a concern.  But it was Jennifer's all-business statement about getting Gina to her car or else that galvanized him into action.

Finding and stuffing his socks into one of the pockets of his jacket, Elliot jammed his feet into his shoes then went to Gina.  He hesitated a moment, his eyes finding and fixing on Jennifer Thebes' badly scratched face.  Inside his heart sank a little when he saw that her green eyes had once more regained that unreadable expression that made so many wonder what she was thinking.  He felt he should say something, even opened his mouth in an attempt to start to say something, and then stopped.  It was quite apparent as the moments were slipping by that Jennifer Thebes had reopened the 'no man's land' distance between them.  Her cool voice saying, "You've got five minutes to get her out of the building, Elliot before I call for security."

What else could he do?  Nodding vaguely in acknowledgement, he squatted down and gathered his wife's limp form into his arms.  It took a little doing, but he got to his feet and went to the wide-open office door.  Maneuvering through the door and into the hallway, Elliot paused to look back in at Jennifer Thebes.  Swallowing once then again, he licked his lips before saying quietly, "I'm sorry about...this, Ms. Thebes.  But...but I do appreciate the other thing more than you know."  Glancing at the unconscious woman in his arms, he shifted her slightly to get a more comfortable hold on her then said, "At least I'll be able to afford the alimony and child support on my salary.  Maybe."  In a way, hell, in every way, the second junior vice-president wasn't surprised that he got no response to his statement.  Nodding again to her, Elliot said quietly, "Good night, Ms. Thebes." He started to leave then paused to add, "Please send your medical bills to me and I'll take care of them."

With that said, Elliot Snowbury walked with measured steps down the hallway made the short left turn and went to the elevators.  When the car arrived he got into it with his wife in his arms and began the journey downward.  He assumed it was just down in the elevator and then later, in another venue, down and out of his marriage.  He had no way of knowing of the triumph being appreciated in his office.  If he could have seen Jennifer Thebes at that moment as she collected together the three corrected proposals and put them in a special courier packet along with the uncorrected Wellington Technologies proposal then called for a special courier, he might have left his wife in the building's main lobby with Alvin the security guard and gone back up and finished what Gina had started.  But he couldn't know any of that, and when the doors of the elevator slid open, Elliot paused just long enough to answer the guard's question...."We had a fight in my office, and she fainted."  It was enough to get him out of the building and headed for the parking lot.

Even as Elliot left the vicinity of her office, Johanna Royden slipped into her chair and laid her head back on her chair.  She sighed heavily then smiled a bit victoriously.  She looked to the right were all of the paperwork had been shifted when she had tried to clear the desk and went to gather the three corrected proposals.  Placing them on her desk, she opened her bottom left hand drawer and pulled out the envelope that had the original Wellington proposal in it.  "There we are... my..." she giggled slightly as she said, "... my precious."

Putting it on her desk with the other paperwork, she picked up the phone and called for a special courier to come and pick up the paperwork to make sure that it was sent off immediately no matter what the cost.  It was then that she placed the material in its special pouch and sealed it to be sent to Willis' plane before midnight.

It was twenty minutes before the courier showed up and took the package from her and looking at her curiously.  She waved him off as he tried to ask her what had happened then waited until he left.  It was then that another thought happened to plant itself in her brain. 

She picked up the phone receiver once more and decided that Mrs. Gina Snowbury had gotten off a bit too easy.  Since she didn't have a security camera in her office, it would be a matter of hearsay. 

Hearing the voice on the other end saying, "911, what's your emergency?" Johanna couldn't help but smile somewhat before she turned her voice slightly pathetic.  "Yes... please... I... I've been assaulted..."

"Where are you ma'am?"

"My office at Talmadge Industrial Securities - tenth floor.  Please... my... s-shoulder is bleeding and... I... I have scratches on my face.  It... I knew... I knew I shouldn't have... but... ohhh please, help me."

A pause from the other end of the line was brief.  "Stay with me ma'am... I’ve just sent out an ambulance and the police.  Just talk with me on the phone and..."

"Ok... but I ... no... no... It was a mistake..." Johanna dropped the phone on purpose on her desk, and heard the operator call out to her.  "I know that I shouldn't have slept with him... please... don't... " she said loudly enough so that the operator could hear her then knocked over her chair as she stood and let it crash to the floor.  It was then that she went over to where the letter opener was in the wall and flinched.  She hated this part of her leaping career, but she wasn't about to let this Snowbury woman get the best of Elliot and everything else.  Taking off her blouse, she used the end of the sleeve to yank it out of the wall and looked at her shoulder before she closed her eyes and jabbed it into her shoulder making the cut deeper, the bleeding more pronounced... and the pain... she cried out in pain as she yanked it down once more then out and stabbed it through her blouse where the blood already was.  She put the opener back into the wall, her shirt back on then slowly made her way back to the phone and hung it up.

It was only a moment before it began to ring again... consistently... and she went to the floor where she had before and laid down.  Even as she put her head down, she heard the sirens coming up the street.  "Sorry, Elliot... but you're wife is going down before you are...."

It was the last words she uttered before she felt the familiar pull come from inside her body.  The only thing that she could think was... 'Ohhh thank you, Lothos.  Thank you.'

        Lothos had observed and recorded everything, every word that Johanna Royden said during her leap. He assessed her every action and reaction, all the while keeping meticulous track of her allotted time to complete the leap.  However, just when it appeared that she might not make the time limit, he watched through her eyes and within seconds ascertained her intent to finish the leap.  Thus it was that upon hearing her say, "Sorry, Elliot... but your wife is going down before you are..." he initiated retrieval.  In less time that it took to think about it, Johanna Royden lay face down in Accelerator Chamber Number One, still bleeding from her self-inflicted wound."

"Assignment completed in four hours, fifty-three minutes," he said into the chamber, watching as the technician on duty and the doctor he had summoned from the infirmary, entered the voluminous room to assist her.

"Attend to her wounds," he ordered.  But Johanna, though wounded, was determined not to let a minor consequence as a shallow cut in her shoulder keep her from getting back to the lecture hall. 

Lothos didn't comment when she shook the doctor and technician's hands off and started unsteadily for the door.

"Leaper Royden," Lothos spoke into the room.  Only his voice could stop her and it did.  Shifting his view through a different camera, he got a close up view of her face.   Her lips, pressed into a thin line, were outlined faintly in white, a sure sign of pain though she hadn't made a sound.  He noted her pain then shifted his focus to her eyes. 

 'The eyes never lie,' Lothos considered silently, seeing no sign of pain or weakness in this young woman's dark eyes.

"Dr. Simon," Lothos spoke again into the chamber.  "Accompany Leaper Royden to the lecture hall.  Once she has reported in and has received orders from Mr. Thames, then you may attend her wounds, there."  At that Lothos noted a flicker of something in the leaper's eyes, pondered what it could be then added, "Whatever you need to do, doctor, do it without benefit of pain killer."  Lothos paused again then finished by saying, "I will not have such a fine competitor's chances limited by the effects of pain killer."

There was another flicker of something in those dark eyes but Lothos dismissed it.  "Leaper Royden, you now have five minutes to get to the lecture hall."

        Lothos watched without further comment as Johanna made her way back to the lecture hall on the tenth floor of the complex.

As Johanna neared the lecture hall, she reached up and felt of the marks left from Gina Snowbury and grit her teeth a bit more.  She had heard what Lothos had said about not having such fine competitor's chances limited by the effects of painkiller and once again though she knew that it was going to kill her to be quiet through the medical aspect, that she was touched at the comment.  Even though it took her the whole time, she had completed it...even with wounds but she didn't care.  She could make it through... no... she would make it through... because she had to. 

She opened the door and came up to the middle of the aisle and stopped in front of Thames and noticed his gawking stare at not only her face but also her shoulder.  She kept her face bland and stood at attention waiting for her orders.  She half-glanced to see that Vaughn hadn't made it back quite yet and that fact alone was enough for her.

'Just two and a half minutes... just two and a half minutes... and it could be mine.  Vaughn, dear, if you can't be here in two minutes and ooohhh fifteen seconds... this is mine... all mine,' she thought to herself as she watched Thames begin to pace in front of her.  

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