Of Lyons and Lambs

[Veroe]

((Closed for Myself and Slut_in_white))​

IC: Hunter Lyons

Fifteen to twenty years ago the Lyons Architectural design firm under Gordon Lyons had been at the forefront of design and practicality in both private and commercial buildings. The firm Hunter's father had built from nothing had been at the razor's the cutting edge. His father's designs routinely won awards and garnered great acclaim. Clients clamored to have their houses or their offices designed and built by the Lyons firm, but then eight years ago his father had contracted prostate cancer.

He fought bravely against the disease but eventually he succumbed to it, and the genius' ne'er-do-well, wastrel, irresponsible son was thrust on his father's throne and given the keys to his father's kingdom.

Hunter had done his best. He had a knack for business and negotiations, which was good, but the vagaries of designing and constucting a high profile building made his eyes roll back in his head and snore. Unfortunately their clientele had noticed the dimming of the Lyon's firm's star with the death of Gordon Lyons. For the past six years their competitors had been winning the awards, garnering the praise, lauded as the leaders of a new era in design and construction. More and more Hunter was losing the bids for projects.

Six more years. Unless something happened to turn the tide in six more years he'd have guided his father's company into the ground. Crashed and burning, would be a good description for the specter of bankruptcy looming over their heads. All of his employees from the architects, to the material specialists, to the legal department, and the accountants would be thrust out of work. Their families would suffer.

When had he found he could shoulder responsibility without running away from it to party in Monaco or Beverly Hills? When had he found he could be crushed under the weight of it?

He glanced at the mirror above the scale model of the municipal museum of natural history-the last building his father had designed-and stared at the man sitting behind his father's desk. Eight years ago he had reluctantly sat in this same chair behind this same desk and looked into the same image of him. A well tailored blue suit, cut and crisp conforming over the muscles he habitually maintained every morning in a memorized workout routine he'd had since he dropped out of business school. His hair cut short and conditioned clean, frosting with touches of grey along the sides of his dark hair. A well maintained five-o-clock shadow pepper and salt over a face just showing the lines and creases of a man that had passed the age of youth and was sliding inexorably towards middle-age with each year and each worry on his mind.

Hunter sighed. He was getting too old. Four more years and he'll know the dreaded horror of the terrible 4-0. Definitely too old.

His ruminations were interrupted when his secretary buzzed him saying Ms. Lamb was here. He told her to allow Ms. Lamb in. Soon after the door to his office opened and a young woman timidly walked in. She had brown tresses flowing over her suit jacket, blouse and skirt. She wore glasses that she routinely had to push back up the bridge of her nose.

Catherine Emily Lamb was pretty but thin, string-bean, someone crass would call her. No curves to her like the pornstars he had frolicked with in the past, neither did she have the height and bearing of the fashion models he attended label launches and after-parties with. But all that was pale in comparison to that indefinable thing she had that made Hunter suddenly desire her. Maybe it was the way her eyes locked onto him as if enraptured by him and then widen with a brief moment of embarrassment and lower away from him as if she was not worthy. It stirred memories of a life he had been forced to put behind him, and he wanted her like no other woman before.

No, he couldn't be that irresponsible man again. He had responsibilities now. Though in eight years of that part of him long dead and buried, seeing this Catherine Lamb reacting to him made Hunter ache to exhume that seductive masterful rogue again. He wanted her on her knees paying homage to his cock as his fingers glided through the brunette wonder of her hair.

He gestured to one of the two chairs in front of his desk. "Sit," He commanded her.

He looked down to his desk and the open manila folder and the printed page inside. "Ms. Lamb, last month you were given the assignment of conducting a structural review of the museum we constructed last year. Two and a half weeks ago you wrote an e-mail addressed to me voicing concerns of the structural integrity of the building."

Hunter leaned back in his father's chair and spread his arms, "You sent it to me, but I never received that e-mail. It seems someone hacked into your computer and intercepted all of your e-mails."

He leaned forward, "I know everything, Ms. Lamb," He paused before adding, "I know everything, Catherine."

He gave her a reassuring look at her reaction to that, "I know your supervisor, Bob Haskill, has been blackmailing you, and I know why."

Just then the door swung open and his secretary was pushed aside as Bob Haskill stormed into his office. "You're not seriously believing a word this conniving little slut is saying are you?"

"Mr. Haskill I kno-"

"You don't know what this bitch has been up to," Haskill plowed onward over Hunter's statement throwing down his own manila folder atop his desk.

"There," Haskill said glaring at Catherine spitefully, "This bitch has been browsing the internet during company hours visiting the most perverted and sickening websites-"

"Your ignorance is truly astounding, Bob," Hunter said raising the pages of her browser history in his hand. "I know everything. You were the project manager on the museum, and purposely bought substandard materials and reckless building practices pocketing the difference. I know you assigned Catherine the structural review, and I know you hacked into her computer and blackmailed her with this."

Hunter flung the so-called damning internet history pages into the man's face. "Fucking children visit that museum everyday and you made it a fucking death trap waiting to happen for a fucking million in a Cayman island account."

"But..." Haskill said wide-eyed, "How did...you don't care what she's been watching?"

"You can't be that ignorant," Hunter rose up glaring railroad spikes into this worthless man's face, "I recognize her most visited website because when I was younger I fucking starred in several of the videos on it. And so now do you think I even care that she'd been watching it and others over what you have done?"

Two men in cheap suits came came into his office and took Haskill by the arms.

"Take him away detectives before I strangle this douchebag."

He waited getting his anger back under full control until the detectives read Bob his moranda rights and dragged him away before crossing to his door. He told his secretary that he didn't want to be disturbed and shut the door and locking it. He closed the blinds on the window and walked back to his desk.

"I am sorry you had to become a victim to Haskill's scheme, Catherine...may I call you Cat?" He asked her turning to his computer and typing in the address she frequented the most. "You were very brave to try and blow the whistle on him like you did. You had no way on knowing whether I was complicit with him, yet you trusted me to do the right thing."

He turned his head to look at her. She had the deepest brown eyes. It was adorable.

"Tell me Cat," He turned his monitor so she could see her favorite website on it. His videos among the many listed on it. "Why is it that you felt the need to visit this website during work hours?"

 

[slut_in_white]

It took Catherine several beats to swallow the sob threatening to escape her throat. She was completely and utterly terrified. She felt like her knees were going to give out. She was standing outside Mr. Lyons' office. She had been called here several minutes ago by his secretary to talk about the accusations she had made against her boss. It was the right thing to do; of that, she had no doubt. But she knew her... habits were going to come out. What if Mr. Lyons though that she was as disgusting as Mr. Haskill did? What if he fired her over this? This was her dream job. Architects fresh out of school never got this kind of amazing opportunity, working as a real architect. Normally, fresh graduates worked for years as glorified interns before being given the kind of chance she had been given fresh out of school.

Catherine was jolted out of her reverie by the sound of Mr. Lyons' secretary sending her into the office. She nodded quickly and walked slowly into the room. Sitting on the other side of a very stately looking desk was Hunter Lyons himself. He was transforming very gracefully from an attractive young playboy into a silver fox. She drew in a sharp breath through her nose upon realizing that she was thinking such thoughts about her boss and dropped her gaze to the floor, blushing furiously.

"Sit."

She did as she was told, smoothing her skirt nervously before she perched on the edge of the seat across from Mr. Lyons. Her heart was beating hard. She couldn't read him at all. She had no idea whether he appreciated what she had done or whether he was in on it with Mr. Haskill, whether he found her interests disgusting or whether he didn't care. She had to focus shockingly hard on even just the words he was saying to her. It was difficult for her to pay attention to anything with the hundreds of thoughts and fears rushing through her head.

"I know everything, Catherine."

Her heart leapt into her throat and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze for the first time since she had walked into his office. It sounded, at first, like he was judging her. She had expected this, known that there was no way he hadn't discovered what Haskill had been blackmailing her with, but she feared for a moment that he found her as depraved and disgusting as Haskill had. But instead she found a rather comforting expression on his face - understanding. He wasn't judging her.

Then Haskill burst into the room and called her a slut, and Catherine wanted nothing more than the curl up into a ball and disappear. Her boss had not only called her ever name under the sun once he discovered her preferences, he had also harassed her sexually, suggesting all kinds of disgusting things that "a slut like her" should be willing to do to him. He was foul, but she hadn't been able to do anything about it with him blackmailing her the way he was. At least, not until she had decided to go to Mr. Lyons over this whole issue.

It took her several moments to realize that, between Haskill's bouts of cruel shouting about her perversities, Mr. Lyons was actually defending her. "I recognized her most visited website because when I was younger I fucking starred in several of the videos on it!"

Catherine's gaze shot back up to stare, momentarily wide eyed, at Mr. Lyons. An image of him having his way with one of the pretty young women that were often tied up in interesting positions in their videos flashed through her mind and a bright blush appeared across her cheeks.

Everything happened quite quickly after that. Two men in suits appeared and practically dragged Haskill out of the room. Then Mr. Lyons turned his attention back to her, his expression soft and kind, apparently very empathetic to how nervous and overwhelmed she felt. She nodded mutely in thanks as he told her she had done well by trying to blow the whistle on her sleazy boss. She nodded again when he asked her if he could call her Cat. Maybe it was a bit informal for her boss's boss to be calling her such a nickname, but he seemed to easy-going and easy to get along with which made it seem less inappropriate somehow.
"Tell me, Cat," he was saying. "Why is it that you felt the need to visit this website during work hours?"

Catherine blushed furiously, unable to look directly at either the screen or his face. It was one thing to know that Mr. Lyons knew what kind of websites she frequented, but it was entirely another to be looking at that site on his computer monitor with him sitting across the desk from her. "I..." she began, her voice cracking nervously. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I just... I felt like it wouldn't be so bad if I relieved a bit of stress." Her blush was returning. "I work better when I'm not distracted by, um, physical needs. I never did it when I had urgent work to do, and I never let it interfere with my ability to do my best work, I promise," she assured him earnestly. Then she frowned. "I suppose it sounds like I'm trying to excuse myself. I know what I did was inappropriate, and I apologize. I just..." She took a deep breath, meeting his gaze with almost desperation in her eyes. "Please don't fire me, sir!"

 

[Veroe]

IC: Hunter Lyons

"Tell me Cat," He turned his monitor so she could see her favorite website on it. His videos among the many listed on it. "Why is it that you felt the need to visit this website during work hours?"

He cocked his head interested in her reaction as her eyes would look over the thumbnail images of the videos listed on the screen. She was pretty in the casual every-day kind of way. In the right dress, and the right touches of makeup Hunter thought she would be able to stop hearts. He suddenly had an urge to help uncover her specific kind of beauty.

Right now Catherine Lamb wore a business suit off from a rack. It was professional and sensible and cheap, but it gave little thought to accentuating her beauty as a sexual being. His eyes roamed over her body imagining the curves and planes of pale skin underneath her clothes with an experienced eye.

She was also blushing adorably as she kept her eyes down and away from the monitor. "I..." she began, her voice cracking nervously. She cleared her throat and tried again. "I just... I felt like it wouldn't be so bad if I relieved a bit of stress."

He imagined being blackmailed by Haskill these past two weeks only added to the usual pressures here at work, but according to her browser history she hadn't visited any of those sites in all of that time. That showed a remarkable amount of willpower on her part. Hunter approved.

Her blush was returning. "I work better when I'm not distracted by, um, physical needs. I never did it when I had urgent work to do, and I never let it interfere with my ability to do my best work, I promise," she assured him earnestly. Then she frowned. "I suppose it sounds like I'm trying to excuse myself. I know what I did was inappropriate, and I apologize. I just..." She took a deep breath, meeting his gaze with almost desperation in her eyes. "Please don't fire me, sir!"

"Fire you," He repeated shaking his head, "If it weren't for you I wouldn't have found out about what Haskill had done until the museum collapsed upon itself. If anything I'm going to give you a new job."

He raised up out of the chair and crossed the office over to the model of the Municipal museum. "This was the last building my father designed before the cancer made him pull back from the job here, Cat." He ran his fingers lightly, reverently over the roof of the model. "What Haskill did...." He turned to look at her, "He may as well have been caught pissing on my father's grave. So I have promised the city that the firm will repair the museum with its own funds to make it a safe building. I want to keep an eye on the project but I want you to be the project manager."

He turned back to his desk. "I have no problem with you masturbating when you feel the need to." He leaned down to look her directly in the eye and said, "But I expect it to never interfere with your performance for the firm here. If it does, Cat, there will be consequences."

Hunter then raised back up and leaned back on the desk. The monitor still turned towards her and still showing the list of videos on her favorite pornographic website. He glanced down at it. On the top was the video he had made with his somewhat girlfriend at the time Vixen Roxx, the up and coming erotic-webmodel and now one of the biggest starlets in the porn business. She had been a major turning point into the development of Hunter into the man he was today.

"Cat, please feel free to tell me if this question is completely out of bounds here," He asked, "But have you ever done anything that you've watched on the videos here in this website?"

 

[slut_in_white]

Catherine stared at Mr. Lyons, shocked and certain that she had misheard. Or that she was dreaming. Not only was he not going to fire her, but he wanted to give her a new job?

Her ears were ringing and she had to focus very hard to even register what he was saying about the museum. Despite the unusual effort it took to comprehend was he was saying through her surprise and her brain's inability to completely accept the fact that she didn't seem to be in any kind of trouble, she found herself nodding at Mr. Lyons' ideas of what should be done to repair the city's trust in the firm. He was an honest and upstanding man, and she was proud to work for him. This simple cemented that fact.

"I want to keep an eye on the project but I want you to be the project manager."

"Really?!" Cat blurted, sounding like an excited school girl. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth, as if to prevent herself from saying anything more embarrassing. Then, after a deep breath, she brought her hands back down to her lap and smiled, trying to contain her excitement. "Thank you, Mr. Lyons! I won't disappoint you, I promise!"

"I have no problem with you masturbating when you feel the need to." He leaned down to look her directly in the eye and said, "But I expect it to never interfere with your performance for the firm here. If it does, Cat, there will be consequences."

Cat blinked at him several times, her blush colouring her cheeks again. Did her boss just effectively give her permission to play with herself at work?! Her mouth dropped open and it took her a moment to realize that she was gaping unabashedly at him. She snapped her mouth shut and looked down into her lap, embarrassed at her apparent inability to react politely. "I... um, thank you sir?" It came out like a question; she wasn't entirely certain that she had heard him right. She couldn't quite wrap her head around what was happening and the drastic change of direction that this conversation was taking from where she was certain it was going to go. The sudden promotion hadn't been expected either, but at least it was within the realm of possibility. She had never imagined having this kind of conversation with anyone at work, never mind the CEO of the firm.

"Cat, please feel free to tell me if this question is completely out of bounds here," He asked, "But have you ever done anything that you've watched on the videos here in this website?"

Catherine flushed again, her eyes going wide at the question. "N-no," she answered immediately. She only realized after she spoke what she was saying. "I mean...!" She paused. It was true - she hadn't done anything like that. None of her previous boyfriends had been willing to take that kind of control. She couldn't exactly tell her boss that she had, and she couldn't take back her admission now. She sighed, wringing her wrists and blushing furiously. Apparently her blush was going to become a permanent feature of her face around him. "I haven't done anything like that, Mr. Lyons. None of my ex-boyfriends were ever interested," she admitted, her voice small. She couldn't meet his gaze, instead staring down at the desk, at a point just below the monitor.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Hunter Lyons

He turned back to his desk. "I have no problem with you masturbating when you feel the need to." He leaned down to look her directly in the eye and said, "But I expect it to never interfere with your performance for the firm here. If it does, Cat, there will be consequences."

Hunter watched her adorable blush grow a deeper shade of pink on her cheeks and her eyes flutter at his statement. It was flattering in an honest way that he found very appealing.

"I... um, thank you sir," She said the statement sounding more like a question.

His words must have truly flustered Cat if she sounded uncertain whether to thank him or question him.

"You will be in charge of the project, Cat, but the firm doesn't have unlimited funds to throw at this. You and I will have to meet constantly to go over the budget to make the museum safe and up to code but still not something that will not ruin us." He frowned at that. How much would funding the repair of this building cost? How much sooner would it make the specter of bankruptcy looming over the firm happen? A few months? A year? Two?

It couldn't be helped. The reputation of the firm and the reputation of his father was at stake. If he hadn't stepped up and promised to do this for the city the hard task of winning contracts from their competitors would get nigh impossible, and rightly so. This was a matter of the firm's honor as far as Hunter was concerned. That was why he wanted Catherine Lamb here to head it up. He had trusted Haskill and had been dead wrong in that. Cat was the only one who's proven to him worthy of his trust since.

Hunter then raised back up and leaned back on the desk. The monitor still turned towards her and still showing the list of videos on her favorite pornographic website. He glanced down at it. On the top was the video he had made with his somewhat girlfriend at the time Vixen Roxx, the up and coming erotic-webmodel and now one of the biggest starlets in the porn business. She had been a major turning point into the development of Hunter into the man he was today.

"Cat, please feel free to tell me if this question is completely out of bounds here," He asked, "But have you ever done anything that you've watched on the videos here in this website?"

This was a dangerous question. There was a risk that she would think it completely out of bounds and...he did not want to go through the trouble of a sexual harassment claim against him. But his curiosity had gotten the better of him now. He had to know more about her-her intriguing sexuality, the risk be damned.

Her complexion flushed and her eyes widened as she muttered, "N-no. I mean...! " She wrung her wrists in her hands and her blushing cheeks turned an even deeper and more adorable shade of red. She took a moment to settle herself and then said, "I haven't done anything like that, Mr. Lyons. None of my ex-boyfriends were ever interested."

Her eyes were turned down to the front of the desk under the computer's monitor. Hunter watched her sit there blushing and nervously fidgeting in her seat before asking, "And if you did have a boyfriend who was interested in doing the things you've watched on this website, would you be willing to do them with him?"

He blinked at that. What was he asking of her? If the previous question was ammunition for a sexual harassment claim then this one was a bombshell. He shifted uncomfortably hanging on her reaction. Would she be mortified? Would she think he was no better than that asshole Haskill was? And the fact that he had offered her a promotion basically could look bad as well in light of that.

So he stood there leaning against the desk awaiting her response to decide his future.