Merging Assets (5 page)

“Of course, we will, but that doesn’t mean the men will accept the terms. And if we find any bad record keeping, tardiness or underperforming personnel—then we can fire them and bring on new people.” Douglas shrugged.

Crystal saw the writing on the wall. Money saving was being pushed more than just for reasonableness. They were focusing more on the bottom line than the people or the business. She’d seen it in other businesses. “I haven’t seen any grounds in my time there, but I’m not HR. I think starting the renegotiation process on the contracts immediately will be the biggest cost savings. You’ll still need full time people with sufficient training working the warehouse. They haven’t had an injury incident more than a bruise or a scratch in over five years. Insurance premiums are low because of their safety.”

Himmel pursed his lips. “True but the insurance company pays. Premiums might go up, but it’s a balance with efficiency and overall costs.”

Biting her lip, Crystal tried not to show her shock. “People matter more than the bottom line. A fall from a semi could kill a man if he landed wrong. This isn’t about sprained ankles or paper cuts.”

“Do you think we’d put in unqualified people?” Douglas asked.

Crystal had been backed into a corner. She shook her head. “No. I’m just suggesting we don’t move too fast with changes that’ll save small amounts of money when we have a big opportunity. Have you spoken to legal about the contracts?”

Himmel nodded. “They’re setting up negotiations. It’ll get done. Just keep up with the training and cost saving review. You might find something else. One fix doesn’t mean there isn’t more fat to be cut.”

“I seriously doubt we’ll find more by looking again than we did with the auditors along. But the training is going fine. I think the former owner wanted to help the trucking companies so maybe he gave better terms and deals. Perhaps he paid more generously, as well. There isn’t a lot of waste in the office or warehouse area. I’d be happy to give you a tour,” Crystal said.

“I think the warehouse manager would be a better choice, but I don’t really need to see a warehouse. That’s all we needed to know for now. Thank you,” Himmel said.

“Thank you.” Crystal didn’t mean it and left as quickly as she could. That Douglas woman didn’t like Crystal at all and spent too much time with Himmel. Usually, Crystal got along with people, but now she felt as if they were on opposite sides.

Crystal headed for her department, her office and her drawer with a little bottle of pills for the throbbing headache she’d developed. It had gone from a great day and a wonderful lunch hour to this. Nothing ever seemed to go right all at once. The job had been humming along fine with a promotion… Now, it was going weird, but she had a personal life. She’d do her best to find more cost savings, but a safe operation cost money and skimping was not an option.

Part of her wanted to run and tell the men exactly what had happened in the meeting, but why worry them? If HR wanted to get rid of them, it wouldn’t help them to worry and look over their shoulder. They couldn’t stop it.

Himmel sounded as if he preferred cutting pay, which would give the men a chance to find other jobs while still having some income. Then again, if she told them now, they could look before the decision was made. Rubbing her temple, she decided she needed to play it cool and keep quiet for now. The powers above might not approve the personnel change Douglas wanted. Crystal tried to think positive after such a negative meeting.

It might just be posturing and office politics. She used to be good at handling it, but Lucky Springs was more friendly and had less drama than anywhere else she’d ever been.

Chapter Five

After a couple weeks of casual dating and lots of sleepovers, Andy’s fears were easing. No one at the warehouse suspected anything. Crystal’s training of the warehouse staff was done and without her being around, he missed her. But the office romance seemed less like a problem when they weren’t working together every day.

Instead, he longed for the evenings they could see her and the weekends when there was more time to spend together. Most of the dates had been private, but this one wouldn’t be. Crystal wanted to go to the spring festival in town. That meant a lot of people they knew would be there and see them together.

Andy got ready mindlessly and bumped into Lance when he reached for his shoes.

“Sorry,” Andy said.

“Are you okay? You sounded excited for this, and now, you’re acting nervous again.” Lance checked for his keys and wallet.

“It’ll be public now. All over the company,” Andy said.

“You’re worried about it? Doubting?” Lance folded his arms.

“Not the relationship. I know things are going great. And I know she said plenty of groups are at the company, including her friends, but we’re a new addition. There will be more scrutiny. They want those cost savings.” Andy was sick of trying to explain why Simmons had made the deals he had and why those contracts were open ended. They were updating things and asking him questions as if he were the previous owner. At least with Simmons, there had been only one man in charge.

Lance hugged Andy. “I know you’ve been stuck doing extra crap. That’s the manager deal.”

“Getting the quotes for new places is a headache. I don’t know what they’re doing.” Andy had handled things solo more when old man Simmons trusted him and wanted to work part time. Now, Andy had to deal with controlling and distant bosses who didn’t explain things.

“You need to be your own boss.” Lance grinned. “Come on. Forget about the work, and have a good day. We’re meeting her on Main Street in ten minutes, and I’m not going to be late. She’s one of those very punctual people.”

Andy smiled at Lance. “You’re totally gone on her.”

“So are you. This is different. It’s a little scary, but sometimes, you have to take a little risk. We might get hurt, but we might end up really happy.” Lance nudged Andy toward the door. Roman and Fred were making sure they had enough small bills for all the stalls with food and games.

“Ready,” Andy said.

* * * *

Right on time, they parked off of Main Street and walked over to the honey stand where Crystal had told them to meet her. She stood chatting with a skinny blonde who was working the booth.

“Hi, guys.” Crystal gave each one a kiss. “This is my friend Lizzie. She used to work in customer service. Now, she keeps the honey guys in line.”

Lizzie shook hands with each of the guys. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“So you got involved with customers?” Roman asked.

Andy smiled. He knew exactly what Roman was trying to hint at.

“Sure did. It wasn’t planned, but it worked out. Actually, two of them were also customer service reps and we got involved with the bee guys then I started working there.” Lizzie shrugged. “Work is more fun that way.”

Crystal smiled. “I bet. We’ll let you move the honey.”

The group walked along, and Andy decided to ask a few questions to feel Crystal out on some issues. “So, do you ever miss Shreveport? Or a bigger city life?”

“At first, I did. I sent out a bunch of resumes the first six months I was here. After a little time, I got used to it. Things are generally less stressful around here. Slower paced, which is nice. Once I got the promotion and saw there were chances to move up, I lost the urge to leave. I get bored doing the same thing for more than a year or two.” She smiled.

He liked the answer and the denim capris that hugged her hips, the pink T-shirt, her painted toenails—also pink. She could be formally dressed at work and look great for dates, but he liked her casual side even more.

“I’m starving. Let’s hit the food first, and we’ll win Crystal some silly stuff animals later.” Lance led the way.

“No, don’t waste money on rigged games.” She rolled her eyes.

“We know the guys who run these things. We’ll win enough to impress you.” Andy slid an arm around her shoulders. “Let the men feel macho.”

She smiled. “I am a sucker for a cute stuffed alligator.”

* * * *

After a glorious afternoon, Crystal flopped onto the sofa in the guy’s house with the prizes they’d won for her—a big stuffed alligator, a huge Mardi Gras crown, and a super soft but very large teddy bear. It felt silly, but since no guys had done this for her in high school, she was enjoying it more than she let on.

“Thanks for all the prizes. You shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble.” She kicked off her sandals and stretched.

“Tired?” Fred sat next to her.

She smiled as she felt the vibe in the room change. The sex with them was amazing, and she’d had so much that sometimes she thought it had to be a dream. She never got tired of it, though.

“My feet are a little sore. I sit at a desk all day so it’s nice to sit down and be comfortable in air conditioning.” She was utterly content with her new relationship. Work worries were miles away, and she wanted to keep it that way.

“We can help with that.” Lance sat on the floor and massaged her feet.

She giggled as his soft touch tickled her. “I didn’t mean you had to do that.”

Andy sat down on her other side and kissed her. “Now, everyone knows. You okay?”

“Okay? Did you want it to be a secret?” she asked.

“No, but there might be something with work. Policy? We have to let them know now, I guess.”

She nodded and felt a twinge of uncertainty. That Douglas woman seemed to have an extra dislike for Crystal, and she didn’t want to ask for trouble. She’d never dated at work, not here anyway, but Andy was new to the company. He wanted to do things right. She was generally a rule follower as well and liked that about him. “I’ll do it. It’s not a big deal. Plenty of people at work date. You worry too much, Andy.”

Roman joined Lance in massage work, and she groaned at their talented hands. It wasn’t until Fred started working on the fly of her capris that she realized what they were really up to.

“What are you doing?” she asked playfully.

“Taking your clothes off.’ Fred smiled.

She reached over, one hand teasing Fred through his jeans and the other working on Andy’s cock through the material. When she tried to open Fred’s fly, he shook his head. “You first.”

Letting go of the men, she sat up. She tugged off her shirt as she felt Fred opening her capris. No panties again. They seemed to love it, so why not tease them? She stood up and pushed the pants down while Andy unhooked her bra. The red lacy piece fell onto Lance as he licked her thigh.

“Should we go upstairs?” she asked.

“We’re fine here.” Fred pulled her back down on the couch. “I’ll go grab the necessities. You lie back and relax.”

Andy kissed her mouth and palmed her breast as Roman licked her slit. Her breathing grew deeper as they aroused her in a very coordinated fashion. Lance massaged her calves and moved up until he sucked her free breast.

When Fred returned, she pulled back from Andy’s kiss. “I do want to watch you guys screw each other, too.”

“Maybe if you’re really good.” Fred stripped down to nothing then pulled Lance away from her to get naked.

Roman and Andy soon followed, and she blissfully watched her men undress each other. Andy even kissed Roman, and her pussy grew wet. Fred licked Lance’s cock until it was nice and hard. Roman knelt between her legs and licked her pussy slowly. He sucked on every fold as he fingered her gently.

“I need it,” she moaned.

“I thought you just wanted to watch.” Andy kissed her neck and pinched her nipples just right.

Her cunt tightened. “Please, I need to be fucked, and I want to watch. I want to suck on one of you guys, too, but we’ll see how creative we can get.”

“Don’t underestimate us.” Lance guided her off the couch, and Roman took her seat.

She turned to face him, kneeling as he’d done with her. Lance rubbed his cock to her pussy, and she moaned. “Yes.”

“So you get to suck and fuck.” Roman tapped his dick to her lips.

Sucking him in, she savored the feel of Lance filling her with his big cock.

“So good,” she said with her mouth full.

“Now, you get to watch, too.” Fred sat only six inches from Roman and put on protection. He lubed up his erection, and Andy sat on it.

She gasped. Somehow, she’d never expected Andy to be the fuckee, but it was hotter than hell watching him ride Fred’s dick. Looking Andy in the eye, she reached out. Stroking his cock, she sucked Roman’s deep and rocked back to Lance. It was everything she’d asked for, and her body tingled from head-to-toe. All she had to do was look at Andy and she could tell he loved getting fucked. Roman was hard for her and Lance… She couldn’t see, but damn she could feel him giving her every inch.

Then she had another idea. They’d once said she was dirtier than they’d expected. It was oddly flattering. Most men expected her to be missionary dull. This would only prove to them she had a dirty mind. She leaned toward Andy’s cock and sucked on him, but she held Roman’s and tugged him gently between her breasts.

“Oh shit. Yes!” Roman fucked her tits without hesitation.

Andy groaned as she sucked his erection. He lifted and lowered himself, and she found the perfect height to hold her position and get her mouth filled while Roman fucked her breasts. All the while, she watched Andy’s face as he took that cock.

Lance leaned in, his hard chest rubbing against her back and fucked her faster as he watched the fun.

“You are quite the multi-tasker,” Lance said in her ear.

“I love it,” she said.

Lance pushed forward and sucked Andy’s cock for one turn. “Me, too. You’ll get a great show once we’re used to having you all the time. We needed you so much.”

“God, yes.” Andy grabbed a handful of her hair.

“We’ll never get enough.” Roman pinched her nipples and pressed her breasts tighter together.

Everything they did turned her on more. They loved her body and enjoyed it fully. With them, she wasn’t the least bit self-conscious unlike with some men who made her feel uncomfortable about being bigger. She felt perfect with them.