Safety First

Lois is seriously pressed for time. She has to visit a construction site and get back to LAX before her flight takes off. Too bad she didn't bother to read the new requirements for safety attire. And too bad she royally ticked off the contractor's admin assistant, Judy.

Putting Safety First will turn out to be quite embarrassing for both of them.

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Safety First Sample:

Chapter One

 

Footsteps shifted the floor behind Lois, and she jumped. She frantically grasped for the power button on her computer monitor and clicked it off before spinning her chair around.

“Looking at porn?” Marli said.

Lois didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, she really didn’t want to talk about what she had been doing. On the other, not saying anything would lead to teasing and badgering and, ultimately, capitulation. With a sigh, she turned the screen back on.

“Monster, huh?” Marli said. “Scary with all the layoffs around here. The rumor is they’re going to get rid of another thirty people.”

“It’s not a rumor,” Lois said.

“You think that you’re on the chopping block?”

“After that mistake on the Sacrinel project? How could I not be?”

Marli nodded. “I’m not feeling so secure myself.” She gestured at the screen. “Anything out there?”

“Nothing.”

They stared at each other, both thinking that the economy sucked.

Lois shook her head. “I’ve got ten years’ experience as an architect. I should be doing great, being put in charge of bigger projects, getting raises. Instead, I’m sweating how I’m going to pay my mortgage and the lease on my Lexus while still being able to eat and keep a halfway professional wardrobe.”

“What’s your plan? I know you’ve got one.”

“Hopefully, if I can show that I can save the firm money, I’ll slip past this round.” Lois smiled. “I’ve got site visits coming up next week. Normally, I’d do them separately. With a little creativity, though, I can knock almost a grand from the normal cost.” She clicked on a spreadsheet that showed her itinerary. “The only issue is the Santa Clarita building. I’ve only got a few hours to drive out there, take some pictures, and get back to LAX.”

“Drive?” Marli said. “Daniels really scrutinizes car rentals.”

“I know, but I can’t take a cab. There’s a big meeting to close out the Zintex proposal the next day, and I’m booked on the last flight out to the east coast. If I miss it…” Lois swallowed hard. “I’d be worried the whole time that the taxi wasn’t going to show in time.”

Marli shrugged. “If I were you, I’d consider it. Daniels won’t think twice about approving a cab, but he thinks anyone renting a car is doing it for convenience.”

Lois wanted to pull her hair out. This penny-pinching old-boys’ network was going to drive her insane. “Argh!”

Marli looked sympathetic. “Sorry.”

“Screw it. I’ll deal with this later.” Lois grabbed her purse. “Want to do lunch? We can split one of those six-dollar footlongs. If I drink water, I think I can swing the cost.”

In the lobby, Lois gestured to the right, coincidentally in the direction of a huge hunk of a uniformed security guard. “Let’s go this way.”

Marli paused from digging in her purse. “But the other exit is closer.” She glanced up. “Oh, Max. You need to either stop crushing on him or do something about it.”

Lois exhaled sharply. She hadn’t realized her feelings were so transparent. “He doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

They both shut up as they passed Max. Marli gave the muscular guard a smile as Lois kept her face schooled, barely glancing at him.

“That’s your problem,” Marli said when they were safely outside the building, “you act like a snob. He probably thinks that you’re too good for him.”

“I freeze up when I’m around him, okay? What can I do?”

Marli grinned. “A short skirt and low-cut blouse would help.”

As if Lois would ever wear such an outfit. The last time she’d tried to show off her body was in eighth grade, and the guy had laughed so hard about her tiny boobs that she’d never revealed herself to anyone again. “Not going to happen.”

Chapter Two

 

Judy tugged on the bottom of her skirt. It barely cleared the bottom of her lacy white panties at the best of times. When sitting, she really had little chance of avoiding giving Mr. Williams a show regardless of the strength she put into pulling it down. Maybe he’d focus on the generous cleavage she displayed instead.

Her boss waited until she had positioned her notepad over her legs. “We’ve got a site visit today. That uppity architect—what’s her name again? Linda?”

“Lois.” Judy’s voice dripped ice. Her first encounter with the statuesque blonde, who had the figure of the model and dressed like she wouldn’t be out of place in any boardroom in the country, hadn’t gone well. Subsequent meetings hadn’t improved matters. Did the woman really think that, if Judy’s job didn’t depend on it, she’d dress like a slut at work? At a club was one thing, but in the office?

“Whatever. You get to escort her around.”

“But—”

“You’re it,” he said. “Everyone else will be in the safety meeting.”

Judy fumed. She normally went out of her way to avoid the woman and detested the thought of having to spend what was sure to be more than an hour with her. The only good part of the whole deal was that it would give Judy an excuse to change into her jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt, a bit of a reprieve for the endless gawking from the guys.

Then an idea hit her, one that might just send the bitch packing before she even stepped foot on the construction site. “Over a month ago, I sent out the email informing her that we’d be coming out with a new visitor PPE policy. We never followed up with details, and she didn’t respond asking.”

Mr. Williams sat back in his chair. “Corporate is all over my ass on that one.” He sighed. “Come up with something.”

He always tried to have Judy come up with ideas and then picked them apart. Not this time. “I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble because I put down the wrong rules.”

Mr. Williams smiled. “You’re learning. Get it in writing and—”

“Adhere to the letter,” she said.

“Okay,” he said, “we have extra hard hats here, so require those. No steel toes, though. Best make it at least closed toed to satisfy the safety weenies. No shirts that don’t have long sleeves. No shorts.”

Judy rolled her eyes. He never considered females. “What about skirts?”

“Damn it, you know what I mean. Type something up, and I’ll sign it.”

Chapter Three

 

Lois slipped the cab driver her corporate credit card. “And you’re sure you’ll be back in time for me to make my flight? I can’t adequately express how important it is that I not miss it.”

The balding man peered at her from under bushy eyebrows. “The company will have someone here. They’re reliable.”

“But…” The man’s stare evidenced no patience, and she let the matter die. She knew she was just avoiding the inevitable anyway. Of all her visits, she hated coming to the Santa Clarita site the most, mainly because of the admin assistant.

In sharp contrast to Lois’ angles and stern visage, Judy was all curves and had the face of an angel. With her short skirts and low-cut tops, all the guys drooled over her, and the girl handled them with equal parts grace and mild annoyance.

Lois could only wish for such a reaction.

Her face heated a bit. She wouldn’t know how to handle attention like that if she got it. Probably die of embarrassment.

Lois grimaced at a memory of her first day at the site. She’d said a lot of things to the girl that she shouldn’t have. Since, she’d had to deal with the wrath of an admin assistant scorned, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Lois had thought to apologize several times, but how do you recover from essentially calling someone a tramp who probably attained her position on her back?

After a long, deep breath, Lois, hauling her wheeled travel bag behind her, barreled into the office. “Is Mr. Williams in?”

Judy didn’t glance up from her computer. “No.”

“When will he be back?”

“After a while.”

Lois gritted her teeth. “That’s not acceptable. You’re contractually obligated to support my site visit.”

Judy looked up and smiled. “Not with you dressed like that. Didn’t you read the new dress requirements for the site?”

It took a moment for Lois to vaguely recall an email on the subject if not the exact content. “Fine. Let’s see it.”

Judy handed a page over:

ALL SITE VISITORS:

MUST WEAR HARD HAT. M.A. NEWMAN, INC. HAS SMALL SUPPLY TO BORROW.

MUST WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES.

CLOTHES WORN ON TOP MUST COVER TO WRISTS.

CLOTHES WORN ON BOTTOM MUST COVER TO ANKLES.

Lois thought frantically. Considering it was the middle of summer, she had absolutely nothing with her that would cover her arms, and she never wore slacks to work. Her skirts, while conservative, didn’t extend past mid-calf.

Chapter Four

 

Judy fought a grin.

Lois looked like she was about to shit a brick. “Surely you have extras of the necessary clothes on hand. You can’t expect visitors to bring their own gear.”

“We expect visitors to have read the email outlining our policy and come prepared.” Judy didn’t have any pants, but she did have a box full of bright green, long-sleeved t-shirts like the one she wore locked in her supply cabinet. No need to tell the bitch that, though.

Lois swallowed hard. “Look, I came all this way, isn’t there anything you can do?”

The note of pleading in the woman’s voice almost made Judy relent, but it wasn’t hard to call up memories of an afternoon spent crying in the bathroom after being destroyed by vicious comments. “Mr. Williams made it quite clear that any violation on your part is my responsibility. This job doesn’t pay much, but I need it.” More importantly, her son needed it. She’d make damn sure that Victor had every advantage denied her.

“There’s got to be something. Where’s the nearest department store?”

Judy rolled her eyes. “There’s a Walmart about a half hour away.”

Lois pursed her lips. “It’ll be tight, but I’ve got an hour and a half. I can make it there and back, do a quick run-through of the site to take pictures, and still make the cab ride to the airport.” She nodded. “Give me the keys to your car.”

“Excuse me?” Judy couldn’t believe the nerve of the woman. She even framed favors as demands.

Lois at least had the decency to look chagrined. “I meant—would it be possible for me to borrow your car? I’d pay you for the mileage.”

Implying that Judy was so poor she needed the gas money. “Not for all the gold in Ft. Knox.”

“But—”

“Listen to me carefully: You. Are. Not. Using. My. Car.”

Lois ran a hand over her face. Her eyes clouded. “You don’t understand. I need my job, too, and, if I don’t get out on that site today, I’m going to lose it.”

Judy hated the woman, but could she really stand to be the cause of Lois losing her job? “I…”

“Please? I’m begging you.”

Judy almost decided to give the woman one of the t-shirts. She could always claim that mid-calf was close enough to ankles to qualify as meeting the intent of the rule. Just before the words came out, though, her eyes happened on another copy of the rules sitting on her desk. “You know, there is a certain amount of interpretation involved in any contract.”

“Come again?”

Judy grabbed the page and thrust it at the woman. “The rules don’t say that you have to wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants; they simply say that clothes worn must cover certain portions of the body.”

“I don’t see how that helps me.”

Judy couldn’t hold back the grin this time. Why not get a little payback? She’d give the woman the same choice she’d been given—your dignity or your job? “What if you aren’t wearing clothes?”

Chapter Five

 

Lois felt light-headed. She swayed on her feet.

The girl couldn’t be telling her to walk around the site without clothes on. It was inconceivable.

Judy looked down at the floor before meeting Lois’ eyes. “Your shoes will work since there’s no restriction against heels. I’ll give you a hard hat. What’s the problem?”

“But… But… The men…”

“They’re are all in a project-wide safety meeting on the first floor for the next couple of hours. It’ll be just you and me.”

“No!” Lois said. “I simply couldn’t.”

Judy shrugged. “Hope Colorado has an excellent jobless benefits program.”

Lois wanted to scream. How had she been put in this situation? There’s no way she could walk around the site in just her underwear.

Could she?

Lois shuddered. Walking around in public only semi-dressed. Judy making fun of her. What if one of the men somehow saw?

She didn’t even change in the locker room at the gym. How could she even be considering it?

But she was upside down on her house, and forfeiting her car lease would ruin her credit. There was no way she could afford either on unemployment. Every company in her field was laying off. What was an hour of embarrassment versus ruining the rest of her life?

“Fine,” Lois said quietly, “I’ll do it.”

Judy smiled. “What was that?”

“You win. I’ll go undress in the bathroom.”

“Why take the time? There’s no one here but me, and I’m going to see you anyway.” Judy crossed her arms under her considerable chest and waited, smugness exuding from her pores.

Lois recognized the flimsy excuse for what it was—a bit of extra humiliation. Not that she could do anything about it. She wanted to run from the trailer; she never even went swimming because she didn’t want to be seen in public wearing a one-piece. How could she go outside in even less?

She felt like she stepped outside of her body as her trembling hands moved to the bottom of her silk blouse. Surely, this wasn’t happening to her. Was she really about to reveal her undersized, bra-encased breasts to a girl who hated her?

The shirt rose to expose a sliver of pale skin, and Lois stopped. “Please don’t make me do this.” She’d beg if she had to. Get down on her knees if she must. Anything but this.

“I’m not making you do anything. I just suggested a way you could visit the site and be in compliance with the rules. The rest is your choice.” Judy smirked. “Safety first, you know.”

There was no give on the girl’s face. Maybe Judy really was in jeopardy of losing her job. Maybe she just hated Lois that much.

Either way, Lois faced the decision to strip or lose her job.

She refused to give the girl the satisfaction of crying but couldn’t keep her lips from quivering as the bottom of her shirt lifted above her navel. Heat rose to her face as she exposed the bottom of her bra.

No one knew that Lois wore super-sexy Victoria’s Secret lingerie underneath her ultra-conservative skirts and blouses. Lacy and sheer and black. Now, the worst possible person was going to find out.

Why did she make such slutty choices? What deviant part of her desired such ridiculous, frivolous covering over a part of her that no one was ever to see? Shouldn’t ever see.

A silent sob escaped as the shirt cleared her head. She tried not to think about just how see-through her bra was. How exposed the pink nipples jutting out from her b-cup breasts were.

She couldn’t look at her rival. Instead, she stared at the floor as her reluctant hands found the zipper on her skirt. Her eyes didn’t move as the button popped open and the garment fell to the floor, exposing her bikini-cut, nearly sheer black panties and her thigh-high stockings.

Lois hadn’t stripped in front of another person since that experience in eighth grade. She’d never had a boyfriend. Any situation that would put her in such a position, she avoided like the plague.

She couldn’t remember ever being so embarrassed. Shamed. Humiliated.

A funny feeling tickled the pit of her stomach. Aroused?

Judy whistled. “Who knew Miss Straight Lace was a complete slut? Look at that underwear. You’d make a $2 hooker jealous.”

Lois wanted to say something like, “You’d know all about how prostitutes dress, wouldn’t you?” She had no bite left in her, though. Besides, it probably wasn’t the best idea to further antagonize someone with so much power over her. Instead, she simply accepted the abuse.

Judy glared at her for what seemed like an eternity but was probably less than a couple of minutes by the clock. Her eyes bored into every piece of undefended flesh, weighing and judging. Lois shrank under the scrutiny, wondering if it would ever end.

“Not much to look at without all those fancy clothes, are you?” Judy shook her head.

Lois had no answer.

“Why are you just staring at the floor?” Judy asked. “Get the rest off.”

Lois assumed the girl meant the stockings, so she slipped off a shoe.

“No. Keep the heels. I told you that they’re fine.”

That got Lois’ attention, and she looked up. “But how do I take the stockings off with the shoes on?”

Judy grinned. “The hosiery is just fine.”

Lois had a hard time computing what the girl meant. She’d told her to take off the stockings and then to leave them on? Then it hit her. Judy hadn’t meant the stockings.

“You… You can’t mean…”

Judy just nodded.

“But… Without any cl… You mean na…” Lois couldn’t bear even to complete the words “clothes” and “naked.”

Judy smirked. “I never thought of you as stupid. If a short-sleeved blouse doesn’t reach your wrists, how does a bra? If a long skirt doesn’t reach your ankles, how do panties?”

Lois shook her head. Hard. “I can’t. I won’t.” Even as she protested, though, her hand reached toward the middle of her back. She couldn’t lose her job.

The strange feeling in her stomach grew and moved lower.