The office was nearly silent. Just the low hum of emergency lights and the occasional creak of the air con struggling against the summer heat. Tom took the stairs because he was not eager to reach his destination.

He reached the top floor and paused outside the frosted glass doors of the executive suite, heart ticking just a little too fast. He wasn’t sure what this meeting was really about.  He’d just got an email from Cassandra Voss, the CEO, saying, “Tom, can you come to my office after close?” 

Tom was Head of Product at Veridian Solutions. They built workflow software for healthcare systems, admin tools, appointment tracking, patient comms, and backend integrations. Not glamorous, but essential. At least it used to be. Before the market got saturated. Before AI companies started popping up promising the same results at a fraction of the price. Tom didn’t believe the hype, and already contracts that they had lost last year were starting to ask for quotes for Veridian Solutions to come in and clean up the mess the new overly ambitious companies had made.

But it had been a long couple of years, with very few contract wins, clients leaving, and staff flooding out the door, and through all that, Tom had kept them afloat. His last release single-handedly retained their biggest client. He’d led a skeleton team of overworked engineers through three product pivots in under twelve months. He wrote pitch decks for projects that he wasn’t on and sat in on nearly every sales call. 

Tom had worked his way up from junior developer to his current role, so he was very familiar with the company's systems, more than nearly anyone else at the company. But that just resulted in him having to pull all-nighters debugging code because no one else knew where the fucking API bottleneck was. 

He had finally had enough. He had started responding to a few of the recruiters reaching out to him on LinkedIn. He’d even gone for an interview with one of those AI-based companies that had poached clients off them. He didn’t accept another interview with them. After talking to them, he knew he’d get put on projects where they had massively overpromised and underbudgeted. But that didn’t mean he was going to stay; he had two more interviews with other companies, not direct competitors, lined up next week. 

He adjusted his collar, rolled the tension out of his shoulders, and stepped toward the CEO’s door. It was cracked open. Warm amber light spilt into the hall, softer than the usual blue cast of office fluorescents. A bottle of whisky glinted on the sideboard, half full.

He knocked once. “Come in,” her voice called. Tom pushed the door open. The office was immaculate. Floor-to-ceiling windows showed the city skyline in twilight blues. On the far side of the desk sat Cassandra, in an immaculate suit jacket, a tumbler in one hand. Her heels were off to one side. Her blouse slightly undone, a gold chain glinting in the hollow of her throat.

Tom had worked with Cassandra a lot over the years. She was maybe a decade older than him, although she didn’t look it. She had started off in HR before working her way up to CEO last year when the old CEO jumped ship as the revenue numbers tanked. 

He felt a bit bad for her. Finally a CEO, but of a company on the verge of collapse, but if anyone could turn it round, it would be her. She would just have to do it without him.

She looked up and smiled. “Tom. Thanks for coming.”

He stepped in and let the door click shut behind him. “You wanted to see me?” he asked, stepping just inside.

“I did,” she said, gesturing to the seat opposite. “Sit. You’ve been on my mind.”

He stayed standing a moment longer, then moved forward. He owed it to her to hear her out. Cassandra poured a second glass and slid it across the desk. She started speaking. Always direct and to the point. “I’ve heard you’ve been applying to other companies.”

He didn’t flinch, though his stomach turned slightly. There was no point denying it. He hadn’t plastered his CV across the internet, but you had to make it known you wanted to be hired if you wanted someone to hire you. “I just want to talk about what it’s going to take to keep you here,” she said.

That made him look up. Keep me? He wasn’t sure he wanted to be kept. “I’m not great at these conversations,” he muttered.

Her voice softened, just a little. “Most people aren’t. Let’s be honest, these days, they’re not exactly pleasant topics.” He let out a small breath. Not a laugh. But something close.

Cassandra leaned back, fingers laced. “I know the salary increases this year were disappointing. I fought for more. I really did. But the board’s terrified. We’ve lost three big clients this quarter. We’re trying to look solvent; hell, I took a pay cut last month just to get people what they got.” Tom blinked. That wasn’t what he expected. “I’m not here to beg,” she said. “Or guilt you. I just want to level with you.”

He nodded once. Then leaned forward, elbows on knees. “It’s not about the money.” He revealed. Trying to be honest with her in return. “I mean, yeah, I’d like more. Who wouldn’t? But I’m not applying to places that pay more. Most of the offers are lateral. It’s not that.”

His voice felt steadier as he said it. “I think I’m actually paid fairly. For what my job is supposed to be.” He paused. Then met her eyes. “The problem is, it doesn’t feel like one job anymore.”

“I’m head of product. But I’m also managing engineers. I’m doing support tickets. Sales wants me in every client call. The devs want me scoping architecture. Half the leadership team’s either checked out or gone, and everything keeps falling in my lap because I can handle it. And I do. I always do.”

He sat back. “And it feels like no one even notices,” he let out with a final sigh. A weight lifted from him after his tirade.

Across from him, Cassandra looked at him; something in her eyes changed. A softening. A stillness. She stood, and for a moment he thought the meeting was over. Thought she was accepting that he was going to leave. But then she stepped around the desk. Her pace was unhurried. Tom’s heart kicked once against his ribs as she moved in close to him.

Her perfume was faint. Her bare feet were silent on the carpet. He could feel the heat from her body; she was so close. “You said it’s not about money,” she said again. “That it’s about appreciation.” He nodded. Barely. “Then let me show you how much we value you. How much I value you.”

And then, slowly, deliberately, she began to lower herself. Her fingers moving to his belt. Tom blinked. His mouth opened. His body reacted before his brain could catch up, blood rushing somewhere he hadn’t expected it to go in a meeting with his CEO.

“What are you…?”

Cassandra looked up at him. Calm. Controlled. Her blue eyes sharp and piercing. “Isn’t it obvious?” she said, voice low. It was. And yet, it wasn’t. Not in a way his mind could easily hold. This woman had run a HR department for years, for god’s sake. 

She unfastened the buckle, her hands unhurried, businesslike in their efficiency. Every part of him wanted to move. To stop her, to make her go faster. To make sense of it. But his limbs wouldn’t listen.

His trousers opened up. Her hand slid inside. His breath caught. “Cassandra, I, ughhh,” he trailed off as her hand wrapped around him, and all he could do was groan. His hips twitched without permission. His eyes fluttered closed. 

She was stunning. Older than him by about ten years, and somehow twice as composed. Her cheekbones could’ve cut glass. Hair swept up into a perfect twist. A few strands loose around her face now. That gold chain catching at her collarbone.

But it was the look in her eyes that undid him. Piercing. Certain. Unshaken. She may have been on her knees, but it was clear who had the power. Tom’s body trembled as another involuntary moan slipped free, making her smile as he started to let go. She leaned forward. Close enough he could feel her breath. Hot against his skin. Her lips parted, not to speak, but to hover just near enough to make him ache. Her voice was barely a whisper. “I really want you to have the job satisfaction you deserve.”

Tom swallowed hard, every muscle in his body taut as wire. His mind still lagged behind the moment, but his body? His body was listening now. Her mouth moved closer. Her tongue traced a slow, deliberate line up his shaft that made him shudder.

He tried again to ask what was happening, but she just glanced up and murmured, “Shhh,” giving a little wink. “Let me enjoy this.” It was maddening. She licked a slow circle around the tip, dragging her tongue over the slit, lapping up the pre-cum with clear enjoyment. Then she kissed it. Just a soft press of those perfect lips.

Tom’s whole body tensed. He didn’t dare move. Didn’t dare breathe. Fearing that anything he did at this point might make her stop. Although that seemed like a foolish worry. She certainly didn’t look close to stopping.

Cassandra parted her lips wider and took him in, slow and measured, sinking over his length inch by inch. Her tongue curled under him, lips forming a snug, hot seal. He gasped, watching as his boss slid his cock slowly into her mouth. She began to move, shallow bobs at first, letting him feel the slide of her lips, the teasing flick of her tongue each time she withdrew.

She stroked the base with one hand while the other braced against his thigh. Her rhythm was slow and teasing. She sucked him deep, then drew back with a slurp that made him twitch. Her lipstick left faint traces along the shaft.

He couldn’t believe how good it felt. Every nerve in his cock was singing. His legs tensed. His belly fluttered. Tom’s fingers twitched, aching to grab her hair, to fuck her mouth, to do anything, but she was clearly in control and planned on staying there.

Cassandra shifted closer, hand sliding down to cradle his balls, her grip gentle but insistent. The movement pushed her lips deeper over him, her jaw relaxing as she took more. Her rhythm changed, no longer just calculated strokes to tease, but hungrier now, rougher around the edges.

Tom groaned, hips twitching despite himself. His hand lifted, paused mid-air, and then landed softly on her head, intertwining with her hair. She moaned approvingly around his cock. He struggled to interlace his hands properly with her hair done up so tight.

Cassandra noticed and drew back, panting slightly, her lipstick smeared now, a slick sheen across her chin. She looked up at him again, her eyes wide and burning. Her hands moved to her hair, and with a single practised motion, she pulled the pins free.

Her blonde hair tumbled down in waves, loose and wild. She shook her head and let it fall over her face, over her shoulders, onto his thighs. It framed her cheeks, stuck in the damp of her lips. She looked nothing like the composed, impenetrable executive he’d always known. She looked desperate. Gorgeous. And it thrilled him.

He groaned again, louder this time. “Fucking hell!”

Cassandra smiled, breathless, stroking him lazily now, her hand wet from spit and arousal. “You seem to be enjoying yourself Tom.”

He couldn’t speak. He could only nod. That answer seemed to do something to her. She wrapped her lips around him again and sucked harder, faster, working her mouth up and down his cock with increasing hunger. The sounds were wetter now, sloppier. The neat rhythm had vanished. Her fingers dug into his thigh for balance as she chased it, not just to make him cum, but for the thrill of his need.

Tom was gone. He breathed her name like a prayer, his fingers slipping into her hair, gently gripping as his hips lifted off the seat without thinking. She let him. Welcomed the movement with a needy moan.

Her mascara had started to smudge. Her breath came in quick bursts when she pulled off for air. Her mouth was red and wet and open, her chest rising in frantic little jerks as if she was trying to catch up with her own desire.

“This…” she whispered, then licked up his length again, “is so much better than I imagined.” Tom whimpered. His thighs trembled. She had been imagining this. For how long? With him specifically? Questions flooded his mind until they were wiped away as she started stroking him again, hand moving slick and fast while she licked just the tip, over and over, teasing him into madness.

Her fist worked his cock in firm, wet strokes while her tongue swirled and flicked, every movement more desperate than the last. He watched her eager movements with undisguised fascination. He watched as her other hand disappeared under her skirt. It moved in a slow, needy rhythm, the knuckles of her wrist brushing the inside of her thigh with every motion. Her hips rocked gently, barely perceptible at first, then harder as she pressed her fingers deeper inside herself. The tell-tale wet sound of her own pleasure rose beneath the sound of her slurping around his cock. The sight sent a jolt straight to his core.

She moaned around him again, the vibrations making his cock throb in her mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment as she lost herself in it. Her knees shifted on the floor, thighs twitching. A tremor ran up her spine.

She was close. But she didn’t stop pleasuring him. She licked the head, then pushed down again, taking him deep enough to choke slightly. Her hair was sticking to her cheeks, her lipstick completely ruined. Her fingers worked faster now between her legs, the heel of her palm grinding her clit as she moaned harder around his cock.

Her thighs shuddered. A full-body tremble. Tom could feel it in the way her shoulder jerked slightly with every clench of her cunt. Her moans came fast and helpless now, each one shooting sparks through him.

The loop was perfect. His pleasure fuelling hers. Hers pushing him higher. They were both teetering. “Cass, I can’t!” He groaned, head thrown back. “I’m gonna cum. Fuck, I’m going to fucking cum!”

She didn’t stop. She wanted it. His cock pulsed in her mouth; every muscle in his body locked tight. Cassandra was moaning around him, her hand buried between her legs, thighs trembling harder with every passing second. She’d been close for a while now, but suddenly it hit her.

Her whole body jolted as the first wave of her orgasm slammed through her. A ragged cry ripped from her throat, muffled by his penis. Her knees buckled slightly. She gasped hard, and her lips slipped from his cock with a wet, frantic gasp, strings of saliva clinging to the tip.

But her hand never left him. She gripped the base tight, her fist still working him as her orgasm tore through her in waves. Each shudder in her body made her grip twitch, stroking him without rhythm, just raw reflex.

Tom groaned loud and long as his body gave out, and he exploded. The first spurt of cum hit her cheek. Then another struck her across the face, painting her in messy ropes. More pulsed out over her lips, her chin. Across the bridge of her nose and down her neck. Each burst landed as her own climax still rolled through her, leaving her gasping and dazed, blinking through the heat of it.

And she loved it. She moaned low in her throat, her voice hoarse and ragged with pleasure. Her thighs quivered, her fingers slipping free from her soaked cunt as her orgasm finally began to taper off.

She blinked through the mess, eyes locked on his throbbing cock. She leaned forward and wrapped her lips around the head, just in time to catch the last few lazy dribbles of cum.

She sucked gently, careful not to overstimulate, licking the crown clean with slow, reverent strokes. Tom twitched at the contact, spent and panting. His hand dropped to her hair, stroking without thought.

Cassandra swallowed, licked him once more, then sat back on her heels with a heavy breath, cum still glistening on her skin. Her smile was lazy and sated.

Tom’s breathing was uneven. Cassandra rose slowly. His voice cracked slightly when he spoke. “I don’t understand.” She walked past him to the cabinet by the window. Poured another two fingers of whisky, then topped up his glass without asking. He watched her move. Controlled. Measured. Even with her hair in a mess and her face covered in his seed, mascara running and lipstick smeared over her chin, she managed to look poised.

“You’re not replaceable, Tom,” she said quietly. “And I wouldn’t blame you for walking.” He took the drink with both hands, more to keep them busy than because he wanted it.

Cassandra sat on the edge of her desk. She looked at him with something that wasn’t quite softness. But it wasn’t hard either. “I can’t give you more money. I can’t magic up a full product team tomorrow. But I can make damn sure you know exactly how much this company values you. How much I value you.”

He stared at her. Still stunned. “I didn’t think…” he started. Then trailed off. He didn’t know what he’d thought. He hadn’t expected anything, least of all this. 

She stood again, smoothing her blouse and starting to redo her hair using the window as a mirror. Resettling into her armour. “Consider it a retention strategy,” she said with a glint in her eye. “And I’m very good at retention.”

He took a slow sip of whisky. It fortified him for what felt like the most cheeky question he had ever asked a superior. But if he wasn’t going to take a risk now, when he had literally just shot cum over her, then when would he? “Should I expect… more of this strategy?”

She didn’t look at him, continuing to fix her hair. But the corner of her mouth curved. “That depends,” she said. “Are you still thinking about leaving?”

Tom hesitated. Then he shook his head. “Not tonight.”