Anna took her time getting ready, happy to have the chance to make Max fume. She took a quick shower, saying she could hardly go out to meet his intended smelling like a rutting sow. Then she dressed slowly, smiling inwardly at Max's impatience to be off to the hunt. But she caught herself choosing her clothes with care, picking the sexiest ones, and she became amused at herself. Who's doing the hunting? she asked herself, thinking of the handsome young husband. Or was it only the husband? Her mind returned to the innocent blonde seductiveness of the young wife, dressed in her too-revealing shorts and halter.
"Hey, not bad," Max leered when she was ready. "You're gonna blow that dude's mind so much he won't even notice I'm there." Anna had finally settled on her most simple outfit as the most effective. It was a thin summery dress, almost a shift, short-skirted to show off her elegant legs with the soft material clinging seductively to her hips and belly. The low-cut top left no doubt that she wasn't wearing a bra. Her heavy breasts shifted and jiggled with each move and her nipples raised dimples in the flimsy material. Maybe it will get hint, she thought. I might as well have some fan, too.
Max and Anna went out into the street. The moving van was empty, all the furniture and boxes were in the house. The workmen were closing the big doors of their van and one was presenting the young husband with papers to sign. The blonde girl was sitting wearily on the front steps, and through the open door behind her could be seen a litter of packing material and half-emptied boxes.
"Hi," Max said heartily, holding out his hand and walking up to the young man as soon as the workmen had driven the truck away. "My name's Max Flaherty, and this is my, uhhh, niece, Anna Collins. Looks like we're gonna be neighbors. We live just across the street."
The young man shook hands with Max and nodded to Anna. "Glad to meet you," he said to Max, but his eyes kept returning to Anna. "I'm Jack Hollister and this is my wife, Pam." The young blonde had gotten up as soon as she saw Max and Anna approaching, and she joined the ritual agony of introductions by stiffly shaking hands with the newcomers. Anna was watching for Max to do something boorish, but he behaved well enough, confining himself to one quick glance down into Pam's cleavage as she shook his hand. Deciding to enjoy herself, Anna moved as seductively as she knew how, amused by the way Jack Hollister's eyes followed her body.
"I'm sorry the place is such a mess," Pam was saying inanely, as if it could be anything else on moving day. "Won't you come in," she asked. "I've already unpacked some of the glasses and right now I'd certainly love a drink." She looked questioningly over at her husband, as if awaiting his approval, but his eyes were still on Anna. The young blonde's eyes clouded a moment, but she seemed to shrug off her husband's new interest as something inevitable.
"Well, we don't want to bother you just when you're moving in," Max said unconvincingly, darting another glance at the lush valley between Pam's breasts.
"Oh, please come in," she said and then blushed a little. "It's the first house of our very own and we'd like you to be our guests."
How touching, Anna thought. A genuine little housewife. And bored. Her sharp eyes had taken in several signs of the deadly tedium that often invades modern urban marriages. Jack's eyes boldly on her body and Pam's dogged acceptance of it told at least part of a story, and Anna became interested in learning more. Although the other woman's life-style was obviously light years away from her own, Anna instantly liked her. Under what seemed at first a scatter-brained and easily dominated personality, Anna sensed in Pam a native intelligence ant sense of humor, buried now beneath an almost humorous innocence. Anna guessed Pam's age at twenty-two or twenty-three.
Pam led the way into the house, picking her way between piles of boxes. Max walked along behind her, feeling the blood pound in his veins as he watched the young blonde's scantily clad buttocks sway and jiggle with each step. Someday soon, he promised himself. Jack had positioned himself behind Anna, and knowing his eyes were undoubtedly on her body, she used her practiced seductiveness to make her own hips perform a sensuous dance under the clinging material that drew attention to them as it slid clingingly over the near-naked flesh beneath.
Drinks were brought, and after the first few sips, tongues loosened.
"What line you in?" Max asked Jack.
"I work in a brokerage house downtown," the young man replied. "Assistant vice-president."
"Damn good job," Max said, seemingly impressed. "Which company?" When Jack told him, he whistled in surprise. "One of the biggest in town," he said.
"What do you do?" Jack asked.
"Oh, I'm kind of retired," Max replied vaguely. "Made a little a few years ago and now I just sit and enjoy life. Kind of boring sometimes, so I try to find ways to liven it up."
"Did you say Miss Collins is your niece?"
"Uhhh, yeah," Max replied, remembering his earlier cover story barely in time. "Her folks died and I took her in until she could get on her own feet." A look of sudden inspiration came over his heavy features. "Say!" he salt. "Maybe you could help, being so high up with your company and all. You think you could help Anna get a job there?"
Anna looked over at him in surprise. The last thing she wanted right now was to have a job. Putting up with what Max demanded of her was work enough, and she hated the thought of giving up her leisure. But she was curious enough to find out what Max had on his usually scheming mind to hold her peace and see what developed. She could always back out at the last minute.
Jack took the bait. As soon as he'd seen Anna he'd wanted her. Engrossed by the lovely seductiveness of her artfully exposed body, he hardly knew what Max looked like – he had only eyes for her. She isn't wearing a bra, he thought excitedly, amazed at the way her breasts retained their shape, standing out from her body firm and full. They jiggled but they didn't sag. He forgot for the moment that his wife was at least as beautiful. She was familiar to him by now, and Anna was unexplored territory. The thought of having her in the office, under obligation to him, began to look appealing.
"I'll see what I can do," he replied. "Why don't you come into the office tomorrow, Anna, and I'll introduce you to the big boss."
Anna shrugged. What can it hurt, she thought… other than this guy's wife. She caught Pam's eyes on her, but when she turned to the girl she had already looked away. She knows who's going on, Anna thought guiltily, and determined not to let things get out of hand. She had to do what Max demanded, but she hated the thought of hurting innocent people, if there were any such thing. On closer inspection, Anna began to revise her opinion of Pam. What had first seemed to her to be simpleness could just as easily be explained as resignation and confusion. From the looks the young wife cast toward her husband, she was painfully in love with him. He was handsome enough, Anna thought, but there was a certain weakness that showed at times in his face – something about his mouth and eyes. There's trouble here, she thought.
When Pam went into the kitchen to mix more drinks, Anna followed her. "Excited about your house?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," Pam replied, suddenly animated. "I've always wanted a place of my own, but I never thought it'd be as nice as this."
"Pretty fancy," Anna agreed, looking around at the large, well-equipped kitchen. "But from the sound of your husband's job, I guess he can afford it."
Pam's face clouded over again. "Yes, he makes plenty of money," she said sadly. "But there's so much pressure he doesn't have much time left over for anything else. I don't know how much the house can mean to him – he's either at the office or sleeping." Pam suddenly flushed. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I invited you here for drinks, not to hear our problems."
"I know all about them, Pam," Anna said with a warm laugh. "I, too, was married to a career, way back there somewhere. It was rough."