I thought I was the only one still working in the office that evening. I'd stayed late, trying to reach a good stopping point, and my eyes were now bleary from staring at spreadsheets.
At twenty-four, I'd found a job with an okay salary and decent benefits, but I still felt aimless. I kept asking myself what I actually wanted to do with my life. Maybe this was the only realistic option. At least I was able to pay my bills and make rent. I did find the office politics at my current workplace repulsive, however. Though I kept my head down and tried to avoid any drama, I was well aware that the managers didn't consider me a "team player." Still, they couldn't deny my commitment to my work. I often came in early and stayed late, toiling away in my windowless office at the back of the building.
Tonight, I was exhausted. I just wanted to go home, heat up a frozen meal for my dinner, and have a glass of wine before heading to bed. As I stood in the reception area, searching my purse for my keys, I couldn't help but think that my twenties weren't nearly as exciting as I'd imagined they would be.
Once I had my keys in hand, I glanced down the long hallway to my right and noticed the light was still on in Casey's office. If it had been anyone else, I would have made a beeline for the door, wanting to avoid chitchat. But I liked Casey. He'd always been kind to me in his quiet, reserved way. I guessed he was in his mid-forties, and while he was excellent at his job, the fact that he avoided all the office intrigue, just as I did, held him back in his career. He didn't have the rabid ambition that seemed to infect everyone else in this place. And of course, I'd overheard gossip about him. Yet he was the only one I trusted. Anytime I had a question, it was him I turned to for help.
Now, I figured maybe I could do something to help him so he wouldn't have to work much later this evening. At the very least, I wanted to wish him a good night.
My footsteps were almost silent as I walked toward Casey's office. When I reached his door, my eyes widened in shock. The room was in utter disarray, with papers scattered everywhere. Sticky notes, paper clips, and pens littered the floor; all the desk drawers had been pulled open. Even the computer monitor was askew.
Casey clearly hadn't heard me approach. With his back to me, he crouched down to retrieve a couple of pens, but instead of placing them on the desk, he simply let them fall from his hand before repeating the process.
I'd heard whispers about Casey's disorder. Some people found it funny that he needed to have everything just so in his office. It wasn't because he was a neat freak, however. Though he'd never come right out and said it, I understood he had obsessive-compulsive disorder. I also understood that the current state of his office would make his anxiety skyrocket.
"Casey?" My voice was low and soft, but he still started at the sound of it. As he quickly climbed to his feet, I could tell he was breathing fast. His suit coat was draped over the back of his chair, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up his forearms.
"Marlowe, I didn't know you were still here." Casey didn't give me his usual smile. Instead, he ran his hands through his salt-and-pepper hair. I was barely five and a half feet tall, while he was over six feet, but right now, he seemed deflated, with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed.
My eyes narrowed as I surveyed the mess before me. "What happened in here?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew.
When Casey's stare met mine, I sensed the fury roiling within him. "A little after five, I went to use the restroom, and I came back to this."
I gritted my teeth, battling my own rage. "It was Kevin, wasn't it?"
"Had to be." Casey placed his hands on his hips and let out a sigh. "I know plenty of people in this office don't care for me, but he's the only one who would be this..."
"Cruel," I finished. A look of understanding passed between me and Casey then. Kevin was a loudmouthed asshole most of the time, but he could turn on the charm when it mattered. He was also a gym rat, and several women in the office made a point to shamelessly flirt with him. I barely managed to hide my loathing for the man, while he acted like I didn't exist unless he needed something from me.
It was all I could do not to storm to Kevin's office and trash it. Instead, I blurted out, "I wish I could give that shithead a kick in the nuts!"
Despite Casey's obvious distress, he managed a crooked smile that didn't quite reach his hazel eyes. "You and me both." He started to sweep the paper clips scattered across his desk into a pile, but his hand froze before he'd completed the task. Looking at me once more, he said, "It's best if you don't mention this to anyone. Kevin could make things difficult for you."
"Oh, fuck him!" I placed my purse on a chair near the door, then turned to Casey. "Tell me how I can help." Already, I was pulling my dark hair into a messy bun to keep it out of my face.
"That's very kind of you, but I'll take care of this." As Casey spoke, he looked and sounded exhausted.
If Kevin had done this to anyone else's office, it would have taken them no more than twenty minutes to straighten up the mess. But I knew Casey would be here for hours. Kevin knew that, too, which was why he'd pulled such a childish stunt.
I took a few steps toward Casey, doing my best to avoid the office supplies all over the floor. "Let me help you," I said quietly. "I know I can't put everything back the way it was before, but I can at least pick some of this stuff up. Once it's on your desk, you can organize it however you need to, okay?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Really, it's better if I do it."
I dared to place a hand on his forearm, and he didn't pull away. "I realize you're extremely anxious right now, and you'll be even more anxious if I help you. But the anxiety will pass, I promise."
When Casey looked at me again, I saw something like relief in his eyes. "How do you know about OCD?"
"My cousin has it, but hers is a different type. She washes her hands a lot."
Casey leaned against his desk, as if he didn't have the energy to keep himself upright. "So you understand I take no pleasure in my compulsive organizing and arranging, just as your cousin takes no pleasure in constantly washing her hands. We feel we have to do it or something horrible will happen."
"I do understand. And I'm sorry you both have to struggle with this every day." My heart ached for Casey at that moment. I wanted nothing more than to slip my arms around him.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if fighting off a headache. "I'm so fucking tired of it, Marlowe. I've lived with this since I was a teenager, and just when I think I have it under control, I'm forced to deal with assholes like Kevin."
"Oh, Kevin's going to get what's coming to him," I muttered. Casey started to protest, but I only shook my head. "Here's what we're going to do. While I clean up all this stuff on the floor, you can sort through these papers and put them back in order."
I knew Casey's anxiety must have been excruciating at that moment. The part of his brain that detected danger was in overdrive, sending out alarm signals when there was no real threat. Every time he compulsively reorganized his office, or his home, or his car, it reinforced that false alarm system, which in turn increased his anxiety. It was a vicious cycle.
"You shouldn't be wasting your evening here with me," he said. "And I won't have you crawling around my office picking up all this shit."
I held up a hand. "First, I'm not wasting my evening. I'm spending it with a man whom I happen to like very much." To emphasize my words, I gave him a sweet smile. "And if you want, we can pick up all this shit together. Then I'll help you with the papers."
Casey's gaze softened as he regarded me. "You really are an incredible young woman, you know that?"
I shrugged while grinning at his words. "Eh, I have my moments. Now let's get started."
After closing all the desk drawers, Casey and I got down on our hands and knees, side by side. I'd shed my blazer, and though I wore a skirt, it was a modest length, so it kept my ass covered even in this awkward position.
The paper clips took the most time to collect. I reached for one in front of Casey, and he covered my hand with his own, as if to stop me. I froze, turning toward him. "How are you doing?" I asked gently.
He stared down at our hands. As I breathed in the scent of his nervous sweat, I expected him to tell me he couldn't allow me to help him. Instead, he only nodded in reply before releasing me.
I moved quickly, not wanting to prolong his distress. My fingers had just circled around a ballpoint pen beneath his chair when he said, "Thank you, Marlowe."
I looked over my shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "Of course! You're doing great, by the way."
As he smiled in return, I noticed his gaze drop to my backside, which was elevated right in front of him. Though he quickly averted his eyes, I felt a rush of pleasure, which snaked along the length of my spine and over the curve of my ass, like teasing fingertips. More than once, I'd fantasized about fucking Casey, but I tried not to indulge those thoughts when we were in the same room. I worried what my face might show. That caution returned to me as I scanned the floor. When I spotted a large paper clip far beneath his desk, I leaned to grab it.
"Let me get that," Casey said, moving toward me.
"It's fine!" I had to crawl beneath his desk and stretch my fingers to reach the paper clip. "I know your anxiety will be high after we're finished. My cousin says it helps if she distracts herself while waiting for the anxiety to come down. Maybe you and I could run out and grab dinner, then come back here and finish up. That way, you get a break from all this."
Before Casey could respond, I started scooting out from under the desk. All the while, I was hyperaware of how close he was to my ass. I found myself wishing he would give it a squeeze, or even just a fleeting caress. Fuck, I was actually getting wet imagining that! My horniness made me flustered, and I sat up before clearing the desk. My head smacked against it with a thud.
"Ow!" Even as I lifted a hand to my head, I laughed at my clumsiness.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Casey grasped my shoulders and eased me away from the desk. "I'm so sorry!"
"I'm alright!" I assured him. He still looked stricken that I'd hurt myself while helping him, and he didn't release his hold on me. Instead, he slid his palms down my arms. We were so close, I was practically sitting in his lap.
I wasn't sure which one of us leaned in for that first kiss. It was probably me, since it felt as if the blood had rushed from my head straight to my pussy, making my slick folds swell with arousal. I could feel my pulse between my thighs.
That fierce throb only grew stronger when my lips met Casey's. He'd always been so reserved around me, but that caution now vanished. His mouth was hungry and insistent on mine. I eagerly returned the kiss while slipping my arms around his neck. Much of my hair had fallen from the messy bun I wore, and Casey's fingers weaving through those strands freed the rest. When our tongues first touched, a surge of lust traveled through me like an electrical current.
Neither of us spoke as he rose, drawing me to my feet as well. The moment I noticed his obvious erection beneath his pants, I rushed to take off my skirt. That was easy enough, but I lost patience removing my hose, no longer caring if I snagged them. I was also quick to discard my decidedly unsexy panties.
When I lifted my head, I found Casey staring at me with such intense desire that it made me tremble. He'd taken out his cock to stroke it. The sight of his veiny shaft, and the tip smeared with precum, had my pussy muscles rhythmically clenching, as if he was already inside me.
I figured this would be a quick fuck; we were at work, after all. I started to hop up on the desk, more than ready to spread my thighs for Casey. But when he leaned to grasp my wrist, I froze. Maybe he didn't want me on the desk. That was fine with me. We could fuck on the floor.
He shook his head slightly and whispered, "Not yet." Then he dropped to his knees before me.