Unknown

Captured by Ann

I know that the title I have chosen for this series of accounts can be misleading. It gives no explicit indication about what the reader will shortly encounter. So I will tell you. It is my story-the account of my private life. For the first time really, it is the melding of my public persona with the full reality of how I have chosen to live, to indulge my imagination and to achieve the realization of the fantasies of my youth.

I have little illusion about how the reader will judge me. Self-indulgent may be the most generous description I can hope for. But at one level of reality I don't care and at another level of reality, I clearly do. The part of me that wishes to share my story with the reader is not inhibited by concerns about others' judgments; the part of me that maintains the buffers that shield my lifestyle and identity from the rest of the world acknowledges the consequences of flouting norms of behavior.

Well so far I have been a bit abstract and I am anxious to start but a bit of biographical data is necessary.

I am forty-three years old. I am also quite wealthy. My father was a founder of a household-familiar kitchen appliance manufacturer. When I was twenty-two and a second year law student, the business was sold to an even larger public company and my family became that entity's largest single group of stockholders. A year later I inherited all those holdings. I have sold much of the stock I inherited and have invested the proceeds fairly diversely. The last time I looked (and I look reasonably often) I have about $115 million invested in publicly traded securities, about $26 million in cash and cash equivalents and about $65 million in less liquid inv estments. That my sound like a lot of money. It is, but it is not so much money that I have a highly visible public profile. You would be surprised at how many private fortunes in the U.S. exceed mine.

Access to wealth of course is one thing that makes me different-it is also what makes my life as I live it possible. Here is how it began. Beginnings – June 1977

I graduated from law school in 1976 and that fall joined a large corporate law firm in New York. After about six months, I knew I was not cut out for this regimented practice. First, I was beginning to spend a lot of my time managing the investments I was starting to make.

Second, I did not need the salary I was earning as a new lawyer and I did not need the possibility of advancing in the profession as the means to secure my future.

Third, I was not crazy about the work. The problems I dealt with were dictated by the needs of my firm's clients- not by what appealed to me. Fourth, I hated the loss of autonomy that working for the law firm dictated. I decided that I wanted to be my own boss, to set my own schedule and spend full-time managing my investments.

But I also knew that there would have to be some regimentation in my life. There was a period when I was in college when I lacked the discipline to go to class and my grades had really deteriorated. Once I got into the routine of forcing myself to go to classes, to go to the library for study, all on a schedule, my grades rebounded. I knew that I could not leave myself the option of not having a set of obligations each day. That meant to me that I would rent an office, employ a staff, and plan on showing up at work every day.

I hardly knew where to begin. I knew I had to rent an office, furnish it and hire the people who would work with me. I started with a first step. I rented a suite of offices for a short-term (six month) period. I believed that I would use that time to get my systems in place.

My next step then was to hire an executive assistant. I contacted a placement agency and described what I was looking for. I wanted someone more than a secretary; someone who could take charge of the day to day business of running my office; someone who would hire and supervise other clerical and support staff; someone who could do the leg work on furnishing the office; I envisioned the quintessential, efficient, all purpose gal Friday and that is what I described to the agency. There would be no problem in filling the position I was assured, and I was promised a stream of pre-screened applicants to interview the following week.

The first handful of candidates were hardly impressive, however. Many of the candidates lacked polish. Others seemed overly concerned with being assured that they could leave promptly at 5:00 p.m.; others did not seem to have the experience or the references to give me confidence that they could fulfill the job's requirements. Then I met Ann.

Ann showed up for her interview precisely at 2:00 p.m.-the scheduled hour. Since I had yet to hire anyone to help me, I was particularly annoyed at the inconvenience of juggling late applicants appearing in my unattended reception area while I was conducting interviews in my office. Ann was about my age, perhaps a year older than I was and extremely impressive by any standard. The first standard I noticed was her appearance. Ann had shoulder-length dark brown hair framing a fair and flawless complexion. Her eyes were brown and she was about 5'6" tall. She had a wonderful figure, at least to my tastes, which meant that she was considerably busty and simultaneously thin waisted. I took note of these things as we talked about her experience (she was managing the New York office of a French chemical manufacturer) and the position I was seeking to fill. My eyes lingered at her chest, I thought discretely, as I noticed the outline of the lace of her bra visible through the translucent fabric of her blouse. We talked a good bit about the position and about my reasons for starting up t he management company. I described my vision of what I hoped to achieve and talked about the role I had in mind for my assistant. Ann said she was interested and I was about to offer her the job, when she said there was one problem-the pay was too low.

Now I had discussed salary with the placement agency and they had said that the $35,000 a year I had in mind was high by then prevailing standards. Indeed they thought I would attract people to apply for the job who were otherwise content in their present positions, but who would be interested in moving simply for the increase in pay.

Ann was telling me otherwise, the advertised salary was too low, that she was sure I would be getting what I wanted and needed if I were willing to provide a more suitable benefit package. I was impressed with Ann's competence, skill and professionalism (and appearance) and rather than deflect the issue, I asked her what she had in mind. As closely as I can remember it this is what happened:

"Look," Ann said "I want to be paid an annual salary of $100,000 a year and I know you will be very happy if you hire me to run this office for you, because I know exactly what you want."

"There's no way I would do that – - -" I started to say, but Ann continued.

"While you think about it would you excuse me for a minute while I use the ladies room?"

I directed Ann to the appropriate doorway and waited for her in the reception area while I rued the fact that the ideal candidate had priced herself out of the job. After about a two minutes, Ann reappeared and I notice d immediately what had changed. As Ann strode towards me there was a bounce and shift and jiggle that I had not seen before and as she drew within five feet or so I could see the pronounced imprint of her nipples against the fabric of her blouse. It was clear to me that she had gone to the bathroom to take off her bra. The audacity of that move had an electric effect on me. "You're hired, Ann" I said. "How soon can you start?" "A we ek from this coming Monday" was the reply. And that is how we began. First Moves

The electric image of Ann's bobbling breasts bouncing along as she walked toward me when she emerged from the ladies room remained imprinted in my mind over the ensuing week. Why was this such a powerful image? I gues s because it was not within the range of my experience to have dealt with such overtly and aggressively sexual women. Sure by that time I had experienced a series of relationships and girlfriends. But they were all wit h relatively "normal" girls and women whose backgrounds were like mine and our sexual activity was behind closed doors. Ann's move seemed to bridge two worlds, injecting overt sexuality into the world of daily routine and the thought of that marriage was one which had a powerful impact on me.

The Thursday before Ann was to begin work, she called to confirm the details and timing of her arrival the next Monday. We discussed that she would spend the first few days trying to complete arrangements with the vendors and suppliers who were needed and that she would set up what was necessary to complete the hiring of the staff I needed. Our conversation was totally business- like and I was wondering whether I had let my judgment ab out work be clouded by Ann's actions the previous week. But I knew that no permanent, irretrievable commitments had been made and that if things did not work out with Ann, I would go back to square one and make a more conventional hire.

I was in the office the next Monday by 8:30-a half hour before Ann was expected and a little earlier than I would usually have arrived. I was anxious to see how things would go. Like clockwork, at 9:00 the door to the suite opened and there was Ann. Ann was wearing a light coat and was carrying a brown leather tote bag in addition to her pocketbook. After a quick hello, she went to the closet and removed and then hung up her coat. Her back was to me as she did this and my attention was certainly focussed on her. I saw that she was wearing a very dark brown leather skirt over hose and her top was a clingy sweater of a lightweight wool material. When she turned to face me it was more than evident that she was, again, braless. I heard her speak: "Look, Bob, I told you that I know what you want and what you need and you are not going to be unhappy that you have put me in charge of running your office."

I was in a bit of a struggle to maintain my composure: "Ann, we have a lot to do…" I started to splutter.

"Bob," she continued "listen to me for a bit, we need to get some things out of the way."

Ann took a few steps towards me. "I know why you hired me. You were fascinated by the thought of my being around you all day long, and of course there are these." And as she uttered that last phrase she took each of her hands and placed each on the lower outside surface of each breast and supported each in her palms and sort of pushed them forwards and up slightly, much as they would have been supported if she were wearing a bra.

I was stone silent.

Ann was still talking. "Now I will tell you why I wanted to come to work for you."

"I think you can afford to pay me well and I know I have agreed to work for $100,000 a year but I know you are going to want to pay me more as you see the type of job I can do for you."

"You also seem like someone who wants to succeed and who will give me the chance to really make your business prosper. I don't think this job will be boring for me and I won't let it be boring for you."

"But don't get the wrong idea, I am not here for you to have sex with at your whim- I am no whore – but I know there will be a sexual component to our relationship and to how your office is run, but I will set limits and I know you will respect them."

"Ann," I responded, "all I was looking for was an executive assistant and I am a little at a loss as to how to deal with you. Obviously I am intrigued by you but…"

She cut me off again. "Bob, just take it one step at a time and I will show you what I have in mind. I'll show you – we don't have to talk it all out in advance. Let's just get on with our work and we can talk about the events of the day at the end of the day. And what I'd like to do now," Ann added as she reached for the leather tote bag she had brought with her and which I could see had various papers, pads and personal effects, "is set up my desk and see if I can figure what is what around here."

I began to think that Ann was determined to really play with my mind. One minute there was business as usual, the next there was a shockingly provocative act. At that point I started to be a little concerned that I was losing control of my new business and that perhaps I had made a mistake.

Ann busied herself by unpacking her belongings at her desk. Her desk was in an alcove just off the reception area and outside of my office. I was seated in an armchair in the reception area where I had greeted Ann upon her arrival. I remained there for about two or three minutes while I entertained the notion that hiring Ann had been a mistake. I looked up as Ann addressed me.

"Bob, are we expecting anyone this morning?"

"No, why do you ask?"

Ann did not answer me directly. Instead she strode purposefully to the door to our suite. I saw her try the door mechanism, make a few adjustments and I realized that she had locked the door. I had not anticipated what she would do next.

In one swift motion, Ann crossed her arms, reached down and taking hold of the bottom of her sweater lifted it over her head. With this one sudden move, Ann stood before me bare from the waist up. Her breasts were quite large, flaring slightly outward and capped with lovely pink areolae with prominent nipples. Every movement she made caused her breasts to jostle and bobble in the most inviting way. Despite the pendulous nature of her breasts she was not in the least bit fat. Her stomach was firm and there were no rolls of flab overrunning the belt which was cinched at her waist.

"I've got plenty to do" she said breaking the silence as Ann returned to her desk and continued to unpack her belongings and arrange things in order.

But for the fact that Ann's bare breasts were conspicuously in motion as she set about her tasks, there would have been nothing unusual about this scene. It would have looked to anyone else as if it were an ordinary office in operation.

But of course this was not the usual arrangement. At that moment I was continuing in my state of puzzlement as to what I was in for. I looked at my watch. It was 9:30 a.m. Ann had been with me for half an hour. It seemed much longer.

I spent the next few hours at my desk. My office door was open and as you might expect my attention was pretty riveted to Ann's activities. Just as I was starting to make a phone call, I would see Ann bend over to accomplish something and I would be treated to the view of her magnificent breasts swaying like churchbells. I was not getting much work done.

Shortly after noon another of my appetites intruded. I was hungry. I invited Ann to lunch explaining that we might take the time to talk about what I wanted her to accomplish in the few days. The bizarre nature of our situation was driven home as I watched Ann pull on her sweater as a prelude to leaving the office. unchtime Arrangements

I asked Ann whether she preferred a nearby seafood restaurant or a less than pretentious french restaurant that I had frequented. She said I should make the choice and thinking that I was in the mood for an omelet I steered us towards the french bistro.

The maitre'd recognized me as we walked in and gave me a warm greeting and promptly ushered us to a banquette where we were seated side by side. I am sure that he assumed our lunch was a social, not a business, meeting.

I asked Ann if she would join me in a drink. She said sure and after checking, I ordered kirs for both of us. As I started to enjoy the wine cassis combination I became very aware of Ann's presence next to me. I noticed her fragrance. In close proximity there was an unmistakable and memorable scent of her perfume. I was also conscious of the pressure of the side of her right breast resting and pressing against my left arm. As intimate as our earlier dealings had been, this was the first physical contact between us and it did not pass unnoticed by me.

I realized that there was very little I knew about Ann. The profile I had received from the personnel agency was less informative then others had been. I remembered that she had gone to college at the University of North Carolina and I seemed to recall that she lived in Manhattan as well. I knew about her previous two jobs, but not much else. So I asked Ann to tell me a little about her background. The question was too vague for Ann.

"What do you want to know, Bob?" Ann asked.

I was a little taken aback that Ann parried my question with a question of her own. I explained:

"Ann, I realized that in some ways when I told you about the job and the reason that I was starting my business I was telling you my life story and since you are going to be managing a lot of my business, I really don't anticipate that I will have many secrets from you and I just thought that I really don't know all that much about you."

"Now Bob, you really have gotten to know things about me much better than you had any reason to expect" Ann replied with a distinct grin.

As the truth of that statement registered, I realized that Ann was not leaving the matter rest there with that clever riposte. "It's certainly fair for you to know about me, Bob, so see if this helps to fill in some of the details."

Ann then went on. "I was born and raised here in New York. When I got out of college at Chapel Hill I enrolled in Katherine Gibbs' program and started out as a secretary in an ad agency."

"Pretty quickly I realized that I wasn't going to be content with a 9 to 5 existence typing away and waiting to meet Mr. Right. So I have changed jobs as I have looked for employers who would give me more latitude to use my brains and when I interviewed with you I thought that we could be very helpful for each other. You seem to have no artificial limits on where I can go and I think you will be giving me a chance to give you more than you expect."

I wasn't sure what all that meant and so I am sure that I had a pretty blank expression. But Ann continued:

"I live by myself here on the East Side. I'm not married although I was engaged once but thank God I realized what a disaster it would have been if we got married."

For all of that I didn't think I better understood Ann and her unique approach to her job and her relationship with her employer.

The omelet I had ordered arrived as did Ann's broiled sole. I thought it was time to direct the conversation to the work tasks at hand. I told Ann that I wanted us to hire a receptionist who would also answer the phones. I suggested that Ann take care of the interviewing and screening for that position. I said that I would be looking to hire an analyst who would help do some of the leg work in investigating and following the investments that I would be making. I did not expect this to be the subject of much discussion but Ann had a point of view.

Ann was quite happy to deal with the receptionist position but to my surprise she also strongly insisted should screen the financial analyst.

"We're all going to have to get along here and I really think that I can make sure that everyone who works for you will be the type of team player and have the type of cooperative attitude that you want and need."

That was a little oddly put and I was surprised about how emphatic Ann was, and although I was skeptical that Ann would know what to look for in a financial analyst (I wasn't totally sure myself) I wasn't all that anxious to do much screening for that position and it seemed expedient to acquiesce to Ann's views.

We talked a little about the need to be looking for permanent office space and Ann made the important suggestion of having the architect I anticipated using to design my office brought on board to check out the space we would be considering.

I paid the bill for our lunch and we walked back to the office exchanging thoughts about what area of the city to locate in and the pluses and minuses of different phone systems. We arrived back in the office and as nonchalant as could be, Ann flipped the latch on the door behind her and without comment or evident self consciousness casually removed her sweater baring her marvelous breasts once again. Without any comment in my direction, Ann went to her desk and phoned the agency which had referred her to me and advised of the receptionist opening she would be looking to fill.

That afternoon I had a visit to my dentist scheduled and I left the office at about 3 p.m. As I walked out and bade Ann goodbye, I told her I would see her Tuesday and asked her to lock up. She waived goodbye and as I left she was at her desk, cradling the phone to her ear looking for all the world like the efficient assistant I had hoped for; except of course for the fact that she was nipples bare. Thursday

I arrived at the office early on Thursday as I hoped to review my petroleum industry portfolio in light of some reports I had been reading about secondary recovery techniques which I thought might unlock some value in a number of companies whose reserves to some extent had been thought not be commercially exploitable. I brought with me a change of clothes as I planned on shaving and changing my shirt before the opera that evening.

Ann was a few minutes early as well. I conducted my none too surreptitious survey of her attire as she settled in. Today Ann was wearing a charcoal gray pants suit. Under her jacket, which she removed and hung up, was a thin shell, it was abundantly clear she was not wearing a bra either.

After morning pleasantries, I settled in with the stack of research reports I had ordered. Ann asked if I'd like a cup of coffee and when she handed it to me I sensed the distinct coffee aroma intermingling with her fragrance.

"Bob." I heard Ann say. "Would it be all right if I asked my hairdresser to stop by later this afternoon and comb me out? I could have him come by my apartment later this afternoon, but I don't want things to be too rushed."

"Sure," I answered. That did not seem to be a momentous decision.

As I dug in to the research reports before me, I got immersed in geological reports, the classifications of different types of oil reserves, and the accounting implications of each. Ann brought me lunch at my desk and funnelled the calls from the brokers I needed to speak with. She also told me that she had been in touch with the placement offices at three of the city's business schools asking them to post notice of the analyst's position that was available and she alerted me to the fact that an ad was to appear in the Sunday Times as well.

I was immersed on my research and before I knew what was what, it was after three and Ann was standing in the doorway to my office.

"I need to wash my hair before Patrick gets here."

"Patrick?"

"My hairdresser, you remember."

"Sure."

"Do you mind if I use the sink in the bathroom off your office?"

"Go ahead." There was a small bathroom in what must have previously been a large closet which opened just off my office.

Ann crossed in front of me and entered the bathroom. She didn't close the door and because there was a full length mirror against the inside part of the bathroom door, from the angle where I was sitting the entire bathroom was open to me.

Ann had brought a bag with her into the bathroom. I saw her take out two bottles, shampoo and conditioner obviously. Ann ran water filling the sink and then wrapped a towel around her hips to protect her slacks and removed her blouse. I watched as Ann washed, rinsed and washed her hair again. The energy she was using to vigorously lather her hair animated those marvelous breasts. Once again I was struck by the total incongruity of it all. On the one hand here was this most casual and intimate of scenes-watching the lady at the bath as it were. On the other hand, despite the apparent intimacy our relationship was not mutual and Ann was as much a stranger then as she was on her first day.

Ann emerged from the bathroom with her hair wrapped turban-style in a towel just as Patrick entered the reception area. Ann wrapped another towel around her top and showed Patrick where he could set up his array of combs, brushes and dryer. Ann introduced me to Patrick referring to me as her boss and settled in to a swivel chair not next to a window. I returned to my office to continue my work. The "whoosh" of the hair dryer in the background continued on and off for the next twenty minutes or so.

At 5:00 Ann appeared at the door to my office. She was dressed and told me she would be leaving then if I did not have anything for her to do, that she had one stop she needed to make, and that she hoped I would be at her apartment at 6:30. I told her that I would be on time. She left me her address which I recognized as a tony condominium on the east side.

I finished as much paperwork as I could over the next hour and around six I washed up, changed my shirt and tie, ran a comb through my hair and then caught a cab to Ann's apartment.

I arrived a few minutes after 6:30. I gave my name to the doorman and asked for Ms. Bennett's apartment. I was directed to the left wing elevators and was told to go to Apartment 20K.

Ann greeted me at the door. She was wearing a blue robe and had refreshed her makeup. There was a small entrance gallery to Ann's apartment which opened to an airy living room with dramatic views on two sides. To the east was the river and I followed its course from the Queensboro Bridge north to Hellgate. To the south, sliding doors opened on to a terrace beyond which I could see many of the city's skyscrapers suffused in the orange glow of a setting sun. Ann had fresh flowers arranged on two tables which were placed at both ends of a leather-covered sofa. Ann gave me a quick tour of her apartment showing me a walk-in kitchen which opened on a small dining area. There was a mahogany table with four chairs.

Ann handed me a glass of white wine with a swirl of a red substance not quite mixed in. I recognized the kir and complimented Ann for remembering what I had ordered at our lunch. Ann beckoned me to follow her and she led me into her bedroom.

"Make yourself comfortable" she said motioning for me to sit on a stuffed armchair. "Is there any special way you'd like me to dress tonight?" Ann inquired repeating the question to which I hadn't an answer earlier.

"Not really. What do you mean?"

"Well, do you want to show me off, do you want me to be very prim and proper, something in between?"

Sensing that I didn't have an answer, Ann said she'd try on a few outfits and that she'd wear whichever I wanted. Ann opened a door to a walk-in closet in which I could see a chest of drawers and a whole series of built in shelves with various garments neatly folded. She reached into an area where there were double hung bars filled with clothing on hangers and removed a dark violet dress. A gray suit followed as did a pair of black velvet trousers.

Ann let her robe slip off her shoulders. She was wearing a bra and pantyhose, sheer to the waist-and no panties. She pulled the violet dress over her head, stepped into a pair of heels and facing a mirror smoothed the way the dress lay. Turning to face me, Ann said that she thought this would be a conservative choice. She was stunning. She looked elegant and refined. I told her that she looked wonderful and that I'd be very happy if she went like that.

"If that's what you want, this is what I'll wear but let me show you your options."

Ann removed the dress carefully placing it on the bed and she took her bra off as well. As she stepped out of her heels I saw her notice that the glass I was holding was empty. "I'll get you a refill." Ann took the glass from me and went to the kitchen. I looked around her bedroom. There was a TV opposite her bed, a small chest with colored glass objects arrayed on it. The walls were covered with a green and yellow quilted fabric with a subtle floral pattern. Ann was back. She handed my drink and sat on the arm of the chair in which I was sitting. I was conscious of her proximity. The fragrance she was wearing was headier, more intense than what she had been wearing to the office. And her bare breasts were inches from my right hand. I noticed the silky, fine down which graced her arms. But I was frozen. I couldn't bring myself to do what in any other circumstance I am sure I would have: reach for Ann and draw her to me.