HIS SECRET BABY
Chapter one
“You can’t be serious. This is something that only the guys should be involved in. We don’t need the embarrassment of a woman deciding that she can do something like this. Do yourself a favor and bow out now, before you become a laughingstock of the office.” Leslie Spencer was always considered the ugly duckling, but she had learned to love who she was in the mirror. She might’ve been a little bigger in the hips, but her natural D cup breasts really did draw the boy’s eyes to her like a moth to a flame. That was never more evident than when Evan came into the office and started to flirt with her shamelessly.
“You’d think after all of these years that people would be more progressive in their thinking. Today, there are many sportscasters that are women, where it was primarily a male dominated profession. You see women screaming for their home team. It’s not just the man who gets to enjoy the spectacle of competition.” Evan was a man that grew up in an old fashioned household. If his father ever found that one of his children was dating a woman of color or even considered playing for the other team, then he would most likely be disowned and thrown from the house.
“Think about what you are doing. The guys don’t know yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Once they get a look at the list of those that are competing, they’ll know that you were going against them. They don’t like you much anyway.” Leslie was the one that either made their life miserable, or gave them a moment of reprieve. She was the manager of the office and it was beholden to her to make sure that everything was run in tiptop efficiency. She had learned the hard way that she couldn’t be their friend and their boss at the same time.
“I’m just a little sick and tired of all of these preconceived notions that men need something for themselves. You don’t see women complaining that men can’t be in the kitchen. You would think that a woman’s enthusiasm for sports might actually be a turn on.” Leslie had never done the conventional thing. There were times that she shocked just for the sake of putting people on notice. Men in particular walked round in their own bubble and sometimes she had to burst it to get their attention. Whether it was with her stylish and seductive clothing, or even the way that she wore her hair, she was never considered normal by today’s standards.
“For a girl that likes to dress like you are in the fifties, you would think that you would have the same kind of mentality.” Evan was upset and now he was lashing out for the sake of getting his pound of flesh. Leslie was not only in the sports pool, but she had even started to play fantasy football with some remarkable success. Evan knew that if his father was here he would be rolling around in his grave.
Even though Leslie knew that Evan was not happy, it didn’t stop him from ogling her otherwise prominent assets. She never claimed to be pure, as the driven snow. There were guys that found her to be quite attractive, but there were also times that she felt like they were looking at her with distaste. Her curves were her best feature, but it was her attitude that made most men think that she wasn’t worth the effort. Outside the office, she was a little different, but still standoffish when it came to men and their advances.
The posting would be on the board in a few minutes and she could almost hear the gasp of disapproval from those men that were still living in the Stone Age. The girls would most likely think that she was doing them a favor, but there would be others that would believe that she was only doing it to get underneath the skin of the men.
Being an only child, Leslie had never had what she considered to be a normal upbringing. Her parents were scientists and they believed that anything that was worth doing was worth doing right. She felt like they were helicopter parents. Anything that she did, she felt like she could do better. It was their accusing eyes and disappointment that made her strive for excellence. She did not settle for second best in her life or personal life. It was the reason why her relationships never lasted more than a couple of months. She always found some kind of fault that would lead to the man in her life to walk out that door and never look back.
It almost was like music to her ears, as the posting was made. The collective gasp and the murmurs in the crowd were not unexpected. She got some dirty looks from the guys and some thumbs up from the girls. There were a couple of guys that started to laugh at her expense and she knew exactly how to exact some sort of revenge. Somebody was going to have to work weekends and overtime and apparently Steven and Joseph had just volunteered.
It was nice to be in a position of power. It was the one aspect of her life that she believed that she had control over, even though her personal life was dismal at best. She could never get over how men constantly stared at her like a piece of meat or tried these lame come ons that sounded too ridiculous to even mention in public. There were those cheesy ones that made her shake her head and there were those that were creative, but still just as sleazy. They would’ve gotten more flies with honey. Asking her out for a drink or going to dinner or a movie would’ve been a good first step.
She was tall at 5’9, 180 pounds and there was no substitute for her flaming red hair. What most people didn’t realize was that the carpet didn’t match the drapes. Nobody really knew much about her and the fact that she really didn’t like sports had never come up in conversation.
She got this little giddy thrill out of knowing that she was making people uncomfortable. The guys in particular were not exactly happy and showed their displeasure by turning a blind eye to her. It was only after she called them on the carpet that they would have to abide by her wishes or hit the highway.
Leslie took her love of the fifties and turned her drab clothing into a fashion forward. She especially loved wearing pants suits. It made her feel like she was literally wearing the pants in the company. She did like to flaunt what god gave her and didn’t mind showing off the boulders on her chest. She kind of found it to be a wicked release of endorphins to make the men stumble all over themselves in her presence. At first, she blushed at their awkward attempts to see down her blouse. After a while, she started to make a game out of how to make them squirm in their seats.
“You really don’t have any boundaries, Leslie. I applaud you for throwing your name into the hat, but these guys are not exactly happy with you. It has always been one of them that wins every year and now you have the possibility of taking what they think is theirs. I think it’s a damn shame that they still don’t understand that women can do what men can and maybe better. Every time that you do something like this, I have to bow down. You’re paving the way for the rest of us. You’re breaking those glass ceilings, not unlike those women that found a way to vote.” Tammy Marx had seen a real shift in attitude around here. It all came from Leslie stepping on some toes and making herself the one that everybody feared.
“I’m doing this for all of womankind. There has to be a time and place where we can stand and say that we’ve had enough. Do you think that I got where I am by giggling at some owners joke. I live on my talent and I let my credentials speak for themselves. I’m not saying that I don’t like the attention. Every woman dresses to impress and we would be lying to ourselves if we said that we didn’t want them to look.” Leslie had never wanted to be in a position of power, but her parents had taught her that life was about making statements.