Chapter 5 - Plan of Action

James felt strange as he followed Cadence back up to the top floor. Just minutes ago, he'd been a wreck. Now, he felt calm and even a bit hopeful as he rode the elevator in silence with Cadence by his side. He glanced at her, observing her slightly furrowed brow and unfocused gaze. He knew this expression well. She was dissecting an issue, working through it bit by bit, and assessing possible courses of action. This innate ability to problem solve had been one of the reasons he'd been working on creating a new position within the company for her: Special Projects Supervisor. Oliver Enterprises was growing exponentially and it's ventures were becoming more eclectic as a result. He was honestly surprised she hadn't already applied for a more lucrative position within the company, or outside of it for that matter. It made him wonder about her aspirations. The ding of the elevator as it landed at the top floor abruptly pulled him out of this train of thought.

Cadence instantly became an elegant flurry of activity. Before long, James was settled into his office with instructions to shower and change, given the assurance that no one would disturb him. Cadence had even turned on the shower in his private bathroom and laid out everything he might need including a full set of clothing. This included fresh loafers of course. James undressed methodically, careful to lay his clothes in a neatly folded pile on a shelf in the bathroom. It wasn't until he was fully naked that he realized the temperature in the office was almost back to normal. He stepped into the cool shower and took his time lathering body wash onto every part of him. Working from top to bottom, he scrubbed his face, neck, shoulders, back, chest, and waist.

Upon reaching his groin, he was suddenly seized by the image of Cadence sitting delicately next to him on that rock. He remembered watching a bead of sweat travel down the nape of her neck and disappear into her blouse. Emboldened by the privacy of his shower, he gently stroked himself as he thought about her. He pictured her locking eyes with him and leaning in with her full pink lips to kiss him hungrily. He imagined gripping her body tightly before letting his hands rove over her. He'd fondle her breasts, waist, hips, and ass before pulling her blouse over her head and… "Ah, fuck!" he exclaimed softly. James had cum more quickly than he expected. He let his breathing return to normal before continuing his shower. He then willed himself to only think professional thoughts as he dried and dressed himself.

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Cadence had just hit save on a new presentation before letting out a small sneeze. "Someone's thinking about you" said a perky female voice from behind. Amanda had become one of Cadence's best friends and so she was used to her superstitious quirks. She had straight light brown hair that she wore in a neat bob which complimented her lithe frame well. Cadence rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed the bright yellow sticky note her friend held out to her before saying "Thanks girl. I'll let you know when they get here." "No problem" Amanda said before heading back to her office. Cadence quickly punched the order into the delivery app and was happy to see it wouldn't take too long for the smoothies to arrive. She wanted to get some vitamin C and electrolytes into James quickly, but didn't feel right not ordering something for the rest of her team. She added a private meeting with herself to her boss's calendar for 4:30pm today. Her presentation wouldn't take long and she needed his approval so they could get started right away.

Almost thirty minutes went by before the deliverer arrived with her smoothie order. It was a different young man from this morning, and he seemed too busy to be interested in flirting with her. Eager to stretch her legs, she brought the smoothies directly to her team's office. As she entered their space, she smiled to see Matt balancing his bottom on a yoga ball while he typed away. Matt was one of the administrative assistants and obsessed with staying fit. As he put it, he'd "rather die than get secretary ass". "Matt, did you have the pineapple spirulina?" Matt turned his tan features to her and flashed a bright smile before saying "You know me so well Cade". He was the only one who called her that. He actually had nicknames for everyone. "Ama, what did you get?" he asked as Amanda grabbed for the bright purple one. "Blueberry acai. And no, Matt, I will not trade with you." Matt feigned offense while Amanda flatly ignored his dramatics. "Bets! Hey Bets, smoothies are here" said Matt, trying and failing to get the other administrative assistant to turn around. Betsy had her headphones on and was clearly engrossed in the report in front of her. Cadence stayed Matt with a gentle pat to his shoulder as she walked over to Betsy's desk. Betsy was their newest team member but had quickly proven herself to be a diligent workhorse. She was barely over five feet tall and her mass of dark braids had been weaved stylishly to one side. Her freckled nose and cheeks added dimension to her chocolatey skin tone. Cadence set Betsy's peanut butter banana smoothie to the left of her keyboard and waited a moment for her to notice it. Betsy slid off her headphones and looked to Cadence with a shy smile. "Thanks Cadence! I forgot to eat lunch" she said before taking a long swig of her smoothie. Cadence shook her head as she walked out knowing that Betsy had likely spent her lunch hour drinking a Red Bull and watching anime on her phone.

Next, Cadence approached Mr. Oliver's door and knocked lightly. "Come in" he said. She walked in and set the smoothie on James's desk. He raised an eyebrow to question the contents and she said "honey banana orange with a double electrolyte shot". He nodded and took a sip before saying "Mmmm". "Would you like me to accompany you to your three o'clock meeting" she asked him. "Actually, I was able to resolve the issue over the phone just now so you can take that off my calendar. I see you've scheduled yourself a private meeting with me for 4:30pm. Can I assume it's in regards to what we discussed during lunch?" he asked in what was almost an overly professional tone. "Yes sir. I have some ideas about how to move forward" she answered. "Good. Well, if you're prepared, we can go over things now." "Absolutely, sir. I'll set up in the small conference room and meet you in fifteen minutes.

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When James entered the conference room, Cadence was still adjusting the projector. He hadn't expected Cadence to throw together a presentation in such a short amount of time. As a result, he became even more convinced that her talents were being waisted in her current position. Cadence waited for James to settle in before turning out the lights and beginning. James stared at the projected display in front of him while Cadence's voice emanated from behind. "I'll refrain from any unnecessary introduction since we both know why we're here and what the goal is" she said confidently. An image popped up depicting five familiar female faces. "I believe the women in front of you are your best prospects for your marriage. I've reviewed your contacts and done some basic investigation to select women who fit the following criteria." The image shifted to a bulleted list. "First, you need to have been in at least semi-regular contact with them within the last year. Second, they need to be single. Third, they need to be age appropriate." At this, James turned slightly to face Cadence. She explained by saying "One of our implied goals is to pull this off without creating more issues in the process. A large age gape could create a scandal or attract unwanted negative attention. I've capped it to eight years difference on either side." Satisfied with her reasoning, James resumed his forward position. "Fourth, you need to enjoy their company and fifth, you need to have some level of trust in them." James heard footsteps before seeing Cadence set a blue folder in front of him. "This contains profiles on all five women and will aid us in the next step. I would like you to review the materials as soon as possible and select three women to interview for the position of your wife. I'll contact your lawyer prior, and have him draft some nondisclosure agreements to ensure our efforts move forward in privacy. Ideally, I'd like to start contacting everyone by tomorrow but I understand if you'd like to take the weekend to consider your options."

Her presentation was made no less effectual by it's brevity. James flipped through the profiles in front of him and was impressed by her choices. It appeared that she purposely left out any women in his life that were overly active on social media. He never could understand people who so freely shared intimate details of their life on the internet. It also looked like she took attractiveness into account. All five women she selected were beautiful. Cadence continued to stand and looked at him expectantly. James took a breath and exhaled deeply before turning to her. "Alright. Let's meet tomorrow morning to discuss my selections."