Contributor: Jerry Guarino
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Jerry Guarino’s short stories have been published by dozens of magazines in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. His latest book, "50 Italian Pastries", is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook. Please visit his website at http://cafestories.net
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Joseph had
a successful insurance business out of his home, a wonderful son and
a marriage that had become more platonic than romantic, the only real
frustration in his life. He had been tempted before in his 15-year
marriage. Sales trips for a computer company and out of town trade
shows provided plenty of easy opportunities for infidelity, but he
stayed true to his marriage vows.
He gave up
technology to work at home, to spend more time with his son. He
coached him in soccer and helped him with homework after school. The
upper middle class soccer moms smiled at him as they dropped off and
picked up their boys for practice and games. But Joseph stayed true
to his marriage vows, satisfied with fantasizing about the
thirty-something lovelies in his small New England town north of
Boston.
In his
work, he needed an insurance agency management system, but didn’t
want to spend the thousands of dollars it cost. Having that
technology background, he wrote his own program and soon found that
other small agencies would buy it. After a few hundred mail order
sales, he started to get calls for training local agents in using
insurance technology.
Joseph
answered the phone and heard a pleasant female voice. “Is this Mr.
Mariani, the person who wrote the agency manager?”
Joseph
thought this might be another $250 sale, so he prepared to give his
sales pitch over the phone. “Yes, I wrote the agency manager. May
I send you a demo copy?”
“I
was hoping you could come by and show us your software? We’re in
Malden.”
Joseph
knew that taking time from work for a small sale wasn’t cost
effective, but was curious about the inquiry. “Well, I’d like
to, but I’m also an agent and have my own work to do here. Most
agents just try the demo and order the program.”
“We
need more than the program. We need computers and a network too.”
Joseph
tried to contain his enthusiasm, so after a pause, said. “Yes,
I’ll be glad to visit to give you a quote.” He realized this
could be a big sale, a couple thousand in profit and he was quite
capable of setting up a network of computers. He made the
appointment for the next day.
When
he arrived, the owner greeted him at the door. “Mr. Mariani, thank
you for coming. My name is Maria Pantone.”
“Call
me Joseph, Ms. Pantone.”
“Well,
call me Maria. Let me show you around.”
Maria
was professionally dressed in a black skirt with ruffled top, clearly
Italian, perhaps in her early 40s. He followed around as she
described her office.
“We
have six people in house and two producers. We have been getting by
on a couple of computers for rating and quotes, but we’re falling
behind on service. I got a quote from that group in Chicago, but it
was over $60,000. I don’t think we need that much of a system.”
Joseph
took some notes and suggested they sit down. They went into her
office in the back, a desk as cluttered as the room itself, the
blizzard of paperwork an insurance agency accumulates.
“I
can see why you’re ready to automate. I think we can put together
a system for a reasonable price that will hold you until you need the
big system.”
Maria
adjusted her glasses. “About how much?”
Joseph
tapped out some numbers on his calculator. “This is just an
estimate, but I think we can put in four network computers, a couple
printers and my software for about $11,000. Three computers for the
staff and one for your office. The producers can share with the
customer service people here when they are in the office.”
“I
thought so. They were trying to sell me eight computers, the network
and $30,000 for their agency management system.”
“Like
I said, you might need that someday, but not for a while. With
technology, it’s always good to just get what you need, not
overspend.”
Maria
liked what she heard. “And you can put in a network so everyone
can share information and printers?”
“Yes,
that’s not difficult.”
Maria
stood up, smiled and shook Joseph’s hand. “Then I look forward
to your quote.”
As
she was showing him out, Joseph noticed the wedding ring on her right
hand; one of those oversized ones you sometimes see. He turned at
the door and smiled, taking her hand once more. “I’ll be back
with a firm quote and my software to demo next week.”
“How
about Saturday afternoon? About noon? You can show it to the staff
before we close.”
“Sure,
I can do that. See you then.”
Maria
accepted the quote and Joseph began bringing in the hardware, network
and software, installing on a Saturday after closing so he wouldn’t
disturb her customers. Maria was there.
“Can
I get you a sandwich and a drink? You’ve been here a couple hours
and it looks like you’re going to be here a while.”
Joseph
noticed that she had changed into jeans and a casual blouse. “Sure,
anything, yes I’ll be another couple hours.”
Maria
went across the street. Joseph realized he was alone with this
woman, just about ten years older than him, but still quite
attractive. He remembered his vows, his wife and his son, but
fantasized a bit about Maria. “No
problem with fantasizing” he
thought.
As
he worked, Maria puttered around the office, doing paperwork and
looking over the new computers. Joseph continued the setup while
glancing at Maria whenever she passed by. They were all alone, a
perfect opportunity to make a move, but he left his passion in his
head.
“We’re
all done. I should come back later and train the staff, but I can
show you the basics.”
Maria
smiled and sat down at her computer. “OK, what do I do?”
Joseph
sat down next to Maria and explained how to use the programs. He
smelled her perfume and could see her shape through the jeans and
blouse. “What am I doing?
I’m married,” he thought.
He was able to control his behavior but not his excitement. Maria
noticed as he shifted in his chair.
“I
usually spend Sunday afternoon here catching up on paperwork. Would
you like to come by then? It would be easier to show the staff when
the office is closed.”
Joseph
knew he was better off around Maria with others in the room. “Fine,
I can be here at 1:00.”
Maria
led him out to the door. Joseph continued to fantasize while
watching her in front of him. “See you Sunday.”
“Look
forward to it” she said with her hand on her belt, perhaps an
unconscious signal to him.
Over
the next few weeks, Joseph came by to check on his major account,
making friends with the staff and continuing the training to people
unused to using computers, all the while a romance story played in
his head.
But
Maria’s staff was making minor complaints about using the system,
mostly user errors that he could correct. Maria was always there and
Joseph started to make his visits toward closing time, hoping he
might be alone with her. Their conversations had gone from
professional to personally friendly. His fantasies, however, had
gone far beyond that. He thought about ripping her clothes off when
they were alone in her office and ravishing her on the black leather
couch. Maria seemed friendly but stopped short of flirting, until
one day.
“Joseph
you need to come by. Several of my staff are having trouble using
the programs and don’t know how to fix it.” She was curt, but
not angry. Joseph agreed to come by toward closing time.
Well,
user errors turned to software bugs he hadn’t anticipated. Several
visits later did not correct the problems. Maria’s staff was
getting frustrated and so was Maria. After four calls with a
resolution, Maria asked Joseph to meet with him after work.
“If
you can’t fix these bugs, I’m going to have to ask you to take
back the system.”
Joseph
knew he couldn’t afford to do that. His profit margin was being
diminished by all this time away from his own agency. In his mind,
he felt fear and passion for Maria at the same time.
But
even under this pressure, he thought he could make it right by
settling Maria down. As she sat in her chair, he thought about
standing behind her and giving her a neck massage, leading to
relaxation and passionate lovemaking on that couch. He thought about
soothing her stress with the shoulder rub, then leaning down to kiss
her neck, then unbuttoning her blouse and finally kneeling in front
of her for more ecstatic maneuvers. He imagined that if he did that,
Maria could relax and give him more time to fix the problems. He
wanted to do it. Maria looked angry. But it would be worse if his
advances were met with a charge of sexual assault and decided he
better just make his exit, never knowing if his fantasy would be
reciprocated. At least he had kept his marriage vows, at least
physically.
***
A
week later he received a legal notice. Maria was suing him for
breach of contract. Seeing her in the courtroom, he wished he had
tried to win her over with a passionate affair.
The
judge banged his gavel. “I find for the plaintiff in the amount of
$5000. Please pay the bailiff.”
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Jerry Guarino’s short stories have been published by dozens of magazines in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. His latest book, "50 Italian Pastries", is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook. Please visit his website at http://cafestories.net
Author:
Jerry Guarino
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