The Trials of Virtue

By Jeff Joseph

Michael was a target for every single woman who worked with him at his brokerage firm due to his good looks, boyish charm, and the fact that he was recently divorced. He was totally unaware that in a few short months, the boring life that he was currently living would cease to exist, and instead be replaced by one that would be completely unimaginable to him.
Jennifer on the other hand was a woman who couldn't possibly ignore the attention paid to her by men. Sadly however, her stunning beauty served to unjustly complicate her life rendering it a living hell and causing her to have to constantly run from very sinister elements pursuing her.

A series of dangerous and unexpected events keeps driving this unlikely pair together until eventually neither can deny to themselves that they are developing feelings for the other. Unfortunately, their struggle to survive is nearly overshadowed by their frustrating inability to confess their love to each other, and in the end it may cost them dearly!

* Spotlighted on the New Book Journal website
* Highlighted at Indie Author Success
* Member of the Romance Novel Center Website
* Listed with Goodreads 2012
* Member of and featured at The World Literary Cafe

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Joseph
• Release date: Jan 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465961969

Jeff Joseph

Jeff Joseph is a motion picture archivist and was formerly one of the best-known film dealers in the United States. Jeff and his wife Lauren were the owners of SabuCat Productions. He is currently working with the UCLA Film and TV Archive in restoring the Hal Roach/Laurel and Hardy library.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Michael casually reclined in his worn yet comfortable swivel chair with the fingers of his hands interlocked behind his head, and as he put his 12 D’s up on the desk, the old chair let out a squeak of protest. After countless hours of intimate contact between his backside and the cushion of the chair, it was perfectly molded to the contours of his bottom which he feared had become somewhat flattened over time as a result of this close physical relationship.

His six foot by six foot cubicle, despite being located on the tenth floor of one of downtown’s more modern and striking sky scrapers, was still thirty six square feet no matter how you looked at it and it was closing in on him. He stared at the phone on his desk willing it to remain silent. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to repeat his standard sales presentation one more time as he had dozens of times already during the day, especially with a rate of failure that would have had the most determined of individuals get up and run out after the first two hours. He was feeling so robotic he wasn’t entirely sure if it was the chair or him that squeaked.

He was bored…bored with work, well at least for the day as was usually the case when 4:30 rolled around, bored with the people he worked with, especially his superiors…none of whom were, bored with his virtually non-existent social life not to mention his monk-like sexual deprivation of late, and bored with the prospect of a lengthy, colorless, depressing Great Lakes winter. Most of all however, Michael was bored with himself.

He looked at his watch. It was 4:47 and nearly time for the only part of his day, or of his present life for that matter, which he looked forward to. He straightened up his desk, turned off the computer, and discretely glanced in a small, plastic mirror he kept hidden in his top left drawer. After the usual goodbyes and wishes for a good evening, he headed down the long corridor leading to the tenth floor lobby and bank of elevators. As he did he could feel his heart begin to accelerate and was aware of the welcome rush of sexual excitement, all in anticipation of catching a glimpse of her, should she be true to her schedule this evening.

As he approached the elevators, he sadly realized that she was nowhere in sight. Had he missed her already or was she late? He slowed his pace to a near crawl as people rushed on by him in their haste to get to activities more worthy of their precious time than work. When he finally did reluctantly reach for the down button, it was 5:07, a full five minutes after the time she usually waltzed on those perfect legs onto the elevator.

When the elevator arrived, he was the only one waiting for it. The arrow above the door lit up pointing down as the tone sounded. He stepped on feeling rather dejected.

As the doors closed, he was totally unaware that in a few short months, the life he was currently living would cease to exist, and instead be replaced by one that would be completely unimaginable to him.

Chapter 2

Jennifer nervously pored over a financial report as she sat at her desk waiting to be summoned into her boss’s office. She hadn’t done anything wrong that she was aware of, or anything especially good for that matter to deserve an impromptu meeting like this, so she feared the worst. She had been in this situation before at other places she’d worked, and was anything but naïve as to the ways of male corporate executives.

Larry finally called her into his office at 5:03 and asked her to sit in one of the expensive, leather wingback chairs and make herself comfortable. Comfortable was one thing Jennifer could never be in the presence of this man. She saw an egotistical, obnoxious bore who was so self-absorbed he truly believed there wasn’t a single woman he came into contact with who could resist him.

Jennifer found the whole corporate incestuous climate to be repugnant and did her best to ignore it whenever she could, but it seemed to be getting more difficult to do that every day. As she sat down and crossed her legs, she noticed Larry staring at them, and then realized he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed when he discovered he’d been caught looking, as any decent man would have been.

Hi, thanks for coming by on such short notice, I know you’re very busy. I haven’t had the pleasure of talking to you lately. How have you been?

I’m fine thank you, and yes, I am very busy Jennifer replied abruptly.

Well then, I guess I better get right to the point. It hasn’t escaped me that you’ve been doing a fine job since you’ve been with us and even though your first formal evaluation is still a ways off, I wanted to take a few moments to congratulate you on your performance thus far. I was particularly impressed with the way you handled the Davis situation the other day. He is an extremely important client and when I spoke to Miles Davis afterward, he told me that it was because of your attention to his account that he decided to remain a client.

Jennifer was acutely aware of the fact that Miles Davis was in hot pursuit of her romantically, despite having been married to the same woman for twenty-five years, and she found herself constantly dancing around him. It was a chore she deplored and tried to avoid at every turn. She knew he was a valued client and that he unfairly used that status to pursue his romantic agenda with her, and that situation made her job ten times more difficult than if she only had to attend to his real business.

Nevertheless, in order to call as little attention to herself as possible while trying to keep her job, she politely dodged his passes. The so called crisis was anything but that, however Miles had exaggerated the matter to call to Larry’s attention the fact that he expected Jennifer to be at his beckoning call at any time. He knew in turn that Larry would see to it that she indeed was.

Larry was Miles’ superior when it came to cunning, so he was aware of what Miles was up to and wasn’t concerned about losing his business. He played along knowing full well that he could control the situation, both from Miles’ standpoint and more importantly from Jennifer’s.

Thank you, but it was really no big deal. Miles tends to be a little short tempered at times, no doubt due to the stresses of running his company. I realize that and whenever he loses his cool, I just back off a little and lead him toward the decision we believe is best for his business and allow him to think that it was all his idea. After that, everything is always fine.

That’s what I mean. You are very skilled at what you do. That puts you in a class by yourself at this firm and I wanted you to know that I fully recognize and appreciate that. In fact, I would love to take you out to dinner tonight and show you my appreciation. As you know the firm is quite strict on the issue of sexual harassment, and I fully respect and endorse all of our policies. However, inasmuch as it is now 5:05, or after business hours, I think extending a dinner invitation is entirely appropriate providing the conversation stays in the realm of business, which I sincerely promise to try and do.

Jennifer was right on the money regarding Larry, but even so, and having been through this many times before, was still floored by his direct approach and unmitigated nerve! She collected herself, which didn’t take long. She had been fighting off the advances of men on a regular basis, and was very well rehearsed.

Thank you, but I make it a strict practice not to see men I work with outside the office.

Larry, who was also well rehearsed, and not used to being rebuffed said,

I understand and that’s probably for the best. If that’s your practice then I won’t have to worry about you being a distraction to the other male members of my staff. Well, keep up the good work and don’t worry. This discussion won’t interfere with our working relationship. You’re free to go and thanks again for your time. When… I mean if you ever change your mind, I’ll be happy to reconsider extending my invitation.

Jennifer remained calm despite wanting to slap Larry across his conceited and smug face. She graciously stood up, walked out of his office without showing the slightest trace of the disgust she was feeling inside, and headed directly for the restroom. After the encounter, she felt dirty somehow and wanted to try to refresh herself and cleanse her spirit.

She knew Larry’s type, but didn’t know him well enough to understand how far he would attempt to push her, or if he would at all. She tried to reason with herself that he had too much to lose if he attempted to push the envelope of decency thus jeopardizing his position.

As Jennifer walked toward the elevators on the tenth floor, she became conscious of the fact that it was probably too late to see a man she occasionally ran into when leaving the office at night, the one and only man she had begun looking forward to seeing. He was very attractive, but somehow struck her as being different than most men, probably because he smiled softly at her, never tried to make awkward small talk, didn’t stare at her or otherwise make a fool of himself, and above all else seemed to be kind and considerate to others.

No, he was nowhere to be seen this evening and she was surprised at the level of disappointment she felt. Not only had her meeting with Larry been difficult and worrisome, it had probably robbed her of the opportunity to see her mystery man as well. Oh well, there was always tomorrow.

Chapter 3

Larry slipped the report from the private investigator back into its large envelope and fastened down the brass clasp. He triumphantly tossed it onto his desk, folded his arms across his chest, and stared straight ahead as if he could see into the future. He was quite pleased with himself, but despite that he never cracked a smile. His laser stare and cold, calculating look chilled the air around him.

Externally, Larry appeared to be a bright, aspiring, mid-level manager with a good future ahead of him. He had a reputation for being somewhat ruthless in his business dealings leaving many a defeated adversary in his wake. He was ambitious as far as his career was concerned, but it wasn’t his business reputation he was pondering just now.

It was the reputation he prized the most, that of being considered the company’s most eligible bachelor. He deftly combined his personal agenda and his impressive management skills to keep himself out of trouble on the issue of the business code of professional behavior, and had grown accustomed to a flawless record when it came to satisfying his physical needs and desires.

The product of a domineering father and loving but weak, alcoholic mother, Larry had a very difficult and troubled upbringing. His father was a self-made millionaire who had personified the American dream and built a successful manufacturing empire from absolutely nothing. The poverty he experienced as a youth was the force that drove him to succeed, and his business conquests had taken over his life to the exclusion of everything else, including family.

Larry could remember his father coming home late at night tired and frustrated from his work, expecting dinner to be on the table. When he found that it wasn’t and the reason was that his wife had been drinking all day and was barely coherent, he would beat her until she lost consciousness. And despite the fact that Larry loved his mother, he remembered feeling a sense of satisfaction while watching the beating.

Watching her being punished served to satisfy Larry’s anger at her as well. He remembered feeling very conflicted, but couldn’t deny that it felt good to see her get what she deserved for being so weak. Still, it was his mother’s love, the only love he had ever received, and the hope that she would one day overcome her addiction and eventually find a way to leave his father and take him along with her that kept Larry from losing his sanity as a young boy.

As his youth progressed, Larry developed a fierce competitiveness that was fueled by his anger at both his father and mother, and he began using it in ways that were increasingly negative as a means of punishing them both.

It was true that most of the objects of his lust were endowed with far more physical gifts than mental ones, and therefore simply not knowing any better were easy prey. The notion of taking on a serious challenge in the form of Jennifer however became one he couldn’t resist at first, but now after her having rejected him, was becoming more of an obsession by the minute. She had it all, beauty, brains, and bravado. He was certain he had never known anyone quite like her before.

Larry’s true cunning, determination, and resourcefulness were well known in business circles. The lengths, to which he was prepared to go to achieve victory over such a lofty challenge as Jennifer, couldn’t have been imagined by anyone, even those he had destroyed before her. In fact, at this time even Larry himself was not fully aware of just how far he was capable of going to get what he wanted.

Chapter 4

Michael sat on the floor of his very modest apartment as he often did, because other than a card table with two folding chairs in the dining area, a cheap shelving unit that slightly sagged from the weight of the TV up against the wall in the living room, and a box spring and mattress in the bedroom on the floor with no bed frame, he didn’t have any other furniture. As he sat he pondered the high level of disappointment he experienced whenever he had to go a full day without at least catching a glimpse of the black haired, long legged beauty from the tenth floor.

He knew the odds of someone like that ever becoming romantically involved with him had to be considerably less than his winning the lotto, but foolish as it was he still found himself having difficulty putting her out of his mind. He wasn’t sure he wanted to experience the enormous pressure he knew he would be under to impress her, in the face of what would surely be testosterone driven competition of the highest order. It wasn’t that Michael didn’t like to compete, he did, but even he knew when something was simply out of the realm of possibility.

For all he knew, she was married or engaged, although she didn’t wear the telltale jewelry, and as much as he wanted to consider himself above that sort of thing, he had checked, several times! At the very least, she must have a boyfriend or a hoard of them, all driving Jags or Porches, who showered her with expensive gifts, took her on fabulous dates, and jetted her away to the most exclusive vacation destinations in the world.

Tomorrow was Friday. Michael made up his mind that if she didn’t throw herself at him tomorrow, he would simply exercise his dogged determination and put her completely out of his mind, and he was stubborn enough to do just that. In this case it might be the most difficult mental exercise of his life, but once he made up his mind to do something, he was as determined as they come and usually prevailed. Besides, a good friend of his had fixed him up with a can’t miss date for Saturday night and he had to get his attitude on straight.

Michael was slightly sickened at the thought of dating again after having been out of that scene for so long, over two decades, and had deliberately engaged himself in a host of activities designed to avoid the issue such as watching every conceivable sporting event that was broadcast on TV, drinking his favorite beer while doing that, watching more TV, and on and on into oblivion.

His lifelong best friend Eddie had managed to corner him one day and present the credentials of a recently divorced friend of his wife, and although he could have easily said no to him, he couldn’t say no to the pleas of Eddie’s wife Sandy. Besides, if she was a friend of Sandy, truly Eddie’s better half, just how bad could she be? Eddie had been so bold as to say that the mystery woman was rather nice looking and never once described her as having a great personality. So, he was