Author's note: The story is part of Literotica's unofficial tag team competition. Twenty of Literotica's authors have accepted the challenge of being randomly paired with a partner to co-author a story under the pen name "The_Odd_Couplings." The pairings have remained anonymous and the true authors of this story will be revealed in the comments section one week from today.

Disclaimer: Because part of the fun of this challenge is the secrecy of the partners I would like to ask that readers and fellow authors alike refrain from posting their guesses in the comments section as we would like the scoring to be as fair as possible.

- - The Rhythm Method - -

Ralph Watson rolled over in his bed, groaning as the early morning sun knifed through the shutters and lit up his face. His tongue felt like a lump of dried shoe leather, the result of too many beers the prior evening. The pounding in his head reminded him that it was a horrible idea to have his friends over to watch football. Of course, he'd forget all about that before the next game. Ralph seemed to have a difficult time learning from his mistakes these days.

He sat up in bed and felt as if he needed to vomit. Great, he thought to himself. This was the day of the big meeting at work. Big meeting. Fucking-A. He wondered what horseshit they were going to throw at them today. Whatever it was, Ralph was going to have to figure out a way to deal with it. He was a cellar rat at one of the best wineries in the state, Twisted Vines, and was lucky to have that job. If you didn't do wine in the valley, you did coal. He most certainly didn't want to do coal.

Ralph growled as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Holding back the nausea again, he made his way into the kitchen and fumbled with the coffee maker. After adding a filter and coffee to the brew basket, he poured water into the machine and turned it on. Then he headed into the bathroom as the coffee brewed, emptying his bladder into a toilet that hadn't been cleaned in far too long. The deep yellow color of his urine evidenced his state of dehydration.

This was going to be one hell of a day, Ralph thought as he walked back into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then pulled a carton of milk from the refrigerator. The milk had an expiration date of the prior day. He sniffed it, shrugged, and added it to his coffee. Pretending not to notice the slight curdle that appeared atop the liquid, Ralph took a deep chug of the brew, satisfied it wouldn't kill him. With no time to cook, he fed the toaster two slices of bread and grabbed a plate from the cupboard. When the toast popped up, Ralph spread some jam on it and quickly ate in between gulps of coffee.

When he had finished, he walked into his small bedroom to get dressed. He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of boxers, which he slipped on. Rummaging through a pile of clothes that lay on the floor in the corner of the room, he found a pair of jeans and an old AC/DC t-shirt. He gave the clothes a sniff test, and thought they were good enough to wear for the day. Making a mental note to do laundry that evening, he slipped on his jeans and pulled on his Nikes, then headed out the door to his car. It was a twenty minute drive from his apartment to the winery, and he had just enough time to avoid being late. Ralph crossed his fingers and breathed a sigh of relief when the old clunker started right up for him, then sped off down the road to work.

* * * * *

Charlotte Simons stepped off the treadmill and picked up her water bottle, taking several big swallows. Wasting no time, she kicked off her shoes and stripped off her clothes as she walked to the shower, stepping under the gentle spray. She had cut her morning run short knowing that she had a meeting to get to. As she went through her shower routine, shaving her legs and scrubbing her body until she was pink all over, she considered once again why the rarely seen owners were coming in today.

She had been an assistant winemaker at the prestigious company for over three years, and she was hopeful that perhaps this visit from the owners meant that she would get the chance to step up into a winemaker role while one of the seniors took leave. Stepping from the shower, she dried off and moisturized every inch of her body, then dried her natural curls to silky smoothness. After putting on a thin veneer of make-up with a practiced hand so as to make it seem as if she wore none at all, she walked to her room.

She looked at the outfit she had chosen the night before after hours of indecision and angst, trying not to second guess her choice. Dressing carefully in matching designer lingerie and a simple navy blue dress, she turned to eye her reflection critically. As always, she ran her hands down each part of her body, her eyes following the lines of her figure. She noted the freckles on her shoulders, her small, but not too small, breasts and the flat belly between the wide hips that had been the gift of her mother's genes. Forsaking the low comfortable heels she normally wore, she slipped into a pair of stilettoes thinking they would, if nothing else, give her a little bit more presence in the room. She didn't want to risk being hidden behind her taller coworkers.

It was important to Charlotte that she appear confident and professional in her role at the winery. She had worked hard in school to get herself out of the rundown neighborhood and home her mother still lived in. She had no desire to return there because she failed to meet the expectations of her employers. As she chopped up fresh fruit and made a health shake for breakfast, she went through a checklist in her mind of everything she had to do at work before the scheduled morning meeting.

Putting the shake into a sip and go cup, she grabbed her bag from its place at the end of the kitchen counter and left for work, excited about what the day might hold for her. As always, she'd arrive early and get much accomplished before her coworkers even showed up for the day.

* * * * *

Ralph pulled into the dusty, gravel covered parking lot three minutes before he was to clock in for work. His old heap shuddered as he turned off the engine, which did nothing to ease the pain in his already throbbing head. Getting out of the car, he looked up at the large stone structure he was about to enter. It had the appearance of a medieval castle, and the light that the sun cast upon it gave it the appearance of being in a faraway land. Of course, deep in the depths of the castle there was no natural light. He craved that darkness right now, as the bright sun stabbed his eyes and brought on another wave of nausea.

There was already a crowd in the main entrance area, a large, cavernous space with high ceilings and a lot of natural light coming through the many elevated windows. This was where guests of the winery began their tours, and many were already queued up for the first tour of the day. The sounds of voices echoed through into the foyer area where the winery workers gathered to await the owners. Speculation ran rampant about what the owners would discuss today. Standing over to one side of the room, Ralph watched as the assistant winemakers gathered together in a cluster. Charlotte was noticeably absent from the group. Good, Ralph thought. Of all the people he worked with, he despised her most of all. She seemed aloof at all times, and was always dressed as if she were on a catwalk or at a fashion shoot. It pissed him off. It was as if she wanted to flaunt her affluence in the face of the cellar floor workers.

Most of the winemakers and their assistants barely acknowledged his existence, other than to bark out orders or chide him for one thing or another when coming down to the cellar floor. She seemed to take it to another level, though. He would never forget the day that she followed him into the castle and he held the door for her. His fingers brushed hers, and she pulled her hand away with a loud gasp and a look of sheer horror. You would have thought he had some horrible communicable disease with the way she acted. He had never forgotten it, nor had he ever forgiven her.

Having been at work for some time, Charlotte finally went down to the foyer where they had been asked to assemble. She advanced into the room, trying to exude confidence as she walked, her too high heels clicking loudly on the stone floor of the foyer. She was looking for a friendly face, when she spied Ralph watching her. A chill went up her spine as she walked. He frightened her. Ralph was a big man, burly and hairy, with deep brown, brooding eyes and a head full of dark, curly hair. Folding her arms across her chest, Charlotte desperately searched for Jeff, her boyfriend, who was supposed to be here already. Like her, he was an assistant winemaker, vying for the temporary promotion. Unable to find him, she glanced once more towards Ralph, who continued to watch her with disdain on his face.

Once again, a chill ran through her. He reminded her of a neighbor she had when she was in her early teens. He had tried to take advantage of the girls in the neighborhood and Charlotte had been cornered by him once. Luckily, she was rescued by her mother, who had unexpectedly returned home early from work. She had nightmares about him still, and was not at all happy that someone who looked even remotely like that man had appeared at the winery in which she worked.

Charlotte dismissed the cellar rat from her mind and carried on through the room to try and find Jeff, or at least some of her colleagues. She had worked hard to secure her position here and she had no desire to socialize with the people who worked in the cellar beneath her. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate them in her own way. Rolling the barrels and ensuring the constant temperatures down in the vast catacomb like cellars below the castle was beyond important to the fermentation process. She just didn't see the need to have to be friends with the cellar dwellers.

In truth, their lack of formal education and the menial jobs they held reminded her of the rundown neighborhood she had grown up in. Those people had lived from day to day on welfare and handouts. Very few of her neighbors even left their houses for work in the morning. She supposed the rats were slightly better, at least going to a job every day. She was quite thankful to have escaped that world and the man that Ralph Watson reminded her of. Once again a shiver ran up her spine as she desperately searched for a friendly face and the safety she knew being with her own friends would give her. Smiling in relief, she all but ran to where she had spotted the small group of assistant winemakers.

Jeff returned her smile but he was not a man prone to public displays of affection. Charlotte took her place beside him and greeted the remaining people in the group. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Ralph had finally turned his eyes away from her and was talking easily with his friends. She breathed a sigh of relief and joined in the speculative conversation between her friends. They each had written extensive expressions of interest in the temporary winemaker's position and they hoped the owners arrival preceded the announcement of who would get the opportunity to move up in the wine making world.

"Welcome everybody," a deep voice boomed over the din in the room. A hush descended on the crowd and every pair of eyes turned to the wide staircase that was part of the large foyer. "Now that the tour has gotten underway, would you all please follow me?" The man turned and made his way up the staircase, beckoning the workers to follow.

Straggling at the back, Ralph noted that the assistant winemakers led the way, followed by the cellar masters, and lastly, the cellar rats. Noticeably absent were the hospitality staff, who ran the events and tours at the winery. Ralph's surly demeanor became heightened as he entered the room last, underlining his place as the least important person in the winery. "Fucking assholes," he mumbled under his breath as the assistants joined the winemakers on the small group of chairs available in the vast room while most of the cellar floor workers were forced to stand.

He noted with a sense of satisfaction that the owners also stood and did not look any happier than he was about the clear division within the staff. Ralph had a feeling that the absent owners were about to take a bigger interest in what was going on in the winery, rather than continuing to leave it only in the managing director's hands. He sneered at the thought of the managing director. The stupid bastard didn't know or care what went on in the cellars and that was just the way Ralph liked it.

Frank and Suzette Price had met several years earlier at a charity event, and had quickly become smitten with each other. Frank was tall and handsome, his salt and pepper hair at odds with his otherwise youthful appearance. Suzette was a slender brunette, thirty years his junior. She was a woman born of high society, having attended a prestigious liberal arts school up north.

She had taken an interest in Twisted Vines over the past year, and had begun to surreptitiously observe the operation. She cajoled Frank into allowing her to take the reins of the company, and her first order of business was the reason they had gathered today. She stood in front of the room and addressed the small crowd gathered before her.

"For those of you that don't know me, I am Suzette Price. My husband Frank and I own Twisted Vines," she said, motioning to Frank. "I have been watching the operation here over the past six months, and have been quite impressed with the work you are all doing. However, it has become apparent to me that we can do much better." A murmur rumbled through room, causing her to pause before continuing.

"I want to talk about teamwork. Look around you right now. You have all organized yourself into cliques, and from what I have seen no one associates themselves with anyone outside their little group unless they absolutely have to. In fact, there seems to be a caste system at work here, and I think it is holding us back. There is no job here more important than another. If each of you doesn't do their part, the entire operation suffers."

"These people don't have to be friends in order to do their jobs," interrupted Jim Whitehead, the Managing Director. "We produce a quality product. If you didn't tie our hands with a limited marketing budget, we could do wonders."

"Thank you for your input Jim," Suzette said with a small frown. "We can discuss budgets at another time. You do recall that we lost several batches of wine last week, don't you Jim?"

"That isn't all that uncommon."

"Why did we lose those batches, Jim?"

Jim let out a huge sigh before replying. "There was a bit of a miscommunication between the assistant winemaker and one of the cellar ra... workers," he quickly corrected himself.

"A bit of miscommunication?" Suzette sneered. "That's exactly my point. These people work side by side, and yet they barely even speak to each other. That has the potential to screw up our operation, and it obviously has, on more than one occasion. On top of that, I think it kills morale. Who wants to come to work in a place where people ignore each other, or, even worse, despise each other?"

"Well, you can't force people to be friends, Suzette," hissed Jim, forgetting who he was speaking to and dropping the formality of calling her Mrs. Price in this meeting. "What are you going to do? Lock them in a room together?" he added, barely hiding his disdain for her.

Jim had heard a rumor that Suzette was going to interfere with the operation. The last thing he wanted was to have someone that knew nothing about winemaking or business questioning his judgment on a daily basis. He much preferred the Price couple to just stay in the background and cash the checks that he earned for them.

"It's funny that you should mention such a thing Jim," said Suzette with a wicked smile. "That is exactly what I have in mind. During the next month, we are all going to spend several days and even a few nights here, breaking down the cliques and learning to work together. This is a mandatory exercise. Anyone who is not on board should leave now, but know if you choose that route you will not be welcome back again."

The room was abuzz as everyone struggled to get their minds around this announcement. Suzette watched the group with interest, and was happy that no one headed for the exit. Almost happy, anyway. Part of her had wished that Jim would have left in an angry huff. Now, she'd have to end up firing him instead.

Hearing the discontented buzz of both shock and distaste run through the room, Frank stepped forward to add his authority to his wife's voice. "I am in full agreement here. The whole of the winery is only as good as the sum of its parts. I expect every level of this business to run like a well-oiled machine. Currently that machine has too many creaks and groans. If we don't do something about that, Suzette and I will be looking at making a major overhaul, beginning with the people in this room. Personally, I think that would be the best course of action, but my wife insisted we try to do it this way and give you all the chance to prove you are the right people to be here."

The ripple of shocked gasps could be heard from the winemakers and their assistants and they looked with disdain at the cellar masters and rats. In turn the cellar floor workers looked back with undisguised malice at the winemakers.

A small low growl erupted from Ralph's throat as he caught Charlotte looking in his direction. Fucking stuck up bitch. She was the worst of them all, he thought to himself. At least some of the others would acknowledge his existence with a quick greeting when they came down to the cellar to check their precious barrels. That bitch treated them all like morons and avoided him like he had the plague. He curled his lip in a snarl as he caught her eye, causing her to quickly look away.

"I understand there will be those of you with family or commitments elsewhere, so we are willing to accommodate that," Suzette continued once the noise had once again died down. "Those of you who have a real hardship giving us the extra time we're asking for should make an appointment to speak directly with me about it. Make no mistake though. My husband and I are looking to make some drastic changes around here and those who do not come on board with our plans should possibly start looking for employment elsewhere. I believe the mine is hiring." The Prices were banking on the fact that there was little work available in these tough times, especially in this town.

"Thank you all for listening. Once the smaller details have been ironed out we will let you know the dates we will begin our new training plans. For those of you who wish to see me about our plans, I will be available in the owner's suite today and tomorrow. Make an appointment with Emily," she said, introducing her personal assistant. "That will be all for now," she said, dismissing the staff and leading the way as she and her husband exited the room.

Charlotte sat in stunned silence. Her work was her life, and she had fully expected that they were going to announce who would get the promotion. She hadn't expected this. She barely took in the growls of discontent around her as she looked back to where the cellar workers had begun to file out of the room. The mistake causing the loss of several barrels of wine last month had not been hers, but rather it had been Jeff's. It was his fault they were in this predicament. She could bet she knew who the cellar rat was that caused it though, as she watched the lumbering bear of a man, Ralph Watson, exit the room.
* * * * *

Charlotte had finally stood with the rest of her colleagues once the cellar rats had exited the room. The assistants all eyed each other warily. They had each made mistakes, though some much bigger than others. Most laid the blame firmly and squarely at the feet of the cellar rats, taking none of the responsibility for spillages or other incidents themselves. She thought about her own mistakes. Luckily she had not made any of the big gaffes that seemed to have doomed them to this extra attention from Mrs. Price. Rather than complaining about the untrained and ill-bred cellar staff, Charlotte began making a list in her head of how she could improve her own work.

At the top of her list was communication with the rats. She shuddered at the thought of having to deal with Ralph. She decided to make an appointment to speak to the winemaker who was her direct supervisor about selecting the rats she would like to work with and those she wouldn't. With some careful planning, she could avoid Ralph and the worst of his creepy friends altogether and do a better job communicating when down in the cellar checking the barrels.

Satisfied that she had a plan to move forward and be okay, she tuned back into the morose complaints of her colleagues. Clearly, they believed they shouldn't have to do any extra work and participate in this exercise that Suzette had planned. They seemed to believe only the cellar floor workers needed such drastic measures in order to improve their productivity. Charlotte grimaced. Hadn't they heard Suzette? This was about not marking the clear class distinctions between the winemakers and laborers.

Charlotte was not one to voice her thoughts in a group, however, instead tending to hang back and listen rather than join in the banter of her colleagues. Once in the office she shared with her friend Lincoln, she sighed and turned to face him. "You know the key word Suzette said was clique right?"

"Yeah, so?" Lincoln shrugged. He was still angry about losing his weekend for some sort of new age hand holding thing.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if it's the assistants that are seen as a clique, rather than the cellar rats. I mean, they seem to talk to everyone but us. Even Stuart," Charlotte said, referring to the oldest and most senior of the winemakers, Stuart Gresham. She and Lincoln were lucky enough to work directly under his supervision. He was a taciturn man of few words and took on fewer assistants than most. The fact that he had chosen her gave her a certain amount of credibility among the other assistants, despite the fact that she was one of the few females holding the position.

She walked to her window and looked out over the front lawn just as Ralph stormed out of the cellar doors, walking towards the cafeteria. "Even that great oaf seems to be able to talk with everyone here," she shivered. "Except us."

"That guy's got a chip on his shoulder. I doubt he actually talks to anyone except to grunt his own disdain." Lincoln had come up beside her to look out of the window and see who she was talking about. "Look. All we have to do is play the game until Suzette gets bored with her latest moronic idea and life goes back to normal."

"Yeah," Charlotte agreed, smiling and turning her gaze away from the window. "I guess so." Having seen Ralph making his way to the cafeteria, she opened the small refrigerator they kept in their office and withdrew the salad she had prepared the night before. She never went to the cafeteria with the rest of the workers, but after this morning's meeting, she knew that she would have to try to go down once in a while, if only to be seen.

* * * * *

Somehow, Ralph had made it through the rest of the morning without seeing his toast and coffee again. The cool dampness and relative darkness of the wine cellars had him feeling almost normal again by the time lunch rolled around. Of course, the bombshell Frank and Suzette had set off was another thing entirely.

Ralph settled into a chair in the company cafeteria with a few of the other rats. Sam, his best friend since high school, sat beside him to his right. They were joined at the table by Nick and Mark. Nick had worked with them for a few years, but Mark had been there for only a few weeks. He was the low man on the totem pole.

Ralph wasted no time voicing his displeasure with the morning's announcement. "I can't fucking believe we are going to have to waste an entire weekend with this bullshit," he growled. "And then more days after that! All because some fucking assistant winemaker couldn't be bothered to talk to one of us. I bet I know who it was, too."

Sam looked at his friend with an amused smile on his face. "Oh? Who was it Ralph? Please tell us."

"You know damned well it was that bitch Charlotte Simons. You see the way she looks at us. It had to be her."

Sam shook his head and pointed his gaze over at Mark. "Ralph really has it in for Charlotte, and I know why."

"Oh, why the fuck is that, Sam?" Ralph said as he glared at his friend.

"You see, the lovely Charlotte Simons, reminds him an awful lot of his old high school girlfriend. She went off to college without him and got herself a damned good job. I think Ralph here thinks about what might have been."

"Fuck this," snarled Ralph in a near shout. "I'm going outside for a walk." Gathering the remains of his lunch, Ralph bolted from the table and tossed the trash into a receptacle, then nearly broke through the doors on the way out of the cafeteria.

"Wow. He's really sensitive about it," said Mark.

"There is more to the story," Sam replied while shaking his head. "Ralph had everything going for him in high school. Happy family life, good grades, a great place to live. He had the best of everything. The summer after he graduated his parents were killed in a horrible auto accident, and he found himself alone."

"I never heard this," Nick chimed in. "Holy shit. Didn't they have money, or at least insurance?"

"They earned a lot of money, but never saved any. Once they died, there was nothing left. Even the house had a second mortgage on it. He was forced to fend for himself at eighteen years old. I don't think Ralph ever forgave his girlfriend for going off to college without him. I mean, what the hell was she supposed to do? But there you have it. I'm telling you though. Charlotte reminds him an awful lot of that old girlfriend. Not that they look alike, mind you. But she is bright, driven and successful."

"Well, I can see why he's pissed about that on every level," said Nick. "I sure as hell wouldn't mind a piece of that ass, I'll tell you that."

"Fuck yes," added Mark.

"Well, you two can just forget about it. That woman wouldn't take up with a cellar rat if he were the last person on earth."

"A guy can dream, can't he," laughed Nick.

"Yeah. Whatever. Time to get back to work, boys. With the owners here, today isn't the day to get caught fucking off or fantasizing about what a wild cat the stuck up bitch probably is in bed." He smirked as his friends raised their eyebrows at him. "Hey, I'm only human," he chuckled.

* * * * *

The rest of the week went by in a blur, and Ralph found himself in the local watering hole on Friday night. He hadn't had a drink since football night, and he was ready to tie one on after the hellacious week he had experienced. All of the rats were there, as well as a number of other winery employees. The truth was that there wasn't a hell of a lot to do around the area, and this honky tonk bar was as good as it got.

Sam stood beside Ralph and struggled to be heard over the bluegrass band playing in the corner. They weren't all that good, but they were loud. It always seemed to work that way, Sam thought to himself.

"Listen. All I'm saying is that I'm sorry I brought that up the other day, Ralph. I wasn't trying to piss you off."

"Well you did, Sam. All that shit has nothing to do with what's going on in the winery." Ralph was as unforgiving as always.

"The hell it doesn't, Ralph. You're going to have to let the past go if you ever want a future, buddy."

"This coming from a man that has the same shit job that I do, huh? I don't see you dancing around with your happy pants on all day every day."

"A job is a job, Ralph. I'm talking about being happy. You walk around miserable all the fucking time. You need to get your shit together. You can try to escape this fucking valley we live in, but you can't escape yourself. You're the one that needs to change."

"Whatever. Just fucking drop it Sam, okay?"

"Whatever you say," replied Sam as he got up from his bar stool. "I'm gonna go drain the dragon and get the fuck out of here. I have shit to do tomorrow and I need some sleep."

Ralph grunted goodbye and took a giant swig of his beer. He knew his friend was right, but he had spent years blaming others for his plight. It was a hard thing to accept responsibility for your lot in life.

"Can I get you another beer, sugar?" asked Tammy, the barmaid.

Tammy was in her late twenties, with dirty blond hair and a pretty face. She had one hell of a rack under the tight t-shirt she wore. Like many of the local girls, she had a tummy that was running to chub, and an ass to match. Ralph didn't mind. He liked a girl you could play a little rough with, and he quite enjoyed the sound it made when he slapped that chubby ass of hers. She and Ralph had an on again-off again kind of relationship. Maybe relationship isn't the proper way to describe it. They liked to fuck, and threw in the occasional conversation to pretend it was something more.

"Sure, Tam. Why not?" he said offhandedly.

"I get off in an hour," she said hopefully. "You want to hang out for a while?" Tammy poured the beer and placed the glass in front of him.

Ralph stared at her without speaking for long enough to make her nervous. "Sure, Tammy. That'd be great."

She gave him a smile and moved down the bar to the next drunk waving an empty glass at her. Ralph sat quietly, nursing his beer and brooding. Turning around on his stool, he surveyed the rest of the room. There was a large dance floor in the center, and several of the assistant winemakers were right in the middle of it, doing some stupid fucking line dance. Of course, there was Charlotte and that asshole Jeff, front and center, leading all of the other idiots on. Fucking dancing, he chuckled to himself. What a waste of time and energy.

Ralph turned back to the bar and drained his glass, holding it up to Tammy for a refill. She came down and took the empty glass from him.

"Go easy sugar. I want to do more than just watch you sleep tonight," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Don't you worry about that, Tammy. I've never failed you before."

Tammy smiled. "No, you haven't at that." Biting her lip, she walked to the other end of the bar, wiggling her ass as she went. His thoughts went back to Charlotte, and Sam's words the other day. If he were really honest with himself, he would admit that Sam was right. He was projecting what he felt was his old girlfriend's disloyalty onto Charlotte. No matter. She was a bitch anyway. He drained his beer and caught Tammy's attention.

"I'll meet you outside by my car. I'm parked over at the far end by the stand of trees."

"Okay, Ralph. I'll be about fifteen minutes more. See you in a little bit."

Ralph sat on the hood of his car as he waited for Tammy. A short time later, he spied her walking through the dirt lot in his direction. He waved to her, and she stood in front of him as he continued to sit. They exchanged no words as Tammy reached up and kissed Ralph, tentatively at first. He took over as the aggressor, kissing her roughly, one hand moving up and finding her breast. She gasped into his mouth when his thick fingers pinched and twisted a nipple as he kissed her.

Slipping down off the car, Ralph grabbed her hand and placed it on his stiff cock through the fabric of his jeans. Tammy looked at him and smiled. Like the rest of Ralph, his cock was big, thick and hard. She bit her lip and looked into his eyes as she started to unbutton his jeans. A moment later, she was on her knees with his fat cock in her mouth, bobbing her head up and down as she swirled her tongue around the large head. Ralph grabbed a handful of her blond hair and slowly fucked her face, watching her as he did.

Suddenly, they were illuminated by a pair of headlights swinging by as a car drove through the parking lot. Ralph watched as the car passed directly by them. There, looking out the passenger side window, was Charlotte. He locked eyes with her as the car drove slowly by, Ralph thrusting his hips forward and tugging on Tammy's hair as he did. A few seconds later, while watching the receding taillights, Ralph grunted and filled Tammy's mouth with his first load of come of the night.

"Holy shit! Did you see that?" Jeff exclaimed as he finally pulled onto the road in front of the bar and sped up.

"See what?" Charlotte asked, feigning ignorance.

"That big guy from the cellar was being blown right there in the parking lot!" Jeff said with a note of jealousy in his voice. There was no way Charlotte would do that for him where anyone could see it. He knew she would leave him in a heartbeat if he treated her as anything but a lady. His cock grew hard at the thought of actually forcing her to her knees to worship his cock like that fat cow was doing back in the parking lot for that guy. Instead he knew that if he wanted down and dirty sex he would have to find it elsewhere and not get caught.

"Some people have no class," Charlotte said imperiously. In truth, she would have liked Jeff to be more of a take charge type of guy. Their sex life, while active, left her unfulfilled more often than not. Her place was closer, but they had planned to stay the night at his house. Jeff surprised Charlotte by pulling up in front of her apartment.

She was glad to be home. She hated the honky-tonk bar. It was loud and dirty and she would rather have spent a night at home watching an old movie. Jeff, though, had been adamant. He had wanted to go out with his friends and he had wanted her to come with him. For Jeff, it was all about being seen as the leader of the pack. He had come from old money, went to the right Ivy League schools, drove the right car, had his own house in a nice suburb and, as he told her more than once, had the prettiest girlfriend in the valley. Charlotte knew he was a catch and felt she should be happy, but more often than not she just felt like an accessory to Jeff's life. Like his car. She felt she was just an arm decoration. Or she would, if he ever truly touched her in public.

Jeff hustled her out of the car and up the stairs to her small apartment. Once inside he wasted no time dragging her into the bedroom. He hadn't kissed her or shown any affection as he quickly began to strip, showing he was already rock hard. "Well," she thought to herself, "she had wanted him to be more a take charge sort of guy." She began to remove her own jeans and blouse as he lay on the bed stroking his cock.

"Suck my cock, Charlotte. Please?" He had almost whined it as she leaned in to kiss him, and the small amount of credit she had given him for taking charge evaporated. Sighing, she moved down his body, not even attempting all those fluttery kisses along his torso that her college boyfriend had loved and reveled in. She just knelt between his legs and got to work as he moaned, "Oh yeah, just like that."

Each of them were lost in their thoughts on the scene in the parking lot, as with practiced skill Charlotte brought him off quickly. She crawled up beside him and lay back on her pillow. They did not touch or speak, the room filling with silence and the sound of their breathing. Charlotte hoped it would be her turn now, but as the seconds ticked by she realized that Jeff had no intention of continuing. She had hoped for some foreplay that would lead to Jeff regaining his erection and giving her a good fucking, but once again she felt let down. A few minutes later, she heard him snoring lightly, and she rolled over, turning her back to him and eventually falling into a fitful sleep.

* * * * *

Tammy was on her knees, bent over forward and grasping the headboard with both hands as Ralph pounded into her from behind. She felt completely full of his big cock, and it was hitting her in just the right spot with every stroke. Normally very vocal during sex, Tammy was even more animated when Ralph fucked her. If the early morning light hadn't woken the neighbors, the sounds of Tammy screaming and moaning certainly did. As she came down the home stretch, she buried her face into the pillow as she exploded into orgasm, and Ralph followed shortly thereafter.

A short time later, Tammy lay beside Ralph, her head on his shoulder, finally able to catch her breath.

"Where the hell did you learn to fuck like that, Ralph? It's ridiculous."

"Ridiculous?"

"Yes. Ridiculous. I lost count of how many times you made me come."

"You didn't seem to mind much," replied Ralph with a smile.

"Oh, believe me. I don't mind, even though I'm sore as hell. It's a good thing I don't have to work today, because I don't think I could walk very well," Tammy said with a giggle.

"You're welcome," Ralph joked.

Tammy sat up and stretched, then got out of bed to make some coffee. Ralph lay back, staring at the ceiling, his mind wandering to the insanity at work. Suzette was going to tell them all about her stupid plan on Monday morning. He didn't want this to ruin his weekend, but that was wishful thinking. Pushing the thought away, his mind settled next on Charlotte. In his mind's eye, he could see her watching him as he had Tammy by the hair and fucked her mouth. He would have thought she'd have a look of shock and horror on her face. She didn't. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd seen, but it wasn't unpleasant. Ralph felt his cock stir as he thought about grabbing Charlotte by the hair and watching her suck his meaty cock.

His thoughts were interrupted by Tammy sitting on the bed, handing him a cup of coffee.

"I need to take a shower. I'm supposed to go shopping with my mother today. I wish you hadn't marked me up as much as you have, Ralph."

He shrugged and took a sip of coffee. "You know I play rough, Tammy. Why don't you bring mom over later and I can show her a thing or two also?" he said with a smirk.

Tammy rolled her eyes, getting up and walking into the bathroom.

Ralph took another sip of coffee, then returned his thoughts to Charlotte. Despite his distaste for her, he had to admit that he found her quite attractive. He wondered again about that look he had seen on her face as she rode by in the car. She was ordinarily demure and quiet, but her eyes showed him a hunger that surprised him. Lost in his thoughts, his hand found his cock and he slowly stroked himself. A few short minutes later his cock erupted, spurting come all over his abdomen. He managed to clean himself up, then got up and put on a pair of shorts.

He was putting bacon into a frying pan when Tammy came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"I'm gonna be late," she said. I need to get moving."

Ralph nodded and watched her get dressed as he tended to the bacon. She brushed her wet hair out, then quickly put on some makeup. She walked over to Ralph and gave him a kiss.

"Will I see you soon?" she asked.

"Yeah. I have a lot of stuff to do this weekend. Maybe we can catch up one night during the week?"

"I'd like that," said Tammy. "I should be recovered enough by then," she said with a wink. She blew him a kiss and walked out the door, leaving Ralph with his thoughts and his bacon.

* * * * *

The bright sunlight streamed down onto the cool spring morning, awakening Charlotte early. Jeff arose and left her apartment shortly thereafter, suddenly announcing that he was going to be away for the rest of the weekend. In truth she was glad about that. They had little in common except their work, and she wondered once again why she stayed with him. Even as she had the thought she banished it. He was everything she aspired to be; rich, successful and popular, both professionally and personally.

Feeling restless, she decided to go out for a drive and spend some time working on her journal. She had first started writing in it as an exercise at college, where her boyfriend had insisted she keep one. She smiled thinking of him. He had been her teacher, her mentor, and her lover, and had taught her more than just the science involved in viticulture and oenology. He had taught her about the passion of life, and finding the things she was passionate about.

She packed some apples and a couple of cookies into a small backpack and headed out the door. She drove south through the outskirts of the small town to where an open field bordered a creek that she had found when she had first moved here to work at the winery. She pulled to the side of the road and parked her car on the shoulder, just before the tiny bridge that passed over the small span of water. Grabbing her backpack, she climbed between the wooden bars of the fence and crossed the corner of the field to a weeping willow that beckoned her like an old friend.

She had gotten herself settled on the mossy bank and taken out her journal when she heard the whinny and smiled. She hadn't seen the old horse when she arrived. Taking an apple from her bag, she got up from the hidden spot that she favored and stepped back out into the sunshine. The old horse stomped his foot at her, causing her to laugh. "I didn't forget you," she said softly while feeding the horse his apple and rubbing his nose.

"I'm sorry I haven't been down here for a while," she said as she stroked his long neck. She was rewarded with a snort and nuzzle at her shoulder. Running her fingers through his mane, she untangled the worst knots and gave him the attention he seemed to enjoy. She had been frightened by the big roan when she had first started coming to this spot and had brought him apples in an effort to bribe him into a pseudo friendship. She now realized how much she enjoyed their little ritual when she came down to the creek.

The horse's ears pricked up as if he heard something she couldn't and he turned his head. Charlotte had never seen an owner come to see the horse when she had been here, but as she patted his neck once more she had no doubt he was well looked after for an aging horse. The horse snorted and turned, moving away from her. Charlotte looked to see what had caught his attention, and she saw a small figure at the other end of the field. Not wanting to be accused of trespassing, she slipped back into the shadows and hoped she had not been seen. She went back to where she had left her things and quickly grabbed her backpack, wanting to head back to her car.

She could see the horse's owner jogging at a light pace toward her as she emerged from under the tree and headed toward her car. Turning as she maneuvered through the wooden posts of the fence, she saw the big man and the horse close the distance between them. As she looked with wide eyes, the man stopped in his tracks and the horse cantered happily toward her, leaning over the fence to nuzzle at her empty hand.

"I'm sorry," she began to say, "I didn't mean any harm." Charlotte's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wider still as she looked into the dark, brooding face of Ralph Watson. She backed up toward her car as he advanced. "I just gave him an apple to let me sit near the creek," she tried to explain in a small frightened voice. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, repeating herself and getting into her car and driving off. Ralph had not said a word.

* * * * *

Ralph felt conflicting emotions as he watched the car pull away. This was his place, his escape from life at the winery and all that it signified. It was bad enough for his place to be violated, but by her? By Charlotte? It was as if fate was using him as a punching bag and enjoying every moment of it. His anger was softened just the slightest bit by replaying her interaction with Sir Charles in his mind. The affection she displayed was so out of character with the cold temperament she displayed at work. It was hard to believe that was the same woman he despised so much.

He realized something else about the encounter, too. Charlotte had taken his breath away. He hadn't even realized it was her at first. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a cotton blouse that she wore as a jacket, her garb was quite uncharacteristic of the Charlotte that Ralph knew. She was wearing her long hair down, unusual for her, and the bright sunlight had shone off her curls, giving her an angel like appearance. She was beautiful, Ralph thought.

Fuck, he thought to himself as he guided Sir Charles toward the stables. Chuck, as Ralph affectionately referred to him, had been one of his father's investments. Like many of those investments, it was a bust. He had hoped the horse would have had a productive career as a thoroughbred and as a stud, but it didn't work out. The horse had ended up being a pet to Ralph, and one of the few things he was able to keep with his parent's passing. Ralph had tried to sell Sir Charles, but the horse had such limited value that, in the end, he decided to keep him. A big part of Ralph was happy there were no buyers, but it did require him to spend most weekends at the stables, working for the owners in exchange for boarding the horse.

Ralph wanted to spend some time grooming Chuck before he continued his chores at the stables. He was busy brushing the horse when he sensed someone nearby. Looking up, he noticed a familiar face watching as he worked.

"You work at my winery," Frank Price said, surprising Ralph that he'd recognized him.

Ralph nodded. "Yeah. I work down in the cellars, Mr. Price."

Frank nodded thoughtfully. "What are you doing here at the stables? Do you work here too?"

"I do on weekends," replied Ralph. "Sir Charles here belongs to me, and I work as a stable hand on weekends in exchange for his boarding."

"Sir Charles? You're not Bill Watson's son, are you?"

Ralph grimly nodded. "I am. Sir Charles is pretty much all I have left of my parents, other than my memories."

"I'm so sorry," Frank offered. "What a tragedy. I knew Bill had a son, but I never knew what became of him. Of you."

Ralph nodded, continuing to groom his horse.

"I've been considering adding a stable to the winery," Frank continued. "Taking tour groups on a horse drawn carriage ride through the vineyards could be a real draw for us. No one else is really doing that around here."

"It sounds like a great idea. You could do that most of the year."

"That's what I've been thinking...what was your name again?"

"Ralph."

"That's what I've been thinking, Ralph. I think it could attract customers to the winery that we might otherwise not get."

"If you decide to do it," noted Ralph, "I'd be willing to do the same deal I have here. If you would board Sir Charles, I'd work the stables on weekends for you. I'd be able to see him more often if he were close by like that."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ralph," said Frank. He held out a hand to the big man, and Ralph wiped his hand on his jeans before shaking with Frank. "I'm just going to poke around a bit before I head out, Okay?"

Sure," replied Ralph, returning to his grooming of Sir Charles.

Ralph put the encounter with Charlotte out of his mind as best he could as he went on with his work, but it continued to gnaw at his subconscious mind. He didn't finish until the orange glow of the setting sun lit up the western sky, then quietly drove home in the deepening dusk. He arrived at his dark apartment, not bothering to turn on a light. He opened the refrigerator, the light illuminating his lumbering form as he searched for something that would whet his appetite. Seeing nothing of interest, Ralph reached for a beer, twisting open the top and taking a long swig as the fridge door swung closed and cast him into darkness. By memory, he made his way over to the couch and plopped down, sitting alone in the dark and drinking his beer.

"What a fucking life," he said to no one.

He briefly considered calling Tammy, but thought better of it. Fucking wasn't going to make him feel any better tonight, he thought. In fact, he might well end up hurting her if she were here. He needed a change, he realized, or he wasn't going to survive. Ralph stood, taking a long last pull from the beer bottle, and then hurled it across the room. The sound of a thud and the raining down of broken glass filled the room as the bottle shattered on the far wall.

With a grunt, Ralph walked into the bedroom and pulled off his boots. Not bothering to even get undressed, he flopped face down onto the bed, the springs squeaking under his weight. "Fucking-A," he said, then pulled the pillow over his head and settled in for the night.

* * * * *

Monday morning came all too soon for the workers of Twisted Vines. The staff, all careful of the time, made their way to the lunchtime meeting in the large events rooms just before eleven. As they entered the large room, each gave their name and occupation and were given a table number at which to sit. Being a large award winning winery, there were nine tables, each with eight place settings. The seemingly random numbers given to the staff were actually designed to ensure that that no one clique was able to sit together.

Suzette and her personal assistant had spent weeks devising a way to split the groups fairly in a way that would not be seen as providing favoritism to any one group, with the exception of the winemakers themselves. Their vast experience made them virtually irreplaceable. Even so, Suzette had ideas about that as well, but her husband would require some convincing. It was with a critical eye that she watched the confused staff members take their seats. For the most part, people seemed to be happy enough with their lunch companions, although she saw one or two trouble spots. She spoke quietly with her assistant, seeking the names of several individuals that appeared to be the most disruptive.

Horrified beyond belief, Charlotte tried to disguise her dismay as she watched Ralph lumber towards their table. One look at his face told her he was not at all impressed with the situation either. As he took his seat, she immediately turned her gaze to the raised dais where Suzette seemed deep in conversation with her pretty blonde assistant. She turned to face her lunch companions. There was one other assistant winemaker, three cellar masters, and three cellar rats. She could name them all, but she knew very little about them as people.

Suzette stood and approached the lectern on the dais and started her well-rehearsed spiel. "Welcome everyone, to what I believe will be the beginning of a truly wonderful team building experience," she said, pausing to look around the room. "Please take the time to get to know the people at your table, as it will be important later on. For now, we have devised a wonderful three course meal for you all to share. You will notice you have a clean skin bottle of wine on your tables. Your group challenge during the meal is for each table to come up with a name, a tag line, and for those of you feeling creative, pencils and paper have been provided to design your label. Enjoy," she said finally, spreading her arms and inviting them to eat. She observed during her little spiel the murmurs of discontent, once again noting the people who seemed the most disconcerted.

"One final note," Suzette said before stepping away. "You may have noticed the absence of Mr. Whitehead today. He was in disagreement with my husband and I about this exercise. For that, and for several other reasons that I shall not get into here, Mr. Whitehead has been discharged of his responsibilities here at the winery.

"I assure each and every one of you that we are entirely serious about what we are doing here. You will either be a part of the solution, or you can take your issues elsewhere. It is not our intent to frighten you, but we do insist that you understand we are serious in our desires. Now please, enjoy your meals, and have fun with the first exercise."

Ralph recalled a conversation he had with Sam earlier that morning. If he wanted to keep his job, he was going to have to play along. He wished that he could just pack up and leave this fucking shithole of a place, but that wasn't an option. He supposed he would try to make the best of a bad situation, because he really had no other options. Hell, maybe he would surprise some of these assholes. It was clear they took him for a Neanderthal, but he was one hell of a lot smarter than any of them realized. Fucking assholes think they know everything about a person just by looking at him, he thought to himself. At that moment, it was lost on him that he did the exact same thing.

Jack Warner, took up the bottle and with smile and pronounced, "Let the games begin!" Charlotte couldn't help but giggle. She liked the other assistant she had been seated with and decided to ignore the hulk that sat brooding at her table. Jack was an amiable middle aged man who was happy to play host and lead the discussion, pooling everyone's ideas and cajoling people into talking. Charlotte was grateful. As much as she had tried over the last week to get to know names and be pleasant to the cellar workers, this was out of her comfort zone.

To her surprise Ralph was quite vocal as he expressed his views, "White wine is the equivalent of cat piss usually, but I don't mind the Sauvignon Semillon blend. This one almost tastes like passion fruit."

"Excellent," Jack enthused, "Anyone else get that?"

"Well I was thinking tropical but passion fruit works now that I think about," one of the cellar masters agreed and there was a murmur of assent around the table.

"So Charlotte, you usually have a good palette. What do you think?" Jack asked, trying to get her to take the lead with him.

"Well," she said cautiously, "I have to agree with err.... Ralph," she said, peeking up at him with her big green eyes and quickly looking away again. "Passion fruit and maybe something citrusy, like a hint of lime?" She questioned the others at the table rather than dictating like Ralph had done. "It reminds me of long hot summer days. It's very refreshing." She tried to avoid being scientific or seem dismissive in her appraisal by using the language of the winemakers, which might have gone over the other's heads. "Does it say on the label the percentages and general statistics?" She asked, wanting to know but not wanting to alienate the rest of the table.

Jack rattled off all of the information on the clean skin label, and to her surprise both the cellar masters and rats were quite knowledgeable on the subject of wines and their make-up. She had always considered that their job consisted of "Here hold this" or "Clean that up". Charlotte realized in that moment what a snob she truly had been. She sat back to listen with a new perspective to the other people at their table, only adding more detail when they had not understood the information that had been given on the label.

For his part, the brooding Ralph let himself get involved in something that challenged his mind rather than his muscles. He found he liked that the other people at the table seemed to listen to his ideas, noting that even the bitchy Charlotte seemed to pay attention to him. His memory held the picture of her as she had been on Saturday morning and it made him see her a little differently each time she spoke. He considered for the first time if Sam had been right about his prejudices toward her.

The entree and main meal came and went, and the group had decided on the name and the tagline. Jack gave every member of the table a piece of the remaining paper, asking them to draw a label during dessert. The completed labels were to be presented at the end of the luncheon.

Charlotte worked quickly with the pencil, producing a classic label with the winery's coat of arms as the main focus. She glanced around the table, seeing several others had produced basic labels with drawings of grapes or vineyards. She could not quite see what Ralph was up to, as his massive hand blocked her view of the paper he was drawing on. His fingers moved with surprising dexterity. They looked like sausages, and yet the movements were graceful; almost elegant. A short time later, Ralph moved his hand away and Charlotte stared in surprise.

"Wow, that's really good," she blurted out, without even thinking of who she was speaking to. Ralph looked up at her and actually blushed a little. He had drawn a perfect rendering of the castle and the vineyards along one side of it. It was far and away the best label any of them had created. In fact, each of the others at the table appeared to be shocked that this beast could produce such a work of art.

Ralph diverted his attention to his dessert plate, slowly taking forkfuls and avoiding eye contact with the others. A short time later, Emily came around to each table and collected the papers and wine labels. She delivered them to Suzette, who then conferred with the winemakers. After they had gone through every offering and each had nodded their approval, Suzette grabbed the winner and approached the lectern.

"It seems we have a unanimous choice," she said with a smile. "Congratulations to table number eight," she said as she held up the label that Ralph had produced. "This was extraordinary work, from the name chosen, to the sketch of the winery, and even to the font chosen, and, impressively, written by hand."

There was applause throughout the room, as each of the other teams could see that the label was incredible. They looked at the team members at table eight, but most passed over Ralph as if he wasn't even sitting there with the others. Ralph's teammates, however, eyed him carefully, wondering what other secrets this hulk of a man hid inside himself.

Suzette cleared her throat in order to get everyone's attention. "We will be having a team building exercise each afternoon over the next several weeks. In addition, you will all be spending next weekend here at the castle. As I indicated the other day, anyone that has a personal issue that would prevent them from being here must see me immediately."

There was a rush of whispered voices throughout the room, and several audible moans. Suzette wasn't expecting them all to be happy about giving up a weekend, so she ignored the protests. "Tomorrow, each of you will pair up with another person. In the morning, you will work alongside that person, observing and assisting them in their daily duties. In the afternoon, they will work with you doing the same. I think it's important that each of you has a better understanding what your coworkers do on a daily basis. Emily is handing out a sheet to each table that will list the pairings for tomorrow."

Charlotte gazed in shock at the paper in her now trembling hand. She passed it along to the person to her right, then looked up at the dais table, catching the eye of Stuart Gresham. He nodded knowingly and gave her a small smile. She had specifically told Stuart that she preferred to avoid working with Ralph, and yet they had immediately paired her up with him. Obviously, Stuart had informed Suzette of her wishes. She now wondered if Suzette considered her one of the problem employees at the winery.
Ralph glanced at the paper with feigned indifference. He wasn't at all shocked to be paired up with Charlotte. Since the death of his parents, Ralph had come to expect the worst. He had yet to consider that his mood and demeanor may well have been what delivered problems to his doorstep, but he seemed to be on the verge of learning just that.

With lunch finished and her concerns about Suzette still lingering, Charlotte walked down a set of stone steps along with her coworkers, headed down to the cellars. She had sought out Ralph and walked beside him. Nervously, she spoke to the beast.

"I like to get in early and get jump on the day," she said to him. "Would you like to join me, or should I just meet you in the foyer at your normal starting time?"

Ralph glanced over at Charlotte, noticing for the first time her captivating green eyes. "I don't start before eight," he replied. "I'll meet you in the foyer."

Charlotte nodded, breathing a small sigh of relief. She felt she had to ask, but was quite nervous about the prospect of being alone in the cellars with Ralph. She turned to say something else, but her heel caught on a jagged edge of stone on the stairway and she started to fall forward, about to tumble down the stairs. In an instant, and in a single fluid motion, Ralph's hands shot out, grabbing Charlotte around the waist and effortlessly righting her on her feet. He didn't release her until she had regained her balance and composure.

"Thank you, Ralph. I guess I really shouldn't wear heels like this to work in the castle. I just thought with the meeting and all," she said, trailing off.

The big man nodded at her, but didn't say anything. In his head, he thought that although those heels were foolish to work in, they certainly did make Charlotte's legs look quite lovely. Quite lovely indeed.

Later, down in the cool cellar, Charlotte replayed the incident in her mind. It was as if she could still feel Ralph's strong hands wrapped around her trim waist, and how easily he had picked her up. It frightened her, but at the same time, sent a little thrill through her body. Checking the temperature on the wall thermometer, Charlotte wondered why it felt so warm down in the cellar all of a sudden.

* * * * *

Charlotte had little time to check her barrels and the cellar documentation about the fermentation process for each before having to return to her office. The lunchtime team building exercise had gone way past mid-afternoon, and being in such close proximity to the dark brooding gaze of Ralph still gave her the creeps while she worked in the cellar. It was as if she could feel those deep brown eyes penetrating through her back as she worked, but each time she turned around he seemed to be busy with his tasks. "God," She berated herself, "It's not all about you." She put away the folder of charts and started towards the stairs, glancing around casually as she walked.

"Don't trip on your way up," a cheerful voice called out to her. She turned, half expecting to see Ralph, but instead a smiling Sam stood there watching her while nodding his head as she acknowledged him. "Ralph will carry you up if you need him to," he chuckled, which caused the huge man beside him to glare at him with an angry expression.

"She's got two legs," he grumbled in a deep baritone.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, unless you'd like to walk with me and make sure for yourself, Sam?" she asked playfully. Charlotte thought this was an opportunity to show that she was approachable. She hated to think that Suzette thought her one of staff members causing the problems.

"Shit! Don't ask him, he'll talk your ear off before you reach the top. I'll do it," a third man volunteered, making Charlotte rifle through all the names she had memorized the prior week before coming up with one she hoped was right.

"Oh truly, I'll be just fine. I was only teasing Sam because, well, he started it," she said with a genuine laugh in her voice. "Thank you for the kind offer though... Mark," she said tentatively, happy to see him smile in response. "I'll see you all tomorrow," she said as she moved quickly up the stairs and out of sight.

"Not quite the stuck-up bitch you told me about, Ralph," Mark said easily. As the newest cellar rat, he had been surprised that she even knew his name and gave her credit for stopping and joking with them for a moment.

You haven't been here long enough to know," Ralph grumbled, but he had to admit he had just seen a different side to the woman. He considered how small her waist was as his arm went around her when he had caught her. He had not realized just how dainty she was. In fact, she had felt so light he wasn't sure if he had managed to catch her at all.

"Why is she seeing us all tomorrow?" Nick asked curiously.

"Didn't you hear?" Sam chuckled, stepping back out of the huge man's reach. "Ralph got his dream girl as a partner!" The thundering look of disgust Ralph gave their laughter immediately silenced the comments that should have come following that announcement. Quietly snickering to themselves, the men got back to work. They continued chatting about their own partners for the following day as the last of the afternoon waned. Nick and Mark had both been paired with Cellar Masters but Sam had been paired with a winemaker's assistant as well, Charlotte's friend Lincoln Hayes.

* * * * *

Once back in the friendly confines of her office, Charlotte plopped into her chair and let out a deep sigh. Lincoln was busy tasting and testing the several dozen samples he had drawn earlier. He meticulously documented the results on the computer located on the testing workstation.

"You look happy," he joked.

Charlotte looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my partner tomorrow," she said. "I'm behind on my testing, so I think I'm going to have to do some of that. But bringing him up here...I don't know."

"You drew Ralph, didn't you?" Lincoln asked.

"Yes. Lucky me."

"And you're going to bring him up here? Talk about a bull in a china shop. Are you sure there isn't stuff you can do downstairs with him? Like breaking rocks apart or something?"

"Funny. We'll gather samples first. But if I don't get this testing done and anything goes wrong, Stuart will have my head."

"Well, good luck with that. I'm working the cellar with Sam the first half the day, so by the time I get up here, you two will be together down in the dungeons," snickered Lincoln. "You think he lives down there somewhere? Maybe they just throw some raw meat to him a couple times each day?"

"You're really a comedian, Lincoln. It's good to know that you can laugh at my expense."

"Yeah, well. If we can't laugh about this, we'll be forced to take it seriously."

Charlotte didn't reply, and went about planning what she and Ralph would do the next day. She was taking it very seriously. Suzette had made it clear that she expected them to work together, and she felt as if there was already a mark against her. Charlotte had no intention of failing over the next few weeks.

At the end of the day, Charlotte packed up and headed out to the parking lot to go home. She was opening her car door when a large figure approached from between the cars.

"Charlotte."

Startled, she let out a little yelp and jumped, turning toward the voice. Ralph was standing near the rear of her car, an amused smile on his face.

"If you're going to work with me tomorrow, I expect you to be appropriately dressed. I want you in jeans and a t-shirt that you aren't afraid to get dirty. Wear work boots if you have them, or at least a good pair of athletic shoes. If you come in heels, I'll have you work barefoot, understand?"

Charlotte cast her eyes down to the ground and shook her head up and down. "Yes, I'll make sure I'm dressed the right way," she said.

"Good," said Ralph as he turned and walked away.

Charlotte watched him as he went, her tummy doing a little flip. She was quite nervous, but was determined to make this work. She got into her car and headed off for home. She was cooking dinner for Jeff, and wanted to get started soon. She knew she'd need a good night's sleep.

Charlotte and Jeff were finishing up the last of their dinner of grilled sirloin steak, asparagus and baked potatoes. Jeff was whining about his partner for the next day. He was paired up with April Barnett, a woman that had been at the winery for a number of years. April was a lesbian of the butch variety, wearing her dark hair quite short. In some ways, she looked like a miniature female version of Ralph.

"I mean, really. How the hell is a woman named April a dyke?" asked Jeff. "It's almost like a joke."

"Do you think they knew that when they named her, Jeff?" asked Charlotte with exasperation.

"Whatever. This is just such bullshit," Jeff complained. He went on bitching and moaning as Charlotte cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher. Once finished, she took Jeff by the hand and guided him into the bedroom. Charlotte felt needy, but she also wanted to make an early night of it. Jeff was still talking as she undressed in front of him.

Disrobing, Jeff moved the conversation to Ralph. "Well, at least I don't have to work with the beast like you do," he said. He climbed onto the bed and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eyes. "I still can't believe we saw him standing there in that parking lot and getting a blow job," Jeff continued. His cock was stiffening as he spoke. Charlotte looked down at it, considering her need. She wanted a good fucking, and even more so, she couldn't bear to listen to Jeff another minute.

"Please Jeff. Could you just shut up and fuck me?" she asked. She lay down next to him and he rolled over on top of her and fiddled around with his cock until he was inside her. He didn't even bother trying to kiss her, but rather buried his face in her neck. He was lost in the memory of the blond bimbo blowing the beast in the parking lot. Charlotte was just beginning to get warmed up when she heard Jeff grunt, and with a few more thrusts, he came inside her. He rolled off and lay beside her, breathing heavily. Charlotte lay staring at the ceiling, feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. Jeff got up to pee, and in that fleeting moment, Charlotte had a thought that Ralph would not leave her bed until he had turned her inside out. She pushed the thought away, getting up and putting on her robe. She went into the kitchen for a drink of water and waited for Jeff to finish in the bathroom.

Charlotte was relieved when Jeff decided to go home for the night. She removed her make-up and brushed her teeth, then dropped into bed, falling asleep quickly. Much later, Charlotte dreamed that she was deep in the cellars of the castle, working in a dark corner when suddenly Ralph appeared in front of her. He had startled her and before she could say a word, had grabbed her by the hair and tilted her head back and up toward his. He leaned forward and kissed her roughly, his tongue invading her mouth as he did. Charlotte put a hand to his muscular shoulder and tried to push him away, but his kisses were having an effect on her. She grabbed the material of his t-shirt sleeve and pulled at it, scared and angry and something else too.

The incessant beeping woke Charlotte and she smacked the top of the alarm clock, silencing it. She lay there on her back, a hand to her chest, breathing heavily and quite aware of the throbbing feeling in her pussy. She stayed there until she regained her composure, then got up to prepare for the day.

Once she had gotten ready, Charlotte stood before the mirror as part of her daily ritual, examining how she looked. The green t-shirt she wore brought her eyes out, and her jeans hugged every curve. Even so, they were quite comfortable and she was sure that she would have no issues working in them. As instructed, she had on a comfortable pair of sneakers. She wished she had work boots, but had to settle for these instead.

She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, nervously driving to work. She arrived only ten minutes early, and impatiently waited in the foyer for Ralph to arrive. Several minutes later, he filled up the entryway, searching the now crowded area for her. Spotting her, he looked at her up and down, gazing long enough to make Charlotte blush bright red. He walked over to where she was standing.

"I'm glad you followed my instructions," he said.

Charlotte felt pleased, and gave him a little smile. "I figured I'd better listen to you, not really knowing what to expect."

Looking at her body once more, Ralph nodded. "Should we get started?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes." Said Charlotte. "Let me start this way. I don't know that we have ever really been formally introduced," she said to him. "My name is Charlotte Simons," she said as she held out a hand to him.

Ralph reached out and took her hand, enveloping it in his huge paw. "Ralph Watson."

They shook somewhat theatrically, and she gave him a shy smile.

"I thought we would start in the cellar," she said, turning away and heading for the stairs. She was blushing again, wondering how such big, strong hands could feel so gentle when holding hers. Pushing the thought away, Charlotte focused on her plan for the day.

They descended the stone stairs into the dark cool cellars. Ralph stayed close to Charlotte, watching her carefully. His sleep had been unsettled the night before as he dreamt of her stumbling again and his arm winding around her waist, pulling her body up against his. He shook his head, concentrating on their foot falls and trying to get the dreams of the night before from his mind. They had work to do and he had every intention of being professional, despite his status as a cellar rat.

Entering the cellar, Charlotte immediately went to the shelves that stored the paraphernalia of the science of winemaking, choosing several pipettes with which to draw samples from the vats. Without being asked, Ralph took them from her hands, startling her. She felt the need to explain exactly what she was doing, and why this morning. As they approached the three large vats that had been sitting for almost a month, she spoke with quiet authority.

"These vats have been fermenting for a few weeks now, and first and foremost we need to test for and adjust the original sugar levels in the musts. Higher sugar levels mean more alcohol and possibly some unfermented sugar in the finished wine; too high, and the wine might not ferment at all. However, if the grapes were picked too soon, additional sugar might be necessary to achieve a better alcohol level. On the other hand, high-sugar musts might have to be diluted a little with acidulated water to lower sugar. It might reduce flavor intensity a tad, but at least the wine will ferment -- and you get a few extra bottles." She turned and smiled at him, noting that he did not look impressed.

"I'm not one of your little protégé's," Ralph grumbled. "There's no need to patronize me with a lecture. I know why the barrels are tested. I've worked here fucking long enough."

"Oh," Charlotte said, a look of surprise evident in her bright green eyes as she looked up at Ralph. "Do you know how to use these then?" She pointed at the pipettes he held for her.

"Of course," he grunted.

"Good, then you can collect the samples for me," she said surprising him. "I find it hard to reach sometimes, especially if the barrel needs topping off." In truth she had not liked the thought of climbing up the makeshift stairs beside the big vats and stretching over the top with Ralph right behind her looking at her ass as she struggled with the rubber bung that sealed the testing hole.

"They don't let rats do that. You don't let rats do that," he said, confused by her statement. He looked down at her, and standing this close to the woman while she was not wearing the heels that normally clattered on the cellar's slate floors he noticed once again just how diminutive she was.

"We're supposed to be working together today, or were you just planning on standing around and watching me all morning?" she asked with tone in her voice, making the hackles on Ralph's neck rise. This was the bitch he knew. The condescending lecturing bitch who looked down her nose at him. Well two could play that game. Just wait until she had to help him with his work this afternoon, he grunted, and turned walking toward the barrels he knew she would be testing.

Almost expertly, he drew the samples she needed, quite enjoying being the one to say, "Here hold this." Much to his annoyance Charlotte did not seem to be bothered by his dour mood and barked words.

Charlotte seethed inside as he treated her with such off-handedness, barking orders at her rather than asking her to hold the samples he had drawn. On the outside though, she kept a pleasant smile on her face and did as he asked. She was determined not to be seen as one of the problematic people in the winery, so she told herself to keep smiling. It was only one day, and it would be over soon enough.

She led the way up to the lab where she could tell Ralph was out of his element, though perhaps not as much as she might have thought. No lab coats came close to fitting his massive form so he remained dressed as he was, looking all the more out of place. This time she asked what he knew before explaining the tests they were running and how she collated the data on spread sheets for the winemaker to view and make decisions on. Stuart was a very exacting man, which is why he rarely took on assistants and he relied on them to work with absolute precision and alert him to any anomalies immediately.

One of the samples had not tested well and she ran the test three times in total. She checked and rechecked the data and asked Ralph to use her computer to look up past runs with the same blend of grapes to compare it to. In the end she had to call Stuart.

Printing out the extra data and gathering the test results and the pipette in question, Charlotte hurried down to the cellar again with Ralph walking after her feeling a bit confused by her obvious anxiety of one simple sample. Stuart was waiting for them, standing with his hands on his hips as she scooted to a stop before him. Ralph hung back, seeing the look on Stuart's face but staying within earshot, curious as to what was truly going on.

Moving to a bench, Charlotte spread out the data and charts and holding up the pipette as she explained the testing results. From his vantage point, Ralph could see that Stuart was angry at Charlotte for something that, in his mind, was beyond her control. Lincoln, who happened to be in the cellar with Sam as they came back in from lunch, wandered over to look at what had brought Stuart down to the cellar.

Seeing the problem would take some time to work out, he suggested that he stay and rerun the test with Stuart, freeing Charlotte to go with Ralph to serve the other half of her day in the cellar. She had tried to protest, but under the command of the winemaker she finally turned to walk away. As she left, Stuart called to her, and as he looked her up and down he remarked, "I certainly hope that isn't a new dress code you are adopting."

Charlotte let out a sigh as she followed Ralph across the cellar floor. He began to climb the stairs, prompting her to call out to him.

"Where are you going?"

"It's lunchtime," Ralph replied.

"Oh." Recalling Lincoln's pun about the raw meat, Charlotte let out a little giggle.

"What's so funny?" asked Ralph with irritation in his voice.

Charlotte was now following Ralph up the stairs. "Nothing. I was just surprised the morning went by so quickly. Where are we going for lunch?"

Ralph was taken aback by Charlotte inviting herself to lunch with him. He glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged. "I was going to go for barbeque at that place up the road. It's kind of a hole in the wall, but they have the best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had."
"Sounds good," she replied with a smile.

As they reached the main floor, Ralph turned to Charlotte. "We don't officially switch places until the afternoon. Why don't you drive us to lunch?"

"Oh. Sure. Let me just go upstairs and get my keys," said Charlotte as she started up the next flight of stairs.

Ralph breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had dodged a bullet. There was no way he wanted to have her join him in that filthy wreck that he rode around in. She thought little enough of him as it was. He didn't need to add to that. A minute later, Charlotte was back down the stairs, leading him to her car in the parking lot. Ralph walked a few feet behind her, admiring her shapely little ass as she walked. Charlotte caught a glimpse of him watching her as she glanced over her shoulder, and she blushed and broke into a little smile. She nearly giggled, picturing her being Faye Wray to his King Kong.

Charlotte unlocked the doors with her key fob, and the two of them got into the car. She drove a mid-sized Ford Fusion which felt quite roomy to her. However, Ralph seemed to consume the empty space in the car, making her feel as if he were nearly on top of her. Suddenly feeling quite nervous, she started to drive. It struck her that her nervousness was no longer a fear of him. Not exactly, anyway. His presence was instead giving her butterflies in her tummy. Recalling her early morning dream, she wondered what it would really be like to be kissed and manhandled by the beast. Blushing yet again, she maneuvered the car into a parking spot and opened her door and got out.

They walked into the busy restaurant and got in line. There was a menu board written in chalk behind the ordering counter, and Charlotte stood looking at it, trying to decide what she might want.

"I'm not sure what I want to get," she said to Ralph.

"You're getting the pulled pork," he replied as he walked up to the counter.

"Can I help y'all?" the counter person asked.

"I want two of the pulled pork sandwiches, two sides of fried pickle chips and baked beans, and two medium sweet teas."

"That will be sixteen eighty-two, sir."

Ralph handed the clerk a twenty, waving Charlotte away as she offered to pay. "My treat today. You go find us a seat at one of those picnic tables outside."

"Okay. Thank you, Ralph," she said, then headed for the side door leading out to the tables. She found a table with room for them and sat, waiting for him to bring the food. She was thinking about how decisive he had been with the ordering. She chuckled to herself, thinking that Jeff would be more of a girl about ordering than she. They would have stood there for a half hour trying to decide.

Ralph arrived at the table, removing the food from the tray and placing it in front of each of them. He walked over and dropped the tray into a rack near the garbage pails, then returned to the table and sat down across from Charlotte.

"Dig in," he said to her with a grin.

"Oh my God. There is no way I'm going to be able to eat all of this," she moaned.

"You'd better. You're going to need the energy this afternoon. We have a lot of work to do."

Charlotte demurely bit into her sandwich, struggling to stay as neat as possible. In contrast, Ralph took a huge, messy bite of his. After he chewed, he looked at her and chuckled.

"It's barbeque, Charlie. You're supposed to get dirty eating it."

She frowned at him, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Please don't call me that. I had to listen to that all throughout school. I really don't care for it."

He gave her an evil grin, filing that fact away for future reference. "Hey, at least your name isn't slang for puking. Imagine going through that for your entire life?"

"Did kids make fun of you growing up?" she asked.

"Not to my face. I think they were afraid of me. Kind of how you are afraid of me, you know?"

Charlotte blushed. "I...I'm not afraid of you, Ralph. Wh...why would you say that?" she stammered.

"It's okay. I'm used to it. Sometimes I even like it. It makes people keep their distance."

"Oh," replied Charlotte, looking down. She took another bite of her sandwich, then looked up at him with her big green eyes. He was watching her with interest. "Can you tell me about your horse?"

Ralph paused, popping a couple of the pickle chips into his mouth before answering. "Sir Charles?"

"Is that his name? I like it," Charlotte said with a smile.

"Just don't call him Charlie," Ralph laughed.

Charlotte giggled and rolled her eyes. "I never pegged you for a wiseass."

Ralph shrugged. "My dad bought Sir Charles when I was a kid. He had a good pedigree, and was supposed to be a champion racehorse. That never happened, so he ended up being my pet."

"Did your dad ever buy any other horses?"

"No. My parents died about ten years ago. Car accident."

Charlotte put a hand to her mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry, Ralph. I had no idea."

"Yeah, well. There's a reason I'm stuck with such an illustrious career as a cellar rat."

Charlotte sat there in silence, finishing her lunch and feeling angry with herself. It was quite easy to judge people when you knew nothing about them. She really needed to keep that in mind.

They finished up in relative quiet, as neither felt the urge to break the awkward silence that ensued. Then they headed back to the winery. After a quick trip to the restroom, they met in the foyer and went back down to the cellar together. Ralph checked in with his cellar master, then returned to Charlotte.

"We have a couple jobs this afternoon. We need to move some barrels over to the filtration room, and then take some empties back out and clean them."

"Okay. How do we move them?"

"We move them around with a forklift, but we will have to move some of the empties by hand. C'mon over here and get into the forklift. My turn to drive now."

Charlotte followed Ralph, getting into the cab of the forklift next to him. It was close quarters, and she found herself pressed up against him in the small space. It made her breathe funny as she thought about how rock solid his body felt against hers. Ralph backed up the vehicle, then expertly guided it in front of a rack full of barrels. He guided the forklift into place and fiddled with the mechanism, and a moment later they were moving the rack into the filtration room. They made several trips into the room, and after the last they got out of the forklift to deal with empties.

April was busy showing Jeff how to pump wine from full barrels into the filtration tanks. Once the barrel she had been working on was empty, she asked Jeff to move it to a rack where the empties were being gathered. Jeff was struggling to move the empty barrel, prompting April to nudge him out of the way. "For Christ's sake, put some muscle into it," she snapped. She grabbed hold of the barrel and lifted it up over her head, sliding it into an empty spot on the top of a rack.

Jeff blushed, and looked quite displeased when he saw Ralph snickering at him. Charlotte turned her back to him, bringing a hand to her mouth to conceal a bit of a smile. Ralph effortlessly added a few more empties to the rack, filling it to capacity. He and Charlotte got back into the forklift, capturing the rack full of barrels and moving it over to the cleaning room.

"How much do those barrels weigh?" Charlotte asked him.

"About one hundred twenty pounds when new. Once they've been used, they weigh more because the fluid soaks into the wood."

"There's no way I'll be able to lift those," she said.

"I'll take them down, and I'll show you how to roll them. See those drains in the floor? We want them close to those."

Charlotte nodded her head in understanding. Ralph took several barrels down off the rack, then stood behind Charlotte. Bringing his arms around her, he took her hands and placed them on either side of the rim of the barrel. He tilted the barrel back towards her.

"When you tilt the barrel enough, it will reach a point where it will seem weightless, with each half of the barrel counterbalancing against the other. Do you feel that now?" he asked her, releasing her hands.

"Yes. Wow. It's like it weighs nothing."

Returning his hands to hers, he started to turn the barrel, making it roll. "You move it like this, just rolling it, but you need to move slowly enough to keep it balanced. Understand?"

Charlotte nodded. She was listening and watching, but she was also acutely aware that she could feel his breath on the side of her neck as he spoke. It caused her heart speed up, and made her feel flushed.

Ralph stepped back as the overwhelming urge to taste her neck rose up in him and watched as Charlotte rolled the barrel over to the drain.

"Good. You did really well. Let's get a bunch over there, then we can start to clean them."

Charlotte slowly rolled the barrels as Ralph grabbed them two at a time and carried them over. She couldn't help but notice the muscles in his forearms as he moved the barrels around as if they were empty plastic trash cans. Once they had moved a couple dozen barrels, Ralph picked up some odd looking thing with two hoses attached to it.

"This is what we'll clean the barrels with, Char. We connect this to the top of the barrel, and this hose fills the barrel with hot water. The other hose is the drain hose. See how it is relatively short? We lay this down by one of the drains. Once the barrel is full, we flip this other switch on the pump, and it will allow water to run out of the drain hose into the drain on the floor. We keep the water running until the drain water runs clear. We'll empty the barrel then, and move it to that other rack over there. Got it?"

"Yeah. I'm ready," Charlotte replied with a smile. It wasn't lost on her that Ralph had called her Char. It unsettled her that she didn't mind. In fact, it made her smile inside. He wasn't at all like the man she had pegged him as. The image of her old neighbor flittered through her mind and she wondered how she could have ever thought they were similar.

They worked through the afternoon, once again falling into long awkward silences between Charlotte's questions and Ralphs comments on how she was doing. Ralph was surprised that she had not acted like the princess he thought of her as. By the time they had finished, she had been splashed all over by the dregs of the lees that had lined the dirty barrels. Her diminutive height had not given her the reach of the mostly male cellar rats, and splashes that normally failed to reach even the legs of their jeans had soaked her.

The final straw had been when she had accidently knocked the hose filling the barrel, and it had reared up in an uncompromising arc, hitting her in the face and making her cry out in both shock and dismay. She just stood letting the water rush around her feet, feeling totally out of her depth doing this job. She didn't have the size or strength to be able to manage the equipment.

Ralph held back a chuckle as he picked up the splashing hose and inserted it back into the barrel. "There are some towels over by the lockers," he mumbled, trying to hold back his mirth and nodding his head in the direction of the lockers and adjoining bathrooms. "Go clean up. I'll finish up here. Most of it is done anyway."

She felt so dejected at that point she didn't even considering arguing with him and walked off, her shoes sloshing with the water that had filled them. Taking a greying towel she walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, glad that Stuart couldn't see her now. He would definitely not approve of the drowned rat look she had going on. She gave a derisive half laugh. At least she had managed to be a rat of some description. Charlotte removed her shoes and socks, dumping them into the grimy basin. She then stripped off her jeans, trying to ring some of the water from them.

She spent time trying without much success to fix her hair and repair what was left of her makeup so she didn't look quite so bad. Looking at her watch, she realized that the afternoon had gone by and that she had probably delayed Ralph by making the seemingly simple job of cleaning barrels take twice as long as usual. Having done as much as she could, she tried to drag on her wet jeans but found it almost impossible. She went to look for an old lab coat the assistants sometimes left down here in case of spillages and found several in the cupboard beneath the sink. Choosing the larger one, she wrapped it around her half-naked body like a dress and buttoned it up. Discarding the wine stained socks, she slipped on the shoes she would have to throw away once she got home. Leaving the bathroom, she could see April, who had been with Jeff, on the other side of the cellar helping Ralph move the barrels back onto a rack and clean up the area.

"Oh man. I wish I could have seen it," April laughed loudly. She proceeded to speak with a high voice and an affected pose. "I'm meant to be a princess. Seriously I don't do this shit!" then burst out laughing again as Ralph joined her in making fun of Charlotte with his loud chuckle. In that moment all of the good will she had felt towards Ralph throughout the day evaporated and she straightened her back, determined to be pleasant and get this day over and done with quickly.

"We're about done here," Ralph said with a half-smile, noticing her standing there with her jeans and shirt draped over her arm and wearing only a lab coat.

"Good," Charlotte said abruptly, approaching a barrel and attempting to tilt it as Ralph had shown her earlier.

"Leave it," Ralph said, taking the barrel from her. "You did well. I can finish this." Truthfully she was grateful, but she hated that they had been laughing at her and she felt so foolish so she bristled and snapped.

"I'm supposed to work with you," she said with an edge to her voice.

"Actually," Ralph said, clearly confused by the reappearance of her bitchy attitude, "you were supposed to shadow me. So you have done that, you can go now." He turned his back as if dismissing her.

"Tell you what," she said in clipped tones. "I'll leave when you leave, but I will do you a favor and stand over there and check the temperature on the barrels so you and your friends can continue laughing at me. She turned and tried to walk away with some pride, but rather than the heels that would normally click with authority across the floor, her sneakers squelched with every step, making her feel even more foolish.

Ralph was glad he had his back to her as she spoke and she could not see the look of remorse that came over his face as he wondered how much Charlotte had heard of what April had said. In truth, all he had said was that she had gone to clean up, but he had not defended her either when April started do her princess impersonations. He wasn't about to apologize or make excuses. This was the real Charlotte, the bitch he had always known. The girl he had spent the day with was just an aberration, an act, he told himself.

April had left after hearing her words, not wanting to be caught in the middle of trouble during these team building exercises. Charlotte and Ralph proceeded to ignore each other until they were ready to leave. Walking up the stairs in silence once again, Charlotte felt overwhelmed by his huge brooding presence and she walked faster until they hit the foyer.

"Goodbye Ralph," she said stiffly.

"You're not leaving?" Ralph asked equally stiffly.

"I'm just going up to get my things and check on that barrel we had the problem with today. You go, the official day is over now," Charlotte said.

"I'll come. You can blame me for how you look. I don't care," he mumbled. "It shows you actually tried, even though you are obviously far too small to do my job." He watched her as she seemed to bite back an angry retort.

"I made the mistake. It's fine I can handle it. Just go please Ralph," she sighed, obviously exhausted from the day she had. "The day is over. Honestly, I'm just grabbing my stuff and checking the test results. I won't blame you for anything. You have my word."

It was Ralph's turn to bristle. He had said she could blame him; he wasn't fucking worried about it. He was not one to surrender so easily, especially to women. However, he no longer wanted to deal with the bitchy Charlotte that he was so accustomed to, so he shrugged and walked out of the castle. He got into his car and drove to the honky tonk bar. The parking lot was nearly empty, and he walked in and sat down at the bar. Tammy spied him and came over with a big smile.

"You're early, Ralph. You must have had a hell of a day."

"Give the woman a prize," grumbled Ralph. "How about a burger and some fries, Tam. I'm hungry as hell. Make the burger a double with bacon, Okay?"

"Sure, sugar," Tammy replied with a smile. She poured him a beer and placed it in front of him, then went through a swinging door leading into the kitchen to give his order to the cook.

Like many roadside joints, the bar had a limited menu. Ralph would come in for dinner once a week or so, which is how he got to know Tammy. Once the place got busy, there was no time for small talk. Ralph took a pull of his beer, then turned and watched the evening's band set up on the small stage on one side of the room. Needing to pee, he got up from the barstool and walked over to the bathroom, stepping through the small door and going inside.

Charlotte turned off her car and sat there a moment, the humiliation of the latter part of the day consuming her. Holding back her sobs, she opened the car door and stepped out into the dusty parking lot. She was relieved that Jeff had whined that he was too exhausted to come over tonight. She really just wanted to be alone. Feeling fortunate that she had a bag of old clothes in her trunk that she was going to donate, she had changed into something dry and clean. The Salvation Army could wait another few days, she told herself. Locking her car, she walked over to the door of the building and walked inside.

The place was nearly empty, which shocked Charlotte. She had never seen it like this before, but then, she had never been here this early before either. She marched right up to the bar and sat down at a stool. Tammy walked over and smiled. "What'll you have," she asked.

"Hi. I'd like a vodka and soda with a twist of lime please," replied Charlotte. With the day she'd had, she needed a drink. She was really beginning to see Ralph in a new light, and then he had let his true colors show. She was angry with herself for letting her guard down.

Tammy turned and placed the drink in front of her. "Here you go Hon," she said. "You want to start a tab?"

"Thanks. No tab," Charlotte replied, handing Tammy a twenty. She turned to watch the band setting up as Tammy placed her change on the bar.

Ralph barely noticed the woman sitting at the bar with her back to him when he came out of the bathroom. He settled back onto his barstool, waving at Tammy for another beer. She poured him another, then went into the kitchen, returning with his food. She placed it in front of him along with a napkin and a bottle of ketchup.

"You wanna talk about it, Ralph?"

"No. I just want to forget it," he replied with his deep voice, taking a bite of his burger.

Charlotte's eyes went wide as she recognized the voice behind her. She slowly turned on the stool and faced the bar, glancing in his direction. Ralph sensed her gaze and turned, catching her green eyes with his. He gave her a little nod and went back to his burger.

Charlotte blushed and fumed at the same time. All she wanted was a drink. Did she really have to be subjected to him again? She decided that she was going to stand her ground and not rush out of the bar. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She sipped her drink, trying to look calm and relaxed.
With the bar as empty as it was, Tammy stood near Ralph, openly flirting with him. She was wearing a tight, low cut u-necked t-shirt that fully displayed her ample cleavage. She had her hands on the bar and was leaning forward, giving Ralph a perfect view.

"I'm finally recovered from the other night, Ralph," Tammy said with a sultry tone.

"Is that so, Tam?"

"Yeah. Tonight's my early night, in case you were wondering. I'll be done by ten."

Ralph grunted and nodded at her. "I WAS wondering, actually. I need to shower and run a few errands. How about we meet at your apartment around ten-thirty?"

Pulling her keys from her pocket, Tammy slid them across the bar to Ralph. "Go on inside and get comfortable, Ralph. Run your errands, but leave the shower until I get there, sugar. I'll scrub you up real good," she said with a sexy smile. She turned and walked away, greeting another customer at the far end of the bar.

Charlotte listened to the entire exchange, and felt a flush of color rise up in her cheeks. She realized that this woman was the one she had seen with Ralph in the parking lot the other day. Jesus, she thought. Does this woman have no self-respect at all? How the hell does she feel comfortable just throwing herself at this beast like that? On and on she went in her mind, finishing her drink and then having another before finally walking out to her car.

Feeling the effects of the alcohol, Charlotte was glad that her apartment was just a short distance away. By the time she had finished her tirade in her mind, she had one last thought, or rather, a realization. She felt jealous. She actually felt jealous. God help me, she thought as she went into her apartment.

Charlotte took a long shower, then dried her hair out as best she could. She lay naked in bed, tired, sore and spent. She reached into her night table drawer and pulled out her favorite vibrator. She planned to just lay back and feel and let the tension of the day melt away with an orgasm. She just wanted to feel. Her mind, though, insisted on drifting to Ralph. The feeling of his hands around her waist, the warmth and strength of him pressed against her side, the way his hands felts as he held on to hers. The feeling of his breath on her neck. The way he had that barmaid on her knees outside in the parking lot. The way he seemed to take charge. All of it. She tried to push the thoughts away, but they were insistent, coming back faster and stronger each time she managed to shoo them away. Finally, her body stiffened and her climax hit, more powerfully than it had in months.

* * * * *

Ralph pulled into the parking lot at the winery the next morning. Despite the workout he had had with Tammy, he had yet another restless night's sleep. He stared through the dirty windshield at Charlotte's car and cursed. The bitch had gotten to him yesterday. In the middle of the night he had realized she had only become a bitch again after April had made fun of her. He wasn't about to apologize or anything that drastic, but it had changed the way he saw her. She was still a fucking stuck-up bitch, but he also hoped he would see her again today.

The conflicting emotions within him made him even more grouchy than usual during his morning duties at work. Even Sam had backed off, realizing his mood was one that wasn't about to be broken with a few quick jokes. Mark, though, had not been there long enough to know better. After asking about his day with the princess, Ralph had just stared at him silently with a menacing look in his eyes before walking away, willing the slow morning in the cellar to move by faster.

At eleven, the staff gathered once more in the upstairs dining room. After being given their random numbers again and taking their seats, they found themselves sitting with a new group of colleagues. To her dismay, Charlotte found herself with April at her table, and she felt herself bristling at the woman's louder than necessary voice and laugh, the memory of it mocking her the day before still so fresh in her mind.

Suzette got up to address the group and extend her congratulations on a job well done the day before. Charlotte thought it odd that the lectern on the dais had been replaced with a bench that she leaned upon. Watching Suzette carefully as she spoke, she noted the pile of blocks beside her that had been built up into a childlike replica of the castle winery. As her speech came to a conclusion, she took of the brightly colored scarf that decorated her neck and covered the pile of blocks with it.

"Time to test your powers of observation," she said with a smile. "Each of you have several small blocks before your place setting. As a group, you must replicate the pattern of blocks I had sitting beside me the whole time I was speaking. Good luck ladies and gentlemen." She returned to her table and sat down as the entree was served.

Ralph had not being paying attention at all and swore under his breath as he heard the instructions. He had planned to become involved in the group task as he had on the first day, hoping to impress the elitist assistants. However, as he sat directly behind and to the left of Charlotte, he had let his mind wander to the smell of her perfume he'd noticed as he had stood close to her the day before. Her hair was up, showing off the flawless skin of her neck, and she was dressed for the catwalk once again. But he admitted to himself that she looked beautiful and delicate in the outfit she had chosen.

Constantly distracted by thoughts of Charlotte as she sat just out of reach and led her group in their block building, he had barely even commented on his own group's motley construction. By the end of the main course, it looked like a group of two year olds had assembled the creation. Suzette's personal assistant came around with an iPad, taking photos of each building. Before dessert was served, Suzette stood to unveil the original building and congratulate the winners. Three of the tables had managed to closely mirror the model, including Charlotte's table.

Ralph scowled, feeling that his table of companions had let him down and taking no responsibility for the failure himself. During dessert, they were once again given pairs to shadow work with for Thursday. Charlotte had been given Sam to work with, and Jeff had been paired with Ralph. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly as they dawdled back to their work stations slowly after dessert. Ralph's mood darkened further knowing he would be working with Charlotte's boyfriend, and he felt the need to take it out on someone. He knew just the girl who was always willing....

Tammy stood on the rug in Ralph's living room, naked and blindfolded, as he sat on the couch and watched her. She had hoped that Ralph would call her since she wasn't working that evening, and he didn't disappoint her. With her hands bound together and attached to a hook in a beam that ran across the ceiling, Tammy could do little more than stand there on her toes and wait for Ralph to do as he pleased. The longer he waited, the more turned on Tammy was getting.

Although she had her own desires, when it came to sex, she was a chameleon. She thrived on playing whatever role her partner wanted her to play, her desire to please consuming her. There was little that Tammy would refuse, but she did have safe words to protect her. She loved that Ralph's taste in sex was varied, because it allowed them to experiment with many different ideas.

She squirmed a little when she heard Ralph rise up from the couch. He had blindfolded her often enough for her to recognize the sounds he made as he moved about in the room. She could feel his presence as he moved within a foot or two of her. He ran the riding crop that was in his hand across Tammy's bare ass, and it made her gasp. She could feel her heart racing in anticipation of the sting she would soon feel.

"I expected you to be here when I got off work today, Tammy," Ralph began. "Instead, I had to sit outside in my car and wait for you."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Not yet, Tammy, but you will be."

Those words caused Tammy to smile and bite her lip.

"You're smiling? I think you like to misbehave, Tammy. Isn't that right?"

"I do what I want, Ralph," she said with a sneer.

In an instant, there was a whoosh as the crop sped through the air and snapped onto the right ass cheek of Tammy. She let out a yelp and squirmed again as much as her restraints allowed. "Hmmm. Look at that pretty little red mark I just planted on your ass, Tammy. Maybe I should take a picture, don't you think?"

"No."

She heard the tell-tale shutter sound from the camera on Ralph's phone. "Oh, yes. Maybe you can hang it up on the mirror behind the bar at work, huh?"

"Fuck you, Ralph," Tammy replied, playing her role perfectly. A moment later, her left ass cheek was stinging, just as the right one had earlier. Once again, she heard the sound of the camera.

"Are you going to tell me why you weren't here when I arrived, Tammy?"

"You already know, Ralph."

Again, the whoosh and snap of the crop on her ass broke the silence in the room. And again. Tammy was breathing deeply through the pain, feeling the heat radiating off of the places the crop had landed.

"Why, Tammy?"

"Because I was out getting you beer. I did it for you."

This time, it was a short stroke, connecting with a sensitive nipple. Tammy let out a gasp, not expecting that he would move so rapidly off her ass.

"What were you doing all day that was so important that you hadn't done it earlier?"

"Nothing," Tammy mumbled, earning her a strike to her other nipple.

So it went for nearly an hour, fuelling the desires of both of them. By the time they were finished, Tammy's ass was bright red, and she was marked in several other spots on her body. The room smelled of her musky scent as her excitement caused her pussy to swell up and weep with her secretions. As always, the scent excited Ralph, urging him on.

Tammy stood there, her body tingling, listening to the sound of Ralph unzipping the fly on his jeans. She squirmed, needing to feel him inside her. A moment later he grabbed her by the thighs, lifting her up and spreading her open. He then moved her body so that his cock was positioned at the entrance to her cunt. He didn't so much move himself forward as he did move her onto his cock. Tammy literally grunted as he filled her completely, pulling her down hard on him.

She pulled up with her still restrained arms, trying to gain leverage as they fucked. Ralph did most of the work, raising and lowering her on his cock while roughly kissing her. Needing a shave, his rough beard chafed at the sensitive skin of her face. Ralph controlled the pace, taking his time and prolonging their pleasure. Tammy rolled through a series of small orgasms as they fucked, which normally happened when he fucked her. She could never understand how he could make her come that easily, but was happy that he did. When Ralph was ready, he aggressively fucked her until he growled and thrust forward, pumping his come inside her needy cunt.

Eventually, Ralph took Tammy down and they moved to the bed for another round. Later that evening, she lay there with a smile on her face. Tammy knew this relationship would never go anywhere, but she was happy that neither of them were involved with other people. She liked the feeling of him coming inside her, and didn't want to have to start fooling around with condoms all the time.

* * * * *

Charlotte woke early and looked over at Jeff who had stayed the night. She wished they stayed at his place more often, but he seemed to like her small apartment. The thought of waking him for a round of unsatisfying sex was discarded quickly from her mind. Instead, she got out of bed without disturbing him so she could do her morning run on the treadmill. She knew it would provide more endorphins for her than Jeff ever could. Undoubtedly, Jeff would sleep for at least another hour.

As she ran, she thought about the day ahead. Sam was a friend of Ralph's, which put her guard up, but she also remembered the teasing banter they had on Monday. She really hoped today would go smoothly. Well at least more smoothly than last time she was a cellar rat.

An hour later, she stood in the kitchen making breakfast for them both while Jeff showered. She had chosen her outfit today more carefully, and had a good change of clothes packed as well. She planned to start in the cellar with Sam this time and change during the lunch break. A short while later, feeling as prepared as she could, she followed Jeff to work in her own car since they would not be seeing each other tonight.

Ralph arrived about fifteen minutes early on Thursday and was standing in the foyer waiting when Sam arrived. His friend came over to him and immediately started to tease him.

"I'll be working with your girlfriend today Ralph. Jealous?" Sam joked.

"Fuck off Sam," the big man replied. Sam really had angered him, he realized, because he actually was a little jealous that Charlotte would be working with his friend. It shocked him, in fact.

"Who did you draw, again?"

Ralph glared at his friend. "Jeff. King of the assholes."

"Careful, now Ralph. You can't have Suzette hear you speaking like that."

"Yeah? Let HER work with the prick then."

Sam chuckled. "Just don't kill the guy, Ralph. They do have laws about such things."

"Well see," growled Ralph.

A moment later, Charlotte and Jeff arrived together. Seeing them like that soured Ralph's mood even more. The couple approached Ralph and Sam, Charlotte saying hello to each of them. Ralph locked eyes with her, but she shyly looked away, the memory of her orgasm two nights earlier still with her.

"Shall we get started, Sam?" she asked.

Sam nodded and held out an elbow to her. Charlotte hooked her elbow with his, and the two of them marched off to start the day. Ralph watched the two of them go, then turned to Jeff, who was watching him closely.

"You're up," Ralph said to him. "What are we going to do this morning?"

"We have some testing to do, and there are a number of barrels we need to top off," Jeff replied. "It's a delicate operation. I think it's better if you just observe."

Holding back a sneer, Ralph followed Jeff down into the cellars.

They worked the morning away, speaking just enough to give the impression that they were cooperating with each other. They were just finishing up as noon approached, and they climbed the stairs to the main floor.

"I'm taking you to lunch," Jeff declared. "You did the honors for Charlotte the other day, and I'd like to return the favor.

Ralph was surprised that Charlotte had spoken about their day together, though he knew he shouldn't have been. He had heard Sam and Charlotte joking with each other and laughing in the cellar as he had shadowed Jeff. The ass had pompously explained everything he did while using Ralph as a shelving unit to hold his equipment.

As he and Jeff left the cellar, he could hear Charlotte's giggle. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that she and Sam were following them towards the stairs for lunch.

"At least I didn't get as messy as when I worked with Ralph" Charlotte was saying, "But if it's okay I will change anyway and meet you in the cafeteria."

"Want me to order for you?" Sam offered.

"I'll just have whatever you're having," Charlotte smiled.

The whole exchange irritated Ralph beyond reason, and despite it being the last thing he wanted to do, Ralph agreed to go to lunch with Jeff. It had to be better than sitting in the cafeteria with those two. They walked out into the parking lot, and Ralph followed Jeff to his car. Jeff had driven to work in the car he liked to call his weekend car, the Audi R8 Coupe. It was a performance vehicle that cost well in excess of one hundred thousand dollars.

Ralph barely fit into the vehicle, squeezing himself into the passenger seat as the much smaller Jeff settled into the driver's position. Jeff pushed a button and the car roared to life. Backing out of his spot, he turned toward Ralph with a grin.

"You should see the pussy you can land with a car like this, Ralph."

Ralph nodded. "What do you think Charlotte thinks about that?" he asked.

"Let me tell you something, my friend. Charlotte is great. I will marry her someday, and she will bear me children and heirs to my family's estate. But a man has needs, Ralph. I'm sure you know that. A woman like her...she will never understand the needs of a man like me. I like to keep a stable of fillies around, if you get my drift. Treat them mean and keep them keen, you know?" Jeff chuckled. "There is no way a woman like Charlotte would ever give me what I need."

Ralph listened, his anger building by the moment. The more Jeff spoke, the more Ralph knew that his evaluation of the man was right on the mark. He grew up with everything handed to him, having never had to work for a thing in his life. In reality, he neither appreciated nor earned anything, but felt the need to flaunt what he had in the face of others. Ralph was sure that Jeff brought this car today just to rub his nose in it. He was intimidated by Ralph, and needed to try to feel superior.

His thoughts then moving to Charlotte, Ralph wondered whether it was the man, not the woman, who was the problem. Although she kept a professional demeanor at work, Ralph had no idea what made the woman tick outside of the winery. Considering the way she had affectionately interacted with Sir Charles, Ralph thought there might just be more to her than meets the eye.

His immediate issue, however, was figuring out how he would get through the rest of the day with this fool without smashing him in the face with his huge fist. Somehow, Ralph made it through the day without any violence, although it took nearly all of his resolve to do so.

Leaving the winery, Ralph caught sight of Sam and Charlotte exiting the building. They were talking like old friends and his mood darkened once again.

"Hey Ralph!" Sam called out. Ralph considered ignoring his friend but eventually turned in his direction as he heard the hurried footsteps move closer to him. "Charlotte and I are going for a drink. Come with us buddy." Ralph didn't respond at first, turning his gaze on Charlotte who had hung back from the exchange.

"Come on, don't be an ass. You know you want to. We'll meet you down at The Shack. Then you can talk to the other guys and ignore us if you want," Sam chuckled. "Charlotte wants to get the complete cellar rat experience, so what better place than that, right?" Ralph grunted with a small nod of his head and walked off.

"He's a good guy really," Sam said, falling back to walk with Charlotte out to the parking lot. "He's just had a bit of a rough go at life, you know?" he continued, making excuses for his friend's lack of social graces. "Mine's the old beat up Chevy over there. Follow me down, okay?"

"Sure," Charlotte replied. She had really enjoyed her day with Sam. He was a genuinely nice guy and once again she wondered about the odd mismatched friendship between Sam and Ralph. Any time he had come up in the conversation during the day, Sam spun it to a good light. She could see that he was an intensely loyal friend.

Ralph nearly pointed his car towards home, but he gave in and headed to the bar instead. If pressed, he would have to admit that he was becoming quite intrigued with Charlotte Simons. He was still of a mind that she was a stuck up bitch, but the more he got to know her, the more difficult it became to pigeon hole her in such a way. The thought of spending some time with her outside of work was making him happy, and he just didn't know what to make of that.

He pulled into the mostly empty parking lot and brought his car to a stop in a spot near the door. He saw Sam's empty car parked near his, so he went on inside to find his friend. There were a few tables situated on either side of the dance floor. Sam and Charlotte were sitting at a table set for four, and Ralph ambled over and took a seat.
"I wasn't sure you'd follow," Sam said.

Ralph laughed. "It was about fifty-fifty," he said to his friend, glancing in Charlotte's direction.

"Well, I'm glad you joined us, Ralph," Charlotte said with a smile.

Ralph nodded, even showing the hint of a smile at the corners of his own mouth.

"Did you tell them at the stables that you won't be able to work this weekend?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. They were fine with it. I haven't missed a weekend in months, so there were no issues."

"You work at the stables on weekends?" asked Charlotte with a surprised look.

"Yeah. I do it in exchange for them boarding Chuck. Sir Charles."

"Chuck? I love it," said a giggling Charlotte. "Much, much better than Charlie."

"I've heard that Charlie is an unpopular nickname," said Ralph with a smile.

"I've heard that too," replied Charlotte. "How very interesting."

"Hello?" piped in Sam. "I'm still here. You two are getting on like old friends, and I feel like a third wheel."

Charlotte giggled. "Sorry, Sam. We had a conversation about Sir Charles the other day. Your friend Ralph seems to have a knack for surprising me. Every time I think I have him figured out, he throws me a twist I wasn't expecting."

"That's Ralph," joked Sam.

Ralph turned towards Charlotte, locking eyes with her. "I could say the very same thing about you. You come across as being stuck up, but with your guard down..." He shrugged, not finishing the thought and realizing he may have just been too honest with her.

Charlotte's tummy did a little flip inside. Was this beast of a man actually thinking about her? It caused her to break into an involuntary smile.

Ralph caught the smile and the twinkle in her bright green eyes. He was struck once again by how beautiful this woman was. Returning her smile, he pointed one of his huge fingers in her direction.

"You're trouble," he told her.

"I don't think you men understand what it's like for a woman in the winery. Although it's changing some, it is still very much a man's world. I have to remain as professional as possible, or I risk being dismissed as a silly woman."

Both men looked at her, realizing there was a lot of truth in what she was saying. Ralph nodded, then got up from the table. "You want to split a pitcher of beer? Five dollar pitchers until eight."

"Sure, why not?" said Charlotte. I'm supposed to be one of the guys tonight."

Ralph returned to the table with a pitcher and three mugs, then sat and poured for each of them. Grabbing his mug with a giant paw, he held it up.

"Cheers," he said loudly.

Sam and Charlotte clinked glasses with his, and they all took a pull on their beer. The small bar had gotten crowded, and Charlotte hadn't noticed when Jeff walked in and settled down on the other side of the room, a companion on his arm. The girl looked just barely old enough to drink, and was dressed like a street corner hooker. A thick layer of poorly done makeup completed her visage. Jeff was pawing at her, as they laughed and sloppily kissed while sitting there at the table.

Ralph glance over and caught sight of them, and his eyes filled with anger. He was glad that Charlotte had her back to them, but she would inevitably see them before the night was through. As much as he wanted that ass to get caught, the soft Ralph that he hid inside did not want to see Charlotte get hurt.

A short time later, Ralph watched as the couple got up together and headed toward the bathrooms. He did a double take when he saw Jeff follow the girl into the ladies room. He considered going over there to speak with Jeff, but before he could, Charlotte rose from her seat.

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I'll be back in a minute," she said.

"Fuck," Ralph thought. Well, the prick deserves whatever he gets. He watched Charlotte walk towards the bathroom, and Ralph leaned across to Sam.

"The boyfriend is here. He came in with some tramp, and they went into the bathroom together. Get ready for some fireworks," Ralph whispered with a tone that took Sam by surprise as much as the information did. The man cared about what was about to happen.

Sam's eyes went wide with surprise. "Are you fucking kidding me," he asked. "Holy shit!"

Charlotte walked into the small bathroom and went into the unoccupied stall. She quickly realized there was a man in with a woman in the only other stall, so she rushed, wanting to get out as quickly as possible. She peed, wiped, and flushed, then went to the sink to wash her hands. She froze when she heard the familiar voice come from the occupied stall.

"That's it. Suck it you little bitch. Suck it good, you little tramp."

With a look of shock on her face, Charlotte turned to the stall door, which was slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and pushed the door open. There stood Jeff, his pants pulled down, his cock in the mouth of the young girl squatting down in front of him. Jeff turned to her, recognition showing on his face.

"You fuck!" Charlotte screamed, turning away and storming out of the bathroom. A few moments later, Jeff followed, buckling his belt as he scurried after her. She was near the table, sobbing as Jeff approached.

"You don't understand, Charlotte. She doesn't mean anything to me. You do. You're going to be my wife."

"Well, you're at least half wrong there, Jeff. I will NEVER be your wife, not after..." She waved her hand as the tears choked the words off.

She turned to Sam with tears in her eyes. "Will you take me to my car?"

"Sure," Sam said as he got up from the table.

Charlotte gave Ralph a quick glance, holding back a sob, then waved her hand, unable to form words and walked away with Sam.

"Come back here, you fucking bitch," screamed Jeff. "You don't just walk away from me like that," he fumed, the other people in the small run down bar taking notice. He took a few steps toward the door, and Ralph stood and put a huge hand into the middle of Jeff's chest.

"Don't," Ralph growled at him.

Jeff looked up at the big man and back at the retreating form of Charlotte. He would have plenty of time to fix this later, he thought, unable to admit to himself that he was afraid of Ralph. He remained silent, reminding himself that Charlotte knew she wouldn't find any better men than him in this dime store town. He was a prize, and she would forgive him and fall back into line once he proposed properly. Of course, now he would have to get a bigger ring than he had planned, he realized. "Fuck," he said out loud.

"Yeah you really fucked up," said Ralph. He had not moved, and there was no way he was letting this asshole follow Charlotte and abuse her for his own mistake. "I put up with your shit all day, listening to go on about your stable of fillies and how Charlotte was just a pretty thing to keep in reserve for when you wanted to settle down and get married. If I were you pal, I'd get that little whore you were in the bathroom with and go have yourself some break up sex because Charlotte will never forgive you if I have anything to do with it."

He pushed Jeff back into a chair and towered over him, "In case you're not sure if I'm serious, try to see Charlotte tonight and see what happens." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out the door, then jogged across the parking lot to catch Charlotte before she left. He needn't have worried, as the woman was standing beside the car, holding onto it as tears streamed silently down her face. Sam stood by awkwardly, unsure of what to say or do. Ralph had felt that bad before, but he deeply buried the memory of visiting his girlfriend at college and seeing her with another guy.

He had told no one, letting even his best friend Sam think he despised the girl for leaving him in this town and going off to college. The truth was he had encouraged her to go and promised to visit as often as he could afford to. The betrayal he had felt after travelling for hours to see her, only to find her in bed with some frat jock had been a physical jolt to his whole being. He looked at Charlotte and the way she clutched her arms about her body and he knew exactly how she felt.

Taking charge of the situation, he walked over to the pair. "Give me your keys, I'll drive you home," he said with a gruffness that belied the concern he felt for the girl. Tonight would be hard for her, he thought, with a knowledge that only personal experience can provide.

"Oh that's not..." she began.

"Keys," Ralph demanded, cutting her off and holding out his giant paw. Not giving her a chance to argue further he turned to Sam. "Follow us to her place and you can drive me back to pick up my car."

"Yeah, okay," Sam agreed as he fished his own keys out and turned toward his car. Ralph took Charlotte's arm and steered her around to the passenger's side, opening the door for her and helping her in. After a failed attempt to get into the car, which made the still teary eyed woman smile, Ralph moved the seat back to maximum setting and finally managed to climb behind the wheel.

They drove in silence with Ralph constantly checking behind him to ensure Sam was following. While he did not want to see Charlotte treated so badly or left deserted and unable to drive herself home, he still wasn't sure who she truly was. Was she the stuck-up bitch or the friendly easy-going girl he had seen glimpses of this week?

Charlotte watched Ralph as he drove, so confident and in control. He was the take charge kind of guy she had always fantasized about. That asshole Jeff had seemed to be everything she wanted in her escape from the poverty she grew up in. She had the thought the price to pay for getting involved with him would have been dealing with his arrogance and ego on a daily basis. She had let herself believe he deserved to be arrogant; he had it all. The wealth and prestige that came with being part of his family, the sky rocketing career, and the popularity of a high school quarterback.

How could she not have seen what an asshole he was? How could she have been so blind to how he treated her for so long? The image of how he had spoken to that little slut as she sucked his cock made her cringe, a sudden wave of anger replacing her sadness as she balled her fists, digging her nails into her palm and liking that the physical pain it gave her took away the sick feeling she had in her stomach.

"Which way?" Ralph asked softly as they came to an intersection. He had no idea where she lived, but assumed it would be in the nicer part of town.

Charlotte looked up at him then, and quite clearly without emotion said, "I think I'd like that beer now, please."

Ralph frowned in concern, but he guessed sending her home to brood alone wasn't the best idea either, especially if Jeff was going to show up there. He turned his car toward the Honky Tonk, hoping that the confused Sam would follow them. Maybe he could go back and get his car while Sam babysat Charlotte for a while.

Walking into the bar, he found a table in a quiet corner and they sat down. Charlotte looked blankly across the room, a poster child for the thousand yard stare. Ralph knew the look well, having had it himself twice in his lifetime. Without even thinking about it, he placed a hand softy onto the middle of her back, stroking her gently in an attempt to comfort her. Charlotte turned her gaze to Ralph, locking eyes with him. She was momentarily surprised by the compassion she saw in the eyes of the big man. It was a trait she didn't think possible for him to possess, and yet, he had surprised her once again.

It'll be okay Char," he said with a nod. "I promise. I've been there before."

Leaving her sitting there as Sam moved toward them, he went to get a pitcher of beer. He saw Sam take a seat at the table where Charlotte silently buried her face in her hands.

Ralph walked over to the bar, and Tammy finished serving a customer and came over to him.

"Hey Tam," he said to her.

"Hi Ralph. Who's the girl with Sam?"

"Oh, someone from work. She's not with Sam. We just came for a few beers."

"I saw her in here the other night too, when you came in for dinner."

Ralph nodded. "Yeah. It was a rough day at work, I guess."

Tammy let out a deep sigh. "Damn it, Ralph."

"What?"

"I know what we have. I mean, what we are to each other. I don't have some illusions of happily ever after. But I sure as hell wish that you, or somebody, would look at me the way I'm seeing you look at that woman."

"What are you talking about, Tammy? She doesn't even like me. She's scared of me. And she's dating some rich prick from the winery, or she was until tonight." He paused thinking about that. "There is nothing going on between us."

"How long have I known you, Ralph?"

"Almost ten years, Tammy. But..."

"But nothing, Ralph. In all that time, I've seen the best of you, and I've seen the worst of you. But I have never seen you look at someone the way you just looked at her. And you certainly don't look at ME that way."

Ralph rolled his eyes at her. "I don't know a fucking thing about her, except that she works at the winery. Reading something into this is just ridiculous."

"Why are you arguing with me, Ralph?"

"What?"

"Why are you even arguing with me about it? I think you're really arguing with yourself, you big dope. That's what I think."

Ralph glanced over at Charlotte and Sam sitting in the corner, and he felt there might just be a kernel of truth to what Tammy was saying.

"What, do you think this is some love at first sight thing like you see in a movie or something," Ralph said as he chuckled at her.

Tammy frowned and shook her head. "Listen to me, Ralph. I know what I'm seeing here. You've had an awful lot of shit come your way during your lifetime that you had no control over. This time, you do. If you don't do everything you can to bring that woman into your life, you're an idiot. And THAT, Ralph, is on you. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can we get a pitcher, Tam?"

"Sure, sugar," Tammy replied with a sad smile.

Charlotte was watching Ralph and Tammy together. She strained to hear what they were saying, but couldn't quite make it out.

"What's their deal," she asked Sam.

"Those two? They've been friends for a long time. They actually dated years ago, but it just didn't work out. Between you, me, and the wall, they still fuck each other fairly often. You know. Friends with benefits," he said as he corrected himself quickly, remembering who he was speaking to.

"Really?" asked Charlotte, surprised by the pang of jealousy that hit her in the gut. She didn't let on that she had seen Ralph and Tammy in the parking lot, instead acting as if all of this was news to her.

"Yeah. Neither of them are dating anyone, so I guess they've figured out a way to maintain a friendship and...you know... have benefits."

"That Ralph is full of surprises, isn't he?"

Sam let out a laugh. "You have no idea."

Ralph returned to the table with the pitcher and some glasses, handing one to each of them. Charlotte poured beer into each glass, then held hers up to toast. Thinking better of it and shrugging her shoulders, she drank half the beer in one shot. She put her glass down on the table and looked at Ralph.

"When were you there before, Ralph?"

"Huh?"

"You said you had been there before. When was that? What happened?"

"Oh, you want my life story? You think you're sad now, huh?"

"C'mon Ralph," Sam interjected. "I don't think she needs your sarcasm right now."

"It's okay, Sam. We're supposed to be best buds tonight, right? Let's hear it, Ralph," she said, returning her eyes to him. "You share a secret, and I'll share a secret, Okay?"

Ralph paused, staring into the green eyes Charlotte had pointed in his direction. He took a deep breath, and told her all of it. When he was finished, Charlotte sat in stunned silence, realizing that she had misjudged this man to an incredible degree. For his part, Sam was shocked with the part of the story that he never knew.

"I'm so sorry, Ralph," said Charlotte putting a hand on top of his. Her eyes had welled up with tears for him, as she momentarily forgot about her own problems.

"I have two questions, Ralph," Sam said. "One, where did you bury the bastard that you found in bed with your girlfriend? And two, why the hell did you never tell me about this?"

"It was her I was angry with, Sam. And it hurt. I had just lost my parents, and then, with her knowing that, she did that to me. I had enough pity. I didn't need more. So I made out like I was the one that ended it."

They were all quiet for a few minutes, sipping on their beers and gathering their thoughts.

"So, you're up," Ralph said to Charlotte. "Spill your secrets."

Charlotte nodded slowly, a sad smile crossing her face.

"I did promise, right?"

"You did," chimed in Sam, who was beginning to feel as if he was out of place sitting with the two of them.

"I grew up a few counties over from here. My daddy left when I was just a baby, and my mom raised my sister and I alone. We were dirt poor, and dependent upon public assistance and any odd jobs my mother could get in order to get by. Somehow, my sister and I managed to do well in school, and with the help of scholarships, we went to college.

"I made a vow to never allow myself to be in the position my mother was in. That's why my career is so important to me. Jeff...well, he seemed to be able to provide a degree of security I had never known in my life. I'd be able to depend on both me and him, and never be poor again. I knew I was giving up a little being with him, but...I just couldn't think about going back to how I grew up.

"Do you love him," Ralph asked.

"We've been dating for some time, Ralph."

"That isn't what I asked, Char. Do you love him?"

"I thought I did."

"Did you really, Charlotte?"

Charlotte stared at Ralph, her nostrils flaring in anger at his insistence. Ralph didn't back down, his eyes demanding an answer. Finally, Charlotte broke eye contact and looked down at the table.

"No," she quietly replied. "I don't."

Again, they all sat there in silence, Charlotte's words echoing in their ears.

"So, do you want to hear my secrets?" offered Sam.

"No," both Ralph and Charlotte simultaneously answered, causing the three of them to burst into laughter.

"I think I'm ready to go home now," Charlotte said. "It's late and I'm tired, and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Ralph nodded as he got up from the table.

"I'll drive you and Sam can follow us to take me to get my car after."

"Okay," Charlotte replied, not wanting to argue that she was capable of driving herself. After this night, she thought it best she remain in Ralph's care until she got home.

They were quiet on the drive over, and Charlotte directed Ralph to her carport. He turned off the engine and got out of the car. He watched as Sam pulled up behind them, getting out and walking over to the two of them. Charlotte gave him a quick hug, thanking him for his help. Then she turned towards Ralph, stepping forward and putting her arms around him as best she could. She squeezed him tightly, both for her and for him. Finally, she broke the hug and gave him a gentle buss the cheek.

"Thank you for everything, Ralph. I...I'm so sorry I have misjudged you and treated you as I have. I was very wrong about you."

Ralph nodded at her. "You weren't the only one, Char. Trust me," he said with a smile.

He started to walk away, then turned back. "Do you have a pen," he asked her.

Charlotte nodded and rummaged through her purse, finding a pen and handing it to Ralph. He took her hand in his, frowning at the marks her nails had left behind. He wrote a phone number on the palm of her hand.

"Anything happens...that asshole shows up or you need anything, you give me a call, understand?"
Charlotte smiled and nodded. "You could have asked me to put your number in my phone," she said with giggle. "That's how my friends usually do it."

"Ralph doesn't have many friends. What did you expect?" Sam jumped in.

"Not when they say shit like that," Ralph shot back.

"Well, you boys have fun with your spat," said Charlotte. "Thank you both again," she said as she walked to her apartment.

A short time later, Ralph was lying in his bed, feeling as if his world had shifted on its axis. The huge man's heart had been frozen solid since the day his parents had died, and had become harder still the day his love had betrayed him. But something happened as he lay there listening to the crickets chirping outside his window, thinking about the evening he just had. His heart had begun to thaw. Ralph hadn't cried for his parents or his girlfriend. In fact, he hadn't cried since he was a small child. And now, lying here in the dark, the huge man sobbed for a lifetime of loss and sadness.

* * * * *

Charlotte had given up trying to sleep, after tossing and turning and staring at the phone number she had put into her phone. Jeff wasn't back and she didn't really need anything, so she put the phone down again. She knew she couldn't call him; she barely knew him. She sighed and got out of bed, and in an effort to find that point of exhaustion that would send her into a dreamless slumber, she got up and cleaned her entire apartment from top to bottom.

When sleep still eluded her, she had watched an old movie, finally drifting off into a light doze. Within a dreamlike state, Charlotte saw once again the image of the young girl on her knees and the sneering face of Jeff towering over her in the bathroom stall. The image morphed into Ralph standing before his car with the barmaid on her knees before him. Charlotte woke up with a start when the image of Tammy in her dream had momentarily become her.

Breathing heavily and flushed with heat, Charlotte sat up, blinking at the now blank television screen. Feeling more than a little unsettled, she went to change. Maybe a run would clear her head. She was grateful Jeff had not shown up at her apartment during the night to create a scene, but at the same time she felt disappointed that he hadn't come to plead for her forgiveness. Did she really mean so little to him that he had just walked away? If Jeff had come, she would have had an excuse to call Ralph. He had been so different tonight. Still gruff and prickly, but also there was a gentle, caring side so different from what she had always thought him to be.

Having changed, she had begun to run on the treadmill as she looked out at the dark silhouette of the mountains in the distance and thought about everything that had happened the night before. The images from her dream haunted her. She had craved Jeff being a take charge sort of guy with her, yet that is what he had been to someone else. Was she truly so distant and pious in their relationship that he thought he couldn't be that way with her? Her mind jumped to Ralph and how he treated Tammy, his friend with benefits. She didn't look like she suffered from being used in such a way. In fact, she had heard them talk and Tammy had all but begged him for more.

Her mind drifted to what it would be like to have a man like Ralph treat her like he had treated Tammy. She cranked up the treadmill, running faster as she closed her eyes and tried to block out the fantasy that filled her mind. The sun crested the horizon, marking the beginning of a brand new day as she slowed to a walk before finally stepping off the treadmill. Charlotte stripped off her clothes as she made her way into the bathroom, leaving a trail of wet garments behind and stepping into the shower.

Once in the shower, she let the hot water sting against her skin and paint it in a pale pink color. She couldn't rid her mind of the images that continued to flash from her dreams. Jeff and the slut, Ralph and Tammy, the strange image of herself in those situations. Finally giving into the fantasy, she let everything else melt away and focused on the image of Ralph and his huge hands as they had held hers earlier to write his number.

She imagined those hands caressing and exploring every curve of her body, their size and roughness. She tilted her head back letting the water cascade over her breasts, caressing her as the large hands in her mind did. Reaching forward she cupped her breasts so that the jets of water directly hit her hardening nipples, making her gasp in pleasurable discomfort, thinking of the mouth and teeth that could deliver so much more.

Dropping her hand, she let the water cascade again and reached for the soap. Lathering up her hands she began a slow caressing wash, her eyes closed, the large hands of Ralph still in her mind as the soapy bubbles covered her neck and throat, drifting down once more to her breasts, cupping them and teasing at the nipples with small delicious pinches. She turned, letting the water roll down her back as her hands travelled lower, moving in circles across her belly.

Having coated her torso with the sweet smelling soap, she ran her fingers over the small strip of hair that sat above the throbbing heat that drove the fantasy playing out in her mind. She moaned and let her fingers dip slightly lower to graze over her clit, the noise filling the small shower cubicle. The swollen nub sent a thrill into her body as her fingers brushed past it further into her slippery slit.

Charlotte sighed loudly as she pushed a finger inside herself, feeling her muscles contract around it as her free hand rose to her breast once again. She widened her stance and pushed two fingers into her tight hole and began to rub her thumb over her clit. She angled her fingers as the visions continued through her fevered brain. She rode her hand until, arching her body hard, she twisted a nipple and cried out as her orgasm swept over her. Her legs shook with the impact and she reached out to brace herself against the wall as wave after wave travelled through her.

Panting, she finally straightened and rinsed herself off, rewashing and cleaning away the evidence of her arousal. Leaving the shower, she felt the tiredness of a sleepless night overwhelm her and grimaced. She toweled off and walked to her room, flopping onto the bed. It was Friday and the beginning of the weekend stay at the winery. She was determined to prove she was not one of the problem people at work, or she might have considered taking the day off. At the very least, she might have gone in late, but she knew she couldn't do that.

Getting dressed and thankful she had packed her overnight bag during her overnight restlessness, she decided to make herself a decent breakfast and possibly even a cup of coffee. She rarely drank coffee, preferring instead the cooler health shakes made with fresh fruit that she had discovered during her time in college.

* * * * *

Ralph was awake at first light, and for the first time in quite a while, he was looking forward to the day. As he lay in bed, he decided that he'd fry up some bacon and eggs this morning. Throwing the covers back, Ralph spun sideways and put his feet to the floor and got out of bed. He paused at the bedroom door, thinking that splattering bacon grease didn't go well with exposed flesh. Although he liked to sleep naked, he didn't feel the need to cook the same way. Pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, Ralph exited the room and headed into his kitchen.

A minute later, his coffee was brewing and bacon was in the pan. His mind wandered to Charlotte, wondering if Jeff had tried to reach her and if she'd given in. He replayed their conversations from the prior night over in his mind. He had been very wrong about her. He had been wrong about a lot of things. Sam had been trying to talk to him, but he had refused to listen. Somehow, this woman had opened his ears.

Ralph looked at his phone, checking to see if he had missed any calls. Finding nothing there, he chuckled at himself. Did he really think Charlotte was going to call him? What an idiot. He now began to try and convince himself that he was reading too much into the events of the prior evening.

Ralph removed the bacon from the pan, then poured the hot grease into the sink. Placing the pan back onto the stove, he cracked four eggs into it, scrambling them up with a fork as they cooked. Once they were finished, he put them on a plate with the bacon, poured himself some coffee, and sat down to eat.

Once he had finished, Ralph shaved, then went into the bedroom to pack a bag. He packed like a man. He'd be there two nights, so he threw in two pairs of boxers, two pairs of socks, two pairs of jeans, and two t-shirts. He put a razor, shaving cream, a toothbrush and toothpaste into a Ziploc bag, and he was done. Elapsed time was about forty five seconds.

Ralph went back into the kitchen and cleaned up, and minutes later he was driving down the road on the way to the winery. When he pulled into the parking lot, he was surprised with how empty it was. It was then that he looked at his watch, realizing he was there over an hour earlier than he normally was. He sat in the car laughing at himself when he saw another car pull up beside him. Looking over, he saw Charlotte's smiling face outside his window. She had pulled her car up so that the driver's sides were adjacent to each other. Ralph rolled his window down, and Charlotte followed suit.

"You look like you got some sleep. I was a little worried about you," Ralph said to her.

"Do I?" she answered. "You know you're an hour earlier than usual, Ralph. I think maybe you're still a little groggy." Charlotte was blushing, as the thought of him worrying about her combined with the recollection of that morning's shower fantasy had its effect on her.

"I didn't even realize what time it was. I guess I'll go into the cafeteria and have some coffee until my shift starts," Ralph said with a shy smile.

"I'll come too, if you don't mind. I could use some coffee. I tried making some at home, but it didn't turn out too well. I usually make a health smoothie of some kind, but I had eggs instead today. And bad coffee."

They got out of their cars and walked beside each other, Ralph holding the door for Charlotte on the way inside. They went down to the cafeteria, and each poured themselves a cup of coffee and added cream. They found a table and sat together.

"I wanted to thank you again, Ralph. You were very sweet last night."

Ralph nodded and shrugged. "I guess this is why Suzette is having us do this. I had this vision of you that was just plain wrong. I really am sorry for how I've treated you."

Charlotte smiled. "Lessons all around, Ralph." She took a sip of her coffee, glancing at him over her cup. He really is a rugged kind of handsome, she thought as she watched him. Once again, she blushed.

"What?" he asked her.

"Nothing. I was wondering what Suzette had planned for the weekend."

Ralph glanced at his watch. "I guess we'll find out pretty soon. I've got some work to do in the cellars, but we're supposed to meet in the foyer for lunch as usual this week."

"I know," said Charlotte with a sigh. "I hope Jeff stays the hell away from me today. I'm not in the mood to deal with him."

Ralph's mood darkened considerably. "I don't like him very much. I never did."

Charlotte laughed, patting his hand. "You know what, Ralph? I don't think I ever did either. I wanted to, but that's not the same thing, is it?"

"No. Not the same thing at all," replied the big man. "Okay, off to the dungeons with me. You go play with your pipettes and computers while I do the real work around here."

"Whatever you say, sir," Charlotte replied as she rolled her eyes. They got up from the table and each walked out different exits to start their day.

Charlotte smiled as she walked up the stairs to her lab and the office she shared with Lincoln. She was glad she had run into Ralph this morning and been able to thank him for looking after her the night before. Something about being near him made her feel safe now. She laughed at the thought. Up until this last week he had scared her, and she could think of nothing worse than being alone with him. Now she could think of nothing she would like more.

She walked into the lab and found Lincoln talking to Jeff. Charlotte considered turning and walking away but she knew she would have to face him eventually here. She walked in and and ignored his presence, straightening her back with determination as she stowed her bag and turned on a computer.

"What, no hello or anything?" Jeff said as if nothing was wrong at all and it was just another day.

Turning slowly, she glared at Jeff. "Hello," she said stiffly, before turning to Lincoln. "I'm going to check those samples in the lab." She pulled on her white coat and gathered a chart, intending to move out of the office. Before she could, Jeff had closed the distance between them and reached out to grab her arm, roughly spinning her around to face him. Charlotte squealed, "Let go of me!" She tried to yank her arm from his grasp, but his fingers dug in as he hissed in her ear.

"Let's not make a scene, shall we," he said, and he felt her relax slightly. "I apologized last night. It was a mistake, and you are making too big of a deal out of this. I love you, Charlotte," he cooed at her.

"Actually Jeff," she said loudly enough for Lincoln, who stood there watching them, to hear. "You did me a favor. Seeing you having sex with that cheap woman cured me of any delusions I had about wanting to marry you. You really did do me a favor," she repeated, her tone calm and unemotional. "In fact, I'm having trouble remembering why I stayed with you as long as I did." She paused as she noticed his face coloring in anger and incredulity. She could see the warning signs and knew his temper was about to cause him to explode.

"No! You love me and you will marry me one day," he said, raising his voice as his fingers dug deeper into her arm. The pain made her wince and she felt her legs buckle.

"What are you going to do Jeff? Break my arm if I don't forgive you and say it's all okay?" She goaded him, not really knowing why. Lincoln stood up and moved to help her.

"Back off Linc. This doesn't concern you," Jeff yelled in anger.

Charlotte tried to pull her arm away again while he was momentarily distracted, but his grip was too tight and she only succeeding in making it worse. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she spoke once again with a clear calm voice. "Jeff, it's over. Nothing you can do now will change that." He turned back to her with a face full of rage.

"It's over when I say it's over, he sneered through gritted teeth. He pushed her backwards into the desk as he let go of her arm, making her fall at his feet. He stood over her and reached down to help her up. "That was very clumsy of you. You're distraught. You don't know what you're doing or saying. Don't worry. I'm here for you," he said as he tried to pull her into his arms.

"If you don't let go of me I'm going to start screaming and I won't stop until every person on this floor is in here," Charlotte snapped, looking at him coldly. Lincoln moved to help Charlotte, unable to stand by anymore. The scene he was witnessing made him falter initially; the Jeff he knew was an all-around nice guy. He was the life of the party, generous and kind, but the vision before him shocked Lincoln to the core.

"You'd better go Jeff," Lincoln said seriously. "Go cool off before you do something you regret."

Jeff looked wild eyed between Charlotte and Lincoln. Who did these people think they were dealing with? He was Jeff Cartwright Jr. People did what he wanted all the time. His brain snapped, unable to comprehend Charlotte's rejection of him and the look of shocked seriousness on Lincoln's face. Fine, he thought. They will come around, as people always did. He was an important man and a good friend to have, with his connections. He would let them come crawling back to him. Without uttering another sound he turned and stormed out of the room.

Charlotte began to cry silently, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She really didn't know what she had expected, but that wasn't it. Her arm ached and she slowly shrugged off the lab coat she had only put on minutes earlier so she could inspect the damage. Her biceps were coloring quickly, the finger marks clearly outlined on her skin.

"We'd better get you some ice," said Lincoln. "Come on. Let's go to the first aid room," he said as he put his hand gently in the small of her back to guide her out of the office. Grabbing the lab coat, Charlotte draped it over her shoulder, essentially hiding her arm as she put on a smile.

"It's okay. I'll be fine and I don't want to make a fuss with Suzette here and the weekend thing and all," she said, wiping the tears from her face. "It will be fine. Honestly."

"You need something for that bruise," Lincoln said softly, "It will only get worse."

"I have some ice-cream in the fridge." She gave a half laugh and went to get it, placing the small tub against her arm. "See? I'm fine," she reassured him as he looked at her dubiously. "Please Lincoln. I really just want to forget it and get through this weekend without having to deal with him again."

"Not sure you'll be able to avoid it, with all this team building stuff," Lincoln said with concern in his voice. "Does he lose his temper often?"

"Never at me before." She laughed, unconvincingly trying to lighten the mood. Lincoln moved back to his desk satisfied that for the moment she was okay, but he wasn't about to let it go. He outlined the details of what he had witnessed in an email and sent it to Stuart Gresham, including the fact that Charlotte was refusing any treatment for her arm because of the whole team building event.

It was twenty minutes later and with ice-cream dripping down her arm that Charlotte saw Stuart walking toward their office through the lab. Dropping the melting tub of ice cream into the trash she dragged on the lab coat and gathered a chart, preparing to go down to the cellars to test a barrel. Stuart walked through the office door and nodded at Lincoln before turning his full attention on Charlotte, "Let's go for a walk shall we?" Confused, Charlotte stood. She had worked under and respected the man greatly for the last two years, so she prepared to go with him without a seconds thought about it. "You too, Lincoln."

They walked through the lab and Charlotte realized that there was a lot of movement around the room, as each of the winemakers gathered their assistants into the small meeting room that adjoined the lab itself. Being the most senior member of the staff, Stuart walked towards the front podium and indicated that Charlotte and Lincoln should take seats close to the door. "This will only take a few minutes, then I will need both of you to accompany me to my office."

"This meeting was planned for this afternoon, and you'll find that you will have time to check on any urgent projects during that time as each of the other employees have their own team meetings. Given events of this morning, however, it was decided to move our meeting up," Stuart began, gaining everyone's attention.

"Several years ago," Stuart addressed the crowd. "Quite a few now actually, we had an incident of tampering with wine samples and some reckless behavior with particular blends that caused the winery a large loss." He paused letting the information sink in. "It was at that time that security cameras were installed throughout this floor to ensure not only the integrity of the wines we produce, but the integrity of the staff we employ. I'm sure you have all seen them installed in an upper corner of each room, as well as the hallways. You'll also recall that they are mentioned in the employee handbook you each received when you began working here. It's funny how people forget about such things, though."
"Breaches in workplace health and safety, code of conduct, and workplace harassment are very serious matters. In addition to that, it would seem that Mrs. Price has not been satisfied with how some people have treated the opportunity for team building she has presented you with this week." There were nervous rustles and murmurs around the room.

"The good news is that there are several of you who will not have to stay for Suzette's teambuilding exercise this weekend." He waited, letting the murmur run though the group of assistant winemakers. The not so good news is that the evidence provided by these cameras and the results of the team building exercises during the week are irrefutable, and there will be no opportunity for appeal." Once again he paused to let the ripple run through the room.

"The following people did not get into the spirit of the week, and, given events here over the past month, will be released from the company today." Stuart rattled off the names of five men, one of whom was Jeff.

Charlotte gasped audibly, a look of stunned confusion on her face. She turned to look at Lincoln, who shrugged at her and leaned closer. "I don't think it's about this morning. You heard Stuart, there were breaches."

"This is bullshit!" Jeff yelled, exploding from his seat. "My father is friends with Frank. There is no way he would fire me."

Another of the senior winemakers, Philip Pearson, stood up and addressed the angry young man. "Frank didn't fire you, Jeff. I did. Perhaps we should go and talk about this in my office, and I can explain fully my reasons." Charlotte looked down at the hands in her lap, wondering who else knew what had happened earlier. She hunched her shoulders, trying to look as small as possible. Philip held up his hand as Jeff started to argue his fate once again. "If you'd prefer, we can discuss it here in front of everyone. Your choice, Jeff."

"Oh God," Charlotte muttered under her breath, "Don't do it. Don't do it," but peeking out from the veil of her hair she could see the towering arrogance of Jeff's privileged life making him believe he was invincible as he answered.

"I have nothing to hide. I will bring an unfair termination suit down on you so fast you'll be kissing your own ass goodbye, old man," Jeff sneered.

"Will that be before or after the employee you assaulted this morning in front of a witness presses charges," Philip replied, fixing Jeff with a steely look and showing that he would not be intimidated. There was an audible gasp in the room.

"She wouldn't dare," hissed Jeff, finally glancing at Charlotte, who was cringing and slumped down in her chair, once again trying to hide.

"What do you mean she? You assaulted a woman?" It was Jack Warner who had spoken up. The easy going family man was horrified. The meeting became unruly at that point, with Stuart Gresham having to thump a large book against the podium to gain everybody's attention.

"You will all have a brief meeting with your direct supervisors now," he bellowed over the still murmuring group. Jeff was denying it all to anyone who would listen, and Lincoln stood, helping Charlotte to her feet and hurried her from the room to the sanctuary of Gresham's office.

* * * * *

Stuart followed them into his office, then took a seat at his wide oak desk.

"Sit, please."

Charlotte and Lincoln sat nervously in front of Stuart, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"We have all been quite pleased with how well the both of you have done this week. You in particular, Charlotte."

She nodded and smiled, absentmindedly rubbing her sore arm.

Stuart took notice and frowned. "You really should press charges against that fool," he said with a serious look. "There's no room in the winery for a person like that."

"Obviously," replied Charlotte. "He was fired today."

"Yes he was. And daddy will have him working somewhere else tomorrow. So what does he learn by all this?"

"It isn't my job to teach him any longer. I'm finished with him."

"So I've heard. But still...if he ends up hurting another woman in the future, how will you end up living with the guilt of doing nothing?"

"Maybe we should just feed him to Ralph Watson," Lincoln suggested.

Charlotte nearly gasped, the realization dawning on her that Ralph would inevitably find out about Jeff's assault on her. As much as she would love to see it, she didn't want Ralph to end up in trouble for hurting Jeff.

"Maybe I should press charges."

Stuart smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. The sheriff is on the way over to take a statement. I'd like to see if you can get it done this morning so you can participate in the luncheon session scheduled for today."

"Okay."

"As I was saying," Stuart continued, "you both did exemplary work this week. As you have probably figured out, Charlotte, you were intentionally paired with Ralph on several occasions. There was a lot of obvious animosity between the two of you. I felt that the example you'd set in overcoming that would have a ripple effect among others, and for the most part it did."

"How were you so sure that we'd work things out," she asked.

"Because I knew both of you, and I knew your stories. I trusted that the people I knew you to be would emerge."

"And if it didn't?"

"Well, I guess I would have called your name too, Charlotte, and it would have upset me. You're one of the best we have here. Oh, you run a close second, Lincoln."

"Thank you," said Lincoln, puffing his chest up with mock pride at being second in the man's thoughts and words.

They chatted a few minutes longer, and there was a knock at the door of Stuart's office.

"Come in," Stuart called out. The door opened, and the sheriff and a female deputy entered the room.

"I'll leave you with Ms. Simons," said Stuart. "Lincoln, come with me. I'd like to discuss the morning's test results."

"We'll need to obtain a statement from Mr. Hayes as well," the sheriff said, pointing to Lincoln. I understand he is the only live witness to the event."

"Yes, of course," replied Stuart. "We will also have copies of the security footage ready for you."

"Please don't copy them. We will have to make the digital copies ourselves in order to ensure a proper chain of evidence."

"Very well, then," said Stuart. We will be down the hall in Lincoln's office when you need us."

Stuart and Lincoln left the office, closing the door behind them.

* * * * *

Ralph sat at his assigned table for the luncheon, happy to see a placard with Charlotte's name on it awaiting her arrival. He began to get concerned when the room was full and the meeting began, but she still had not arrived. He had heard a rumor that there was some trouble at the winery that morning, and he had seen the sheriff arrive and head upstairs. He became more agitated the longer he sat there, still waiting for her arrival to fill the empty chair he could not help but stare at. Finally, Charlotte arrived, excusing herself for being late. She quickly made her way to the table and sat, glancing at Ralph and giving him a tight smile.

Ralph could see that her eyes were red and her face was blotchy, evidence that she had been crying. He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he was limited to a kind look and a nod. She had missed the appetizer, but the next course was being served as Suzette walked up to the lectern to speak.

"Now that everyone has arrived, we can begin," she said, nodding to Lincoln who had entered the room a few minutes after Charlotte. "I'm sure you have all heard some buzz about things that have gone on this morning. We have let several employees go, as those individuals were clearly not the team players we desired to have working here at Twisted Vines. In addition, we have decided that we are making some additional changes to the staff that will be announced by team leaders at your meetings this afternoon. One thing I will announce now is that Stuart Gresham will be taking over as Managing Director of the winery."

There was a round of applause, as Stuart was well liked and respected by everyone in the company. Stuart nodded in acknowledgment as he sat at the dais table with the other winemakers.

"We are going to do something fun tonight," continued Suzette. "We are going to have a dance contest. We have already put together the groups, a listing of which will be handed out by Emily," she said, nodding for her assistant to begin. "Since we have more men than women here, we will begin tonight with a group effort. For tomorrow we have enlisted the support of a local dance class to provide training and dance partners for the remainder of the weekend."

Ralph rubbed his eyes with a huge paw, trying to hide his displeasure. He did not dance and did not enjoy it in the least. Why the hell someone would think this was a good idea was beyond him. Emily handed the sheet to Charlotte, and she smiled as she passed it to Ralph, noting without surprise that the two of them had been placed in the same group for tonight's activities. Ralph glanced at the sheet and softened his grimace. Well, he thought, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

They finished lunch, making general small talk with the others at their table. Ralph watched Charlotte closely as she favored one arm as if she were injured. He didn't dare to ask her about it or the reason she was late in front of the others at the table. When the meal was over, they all walked down the stairs to the foyer. They were to spend the next several hours working or attending meetings with their supervisors, then meet in one of the banquet rooms at six for the evening session.

Charlotte had been walking with Ralph back down to the foyer, but he peeled off to speak with Sam for a moment, believing that he, as usual, would have found out what was going on during the morning. As they stood there talking, Ralph heard a commotion. He looked up to see Jeff enter the foyer, screaming Charlotte's name and cursing her.

"Stupid fucking bitch, it's not enough you get me fired, but you tried to get me arrested too! No one treats me like that and gets away with it!" Gasps echoed through the large room as people could see that Jeff had a knife in his hand. "Did you think I would actually spend one second in custody? Did you forget who my father was? Who I am?" They all backed away as he looked around. His wild eyes settled on Charlotte, and with the screech of a madman he rushed at her with the knife held up, ready to stab her.

Ralph reflexively moved to cut Jeff off before he could reach Charlotte. Jeff may have been a star quarterback, but Ralph was an all-state middle linebacker, and he knew how to take the best angle of pursuit. The big man moved with a grace and quickness that shocked everyone. Jeff was so focused on Charlotte that he never even saw Ralph coming at him. In what seemed to be a second, Jeff went from moving across the room to lying in a crumpled heap on the stone floor. The knife flew out of his hand, bouncing across the floor until it came to a rest at the base of the wall.

Ralph had positioned himself between Jeff and Charlotte, ready to continue if need be. That wasn't necessary, as Jeff lay there monetarily unconscious. A few seconds later, the sheriff was at Ralph's side, motioning for him to back up.

"It's okay, son" the sheriff said to him. "I watched the entire thing from the landing at the top of the stairs. I'm glad you were down here. There was no way I could have gotten there in time before he hurt the woman. I guess we have a whole bunch of new charges for this fool now," he said, shaking his head.

For his part, Ralph was glad it was over. He didn't enjoy hurting people, and he never really had to do it. His size and appearance usually made that unnecessary. He turned to face Charlotte, walking over to where she had been standing. She was visibly shaken, and Ralph watched as Stuart Gresham put an arm around her and guided her from the foyer outside into the sunshine.

Ralph followed them out into the fresh air, concern showing on his features. Charlotte straightened as she saw him approach and brushed her tears away, giving him a false smile.

"Saving me is getting to be a habit for you, Ralph. You'd better be careful. People are going to start talking," she joked.

"Well, at least they'd be talking about me in a different way than they usually do, right?"

"True. Thank you, Ralph. Again." She paused before continuing. "I'm really shocked that he...he was going to try to kill me," Her voice broke as the enormity of what had just happened hit her again. "I knew he was an ass, but I would never have imagined he would try something like that. He looked insane!"

"People like that asshole have never been told no their entire lives. They just don't know how to deal with it when it happens. I don't think Daddy will be able to get him out of this mess," Ralph tried to reassure her.

"I guess."

"You don't have to stay this evening Charlotte. No one would blame you," Stuart Gresham said quietly as he stood next to Charlotte, his arm still around her shoulder protectively.

"Come on. I'm taking you home," Ralph said to her.

"We can't leave. We have this entire weekend here we need to do. You can't put your job at risk by leaving." She was horrified at the idea of Ralph being penalized by Suzette for helping her.

"Charlotte," Ralph growled. "I think you've had one hell of a day." Sam had only just begun filling him on the story of what had happened earlier that morning, but he had the gist of it now.

"Yes I have," she admitted, sniffing loudly, "but I'm okay. Honestly. I guess at some point it will all fully hit me, but right now, the last thing I need is to hide alone in my apartment."

Ralph frowned at her, realizing that she was stronger willed than he'd realized.

"Besides," Charlotte said. "I'm not going to miss my chance to see you dance, Ralph Watson. We have a contest to win." Her smile when she turned it toward him was genuine this time.

"Then we're in trouble, Charlotte. I have two left feet. Two very large left feet at that."

"We'll see about that, Ralph. Come on. Let's, get back to work, okay?" she said with a smile. "Stuart and Lincoln won't leave me alone and I don't want to get you in trouble for missing your supervisor's meeting." She moved toward him and reached up to cup his cheek with a small hand, bringing him down to her height so she could kiss it. "Thank you Ralph, you're my hero." She blushed as she looked into his dark eyes.

Ralph shrugged blushing a little himself.

"Let me add my thanks to Charlotte's, but you'll have to settle for a handshake from me," Stuart chuckled, lightening the mood slightly as Ralph took his extended hand in his own meaty fist and shook it. "Shall we go back in? I'm sure the Sheriff will need a statement from each of you."

Putting a hand at the base of her back, Ralph guided Charlotte back into the castle.

Once inside, Ralph spent a few minutes with the sheriff before heading down to the cellars for the afternoon meeting. He was thinking about the feel of Charlotte's soft lips on his cheek. The kiss felt as if it had meaning well beyond the fiery kisses he shared with Tammy when they fucked. It had been a long time since a woman kissed him with her heart behind it, Ralph thought.

He shook his head, admonishing himself for such stupid thoughts. He'd saved the woman's life. What the hell did he expect? Although he and Charlotte had come a long way in understanding each other, he was quite sure that she had no romantic inclinations toward a big oaf like him. For his own part, he still wasn't exactly sure of his own feelings either.

He arrived in the cellars just before the meeting started, and he shifted his conscious mind away from Charlotte. As he listened to the cellar master, the thoughts continued to roll around in the back of his head, trying to gain purchase.

"I want to say that I am very pleased with the way each of you has performed over the past week," the cellar master announced. "We seem to be the most derided members of the staff, but each of you has shown the spirit of cooperation this week. I'm proud of you all."

"We heard during the luncheon that there will be some movement among the staff members. This movement will provide opportunities for some of you. After the weekend, Suzette, Stuart, and the winemakers will meet to discuss who will be moved where. Of course, they will confer with myself and the other cellar masters, as well as the assistant winemakers.

There was a buzz around the room as they all grasped the meaning of the announcement. Although they were provided with nominal raises in salary on an annual basis, any meaningful increase was reserved for those that moved up into new positions. They were all quite anxious to prove their worth to those above them in the organization.

"If there are no questions, please continue with your afternoon duties. Plan on being finished by four, please. You will all be assigned rooms in the castle, and will have a couple hours to get cleaned up and settled before we convene in the meeting room at six this evening."

There was a rush of hushed voices as the rats and masters disbanded and went about their duties. Ralph and Sam were working together, moving and cleaning empties for the remainder of the afternoon.

"How's it feel to be a superhero, Ralph?" Sam joked.

Ralph rolled his eyes at his friend. "I just did what needed to be done, Sam."

"That was the best fucking hit I've seen all football season, Ralph. That prick went down like a sack of potatoes," Sam laughed. "Bam! I wish the hell I had been the one to hit him. I hate that fucking prick."

"I'd be a liar if I said I didn't enjoy it," said Ralph. "I do wish he'd gotten up, though. I really wanted to punch him in that smug face of his."

"Now, now Ralph. That is NOT the spirit of cooperation Suzette wants around here."

"Yeah. Somehow, I think she'd be on board with that one," replied Ralph with a smirk.

"I think you're right about that," said a chuckling Sam.

The men continued working and chatting as the day went on. When it approached four in the afternoon, the cellar master asked them to finish the last of the barrels they were working on and head over to the section of the castle that housed the sleeping accommodations. They would be assigned their rooms by the desk clerk on duty.

Charlotte had finished her work a little early, and was in her own room by three forty five. It was a spacious room, but it still felt cozy despite its size and the stone walls. There was a high four posted king sized bed in the middle of the room. Noticing that her bag had already been delivered, Charlotte rummaged through it and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She changed into them, then climbed up onto the huge bed to relax.

She smiled as she lay there, imagining herself a princess in a castle long ago. She understood why overnight stays here were so popular. There was a romance to the castle and the room, and she suddenly felt very alone in the big bed. She reached for an extra pillow, pulling it next to her in a hug as she rolled over onto her side. As she started to doze, she wondered what it would feel like to curl up onto the massive chest of Ralph Watson.

* * * * *

Charlotte woke up with a scream, her breath ragged as she sat bolt upright. A moment later her door flung open and Jack warner rushed in, looking around in a state of agitation. He was immediately followed in by Ralph. Charlotte, still caught in the fragments of the nightmare she was woken from, screamed again while clutching the pillow to her as the men rushed toward her.

"It's okay. It's just me," Jack said, holding up his hands as if surrendering. "We heard you scream and tried knocking. When you didn't answer we came straight in. It's just me Charlotte," he repeated, his calm voice soothing her. While he spoke, Ralph had gone through the entire room, checking any potential hiding place to ensure Jeff had not returned with revenge on his mind for a second time.
"Oh gosh, Jack. I'm so sorry. It was just a bad dream. Forgive me, please. I didn't mean to startle anyone." Charlotte was beside herself at the look of concern on Jack's face. "I am truly fine. It was just a bad dream," she repeated, as if she were trying to convince herself and not him of the fact.

"I think maybe you should have let me take you home after lunch and...well...maybe I should take you home now," Ralph's deep baritone rumbled.

"I umm," she looked between the two men. "I really don't want to go back to my little apartment where I would be all alone," she admitted quietly. "I would much rather stay and keep my mind on other things, and I feel... safer here right now."

"Of course you do," Jack nodded. "It's not a good night be alone with all that... Well let's get you ready for dinner. Ralph was a bit concerned when you didn't show up on time for dinner this evening, so I wandered up here with him to check on you. Just as well," he said with a smile. She looked up at the big man who seemed to constantly be saving her lately.

"Now you get your dancing shoes on and Ralph and I will wait just outside the door until you're ready," he said, giving her a friendly smile. Jack and Ralph exited the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Not wanting to hold up the two men who waited patiently for her, Charlotte hastily slipped on a dress and a pair of boots, brushed out her hair quickly and did a fast repair job on her makeup. She finished up in less than ten minutes, taking the key to her room and nothing else. She walked out, hooking arms with each of them, allowing the two men escort her to the banquet room.

People were still milling about and chatting as they arrived, and Charlotte breathed an audible sigh of relief that they were not truly late after all. Once again, they sat at designated tables, and as they settled into place Charlotte could see that both Ralph and Jack were also at her table. She supposed that was how they had come to search for her together.

Sam had approached Ralph as he sat down and was talking quietly. "So far, we have counted five assistants who have been confirmed as being let go, and there are about the same amount of rats missing from the tables. The big surprise is the Cellar Masters. Seems all of Jimbo's cronies bit the dust along with him." He referred, of course, to Jim Whitehead, who had not taken his sacking lying down. "There's only about six of them left here, look around!"

"Maybe they were some of the ones who couldn't stay this weekend because of family commitments," Charlotte chimed in, butting into their conversation without thinking. Before anyone could answer her, Suzette patted the microphone fixed to the lectern to get their attention.

"You know more about these wines than anyone Ralph. You should apply for one of those available positions," Sam whispered before slipping off to his own assigned table.

"Welcome everybody, and congratulations. You have all made it through phase one of this little journey we have embarked upon together, "Suzette's voice rang out. "This weekend will be a lot of fun for those of you with the right attitude. Please enjoy your meal."

The people who sat at Charlotte's table were a friendly bunch, and they laughed and joked throughout most of the dinner. No one mentioned the earlier drama or questioned her about the day's events. Charlotte was so relaxed she had all but forgotten about the large bruises circling her upper arm, as well as the one that her fall against the desk had left on her hip. In a moment of hilarity, the man beside her punched her arm playfully and she squealed louder than she had meant to, placing her hand protectively over the area.

The man looked at her wide-eyed, apologizing profusely and making her feel awful about her reaction. Charlotte tried to laugh it off, but her glassy eyes had given her away. Even though he frowned at her, Ralph came to her rescue yet again. "I guess you don't know your own strength there, buddy. It seems you'll be up for the jelly wrestling challenge I heard Suzette has planned. Or was that just wishful thinking when I heard about the dance instructors?" He shrugged nonchalantly as the rest of the group laughed and groaned equally at him.

"I'm out of that one," a Cellar Master named Marie said as she rolled her eyes. "It's been a long time since I had a body anyone wanted to see in a bikini."

"You'd look a damn sight better in a bikini than him," Ralph said, laughing loudly and pointing at the man who had accidently hurt Charlotte.

The table erupted in more laughter as the man jovially offered to take the challenge, even though a blushing Marie declined.

Suzette took to the mic again and tapped it gently to gain everyone's attention. "I'd like to introduce some friends of mine," she smiled, indicating two men and two women who walked onto the small stage area to stand beside Suzette. "My friends are champions in country swing dancing. They have come tonight to help us with the first challenge of our weekend."

She stepped away from the mic as music blared into the room and the four dancers on the stage went into a demonstration of line dancing. It was an amazing show that combined elements of country swing and frightened many in the room watching, who knew they would be expected to learn how to do something similar during the evening.

Ralph leaned close to Charlotte, "Remember what I said about two left feet? Did I mention they were elephant feet? I can't do that shit."

"You're gonna have to," Charlotte laughed softly, "It's not like you can stand in the back and hide like I plan to do."

"Cheater," Ralph growled, but smiled good-naturedly, showing he was only teasing her.

"We all have our hidden talents. Hiding just happens to be one of mine," she said, resisting the urge to poke her tongue out at him in a juvenile display as they whispered quietly like school kids not wanting to be caught.

As they spoke, Suzette had instructed everyone to turn over their place cards, revealing a colored dot had been placed on the back of the card. The color of that dot would determine their teams for the evening. There would be four groups divided equally among the instructors. It was with more than a little disappointment that Charlotte and Ralph realized that they had been separated for the event, and they parted company to follow their instructors.

Charlotte found herself in a group with people she hardly knew, and she edged toward the back of the group, finding herself standing beside a tall, muscle bound cellar rat that she thought she knew. Racking her brain, she came up with the name Nick, recalling that she had met him in the cellar the first day of this challenge when Sam had teased her about falling on the stairs.

"Hi," she said looking up at him, "You're Sam and Ralph's friend aren't you?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "Nick."

"I'm Charlotte."

"Yeah," he said again as if that was pretty obvious, making her blush. "I swear if they make us dance to Achey Breaky Heart I might just barf." Nick gave her a pained look.

Charlotte began to giggle, "It could be worse, we could be doing the Boot-Scootin' Boogie."

It was then that Blurred Lines filled the room and they looked at each other in astonishment.

"I don't believe everything about group dancing has to be set in stone, so if you were expecting to learn a simple line dance from me you are very mistaken," the pretty young female instructor began. There were some murmurs and good natured chuckles from the mostly male group that made her roll her eyes. "We only have an hour to learn this routine so everyone pay attention."

The instructor patiently stepped them through half a dozen steps and combinations, making them repeat them over and over again as she walked through the group, correcting people's stance and pulling the two girls to the front of the lines.

"So much for hiding in the back," Charlotte thought as she went through the routine yet again. When the instructor finally called for a five minute break, she gulped down half a bottle of water, feeling like she had just done a Zumba work out.

"Alright people, twenty minutes to go, let's get back to it! We need to beat the pants off the other teams. My reputation is at stake here! Let's go from the top." They had barely made it back to their positions and started executing the smooth and sexy moves that now blended into each other when the instructor yelled out again, "Everyone keep going, I'm watching."

She went to the back and spoke to Nick as he danced and gave him instruction. "When I give you the signal, I want you to do the step move up through the line in front of you like this." She demonstrated for him as the move came up, and then went back to him and got him to move with her so that he stood directly behind Charlotte.

"Now, Charlotte, just keep doing the routine. It's Nick who will make all the moves," she said to the two of them, once again demonstrating and having Nick mimic her moves. Then she stood back to watch, sizing up what was happening. "Good. Do the routine three times in this way, then the grand finale. Everybody else take five, you two work with me."

* * * * *

Ralph was in dancing hell. If he could have made himself small enough to hide as Charlotte had planned to do he would have, but instead he bumbled about and crashed into the people around him before finally finding the rhythm. He was grateful that although it was it was a decent song they were dancing to, others in the group were prepared to take the lead, as it was taking all of his concentration not to continually mess up the simple steps of their rolling routine.

An elephant tiptoeing through daisies is exactly how he felt when they finally filed back into the banquet room to their tables. Ralph sat in his chair with an audible groan.

"Can't have been that bad," Charlotte smiled at him.

"Wanna bet?"

"I bet you don't have to do a solo," she said, accepting his challenge with a grimace.

"I'm looking forward to that then," Ralph chuckled. "Better you than me. I couldn't even get the steps right."

Ralph's team was first up and Charlotte watched eagerly, her eyes focused on Ralph more so than the whole group, and she grinned as she saw him try to blend into the background unsuccessfully.

"Liar," she accused as he sat back down, "You didn't mess up once."

"You weren't watching close enough," he grumbled.

They both cheered on Sam as his group took to the stage. As out-going as ever, he had a little solo in the middle where he popped and locked across the stage to the cheers of the audience. The crowd was getting into the spirit of the evening as the third group took to the stage and finished to rapturous applause and much laughter as April Barnet took three curtain calls, curtsying like a dainty lady despite her size and muscle.

"Well I'm up. Wish me luck," Charlotte said to the table as she stood and moved to the stage with her group.

Ralph was mesmerized as he watched the movement on stage, starting with the sexy moves to the equally sexy song. As the routine continued and Nick moved into place, his mood became dark and he frowned at the stage. The final minute of the song where Nick spun Charlotte out of the group line and they did a little dirty dance totally infuriated him. He knew it was irrational. He knew he had no claim over her. He knew it was just a dance, but in that moment he hated Nick and resented the intimacy they displayed, even if it wasn't real.

Ralph Watson had the realization that he was jealous, and that he could no longer deny that he was developing feelings for Charlotte. Great, he thought. This is going to be yet another in a long list of disappointments in my life. Well, at least she isn't terrified of me any longer. That's something, at least.

Charlotte's group left the stage to raucous applause, and she returned to the table with a big smile on her face. Despite his discontent caused by her dancing with Nick, seeing her smile after the events of the past couple of days made Ralph happy. He supposed she was right about not sitting home alone. She needed something like this.

"That was quite a performance," he said to her as she sat.

"I was so nervous that I was going to screw up, I almost peed myself," giggled Charlotte.

"Now that would have been classy," joked Ralph. "You really did a great job, Char." He felt his anger ebb away as he spoke to her.

"You think? I glanced over at you, and I thought you looked a little unhappy while I was dancing."

"I...I was just worried that Nick was going to...I don't know. You have those bruises and all. I didn't want him to touch you and..." That was it, he realized. He didn't want anyone touching her, especially in a dirty dancing style. "I didn't want you getting hurt," he finished lamely.

Charlotte smiled at the big man. "You really better be careful, Ralph. Pretty soon, people are going to find out that you're not such a big grouch after all. Who knows WHAT will happen then?"

"You really should moonlight in stand-up comedy," Ralph grumbled.

"I just might do that, now that you mention it," she said with a big grin.

Ralph excused himself to go to the men's room, and Charlotte watched him go. Goodness, she thought. If she didn't know better, she'd swear that she detected a bit of jealousy there. She rolled her eyes. Don't be silly. She was not the type of woman that attracted Ralph's attention, recalling once again the image of Tammy on her knees in the parking lot. Of course, that led to her recollection of the fantasy she'd had in the shower. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the thought of Ralph being jealous made her smile.

Ralph returned to the table and sat lost in his thoughts as the conversation went on around him. A short time later, Suzette rose and stepped up, taking the mic again. "Our judges have unanimously decided on a winner. Without a doubt, our final group, the Red Group led by the lovely Missy Saint George, were the winners of this competition. Everyone, please give our winners, as well as yourselves, a round of applause," she requested, holding her hands above her head and clapping for the teams.

Everyone in the room clapped and cheered, as Missy approached the lectern to receive a well-deserved hug from Suzette and applaud her team while a lot of good natured trash talk went on among the participants. Suzette watched them all with a smile on her face, satisfied that she was pulling this diverse group together into a single team.

"The formal part of the evening's festivities are over. We invite you all to join us in the bar to unwind with a few drinks. Great job, everyone. Thank you for participating."

They all shuffled out of the room and moved into the bar. Ralph found himself standing at the far end of the bar with Charlotte, Sam, Marie, Jack and Nick. They were laughing and joking about their performances.

"I can't believe we still have more of this to go," commented Ralph. "I'm just horrible at this."

"You think too much, Ralph," replied Sam.

"I have to. I don't know how to dance. How the hell am I supposed to remember the moves?"

"You're the best athlete I know, Ralph. Did you stop and think about everything on the football field? No. You reacted on instinct. Let your body take over."

"He's right," chimed in Marie. "Let your body just feel the music. It will do the rest."

Ralph shook his head unbelievingly. "Dancing isn't football, Sam."

"Of course," added Nick, "if you're dancing with someone as lovely as Charlotte, it just comes easily."

"Oh, stop," Charlotte said, playfully slapping Nick's arm.

Ralph gave him a disapproving look. "Well, maybe I can figure out a way to sprain my ankle or something. Then I could just be a judge or something," Ralph joked.

"No way, Ralph. You're in this with the rest of us," insisted Charlotte with a smile. "Or are you afraid of the possibility of dancing with me? I don't bite Ralph, I promise."

Ralph smiled, liking the thought of her in her arms. He sipped on his wine, and the group continued to chat and joke with each other. As the time moved on, Charlotte became somewhat withdrawn, recent events and the wine taking their toll on her. She had ended up drinking far too much wine and it seemed to hit her all at once, as she became a little unsteady on her feet.

"I think it's time we call it a night," Ralph said, noticing that Charlotte was having difficulty. "Why don't you help me escort the winner upstairs, Jack?" He knew from events earlier in the night that Jack's room was next to Charlotte's and it would not be much of a stretch for the man to help him.

"No thanks," joked Nick. "I can manage on my own. You might want to assist her though," he said, indicating Charlotte.

April, who had joined their group as the numbers in the bar dwindled, laughed. "Too bad you're not a woman, Nick. I might just go for you," she said as she nudged him in the ribs.

"Life is full of disappointments, April. I'm going to bed too. Goodnight all," Nick said as he headed for the exit.

Ralph put a hand lightly on Charlotte's back, guiding her out of the bar and over to the elevator. Jack followed behind, getting onto the elevator last.

"Can I have your key?" Ralph asked Charlotte. She reached down into her dress and fumbled within her cleavage, unable to grab hold of the key but pulling it up just enough so that it stuck up from beside her rounded breast. Ralph reached down and slipped it out, handing it to Jack. The wine was clearly hitting Charlotte hard, as she swayed while standing in the car. When they arrived on her floor, Ralph just scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her door. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

"You're my hero, Ralph Watson," she slurred. "Thank you."

Jack opened the door, and Ralph carried Charlotte into the room, placing her onto the big bed. He removed her shoes, and she let out a sigh and rolled over onto her side, already falling asleep. Ralph pulled up the blanket and covered her. He had a strong urge to reach down and kiss her cheek, having to will himself not to brush his lips over hers.

He and Jack left the room, closing the door behind them.

"I think that woman likes you, Ralph," Jack said to him.

Charlotte woke early despite the amount she had drunk the night before. Feeling fuzzy headed, she lay there for a long time reviewing the events of yesterday. The incident with Jeff seemed so surreal now it was like a bad dream, but opening her eyes she inspected the deep bruises on her arm and knew it had really happened. The ache at the top of her hip from her fall against the desk told her of the bruise left there as well.

Climbing out of the big, comfortable bed Charlotte went to shower. The hot streaming water immediately made her feel better and began to clear her head. She decided that she needed a morning run, just as she did at home. Without her treadmill handy, she would have to run on the castle grounds. She considered it and had to admit, not knowing if Jeff had been released from custody after attempting her stab her, that she had no desire to put herself in a situation where she would have to face him alone again.

Remembering Jack was staying in the room beside hers and that he was a bit of a fitness advocate himself, she decided to see if he was awake and would go for a run with her. She dressed in a pair of comfortable training pants and a snug T shirt before opening her door and walking a few paces up the quiet hallway to knock on Jack's door. It was partially open and she could hear male voices inside. She considered walking away but having decided she need some exercise to clear her head knocked anyway.

"Come in," Jack called out and Charlotte pushed the door open wider, taking a step inside and freezing. Ralph lounged in an armchair sipping coffee. Her eyes were drawn to his bare chest and broad shoulders, and it took an effort for her to tear her gaze away to look at Jack.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but..." she looked between the half-dressed men. For a middle aged man, Jack was in good shape but Ralph's massive body, Charlotte realized, was filled with muscles that rippled with his every movement. "But I just thought, if you were up early too that you might come for a run with me?" Once again she looked between the men who hadn't said anything. "It's just that I don't really want to go out on my own after... well."

"Sure," Jack and Ralph said simultaneously.

"A run the morning after always does well to clear the head," Jack enthused. "Just give me two minutes to change. I'll knock on your door when I'm ready."

Ten minutes later they were standing down in front of the winery doing some stretches and chatting. It seemed that most people were given twin rooms for the weekend and shared with another person. The women were given the single rooms for the most part, but all the men shared. Jack's roommate had originally been going to be Jeff, and Ralph joked that the winemaker's assistants had better rooms so he offered to keep Jack company. The truth was he had wanted to be closer to Charlotte after the day she had endured and her nightmare of the previous afternoon. Jack had understood, and even though he teased him about taking his hero duties too seriously, he had let him move his gear into the room for the weekend. He could easily see the chemistry developing between the two young people.

For her part, Charlotte liked the idea of Ralph being close by. It made her feel safer. She hadn't realized as she stretched that the snug shirt she had put on rode up, displaying the large purple bruise on her hip. Having warmed, up she took off the lightweight hoodie she wore, planning on leaving it behind for the run.

It was only when she heard the soft growl and looked up to see the frown on Ralph's face that she realized the bruises were visible to everyone.

"They look worse than they feel," she laughed, pulling her shirt back into place and crossing her arms in an attempt to hide some of it. "Let's get going or we'll miss breakfast," she said, then began to jog off, letting the men catch up to her.

Jack had the smooth stride of a man used to running. Charlotte looked over at Ralph as he caught up to them, surprised that Sam was right. He was a natural athlete, and his sized belied his grace and ability. Looking at his arms and remembering his shirtless torso, she realized just how strong he truly was. All the heavy work in the cellars must be like working out all day, every day, she thought to herself.

The castle sat midway up a small hill, and they jogged down through the rows of vines before turning to cut across the landscape and up to where a decorative pergola sat near a small pond. The well-manicured lawns and gardens around it made it a pretty venue for outdoor weddings and ceremonies. As they neared the green edges of the area they saw two other people approaching from the opposite side at a brisk walk. The runners slowed their pace as the track they followed was too narrow for so many to pass unless they were in single file.

"See darling, there are people to run with you here. There was no need to drag me out this early in the morning," Frank Price said, smiling indulgently at his young wife.

"Oh hush, walking is good for you. You know what the doctor said," she replied with equal parts love and concern in her voice.

"Ralph," he appealed, recognizing the big man. "Save me from having to defend my high cholesterol and walk with me so Suzette can have her morning run and get all those lovely endorphins she is addicted to."

"I dunno. This one has a habit of running headlong into trouble," he said, waving his hand at Charlotte.

"I wouldn't worry. Suzette is some sort of ninja in her spare time, or at least that's what her martial arts trainer tells me when he sends me the bill."

"Hooowaah." Suzette gave him a mock karate chop to his arm. "She'll be fine and I would love a run." Suzette smiled, knowing her husband had plans for the big man. "Plus we have an escort," she said, smiling at Jack.

Without giving him time for another excuse, Suzette linked arms with Charlotte and Jack, leaving Ralph and Frank on the hill as they jogged off. Charlotte was surprised by the familiarity Frank and Suzette had used when speaking with them. She had expected them to be far more aloof. They were, after all, the owners of the winery and all the land surrounding it for several miles. They looped back around and made their way back to the winery with Suzette setting a fast pace.

"Thanks for the run guys," Suzette panted as she walked around the courtyard outside the entrance. "I'll see you both in the cafeteria for breakfast in a few." She waved and jogged back inside the castle.

As Charlotte, Suzette, and Jack were chasing endorphins, Frank was picking Ralph's brain about horses. The two men walked together as Frank peppered Ralph with questions.

"What about your horse, Ralph? Would you be willing to put him to work?"

"Chuck is an old thoroughbred, Frank. He isn't a good choice for pulling a carriage full of noisy people."

"What would you recommend?"

"Your best bet would be some kind of draft horse," replied Ralph. "Maybe a Percheron or a Spotted Draft. Maybe a Draft Cross, depending upon the look you want. Some people favor Shires, but that's an awful lot of horse. They're usually a lot bigger than other draft horses, and you don't really need that size and strength."

Frank nodded thoughtfully. Being the owner of several racehorses himself, Frank already knew quite a bit about horses. It was his intention to test the knowledge of the big man, and Ralph was proving himself to Frank as they spoke.

"Depending upon how often you'd want to run the rides, you'd need at least a couple of teams," Ralph continued.

"Of course. That makes sense."

"I'd start with thinking about how much demand you'll get and how big you'd like the wagon or carriage to be. Then you can best figure out the number and size of the horses you'll need."

"I'd need to build a barn too. And I guess provide some grazing land as well."

"Open land would be ideal for horses," Ralph added. "There really is no substitute for that."

They were approaching the castle at this point, and Ralph was anxious to get inside and shower. Frank clapped the big man on the shoulder.

"I'm glad I ran into you this morning, Ralph. You know a hell of a lot about these animals."

"I've been around them most of my life, Mr. Price."

"Frank. Call me Frank, Ralph."

"Okay. Frank. It's almost time for breakfast. I'd better get inside and get cleaned up. I don't want your wife scolding me for being late," Ralph joked.

"Or scolding me for making you late," Frank chuckled.

Ralph entered the castle and took the elevator up to his room, walking by Charlotte's door on the way to his, and resisting the urge to knock. He stood outside his room, thinking about the way her t-shirt and jogging pants had clung to her body, revealing her feminine curves. He let his mind wander, picturing her standing there with her hair in a ponytail, revealing her neck, soft and vulnerable. He thought about kissing her there, nipping at her lightly with his teeth. He could almost imagine the sounds she'd make as he kissed her and ran his hand down her body, cupping an ass cheek in one of his big hands and pulling her close to him.

Ralph could feel stirring inside his shorts, but his reverie was cut short by the opening of the elevator and the sound of voices. He turned to see a smiling Charlotte walking down the hall, accompanied by Jack. Ralph very badly wanted to touch her at that moment, but he settled for a verbal greeting instead.

"How was the run?" he asked, his eyes locking onto Charlotte's.

"Fast, but I needed that. I feel much better now," she replied.

"These two women made me feel my age," Jack chimed in. "It was all I could do to keep up with them."

Charlotte nodded knowingly. "He says that, but I'm not so sure. I mean, he spent the entire run staring at the backsides of two young women," she teased. "It's hard to believe he suffered all that much."

"Damn that Frank," joked Ralph. "I feel short changed."

In a bold moment quite uncharacteristic of her, Charlotte turned around, pushing her butt back and dramatically smacking it with one hand. "There you go, Ralph. Are you happy now?" she asked with a playful grin.

Jack chuckled as he opened the door to the room. "You mind if I shower first, Ralph? I have something downstairs I'd like to check on before breakfast."

"Sure," the big man answered.

Ralph turned to Charlotte as the door closed behind Jack. There was some tension in the air as they stood looking at each other, each not sure what to say. Charlotte finally broke the silence.

"I really don't remember how I got into my room last night."

"Jack and I brought you up. I...well...I may have carried you from the elevator into your room."

"Ah. I was wondering. I woke up with my clothes on and didn't really recall what had happened."

"Oh, you made all sorts of confessions, Charlotte. Don't you remember?"

She was momentarily disarmed, wondering if she did, in fact, say anything that she might not have wanted to. Ralph winked at her, giving her a smile. She stepped over to him and punched the big man in the chest, once again aware of the layers of muscle he was wrapped in.

"Very funny, mister," she said, looking up at him. She stood there a moment too long, then finally backed away, walking to her door.

"I'd better go get showered. I don't want to miss breakfast. We're going to need energy for whatever Suzette has planned for today." She flashed him a grin.

"Don't remind me," Ralph grumbled.

Charlotte laughed, then bit her lip and walked into her room, leaving Ralph alone in the hallway. He watched her door close, then took a deep breath and walked into his room to get ready.

Once inside, Charlotte pressed her back up against the door as her heart raced. She was aroused, and found herself wishing that he had leaned over and kissed her. The thought lingered with her as she showered and got ready. She argued with herself the entire time, thinking that it was only because he had come to her aid, and that she was rebounding from her foul relationship with Jeff. The more she thought about it, the more foolish the arguments felt. She sat at the dressing table, a hand to her mouth as she looked at herself in the mirror, the realization hitting her that she was falling for Ralph Watson.

She showered and changed quickly, thinking she would head downstairs and find Lincoln. She had barely seen him since everything that had happened the day before. Finding him would give her an excuse to put a little distance between Ralph and herself, and maybe try to untangle the feelings she had whenever she was with the big man. It had not escaped her that she barely gave a second's thought to Jeff, aside of wondering if he would return to threaten her again. Gone were any feelings of affection she had toward him, and she hoped fervently that he was still in custody. Of course, she doubted his father would have allowed him to stay in jail overnight. Slipping out of her room, she used the door knob hanger to leave a message that she had headed down to breakfast and headed for the elevator.

Entering the cafeteria, she found many of the staff had already arrived and were sitting in small groups chatting amiably among themselves. Spotting Lincoln and waving to him, she grabbed a tray and piled it high with food before joining him at his table. He raised his eyebrow at the tray and she shrugged. "I think it's the fresh air. I went running this morning out in the vineyards, and now I'm starving."

"How are you doing after yesterday?" Lincoln asked quietly.

"I feel like it all happened to someone else," she said with a crooked smile. "Jeff and I had not really been as close as we once were," she said thoughtfully. "I am kinda surprised at his reaction to the break-up. I wouldn't have thought he cared so much."

"That wasn't a man who cared about anything but himself," Lincoln said, putting his arm about her shoulder and pulling her close in a friendly hug. "Any time you need to talk this weekend just come find me. You know no one would blame you if you didn't stay."

"I don't really want to be home alone, you know. Do you think we can find out what happened to him after yesterday? Make sure he isn't hanging around somewhere?"

"Sure," Lincoln said giving her shoulder an extra squeeze as understanding dawned on him about why she was reticent to leave. "How about I go call the sheriff's office and see what I can find out?"

"Do you think they'd tell us?" she asked nervously.

"Maybe I should get Stuart to call. We both know he wouldn't take no for an answer," Lincoln chuckled. "But I'll see what I can do first. Wait right here I'll make a quick call."

Lincoln got up and left the table. It was only then that she saw Ralph had entered the cafeteria and stood staring at her from across the room with his brooding face in place. She tried to smile and wave but he turned away to the line in order to get some food. Jack came to sit beside her, taking Lincoln's seat.

"You got down here fast. We were worried when you didn't answer your door. It took us a minute to see the note you left," he chuckled softly. "I thought Ralph was gonna break down your door and you were down here getting all cozy with Lincoln the whole time."

"It's not..." Charlotte began to defend herself. "It was about yesterday. I was just..."

"I understand. I gathered as much. I am not so sure he does though," Jack said, pointing at Ralph. "He is taking his role as your protector very seriously. It's why he's sharing my room."

Charlotte considered that perhaps coming to Lincoln had not been the wisest choice, but he was her closest friend here. They shared an office and he had witnessed everything yesterday. He had also known her and Jeff as a couple, and could sympathize with her on all levels. The reality was that she hardly knew Ralph, and despite her growing feelings for him, or rather because of them, she just felt she couldn't talk to him about Jeff.

"I can't talk to him about Jeff. It's just, I feel so stupid for staying with him as long as I did. It was humiliating finding him...Well...like I found him. That...and Ralph was there," she said with tears stinging her eyes. She didn't know why she felt angry, but the tears continued to flow. "Shit, look at me. I'm a basket case," she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Linc is ringing the sheriff to find out where Jeff is for me. I was worried..." A sob caught in her throat as she finally broke down and admitted she was scared, and Jack wrapped a protective arm around her.

Ralph watched her from a distance, having sat with Sam and Nick instead of approaching her table as Jack had. Lincoln reappeared with Stuart Gresham at his side and together they approached Charlotte. She nodded and got up, leaving the cafeteria with the pair. Ralph brooded and looked down at the breakfast that he had been pushing around his plate, wishing he felt he could follow them and look after her. She looked so vulnerable and sad. Every part of him just wanted to protect her and make her smile again.

Charlotte followed Lincoln and Stuart outside, and they stood under a cloudy sky that threatened rain. Stuart put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a kind smile.

"You don't need to worry about Jeff," he assured her. "His father tried to pull some strings, but to no avail. Attempted murder tends to be frowned upon, even if you're an affluent ass."

Charlotte nodded and smiled. "I really was scared he'd come back."

"He's not going anywhere," replied Stuart. "In fact, he actually had a bit of a breakdown. They're holding him on suicide watch in the psychiatric ward at the jail."

Charlotte was momentarily speechless. "I just feel so humiliated."

"You shouldn't. You didn't do anything," Lincoln added.

"Yes. Yes I did," replied Charlotte. "I allowed my upbringing to cloud my judgment. I ignored things I never should have ignored. I was unhappy, and what did it all get me anyway? I've wasted years of my life on a spoiled brat."

Stuart gave her a kind smile. "Have you learned anything by all this, Charlotte?"

She faced Stuart, nodding slowly. "Yes. I certainly have."

"Then I'd say you haven't wasted anything, my dear."

"Listen to the wise, old owl," chuckled Lincoln. "He doesn't say much, but when he does, it's best to listen."

Charlotte nodded and smiled. "That's something I learned a long time ago, Linc."

"Charlotte, you really can go home. You've already passed any imagined test this weekend with flying colors," offered Stuart.

"Not a chance, Stuart. I'm going to finish what I started," she replied. Her mind drifted to Ralph at that moment, and she blushed.

"Okay, then. Let's get you young folks inside for the next exercise."

With breakfast finished, the employees headed to one of the event rooms upstairs. Suzette was waiting as they filed into the room and took seats. Once again, she had several dance instructors on hand, ready to transform them into light footed dancers. Once everyone was settled, Suzette took the microphone and addressed them.

"Welcome and good morning to everyone. As we did yesterday, we will be separating you into four teams. Each team will spend the morning with an instructor who will work with you on traditional square dances. Since there are many more men than women, the instructors will watch closely as you dance, and will eventually assemble two pairs of dancers from each team. During the afternoon, those pairs will work together on a dance routine, which will be presented to the other team members during the evening session. Those individuals who are not paired up will work on a team building exercise outside in the rain. I expect that will be enough motivation for you all to give it your best effort," Suzette said with a grin.

"After watching the pairs perform tonight, the team members will decide which pair they would like to represent their team during the finale tomorrow. In order to make this interesting, each member of the winning team will receive a one thousand dollar bonus and a day off."

Suzette handed the microphone to Emily and took her seat. The young blonde cleared her throat, then began to read the names of each team member, instructing them to move into their respective corners of the room. One by one she read the names, assigning Charlotte to team two. Ralph nervously waited to hear his name, and was relieved that he was called as the last member of that same team.

Jack had told him what was going on with her and Lincoln during breakfast and why she had come down early. Once again, he berated himself for feeling jealous of a girl who felt she couldn't talk to him about what worried her. He wanted the opportunity to show her he could be trusted and depended on. He locked eyes with Charlotte, and they smiled at each other as he joined the team.

Once all the names had been called, each team was assigned an instructor and sent off to their own rooms. Ralph wormed his way through the throng to walk beside Charlotte.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She glanced up at the big man walking next to her. "Actually Ralph, I'm more okay than I've been in a very long time," she answered. "Are you ready to win this contest?"

He looked at her and grinned. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he said, hooking an arm around hers as they walked to the room together.

* * * * *

After a morning of mixed-up hilarity led by Sam and their instructor Brian, Charlotte's sides ached from laughing. The new instructor seemed to take nothing seriously. In stark contrast to her instructor the night before, who was the most competitive person she had ever met, Brian believed that dancing should be fun and set about making their routine a mocking parody of what it should be.
Surprisingly though, despite all the laughter, everyone remembered the steps when it came time for a final run through before lunch, where they would pick the pairs. The group worked really well as a team. It was a given that the two women who were part of the team would be chosen to be partnered up with two of the men. Letting the men go to lunch, Brian kept the girls a few minutes.

"Okay ladies, now that they're gone, let's talk about the boys," Brian giggled with a girlish affectation that made Charlotte grin. "Technique is great and important but..." and for the first time that day Charlotte could remember Brian turned serious. "There has to be chemistry between the partners. People need to look at you as you dance and be swept away by the romance of it, whether you are doing a tango or some gawd awful country swing dance." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Chemistry with this group?" Maggie who stood beside Charlotte, shrieked. She was one of the few remaining cellar masters that had completed part of the college required for a degree in viticulture before she dropped out. She was around Charlotte's age, but was bubbly and vivacious, in contrast to Charlotte's quiet, introspective demeanor. It was a good personality trait for someone who had to deal with the public at the cellar door.

"Well, I can choose the two men for you, but you might not like my suggestions. Instead, I'm giving you the opportunity to tell me who you would rather dance with. I don't want to force you to work with someone who is going to make you frown instead of smile when it counts.

"Well if smiling counts you'd better team me up with Sam," Maggie laughed.

"Not so fast," Brian said, "I want two names from each of you. Then, I will give the guys the same choice during lunch. Just because you decided to dance with someone doesn't mean they want to dance with you."

"Well, I guess maybe Ralph Watson," Charlotte said quietly.

"The beast?" Maggie gasped, looking appalled.

"He's actually quite nice once you get to know him, and, well... he saved me yesterday and everything, and umm." Charlotte blushed not really knowing why. "He makes me smile."

"If you say so," answered Maggie with skepticism in her voice.

"I would have chosen Sam as a second, but Maggie is choosing him and I can't see him turning her down. I don't really know the other guys very well," she considered for a moment, then shrugged. I guess anyone who wants to dance with me is fine, but ask Ralph first please. He will probably say yes," she said with a half-smile.

"Ditto on the Sam thing," Maggie shrugged. "Can we have lunch now?"

"Sure girls, I'm starving, let's go," Brian said enthusiastically.

* * * * *

It started to drizzle as Frank Price lined up his putt on the eighteenth green. Jeff Cartwright Sr. waited impatiently, wanting to finish the game and get down to the real reason he'd asked Frank to play golf with him. Frank sunk the putt, satisfied that he had bested the elder Cartwright. He didn't care for the father any more than he cared for the son. Jeff three putted, slamming his putter into his golf bag in disgust. The pair got into the golf cart, and Frank drove toward the clubhouse.

"I wanted to speak with you about Jeff, Cartwright said. "This has all been a terrible misunderstanding."

"Has it?" asked Frank. "How do you figure?"

"It was all that woman's fault," continued Jeff. "I told my son he never should have gotten involved with someone like her."

"Like her? What do you mean by like her?"

"Poor," snapped Jeff. "People like that don't understand how things work."

Frank glanced over at the fool seated next to him. "It seems to me that Jeff is the one that doesn't understand how things work."

Ignoring him, Cartwright continued. "Look. Can you speak with that woman and ask her to drop the charges? I'm asking you as a friend. I promise I'll have Jeff move out of the area immediately."

The rain was coming down harder at this point, drumming on the roof of the cart. Frank stopped the vehicle and turned toward Jeff. "I can't do that. I won't do that. Not for a friend. Not for anybody."

Cartwright nodded his head, a grim look spreading across his face. "I get it, Frank. You want something in return. How about I let you have that little filly you've had your eye on? She has championship lineage."

Frank chuckled and shook his head. "You really don't get it, do you Cartwright? I don't care what you offer me. I'm not going to ask her to drop these charges. In fact, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure she doesn't."

Jeff sat there, gritting his teeth. Then he smiled at Frank. "You're a father. Can't I at least appeal to that? How would you like it if this was your son?"

"Let me tell you a story, Jeff. When my son was thirteen, he and a friend decided it would be great fun to throw rocks at the windows of a log cabin that was being built over in the foothills. I found out about it, and I could have protected him, but I didn't. He ended up working for those owners all summer to earn back what the windows had cost them."

"Your point..."

"My point is, Jeff, that I taught him that actions have consequences. Had Jeff just had the initial incident with Charlotte, he would most likely have gotten a slap on the wrist and probation. Maybe he would have learned a lesson. But he couldn't let it be. Neither can you. Now, he'll learn the hard way."

Jeff was now fuming. "You're going to pay for this, Price. If it's the last thing I do, you will pay."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it Jeff? Get the hell out of my golf cart. I'm finished with you," Frank snapped.

Jeff jumped out, grabbing his clubs in the process. He stood there in the pouring rain, watching as Frank drove away toward the clubhouse.

* * * * *

Once at lunch, Brian watched as Charlotte and Maggie went up to get food for themselves to eat. He took the opportunity to join the men at their table. There were several empty seats, as the groups were to sit together.

"While the women, are gone, I want to take a quick poll. I want each of you to tell me which of the women you would prefer to be paired with should the opportunity arise. Let's begin with you, Sam."

"Kate Upton," Sam replied with a big grin.

"There is always a comedian in the group, isn't there?" asked Brian with an amused smile. "Ms. Upton is not in your group, Sam."

"That's too bad, Sam replied. He looked over at Ralph, who watched him with a raised eyebrow. Sam got the message. "Maggie is my choice." Ralph nodded imperceptibly.

"What about you, Ralph?"

"I'm dancing with Charlotte," Ralph replied gruffly. It didn't come out as a request, and it wasn't intended to.

Brian nodded, then went around the table, asking each of the other men for their choice. Each of them chose Maggie, and several nervously glanced at Ralph before speaking. No one had the balls to test their luck by challenging Ralph.

"Okay then," Brain said with excitement. "We have our pairs."

The women arrived at the table, putting their trays down and sitting in the available seats. Maggie was seated beside Sam, and Charlotte sat directly across from Ralph in the only remaining seat.

"Do we have our partners?" asked Maggie.

"I was thinking about pairing up Ralph and Maggie as one team, and Sam and Charlotte as another," Brian replied. A hush fell over the table, each of them looking at Brian in surprise. Charlotte looked so disappointed that she appeared ready to cry. "Of course," Brian continued, "I'd likely end up with a mutiny on my hands and be tied to the rack somewhere in the cellars of this castle, so instead I think Ralph and Charlotte will be team one, and Sam and Maggie team two."

After a few seconds, they all burst into laughter. Brian waved a finger at Sam. "You aren't the only frustrated comedian in the group, Sam," he laughed. "Finish your lunch," he said to them. "After, the dancers will come with me, and the others will join Suzette outside for your afternoon session." The other members of the team moaned loudly, not wanting to go outside in the rain.

There was a lot of good natured chatter at the table as they ate their food, Sam and Maggie leading the way with their comedic antics. At some point, Ralph glanced up, realizing that Charlotte was watching him. She had a very pleased half-smile on her face and was biting her bottom lip. She shyly looked away when he caught her eye, but the smile persisted.

"I want to remind you that I have a learning disability when it comes to dancing," the big man said to her.

Charlotte smiled. "I take it as a personal challenge to bring out the best in you, Ralph Watson."

"Well you'd better," chimed in Mark, one of the other rats on their team. "We could all use that bonus and the day off. It's up to you four to bring that home to us."

"Don't you worry," Maggie exclaimed. "With Sam and I on this team, how can we lose?"

Charlotte just continued to smile as she felt her heart race. She was filled with a mix of emotions as she thought about the hours to come. She realized she had never had butterflies in her tummy like this before. Never. And she realized that the beast of a man sitting across the table from her was the reason she was feeling them now. She left half of her lunch uneaten, nervously awaiting the start of the afternoon and the chance to find herself in Ralph's arms.

Shortly thereafter, they were on the elevator on their way upstairs. Ralph stood nervously beside Charlotte as they rode.

"Are you ready for this, Ralph?"

"I guess so," he said with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"A week ago, if you'd ask me whether I'd ever be excited to dance, I'd say you were crazy. But here I am, one week later, looking forward to it."

"It must be your partner, huh?" she said with a grin.

"I'm quite happy with the partner I've been teamed up with, so I'd say you're right about that."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and Ralph grabbed Charlotte's hand without even thinking about it, pulling her to the room where they would spend the afternoon working on their routine.

* * * * *

Country swing dancing was a whole new ball game for both of the couples as they watched a video from Truecountry.com. Ralph watched the guy carefully and his foot moves didn't seem that difficult. Hell, he seemed to slide across the floor rather than walk. Maybe if he tossed Charlotte high enough during some of those trick moves and aerials, no one wold notice what his feet were doing.

Brian started off teaching his teams the two step, and once they were comfortable promenading around the small space with that basic step, he began to throw some tricks into their routines. While both teams laughed and joked between themselves and with each other, Ralph and Charlotte showed they had a lot of faith in each other. Brian was surprised at the risky moves Charlotte allowed, trusting Ralph not to drop her even when she was poised high above his head.

The other team, however, was not as willing to experiment and take risks. This was especially true with Sam breaking into a moonwalk every so often, sliding his feet across the well-polished floor. Brian wished he could have paired up the brave Charlotte with the more coordinated Sam, but there seemed to be something more between Ralph and Charlotte. Perhaps that was why she allowed him to throw her around in the dance so much, Brian mused.

Ralph was enjoying having the excuse to hold the small frame of Charlotte in his arms and against his much bigger frame. With her guidance as a partner, the natural rhythm he lacked seemed to come to him as he followed her feet, eventually beginning to lead her in the dance as he was meant to do. It was mid-afternoon, and thinking that they still had an hour or so to practice, the rest of their team trooped back into the room, a little wet and bedraggled looking.

The self-appointed team leader, a winemaker's assistant named Greg, went and spoke to Brian, who looked at his pairs still on the small dance floor and chuckled. Shrugging, he walked towards them, clapping his hands in an exaggerated way and announcing in a loud voice, "Show time!"

"Yeah... but no, we still have more time to practice," Maggie exclaimed, pointing to the large wall clock.

"Seems the storm has set in, so the team dance off is now," Brian said as if it made no difference. "All right kids, let's do this so our friends here can go have hot showers and change before dinner. God knows I could use the break too," he laughed, pretending to mop his brow. "Who wants to go first?"

"We will," Sam volunteered to Maggie's horror. "That way they don't have to be so disappointed after watching the acrobats."

The watchers seemed exhausted from being outside as they slumped in their chairs. It seemed to Ralph that they wished this was over as much as he did. He stood at the back with Charlotte as the music blared into the room, watching the routine that Sam and Maggie had just learned unfold on the dance floor. Without all the joking around they were quite good, and Ralph lifted his finger to gnaw on a nail nervously.

Charlotte looked up at him and smiled, taking his other hand and squeezing it. He looked down at her with an answering smile. She was amazed again by how the simple act of smiling changed his entire face and made him handsome in her eyes.

Cheering with the rest of the crowd as Sam and Maggie took multiple bowls, Ralph and Charlotte moved slowly forward. "You ready for this?" Ralph asked quietly.

"About as ready as you are," she whispered.

"Then we are screwed, and not in the good way." He winked at her, making her giggle. The music started a moment later, and they launched into a routine that revolved more around tricks and aerials rather than dance steps, as Ralph shuffled and slid his way across the floor, throwing Charlotte around his body like a rag doll. The music didn't die when they finished their routine, and Brian yelled one more time at them. They launched into the routine a second time, forgetting about the audience as their eyes locked during the dance. They both smiled, realizing that they had made it through without messing anything up too badly.

The cheers and applause when they finished were a welcome relief, and Ralph picked Charlotte up and spun her around as they left the floor.

Brian was clapping vigorously as he moved to the middle of the room, replacing Charlotte and Ralph as the center of attention. The other team members continued to applaud the two dancers, but slowly came to a halt as Brian attempted to speak.

"Thank you to both couples for the hard work you put into those dances," he began. "I have my ideas on which pair I'd like to see move on, but before I share them with you, I'm going to take a vote. By a show of hands, who would like to see Sam and Maggie represent this group in the dance off tomorrow?"

There were a few hands raised, but the majority of the team members stood with both hands at their sides. Brian counted the yes votes nonetheless, making sure he had an official tally. Sam jumped into the middle of the room, waving his arms around.

"Come on now. Maggie and I were great," he jovially exclaimed. "You all don't have to be afraid of Ralph. He's a big old teddy bear," Sam continued. "Three votes? I think there's been tampering here." Sam acted as if he was outraged, eliciting giggles from the crowd.

"I will agree that you and Maggie may have done a better technical job," Brian responded. "But dance, like music, comes from the heart. As I watched Ralph and Charlotte, I felt a connection there. They made me believe in their feelings for each other. True artists are able to make you believe. They have done an amazing job pulling that off.

"Now, just to make this official, please give me a show of hands for Ralph and Charlotte."

This time, a sea of hands went up, including Maggie's. Reluctantly, Sam raised his hand too. Ralph turned to Charlotte with a surprised smile. He had enjoyed dancing with her, but didn't think they had any chance of winning. He was much more pleased about that than he ever thought he'd be.

"Okay everyone," Brian shouted. "We have three hours until dinner. This evening, Ralph and Charlotte will work with me on the finale, and the rest of you will take part in a special exercise with Suzette. Until then, you are all free to do as you wish."

The crowd dispersed from the room quickly, each mostly going their separate ways. Rather than taking the elevator, Ralph headed for the stairs. Charlotte saw him, and hurried to catch up.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I'd like to get some air. It got stuffy in the room. I need to cool off a bit."

"Isn't it raining outside?"

Ralph shrugged. "I like walking in the rain."

Charlotte looked at him thoughtfully. "Want some company?"

Ralph nodded and smiled. "I'd love it."

They walked out to the front of the castle into a light rain, headed for the path that they had jogged on that morning. The cool rain felt good on Ralph's skin, and he reveled in it, turning his face up to the sky. They walked quietly at first, until Charlotte broke the silence.

"Was dancing with me as bad as you thought it would be?"

Ralph looked at her and smiled. "It wasn't soooo bad," he theatrically replied. He took a deep breath, pausing before continuing.

"Are you a true artist, Charlotte?"

She glanced at him as they walked. "What do you mean?" she asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

"What Brian said. True artists can make you believe. Are you a true artist?"

Ralph slowed to a stop and turned toward Charlotte. "Do I seem to be the artist type to you?" she asked quietly, averting her eyes.

"Do you always answer a question with a question, Char?"

"Probably more than I should," she replied with a giggle.

Ralph stood there, waiting for an answer. "Well?"

Charlotte gulped as Ralph watched her. "I've had one hell of a week, Ralph. I thought I was involved with a man that I would marry one day, and it turns out I wasn't just wrong about him. I was wrong about what I wanted as well. I guess I never questioned it and just did what was expected. I never really knew who the hell he was if I'm honest about it, just who he seemed to be. I saw the money, security, career and confidence he showed the world, not the man behind it."

"That isn't an answer, Charlotte."

"You scare the shit out of me, Ralph. You always have."

"So I gathered. And I really didn't like you very much, Charlotte. But here we are, and I'm still waiting for an answer."

Charlotte stood before Ralph, fussing about with her rain soaked hair, trying to avoid the words. "I can't fake something like that," she replied softly. "Who knows? Maybe that's why Jeff went elsewhere to have his needs met."

"Say it, Charlotte," Ralph asked, his eyes demanding the truth. "I need to hear the words from you."

Ralph looked down at her as the rain fell, harder now, rivulets of water running down her face. He reached a hand to her cheek and gently caressed it, showing that he, too, was trying to work out his own growing feelings for her. She looked up at him expectantly. He leaned over and kissed her gently, a soft, tender kiss on her lips, taking her breath away.

"The feelings are real, Ralph. I'm not an artist. I'm not an actor. I'm just me. I have never felt like this before. It's scaring the hell out of me. You're scaring the hell out of me, but in a very different way than you used to. I know this sounds crazy, but I think I'm falling for you, Ralph Watson."

Ralph leaned forward again, kissing her more deeply this time. She slipped her hands onto his shoulders and parted her lips, his tongue finding hers in a dance no less awkward than their own dancing, as they began to give in to what had been building between them.
Charlotte broke the kiss, looking up at the big man as she bit her bottom lip. She didn't need to hear the words from him. She could see them written all over his face. He had feelings for her as well, broken as she seemed to be at the moment. The thought made her reel, and she was glad that he held her in his strong arms.

Ralph kissed her again, hard, and pulled her tightly against him. Charlotte smiled into the kiss, feeling his strong arms pull her to him and demand her full attention. This was the kiss she had been waiting for, the kiss she had fantasized about. He was taking charge, and she felt her heart thump in her chest as she kissed him back, giving him exactly what he demanded of her.

Their clothes were soaked through now, but neither of them felt the chill. Charlotte could feel the bulge in the front of Ralph's pants pressing up against her body. It made her yearn for him, and she wished that they were in her room where she could tell him, show him, how much she needed a man like him in her life, instead of standing out in the vineyards in the rain. She was on the verge of not caring who saw or what anyone said when they heard footfalls approaching.

They pulled away from each other moments before Suzette came around the bend, jogging at a good clip. She stopped when she reached them, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"What are you two doing out here?" she asked.

"We came out to get some air," replied Charlotte. "And to talk about what we need to do to win this competition. We are one of the couples dancing tomorrow in the finale."

Suzette gave them a knowing smile. "Well, come on inside with me. You need to be well rested for tonight, and we don't need you catching a cold standing out in the rain."

"I guess not," Ralph chimed in with a frown. "You're dedicated going out jogging again today in this rain. Did you not get enough endorphins this morning?" he asked, trying to hang back and delay to no avail. Suzette continued to walk toward the doorway, beckoning them to follow while letting out a girlish laugh.

Reluctantly, the couple followed her back to the castle, the moment spoiled. Once inside, Suzette hooked arms with Charlotte and shepherded her off toward her room.

"I want to hear all about the competition," Suzette was saying to Charlotte as they walked, leaving a soaked Ralph standing alone in the foyer. Charlotte glanced over her shoulder at him, making a pouting face before turning away and disappearing up the stairs.

* * * * *

"I've been hoping for an opportunity to get to speak with you alone, but I didn't want to pull you out of the group and have the gossipers claim there was favoritism. Ralph won't tell anyone, will he?" asked Suzette. Then she laughed. "Of course not. He and his friends don't put up with all that bullshit that goes on, do they?"

"You wanted to talk to me?" Charlotte replied, appearing startled. "I have really been trying to get to know everybody this week. I admit Ralph used to scare me but that was before I got to know him. Really...this week has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know people better." She began defending herself, still unsure if she was one of the people seen as a problem in the winery, despite the reassurances that she had passed by Stuart Gresham.

"Oh, Charlotte. Don't look so worried. I just wanted to know you were okay after all that nasty business with Jeff Cartwright yesterday, but seeing how you and Ralph Watson were looking at each other, I'm gathering you aren't heart broken." She unlocked the door to her suite and ushered Charlotte in.

"Well I had broken up with him the day before. We had never truly been in love, you know. It was just a convenience to be together and I suddenly woke up and realized I deserved better. Honestly, aside from the horrific embarrassment it has all caused me, I actually feel relief that I don't have to deal with a man that never made me happy. And never could, I realize now. Turns out I hardly knew him at all," she said sadly.

"It's easy to get pulled in by the power and lifestyle of those sort of families. They are used to getting what they want from everyone. In fact, Jeff's father paid Frank a little visit at the golf club today and made a few demands," she said, grabbing a few towels and handing one to Charlotte as she spoke. Seeing the look of horror on Charlotte's face, Suzette rushed on. "Frank told him to fuck off. I think he actually said he used those words," she grinned at Charlotte, lightening her mood.

"Is that why you wanted to talk to me? Would you like me to resign for all the trouble I have caused?" Charlotte said quietly.

"Oh gosh no!" Suzette exclaimed, "Just the opposite." She saw Charlotte tilt her head. "I wanted to know that you were coping with all that has happened in the last week. Not only have we shaken up this winery, but your life had been shaken badly too."

"I'm just fine," Charlotte smiled. "In fact, I feel better than I have in a long time." An image of Ralph looking strong and protective flittered across her mind. "I admit I was a little rattled yesterday after the... well you know, but I think it's been good for me having this weekend and keeping busy. No time to dwell on whether or not I made the right decision dumping Jeff, which I know now for sure was absolutely the right thing."

"And Ralph?" Suzette asked with a knowing look.

"He's ummm, my dance partner," Charlotte hedged. "I probably shouldn't have followed him out into the rain. I'm freezing now," she smiled, hoping Suzette would let her leave to shower and change.

Suzette nodded, "You should go get cleaned up and ready for dinner. We can talk more later."

"Sure," Charlotte said, folding the towel in her hands and placing it over the back of a chair. "Thanks for reassuring me about Jeff and my place here," she said uncertainly, not really understanding the whole conversation except that she wasn't about to be fired or asked to resign for her part in the drama of yesterday.

Suzette walked Charlotte to the door of the large penthouse style suite and impulsively hugged her. Charlotte squeaked in surprised. "Don't let the hard ass bitch routine I do downstairs fool you. I have to do that here with all these men around. You of all people get that," she laughed. "I'm pretty easy going usually...once I get people doing things the way I want them." She winked and Charlotte let out a laugh. "See you at dinner," she said as she waved and closed the door.

Suzette had been where Charlotte was, with an abusive boyfriend, and she thanked her lucky stars every day that Frank had been there to pick her up when her world fell apart. She could see the chemistry brewing between Charlotte and the hero of the day Ralph, and she wondered if she should push it along a little. Grinning, she made some plans for the dancing they would do tonight.

* * * * *

Having showered and changed, Charlotte sat in one of the big comfy chairs in her room to gather her thoughts. She had been rerunning the conversation with Ralph through her mind over and over. She wondered how far things would have gone had Suzette not interrupted them. The feel of his lips on hers was soft at first, but became more demanding.

Her mind went to Suzette. Was she trying to warn her that it was too soon to be seen with someone else? Or that relationships at work didn't work and could end disastrously as hers and Jeff's had. It would have been hard to work here if Jeff had stayed, and it would be worse if things didn't work out with Ralph. It could give her the reputation as that girl, who was passed around at work.

She knew she shouldn't even be thinking about a relationship so soon, but she couldn't help the way she felt when Ralph was near her. Hell, she couldn't help thinking about him when he wasn't. She lowered her head, covering her face with her hands. If Jeff hadn't reacted so badly no one here would even know what was going on. The thought suddenly occurred to her that she had never considered how Tammy would react to what had happened. What if she went off the deep end as well?

She sat there quietly for a long time, thinking over everything that had happened in the last week. She had never wanted to risk her job and that is exactly what happened. She couldn't go back to her old life and she wondered if in the worst case scenario, Stuart would give her a reference. There was a knock on her door and looking up, she realized the light had faded and the evening air filtered through the windows.

The knock sounded again, this time more insistent. Charlotte got up and turned on the light before opening the door. Ralph stood there, the brooding worried look on his face scattering to clear his features as a lop-sided smile appeared in its place.

Unable to help herself, Charlotte smiled back. In the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't, but wanting to be able to talk to him she said, "I lost track of time. Is it dinner time or do you want to talk about our dance tonight?" She suddenly felt shy about what had happened and gushed her words in a big rush like a nervous school girl, rather than the professional young woman she was.

"It's a while before dinner yet," Ralph frowned at her. "What'd Suzette want? I thought you might like to talk about it and..." he took a step forward into her room, taking her in his arms. "I needed to know I hadn't dreamt this..." he said, lowering his head to take her lips again in an ever deepening kiss.

Charlotte's knees went weak, feeling herself succumbing to the beast of a man holding her in his arms. He held her tightly against his body, his tongue exploring her mouth, one hand drifting down to cup a cheek of her ass in his strong hand. He pulled her against him, and she could again feel his hardness between them, which pleased her and fed her hunger. She was feeling overwhelmed by all that had happened, and she was scared. Scared she would be nothing more to him than Tammy was. Scared she was caught up in the emotions of the past few days, and wasn't in a position to think straight. Scared about her job. Scared, most of all, that this man had her ready to risk everything for him.

In her last moment before complete surrender, she used all of her will to break the kiss, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him away just the tiniest bit. Ralph looked at her in surprise, wondering what was wrong.

"Ralph...I'm...I'm just so scared," she whispered.

"I thought we were past that," he chuckled.

Not in a joking mood, she searched his eyes with hers. "I mean it. I know what my heart is feeling, Ralph. But what if it's all just the stuff that's happened in the past few days...I don't know. You saved my life. You were my hero. How do I trust that this is something more than that? How do I know this isn't some intense rebound thing I'm feeling?"

"Did you save my life, Charlotte?" Ralph asked. With his eyes locked on hers as he awaited her reply, he knew that she had, but she would never know it. "How do you explain my feelings for you?"

"I don't know, Ralph. Maybe...maybe it's that you saved me. Maybe it's that I'm available and you feel like you should after...well...saving me?"

Ralph frowned, and Charlotte could see the hurt in his eyes.

"What about your friend Tammy?" She tried again to express everything she was feeling. "You two mean something to each other. How do you feel about that? How will she feel?"

"Tammy? She's a good friend, Charlotte. As you well know, she and I have...well..."

"I know Ralph. I saw."

"That's what we do. What we did. We both knew it was never going to be more than that."

"Come on, Ralph. People say stuff like that all the time. That doesn't mean they believe it. She could be very hurt by this," she sighed. "Whatever this is."

Ralphed laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"The other night, she practically threatened to hurt me if I let you slip through my hands."

"She what?"

"You heard me. She saw us together, and just knew. Before we did. She knew how we felt about each other, or at least how I felt. There is no way she would try to ruin this for us. That's the kind of friend Tammy is, Charlotte."

"I'm just confused, Ralph. Or rather, I'm not confused, I know what I'm feeling, and that's what's worrying me."

"Okay, Char. I'm in no rush. You want to take it slow, we'll take it slow, okay? No pressure. If you're with me, I want you to want to be here fully in the moment, because you want to be with no doubts. I want you to feel comfortable here, in my arms. I know how I feel. When you feel ready, you let me know. If you feel it's a mistake," he said with a wince, "then you talk to me about that, and we'll see how we can fix it."

Charlotte smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry, Ralph. I just want to be sure...."

Ralph put a big finger to her lips, hushing her. "Are you ready for dinner, or would you like to share a shower or something first?" he grinned.

Charlotte shook her head with a small laugh, punching him in the arm in jest.

"Dinner it is, then," said the big man, and they left the room together.

They entered the dining room together, searching for their team members. Sam spotted them first, and waved to Ralph from across the room. Maggie was sitting with him, as were several other members of their team.

"They sure are spending a lot of time together, aren't they?" she said quietly to Sam. "Do you think anything was going on before...?"

"No way. Ralph pretty much couldn't stand her," he replied with a chuckle. "Somehow, all that crap with Jeff...I don't know." He watched his boyhood friend approach, looking happier than he had in years. "He had some shit go on in his life that allowed him to feel empathy towards her. They just seem to be connecting ever since that shit went down."

"Really? The beast has a heart?" laughed Maggie.

"I've never seen him this happy in his life, Mags. Truthfully. It's like he's the Ralph I knew back in high school again."

Ralph and Charlotte arrived at the table and took a pair of seats together. Maggie tried to avoid being too obvious about watching them, but failed miserably.

"Spit it out then Maggie, what was it you were saying about us?" Ralph asked, but the smile on his face held no malice.

"I was telling Sam here, that if you two don't get us that bonus and day off, there will be dire consequences. Dire," she repeated, cracking her knuckles.

Charlotte broke into a giggle. "I don't know, Ralph. I've heard that cellar crew is a tough bunch. We'd better be damned sure we win this thing."

"How can we lose with you as my partner?" he shot back.

"Oh, brother," Maggie laughed. "I hope you have more game than that, Ralph, or you're in trouble."

The group engaged in good natured banter throughout dinner, everyone enjoying the company of their coworkers. At one point, Suzette peeked into the room, a huge smile showing on her face. She recalled the first day she had pulled them all into the same room, and how they had all formed their little cliques. It was hard to believe this was essentially the same group of people.

At dinners end, Suzette stood at the dais table and called for attention. Everyone quieted down, and turned their eyes to her.

"At this time, I'd like to direct our finale contestants to follow their instructors. Tonight, you will be learning to dance the tango. It will be up to the individual dancers and their instructors whether the dance is performed with an open or a closed embrace. I'm anxious to see what you choose. In order to make it a little more modern, you will dance to the Roxanne version of tango. We have a special exercise for those of you not in the dance finals, so stay put and we'll get to you very soon.

Brian appeared at the table, inviting Charlotte and Ralph to follow him into the room they would be working in. Ralph was a little nervous about actually having to dance the tango. Until now, he had let his athleticism propel them along, and the routines they used allowed a lot of room for improvisation. But a tango? That was a real dance. He wondered how the hell he was going to get through that without letting Charlotte down.

He glanced at Charlotte as they walked, and could see that she was distracted. She sensed his gaze, and looked up, giving him a tight smile. She was engaged in an internal battle, and wished she had some more time to be by herself and think.

Once in the room, Brian immediately began.

"Okay, kids. The tango. The dance of love. That chemistry I saw between you two earlier? You're going to have to bring it now."

"I may be in over my head," said Ralph. "I can't really dance."

"I think you're wrong, my friend. I'm quite confident that you can."

Ralph shrugged and let out a big sigh, then looked at Charlotte.

"Don't look at me, Ralph. If we blow this, you'll have to answer to Maggie," she quipped, trying to break the tension he felt.

"Okay now. We're going to start by learning the eight count basic step. Ralph, you must take the lead here. This dance will be about timing and moving together. Remember the point of all this? Teamwork? The two of you will have to be in sync at all times."

Brian walked over to a laptop and projector sitting on a table. He turned the projector on, and the image of a website appeared on the wall. It was a site that had instructional videos of ballroom dancers.

"Ordinarily, I would work with each of you individually, but we don't have time for that. I want you to watch, then work together to try to duplicate what you see the dancers in the video doing."

Brian started the first video. They watched it several times before Brian spoke again.

"Okay. Notice how the male dancer is leading the female, and how she moves with him. She knows what he is going to do, and is ready to move with him. You can see how they move as one. That's what we're going for here. The two of you as one, okay? Now, I want you to try it," Brian instructed.

He worked with them on the starting position, and played the video as they danced the steps.

"Slow-slow-quick-quick-slow. Slow-slow-quick-quick-slow," Brian counted out the time for them as they struggled with the steps. He had them spend about ten minutes repeating the steps over and over, but they were having a lot of difficulty. Charlotte was feeling unsettled, her mind still reeling. They were standing apart in an open embrace, space between them. Ralph, trying to be respectful of Charlotte's wishes, was doing his best to keep his distance and just concentrate on the dance moves.

"Okay, stop," Brian yelled out in disgust. "What gives with you two?" he asked, waving his hands about. "You're stiff as boards, and you look as if you're afraid to touch each other. This is a dance of love, remember? You need to play the part," he almost growled at them. His joking side had vanished with the appearance of these two cardboard cut outs of themselves. "Get back into position," he commanded.

Ralph and Charlotte stood in starting position, and Brian came and stood beside them. He shook his head as he took in their stance, then put a hand on the back of each of them, pushing them against one another.

"There. That's better. Why the hell did you think you could dance together from opposite sides of the room? Stand like that for a few minutes. Get comfortable being up against one another. You had no trouble earlier so don't act like virgins on a first date."

The seconds passed into a minutes, and Charlotte looked up at Ralph with a smile, then began to giggle. Ralph looked down into her smiling green eyes and felt his spirits lifting. He also felt something else lifting, and so did Charlotte. Her smile changed as she let out a slight purr along with her breath. They stayed like that another minute, until Brian finally spoke again.
"Okay, are you two ready to try this again?"

Both Ralph and Charlotte nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, let's go. Slow-slow-quick-quick-slow. Slow-slow-quick-quick-slow. Now you're starting to get this," exclaimed Brian as he watched. Each time they had mastered a step, they moved onto the next one. "The sixteen count basic, the basic corte, the promenade with a swivel and a turn, on and on they went. Once they had gotten all of the steps Brian wanted to use, they took a little break. Brian left to use the rest room, leaving Ralph and Charlotte alone.

"Are you okay?" Ralph asked her.

"I am, Ralph. I feel much better than earlier."

"Good. I know it was a little awkward at first."

Charlotte nodded. "But now you seem to be enjoying yourself, Ralph. Whatever will the other cellar rats think if they find out that you of all people are enjoying ballroom dancing?" she teased. "They might banish you from the cellars."

"Hey, it's a performance," argued Ralph.

"Is it," Charlotte asked, arching an eyebrow and suddenly looking serious.

"No. And you know it. It isn't the dance I'm enjoying. It's my partner."

Charlotte nodded and smiled. The thought made her tummy flip. "We might win this thing yet, Ralph."

"We already might have," he answered with a grin. He grabbed a water bottle, holding it up to her. She nodded yes, and he tossed one to her. They were sipping water when Brian returned.

"Okay, now. You know the steps, and now we'll put them together into a routine. Are you kids ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be," replied Charlotte, her gaze locked on Ralph.

"Every good dance, be it ballroom, country, ballet, whatever, is meant to tell a story. It's not just about learning some moves and shaking your groove thing around a stage," Brian explained. "The tango is a story about love, but more than that, it's tempestuous love, it's filled with emotions. Some versions show a rage filled man claiming his lover from another. Others show a man declaring his unbridled love for a woman who fights the temptation. It's that tempestuous relationship we need to depict," he said, looking at them both for some sign that they were following his logic. They looked back at him expectantly, so he continued.

"Ralph. You see this woman across the room. You desire her. You want her. You are determined to make her yours," Brian exclaimed as he patted his chest as he spoke, indicating his heart. "With just a look, her beauty and vulnerability stole your heart." He patted a last time. "Determination, got it?" He waited until Ralph nodded, and saw the grin turn up the corners of his mouth. "No tackling like you did to that dude in the foyer. Go to her, grab her, and take her on the journey of the dance with you."

"Got it," Ralph said, letting his smile show.

"Charlotte." Brian turned his attention to her. "This," he waved his hand in front of Ralph, "is the local bad boy. The one your mother always warned you about. You're excited by the thought of him, but the reality of surrendering to him frightens you. At first you go with him, but as the dance becomes more demanding you try to flee."

She looked up at Ralph and caught the look he gave her. Talk about art mirroring life, she thought and let out a giggle.

"Ralph won't let you, because he is, of course, determined!" Brian frowned at her giggles. "I know. It's very cliché, but the story will help you understand the dance better, and it will show in your execution. It certainly is better than the actual origins of the dance, which were acting out a relationship between a prostitute and her pimp."

"I think you're right about that," Charlotte replied, finally letting herself enjoy the moment with a full laugh. Brian looked between them and raised an eyebrow.

"Right. You stand here, and pretend you're looking in a mirror adjusting your hair or something," Brian said, positioning her in a corner of the room. "Ralph, come with me." Brian led the way over to the diagonal corner of the room. "This will be your time to shine. After this, it will be all lifts and tricks and a little easy footwork, okay? Now follow me." Brian led Ralph in a complicated stepping sequence towards Charlotte.

"Now, when we get to this point, you reach out and take her hand and yank her arm, spinning her towards you. Charlotte, you wrap your leg around his when he does this and look up at him in surprise got it? Then he will drag you to the center of the floor, and you drag the other leg along behind you, toe pointed. Arms like this..." Brian draped her against Ralph's body, positioning her as he wanted. "Got it?"

"They started from the beginning again and again, each time Brian adding a new set of movements, so that within an hour, they had half of the dance sequence they needed down pat and they both knew every inch of each other's body. Finally, panting for breath and sweating from the efforts, Ralph called for a five minute break and went to grab some water.

In truth, it was Ralph that now felt uncomfortable with the closeness of the dance, knowing that Charlotte had asked for that little bit of distance that taking it slowly required. The dance and the feel of her in his arms, pressed against his body, made him want to just take her back to his room and really show her the dance of love. After downing a bottle of water in several big gulps, he turned to see Brian and Charlotte talking quietly.

"Do you want water?" he called out, breaking up what seemed to him to be an intimate little conversation that made him slightly jealous.

"Yes please." Charlotte gave him a wide smile and Brian nodded, seemingly lost in thought. They all sat for a few minutes, catching their breath in silence before Brian stood up as if making a decision, clapping his hands. "All right. Back to work. Show me you have the first half down and we'll start on the second half."

Ralph helped Charlotte up from the floor and pulled her up into his arms, lifting her and carrying her back to the center of the room. Charlotte laughed. "I start over there remember?" Ralph feigned confusion, and holding her close to him he moved her back to the corner. Leaning over as he put her down, he let his lips brush lightly over hers, and grinned as he saw her smile before he moved to his own starting position.

"Remember, this first part is about demanding her attention Ralph. Make her fall in love with you. Be the man," Brian called out and started the music. He stomped his foot in time with the techno beat as he watched their moves critically, pleased with what he saw. They were fast learners, and the chemistry between them was undeniable.

Ralph spun Charlotte as she clung to him in a final embrace before twisting her out, then pulled her back firmly against his body. They stopped and looked at Brian as one, and he applauded.

"Now comes the surrender and love scene," Brian instructed.

Once again they worked solid from the end of the first scene, working different movements and repeating them, always adding a little more. Finally they reached the final sequence, where Charlotte lay in a stylized pose at Ralph's feet, a conquered woman.

"Now we try and put it all together," Brian said eagerly, anxious to see his choreography come to life to tell this story.

"Geez Brian, it's late," Ralph said as he helped Charlotte to her feet, noting the dark circles beginning to appear under her eyes.

"Well, you'd better get to it then, because I want it done properly in full before we finish for the night." Brian moved over to the stereo and waited for them to take to their starting positions.

"I'm fine if you are," Charlotte said with a smile as she lifted her hand to his cheek and looked into his eyes. "It will be good to do it all in one go if we can," she said softly. Ralph nodded as he leaned into her hand slightly and turned, moving to his corner of the room.

The violins of the opening chords of the song sang out, and Ralph turned to look at Charlotte. He didn't have to pretend desire. He wanted her, and after all this pressing and grinding of their bodies, he needed her not only in his arms but in his bed. Following the story they had been given, the steps came almost naturally to him now. He wanted her and was determined to get her. She didn't have to be uncertain or confused. He wouldn't let her down, not here, not tomorrow in the finale, not ever if he could help it.

Without Brian beside them the whole way barking orders, Charlotte let herself become lost in Ralph's eyes. She let him lead her, and in the depths of her she knew, if he was this determined when they were alone she would not only let him take her, but encourage him to do so and damn the consequences. Each time she slid down his body into a half split and clung to his leg, she envisaged herself as Tammy had been when she had seen them in the parking lot.

They went through the sequence several times, barely missing a beat and becoming lost in the story of love and desire. Finally, close to midnight, Brian called a halt and suggested they get some rest. He expected them back immediately after breakfast for some final practice.

There was a comfortable silence between them as they wandered back to their rooms, walking side by side and lightly brushing against each other along the way. They reached Charlotte's door first, and they paused there, facing each other. Ralph could see the desire in Charlotte's eyes, and he leaned down and kissed her softly, pulling her against him as he did. She felt her knees go weak as she kissed him back, ready to throw all caution to the wind.

Ralph broke the kiss, and put his fingers gently on her cheek as he moved back. Charlotte's eyes pleaded with him, her desire overwhelming her.

"Let's see how you feel in the morning, Char," he said softly. He wanted to take her so badly it hurt, but he wanted to respect her wishes, even if that meant saving her from herself.

Charlotte, closed her eyes briefly and nodded, a woman at odds with herself. She turned to the door, inserting her key and opening it, before turning to him again. Ralph kissed her once more, and she walked inside, closing the door behind her. She let out a deep sigh and pressed her back against the door. She was exhausted. She was overwhelmed. She was aroused. She wanted to surrender. Instead, she took off her clothes and went into the bathroom to remove her makeup and brush her teeth.

Ralph stood outside her door for a minute or two, then walked over to his room. He reached into his pocket for the key, but it wasn't there. He searched each of his pockets to no avail. He didn't have the key. He started to lightly knock at the door, hoping Jack would hear him and open it. He knocked for five minutes, but Jack never stirred.

Ralph glanced at Charlotte's door. He supposed he could go down to the front desk and ask for another key, but he didn't care for that option. Instead, he decided to knock on her door. Charlotte was just finishing in the bathroom when she heard the knocking. She slipped on a robe, then walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. A happy smile crossed her face when she saw Ralph standing outside her room.

She opened the door, looking at him quizzically.

"I don't have my room key," Ralph sheepishly said.

"Do you think I have it?"

"No, but you have a room that has a couch, don't you?"

"How very transparent of you, Ralph Watson," she said with a smile.

"Well, it isn't like I planned it."

"So fate is to blame, Ralph? Is that your position?"

"She does seem to have us in her sights, doesn't she."

"She does," she replied. "Who are we to argue with fate?"

Ralph decided he'd had enough at that point. Charlotte's words were good enough for him, and he was not going to fight his desire any longer. He stepped into the room and pushed the door closed, then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him. Charlotte let out a gasp, and a second later his lips were on hers. He kissed her aggressively, pulling her body firmly against his.

He ran a hand down her back and onto her ass. The thin silk of her robe allowed him to feel every curve as if she were naked. Ralph broke the kiss and nibbled his way down her neck, lightly biting and nipping at her. He could feel her body surrendering to his touch; he could hear it in her breath.

He moved her over to the dresser, pushing her against it before lifting her up and placing her on the edge. Ralph yanked her robe open, revealing her breasts to him for the first time. She watched his eyes as he took her in, his hunger evident in his expression. His huge hands moved up her sides, each cupping a breast and squeezing a nipple hard enough to make her gasp. He bent over and took first one nipple, then the other between his teeth, lightly biting and flicking at them with his tongue.

Charlotte's breath caught in her throat when she felt his fingers touch her already throbbing pussy. Cupping a hand beneath her, he parted her lips, and finding her already dripping with desire, he inserted his middle finger inside her. She whimpered softly in need as he slid it in deeper, the size of his finger catching her off guard. He used his finger on her as he ground the heel of his hand against her clit. His lips found hers again, kissing her, biting her. She bit back, and more than once their teeth clashed together as they attacked each other.

All of the tension that had been building between them now became a white hot ball of desire emanating from Charlotte's needy cunt. She began to hump against Ralph's hand as her orgasm approached, about to consume her. When it came, she cried out, then sunk her teeth into Ralph's shoulder to try to quiet her cries of pleasure. Her body was shaking, and he held her tightly with his free arm, his hand now still but pressing against her throbbing cunt, adding to the sensations until she calmed down in his arms.

Ralph pulled away, but only long enough to open his pants, revealing his cock to her. At that moment, Charlotte wanted everything. She wanted to get on her knees and show him what she could be for him, but more than that, she needed him inside her. She had to have him inside her.

She didn't need to ask. Ralph had started to rub his cock on her pussy, coating it with her juices, preparing to take what would now be his. She squirmed as she felt the heat of his cock on her, as if he were branding her with it. He was, she thought to herself, and a moment later he was pushing a cock that was in proportion to the huge size of the rest of him inside her. He's so big, her mind screamed at her as she felt almost painful pleasure as he slowly penetrated her.

Ralph moved inside her slowly, allowing her to adjust to the girth of him. Ralph was a big man, and she was a small woman. He knew her body would accommodate him, but he would take it slow. He wanted her to enjoy this.

Ralph was torn, wanting to watch himself sinking inside her, but also wanting to watch her eyes as he took her. He loved to watch the eyes of a woman as she surrendered, but that which he saw in Charlotte's eyes was like no other.

Once he was satisfied she was ready, Ralph found his rhythm, alternating deep long strokes with shorter, faster ones. They were forehead to forehead as he moved, eyes locked, Ralph holding her by placing his hands on her ass, keeping her on the very edge of the dresser. Charlotte grabbed and clawed at him, feeling him take possession of her with each stroke of his cock. This was what she had always longed for. This was the man of her dreams, a man who could take her, demand her acceptance of him, take her to places she had never been with a man, and he had been right under her nose for years.

Charlotte could hear his breathing become ragged, and she knew he was close.

"Give it to me, Ralph," she begged. "Please," She felt him thrust into her hard, grunting at her words. "Please Ralph, I want it, I need it."

With a growl, Ralph thrust forward hard, his cock beginning to spasm as the first spurt of come bathed her insides. Again and again, she felt his cock pulse within her cunt as he filled her to overflowing. It overwhelmed her, bringing on a second orgasm nearly as powerful as her first, and she arched back, lifting her head and biting her lip, stifling her cries of absolute pleasure.

When they had regained their senses and pulled free of each other, Ralph carried Charlotte over to the bed and placed her down, giving her a gentle kiss. He finished removing his clothes, then climbed in bed beside her. She curled up on his chest, and looked up at him with a smile.

"I hope you know what the hell you've done, Ralph Watson." Charlotte grinned at him. Ralph simply smiled and pulled her close, and they dozed off in each other's arms.

It was shortly after six when they heard a knock at the door. Charlotte got up, slipping on her robe, and looked to see who it was. She looked at Ralph, then opened the door a crack. Suzette was standing there, and she casually pushed the door open and walked in.

"I came to see if you wanted to go for..."Suzette's words cut off when she saw the big man sitting up in Charlotte's bed. She put a hand to her mouth, hiding a smile. "I'm so sorry. I guess jogging is out of the question, huh?"

"I think I might skip it for today," Charlotte said with an embarrassed grin.

Suzette moved to the door, grabbing the knob before turning back towards them. "See you at breakfast." Opening the door, she waved and left the room.

Charlotte turned to Ralph and shrugged. "It's almost three hours until breakfast," she said, walking over to Ralph's side of the bed. She knelt beside it and pulled the covers back, revealing his body to her. "But I have to admit I'm feeling very hungry right now," She said with a smile, sliding back into bed and kissing her way down his body.

Ralph marveled at the amazing woman who nibbled her way down his body, making him groan as he felt her warm breath move over his abdomen on her downward trail. His cock hardened at the mere thought of her and he pulled his hands back behind his head to stop the urge he had to hold her head and make her move faster. He didn't want to frighten her with his aggressive dominating style of sex. Not yet anyway. There would be time for that. He let out a large groan as her lips finally found their target and she fluttered butterfly kisses up and down the shaft of his cock before placing a kiss at the tip.

With as much restraint as he could muster, he let her explore his cock and the heavy sac that hung beneath, using her dainty hands, her lips and her tongue. It all became too much for him and he dropped his hands to tangle them in her long hair and feed her his cock until she gagged softly. Feeling his need rising all too quickly he pulled her up to him by her hair. So much smaller than him, he was able to move and manipulate her easily to straddle his hips without penetrating her.

Pushing her up into a sitting position he placed his hands on her hips as she rolled them, grinding her cunt down over his rock hard cock and letting out a small moan that sounded more like a purr of satisfaction and need. His hands moved up to her breasts to tease at them as she continued the slow sensual dance above him.

Charlotte could feel the hot flesh of his cock sear into her and rub against her clit as she ground down on him. His teasing hands made her even hotter as he pinched and played with the hard nipples that proudly stood out above her softly rounded breasts. Lifting her hips slightly she positioned his cock at the entrance of her cunt and sunk down onto him, letting out a long low groaning purr as she stared into his eyes.

Ralph watched the point of impact, seeing his cock slowly disappear into her tight little cunt. He groaned with her before looking up into her eyes as she rolled her hips, grinding down into his pelvis, ensuring she took all of him. Ralph once again gritted his teeth as he let her take the lead, moving up and down his cock slowly, purring loudly in pleasure.
"Fuck," he groaned finally, and he sat, taking her in his arms and rolling her over onto her back. He pulled her legs up, practically doubling her over and began to pound into her, losing himself in the feel of her.

Charlotte squealed in surprise and joy. This was what she needed, what she wanted, a man who could and would just take her, take what he wanted and needed. She could barely move in the position he had placed her in, but she rolled her hips and clenched her internal muscles around him as they both gasped and tried to keep their voices low in soft moans of pleasure.

He felt the shaking muscles in her legs moments before her body stiffened below him, her cunt clenching and pulsing around his pounding cock, releasing him to give up any pretense of restraint, he fucked her hard and deep, his own climax slamming into him with equal force. Letting go of her legs, he collapsed on top her, quickly rolling to his side and pulling her with him, not wanting to crush her but not wanting to break the intimate contact either.

They lay entwined in each other's arms, breathing heavily, both of them lost in the feelings of satiated bliss. Ralph's hands caressed her body as the small trembles continued to roll through her, marveling once again at how such a dainty package could bring him such intense pleasure. He smiled as her felt her wet, dripping cunt pressed against him as he held her tightly to him.

"Suzette was right. I really don't need to go for a run this morning," Charlotte giggled, "but I do need a shower now." She ran her hand over Ralph's chest and through the thatch of short dark hair there, feeling its dampness, "I think you do too."

"You think?" Ralph smirked at her and smacked her ass lightly.

"C'mon. I'll soap you up, Ralph. Someone needs to wash your back, don't they?"

Ralph smiled as he got out of bed, following Charlotte into the bathroom. Inside, there was an oversized shower with a tile bench at one end, perfect for a woman to tend to her primping. Perfect, also, for a couple to share. Charlotte opened the door and stepped inside, glancing over her shoulder and giving Ralph a sultry smile.

He watched her turn on the water and adjust the shower head so that is cascaded down onto her body. He had always had a thing for her legs, but he wondered how he had never really paid much attention to the rest of her. He took in every one of her curves, before he stepped into the shower with her, his cock stiffening once more.

"I'm a little sore right now, Ralph. I...let's just say that I haven't exactly been as active as you'd think with a boyfriend like Jeff," she blushed.

"Jeff is a fool then, isn't he?"

"And you're umm... a much bigger man," she grinned and let her eyes wander meaningfully down his body to his semi hard cock. Charlotte poured liquid soap onto one of her hands and wrapped it around his hardening cock. She started to stroke him with one hand, and reached down to fondle his balls with the other.

"You know, Ralph, ever since I saw you with Tammy in that parking lot, I've longed for this. Longed for the type of man you are."

"And what type of man am I, Char?"

"The type of man I've needed my entire life. A man who knows what he wants, what he needs, and is not afraid to show his woman how to please him. A man that needs a woman that wants him to be her man, strong, confident, masculine." She looked up into his eyes. "I saw it all in those brief moments as we passed by in the car. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind ever since. Even when you frightened me, it was there, deep inside, my own need."

Charlotte continued stroking him as she spoke, moving her eyes from his cock to his face, and then back again. She let the water run down over him, washing away the soap as she continued to stroke him. Moments later she was on her knees, his cock in her mouth as she slowly bobbed her head up and down on it. She needed to show him, to please him. She let out a whimper when Ralph grabbed her by the hair, taking control and getting a better view of her face as she fulfilled her words..

Her cunt was needy, thoughts of soreness forgotten. She stayed where she was, though. She needed to be what she thought he needed her to be. She needed to show him. He fucked her face, pulling her hair and growling at her. She gagged a few times, but didn't care. She briefly thought how similar this was to what Jeff had done with that slut, and yet how the two situations were worlds apart.

Ralph could feel himself getting close, the moving images of Charlotte more compelling than the physical pleasure he felt. He could see so much in her eyes as she looked up at him. He wondered why he'd hadn't seen it before. As much as she was her own woman and self-reliant, she needed to belong to a man who would show his need, take her with passion, and dominate her sexually. It was part of her being, and now she did.

Unable to hold back any longer, Ralph's cock erupted in her mouth and Charlotte swallowed, continuing to suck him, milking his cock until she had everything he had to give. She kept on kissing and licking his cock, even as he went flaccid, properly showing her adoration to him.

Ralph brought her to her feet and sat on the tile bench, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. She leaned back against him, smiling and cooing as he held her under the spray of water. For the first time in her life, Charlotte Simons felt completely herself with a man who could accept and appreciate her wants and needs.

A little over an hour later, Ralph and Charlotte were sitting at breakfast with the rest of their team. Jack walked over with a tray of food and sat across the table from them, eyeing the couple with a knowing grin.

"I'm glad you two had a good night's sleep," he said with a mock smile. "It's show time this morning."

Ralph shrugged as Charlotte looked away with a touch of embarrassment. "We're ready to win this thing."

"We're counting on you," said Sam, jumping into the conversation. "Hell, I've already spent that bonus, so I'm screwed if you don't."

"Nothing like a little more pressure, Sam," Charlotte giggled.

"Well, they sure as hell had a lot of practice together," Jack laughed. "How can they lose?"

Ralph gave Jack a look that told him that was enough, receiving a small nod in return as well as a little thumbs up, which made him grin. The big man ate quietly while the others chatted on, speculating about how each pair of dancers would fare in the competition.

Charlotte excused herself to use the ladies room, and ran into Suzette out in the hallway. Suzette grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her to the side.

"I'm sorry about barging in on the two of you, Charlotte."

"I'm sorry Suzette. I know we work together...but..."

"Shhh," Suzette interrupted. "Ordinarily, I'd have an issue with such a thing. But in the case of you two, I don't know. It just seems...right to me somehow."

"I'd be willing to step down if need be, Suzette."

"Oh, nonsense. You're one of the best we have. You're not going anywhere, my dear."

"But Ralph then? You're not saying..."

"Gosh no," Suzette laughed, "Don't worry so much."

"You're sure?" asked Charlotte.

"I'm sure, Charlotte. By the way, Brian was raving to me about the two of you out on the dance floor. He said there is no way you can lose."

"Oh? I will admit I'm a little shocked by how well we were able to put the routine together. I mean, Ralph doesn't exactly scream dancer when you look at him," she giggled.

"Well, hopefully you've both conserved some energy for the competition," Suzette said with a wicked grin.

"Ahh..."

Suzette laughed. "Hey, I'm a rich kept woman. I need to entertain myself somehow, don't I? You have fun out there Charlotte," she said, pulling her into a hug.

Suzette waved and walked down the hall, leaving her alone. Taking a deep breath, she went into the bathroom, a smile on her face.

She had just finished and walked out into the hallway when she encountered Brian and Ralph. Brian gently took her arm and ushered her down the hall.

"Come on, come on. We have a last rehearsal before the competition. It's not the time to blow it now," he reprimanded her.

By the end of the session, Brian was beaming. Not only did they still have the moves down pat, but the chemistry between them was electric. He was raving about their performances when he caught sight of the way they continued to look at each other.

"Of course," he laughed. "Look at the two of you. Head over heels, I tell you. You aren't acting at all, are you? Heavens, you two are in love!"

"Is it that obvious," asked Ralph?

Ralph's words nearly knocked Charlotte off her feet. She knew what she was feeling, but to hear him say it like that...to someone else no less. It knocked the wind out of her. She threw her arms around him and kissed him, not caring that Brian was standing there watching them.

"Okay, you two. Enough for now. Save it for the performance."

He looked at the two of them then. "Right now Ralph, you're a bit harder to manage. Do you have black pants and a white shirt?" He frowned as Brian gave him a puzzled look. "Black jeans at least?"

"Yeah," Ralph said slowly.

"Good lets go." Brian led them to the elevators and back to their rooms. Starting with Charlotte, he went through her clothes unapologetically, holding up items and discarding them. "How can a girl who can show such passion on the dance floor have the wardrobe of a church mouse?" he asked in despair.

"This will have to do." He held up a little black dress she had packed just in case there was an evening function. "Black underwear too please," Brian grinned at her. "Now you," he pointed at Ralph, and the men went next door leaving Charlotte to change.

When Brian returned he looked at her heels, "Can you dance in them? Bring the flats just in case. We will need another run through now."

Ralph appeared, filling the doorway, He wore black jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest and arms. Charlotte looked at him and smiled, her desire filling her eyes as they ran up and down his body. Unsurprisingly, Ralph looked at her with the same expression and Brian let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh to be young and in love."

Brian hurried them back downstairs to the practice room and they went through the routine again. With her added height, the routine seemed to go even more smoothly and Charlotte hadn't stumbled at all. Being diminutive in size, she was comfortable wearing heels and did so as often as she could, leaving the flats for those days when heels wouldn't do. When Brian heaped praise on them for their look and style, she grinned. "I'd love to give you a big inspirational speech about competing being reward in itself and how you don't have to come in first, but...we need to kick the asses of Missy St. George's pair. Go up on that stage and kill it," he said seriously. Then he laughed at the shocked look on his dancer's faces. "Well, we have a side bet, and you don't want to know the details," he said as he rolled his eyes at the couple. "She's a competitive bitch."

"She is indeed," Suzette's said from behind them with a laugh in her voice. "I was wondering if I could borrow Ralph and Charlotte for a little while. The contest won't start until I get there anyway, so I'll make sure you get a last practice before we begin," she said, forestalling Brian's protests.

"Do I have a choice?" Brian said hopefully.

"Actually, no. I was just being polite." Suzette laughed and indicated that the pair should follow her. "Plus, I think you might need some help if you want to beat Missy. Why don't you pop down the hall and spy on her team," she said with a wink.

Charlotte and Ralph followed quietly, each wondering if being caught in bed together had caused problems for the other, despite Suzette's earlier reassurances to the contrary.

"Frank, Ralph's here," Suzette called out as they entered the huge suite that the couple lived in when at the winery. There was an answering mumble and Suzette looked at Ralph. "Go on in. He's obsessed with his latest project," she said with a shrug, indicating the door for Ralph to go through.

"Ah, good man." Frank looked up from a desk that was covered in some sort of three dimensional layout. "Come in, come in and tell me what you think."

Ralph frowned and looked down at the model of a horse stud, or something like it. There were also models of stables, a training track, barns and large manor house, along with a few other smaller cottages and buildings dotted around.

"It looks interesting. Where is it?"

"Fairly close by," Frank said evasively. "You know horses. If you could buy this place and change anything what would you do?"

"Well to start with." Ralph looked at the small compass drawn onto the corner of the map that the models stood on and began rearranging several small things, explaining his reasons as he went. This was the dream, owning a place he could raise and look after horses, maybe even breed thoroughbreds. He spoke with passion about horses and what they needed to thrive, not paying much attention to the manor house or cottages, except to move them out of the way of the horse's paths and daily routines.

Frank was enthusiastic about everything he suggested once his reasons were explained, and the two men bounced ideas off each other constantly until the model was in a configuration they both liked and agreed was the best.

"You got the job," Frank finally said, sitting back in his chair and looking up at Ralph.

"What?" Ralph was truly confused by the statement.

"I bought the land on the north side of the winery. I want you to help me build this and manage it. Suzette loves it down here and wants to be more hands on with the winery. Wait until you see the plans she has for the weddings and events side of it," he said, laughing whole heartedly. So we need that house built first, then the rest. There are some stables and barns there already that can be used in the interim for my horses." He looked at the still confused Ralph. I want you to manage the whole project with me. I need someone who knows and understands horses, but also has vision. I need them to be there from the beginning, and also include the needs of the winery. Suzette has some ideas about grooms riding in on white chargers or brides arriving in Cinderella carriages," he said as he shook his head.

"I didn't go to college. I don't know anything about management," Ralph said slowly, wishing he could take the job.

"You think I did?" Frank said with a laugh. "You think some old school, old money poser like Jeff Cartwright has more qualifications than you because he has a college degree?" His conversation with Cartwright senior the day before still stuck in his craw. Frank had worked his way up from nothing, and he knew good men when he met them. Ralph was a good man, as was his father.

"You already work for me don't you?" Frank asked.

"Yes but..."

"So I am just reassigning you to a job I need filled," Frank said easily.

"Fuck!" Ralph ran his hands through his hair. His life had been nothing but disappointment for so long he didn't know how to react. Suzette appeared at the door, saving him from saying anything further.

"Show time," she smiled, "Put your toys away Frank. Ralph is needed elsewhere.

"Fine," Frank grumbled. "But as of Monday, he works on my project, not yours. I've rewritten his job description."

Ralph shook his head in disbelief, but turned to Frank and murmured gruffly, "I won't let you down, Mr. Price... Frank. It's an amazing opportunity."

"Of course." Frank patted him on the shoulder and they walked out into the living room. Charlotte stood there nervously after having let Suzette give her a makeover. She still wore the little black dress, but her face was made up to perfection and she wore a blood red rose in her hair. She had put on stockings and a garter belt, and her dress had been split up the side, revealing the new additions as well as a lacy red garter that sat in a ring around her thigh.

Ralph felt his cock twitch and harden at the sight of her, and found it hard to restrain himself from walking over and taking her in his arms. She looked up at him demurely, almost shyly, through her long lashes, and he lost all pretense of caring what Suzette thought. He took swift steps to where she stood and pulled her to him, whispering, "You're lucky we have an audience right now."

Charlotte giggled and reached up to cup his cheek, her eyes dancing in a teasing way, "We had better get downstairs to the real audience then."

"You have time for another practice dance," Suzette said with a smile. "The judges I have coming in were delayed." The contest will now be the lunchtime entertainment."

* * * * *

They walked back into the room they had been using for practice, finding it empty. "Do you want to do a final run through anyway?" Charlotte asked, looking up at the big man beside her.

"There's a lot of things I would like to be doing with you right now," Ralph said, his deep baritone huskier than usual. "But if practice is all you're offering..." He let his voice trail off as he saw his own desire reflected in the heat of her eyes.

"Yeah, once more, to make sure we have it nailed," she said, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she turned away from him and walked to the stereo. Turning back to him she grinned, "Don't you start way over there?" She pointed a finger imperiously.

Ralph muttered under his breath, but went to his starting position and Charlotte pressed play before moving quickly to hers. The dance became almost blue, as without any sort of audience Ralph's hands caressed her legs and hips in the familiar way a lover would. She pressed up against him not as a dance partner, but as a woman who knew just how wonderful it felt to be taken by that muscular physique.

Ralph let his lips trail over the soft skin of her neck and cleavage as he lifted her and held her close. Charlotte responded with heated purring noises that told him just how she felt. As the music and dance reached a climatic ending, they stood panting for moments and staring into each other's eyes before Ralph bent to kiss her.

There was a loud rhythmic clapping in the room, and coming back to where they were they noticed Brian had come in during their practice. "Geez, Ralph. Dance like that out there and every guy in the place will have a hard on and every girl will fall in love with you," he laughed. "After watching that performance, I'm guessing you two had a better night than I thought.

Charlotte blushed, but Ralph laughed. "I think these jeans have gotten a bit too tight for another dance like that one." He pulled Charlotte in front of him and pressed up against her back, letting her feel the truth of his words.

"You spent so long with Suzette and Frank there is no time left for even one more practice, but judging by what I just saw you don't need it. Do it just like that, show the passion," Brian said.

"I don't want to mess up work for us. I mean, after what just happened with Jeff and rules about company romance and..." her voice trailed off.

"Lucky I don't work here anymore," Ralph grinned, "Because I am not letting you go that easily."

"They fired you for... this!" Charlotte gasped and looked up at him in horror.

"No," he chuckled, "Frank offered me a better job, somewhere else."

"You're leaving?" There was an edge of panic in her voice. Had she just been a one night stand to him after all. Just another fuck buddy like Tammy?

"Only the cellars," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Frank bought some land on the north side of the vineyard. He was serious about keeping horses for events and functions, and he wants me to work there with him while it gets up and running."
Charlotte didn't know whether to feel relief or anger and threw a half-hearted punch at his chest.

"You think I would leave you after last night? This is what you do to me," he said, taking her hand and placing it over the semi-hard cock that bulged in his jeans. He placed her other hand on his chest, over his heart. "And this too. You're mine now Charlie," he smirked at her.

"I don't like being called..." Ralph interrupted her complaint with a deep kiss.

"But I do," he stated as if it wasn't a point to be negotiated. "It suits you," he said softly, "It's pretty and feminine and sexy..." He ran a finger down her neck, following it with his lips and causing her to emit the soft purrs he adored. "You're mine now," he said softly into her ear. "Not the Charlotte everyone here knows, but the sex kitten I had last night, and this morning and this afternoon and tonight." He chuckled as she looked up at him. "Too much?"

She shook her head speechlessly and looked up into his eyes, and finally finding her voice, she whispered, "It sounds wonderful."

"Ahem." Brian feigned a cough to remind them he was still in the room. "Shall we go to lunch and blow everyone's socks off before you two disappear and blow... well... never mind. You know what I mean."

"I like the second suggestion better," Ralph grumbled, but followed Brian from the room, his arm still wrapped around Charlotte.

They walked into the large banquet room and found their team sitting at the table. Ralph was truly happy for the first time in a long while, and his whole demeanor changed as he laughed and joked with the group. Sam and Maggie both noticed the subtle little touches, and the way he and Charlotte now looked at each other. Sam worried for his friend. As much as he liked seeing the old Ralph emerge, he knew Charlotte was rebounding hard. How could she not be after almost being killed by her ex-boyfriend?

He leaned over to Ralph and whispered to him. "Do you know what you're doing?" Ralph gave him a questioning look. "She's on the rebound, and up until this week you hated her," Sam tried again.

"No," Ralph said in his familiar gruff tone, "But it's worth it. You have no idea..." He watched as Sam's surprised look flickered to Charlotte and back and gave him a self-satisfied smirk.

"You didn't, already?"

Ralph shrugged his giant shoulders and chuckled before turning to the stage, where Suzette was tapping the microphone. She introduced her new public relations team, and explained that they would judge the dance off. She then showed a short edited clip of the staff during the team building activities of the last week, highlighting the things Charlotte and Ralph had missed out on. There had been a fake wedding in which Sam and Maggie had been the bride and groom. Suzette and Frank appeared, riding horses through the vineyards. This was followed by various shots of the paired up teams during the week as they worked at various stations throughout the winery, and then the many lunches they had endured where the wines had been the stars of the meal.

People gasped as they realized just how many cameras had been set up during the team building week. There had always been security cameras, but no one had realized the details that could be captured as they worked day to day at the winery.

"As you leave today, you will all be asked to sign a waiver allowing your image to be used in our new advertising campaign," Suzette smiled. "Those of you appearing in the final cut will all be paid an added bonus, of course and invited to a special screening. I want you all to be proud of working here at Twisted Vines, and I hope to make this the first of many events where we can come together as a team to ensure this winery continues to flourish. We have big plans, and those of you who remain with us after this week will reap the benefits of that, along with Frank and I."

She looked around the room, and smiled, "Now for the finale. May the best team win!"

"We drew straws." Brian had come up behind Charlotte and Ralph, whispering softly. "I think Suzette may have rigged it, but we are on last. I'll signal you when its time."

They sat mesmerized, watching the other teams dance. "Oh god, they're so good," Charlotte whispered to Ralph.

"Yeah, but we can do this." Ralph squeezed her hand reassuringly, but felt his own nerves deep within his belly. He was determined not to let Charlotte down.

Their team cheered wildly as they took to the stage and moved to their starting positions. Ralph blocked out the rest of the room and anything else, aside from the rhythm of the music and Charlotte. He took the lead in a demanding way, dominating the scene they created in their dance. He caressed her leg as she wrapped it around his hip, lifting the dress higher to reveal the sexiness of the lingerie beneath it to all who watched.

She, in turn, followed him with star struck love in her eyes as her hands glided over his body and she pressed seductively up against him. Lost in their own world where they were the only two people in the room, the dance finished all too quickly. Panting from exertion, they kissed long and hard for all to see. Brian appeared, forcing his way between them and bringing them back to the real world. Taking a hand of each of them, he raised them above his head and took a bow, forcing them to bend with him.

"That was fucking amazing," Brian hissed through his smile. "It's in the bag!" he exclaimed, ushering them off stage and whispering threateningly. "Don't even think about disappearing now."

"Shit, Ralph. You weren't kidding. I had no fucking clue," Sam said, shaking his head in disbelief at what he just saw on stage. In fact, most people were looking at the couple. Charlotte became so self-conscious that she blushed a deep shade of pink and tried to hide by using a napkin to blot at her perspiring face.

"Did it just get hotter in here?" Suzette yelled into the microphone, and was answered with murmurs of assent. "Whew," she fanned herself dramatically. "Let's give all our contestants a big hand. The final winner will be revealed tonight, after you complete the final task of the weekend this afternoon. You may choose to leave the winery after dinner tonight. For those of you with family and loved ones who gave you up for the weekend, let me thank you now for your cooperation. I think everyone will agree it was time well spent."

"You will have noticed our numbers dwindled significantly over the last week. While we must still sort out where that leaves us, I would like to announce some immediate changes in staffing. Stuart?" She held out her hand, inviting him to the microphone.

"Managing Director," he chortled. "It will be a large task after the shake-up we've received this weekend, but I have watched and I'm certainly proud of how each and every one of you have come together as a team over the past week." He gave a small applause of his own to the people seated before him, who applauded along with him.

"My esteemed fellow winemaker, David Salsby, has decided to retire after his bout of ill health this year, and I am happy to announce that his position will be filled by Jack Warner." The table he sat at erupted in cheers for their teammate, and he stood and nodded his thanks to everyone.

"My position, of course, must be filled as well. It was a very difficult decision for the Prices and myself to make. In the end, though, one person rose above the others for his inventiveness and ingenuity, as well as his attention to detail. My sincere congratulations to Lincoln Hayes."

Charlotte applauded with everyone else, but she was so bitterly disappointed that she had not gotten one of the open positions she could have cried. She realized that with everything that had gone on with Jeff, she couldn't truly have expected them to overlook it, but she felt deflated. Ralph squeezed her hand under the table. He could imagine how she felt, being passed over for a promotion such as that.

Taking the mic back from Stuart, Suzette spoke again. "Could the dancers and the winemakers please stay a little longer? Everyone else, your final task is simple. Please enjoy the facilities until dinner tonight." She smiled at all of them like the gracious host she was. Jack had gotten up and was heading to the door with everyone else. "Jack Warner, where are you going?" Suzette laughed into the microphone. Jack looked around as if dazed. "You're a winemaker now," she said gently, and indicated the table at the front near the stage.

"I was eager to call home with the good news," he grinned. He moved back into the room and up to the table near the stage, pocketing his phone.

"Aren't you full of surprises, twinkle-toes," Frank greeted Ralph. "And you", he said, turning to Charlotte and eying her outfit, "were simply amazing." Returning his gaze to Ralph, he handed him a sheet of paper. "Sign this waiver, then let's go talk," Frank said excitedly. "I have some new ideas from the things we discussed this morning."

Suzette's assistant had begun handing out forms and explaining them to the dancers. Charlotte was barely listening, and she signed automatically, asking, "Can we go once we've signed this?"

"Sure sugar," Emily said and took the form from her, "Dinner's at six. Don't be late."

"You don't mind if I borrow the big guy for a little while do ya, Charlotte?" Frank asked.

"No, of course not. What you're planning sounds very exciting for everyone." She forced a smile to her face, but Ralph could see the frown underneath. "I'll see you before dinner. Come pick me up on your way down," she said cheerily, and turned away, leaving the room.

She heard Ralph call out to her, asking her to wait, but she just needed a quiet spot to sit and think. So much had happened this week. Her job had been her whole life before now. She had worked hard to make it here, to be accepted among the mostly male assistants and winemakers, and for what, she thought? She had put up with goddamned awful sex, and being treated like a token to hang off the arm of a spoiled rich kid, and for what? What the hell did she have to show for the last five years of her miserable life?

Charlotte went upstairs to her room and grabbed her purse, phone and car keys. She needed space to think to be alone. It was like everything crashed down on top her with that one announcement. She hadn't had time this weekend to consider what Jeff had actually done. She had let her crush on the strong, protective Ralph take over her senses. She had now lost a promotion she knew she never really had, but it felt as if it had been snatched away from her grasp. She had made it back downstairs and through the foyer and out onto the gravel path leading to the parking lot before she heard the footsteps racing to catch up with her.

Ignoring them, she made it all the way to her car, pressing the button to unlock the doors. She got in without turning back to see who it was. Putting the key in the ignition she jumped as the passenger's side door opened and Sam slid in.

"Where are we going?" he asked in his usual cheery manner.

"I need to get out of here." Charlotte leaned forward and rested her head on the steering wheel. "I just need to ... so much... too much..." The tears came as she finally broke down. Sam sat beside her, saying nothing and letting her cry. "I should...I should have gone home Friday," she sputtered between sobs. I should...have just walked away after... then there would have been no knife, no danger, no disappointments......no Ralph....I don't know what's happening any more... what am I supposed to do now?" Sam could just barely make out her words through her continued sobbing.

"So let's say you went home Friday," Sam said softly, handing her a package of tissues from her glove box. "Let's say that Jeff still got fired because it was going to happen regardless, and instead of accosting you at work where that big lug was there to tackle him he had gone to your home. He probably has a key right?" Sam's voice was gentle but he pulled no punches. "You and I both know how that would have ended." Charlotte turned her teary eyes to look at him as if the thought had never occurred to her.

"Now as for disappointments. Shit, you're better than old Dinky Linky in there, and we all know it. I reckon that crafty old Stuart Gresham has something planned for you, once you get over all this crap that has happened to you. No one blames you Charlotte. In fact everyone is amazed at how well you have coped, and for a small fee, this little breakdown you're having can stay between us." He winked at her, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why are you being so nice to me Sam," she sniffed. "You barely know me."

Sam became serious and turned in his seat to look directly at her. "Ralph is more than a friend to me. He's like my brother. We grew up together here in this small town. He is happier than I have seen him since his parents passed. Life shit on him from a great height, and not just once, but that's not my story to tell. He is head over fucking heels in love in for the first time since high school, and if you think I'm gonna let you go and do something as equally stupid as some of the other people in his life and hurt him, then you are very mistaken."

It wasn't a threat, it was fact. He took her hand and screwed up his face at the snot filled tissue she had balled there. "Look, for whatever reason he loves you. He fell hard and fast, and for whatever reason, you look to me like you have feelings for him too." He paused as she let out another sob and nodded at him.

"So to recap," Sam's cheery voice was back, "Staying on Friday was the best decision you've ever made! You're alive and you have someone who loves you. You're disappointed about the promotion, but you have bigger and better things are coming your way. I guarantee it. Plus, you will still get to see me when you come down to the cellar. I would understand your heartbreak if you had gotten the promotion and didn't come down as often." He saw her give him a half smile.

"Lastly, Charlotte, love is a many splendored thing, and it doesn't come around that often. If you don't grab it when you can you end up on your own, dispensing advice to the people lucky enough to find it. Like me!"

"Heaven forbid," she said as the tears finally subsided. "We only kissed for the first time this weekend. You actually think he loves me?"

"Well, I certainly never saw it coming, but yeah, I think he does. I think it scares him as much as it does you. He hasn't let anyone into his life for a long time," Sam sighed. "I'd really rather not see him hurt by you doing something stupid right now, so let's go back in and grab a drink or a naked sauna," he joked as he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her grin.

"I'm gonna tell him you said that," she said with a half laugh.

"Hey! What happens in the parking lot stays in the parking lot," he exclaimed, as he held his hands up in surrender.

"All right let's go have that... sauna then," she replied and got out of the car with a smile.

Sam did a double take and burst out laughing, "You know as well as I do my life wouldn't be worth living, for whatever short period of time Ralph let me live it!"

Strangely, she felt better for having gotten it out of her system. Sam was right. There would be other opportunities. They went into the castle and through to the bar that had been kept open for them. Maggie was behind the bar mixing a cocktail as they walked in.

"Honestly, the bar staff here sucks. Do you want one of these?" She asked, holding up a pretty pink drink.

"Sure," Charlotte agreed, but Sam ordered a beer. "I'm just gonna go powder my nose." She walked into the bathroom and was horrified by the mess her make-up was in. Fixing it up as best she could, she went back out to find Maggie and Sam at a table so she sat down with them.

"Here, pass this to Charlotte for me." Maggie held up one of the pink drinks to Sam, confused because it would have been easier for Maggie just to slide it across the table. Sam took it and passed it to Charlotte. "That's great," Maggie said as Charlotte took it. Now I can tell the big guy that Sam gave you kinky sex!" she said too loudly, her laughter ringing through the room.

"Yeah, that'll be great. Thanks Mags. They can write on my tombstone: DEATH BY KINKY SEX." Sam pretended to look around nervously.

"I guess you'll miss having Ralph down in the cellar with you," Charlotte said as she thought about him and where he was right then.

"They sacked Ralph?" Sam was ready to get up and rush out of the room. "No, he is just... being reassigned. It's not my story to tell," she said, poking her tongue out at him as she used his own words on him.

"You're a cruel woman, Charlotte." Sam glared at her, but finally let his smile break though, "That must mean a promotion. Well, good for him."

The potent cocktail had made Charlotte feel all warm inside, so she switched to water after that, fearing she would have to dance again. It was after five when Ralph appeared in the bar. Maggie drunkenly called out to him. "Ralph come over here. I need to tell you something!"

Ralph looked at her curiously and moved toward the table, his eyes on Charlotte who now looked relaxed if not happy. "Sam gave Charlotte kinky sex," she blurted, making Ralphs eyebrows rise in high peaks. "It's a drink get it? I made him pass it to her, so he gave her the kinky sex."

"Shouldn't someone have cut her off?" Ralph grumbled, walking around the table to Charlotte, leaning over and kissing her in front of Maggie's bulging eyes.

"I knew it! Sam didn't believe me but I knew it!" Maggie leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Is he that big all over? You can tell me."

"And then some." Charlotte winked and laughed merrily.

"God damn." She eyed Ralph appraisingly. "Too bad you're so grouchy. We coulda had a good time."

"How about we go and shower together before dinner. I'm not nearly as grouchy as my friend here," interjected Sam, who waggled his eyebrows at Maggie. She turned her appraising eyes on him and his wide, teasing smile.

"Fuck. I gotta sober up. That actually sounded like a decent idea." Maggie sat back heavily in her chair. "Lucky we get the day off tomorrow. You guys were the shit! So hot, so sexy, lucky you were using the rhythm method up there!" She laughed hysterically at her own joke, "Get it? Dancing, rhythm, sex... oh you guys suck!" she said to their eye rolling expressions.

"I'll go get you some coffee Maggie," Charlotte offered.

"Good idea. Too much kinky sex is not always a good thing," Maggie slurred.

"I'll give you a hand," Ralph said, getting up, "Another beer Sam?"

"Sure, why not?"

Ralph walked over to stand behind Charlotte at the bar. He lowered his head to whisper hotly in her ear, "There is no such thing as too much kinky sex." His hand ran up her leg enjoying the feel of the stocking and garter.

"I'll have to take your word for that, Ralph Watson." She smiled, tilting her head up to him. "I let it slip that you wouldn't be going back to the cellars," she said quietly. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, Well, I was thinking of you and not who I was talking to."

"It's fine. I was about to talk to him about it anyway," Ralph chuckled.

They returned to the table with coffee for Maggie and beers for the men. "You guys talk, I really need to fix my makeup before dinner. I'll be back in ten minutes or so." Charlotte picked up her phone and keys from the table and went to walk away, but Ralph reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Why do you have your keys?" There was obvious worry in his voice.

"I thought I had some different shoes in the car, but it turns out I didn't." She looked at Sam meaningfully before walking away.

"What was that all about?" Ralph asked, looking at his friend darkly.
"Not getting the promotion was the last straw I guess, and she finally cracked after all that has happened to her in the last week. You remember what that was like right?" Sam tried reason and brutal honesty, which had always worked best with Ralph. "She's fine now. We had a chat, I gave her kinky sex, and she is fixing her makeup. Problem solved."

Ralph knew that there was probably more to it than that. His friend was good at being the sane one in the midst of a crisis. Ralph had no doubt he had comforted her in his own way, and was thankful that Sam had stepped in when he wasn't around.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. "I like her a lot you know?"

"Really?" Sarcasm dripped from the word. "I never would have guessed. Tell me why you're not coming back to our wonderful job in the cellar. Are you gonna be a winemakers assistant's assistant?"

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Ralph chuckled and told Sam about Frank's plans, ending the conversation with, "So whaddaya think?"

Sam whistled, "That will really boost the town for a while. Lots of jobs going for that sort of a development."

"Yeah, it'll be slow to start off with, but I thought you might like the assistant's assistant, position," he said and smirked at his friend.

Charlotte walked back into the bar and watched the two friends from a distance. She wished she had that sort of friendship, but she had left all her friends from the neighborhood behind when she had moved out to college. Then she had been so determined to graduate with honors and land the job she wanted, that she had little time for socializing. Her one serious relationship, with one of her professors, left her little time to make new friends.

She looked at Maggie, who seemed to be perfectly happy to sit and listen to the men banter. She could see the way she was still appraising Sam and wondered if there might be a spark there. Maggie was one of the few women here her own age, and it cost nothing to be friendly. She couldn't see herself still going out with the group of friends she and Jeff had any longer, so she walked on over.

"Gosh, and they say women chatter too much. Come on Maggie, I'll save you. Let's go check out the dining room and I'll tell you just how big these muscle bound jocks are." She winked at Ralph, but Maggie laughed and swayed slightly in getting to her feet.

"What a marvelous idea. I want all the juicy details. And ooh, the kinky sex too!" She continued to laugh at the looks on the men's faces.

The dinner was sumptuous, and Maggie sobered with the food. The evening was peppered with short videos, showing highlights of their week of team building. Before dessert, Suzette excitedly took to the stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you our tango winners in the new online advertising campaign for Twisted Vines. Let's hope it goes viral!"

The film maker and editor had done a superb job making it seem like the camera was a young woman running through the castle and out into the grounds. Each corner she turned, both inside and outside the castle, was punctuated with a stomping foot and met with a new view of romance and celebration. It wasn't until the final seconds that Charlotte saw herself and Ralph in the midst of a tango, before the name Twisted Vines, written in the creeping roses that covered the castle walls, filled the screen and panned out to show the winery.

Their team immediately whooped and hollered in joy at winning the bonus and the day off. They were patted on the back and kissed on the cheek until Suzette finally restored calm. "I understand the night has grown late, so please feel free to use your rooms for the final night. Those of you who are ready to rush back to your loved ones, drive safely."

That was all Ralph needed to hear. He took Charlotte's hand and practically dragged her from the room. Seeing people waiting for the elevator, he picked her up, carrying her in a fireman's carry over his shoulder. As he mounted the steps, she squealed and laughed with delight.

"Ralph put me down. Where are we going?" Charlotte cried out into the stairwell as he took them two at a time.

"I have my own ideas about dessert and that kinky sex you were having earlier," he growled as he burst through the door on their floor and walked with determination towards her room. He stopped in front of her door, placing her on her feet so she could open the door. She looked up at him and could see the fire in his eyes, and it reached into her core, further igniting her need. She fumbled with the key until Ralph grabbed her hand, steadying it, and they managed to get the door open.

Once inside, Ralph spun Charlotte around and pinned her to the door with his body, then reached a hand to her head and pulled her in for a deep kiss. She could feel his need as his tongue probed hers, and she matched his need with her own. He broke the kiss and looked down at her, still holding her against the door.

"When I saw you earlier, I damned near dragged you back here and skipped the entire competition. You're beautiful Charlotte, but fuck. You're one hell of a sexy woman on top of that. This outfit, the makeup. Damn."

"I felt sexy, Ralph. I wanted to. For you. You have no idea what it feels like to have your man look at you the way you looked at me. It lit a fire inside me, and made me melt."

"Your man? Is that how you see me?"

"I see me as your woman, Ralph. I am your woman. There's no way I'm letting you off the hook after doing that to me," she purred.

"Good. I'm glad you see things that way, Charlie. Now, about the kinky..."

She looked at him with anticipation, biting her lower lip as her chest heaved with her breath.

"Show me," he said to her. "Show me that you're my woman."

Charlotte leaned back a little and looked at him. She could never be herself with Jeff, but with this man, she knew that she could open up and show her true self. She needed to. A sexy grin spread across her face, and she pulled away from Ralph with a gleam in her eyes.

"I know just the thing," she said. She walked over to the desk and grabbed a chair, then placed it in the middle of the room. Turning to Ralph, she pointed her finger at him, and then beckoned him over with it. Ralph walked over and she pushed him down into the chair, then leaned over and brushed her lips against his before abruptly turning and moving away.

She turned on the entertainment system, and after fiddling with her phone, the sound of Blurred Lines filled the room. She put the phone down and started to dance seductively, watching Ralph's eyes as she moved. She let herself feel the music, moving in time, her hands roaming over her body, touching herself as he watched. She grinned when she saw that she had his undivided attention, and when he shifted in his seat, she glanced down and saw the growing bulge in the front of his jeans. She gave a delighted purr as she continued to move for him, lifting up one side of the dress and showing off her leg to him.

Turning away from him, she pushed her ass back, gyrating her hips, then slowly slid the material up, revealing the garters, stockings, and thong she wore underneath. She caressed her ass cheeks with both hands as she continued to move in time to the music, glancing over her shoulder at Ralph. He had a look of unbridled hunger on his face as he watched, and it thrilled her. She danced her way over to him, pulling the dress up in the back again while turning around, then grinding her ass against the bulge in his jeans. Ralph ran his hands up her thighs, over her hips and up her tummy, cupping her breasts in his hands. She glanced back at him with a playful smile and slapped his hands, then got up and waved a finger at him.

Moments later, the dress was on the floor, and Charlotte continued her dance, her hands now cupping her tits through her bra and pinching her nipples. Once again, she turned her back to him and reach behind her, unclasping the bra. Although it remained on her shoulders, Ralph could tell that her hands were now on her flesh, and she moaned as she teased both herself and him. She turned around to show him before she removed the bra the rest of the way, playfully draping it over his neck.

"Leave the stockings and heels," he commanded.

Charlotte smiled at him. "I was planning to," she answered, then leaned forward and kissed him deeply. She broke the kiss and nibbled her way down his neck, dropping to her knees on the floor between his legs. She looked up into his eyes as she undid his jeans. Ralph lifted his hips up, allowing her to pull the jeans down. She then used her hands to rub his hard cock through his boxers, causing him to grunt in approval. Leaning forward, Charlotte playfully bit the shaft through the soft cotton before grabbing the waistband and pulling it down. She moaned when she saw his stiff cock, running her tongue up the length of it and then back down again. With Ralph's assistance, she pulled the boxers down and out of the way, then took him in her mouth.

Ralph wanted to grab her by the hair and take control, but he decided not to. She was to show him, and she was doing just that. Charlotte took her time, stroking him with her hand and her mouth, bathing the head of his cock with her tongue. He was already oozing with fluid, his taste inflaming her desire.

The feel of her in his arms all day and being unable to truly touch her like this had taken their toll on him, and it didn't take long before Ralph put a hand to the back of her head and thrust his hips forward as best he could from a sitting position. She felt him spasm, and was elated when the first spurt of come bathed her tongue with its salty flavor. She continued to stroke and suck him, wanting everything he could give her. She refused to release him until she was sure she had every drop, then finally pulled her mouth away.

She sat back and looked up at him, a satisfied smile on her face.

"How was that?" she asked with a wicked grin.

"It was a start," he replied. "It was a start, but we have miles to go before we sleep," the big man told her, sure that Robert Frost had a different intention that he did.

She answered him with a single word, sealing the fate of them both.

"Please."