The Trust Me Pill Ch. 01

Summary: Perhaps it's the ultimate sexual gift a woman could give to her husband... Hayley gives Steven the keys to the kingdom, a pill that makes her comply with whatever fantasies he is willing to attempt, and at the same time, show that she trusts his judgment completely, because she won't remember a thing afterwards.

This is a 3 Chapter series.

Prologue

It felt good to be "on stage" again! Hayley had taken a year off from the convention circuit, and home life with the new baby had been all she had expected and more. Not surprisingly, her priorities had changed but detaching herself from her career had come more slowly than she would have thought. Her agency had persisted with offers from time to time, and she accepted the compliment. There was a multitude of professionals they could ask, and a new generation of younger talents were pining for the wages and benefits of world travel and expense accounts. Still, she just hadn't wanted to travel and leave her daughter at home. It had been a precious year, and she wanted to be there for the years to come. And with the hours that the job required, there was no chance that she could take Samantha with her.

But even while telling the agency a polite "no," she had known that her addiction to being the center of attention would eventually win out. She liked her work, and she would do it again. So, while her workout regimen had been necessary for her general health, a more honest motivation for her daily trips to the gym was the prospect of returning to work. Sometime. When the time was right.

The agency called, and the timing had been right. Maybe it was her mood, maybe she had watched all the streaming content she could manage, maybe it was the fear of becoming fully domesticated, and maybe it was the satisfaction she felt when she got a call. As an independent contractor, those calls mattered. And when they had asked her to go to Chicago for a pharmaceutical convention, everything aligned in her favor. It was an easy flight from Atlanta, the convention would be a typical four and a half days, and the pay was outstanding for this client.

And here she was, in Chicago, at McCormick Place, North America's largest convention hall, its largest cavernous space filled to its walls with vendor exhibit booths lined up in columns and rows. It was amazing to think that in just a few days the hall would be emptied and set up again for whoever was next in town. Booth set-up and dismantling, fortunately, was not in her job description.

Selling was. Give her a crowd, or even a small group, and she always created an electricity with her audience. It was one thing to direct an interactive presentation and give a sales pitch. Any pro could do that.

Regardless of the product, vendors needed someone like her to seduce the attendees to take a seat and remain throughout the presentation. Her looks alone were enough to do that for most shows. A carefully selected skirt and blouse that invited the imagination was even better, and the coaxing tone of her voice sealed the deal... even for the erudite hordes at a pharma show. Sure, women were in pharma, or life sciences, or however they wanted to spin it, but sex sells... when you need to sell it.

The irony of this particular drug, however, was that, of all possible drugs, she would be asked to present Cialis, a heavyweight combatant in the erectile dysfunction market, one that Eli Lilly Corp was pushing hard while they still had a year remaining for their patent rights.

It was a significant compliment from her agency to trust her with such a high value assignment, because the product was certain to draw large crowds. More so, though, was that Lilly had demanded both a seductive body and a suggestive voice as their spokesperson and had chosen her from the agency's plethora of options.

It wasn't like she was actually selling Cialis, but image is everything...at least in advertising. Lilly also provided a M.D. who would handle the minute details of questions that might possibly be asked by an informed audience, but she had researched the product trials, adverse effect reports, and testimonials and was prepared to handle most questions. And it still nagged at her... was a four-hour erection a harmful side-effect or a marketing ploy?

It was nice to earn a little spending money too. Steven had an ample income for their needs, but a little discretionary spending fund was always a good thing for a woman to have... And, the agency had graciously advanced her the money for a new wardrobe. That wasn't their usual deal for their contractors, but she knew that the gesture was to woo her into the next job, and the one after that. She'd see about that. And, to be sure, shopping for clothes when the agency was paying for it had certainly made the buying decisions easier.

It was going well. Each presentation lasted about 30 minutes with a Q/A afterwards, and after the hectic opening day and a busy start on day two, she was thankful for a mid-afternoon "lunch" break. She found a small café with "open air" seating along one of the main hallways and ordered a grilled chicken salad and ice water with lemon. It was mediocre and expensive, but her feet were too tired to search for anything else.

And, it was a good vantage point to people-watch. When she was "on stage," she was always focused on the topic, even while making eye contact with as many as she could or teasing at the edges of adult humor for this particular product. Despite that, she had difficulty recalling any specific person who had attended so far, especially with this rather sedately dressed bunch.

But now as she watched physicians and various medical trades people of all sorts walk by, it made for an interesting comparison to other trade show groups she had seen... these attendees were professional, represented a wide variety of ages, and were well-groomed and intelligent looking... as medical professionals should be! No Dilbert T-shirts like the geeks at the technology show where she extolled data correction software for servers, or faded overalls and CAT boots at a Kubota tractor booth...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see... Carolyn?! It was indeed! A glance revealed that Carolyn had gained a little weight and had discernibly aged, but it was always great to find a friend at these shows, especially a friend so extroverted and fun.

Hayley asked, "It's been what? Five years since I've seen you?"

Carolyn replied, "Probably about that, yes. San Diego, was it, I think? I can't image what you've possibly done to keep yourself entertained without me around!"

"Well, it was difficult, but when you're traveling alone, there's room service, and a TV where I get to choose what I want... Some might say it's boring..."

"I'd say!" said Carolyn.

"Yes, but, in the wake of your absence, you know, I forced myself to believe that I was past due on my gentle slide into maturity. In other words, I pretty much gave up the bar scenes without you."

Carolyn laughed. "That's so sad! Well, we need to get you out then! I've been back in the U.S. for about six months, but I'd been wondering if you were still in the business. And now I see that you have a shiny ring on your finger!"

"Well, I got married maybe a year after you left. I met Steven through a friend of a friend. We had a whirlwind romance, and off to the altar we went. I didn't quit the biz until I started showing when I got pregnant, and I've been enjoying the mommy life for a bit."

They caught up on old times and newer ones, including baby facts and photos and the latest on their friends in the business. Carolyn, as expected, did most of the talking, but she was a good listener too... even for the baby stuff.

"So," Hayley asked, "last I heard you were in love with Singapore and Bangkok and all those places. I thought you planned to stay half a world away?"

Carolyn took a moment to answer, quickly masking a small frown. She looked a little tired. "Well, the international shows finally took their toll. I needed a home to go to rather than another motel."

Carolyn was quiet for a moment and then looked curiously at Hayley, assessing her perhaps. The silence wasn't yet uncomfortable, so Hayley spoke to move this mystery out of the way. "Okay, what?"

"Well, first, you look absolutely gorgeous. I know you've had a baby, and I don't mean this in a negative way, but you look... fulfilled, for one. Content." Carolyn looked at Hayley's breasts. "And you look more filled. As in, a new bust line. I don't remember you having much in the way of cleavage."

"Well, Steven calls it a blessing of motherhood. I went from a 34B to a 36C. In fact, I was quite larger, but I seem to have settled here. They're kind of fun, if you know what I mean... a better tease for Steven. There's a couple of small stretch marks for wear if I look for them, but I came out pretty well. Plus, I had to buy new clothes. You know how I hate doing that."

Carolyn laughed. "Wow! Well, don't tell anybody or the plastic surgeons will go out of business! I can only hope to look so good should I ever have a kid. But I guess I should get married first!"

"Well, you know...we didn't have any problems getting our drinks paid for when we used to pal around... I guess I could step outside of my room at night and be your wingman, or wingwoman, if you want to go out. If we find Mr. Right, I can help send him your way."

Carolyn brightened at this. "Well, I'd have to see if I brought something that presents my assets so nicely as yours, but yes, that would be fun! By the way, I hope you don't pop a seam...you might spill out."

"Oh, hush. It's not that tight."

"I wasn't looking for an argument. If you got the cleavage, you may as well use it!"

"Exactly. The agency suggested that I be 'alluring, but not trashy. Sexy, but not tacky. Sophisticated, but available.' It helps to draw a crowd, not that Cialis wouldn't." As she said this, she knew she shouldn't have, as the notoriety of the product made for stiff competition between her peers, but Carolyn would have found out anyway.

Carolyn looked somewhat surprised. "Oh! Well... that's you then! I haven't walked the show, but I heard from... well, I heard that some doctors were taken with you. One said that the Levitra rep was, and I quote, 'but a scrawny girl compared to that wondrous woman at the Cialis booth.'"

Hayley laughed. "Well, we both know that scrawny girl may develop into tomorrow's wondrous woman!"

"Yeah, like you. I can't believe it. You always had a great figure anyway, and that blouse!"

This was good feedback, Hayley admitted to herself, both professionally and for self-esteem. If Levitra wasn't showing as favorably, she knew the agency would be very pleased.

"Well, I guess I bought the right stuff then," Hayley said. "It feels great to know that sex appeal is alive and well as I start the countdown to 40. Plus, I admit I've become kind of evil in my way already. Whenever I think I'm losing the crowd to irrelevant or boring questions, I just drop my pen. And then, oh my! I've got to bend over and pick it up! It gets them right back on track. I've had to do it twice already when someone asks questions going back to the clinical trials. I've got improved assets, so I figure I might as well use them."

Carolyn laughed. "That's a good tip. I'll try to remember it..."

It was time to move on. Carolyn's body language suggested she was tiring of the comparison, and that wasn't healthy for either of them. "Hey, speaking of falling out of my blouse, I heard from Jenn, who is in the booth behind me, that someone fell out of her dress last night at my hotel."

Carolyn looked... curious? "Which hotel are you at?"

"The Marquis, why?" asked Hayley.

"Yeah, we missed out on the view of the river! I'm there, too. Why don't you tell me what you heard?"

"Well, Jenn said that, and keep in mind she was out pretty late, I gather... though she seemed to be alert enough this morning...I'm sure someone here has a drug for that! But anyway, she said that she was coming off the elevator and several of the hotel staff were assisting a woman in the hallway, near a stairwell. She said she only caught a glimpse, but that the girl or woman was messed up -- clothes half off, hardly able to stand. Can you imagine? And, she was certain she saw one of the employees fondle the woman's boob as they were straightening her up. Like I'm sure that was an accident..."

"Well, it could just be the effects of liquor and a bad date," suggested Carolyn.

"Jenn might disagree. She thinks a guest found her on the floor, then called for help."

"Exactly," Carolyn said, brightening. "But actually, it wasn't a bad date. It was the result of a good one."

"What do you mean?"

Carolyn raised an eyebrow clearly conveying, Duh!

"You?"

"Yes. Don't look so surprised. You've always known I like to party."

"Yes, but I would never have thought you would be in that type of situation. You're always so in control," said Hayley.

"Yep, always. Mostly. Maybe? Look, girlfriend, it wasn't a bad situation, even though it may have looked that way. I look at it as unexpected but not unwelcome consequence of the 'Trust Me' Pill," she said, using air quotes to accent the Trust Me.

"Not unwelcome? Really? And, I know lots about Cialis and a bunch of other pills. But I never heard of that one."

"Trust me, pun intended, I know lots about Cialis too. Doctors love the samples your booth handed out like candy yesterday, but that doesn't mean they'll all make it back to their patients."

"Really?" Something clicked, and then she wondered aloud. "Wait a minute. Doctors? As in, plural?"

"You were always one to make connections quickly. But yes, plural."

"And at the same time?"

"Right again" Carolyn said. She met Hayley's eyes with a sudden twinkle.

Hayley grinned. "Well, there's no one right around us. Tell me more. Don't be embarrassed. You tell me your story, then I'll tell you mine."

Carolyn seemed intrigued. "Ooooo. Plural for you, too?"

"Yes, maybe I held a story back," she said.

"And here I thought we were such open and honest friends those years ago. Well, well. You know me... I'm never embarrassed about a good story. I'll tell you a bit about it, but I have to back up. As you know, I've been doing mostly shows in Asia, from Singapore to Hong Kong, even to Shenzhen in China and some smaller cities. And at a stop along the way, I encountered this little pill that an acquaintance introduced me to."

"The Trust Me Pill?"

"Yes, and trust me, it's quite a pill. But suffice it to say I was in the wrong place to find Mr. Right. There were too many Mr. Wongs." Carolyn paused a beat.

"Bad. Just bad," Hayley said, as she laughed anyway.

"I know, but seriously, I just got tired of looking for the right guy, but I wasn't willing to give up sex. So rather than the grind of finding some guy who wasn't going to be the one, why not use the pill to help me find several?"

"At once?" Hayley inferred.

"Yep. You're still quick. And I've been hooked on it ever since, although I plan to date legitimately again. It's just hard coming back to the real world."

"So, last night was a..."

"Group thing? Gang bang? Yes, your honor. Guilty as charged. And I literally couldn't make it to my room. My legs were too wobbly after... well, you know. It wasn't the pill itself that did that. I had a really good time. I could walk, you know? And I didn't really need their help back to my room. I wanted to sleep and not be disturbed. Got a job to do today, right? But, on the way, I thought I might just sit and rest a couple minutes. And, I guess Jenn saw how that worked out. So that's my story. No regrets. Now I want to hear yours. I can't believe there was a story you didn't tell me all those years ago! Or is this a newer one?"

"Wait for it. But you didn't explain the pill. Or the guys. You can do better."

"Trust me," Carolyn smiled. "Over dinner?"

Hayley nodded, "Sure!"

"But first you have to tell me your story. Now."

"Well, what I remember was great." Hayley laughed. "It was in college. There were three guys, and all of them were friends, though we never dated. It was just before final exams, and they were seniors. I was a sophomore. We went to a bar, drank a bit, danced, then went to one of their rooms and played a drinking game. It was really my first experience partying, at least without a girlfriend or boyfriend around. I can't say I didn't know that going to the room would lead to trouble, but I had broken up with my boyfriend and was looking for fun."

"It seemed like one dare after the other came and passed. You know, a dare on how close you can come without touching, a dare to kiss, allow a casual touch here or there, remove a piece of clothing... It wasn't too hard for them to take advantage of me after so many drinks, but I was taking just as much advantage of them too. Pretty soon we were really getting to know each other, in the biblical sense. I don't remember it all, because I passed out, or at least, I think so, because I didn't remember going to sleep."

"But I remember waking up and seeing the digital clock read 3:45...in the morning. I remember it because I thought '3 - 4 -5' and tried to make sense of it. I was in a strange room with a warm naked guy nestled behind me and his hand on my breast, sleeping. I got a little panicked, because the guy behind me wasn't one of the three guys I knew. And they weren't even in the room. I found my clothes and left. I felt really ashamed because I had never done anything like that before... I don't really know what happened, and I'm not sure I want to know after I passed out. I'm just glad cell phones and digital cameras weren't as common then."

"You weren't drugged?"

"No, just the alcohol."

"That you're aware of, anyway. No harm done?"

"No, fortunately. I was a little worried, but I was on birth control, boyfriend or not. After my period came, I finally got to the point where I could look fondly on the parts I could remember."

"Actually, you weren't too far off from the effects of Trust Me Pill. And I would never have guessed you ever would do something like that! I've always clearly been the wilder one when we trade stories."

"My memory is a bit hazy... but, yeah. I woke up a mess."

Carolyn paused, and carefully asked, "Is it something that you ever wanted to do again?"

Hayley thought about it. "I haven't dwelled on it. It's very useful, though, when Steven is going at it a bit slow. I just whisper a few words about that night and he... well, he picks up the pace, let's say. Actually, I don't dwell on it because I know I liked the idea before I went in, and I eventually liked it after everything turned out okay. Sure, I can say drinking caused it, but, you know..."

"And you know me. I'm not judgmental at all," Carolyn said. "Like all things, including sex, you don't know if you like something until you try it. And you don't think about it because you did?"

Hayley nodded, one side of her mouth forming a grin.

"But you told Steven about it? I can't believe that! Wasn't that awkward? Do you tell each other everything?"

"Well, we're married now. It's not like we're swingers or anything. I'm the only woman he's been with, so he lives vicariously through stories about the boyfriends I've had."

Carolyn said, "You mean to say he's turned on by your affairs."

"Affairs are for cheating. No, my past boyfriends. Or flings. But, sure. We both are."

"Hayley, if you had the opportunity to do it again, under your own rules, would you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm pretty sure there are no rules."

"Are you sure? You and Steven haven't talked about what it might be like if another guy was around?"