After Office Hours

by E Caroline Wilson

  “I understand. The fact is, Devin, I was attracted to you from the first time you came to my office. It…it only grew from there.”

  “Now I feel foolish,” she said over a chuckle. “Of course you haven’t seen it. If you had, you wouldn’t have had to keep asking if it’s been removed.”

  “I’m just glad it’s been taken down,” he replied. “But as distasteful as it is, you might want to monitor whatever site or sites it’s on every month, just to make sure it stays down. I’ll give you some extra letters. You can fill in the date and the URL, just in case you have to mail them.”

  “Thanks. And, David, I hope you don’t feel insulted by my asking if you’d looked up my video. I feel ashamed of myself.”

  “Don’t. Listen, Devin, I need to read up on some documents to prepare for a meeting in the morning…”

  “I won’t keep you,” she said quickly. “Good night, David. See you tomorrow.” She disconnected, a dreamy smile on her face.

  Everything was going so beautifully. David had agreed to escort her to Glenys’s wedding! She couldn’t wait to tell Mercy. She and her fiancé would be attending the wedding, too, and she’d get to meet David. Devin was eager to hear her opinion of him. She hoped Mercy would approve; it would lessen Mama’s doom-and-gloom attitude about their dating.

  Devin might have a longing for approval, but her heart told her there was no need to worry about David’s intentions. He’d invited her to his home and readily agreed to accompany her to Glenys’s wedding. Best of all, he hadn’t seen the sex tape of her and Joe that until just days ago had been available online. He’d probably kept asking her about it for follow-up purposes, because once it was taken down, it ended their professional relationship and cleared the path for him to pursue her romantically now that she was no longer a client. An honorable man like David probably felt uncomfortable about sleeping with her under those circumstances, just like he had too much integrity to go looking for her sex tape. He was with her because he liked her, not because he wanted her body.

  She’d definitely met David Andrews under less than ideal circumstances, but meeting him was a prime example of how sometimes good things come from the bad.

  Because that terrifying experience in the office that day, as well as the shock of learning how Joe had betrayed her, had led her to the man of her dreams.

  *****

  David closed his eyes in shame after he disconnected the call. He felt awful about lying to Devin, but what could he do? She’d be furious if he admitted that he not only spent over an hour looking for her sex tape, but that he’d jacked off to it nightly until this past weekend, when the need for decency got the better of him and he deleted it from his hard drive. She’d accuse him of simply wanting to get into her panties…and she’d be right, but only to a certain degree. He had wanted to get her in bed, but he thought he’d be willing to let her go after one memorable weekend, the way he had with other women he lusted after…except he wasn’t. He wanted to keep her in his life.

  How could he possibly have known that she would become more to him than just a client? How could he have known that this lovely woman had such a pleasant personality, and that he would stop thinking of her as a woman he simply wanted to have his way with in bed to a woman whose company he truly enjoyed, who he found refreshing to be with? He had no way of knowing any of that on that afternoon in his office when he first laid eyes on her beautiful face and hourglass figure.

  She was bright and charming, and she seemed interested in everything he told her. David wasn’t on an ego trip, but he liked Devin’s eagerness to learn, to improve herself. She wanted to get somewhere in life, and she’d already managed to get out of the ghetto. He found her enthusiasm and interest quite a refreshing change from his usual dates, who usually fell into one of two categories: the successful woman who, after achieving her career goals, now looked to have the same results in her personal life and was eagerly looking for a husband to father her children before it was too late to have them, or women like Melanie Daniels, who deliberately sought out jobs in environments like law offices, engineering firms, or TV networks, in hopes of meeting potential husbands who were on the fast track to success. Devin had a healthy and honest ambition, and she didn’t deserve to be lied to. That was why he rushed her off the phone.

  Because knowing he had lied to her, and the circumstances behind it, made him feel positively reptilian.

  Chapter 12

  The staff of Holt & Cotten sent Carla off on Thursday, her last day at work before beginning her maternity leave, with a lovely baby shower. She received so many gifts that her husband drove to Midtown to pick her up, since she couldn’t carry all the bounty to Queens on the subway. She left immediately after the lunchtime shower, which had included refreshments. Devin helped the secretaries clean up the conference room, discarding wrapping paper and neatly arranging the leftover food for snacking for the rest of the day, and then it was back to work.

  It felt a little odd to Devin to be working alone after sharing the reception desk with Carla for most of the week. Still, it felt good to handle everything herself, from sorting the mail, sending faxes, making photocopies, keeping the conference room schedules of availability, typing, and other duties.

  She worked mostly with the secretaries and paralegals, who gave her overflow work to do. The attorneys usually said hello and goodbye, or stopped to ask for their messages when they returned from lunch.

  *****

  “Plan on meeting me after work tomorrow,” David said when they spoke on the phone that night. “I’ll pick up some takeout, and you can come to my place.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, although she actually had questions. Did he plan on her spending the night with him? She hated the idea of waking up in the morning and not having a toothbrush or fresh underwear. Yet, she could hardly show up at work carrying an overnight bag. She didn’t want David to think she planned on moving in.

  In the end she brought her usual tote bag, in which she normally carried her shoes, lunch, and folding umbrella, with an outside pouch for water bottle. Those items filled most of the tote, but today she didn’t carry her lunch. She grabbed a sandwich at a local deli and crammed the tote with a change of underwear, flat sandals, and a casual outfit, as well as a toothbrush, deodorant, and lotion, all put into discrete plastic supermarket bags. The tote nearly overflowed, but it all managed to fit.

  She was excited about seeing David’s living space. She’d never been inside a townhouse before.

  *****

  He stood waiting for her at the base of townhouse steps when she arrived and guided her by her elbow up to the parlor floor.

  Once inside, she looked at the wooden staircase, ornate and curved. “Um…what floor did you say you’re on?”

  “Fifth.”

  “Didn’t you say there’s an elevator?”

  “Yes, but it’s inside my parents’ apartment.” He pointed with his chin at the closed wooden pocket doors just inside the front door. “I rarely use it, and then only when I’m alone.”

  “Why isn’t it in the hall?”

  “Because the house was originally built as a single-family residence. It was converted years later, when my great-grandparents bought it. When they remodeled, they kept the elevator inside the triplex. It’s not in an open hall until the third floor. We can pick it up there.”

  “Oh.” Devin felt mildly disappointed. Knowing that David’s parents lived in the house, she thought she might get to meet them. Mama’s comment that David wanted to keep her away from them had stung, and Devin was eager to prove her wrong.

  David had left his apartment door ajar, and she stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was the gorgeous white marble fireplace in his living room. A television hung on the wall over it. A leather sofa—and she had no doubt it was real leather—the color of a pecan stood against the opposite wall, along with a coffee table, arc lamp, and a swivel chair with matching ottoman in the same shade of leather. A fluffy burg
undy area rug—Devin guessed it was sheepskin—lay under the coffee table and extended to the front of the chair and sofa, making for a fluffy place to rest one’s bare feet. “Oh, David, this is lovely.”

  “Thanks. It’s comfortable. I have three bedrooms, like my brother, but my rooms are smaller, and the third bedroom is upstairs, along with the roof garden.”

  “My friend Mercy would love this location. She and her fiancé both work at the U.N.”

  “You can walk there from here.”

  “I know. That’s why she’d love it.”

  “Where does she live?”

  “One-oh-fifth, between Third and Lex. It was her fiancé’s apartment before she moved in with him. It’s actually quite a nice place, not far from Central Park.” She smiled. “So, what does a single man do with three bedrooms?”

  “Come on, I’ll show you.”

  He showed her the kitchen, dining area, tiny powder room, and the second bedroom, which he had set up as a home office with a glass-topped desk. From there they went upstairs. Devin noticed he hadn’t shown her the room in that faced the front of the building. Was that his bedroom, she wondered. Or did he sleep on the top floor?

  She soon learned that the bedroom on the sixth floor held exercise equipment: weights, a folding treadmill, and a stationary bicycle, along with a small television mounted on the wall, and it had a full bathroom adjoining it. But her favorite was the roof garden just outside of it. Devin had heard that wealthy people had gardens on their rooftops, but she thought those were only on the roofs of high-rises. This looked like a tr0pical paradise in the heart of Manhattan, and best of all, it was private, not shared with a hundred other tenants. The ground was lined with artificial turf, and the furniture was made of dark weatherproof material woven to look like rattan with colorful cushions. Plentiful plants in brick boxes and a huge umbrella, even a bar and wall-mounted television, added to the serenity of the atmosphere. Devin looked at it in wonder. How marvelous to be rich, she thought, and have a private rooftop retreat here in the city and a beach house in the Hamptons. Seeing how the Andrews family lived couldn’t help raising another thought in her mind: Why does a rich man like David want to date me? A little voice in her said it had to be sex. Maybe he’d seen the tape in which she’d made vigorous love to Joe and wanted her for himself.

  No, she reminded herself. He told me he hadn’t seen the tape, and I believe him.

  They went back downstairs, at which time David showed her what he’d been saving for last…his bedroom. Like his bedroom at the beach house, it had a king-sized bed and an adjoining private bath with a walk-in shower.

  “It must be nice to have so much space,” she said, a little wistfully.

  He placed an arm around her shoulder as the buzzer rang. “That must be our dinner. I’ll go down and get it.”

  *****

  “So,” David began as they ate their food with chopsticks at the round, glass-topped dining table for four, “what do you think of the staff of Holt & Cotten?”

  “Everyone was very nice.” Then Devin thought of the one person who struck her as cold. “Well, almost everyone. The paralegal supervisor seemed a little stiff.”

  “Ah, yes. Laura Greco. Her daughter got robbed at an ATM recently. The thief knocked her down, with such force that he broke her shoulder. Um…I heard he was a black man with a Spanish surname.”

  “Say no more,” she said with a knowing nod, not pointing out that ‘Spanish’ technically meant people from Spain. “She feels that all Latinos should be locked up somewhere, and she probably doesn’t have much use for black people, either. I know the type well.”

  “I’m sorry, Devin. Some people are just…” He seemed to be at a loss for words.

  “Yes, I’m sure she’d be giving you and just about everyone else at the firm the cold shoulder if the man who robbed her daughter had been white.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, the secretaries and paralegals are very friendly. Most of the lawyers are, too. It’s easy for me to pick out which ones are partners. Those are the ones who generally act like I’m invisible. Well, Mr. Holt is very nice. And so is Susan Butler. But I couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Cotten always seems to be scowling.”

  He laughed. “Larry’s been out of sorts lately. The scuttlebutt is that his wife threw him out. If they don’t reconcile, he’ll be getting his second divorce. People are saying his wife’s decided he’s too old to keep her happy. Of course, that’s just gossip. No one can really know what went on between them…but I do know his second wife is pretty young. I’d guess about thirty-five.”

  “Thirty-five!” she repeated, her chin touching her chest in a dubious look. “But Mr. Cotten has to be in his fifties!”

  “Fifty-six, to be exact.” He chuckled. “I wasn’t working here when they got married, but I understand it was quite the scandal. Larry apparently divorced his first wife to marry her.”

  “Let me guess,” Devin said. “His first wife is his age.”

  David shrugged. “It’s an old story. His first wife supported him while he was in law school. They had two kids, and then she got pushed aside in her late forties to make way for a younger model. I’ve heard that the second wife actually looks like a younger version of the first one.”

  “I hope she made him pay through the nose in the divorce,” Devin said, her nostrils flaring. She hated to hear about men dumping the women who had been loyal to them after they became wealthy.

  “I hear she did. The fact that he’s been so grumpy lately makes me inclined to believe the separation was his wife’s idea, even if it’s for a reason other than what people in the office are gossiping about.”

  “I’m sure it’s a bit of a strain to support two additional households, even with his money.”

  “It would only be one household. Larry’s first wife has remarried, and of course their kids are grown, but his daughter with his second wife is just six years old,” David explained. “Even if the second wife remarries, he’s going to be paying child support for a long time.” He blew out a breath. “It’s kind of sad. I’m glad I never had to deal with a divorce in my family. My parents get along very well and spend a lot of time together. Actually, my mother worked and supported my dad while he went to medical school and did his internship and residency, and when he started his first solo practice she ran his office: set up appointments, handled patients’ billing and insurance, paid the light bill. Their relationship is solid.”

  “You’re lucky.”

  *****

  They lingered over dinner for a long time, exchanging opinions about various topics and in the process consuming a bottle of wine. She helped him clear the table, and when he embraced her, she happily went into his arms.

  They made fast and furious love, starting in the shower and concluding in the bed, which was a sloppy, wet mess by the time they were done, from their still-wet bodies and hair.

  Every time David looked at Devin’s nude body, he could hardly believe she was here in his bed, in all of her perfection. She was an enthusiastic lover with a limber body and no inhibitions. He loved it when she rode him, her breasts bouncing and hair flowing as she moved up and down on his hard stick, groin-to-groin. They changed positions every few minutes, and he pounded her like a chef preparing bread dough. By the time they climaxed, their sweat had added to the dampness of the sheets.

  David rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. “No,” he ordered when she attempted to climb off him. “Stay just where you are.”

  “But David, after a while I’m going to feel like dead weight.”

  His arms tightened around her back as he pressed his cheek against her hair. “Right now you feel like heaven.”

  She didn’t protest, and he breathed a sign of contentment as he closed his eyes.

  Chapter 13

  Devin had eyed Melanie Daniels with suspicion ever since Carla confided that she had designs on David, but she took pains to make sure she treated Melanie with the same cordiality she gave to everyon
e else in the office. It certainly wouldn’t do for anyone to sense her private feelings. She found herself carefully studying Melanie. She might only be a paralegal, but she dressed like an attorney, in expensive-looking suits and shoes in the latest styles. Her blond hair was fine in texture, wavy, and worn either pulled back or hanging loose around her shoulders. She looked like the type of woman who would perfectly fit in David’s world. Devin dressed well, but she only had a few separates that she mixed and matched, and even those had been newly purchased. Her work at JJ Demolition allowed her to dress in business casual attire, but Holt & Cotten required a more professional look. Her high rent didn’t leave much left over to spend on clothes, but she’d gone out and purchased some separates, knowing she could pay for them with her extra paychecks. The outfits plus shoes and handbags were pricey, but she considered it an investment in her future. She could hardly expect to work at a Madison or Park Avenue law firm in khakis and polo shirts.

  Devin worked closely with the paralegal staff, and she listened intently to Melanie’s instructions as she gave her work. Her assignment was to enter the revisions on a hand-edited document, proofread it, and print a fresh copy.

  “Oh!” Melanie said. “I almost forgot. There’s something special you have to do. Whenever there’s mention of the term ‘pCO2’, part of it has to be subscripted. I’ll show you…” With the document still facing Devin, Melanie flipped the page and laid her finger just above a lab value. “There it is. The ‘two’ at the end has to be put in subscript every time it appears.”

  Devin stared at her in admiration. “You can read upside down?”

  Melanie chuckled. “Somewhat slower than my normal speed, but yes, I can read upside down. They say everybody has a special skill, and I guess this is mine.” She smiled.

  She seems nice, Devin thought. Under different circumstances I’d probably like her.

  *****

  Melanie’s chest swelled with pride as she put the finishing touches on the research material she’d gathered for David. He’d become suspicious about the behavior of the judge presiding over a recent civil trial, who had pretty much ignored all his objections while ruling in favor of virtually every objection made by opposing counsel. Not surprisingly, the defendant was exonerated of any wrongdoing, and the plaintiff—David’s client—lost the case. David found the rulings blatantly favoring the defendant and asked her to look into the judge, the defendant, and the defendant’s parents, who were in the judge’s age group, to see if there was some type of connection. He suspected there might have been some type of deal made. Melanie had managed to uncover that’s the judge and the defendant’s father were fraternity brothers at Brown back in the seventies. If David could prove there had been tampering involved, it could be huge for him…and to think her research had played a major role. She couldn’t wait to give him what she’d uncovered, but first she had to make sure all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed. Better to delay by fifteen minutes while she went over it thoroughly rather than turn in sloppy work. Maybe he’d invite her to lunch to thank her for a job well done, and after that, who knew what might happen.