Let’s Pretend

by Laurent, River

  Scarlett is the only thing on my mind, as I open the door to my office, and my jaw drops.

  Chapter 24

  Scarlett

  I walk along the sunlit corridor towards his office while admiring the glint of my wedding ring in the light. It’s strange, seeing it out of the corner of my eye, but I like the way it looks. It suits me, I think. It’s simple and plain, but I know he probably spent a bomb on it, given that his solution to everything is always to just to pay more for the best he can get.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this. As soon as he left home, I missed him so much I had to see him. Maybe he will throw me out and tell me that office hours are sacred, but I don’t care. I have to see him.

  He left some files on his desk this morning so I decided I’d do the good-wifely thing and bring them in for him. Arnold offered to go for me, but of course, I insisted on taking myself up to the office. I told him I wanted to hang on to a little of my independence. It’s so easy, in that flawlessly run mansion to forget I ever had to do anything for myself, but of course, the real reason was completely selfish. I missed Zach like mad.

  I promised myself I wouldn’t make a nuisance of myself. It’ll be a fleeting visit only, then I’ll drop in on Lori, to make sure that she’s not throwing wild house parties all the time. Not that I imagine her as the kind of teen who would do that, but still… I hadn’t imagined she would crash my car, either and yet, she did.

  As I rush down the corridor, I remember the way I felt when he saw me coming down the aisle towards him, that smile spreading out over his face as though he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. Maybe he is just a really good actor, but for a moment, I actually believed it.

  However, when I said fleeting visit, I meant long enough to fuck his brains out.

  My mind is already racing at the thought of what we could do while I’m up in his office. After all, he can barely keep his hands off me when we are alone together. I’ve never felt more wanted, or desired in my life.

  What he said when we first got together is branded in my psyche, that he would move on as soon as he got bored, but so far, he certainly didn’t seem bored. Though I couldn’t help but worry about the way he might sneak around behind my back, keeping me as an easy lay, back home while he could...I push open his door and come to abrupt halt. I swear to God, I freeze on the spot.

  There is a woman inside, a woman I recognize at once. Dahlia.

  She is splayed out on his desk, in nothing but a jacket, which is open to show off her slim, toned naked body. I can’t believe this is happening. Zach is standing over her. They both don’t seem to notice me, and I hang back more of shock than anything else. Maybe he has been having an affair with her the whole time? Maybe that’s why she was so pissed whenever I slipped into his office for a cheeky hook-up before?

  "Come on, Zach," Dahlia coos, her voice dripping with honey. "You’re really telling me that you don’t want all this?"

  "I really am," he snarls back.

  My heart leaps. He doesn’t know I’m here. There's no reason for him to tell her he doesn’t want her or for her to be asking him if he doesn’t want her, if they really are involved. Which means that she must just be trying to seduce him, even though the bitch knows he’s married to me now.

  The relief in my gut twists up and into something else entirely, white-hot fury blasts into my head. If Dahlia thinks she can just slither in here and try to hook up with my husband, then she has another ‘thing’ coming.

  I make a noise.

  As soon as Dahlia sees me, she pulls her coat shut and leaps to her feet. "Scarlett," she coos, like she could really convince me that she’s nothing but sweetness and light right now.

  "Scarlett, listen to me—" Zach tells me urgently.

  I lift my hand to silence him, though I never take my narrowed eyes off Dahlia. "You need to get out of here, slut," I tell her.

  She raises her eyebrows at me and rises to her feet.

  I can’t believe the gall of the woman. It’s like she’s delusional, genuinely of the belief that this is how things are meant to roll, that she is the one in the right here.

  "Scarlett, you just need to accept the fact that the man you married has needs outside of your relationship," Dahlia tells me, her voice laced with a patronizing edge. "Needs that you can’t fulfil. Needs that I can."

  Her condescending tone makes my stomach clench.

  "He’s never had anything to do with you. You couldn't satisfy him if you laid on your back and shot ping pong balls out of your vagina," I shoot back. Zach told me before, he doesn’t do this, not with people he works with and I believe him. He may be many things, but he is not a liar. Not to mention the fact, well, I don’t think she’s really his type. I’ve seen the way he looks at my body, the way he touches me like he can’t get enough, and I doubt skinny assed Dahlia would do a lot for him.

  "We’re together," Dahlia tells me confidently, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "He’s just playing right now because he knows he’s been busted."

  I look to Zach.

  Silent, he is looking at me with an expression of almost awe. Not at all the look of a guilty man.

  I don’t want to hear another word out of her mouth. I turn back to her. "Get out of here. You’re fired."

  "Zach needs me. I’m the only one who knows how everything works!” Dahlia responds, but she looks a little panicked. Finally, it seems like the reality of the situation is setting in. Her face has gone pale and her eyes are wide.

  I want her worried. I want her upset. I want her to know what happens when someone tries to come after my husband.

  “You don’t have the power to do that,” she flings at me.

  I am surprised by the fire in my belly, the heat pulsing through my system, but it’s there, and I’m going to be damned if I let some random woman who thinks that she’s got a chance in hell to get close to my man. Before I can open my mouth, Zach cuts in.

  "No, but I do. And I want you gone. Out of here. Clear your desk by the end of the day and I’ll make sure you get your two months severance pay."

  She glares at him furiously before sweeping out of the office and slamming the door so hard behind her the window shakes.

  I exhale and turn to Zach. "Please, tell me that nothing was going on between you two?" I beg. "Please tell me I didn’t just make an ass of myself for nothing."

  Zach looks into my eyes.

  I can see it there in his gaze and I know the truth.

  Chapter 25

  Zach

  "Nothing was going on between us," I tell her, and I mean it. I know I can’t convince anyone of the truth just like that, but judging by the way she reacted, I don’t think she’s going to need a lot of convincing.

  Scarlett exhales a long breath and claps her hand to her chest. "Thank fucking Christ, because if I’ve just fired a woman over nothing..."

  "You haven’t," I assure her, walking towards her and clasping her arms. "Nothing has ever happened between the two of us, and it never would have. If you hadn’t fired her, I would have. At the very least, she would have been transferred to another department."

  "Yeah, I know that," she admits and smiles at me.

  And my whole body lights up when I see that soft look on her face.

  "I heard you brushing her off before I made a noise," she continues. "But for a wild second, I thought—I thought maybe it was for show, not because you were actually trying to get rid of her..."

  "You believed me," I murmur.

  She furrows her brow at me. "What?"

  "You believed me," I repeat. "You have no idea...I can’t think of anyone else who would have believed me in that situation. Especially, with the reputation I have. I think that was what Dahlia was counting on."

  "I knew you wouldn’t do that to me," she says.

  I take her face in my hands and look intently into her eyes. "Nobody has ever just believed me before," I tell her.

  Her loyalty shines bright in her face, her trust
in me warms my heart as a secure feeling settles over me.

  Scarlett reaches up and kisses me softly, on the mouth, as if sealing the precious moment between us.

  And I know that it is sacred, because a bond of trust has been solidified, one that I would never have believed was there before. She actually took my word, took my side, without a second thought. When it comes to my reputation, I’m used to people brushing me off in favor of what they’ve heard about me, for the juicier story. But she didn’t do that. She gave me the benefit of the doubt. And she is right, I would never betray her like that. Ever.

  I wrap my arms around her and pull her in close against my body. The two of us stand here joined as one. It’s the first time since we got together that I’ve really understood what it means to be a part of a partnership with her. To have her trust, her loyalty, her sureness, her confidence in me.

  She loops her arms around my shoulders and I kiss her deeply. Everything that happened before she came is already falling from my mind. It seems useless now, hazy, like it might have happened to someone else entirely.

  “Zack, have you ever wanted to go into me bare?”

  I stare at her in astonishment. “Yes, but—”

  “I’m on the pill now, so we’re good to go.”

  “Damn, Scarlett. I would like nothing better than to feel your pussy on my cock.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for then?” she asks cheekily.

  I bury my face in her neck then slide my hand up and under her shirt, tracing my fingers over the lace of her bra. She moans softly as I guide her back towards the chair behind us. I want to see her while I take her, look into her eyes while I make her mine again.

  She climbs on top of me, knowing at once, what I want from her, and rolls her skirt up to reveal herself to me. Her body is so perfect, every curve drawn in beauty. I can’t help comparing her to Dahlia and finding Dahlia a dull shadow in comparison. She slides her panties down over her hips and tosses them aside.

  I pull myself free of my pants, taking my cock into my hand.

  She grips the back of the chair for leverage. "Zach, I..." she murmurs, but before the words can come out of her mouth, I kiss her again.

  I feel like I know what she is going to say, anyway, and honestly, the thought of hearing her speak it out loud feels far too dangerous for my liking. I slide one hand over her hip and guide her down on top of me, so that she is impaled on my thick cock. The sensation is wonderful. Not since I was a reckless teenager, have I gone bareback and it felt nothing like this. In fact, I have been with so many women before but not one of them has come close to making me feel the way she does.

  I thrust up into her, pushing myself deep, so I can feel her all the way around my cock. Her pussy is wet, warm and welcoming, slick and tight around me, and she gasps with pleasure as I take her for the first time skin-on-skin. I am always surprised by how well the two of us fit together, how well we seem to make sense, but bare—we are incredible. I feel powerful when I’m with her, and vulnerable at the same time.

  She grasps the back of the chair and slides her hips from side to side, testing out the way this new position feels to her.

  I gaze up at her and just take her in.

  This is my wife.

  My wife.

  I love watching my wife exploring new positions. She goes completely on instinct, purely on what feels good to her in the moment, and who am I to deny that? This isn’t a performance for my benefit, she’s just doing what makes her feel good, and all I want to do is sit back and let her find her sweet spots.

  I move my hands to her hips and feel them rise and fall on top of me. I go slow at first, moving gently, and then a little harder, till I am driving myself deep into her with every thrust.

  She moans, and then moans again, louder.

  She can yell for all I care, as there is no one outside to catch us in the act or overhear us. Not that I would have cared much even if there were. The look on her face is everything I need and nothing else in the world matters to me at this moment.

  "Fuck," she gasps, as she turns her mouth to mine and kisses me roughly, her tongue finding my own at once. She has grown so much bolder, far removed from the nervous, curious version of herself from the very first time we fucked. I can’t wait to see how she will grow and change as her sexuality matures, and she discovers sides to herself she never knew existed.

  I push her hips down on my cock, harder this time, feeling my full length inside of her now. The thought of filling her with my seed for the first time fills me with wild excitement. I want to shoot it as deep into her body as possible, then I want to shut her legs and keep it inside her. A strange thought occurs to me. I wish she wasn’t on contraceptives. I wish my seed would grow inside her.

  "Ah!” she cries out.

  Instantly, I feel her contract around my cock. I move deep inside her and hold myself there, letting her milk me with her pulsing pussy as she comes. Her body begins to tremble, and she shivers as she pushes herself down on top of me one more time. Like she is wringing the last drops of pleasure that she can from this moment.

  I wrap my arms around her and rock slowly inside of her until I reach my own release, and shoot my cum deep inside her. It feels amazing and it takes some time to come down from my high.

  Gently, I kiss a bare strip of shoulder that has been exposed by our fucking. I love her skin, so milky, soft and creamy. In the mornings, when I’m awake before her, sometimes I will just lie there to admire the way the sun glints here and there along her skin, making it glow while she is sleeping. Not that I would ever admit that to her, of course.

  Scarlett slowly lifts herself off of me and slides instead into my lap. She leans her head against my shoulder, and then slips her hand over my chest, placing it on my heart. "Your heartbeat is so fast." She giggles. "Was it that good?"

  I turn, and plant a kiss against her head. Being this close to her, I know that my heart isn’t going to slow down any time soon.

  "It was better than that good,” I murmur into her sweet smelling hair.

  Chapter 26

  Scarlett

  One month later

  "I can’t believe this is happening," I tell Lori excitedly, as I check my hair for the thousandth time since I came through the door to her apartment. "Do I look all right?"

  "He’s speaking to you about fashion, not about becoming a hairstylist," Lori reminds me, lightly teasing.

  Despite her teasing, I know she is excited for me. I step back and look at my outfit again. "I’m meant to take one thing off before I go out, right?" I remark. "That’s the rule for fashion stuff..."

  "I think you look perfect," she assures me as she gets to her feet and straightens the blazer that I am wearing.

  "You sure?” I ask fretfully. I’m just worried. So much is hanging on this, and I can’t believe that this is even happening in the first place. It doesn’t make sense. But for once, things have just turned out well for me. Maybe I should embrace that. To embrace the fact that it’s finally time for things to start working out for me.

  When I got the call from Mark Simpson’s personal secretary the week before, I’d been sure that it was some kind of joke. I am still not sure that it isn’t, come to think of it. I keep waiting for the rug to be pulled out from beneath me while I look like a fool for believing it.

  Anyway, when the call came, I assumed it was someone from the estate calling to discuss the details of my inheritance since I didn’t recognize the number.

  "Hi, is this Mrs. Scarlett Black?” a woman asked.

  “Yes,” I admitted cautiously. No one called me Scarlett Black.

  "Good. I’m glad we finally got hold of you," she continued warmly. "I’m calling on behalf of Evangelion Outfitters. We would like to arrange a meeting with you at some point in the next couple of weeks to discuss a potential collaboration?”

  A collaboration? With me?

  I couldn’t say a word. There was no way this was real. Evangelion Outfitters we
re one of the biggest fashion houses in the city. I had put in an application to take on an internship there at some point last year, but nothing had come of it. I was disappointed since I assumed it had gone to some more qualified candidate. The only other person who knew about my application was Molly. I waited for her to snatch the phone from one of her friends and laugh at me for believing the joke. But she didn’t. Instead, the woman waited patiently for me to respond.

  “Ah…a collaboration? Can you explain please?” I blurted out finally.

  "Mark Simpson, the head of design, saw your wedding pictures," she explained.

  There were paparazzi outside who snapped a few photos of us, and I supposed they must have made it out to some gossip blog or another, but I had never expected to hear anything of them again. But I always forget: Zach’s life is of interest to other people, the way mine alone has never been.

  "And we realized we had an application of yours on file," she continued. "So we looked at it again and he just loved the designs in your Lookbook. If you are not with any other fashion house yet, then you must come and meet us."

  My jaw dropped. It’s the last thing I expected to come out of this. The Lookbook I sent them was a class project. My teacher thought it was great, but I had never thought, not in a million years, that a real designer would look at it and see some potential in me. Especially, not a house as big as Evangelion Outfitters.

  "No, no, I’m with no other fashion house," I almost screamed. "Yes, of course, I’d love to come and meet Mark Simpson! Where do you want to meet? And when? I’m pretty free and easy..." At that point, I forced myself to stop blurting out anymore insane comments and just waited for her to find a date that was convenient. When I hung up, I did a little dance of joy.