The Question Is

by Kenna Shaw Reed

  “Seth, listen. You have me for the weekend. I’m at your disposal all weekend. We’ll get a proposal together with some options and I’ll pitch it to a partner on Monday.”

  “Oh,” he sounded relieved. “I can’t believe it. You think we can find a way out of my mess?” If she had any doubts before, Grace realized Seth wasn’t looking for a romantic set up. He really needed her, his company genuinely needed her firm.

  “Seth, don’t worry, we will get this sorted for you. I want to do this for you – and my partner is organizing a breakfast meeting for Tuesday with a Derek Casbar who specializes in this type of proposal. If we can win him over, that will be more than half the battle.”

  “Grace, I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Email me some background and get a room for us to base ourselves out of.”

  Grace held the phone in her hand, unable to dial. She had to call Sienna and explain that all their weekend plans would need to be put on hold. Not the first-time work got in the way of a romantic weekend.

  It was, however, the first time a meeting with Seth meant having to cancel a “do-over” romantic weekend in a winery watching an old blues band.

  How would Sienna understand that this would be all business. Even if she wanted to, as Seth described the situation, there wouldn’t be the time or opportunity for anything pleasurable.

  She threw her phone in her handbag and packed up her desk. Everything she needed was on her laptop and accessible remotely. She could easily work from home or from wherever Seth would be based.

  “Did you get back to him?” Simon, the senior partner popped into her office as she was leaving.

  “Yes, thanks for the vote of confidence. Seth is sending me the background briefing notes and on his way. I’ll get you a draft proposal before Monday morning.”

  Simon was not alone. “Grace, have you met our senior partner in all things property, Andrew Dimkin? Andrew, this young lady has signed a new client – a property development firm in need of financing. She’ll have a proposal for me on Monday that we want to take to Casbar on Tuesday.”

  “Grace, congratulations, you will never forget your first time. If you have any problems getting hold of Casbar, give me a call on my private line. I’m playing golf with him on Sunday and I’d be happy to twist his arm.”

  Everything was falling into place – except telling Sienna. That was a conversation best conducted in the privacy of home, so no one would hear the screams.

  Sienna

  She was being ridiculous, paranoid. If she couldn’t stop, then it would destroy them.

  As Sienna paced around the unit, waiting for Grace to get home from work, all her stupid, jealous rants haunted her. She hated the way life with Grace seemed to be self-destructing.

  Perfect. Their relationship, Grace, everything was so perfect. Sienna couldn’t stem the fear of it falling apart if anything changed, which was why she resisted the two things that mattered the most to Grace.

  Marriage – now that Australia legalized same sex marriage, all their friends were equally divided into two camps – those who wanted equality, fought for equality and would be the first to get married. The others, happy enough for those who wanted to get married could do so – but didn’t feel the need to join the married club.

  “We are happy already, we don’t need marriage.” Why couldn’t Grace understand? Marriage meant happily ever after which didn’t always happen. Her own parents a case in point. If social expectations hadn’t tied them together, would they? They should have gone their separate ways years ago and lived happier lives.

  But they stayed together for the children.

  What if they had children and Grace forgot Sienna existed because of a helpless baby?

  Sienna never really liked children, the only girl in class that didn’t think growing up meant becoming a mother. It had never been her dream.

  Yet it was all that Grace seemed to want. Grace wanted the marriage and commitment. She wanted them to stand before their friends and family and declare their love to the world. Grace wanted children – and it made sense that Sienna would be the one to carry them.

  It scared her that the baby would change her body and their relationship. The flat stomach that Grace loved would be gone and Sienna wasn’t sure that her plumper breasts would be enough of compensation. What if she gave birth to a screaming mess and it ruined their sex life and they never got it back.

  Stupid, real questions. Grace either dismissed or didn’t know, because they were Sienna’s stupid, real questions and led to another fight with no end.

  “Hi, honey, I’m home!” Grace and an early Friday night!

  “Fantastic, I’m packed already – we can be gone in an hour instead of heading off tomorrow morning,” Sienna ran to hug Grace. Ever since the missing night, she was on tender hooks. Grateful every time Grace returned walked in the door.

  Jealousy. She needed to get a grip on it and control it before it destroyed her.

  “Did you hear me, I’m packed. How quickly can we get away?”

  Grace released her and poured herself a glass of wine from the open bottle of red on the counter.

  “Grace, it’s early – if we leave soon we can get there before dinner.”

  Grace handed her a glass, “I’m so sorry, babe.”

  “Oh,” Sienna tried to understand. All the work she put into clearing her schedule and making sure all her clients would be looked after for the weekend now wasted. She quickly downed the wine and tried to smile. It wouldn’t help if she started being jealous of Grace’s job as well as her past with Seth.

  “And he needs me – or at least he needs my company, so he is coming to Sydney for the weekend and we only have until Monday morning to get it ready.”

  “Oh,” Sienna missed the beginning of the conversation. No matter, Grace would be working for the weekend – perhaps she should go to the winery on her own.

  “Honey, it doesn’t mean a thing – but if you really don’t want me to I’ll try and find someone else.”

  This was her time to show Grace how much she loved her and that being independent and free from the confines of motherhood allowed them to have it all. “It’s fine, you need to work, I completely understand.”

  The hug turned into a passionate embrace as Grace rewarded her with a kiss that took her breath away. Grace’s hand crept up the front, underneath her shirt, fingertips tracing the edge of her bra.

  “Oh, if this is my reward, I promise I’ll be more understanding about anything you want,” her hands pulled up Grace’s skirt and felt around the tight ass. Pulling their hips together, Sienna leant back onto the kitchen bench bracing as Grace started to grind against her.

  It had been weeks since they made love with such abandon, spontaneous passion. Every part of her wanted to be devoured by Grace, to be offered on a platter to this woman who was her heart and soul.

  Grace’s panties fell to her ankles, and Sienna spun her around and lifted her to the bench. As Grace opened her shirt and fondled her still covered breasts, Sienna kissed the soft flesh of Grace’s inner thighs, drawing her tongue up to her soft folds, her tongue quickly joined by her fingers. Pulling Graces hips forward, Sienna flicked her tongue around the bud, gently sucking as her fingers drove deep.

  Most times they shared their love making as evenly as they shared the rest of their lives. No pillow princesses in this relationship. This time, Sienna wanted it to be her gift to her lover. Sienna pushed Grace’s hands away, insisting with her own actions that Grace lie back and accept her due.

  Sienna, took another swill of the wine before diving below again.

  “Oh, cold, oh, honey, yes,” Grace cried out.

  Sienna knew Grace was so close and debated whether to slow down or finish her off.

  “Please, don’t, please,” Grace cried, pushing her hands back between her legs.

  Sienna’s fingers went back to work, as she made little love bites on Grace’s inner thighs, tiny little bites as
her fingers drew wilder and wilder until she felt the shuddering climax of the gorgeous creature lying prone on the bench.

  Sienna poured them both another glass and helped Grace down. Her eyes still glassy and she shook her head as she caught her breath.

  “So, tell me again about your important client,” Sienna pulled some cheese out of the fridge and a packet of crackers for them to enjoy. “I was a little bit distracted by how quickly I could take advantage of my gorgeous girlfriend before I become a corporate widow for the weekend.” Sienna decided the weekend would be impromptu sex sessions to break up the monotony of Grace’s work. All work and no play …

  “Sienna, I explained – it is his firm that needs me.”

  “Who’s firm? Sorry, I missed the beginning.”

  “Seth. Seth is coming to Sydney for the weekend and I need to work with him on the proposal to finance his next project.”

  Seth

  At any other time, he would be looking to take advantage of the opportunity to spend a weekend alone with Grace.

  Any of his friends would think it was a self created crisis.

  Unfortunately, the reality staring him in the balance sheet was simple. He didn’t have the cash to back up the project. If the financing fell through, it would erode the market’s confidence in his company, likely spiraling into cancelled contracts, suppliers insisting on shorter payment terms and his own sub contractors starting to priories other work.

  He had seen it happen to other companies and always prided himself on managing the nature of his leveraging. He didn’t plan on such a drop in the exchange rate or the flow on effects across the market. He trusted his long-term relationship with his bank manager and felt as much personally affronted as disappointed when the bank manager called to let him down.

  He didn’t want Grace to see him vulnerable, needy, threatened. But at the end of the day, whether Grace was the love of his life, an ex girlfriend or even an acquaintance, he would have reached out to anyone he thought could help him save his business.

  Still, it would be good to spend the weekend away from Darby who agreed to start a new job that Seth set up for him. It marked a huge leap of faith and Seth didn’t trust Darby not to try and pull out of it at the last minute.

  If Darby couldn’t contact Seth and give some excuse for pulling out, he would have to turn up and make the most of it. Of all the boys he had intervened with and helped, it was boys like Darby, the challenging most frustrating and angry boys that held the greatest reward.

  He couldn’t wait to tell Grace about Darby’s progress.

  Damn it. He still loved her and spending the weekend with her would not help him move on – no matter how much he wanted to.

  Joe and Joanne were right – she made her choice when she chose Sydney and Sienna over him. They insisted he spend more of his free time at their house, or Joe would drop by with pizza and beer – ensuring he was never alone with his thoughts.

  “You too have the perfect marriage,” he said as Kyle lay asleep on his couch and the three friends played cards.

  “It takes work,” Jo said, stroking her son’s long fringe.

  “And the best woman in the world,” joined Joe.

  “What I see are two people who are married to their best friend, lover and sharing their life raising this little one.”

  “He makes life worthwhile,” Joe agreed.

  “I could lose all this,” he waved around the house, “As long as I can have a family and someone who can inspire me, challenge me.”

  “It will happen,” Jo assured him. “You are too good a catch.”

  Right now, he only wanted one woman. The woman he trusted to save his company. The woman he would be spending the weekend alone with.

  Grace

  “You’re spending the weekend with – HIM!” Sienna went from hot siren to angry minx in a split second. “You are dumping a weekend away with me to spend the weekend with – HIM!”

  The glasses went flying against the wall. The colander innocently resting in the sink with washed salad joined the glasses before Sienna ran into their bedroom and slammed the door.

  Grace didn’t expect Sienna to take the news well – which is why she wanted to tell her in person.

  “Honey, I told you before. Come out. We need to talk.” Surely, this was an over-reaction, she tried to convince herself.

  “This is my first big client I’ve signed,” she couldn’t find the words to explain it to herself so how could she explain it to her girlfriend. Until now she worked for other people’s projects. “This is important for my career, please understand,” and it was for Seth.

  Seth. The complicating factor in everything was she would be with Seth for hours and hours working closely with him.

  Already nervous about being close to him after what happened at their reunion, how would she cope with Sienna’s anger? And after his declaration of love for her – oh – damn it.

  Silently, she swept up the broken glass and fingered the small dent in the wall. They never fought. Sienna’s reaction scared her, but it wasn’t really surprising or out of character. Sienna hated everything about Grace’s life before they got together. It either never happened or it threatened their relationship.

  She made a cup of Sienna’s favorite green tea.

  “Babe, let me in, come on, please,” she forgot the unit came with bedroom doors that were lockable from the inside. “Babe, please.”

  “You are spending the weekend with your ex.”

  “I’m spending the weekend with a client. You didn’t have a problem with it until you realized it was Seth.”

  “Your Seth – the owner of the tattoo - your first love.”

  “Not my current love or the love of my life. That would be the crazy bitch who is leaving me standing out here with two hot cups of tea that are burning my hands.” She tried to laugh, take the sting out of the situation.

  Not until she said the words that she realized how true they were. Sienna was the love of her life. They were almost perfect together – and the display in the kitchen proved it.

  “Damn it, Sienna, how can you go from fucking me to locking me out in a split second.” Grace’s phone rang.

  “Hi, yes. No problems, I’ll text you the address.”

  “Sienna, pull your shit together – he’s coming here first to meet you and make sure you are okay with this.”

  The door opened, and Grace pulled Sienna into her arms, kissing away the tears streaming down her face.

  “I hate him so much.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t even know him.”

  “But you do.”

  Grace avoided looking at Sienna as she cleared off the table and got dressed before Seth arrived. Gone were the casual clothes she normally would change into when getting home. Also gone was the tight-fitting skirt she wore to work, and Sienna had removed in the kitchen. Instead, she found some long, loose fitting work trousers and pulled on a sweater over the work shirt. No bare flesh to encourage him or enrage Sienna.

  The next few hours would be like walking a tightrope – falling off one side would be into a burning pit of hell and the other – well Grace thought it wouldn’t be honey and clover.

  Why would he come here of all places?

  She thought back to the last time they were together and understood.

  Seth

  Pain. All-encompassing, all-consuming pain. An all too familiar, over-powering emotion to anyone who lost in love.

  He needed to see her in her home, with her girlfriend by her side. Spending the weekend in a serviced apartment all the while ignoring the large, comfortable bed in the room next to where they would be working would be hard enough.

  He had to see her with her girlfriend, in their environment and make his heart believe she could never be his. Never again be his.

  His office emailed her the background information and tonight would be a good opportunity to give her a more in-depth context of what he needed and where the previous deal fell thro
ugh. If her girlfriend realized the extent of his trouble, then perhaps she would be more understanding.

  He pulled into the street and instinctively guessed the architect and the market the units were pitched at. He didn’t expect the sleek gloss. He always assumed she would be in a house with a garden, large back yard waiting for a dog and kids. These units were aimed at young couples, needing to reduce the commute to work by living in a shoebox sized apartment close to everything.

  The absolute opposite of his house which was not a home but at least could be. If this unit represented the life Grace wanted, she had really changed too much for him.

  The brunette buzzed him in without a word and then opened the front door. He took in the sleek furnishings, minimalistic everything.

  “Hi, we didn’t formally meet the other week. I’m Seth.”

  “I know who you are,” she either ignored or didn’t see his offered hand as she turned and walked into what he presumed was their bedroom. A muffled sound before Grace emerged.

  Damn.

  Damn it. Why did he come here and see her.

  The wary look, he had no intention of making things hard for her with Sienna. But the most natural thing he could do was greet with a friendly hug, noting her oversized sweater could never hide her curves in his arms.

  “Thanks, you don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

  “No problems, did you get a place okay?”

  “Yeah, a serviced apartment a couple of blocks away. I figured I’d get something close to your work so if we need to go to the office to get anything, or if you want me to go and meet someone, …” he trailed off collapsing on the lounge chair with his hands in his head.

  “Gracie, I don’t know what happened. We’ve been going so well, hitting all our marketing targets. Everything in place and then the exchange rate changed, and everyone got nervous.”

  Grace sat along side him, one hand comforting on his knee and asked him to start at the beginning.

  It was almost like old times, unburdening himself to her, blurting out the ending before the beginning. All his friends would get confused when he jumped around mid story – but never Grace. She always waited for him to get to the point.