Safe Words

by Magnolia Robbins

  As she moved back towards me, her hips swaying while the riding crop dangled in her hand, a small smirk crossed her lips. “What are the safewords?”

  OVER A MONTH HAD PASSED since the incident about the courthouse. I’d awoken one lazy Saturday afternoon to the gentle caress of fingers on the naked flesh of my arm. A warm body laid behind me on Scarlett’s leather sofa. We’d never slept there before in the time I’d spent with her. Lips kissed the fold on my neck and I pushed back into her.

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked. When I moved I felt the soreness of my body still from our play earlier. She had filled my evenings and my weekends to the brim. Testing my limits in every way imaginable.

  “A few hours?” Scarlett guessed, stroking her hand down the length of my arm again. I sighed at the touch, rolling over so I could look up at her. Our eyes met, and she smiled, her fingers moving to my cheek. She brushed stray strands of hair from my face. For a moment I thought to ask if she’d slept too, but something told me she hadn’t. Yet she had stayed with me. My heart fluttered in my chest when I looked at her.

  I found words floating to the surface, begging to escape me. Before they could, Scarlett surprised me. Her hand lingered on my cheek while she continued to smile. “Natalia,” she whispered, her thumb running over me. Even still, months having passed now, it got to me every time she said my name. And then I lost my breath completely. “I think I’m falling in love with you.” The words took me aback. Never would I have imagined her to admit such a thing. I sat up from the couch, pushing into her. Our mouths met briefly in a tender way. When we broke, both of us were smiling.

  “I love you too,” I replied, and then once again I found myself lost in her.

  When I left Sunday, it was because I had planned to meet Andrea for lunch while Scarlett took care of errands. While she was no replacement to Justine, who hadn’t spoken to me since our fight, her company was still much appreciated. It seemed to ease tension at work as well. We met at a greasy spoon diner we’d ate at before. It was one of Andrea’s favorite places to go.

  After we’d ordered our food and caught up, Andrea dropped a bombshell unlike anything I’d heard. It surprised me so much that I nearly dropped the drink I’d been sipping on.

  “Did you know Diana is suing Scarlett now?”

  Instead of dropping the glass, I choked on the drink instead. Andrea stared at me for a moment until I’d managed to clear out my throat. “What?” My voice came out in a breathy gasp. I felt myself staring in disbelief.

  “I only figured it out on Friday,” she admitted. “You’d already left. There was a fax left on the machine. Some paperwork for Scarlett. I wasn’t meaning to be nosy.” That almost caused a laugh from me. Andrea was always fishing for gossip. “I just so happened to read that she had a court date. I am assuming Diana is attempting to take half the company, like she originally wanted. Scarlett wouldn’t give in, so now she’s threatening to sue her.” This was all new information to me. It had been weeks without any mention of Diana. Scarlett must have been keeping things to herself. The idea of it made me a little sick to my stomach.

  “What is she going to do?” I asked.

  “Well it seems obvious, doesn’t it?” Andrea looked annoyed that I hadn’t drawn the same conclusions as her. “I’m assuming she’ll take her to court.”

  “And if she loses?” I replied, again already drawing the answers to my questions.

  “I suppose she’ll lose half the company,” Andrea shrugged, as our food arrived. “Poor Scarlett. I can’t imagine a woman worse than Diana. I mean, who would do that to a person?”

  When she said it, I couldn’t help but think of Megan. It sounded like just the type of vindictive manipulative stunt she’d pull. Thinking of her sent a wave of guilt through me that I still hadn’t dealt with that situation. At least things had been quiet. I hadn’t heard from her since she’d delivered me my mother's sweater.

  Andrea and my conversation moved on to other topics after that though admittedly I was distracted the rest of the outing. After I’d made it back to my neglected apartment, I called Scarlett. When it went to her voicemail, I hung up instead of leaving a message. I’d ask her about it tomorrow. There had to be a reasonable explanation why she hadn’t confided in me.

  The week was so busy, the conversation with Scarlett slipped my mind. Writing projects for the blog piled up, and on top of errands for Andrea, I had little time to think. Any spare moment was spent in the confines of Scarlett’s office, and in the evenings, her home.

  By Wednesday, I had deadlines swallowing me whole. As I was finishing up a draft of an article due later that afternoon, Scarlett met me at my desk. The look on her face was clear she wanted something from me. Something that would involve my undivided attention. If it had been any other moment, I would have not given it a second thought. Instead, I looked at her panicked.

  “You said this was due this afternoon,” I pleaded with her.

  “Come with me, Ms. Ross,” Scarlett said, making her way back into her office. I couldn’t read the expression on her face, so it was difficult to tell if I was in trouble or not. When I found myself bound to Scarlett’s leather chair in her office a few minutes later, I realized I in fact wasn’t. Scarlett had left me half naked, my arms fastened loosely to the arms of the chair. She’d went to run an errand, taunting me with the notion that there’d be a surprise for me upon her return. All the while I waited. Occasionally I’d panic about the article I still had yet to finish, but mostly I just wondered what laid in store for me.

  My mind had wandered outside the large glass window of Scarlett’s office, watching the street traffic below. Just as I’d turned my attention back towards the room, the door opened. I laid back in the chair, a smile drawing across my lips.

  “I was wondering what took you so long,” I called out. Then I felt all the blood drain from my face. When the two of us met eyes, I lost the ability to breathe for a moment. Andrea looked as if she had ran straight into a brick wall. She stood stunned, staring me down.

  Finally words spewed from my mouth. “Andrea, I can’t explain.”

  Andrea didn’t spend a second more in the room. She disappeared behind the door as it shut. I struggled in the scarves that restrained me to the chair. When I’d loosened them enough to break free, I scrambled to button my blouse and find my pants underneath the desk. Once I’d made myself halfway presentable, I scurried out of the office.

  Andrea was nowhere to be found. I panicked, running up Robin at the front desk. She was on the phone, so I waited for her to finish. I paced, my stomach flipping in knots. As soon as the phone dropped into the receiver, Robin and I met eyes. “You didn’t see where Andrea went, did you?”

  Robin nodded towards the elevators. “She said she needed some fresh air.”

  Not once in my entire history of knowing her, had Andrea ever left the building before she was finished for the day. Most of the time she stayed late. I panicked, running straight for the elevators. The wait was atrocious, and the ride down slower still. When I’d made it out of the building, I spotted her sitting on a bench. Once I drew closer, I noticed she was smoking a cigarette. Just as I’d reached her, she looked up. If I had thought her scowls were intimidating before, there was something particularly nasty about the way she looked at me then.

  “Go away, Natalia,” Andrea said, breathing out a large puff of smoke. I watched it take into the air before I turned my attention back to her.

  “Can I explain myself?” I asked her, moving to sit beside her. Andrea didn’t have it, putting out her cigarette in the ashtray of the nearby garbage can. Once she had, she got to her feet, starting to walk away from me.

  “Andrea!” I called after her, somewhat aggravated. “Will you listen, please?”

  “I knew there was something going on,” Andrea turned on her heel to face me. That chillingly dark look was still on her face. It intimidated me a little. “When you knew all these little pieces of information. How you’d
spend so much time in her office. I thought I was crazy for assuming it.”

  “It’s more than that,” I argued but she raised a hand at me.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Natalia,” Andrea said. “Just stay the hell away from me.”

  I stood there watching as she stormed off from me, back into the building. As much as I wanted to run off after her, I didn’t. A few minutes passed, and I made my way back, assuming that Andrea had caught an elevator by then. Sure enough, I’d been right. When I reached the office, she was buried in work at her desk. I tried to make eye contact with her as I walked by, but she ignored me.

  Scarlett had still not arrived back from her errand. Almost thirty minutes had passed before she did. As she made her way towards her office, she noticed me at my desk. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling when she saw me sitting there and not still restrained to her chair. When she passed me, I got up to follow behind her. As soon as I shut the door, she turned back to face me.

  I’d wanted to tell her about Andrea, but when I saw the look on her face, I grew distracted. “What’s wrong?” I asked. Scarlett shook her head as if trying to free herself from the thoughts that plagued her. “Is it Diana?”

  There was a hint of surprise in her gaze when we met eyes. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had guessed right. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. Scarlett didn’t even try to hide the shock that filled her face. Before she could inquire, I said what she was thinking. “Don’t worry about how I know. You should have talked to me.”

  Scarlett hesitated. The silence in the room was agonizing. All I wanted was for her to say something. She let out a long exhale and went to sit down on the couch. “It’s nothing you should worry about.”

  “Of course I’m going to worry. I care about you.” My hand reached out to take hers after I’d followed her. Our eyes stayed locked on one another. Scarlett’s thumb stroked the skin of my hand. Again the silence lasted forever. “Are you going to lose the company?”

  “I doubt it,” Scarlett said. “Diana doesn’t have enough of a hold on me to get that far. She’s doing her best to make my life as difficult as possible, however.”

  “Clearly,” I sighed. “I’m so sorry, Scarlett.”

  Scarlett smiled. “This is why I didn’t tell you,” she admitted. “It’s nothing you should concern yourself with. It will all work out. One way or another.” While I wanted to argue with her, I found myself silent. I watched as Scarlett moved into me. “I know the perfect distraction, however.”

  As much as I’d wanted to take her up on the offer, her words sent my stomach into fits. I fought the urge to tell her about Andrea, thinking she’d had too much on her mind at the moment.

  “Let’s leave early,” Scarlett whispered, leaning in to brush her nose against my cheek. “I have better places to restrain you to at home. Places you won’t be able to get out of.” The shiver that ripped through me was ferocious. I could picture the exact places she was referring to. For a long moment I fought myself, thinking it might be better not to worry at her. At the last second, I decided to tell her anyway. When I spoke, her expression turned.

  “We have a problem.”

  Chapter Ten

  SCARLETT TOOK THE NEWS far better than I had anticipated she would. We both agreed to lie low for the time being, keeping our relationship outside of work. Even still, the rest of the week was a nightmare. Andrea did everything in her power to make my life a living hell. Every project or piece of busy work she could throw at me, she did. It left me scrambling at odd hours in the evenings trying to play catch up. I spent my weeknights at home, running on very little sleep. By the time Friday came, I was grateful for the ability to escape to Scarlett’s condo. Before I left for the day, Scarlett instructed me to go by myself while she finished up a project.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” she said, offering me a smile. It was the first playful comment I’d heard from her since the incident with Andrea a few days prior.

  “I most certainly will, Ms. Stone,” I teased her, shutting the door behind me.

  Henry took me to the building late that afternoon. Scarlett had insisted that I shouldn’t be riding in cabs anymore if I didn’t have to. I rode up front again, making casual conversation as we went.

  Scarlett had promised she wouldn’t be but a few hours. I spent the first fixing myself a snack and enjoying a French pressed coffee out on the balcony. It was getting late enough in the year that the sun was already setting for the evening by the time I’d made it out. It grew chilly after it had disappeared, so I made my way back inside.

  After I’d cleaned up and made sure the kitchen was in good order, I grew anxious awaiting Scarlett’s arrival. Where our time together had been almost constant before, the few days I’d spent without any real interaction with her was causing me fits. Before I knew it, I’d found myself in the bedroom, stripping myself of my clothes. I took the luscious black and purple robe that Scarlett often wore and wrapped it around me. It felt like butter against my skin.

  “I’m going to steal you,” I whispered to it. Just as I did, I heard the distant ding of the elevator. I made my way out of the room and into the kitchen, towards the hallway. Just as I was about to turn, a loud cough filled the room. It stopped me in my tracks. The sound was far too deep for it to have been Scarlett. A rush of anxiety swept over me and I ducked behind the far wall of the kitchen. I cast a quick glance out into the room, watching as a familiar face moved into the living room.

  Diana Bernstein looked as if she was on a mission. I could barely breathe when I saw her, a million questions racing through my mind. Somehow I ducked into the large pantry unnoticed, shutting the door behind me. Footsteps echoed outside as she wandered around the house. My chest ached, my heart was beating so fast. I didn’t dare move from the pantry, sliding against the wall down to the floor. I begged for her not to find me.

  Eventually her footsteps faded. I stayed where I was, not daring to reveal my hiding place until I knew I was safe from sight. Time seemed to pass slowly, but after a while I heard the soft call of Scarlett filling the room. When I came to, I realized I’d dozed.

  “Natalia,” Scarlett’s syrupy voice called to me. I let the pantry door fall open as I got to my feet. When we met eyes, she rushed over, looking alarmed. “What on Earth were you doing?”

  “Diana,” I breathed. Saying her name sent a wave of panic through me. Scarlett met my eyes giving me a questionable gaze. “Scarlett, is she still here?”

  “Diana isn’t here, Natalia. What are you talking about?” I noticed she was looking me over, realizing I’d been wearing her robe. Her curiosity was the last thing on my mind at the moment.

  “She was here earlier,” I explained. “I thought it was you. It’s why I was hiding in your pantry. You still let her inside your house?”

  “I’d let her come to pick up things and to discuss matters. She hasn’t been here in months. I hadn’t thought to change the security code for the elevator.”

  “Well, she thought it was fine to just barge right in,” I replied, feeling woozy from anxiety. Scarlett wrapped her arm around me and helped me to the dining room table. Once I was seated, she came to sit beside me. “What was she doing here, Scarlett?”

  Scarlett looked as confused and concerned as I did. “I don’t know. But I will get to the bottom of it.” Her hand ran over the side of my face and into my hair. We stared at each other before she leaned in to kiss me.

  “I missed you all week,” I sighed when we parted.

  “I know just how to remedy that,” Scarlett replied. And not for the first time, I spent the remainder of the evening tied to a kitchen chair, till I was pleasured senseless.

  ON SUNDAY EVENINGS, I usually returned to my apartment to prepare for work the following day. The two of us made an exception to the rule that night and I spent the evening wrapped in Scarlett’s embrace. We awoke early Monday morning, sharing breakfast together before Scarlett let me pick out an outfit from her extensive wardro
be. I’d gone with a chic Calvin Klein ensemble, which had grown to be my favorite. Scarlett approved, once I’d revealed myself.

  “I’ll have Henry take you this morning,” she said, brushing a stray hair from my face. Once she did, she kissed me on the forehead. “It would be best if we went in separately and I have things to take care of.”

  “Diana things?” I guessed and Scarlett nodded. I didn’t pry further.

  “I’ll take a cab today,” I insisted. “It would look less conspicuous that way.” It looked for a moment as if Scarlett might argue with me, but she changed her tune, giving me a small nod.

  We walked together to the elevators, exchanging a quick goodbye before I headed down. My mind got lost in thought as I went, wishing I was back in Scarlett’s condo and that it was still in the middle of the weekend. How desperately I wanted that to be true once I’d stepped off the elevator. The instant I was in the lobby, my phone rang. When I checked it, I was surprised to see Justine’s name stretched across the screen. I answered, pulling it to my ear.

  “Justine?”

  “Are you by a television?”

  Before I knew it, I was back in Scarlett’s condo, the two of us hovering over her flat screen that hadn’t been used once since I’d stayed there. Across morning news stations was breaking news. Scarlett paused on the first one we saw, the scrolling text on the bottom blurring everything else out. When I saw it, I could hardly breathe.

  Chief Editor of the Stitch Fashion blog engaged in a scandalous affair with an employee.

  Both of us fell into her couch. Scarlett turned up the news as the reporter broke with the story. We sat, horrified, as the security camera footage flashed across the screen. Some of Scarlett and my most intimate moments, being shown in television appropriate bits to millions across New York.

  “How,” I breathed, unable to peel my eyes from the screen, as mortified as I was seeing it. For the first time since I’d met her, Scarlett trembled beside me. When I looked at her, her face was a ghostly white.