“I’m just scared to put myself out there again. Richard has really shaken my confidence when it comes to pleasing a man. And considering I’m lacking so much in the sexual department, which seems like it trumps love these days, I don’t even know if I’m able to compete with these girls.”
“I’m here to help you with that. I got your back, Rissa. I don’t have the most experience in the world but I’ve had enough to know one thing that you must never, ever, ever forget.”
My eyes widen with curiosity. “What’s that?”
“What you won’t do, there’s always another chick that will.”
I nod slowly. “Right. What I won’t do, there’s always another chick that will.”
“Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have boundaries, we all have boundaries. But we should be open-minded.”
“I get it. Be open-minded, it’s okay to have boundaries, and what I won’t do another chick will.”
“Right. Now, I know that you don’t want to get back into the dating scene just yet so I have another solution to help you get some practice with those new sex positions you’re going to read about in that book.”
My brows furrow. “Practice how?”
“What do you mean, practice how? How else can you get practice in sex without having sex?”
I shake my head. “I need to know the person and right now the guys I am surrounded by are the ones that I work with and I’m definitely not sleeping with a co-worker. I know enough to know that’s not a smart idea.”
“Lucky for you I know just the place to take you.”
“Where?”
“Club Masquerade.”
“Bee, you know I’m not a club person.”
“It’s not a dance club.”
“It’s not a dance club?”
Bianca shakes her head.
“Then what’s at this club?” I ask not sure if I really want to know the answer.
A sly smile etches across her face. “Masked men and multiple orgasms.”
Hello & Goodbye
“Are you serious?” I ask. Of course she’s serious. When it comes to the wild and crazy, Bianca is always serious.
“Everyone at the club wears masks so no one can identify each other. It’s the perfect way for you to let go of all your sexual inhibitions without the fear of being judged.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
“Of course you are.”
“Of course I’m not. I could never have sex with a man that I don’t know.”
“Of course you can. It’s easy. You buy a masquerade mask, you were some sexy lingerie, you go to the club, with me of course, and you pick out the dude you want to bone and you bone him. Simple as one, two, three.”
“Simple for someone like you that’s already done it before. No offense but I’m not like you. I don’t do one night stands.”
Bianca takes a sip of her sangria. “No offense taken. You want to learn how to be more open-minded about sex right?”
I nod. “That’s why I have agreed to read this book.” I hold up my new encyclopedia of sex positions.
“Reading the book is just the beginning, Rissa. You have to put what you learn into practice or how else are you going to know if you have comprehended that which you have studied?” Bianca straightens her back and smiles. “I sounded so educated when I said that huh?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, very educated. I guess that sixty thousand a year at Emory has paid off.”
She pushes me jokingly. “Anyway, as I was saying. Look at it this way, Rissa. It’s like a test at school. The teachers give you the book on the subject, list a few chapters for you to read to get you familiar with it, then they test you on the material. That’s what I’m doing essentially. Unfortunately for you your best friend is a girl or else I would gladly let you use me to test. But I have a vajayjay and not a dick so Club Masquerade has to do the testing for us.”
“I just don’t know how comfortable I’m going to be. I’ve never had sex with a guy I don’t know and in front of people.”
“You don’t have to be in front of people. There are private rooms there. So this is how it works. You go inside the club and you look around until you catch the eye of someone that you’re attracted to. Once you find him, you can tell him what you’re open to doing. If I was you, being that you are doing this for the first time, I would be honest with him. Let him know that you are looking to try new things but you want to take it slow because—”
“Because I’m so pathetic in bed that my boyfriend broke up with me.” Just saying that causes my heart to swell with hurt again.
Bianca gives me a “girl, don’t even go there” look. “You want to take it slow because it’s been awhile since you’ve been with someone and you’re just getting your feet wet again.”
“I don’t know, Bee. It sounds so easy when you say it but that’s a whole other world for me. I don’t know how I would handle myself in that environment and I don’t want to get there and clam up with this stranger. It’s one thing for Richard to walk out on me but to have a complete stranger tell me that I suck would be too much to handle.”
Bianca rolls her eyes. “Would you quit it already? No one is going to tell you that you suck. If anything, you may be the one saying the he sucks. I’m not guaranteeing that you will get the best sex ever. I’m just saying that this is a good way to try out a few of those sexual positions from the Kama Sutra book. You can get your practice in without having to date anyone. You said yourself that you are not ready for dating. Right?”
I nod.
“Okay. This is a no strings attached situation. They don’t know your identity and you don’t know theirs. It’s just sex.”
“I…”
“You know how you want to get that promotion at work, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well to get that promotion you have to do stuff that you may not necessarily be good at or want to do to impress your boss enough to make him think that you are qualified for the promotion.”
“Yes, but that’s different. That’s my livelihood. I can honestly live without sex.”
“No one can honestly live without sex.”
“What about nuns and priests. Oh and monks. They all live happily without sex.”
“Rissa, that’s because they have never had sex. It’s easy to go without something that you’ve never had, because honestly you don’t know what you’re missing. Trust me, once you’re popped, you can’t stop.” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“That was so lame. Oh my gosh.” I laugh at her horrible joke.
“The best advice I can give you is to stop thinking so much. You’ll think your way out of a good time, every time, if I let you. So…if all parties agree, let’s go get that promotion girl!” Bianca smiles wide then holds up her hand for a high five.
I stare at her hand hanging patiently in mid-air. What do I really have to lose? It’s not like I’m a virgin. I can always change my mind. No one is holding a gun to my head. But then again, I’m also a person who sticks to her word so if I seal the deal with this high five then I’m literally signing my name in blood on the dotted line and Bianca will not let me back out. Okay I’m thinking entirely too much. Bianca is right. I’ll think myself out of a good time if I let myself. Okay. I’m twenty-two now. I need to live a little. Maybe this won’t be too bad. I bite on my bottom lip then slowly raise my hand to meet hers.
A wide grin spreads across Bianca’s face as she slaps her palm against mine. “Good. We’re gonna have so much fun, Rissa. You’ll see.” Bianca winks before leaving the room with her empty wine glass in hand.
Masked men and multiple orgasms. Oh boy.
I wait until Bianca is sound asleep before I take my phone out of my purse and log onto my Facebook page. I open up my photos and walk down the digital memory lane of my relationship with Richard. I don’t know why I haven’t taken these photos down. Maybe because in the back of my mind I’d kind of hoped that h
e would realize the mistake that he’d made by letting me go and come back begging for another chance. Six months have gone by and not even a text, call, or email from him. I guess the fact that he unfriended me on Facebook should’ve been a clue that the chance of him crawling back was slim to none.
I search for his name then click on his page. I can only see a few of his pictures since we’re not friends. He changed his profile picture since the last time I visited his page. Which was two weeks ago. Pathetic, I know. Hmm. This must be his new girlfriend. I click on the photo. A beautiful girl’s face is pressed against his. Dark brown waves with platinum blonde streaks cascade over her shoulder. Her sultry eyes stare into the camera. She’s tagged as Jena Abrams. My eyes leave her perfectly glossed lips and lands on her perfectly sculpted boobs sticking out of her white polka dot halter top. Yeah, Jena definitely looks open-minded. I’m sure that her sexual positions go way beyond “the guy on top”. I stare at Richard’s cheesy grin for a few more seconds before logging off.
I’ll take that album down tomorrow.
Monday…
I step off the elevator and bypass the receptionist desk. I walk down the hall and stop in front of the dark cherry wood door marked Harold Chase, Marketing Director in brass letters. I knock on the door.
“Come in.”
I slowly turn the doorknob. “Good morning, Harold.”
“Marissa, good morning, dear. Have a seat.”
I sit in front of his huge desk in the charcoal plaid chair. My lower lip twitches. My lower lip always twitches when I’m nervous. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I’ve talked to Harold a gazillion times over the course of my life. But this time it’s really important. This time if I don’t get a yes, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need him to show favor upon me just one more time.
He looks at me over the rim of his glasses. “Marissa, relax.” A fatherly grin warms his face.
I take a deep breath. It’s hard to relax. Over the past two weeks so many people have stepped into this very office. People that I’m sure have their degrees already and that are more qualified than I am for this Executive Assistant position. “I’m just going to ask because it’s killing me. Did I get the promotion?”
Harold takes off his glasses and places them on his desk. He leans forward then laces his fingers. “Marissa, I have some good news and some…possibly not so good news.”
My lower lip twitches again. “Okay.”
“The good news is I’ve decided that I want to give you the opportunity to take this position.”
My mouth hangs open. “Oh my goodness.”
Harold holds up his hand. “That’s the good news.”
I slowly close my mouth. “Okay. The not so good news?”
“The not so good news is I’m leaving the company.”
My brows furrow. “You’re leaving the company? Why didn’t you tell me that before I applied for the position?”
“I didn’t want you to use my leaving as an excuse not to apply for the job. My last day is Friday. I’ll be moving my family to California. My dad is retiring, and he wants me to take over as Chief Marketing Officer of our family business. Since my other two brothers are tied up in their own thing, I thought that it would be the best decision for my family and me. Besides, my parents are getting older and I would really like to be closer to them. And not to mention my wife has a sister in California that she would like to be closer to as well. It just makes sense at this point in our lives to make this transition.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Besides Bianca’s mom, Harold is literally the only “family” that I have left. He’s been there for me all of my life. He and my mom had always been close friends since high school. He’s the main reason why I’m even working at this company.
“This sucks. I mean…let me start over.” I take a deep breath to collect my thoughts. “I’m happy that you are going to work for your father’s company. And the fact that you’ll closer to family is great. I know how important family is," —I bite back tears— “I know how important family is but I just have to ask. What does that mean for me? I desperately need this promotion but if you are leaving does that mean that I don’t get it?”
He shakes his head. “You will start in the new position as early as Monday. If you should choose to take it.”
“If I should choose to take it?” My lower lip twitches again.
“There has been some changes to the position since I am now resigning as Marketing Director. When we posted the position a month ago, it was listed as full-time but since I’m leaving they have officially pegged this as a temp-to-hire position now. Hire contingent upon the approval of the new Marketing Director and the pay increase doesn’t go into effect until after the ninety-day probationary period. That’s also a part of the not so good news.”
A new Marketing Director and no immediate pay increase. Dang it. ”Why did they change it?” I ask.
“The new person is Austin White, the CEO’s nephew. He’s at liberty to hire someone else as his Executive Assistant, if he sees fit. He’s allowed to find an assistant that gels well with his personality and work style.”
“So you’re telling me that I could lose the job if the new Marketing Director doesn’t like me?”
He rubbed his eyes. “Unfortunately, that’s how the politics work.”
“So what does this mean?”
“It means, Marissa, that you have a choice. You can stay as the receptionist or you can take on this position. If he chooses not to hire you, it’s possible that you could be out of a job.”
Well that just took the wind out of my sail. I can’t lose my job. I need this job. I need this Executive Assistant position. The thirty-kay pay increase will be a lifesaver. I can keep my mother’s house, get caught up on my car payments, begin to save, and finally go back to school.
“Do you need time to think about it?” Harold asks.
“I know I need this pay increase, Harold. There’s no question about that. The fact that I have to wait an extra ninety days for it, sucks. I’m not going to lie.” I exhale through my frustration. “I’ve never worked as an assistant before and I know transitioning with you around would make it a lot easier and you’ll give me room to learn. But this Austin White guy may not be so lenient. He may be expecting me to have this assisting thing down pack. And I don’t.”
“Marissa, I won’t lie to you. This job is very demanding. You are the right hand man for the Marketing Director. His personal gatekeeper. Sheryl was with me for fourteen years, so she made it seem easy. But depending on the type of person you work with, it can be a pain in the backside or a pleasure. I honestly think that you can do whatever you set your mind to. You have been given so much grown up responsibility in the last two years, taking care of your mother’s needs, running a household, and holding down a job. I know how driven you are and how you will do what it takes to be the best. I have faith in you.”
At least one of us did. “So you think that I should take it?”
“I know that you are getting your degree in Marketing and you want to eventually get into coordinating events, right?”
I nod.
“You know that Trentini & White is one of the top venue management firms in the Atlanta area. We host some of the biggest corporate events in this city. Not to mention we have so many students wanting to intern here every summer. This is the perfect place to be when you get your degree. And as the assistant in the marketing department you are going to learn firsthand what goes into planning these events. So I would say go for it, Marissa. You have a foot in the door already.”
“Yeah, unless I get fired in a month.” I roll my eyes.
Harold chuckles. “Don’t talk like that. If you give your all to this position like you did when you were in school, like you do as a receptionist, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t get hired for this position full-time. Just expect for it to be challenging. Expect there to be a learning curve. But in all honesty, Marissa, if Austin doe
sn’t love you, then he’s the fool and you may just be better off somewhere else.” He smiles.
I smile back. “Thanks, Harold. I really appreciate your faith in me. I am forever grateful to you for putting in a good word for me for the receptionist position in the first place and always being there for my mom and me. I will take this position and do my best to be the best.”
“That’s my girl. I will be here for the remainder of this week and reachable by phone and email at any time. You know I’m here for you regardless. This week we’ll handle the paperwork and I’ll get you well acquainted with the duties involved in being the assistant. Get your feet wet before the new person gets here.” His slate gray eyes smile at me. “You up for the challenge?”
I let out a huge sigh. “I’m up for the challenge. My life literally depends on this salary increase.” I stand. “I won’t let you down, Harold.”
“I know you won’t let me down, kiddo. You never have.” He winks at me.
I smile then turn to leave.
Monday will be the start of a new beginning.
Club Masquerade
Friday…
I race downstairs at the sound of my doorbell. It’s eight o’clock, so it has to be Bianca. I open the door and Bianca is standing there in sweats and a t-shirt. She has a small overnight bag in her hands.
“I come bearing gifts.” She smiles as she steps inside the house.
“Bee, I know that I said that I would go but now I’m getting very nervous.”
Bianca walks up the staircase towards my bedroom. I follow behind her. “It’s natural to be nervous. But I’m going to be there with you, Rissa.” She walks into my bedroom and tosses the bag onto my bed.
I place my hand to my tummy. “I wish I could get rid of these butterflies.”
“See, if you were a drinker, this would be a perfect time to have a shot or a glass of wine or something to take the edge off.”
Marissa & Mr. White: (Sexy Contemporary Romance) Page 3
