After hanging up with Darby, he decided to swing by the smelly wildebeest’s office on a hunch that he did indeed steal the flier. Tavish stood outside quietly listening and mentally jotting down everything he heard.
Inside, Harold was completely consumed with the flier. His eyes scanned the many beautiful women. Some were in dresses. Some were in bikinis. Some weren’t wearing much of anything. Mmmm, Russian women, he thought. Harold had not come across anything like this before.
So this is what Darby is up to, sex tours. Harold was jealous. These women were beautiful. He wished he could go on these tours. How Darby could afford to throw down for vacations like this, Harold had no idea. He still didn’t believe Darby was making that much, even with heavy-hitter status.
He also knew that Darby was getting really bold about dating the hot admins in the company. As far as Harold was concerned, he was going to take every opportunity he had to mess this up for Darby. Darby didn’t deserve it; he didn’t deserve anything. He thinks his heavy-hitter status makes him a playboy? We’ll see about that. Harold focused back on the flier. He was already rubbing his nub through his pants. He listened once more for any movement outside of his office door.
Meanwhile, Tavish was still outside listening for anything incriminating. He pressed his ear up against the door; he could have sworn he heard some sort of repetitive movement. Short and fast. Is he? Could it be?
“Hey, whatcha doing?”
Tavish whipped around and found Lois Burkhardt standing there with a curious smile on her face. He brought his index finger to his lips and motioned that she be quiet. He pointed to Harold’s office and mouthed the words, “I think he’s…” while giving the universal hand movement.
“Wha—” Lois tiptoed forward and leaned up against the door. The two of them were fighting to contain their giggling. Within seconds, Nick Kawasaki and a few other bottom-feeders were all gathered outside Harold’s office listening intently.
I got you now. Tavish smiled at everyone and then banged on the door with his fist. “Hey Harold, you in there?”
They heard loud banging and shuffling and the opening and closing of drawers, the sounds of a man busted. They could barely contain their laughter.
“Who is it? What do you want?”
“It’s Tavish. I need to speak with you. It’s important.”
Finally Harold opened his door and saw the group of people standing there, smiling. His face was flushed guilt red. Tavish tried to get a glance behind Harold, but the door was open only enough for Harold’s head to stick through.
“What’s going on in there, Harold? You all right? Heard a lot of strange noises and whatnot.”
“I’m fine. What do you want?”
Tavish continued to buy time while he strained to get a look at Harold’s desk. “Oh, I ah…Wanted to tell you that we’re… Uh… We’re out of coffee.”
“Nothing but filters,” Lois added. “Need to place an order for more.”
Harold’s face grew even redder. “Why are you telling me that?” he blustered. “Call facilities. That’s their responsibility.”
Tavish placed his hand up against his chest while feigning shock. “Oh, my mistake. I thought you managed the coffee as well.”
“Screw you.”
“Okay, my bad. Oh, by the way, your zipper is down.”
Harold looked down to see his shirttail sticking out through the opening. The bottom-feeders erupted in laughter as they scattered back to their desks. Harold quickly bent down to fix the embarrassment giving Tavish just the amount of movement he needed. There on Harold’s desk was the flier.
Gotcha.
Chapter 22
Minsk, Belarus
I opened my eyes a tiny bit, enough for the brightness to slip through and zero in on my pupils. My pain threshold was zero. No matter where I slept, the sun always knew how to angle itself.
It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds before I realized a terrible pain on the left side of my rib cage. I reached over and felt around. What the hell? I lifted my body up and pulled a hairbrush out from underneath me. Have I been sleeping on this all night? I blinked the rest of the sleep out of my eyes so I could focus. This wasn’t my room. This wasn’t my bed. I sat up quickly and looked around. There, sleeping next to me like an angel, was Tatiana. I could barely hear her breathing as she lay on her stomach just off kilter, like a beautiful portrait. Both of her arms were tucked under the pillow.
Her brown wavy hair fanned out across the pillow and the bed. The thin white sheet only covered her up to the top of her petite butt. The fair skin of her back was on full display. It would rise, just so, with every breath. From where I was positioned, I also took in a generous glimpse of her breast. Side boob was sexy as hell, and Tatiana had a perfect handful.
By now I realized I was at her apartment. It was all coming back to me: As soon as I got to the hotel I couldn’t wait until the next morning to see her, so I called Tatiana on her cell and asked if I could see her right away. She was only about ten minutes away from the hotel—in fact her friend had not even driven her home yet—so they turned around and picked me up. Her friend then happily dropped us off at Tatiana’s apartment.
A few seconds after I finished processing all of it, Tatiana opened her eyes.
“Hello there,” I said.
She smiled. “Hello.”
I lay next to her. Her skin was smooth and soft and warm and many other likable things. My legs tangled with hers as she rolled over to face me. We kissed like it was the first time all over again—slow and long with plenty of tongue and a hint of ‘I lurve you’. I could feel myself rising to the occasion. So could she because she moved her hand off of my hip and grabbed my now-ridged stallion. She squeezed then relaxed and squeezed again. I liked when she did that. I suspect she was testing my hardness. Duty calls.
I began to thrust my hips so that I moved in her hand. She made it easier and started stroking. I was ready all right. So was she. She moved on top of me and I slipped right in. This was nice. Morning sex was okay with me.
A few lazy hours later, the two of us were finally ready to venture out of the bedroom.
“Come on. I introduce you to my mistress,” she said, tugging on my hand.
“Mistress…?”
“Yes. She is one who rents me this room. It is her apartment.”
“Oh, you mean like a landlord?”
Tatiana looked at me with a blank look. Then it dawned on me: She didn’t understand the word landlord and was misusing the word mistress. I thought it was cute and didn’t bother to correct her. “Okay, let’s meet your mistress.”
“Let me warn her first. She doesn’t know you are here. Wait, okay?”
Tatiana returned a few moments later with a smile. “She’s eager to meet you. Come.”
Antonina Filipovich was standing in the living room waiting for us. She had a big smile on her face and her hands were clasped pleasantly in front of her.
“Hello,” I said.
“Privet,” she said as she shook my hand. She directed us to the kitchen where she had already prepared tea and had some cookies on a plate.
Tatiana handled all the translation between us and immediately dove into telling me all about Antonina and her about me. The landlady listened intently. She was eager to speak to a real American, the first she had ever met. She asked about a dozen questions through Tatiana, even asking for me to point out where San Francisco was on an old world map that still showed the USSR. Soon all that was left of the cookies that Antonina had put out were a few crumbs.
Tatiana was ready to get outdoors and show me her beautiful city. So we helped with the dishes and then gathered our belongings. Before leaving I gave Antonina a hug and said, “Spasiba.”
I called Elana on her cell and told her I had started my day date early with Tatiana and that’s why I missed breakfast with the group. She wished me luck and reminded me that we were leaving tomorrow and to be in the hotel lobby at 11:30 sha
rp. Not a problem.
Tatiana and I had a great day together. I for one loved that she took me to the open market where they sold everything from produce to fresh cheeses to just butchered animals. My favorite sight was the rabbits hanging on hooks. You knew what it was because of the white fur left around their ears and paws.
We eventually made our way to Gorky Park after lunch at the market. The park itself was fairly empty. It’s like we had it all to ourselves. There was a tiny amusement park. And when I say tiny, I mean just a couple rides, and they didn’t look safe. I started dragging my feet hoping this wasn’t where she wanted to go.
“Are you scared Darby?” Tatiana asked, as she playfully pulled me towards the Ferris wheel. No one was riding it. At first I thought this park was the remnants of a long forgotten amusement park. The rides were old and battered and didn’t look operational. As far as Tatiana was concerned, it was normal. She had to call the operator over to the ride. He was at the snack booth making time with the young lady inside.
This particular Ferris wheel had individual compartments that sat four people. We got inside, though I made Tatiana sit opposite me to even out the weight. I didn’t want the compartment tilting too much to one side.
Tatiana scooted over to the window as we were lifted up. “This is so much fun. Is been a while since I ride this.”
“Uh, huh.” I was doing everything I could to stop myself from crapping my pants. I kept thinking our cage would break and drop to the ground. When we moved into the descent, the cage would drop for a second before catching itself. It scared the shit out of me. This happened each time.
Tatiana couldn’t stop laughing at me. “Relax Darby. You’re not gonna die.” I eventually had to laugh because the situation was so silly. She paid me back when we found a bench in a lovely area of the park—a remote area. Fooling around out in the open was exhilarating. I didn’t care if someone saw us.
The next morning I returned to the hotel a little after eleven. I ran smack into Elana in the lobby. One look at me told her I got lucky. She smiled and then put on a stern face. “We leave in fifteen minutes.”
“Got it.”
I hurried up to my room to collect my things. Everything I had brought was heaped on my bed exactly how I left it. No maid service, I guess. I opened my suitcase and threw everything inside as quickly as possible. One last look around showed that there were no stragglers. I grabbed my bag and headed down to the lobby.
It wasn’t until I reached the check-in counter at the airport that I noticed my suitcase was damaged. It wasn’t new, but it certainly wasn’t an antique on its last leg. Did the airline do it and I just missed it? I had no idea. This was the first time I had noticed the tiny holes, about six or seven of them.
Chapter 23
San Francisco, California
The next morning, I arrived at Teleco at a reasonable hour. I waved to Stewie, the talkative front desk guard, while on my way to the bank of elevators. If you stop to say hi, he’ll keep talking and there will be no polite break in the conversation that can be used to escape. The trick is to wave and walk—never wave and stop.
For someone who just flew back from Belarus the day before, I didn’t feel tired at all. I might have had a little jet lag, but I couldn’t tell. I grabbed a cup of the morning brew from the kitchen on our floor and relaxed at my desk. I liked drinking the company swill now that I was a heavy. The heavy-hitters are Teleco’s finest. Therefore it only seems right that the coffee we are served is heavy-hitter coffee, no more generic crap. We drink Lion Coffee, straight from the Hawaiian islands.
On the way back to my office, I ran into Hillary Kate, literally. I almost lost my coffee, but my arm did graze her boob. Hillary was looking extra sexy this morning, especially in front of the sunlit windows at the end of the hallway. Her golden wavy locks fell to just below her shoulders and reflected an angelic shine—god rays. She wore a thin blue and white sundress and the sun did a lovely job of painting an outline.
Hillary is one of the three hottest admins at Teleco. The rest of the trio is Alix Layng and Maggie Dolen. My pet name for the awesome threesome was HAM. Since my first day on the job, I’ve wanted to date them. But I soon discovered that HAM didn’t date bottom-feeders, the sales force that services the mom-and-pops and not the Fortune 500s. Unfortunately, all sales associates started off as bottom-feeders. Feeding on the sixth floor blows. I spent two and a half years there.
But now that I’m a heavy-hitter, things were going to be different. I was batter up, looking for a hit. Bumping into Hillary was opportunity intersecting with luck. “Sorry about that, Hillary. Didn’t see you.”
“What’s the rush?”
“Oh, no rush. My brain was all caught up spinning sales strategies… You know I’m a heavy now, right? My office is right down the hall.”
“Really. I didn’t know you got called up.”
Liar. It was announced in an e-mail.
“Oh, yeah. A couple of months now.”
“Let me check it out.”
“What? My office?” I chased after Hillary as she headed down the hall.
“Let me guess. It’s this one,” she said, pointing.
“How did you know?”
“Because it looks like you haven’t moved in yet.”
She entered my office and slowly walked around while twirling her hair. Having had enough of my barren wasteland, she plopped herself down in a chair. I took a seat at my desk. She looked around more, not saying anything. Finally her eyes settled on mine.
It was clear to me that she had just opened the door and it was now up to me to come inside and close that deal. Our eyes remained locked. This was going to be a game of whoever turns away first loses. I wasn’t about to lose. Let the chase begin.
“My office could use the help,” I said. “Definitely needs a woman’s touch.”
“Too bad you don’t know any.”
“Damn shame.”
“I’m pretty busy, but I might be able to help you out.”
“Perhaps we can discuss this over dinner tonight.”
“What makes you think I’m available for a date at the last minute?”
“What makes you think this was going to be a date?”
“The desperation in your voice.”
“Sorry, that’s the sound of someone feigning interest.”
She said nothing, her eyes still screwed tightly on mine. No wavering, no blushing, no crack in her defense. She was a pro at this. But I stood my ground and returned every volley.
Suddenly Hillary stood up, straightened her dress, and walked out of my office. When she was halfway out the door, she turned back to me. “Meet me at Quince.”
I said, “I’ll see you at 7 p.m., sharp.” And then she left.
I closed my eyes, leaned back in my Aeron chair and enjoyed the warmth of the Lion in my hands.
Chapter 24
My “me” time lasted for a whole five seconds. That’s when Tav appeared.
“I just saw Hillary leave your office,” he said looking over his shoulder down the hallway. “What’s up with that?”
“I have a date with her tonight.”
“Yeah, and I’m taking the two other parts of HAM out tomorrow night.”
“I’m not kidding. We’re having dinner at Quince—7 p.m.”
“This I gotta hear.” Tav took a seat and made himself comfortable. “Go on. Explain the impossible.”
“It wasn’t even like I planned to do it. I bumped into her, literally. Almost spilled an entire cup of coffee on her.”
“That I would have liked to have seen. She was wearing a thin dress—definite nippage.”
“Anyway, she was looking fine as usual. So I apologized, hoping this would lead to more conversation.”
“And she liked your apology and suggested dinner?”
I heaved a hard breath. “You gonna let me tell the story?”
“Sorry.”
“So I let her know I’m a heavy now. She pret
ends she doesn’t know and I have to prove it by showing her my office; that’s how I get her in here. Mind you, the whole time she’s fighting me but not too hard. She’s interested but doesn’t want it to show.”
“I’m jealous.”
“I know she’s playing hard to get. I’m thinking I gotta zig in the opposite direction.”
“You zig while everyone zags.”
“Exactly. I pretend I’m not interested—”
“Not interested. The psychological mind trip.”
“Right. Next thing you know, this girl’s telling me to meet her at Quince. Fine, I tell her, 7 p.m.”
“She says where. You say when.”
“Yeah. No one has the upper hand. We both walk away as equals.”
“The perfect outcome.”
I rubbed my chin for a moment and then looked back at Tav. “It is, isn’t it?”
Tav shrugged as he stuck his hands into his pockets. “You don’t even need an overseas trip to get women. You got HAM in your hand right here. Speaking of, that’s why I’m here. How was the rest of the trip?”
“Come on. I’ll tell you about it over a bowl of pho. I’m starving.”
“Only if we hit up the Golden Flower, my fave—”
“—Favorite place on earth. I know, I know.”
Chapter 25
Fifteen minutes later we entered the Flower. The Golden Flower was a Vietnamese restaurant and Tav’s favorite place to eat. It was small, which meant it was always crowded with locals. Tour books haven’t discovered it yet, thank god. A big bowl of Pho was cheap and would only lower your funds by about $7.00.
The breakfast crowd had mostly cleared out so there was no squishing and squashing our bodies through a tight maze of tables. We sat at the first available one. We shunned the menu and ordered two big bowls of Beef Pho. This stuff was great in the mornings.
“I met someone special over there. Her name is Tatiana.”
“She hot?”
Darby Stansfield Thriller Series (Books 1-3 & Bonus Novella) Page 34
