Pleasure Extraordinaire 3 (PURSUIT)

by Liv Bennett

  One good thing about drunken men is that they follow orders. Zane sips his warm beverage slowly but steadily until the whole cup is empty. I can see the sense is coming back to his face.

  “Lindsay, you’re driving me crazy. I thought we had chemistry.”

  “Oh, please, like chemistry is enough. Besides, I didn’t come to your office to talk about it. I need your help with something else.”

  “Uh-huh, yeah, why should I help you?”

  “Because it’s related to your sister. I need you to be completely honest with me. Do you know why Michael hired me? If I know the reason, maybe I can find a way to negotiate with him so he releases Chloe.”

  “I’ve got nothing to say. I’m not his confidant. He never shares his plans with me, including the work matters. I usually find out his business strategies at the same time as the other employees.”

  “Are you telling the truth? I don’t want to believe you can sit here doing nothing while your sister is being hurt.”

  “I’m honest with you, Lindsay. I want that jackass to release my sister more than you do.”

  I pause to think how I should proceed about the talk I had with Tiffany earlier today. As much as I want to consider Zane on my side, rather than Michael’s, I have to take into account the probability that he’s with Michael for the sake of Tiffany. “Do you know if Macey Williams is in any way related to Michael?”

  He raises an eyebrow. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

  “That’s not important. Just answer my question. Do you have any idea if Michael knew Macey Williams?”

  “Are you speculating that Michael hired you to avenge Macey Williams?”

  “I don’t know. The only thing I know is that he tried to prevent the video of Iron Slap from spreading for about two months. I’m suspecting it’s all about Macey.”

  “She wasn’t a relative, fortunately. And if she was a friend of Michael’s, I have no idea. The same goes for the two other women in the video.”

  I tab my fingers on the arms of the chair in disappointment. I was half expecting Zane wouldn’t provide me with full information, but he didn’t give me any reason to doubt him either.

  “Are you together with him? Ace?” Zane asks, his expression frustrated.

  “I kind of am, yes.”

  “You know it’ll be damaging for your reputation. Openly dating Michael, getting laid by me, and now hooking up with Ace. If Michael goes ahead with his threat, I’ll have no reason to keep your name clean as long as you’re with Ace.”

  “I’m well aware of the complications of my situation, and thank you for your concern but…”

  “But?” he asks.

  “You don’t want to hear that.”

  “I do.”

  “I really like Ace.”

  Zane glances at me blankly for a brief second before throwing his head back and starting to laugh loudly. I shake my head in disbelief and get to my feet.

  He yells behind me as I open the door, “I’m giving you two weeks until you see his true colors. But don’t worry; I’ll be here waiting for you.”

  What the fuck? He must still be drunk for contemplating us having something together. He can’t possibly think I’ll happily accommodate him and his female friends’ sexual needs.

  The rest of the afternoon passes with my dear colleagues’ low murmurs, giggles, and narrow-eyed stares. After a few minutes of being disturbed by their rudeness, I decide to ignore them, and from that moment on, I start feeling more relaxed and can actually focus on my work for two straight hours. Nothing like the motivation of being hated by colleagues to get work done. It reminds me of the last months at my previous job and how my then colleagues sided against me and blamed me for seducing my boss. I did most of the work on the team while they spent their work hours gossiping about me.

  Before leaving, I open up my company email account and start an email addressed to Julie Meadow.

  “A little bird whispered to my ears that you cater to Michael’s business partners’ needs a little more than would be customary. If you don’t put an end to your smear campaign against me, I know just whom I will share that little secret with.”

  The fact that my message is written and can be used against me should prove to her that I don’t fear her and that should be enough to scare her off for the moment. I collect my purse, jacket, and phone, and head off toward the exit with my chin up and chest forward. Despite what the world might think of me, I know the truth and I’ll be damned if I allow any malicious person to get into my head.

  My phone buzzes with an incoming message. It’s from Edrick, saying that he needs me to sign a document before leaving. Rather than going downstairs, I take the elevator up to the executives’ floor. Edrick, however, isn’t in his office and his secretary has no idea about the document Edrick wants me to sign. It sounds suspiciously like a plan to test my patience. Forcing myself to smile at Edrick’s secretary, I leave for Julie’s office since she might be more knowledgeable about Edrick’s whereabouts than his own secretary. Go figure.

  I feel a little uncomfortable about meeting with Julie right after my unfriendly email, yet also curious to see how she’ll react. I nod at the girl at the desk outside Julie’s office before knocking on Julie’s door.

  After three raps, she doesn’t answer me. However, she might be doing it on purpose. That’s why I take the initiative and open the door, parting it slightly to see if she’s sitting in there and simply ignoring me. I almost turn around to leave when I see her empty desk, but sounds coming from next door, from Michael’s office, make me stop.

  All of a sudden, Julie emerges behind the door, her long hair disheveled, her red lipstick smudged around her lips, and she’s holding her hand on her chest, obviously trying to hold back her gag reflex. She doesn’t realize I’m watching her and runs her hands through her hair, breathing in and out deeply, and straightening her skirt at the same time.

  My mind goes through countless possibilities about what she might have been doing in there and with whom. As far as I know, Edrick is gay, so he’s off the list. It could be anyone though. The sky is her limit in this case. For all I know, Zane got too worked up by my rejection and tried to get his release using Julie. Although my respect for Julie is below zero for spreading rumors around about me, I admit that her situation is no different than me in terms of bowing to the abusive men around her for survival.

  I clear my throat to announce my presence and see her startle at my guttural noise. Her face goes from shocked to dismay, and stays as embarrassed.

  “Do you know where Edrick is?” I ask. “He told me I have to sign some document but her secretary doesn’t know anything about it.”

  “Yes. It’s somewhere here. Give me a sec.” Her voice comes out low. She can’t look into my eyes. The sight of her so vulnerable makes me feel guilty for sending her that email.

  Michael’s door opens again, and two dark-skinned and bearded men, wearing white head scarfs and long, white robes, stand at the doorway, eyeing me curiously. One speaks in a foreign language —Arabic, judging by their clothes— the other one simply nods and moves forward to the door I’m standing in front of and opens it without requesting me to move.

  Bile rises in my throat as I notice the hungry eyes of the other guy sizing me up and down. Did Julie have to do anything sexual with them? Repulsive doesn’t even begin to cover the feeling I’d have if I were forced to satisfy them sexually.

  Finally the guy who’s staring at me releases me from his disgusting gaze and turns to Julie. “Tell Mr. Hawkins that we would be very pleased to do business with him.” He smiles at Julie mischievously before leaving with his friend.

  I make it my mission not to speak a word about the two men with Julie, although I’m dying to know what they were doing here and why. Julie finds the document and hands it to me. She’s clearly mortified, and I have no intention of making her more uncomfortable by staying longer, so I sign the document as soon as I realize it’s related to the
marketing project we’ve taken over and wish her a good evening before leaving.

  I’ve always thought Michael is so hostile to me because of the secret reason he hired me, but it seems it’s his usual behavior toward everyone. He’s an abuser, a bully for forcing his subordinates into activities that they haven’t consented to do. I’m far beyond upset with him and can’t wait for the day to come to take him down and end his tyranny.

  The First Time

  I unlock the front door of Ace’s condo, still feeling the shock of receiving the key to his place so soon, and look around for him in the spacious rooms. When I realize he’s not here, I throw myself on the couch for a quick nap. The stress of the day coupled with the sleepless night I had makes me drift into a deep sleep almost instantly.

  As I wake up after half an hour, Ace is still not home. There is only one other place he can be and it’s Pleasure Extraordinaire. After fixing my hair and makeup, I drive to his work with a feeling of discomfort accompanying me all throughout the way.

  This will be the first time I’ll be visiting Pleasure Extraordinaire as something other than a client. Actually, I’m not even sure if I’ll be allowed to enter since officially I’m nothing to Ace. Just the girl he recently started screwing. A little voice in my head is whispering that he might not be genuinely into me, but just doing it for the sake of his sister. If that’s indeed the truth, I’ll be crushed after everything, in addition to the horror I’ll go through at the upcoming weekend with Michael’s Russian friends.

  As I kill the engine in front of the Pleasure Extraordinaire building, a young boy, whom I’ve never seen before, opens the door. Another boy retrieves my car key and drives it off while I’m asked to wait at the entrance. From the giggling sounds coming at the either side of the door, I think the reason for my waiting is to prevent the other client and me from seeing each other. Might be for confidentiality reasons or simply to keep the spirits high by diminishing any shameful or discomforting feelings that meeting another client can cause.

  I scan the over-sized garden to keep myself distracted, and when my escort gets the clear, he opens the door for me and again, I’m welcomed by a dozen men lined up at the entrance. But this time, I can’t for the love of God find it in me to gaze at them. I should offer my deepest thanks to Ace for taking away my unusual appetite for men. I have no doubt his ego will be stroked if he ever finds out.

  In front of Ace’s office, I nod with a smile at my escort and knock on the door while watching him vanish down the long corridor. I don’t hear any ‘yes’ or ‘come in’, but open the door anyway, and nearly drop down on my knees in shock, finding Laila giving Ace a sensual massage on his shoulders while he’s settled at his desk. Then, the fact that he’s fully clothed and reading a stack of papers squeezed in his hand registers in my brain.

  “Hello, Seven,” Laila chirps with her sweet voice accompanied by a lovely smile, but doesn’t stop her hands from rubbing Ace’s arms. She’s wearing a low-cut, bright green dress that brings out the red of her hair and the blue of her eyes. Her skin glows as her cheeks flash pink. She’s the definition of beauty and sensual, and obviously Ace feels comfortable enough around her to let her touch him.

  My heart fills with sadness as I remember the sight of Ace having sex with her while she moaned with ecstasy less than forty-eight hours ago. This is extraordinary because sadness is something I feel exclusively for Taylor or my dead mother. Anger is the defining emotion I feel toward everyone else. Has Ace scaled up to the category in my heart that is reserved only for my family?

  Ace lifts his hand to touch Laila’s and with that, she pulls her grip away and steps around his chair.

  “Let me know if you need more help.” She winks at Ace and offers me another of her beautiful smile as she leaves.

  I move to the side to let her pass and stay still until she closes the door behind her. Ace stands and approaches me, and I let him hold me in his arms and even kiss me.

  “I missed you,” he whispers to my ear and nibbles on my earlobe. My hands move up his arms and wrap around his neck while I moan with the pleasure of having him so close to me. His hands wander across my back down to my ass until he cups me and pushes me against him.

  I’ve missed him too, more than I allow myself to admit, and my heart feels like it’s literarily going to crack in two with pain because now I see he’s just like his brother, having numerous lovers he can enjoy anytime he wants. Tears gather in my eyes, and sobs choke up my throat as I pull him against me.

  “Lindsay,” I hear him whisper. “What’s going on?” he asks when I don’t respond.

  I finally loosen my grip and pull back. My eyes are all wet with tears by now, and my makeup most likely ruined. I wipe my tears with my hand and turn my back against him so he doesn’t witness my emotional breakdown.

  He doesn’t let me go, though, and runs his hands around my waist and lowers his head down to kiss my neck. “What’s going on, babe?”

  Babe? Just like Zane called me earlier. My stomach twists. How much more similar are they?

  “Do you remember how you told me you didn’t want me to fuck another man?”

  “Hm-hm.”

  “It goes both ways.”

  He chuckles against my ear. His hands get rougher as they travel toward my breasts and he cups them like a bra. “Laila was only giving me a massage if that’s what you’re referring to.”

  “How would you like me getting a massage from …” I don’t finish the sentence on purpose. He might fill in the blank with JJ but most likely Zane will be the first man that will come to his mind.

  He shifts his hands toward my hips and turns me around with a swift move. I barely register the anger on his face as he pushes me against the wall. “Laila is an employee. She has no influence over me whatsoever.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, examining his face for the truthfulness of his words, but when his face gives away nothing, I move ahead for concrete evidence of his words and grab his semi-hard penis beneath his black slacks.

  “It’s all for you, baby. I’m hard only for you,” he defends himself under hooded eyes and bites his lower lip with intent.

  “I don’t believe you.” I tighten my grip only to feel him get harder.

  He shoves his hips against my palm and presses his hand over mine to apply more pressure against his cock. “All for you, baby.”

  I shake my head in disbelief and pull back my hand.

  “You want proof? I’ll give you one.” He turns around, arranges a chair for me beside his desk, and signals for me to sit on it. I watch him suspiciously as we sit on our chairs at the same time, and then he unzips his slacks and releases his cock through the opening at the front of his boxer briefs. He looks all the more glorious with his hardness poking out of his clothes, and I gulp down and melt, trying to push away the images of how I can sit astride him on his chair and slide it inside me.

  “Quit looking at me like that,” Ace whispers, and I wonder what’s on his mind. I roll my eyes and look the other way. The next time I glance at him — at his cock actually, because honestly it dominates everything else— his cock is all flaccid and small.

  He reaches over to grab his phone and dials patiently, his one eyebrow raised all the while. “Can you come over for a minute?” is all he says before he hangs up. His face doesn’t give anything away.

  I shift and cross my legs, straightening my pencil skirt. It sure is getting warmer in here. I start to take off my jacket but stop when I’m confronted with Ace’s disapproving look. He’s shaking his head no. “You’re not to take off any piece of clothing until I tell you to.”

  I guess we’re back to cold and commanding Ace once again.

  A faint knock on the door and Laila enters. Her sweet perfume hits my nostrils first, and I find myself evaluating her super-mini green dress that’s hugging her sensual curves tightly.

  “Hi boss. I didn’t think you’d need me so soon,” she speaks sweetly, batting her eyebrows. Honestly, if I�
�m affected by her beauty so much, what man wouldn’t want her?

  “Your help is always welcome, sweetheart, but Seven, here, would love to see you give a little dance. Would you mind cheering her up a little?” Ace grins and leans back in his seat, pushing himself closer to the desk just enough to hide his naked penis from Laila’s view but keep it visible to me.

  “Oh, God. Of course not.” I glance back and forth at Ace and Laila. “I didn’t ask for that. I don’t want you to do anything for me. Please, just go back to your work and don’t bother with Ace’s silly suggestions.”

  “Your satisfaction is my work and pleasure too, Seven.” Laila smiles at me and reaches for the top button of her dress. My eyes immediately drop at the lovely curves of her breasts. I am speechless as I watch her undo them one by one, revealing more of her milky-white body swaying slowly to the soft music that’s just started.

  “Jesus, please stop.” I glare at Ace for putting me in such an inappropriate situation and making me watch a girl striptease, including the music and all. He points down at his still-flaccid cock with his chin, and in that instant I understand what his intentions are. He’s trying to show me how little effect Laila has on him, well at least on his cock, because it’s not getting hard although Laila has just dropped her dress onto the floor and is standing two feet away from me with a red lace bra and matching semi-transparent thong.

  Either someone has turned down the AC or my body is producing too much heat for me to remain comfortable in my suit. Laila twirls around and lets the curls of her beautiful hair spread all over her shoulders. Shit, this girl has it all. Full breasts, curvy hips, flat stomach, long legs, and I, truly a straight woman, start feeling wetness pooling between my legs just watching her dance.

  I whisper my fuck you’s to Ace when Laila isn’t looking and watch his grin widen. Laila moves forward to stand between me and Ace’s desk, wiggling out of her bra. I hold my breath at the sight of her breasts. Her areolas can’t be larger than a quarter, and her nipples are fully erect. Leaning forward, she runs the tip of her finger across my lower lip before reaching down to her panties.