Persephone India Phillips changed the whole feel of the house for the best. Zelda’s spirits weren’t the only thing she lifted. Michael was not prepared for the phenomenon that was Pip, a fireball of a woman standing the kitchen in her long stockings.
A SHIT DAY. That is how he would describe eight hours of intensive hell. Nothing seemed to work right, his team all appeared to turn on him, and his head hurt. There was no way he was going to bring the project in on time nor under budget if the powers that be continued to make unnecessary changes that did nothing for the aesthetics of the design or energy conservation in the original project. Bigger wasn’t always better and going big for the simple desire to have the structure be larger than anything on the block was dumb. It was dumb day. A dumb shit of a day.
Michael parked his truck in the garage, entering the kitchen through the back door, only to freeze where he stood at the sight of a young woman dressed like a cartoon character. The bright, orange, almost fire red pigtails stuck out from the sides of her head. One leg was covered in a multi-colored thigh stocking, and on the other leg she wore a bright red stocking held up by a black garter. The blue plaid dress hit her mid-thigh, covering a pair of lime green bloomers with rubber in the thighs.
“Who the hell are you?” Michael asked, startling Pip, who jumped nearly a foot off the ground. The spatula she held, which was covered in icing, hit the floor, splattering cream cheese frosting everywhere.
“Oh poo! I have frosting everywhere,” she said, bending to pick up the spatula. She stood, her large blue eyes meeting Michael’s brown ones. Her heartbeat thudded in her chest as she eyed the tall handsome man. “Oh wow!”
“I’m sorry, who are you and why are you in my kitchen?” Michael asked her.
Zelda, hearing his voice, came running into the kitchen. “Mike, this is Persephone India Phillips, Pip, for short,” she said.
He looked at her with some concern as Pip stood watching him, biting on her bottom lip.
“That’s a really nice tie,” Pip said. “It is powerful, yet subtle.”
Michael’s eyes went from the woman to the doll sitting at the table, wearing the same exact outfit, watching him with large, blue, fixed eyes.
“How was your day at work?” Pip asked, moving closer to remove his lunchbox from his hand.
“It was okay,” he said, staring at her.
“Well, tonight, I made dinner for us since it is Zelda’s off day. We are having braised chops, with sautéed spinach and kale and a Yukon gold mash. I also made a lemon cake, with cream cheese frosting. I do hope you’re hungry,” she said, allowing her fingers to graze his hand. “Go, get out of that tie, get washed up, and come dine with me. I mean us.”
“Why are you here?” Michael asked with a scowl on his face.
“I am Zelda’s bestie. Scott sent me to here to keep her company during this rough time until he gets here in two weeks,” she said with a smile so sweet, Michael felt it in his groin.
“Two weeks! You are staying here for two weeks?”
“Yes. It will be interesting, will it not?” she asked, turning her back to him. Throwing her voice into his ear like the great ventriloquists of old, she whispered to him. Don’t dawdle, the evening has just begun.
Michael’s hand went to his ear trying to swat away her words. The sound of her voice in his ear tickled him all the way down to his toes. A weird desire to hear her voice in his ear during a moment of passion struck him so hard, he shuddered, hurrying to make a beeline for his room.
“I should have gone to the fucking gym,” he mumbled.
Chapter 6 – I’m Confused and Uncomfortable!
Who in the entire multi-colored, red ponytailed hell is she?
Michael yanked off his tie, hanging it in his closet as he undressed, placing his dirty shirt in the laundry hamper and adding his pants to the bag of items to go to the dry cleaners. He kicked off his shoes, sitting on the edge of the bed, removing his socks as he struggled with a bevy of emotions coursing through him over the odd woman. Donning a loose red tee shirt and a pair of jeans, he slipped his feet into a pair of slides, returning to kitchen to find his sister, the creepy ass doll, and Pip waiting for him at the table. To keep his focus, he’d brought with him a pen and his notes on the Laramie Project. Pip stood up when he entered the room.
Her eyes started at his feet, coming all the way up his body to his goatee.
“My word, you are all kinds of f-i-n-e,” she said. “Do you want a cold beer, a soda pop, or something else to drink with your meal?’
“A cold beer is good,” he said, pulling out a chair, taking a seat.
‘Zelda, I am trying to understand why...Pip is here for two weeks. Please help me understand,” he said trying desperately to keep his eyes focused entirely on his sister.
“Scott sent me. He had this feeling that something was wrong, so he called and asked to me to come out, hang out with my bestie,” Pip said, placing the cold beer in front of him. As he stared at Zelda, Pip made him a plate, perfectly portioned without the foods touching each other.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, trying not to look at her.
“Sure thing, Michael,” she said, taking a seat across the table from him.
Zelda was enjoying the show, adding very little to the conversation as Michael sat in the chair, squirming under the frontal assault that Pip was taking.
“That’s a really nice pen. I have a thing for pens. If you want to keep it, you’d better hide it from me because I am a known pen klepto,” Pip said as she handed Zelda a plate, adding one to the table for herself.
“Lady, don’t you have a job...I mean you can just up and leave and come to Texas for two weeks? How do you even know my sister?”
Pip, enjoying having Michael finally address her in conversation, gave him the sweet smile again, which shot a surge of happiness straight to his sack of swimming tadpoles.
“Micheal, your sister and I met at the Vent Conference. I was thinking since she was all pretty, she was going to be really bitchy, but she was all chill- like. We hit it off and now here I am and for two weeks. I am on vacay. I get to go shopping, stay up all night painting our toe nails, sharing stories. You know, girl time.”
“I assume you don’t have a source of steady employment?”
“You assume wrong, tall, sexy, and extremely handsome. I am a historian by trade and traveling in this suit just got me booked for the Fall conference season in Vegas as the entertainment,” she said.
“I was wondering why you traveled in it,” Zelda said, cutting into the chop. It was surprisingly well-season, tender and tasted amazing.
“Best advertising ever because people want to know what it is I do for a living. Speaking of that, Michael, what is it that you do for a living?”
“I’m a civil engineer,” he said.
“Double wow! Did you bring your notes for the current project you are working on?” Pip asked, touching the folder on the table.
“Yes. I am having some issues with the project and I had a crap day,” he said.
“Would you like to talk about it?” she asked, leaning forward.
Michael leaned back in the seat, wanting to discuss it with her for some unusual reason, but he was conflicted. His eyes wandered back to the doll, then to its owner, and next to his sister. Pip was giving him her undivided attention, which made him uncomfortable in so many ways, so much so, he had to mention his uneasiness.
“Stop it, please,” he said to her.
“Stop what, Michael?”
“Whatever this is that you’re doing. You are coming at me like a woman but you are sitting here dressed like a kid. It is confusing me and making me uncomfortable,” he said.
“Oh, let me go and change. I am just so comfortable in the outfit that sometimes I forget,” she said, touching his hand. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she jumped up and left the room.
Micheal exhaled loudly, getting angry at Zelda for laughing at him. He wasn’t amused. He didn’t
find any humor in it at all. His nerves were taut and patience short. Pip didn’t help all the feelings fighting for his attention.
“Zelda, there’s no way in hell she can stay in this house for two weeks. You just keep her on your side of the house, you hear me!”
Zelda stuffed a roll in her mouth to keep from cracking her side, however, her laughter stopped when Pip returned to the room. Gone were the wires in her ponytails, and her long, fire-red hair hung down her back. She’d added some gel to the bangs, lifting them up off her face. A bit of mascara was touched to her lashes and a splash a deep red lipstick to cover her naturally pouty lips. The frumpy, ill-fitting plaid dress was gone, replaced with a form fitting, low cut pink tank. Black cropped jeans clung to her narrow hips and the stupid multi-colored socks were no more.
“All better?” she asked Michael.
He nodded yes over and over again.
“Maybe after dinner, we can talk about the things which troubled you at work today,” she said, leaning forward, giving him a bird’s eye view of her cleavage.
“No, we can’t,” he said, rising from the table. “Please excuse me ladies. Have a pleasant evening. If I need to get the dishes, leave them.”
Pip was obviously disappointed at his departure.
“He has to be to work at 6 a.m., so he goes to bed early,” Zelda told her.
“Did I come on too strong?”
“No, Pip. You made your interest known. You cooked him a good meal, brought him a cold drink, and made his chest puff out in pride. Now it is up to him if he wants to take it any further,” Zelda said.
“I sure hope he does. I still need some dick in the worst way,” Pip said.
“Girl, you are talking about my brother,” Zelda said,
“I know, and I’m not sure if you are aware or not, but your brother has a dick. I am hoping he would like to share it with me. It’s no use to him being all selfish with it,” she said with a laugh.
Zelda found herself smiling from an inside spot in her soul. She knew why Scott sent Pip. The oddball woman may be the perfect remedy to help heal them both.
“HEY, HOW ARE YOU DOING?” Scott asked.
“Missing you, but Pip is going to turn my entire life upside down. She has a thing for Michael,” Zelda said.
Deep throaty laughter could be heard through the phone.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Me imagining your brother’s facial expression seeing Pip.”
“It was probably pretty close to the same expression he had when he found you in the kitchen. That’s where he first found Pip in that crazy getup of hers,” Zelda added.
“The little romance with that guy you set her up with didn’t work out,” he said matter of fact.
“Yes, she told me, so she is on the move now for Michael,” she said.
“I hope he lets her down easy,” Scott said.
“Based on his reaction to coming home to a freshly baked cake and her making him a plate and complimenting him, I am not sure. She may make him break his own rule,” Zelda said.
“If the two of them hooked up, that would be interesting,” Scott said.
“Aren’t you the one for understatements? This would be well out of his comfort zone. She is in this house for two weeks. He can’t just walk away from her if he chooses to take it further. Unless he does it when I am not here, I have never not known him to not wake up in his own bed,” she said.
“Your brother is an enigma,” Scott said.
“No, he has been avoiding relationships waiting for me to get my shit together. It’s time for him to have some happiness, so I may help Pip get what she wants. Who knows, maybe it will move him to getting closer to getting what he needs,” she said to Scott.
“Especially since you will be moving next year,” he said. “I can’t wait for us to start our lives together.”
“Me either, Scott, but I have to clean up a lot of open strings on my frayed life line,” she told him.
“Pip is there. Use her to help you clear the clutter,” he said.
“You are just trying to make sure I am ready for you when you get here,” she said.
“Baby, I know how to get you ready.”
“Amen to that,” she said.
“I love you, Zelda, and I need you to understand that the next leg of your journey, you don’t have to make it alone. You are surrounded by people who love you. Let us in,” he said softly.
“Working on it,” she mumbled into the line.
“I’m planning to get in as soon as I get in,” he said with a lusty laugh.
“Bring you’re A-Game, Puppet Boy. You are going to need it,” she said, ending the call.
She called for Pip but got no immediate answer. Walking into the kitchen she found her new bestie at the sink, staring at the entryway to Michael’s half of the house.
“What are you thinking, Pip?”
“I’m thinking the worst thing he can say is no,” Pip said, squaring her shoulders.
Zelda, surprised at the change in her new Bestie’s attitude, asked. “You are going in there?”
“Yep. I am going to get me some loving,” she said, bringing her back straight.
“Wait,” Zelda said.
“Don’t try to talk me out of it. I will kick myself all night if I don’t make my move,” Pip said.
“Hold on. If you are going to go in his rooms, go prepared,” Zelda said going back to her bedroom and grabbing a condom.
“Zelda. Are you giving me your seal of approval?”
“No, I am not, but he has spent all of his life taking care of me. I am okay with someone wanting to take care of him. Michael needs that,” she said. “Good night, Pip.”
“Let’s hope,” Pip said with a smile.
THE MORE HE LOOKED at the designs, the less he could see. Giving up, Michael stretched, then headed to the shower. The hot water was almost therapeutic on his neck and stiff shoulders. A light tap was heard at his bathroom door.
It wasn’t locked. He never had a reason to lock it.
“Yeah?” he called out.
“Michael?” Pip said, opening the door.
“Good Lord woman! I am in the shower!”
“I know. I came to wash your back,” she said.
“This is not appropriate, Pip. You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“I am exactly where I need to be. A man like you works hard, and when he comes home either the pot or the woman needs to be hot. I took care of your belly, let me take care of you,” she said. She kicked off her shoes, removing her pants.
“Scott sent you here to take care of my sister. We have rules in this house. None of my sister’s friends are allowed on my side of the house,” he said, gripping the washcloth to cover himself.
“I have never been one to color inside the lines, so your rules mean nothing to me, and as far as being Zelda’s friend, I am your friend, too. Right now, your friend needs a night that will leave her relaxed in the morning,” she said, removing her top. “From the look of you when you walked in the house, so do you.”
Pip removed her bra, the perfect boob job showing off idealistic C-cups with taut erect pink nipples.
“I am not comfortable with this,” Michael said.
“You think too much,” Pip said, pulling open the shower door and stepping inside. “Stop thinking and let’s just feel.”
Chapter 7 – Eye of the Tiger
Michael woke thirty minutes before the alarm went off. His arm was asleep and his body sweaty, and he was covered in the sensation that was Pip. All of the years of discipline went out the window when she entered his bathroom. What was I thinking? Hell, I know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have been thinking it. My arm is numb.
He rolled Pip to her side and she began to stir.
“Awake and ready for more?” she asked him.
“I’m awake, but my mind is on work. I have this project but it is all going to shit in a very large hand basket and I’m frustrated,” he
told her.
“Talk to me,” she said, rubbing the fine hairs on his chest.
“Not much to tell. They brought in some young gun fresh off his Dad’s teat that wants to change most of my plans. He is going to blow the budget and extend the timeline and all eyes will be on me. This dude is trying to add all of these essentially after-market products to the building in an effort to make it greener. I already have rainwater catchers, recycled materials, a low carbon footprint, and everything,” he said.
“Is this the first structure you have built this way?”
“No, it would be my fifteenth,” he relied.
“Did all fifteen projects come in under budget?”
“Yes, they did and ahead of schedule. This new plan the kid is proposing is good, but too costly. Maybe, just maybe, if his plans were included in the original budget and proposal, then yes, it would be amazing, but at this late stage...it is too much,” he told her.
“Then go in there and put your foot down. You have a proven track record of success, completing the work on time and within the financial parameters. Either they trust your judgement or some wet behind the ears kid with a bunch of ideas. Let them give him his own project to cut his teeth on or get out of your way. Let those a-holes know either you finish it the right way or take your name off the project,” she said.
“Yeah, and that is going to work,” he said.
“Michael, when you walked in the back door, I knew. I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that you were the kind of man a woman wants to call her own. The quiet confidence about you is powerful. Your unassuming way didn’t give me any indication that I would spend twenty minutes under you cumming like a freight train headed north. Use your power. Go take a stand,” she told him.
“And if I get fired?”
“I will take care of you, and I will keep you as my little sex slave,” Pip said, laughing.
“You are funny and what...a freight train?” he asked kissing her forehead.
“No, last night was special and I was wondering, if you have time, can I have some more?”
A Saucy Sunday (The Zelda Diaries Book 4) Page 4
