by Navi' Robins
As he moved further into the overcrowded and chaotic terminal, Donald could hear the nasal tone of Brian’s high-pitched voice over the loud crowd, as he demanded to be put on the next flight back to Chicago. Following the sound of his voice, Donald found himself standing directly behind Brian, overcome with curious amusement as he listened to him whine and complain.
“Listen I don’t give…I don’t give a fuck about policy,” Brian yelled, but as he got closer to swearing, he paused and lowered his voice to an aggressive whisper. Donald’s smile widened as he listened to Brian’s attempt at being forceful, yet polite.
Passive-aggressive, much? Donald amusedly thought, while folding his arms.
“I need a flight or a rental car out of here. I’m not staying another freaking day in this hellhole…sorry…no offense. I know this is home for you, but not for me.”
The attendant slowly closed her eyes as her nostrils flared, listening to Brian’s insult of her native country, and his meaningless apology only made her anger swell. Taking a deep breath and forcing a smile, she nodded while she politely lied that his comment wasn’t offensive. Donald could barely contain his laughter and he quickly placed his hand over his mouth in an attempt to hold it in. The attendant, noticing Donald’s reaction, quickly looked past Brian and asked in a heavy Mexican accent, “Can I help you, sir?”
Startled, a silly cackle escaped Donald’s mouth. Embarrassed, Donald took a step back and responded, “No ma’am I’m here for him.”
Brian spun around at the familiar voice behind him and once he saw the sunburned face and balding head of Donald Hamlin, he nearly leaped into his arms like a damsel in distress.
“Mr. Hamlin, thank God it’s you! I have to get outta here. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. This is way too much for me. Even the five million a year salary isn’t enough compensation for this.”
“Well, the board figured you may back out as usual, so I was informed to tell you that if you don’t take this job, you don’t have any job with Optec Oil. So, it’s this or nothing at all. The vacancy of your old position has already been filled and as you know, there aren’t many other opportunities in your salary range left stateside. Now, I can get you back home, but in doing so you’ll be terminating your employment with us.”
Mr. Hamlin’s statement sent a chill up Brian’s spine as he considered the twelve years he invested in Optec Oil fresh out of college. In the current job market, he would be hard pressed to find anything within his salary range and with all the bills he’d accumulated, he might find himself in over his head in debt within a year. Seeing Brian’s reaction, Donald decided to smooth things over with him by assuring him this incident was a fluke…a freak occurrence that would most likely never happen again. Optec had some of the best private security personnel in the world, with around the clock companywide surveillance.
“Considering all the safety measures Optec has implemented, Brian, you’re much safer here than back on the Southside of Chicago anyway. So…what’s it gonna be?”
His head lowered, clearly defeated by his lack of options, Brian slowly nodded his head and reluctantly followed Mr. Hamlin down the crowded terminal, with a very amused and satisfied attendant watching.
Pendejos, she thought as she attended to the next frantic customer in line.
CHAPTER THREE
Rosita Stone
ONE WEEK LATER 1:00 AM UTC.
OPTEC OIL MEXICO CITY CENTRAL OFFICE
Brian ran his right hand through his overgrown black hair as he tried to concentrate on the images that paraded across his laptop’s screen. He’d been sitting at his desk in the darkness of his massive penthouse office for the last nine hours, trying to assess the information he was receiving from the home office. There was a maddening amount of data to process and, even more strategies to implement, with very little time to complete them. Exhaling forcefully, allowing the air coming out of his mouth to vibrate his lips, he threw his hands behind his head and leaned backward in his large leather chair. Looking up at the ceiling, Brian inhaled deeply and listened to the quiet humming of the central air conditioning in his office. After relaxing in that position for a few minutes, he started to doze off, so he decided to call it a night and head home.
As he began to gather his things, the sudden sound of his office door opening caused him to sit up in his chair. The darkness only revealed a silhouette that didn’t match the massive frame of his bodyguard and he immediately began to get up out of his chair to run.
“Chingados me asustastes!” (Fuck, you scared me)
Hearing a woman speaking Spanish caused Brian to rush back to his desk and turn on the lamp, pretending like he wasn’t terrified. The slight clicking sound of the lamp being turned on was no proper introduction for the outlandishly beautiful woman, who stood in his office with her hand placed over her chest. Her perfectly round and ample breasts moved in and out as she inhaled and exhaled heavily from the fear that had completely exhausted her. Her brown eyes squinted as they tried to adjust to the sudden illumination in the dark office. She quickly turned her head to the right, allowing her long, silky black ponytail to bounce and move like fine linen blowing in the wind.
Swallowing deeply, Brian looked her over hungrily as his trance-like gaze moved down past her slim waist and rounded hips that gave just a taste of how amazing of an experience it must be watching her walk away. Despite her wearing the boring gray and blue of the cleaning company’s uniform, this woman was absolutely stunning and Brian felt his skin warm the longer he stared at her.
Watching him stare at her like a succulent meal, the frightened woman rolled her eyes and removed her hand from her chest. Putting the bucket and cleaning cloth down on the floor, she placed her hands on her hips and stared back at Brian angrily. She could feel his eyes undress her and she almost started to cover herself with her arms, but stopped and decided to wake him out of his lustful fantasy instead.
“Señor Turner, I’m sorry I startled you, but could you please stop staring at me like that? It makes me…ugh…ummm…what’s the word? Chingao!” (fuck)
“Uncomfortable?” William responded, still lost in her appearance.
Snapping her fingers and pointing at him, she responded, “Yes! That’s it. Uncomfortable!”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Brian apologized, but somehow was still unable to take his eyes off her.
Noticing he hadn’t stopped his predator-like stare, she sucked her teeth and stomped her foot on the shiny mahogany wooden floor to try and snap him out of it. Jumping at the sudden thumping sound, Brian seemed to regain control of his eyes and his mouth opened as he discovered just how uncomfortable he made her feel.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry…who are you again?”
“My name is Rose, but my friends and family call me Rosita.” “Oh Rosita, I’m sorry about my behavior and startling you.”
“Um, no Señor. You may call me Rose,” she responded, rolling her eyes at the arrogance of the man thinking he could use her nickname on their first encounter.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Rose it is. I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t mean to stare like that, but―” “I get it Mr. Turner, but it’s still uncomfortable for me.”
“Duly noted.”
An uncomfortable silence followed as the two of them stood there without saying a word and then Brian noticed she’d picked up her bucket and cleaning cloths again.
“Oh, I’m sorry, you have a job to do and I’m in your way. I’ll get out of your way immediately.”
“Thank you, Señor Turner. I’m sorry if I frightened you as well. I had no idea someone was still in the building.”
“That’s fine, I decided to stay late and catch up on my Spanish lessons.”
“Que! Spanish lessons?”
“Yes, from Rosetta Stone,” Brian responded while pointing at his laptop. “I think it’s going mucho bueno, señorita.”
“Este guey,” Who is Rosetta Stone and why is she teaching you Spanish, Señor? You know what, never
mind. Buenos días, Señor,” she responded, annoyed by Brian’s slaughter of the Spanish language and the look of accomplishment on his face.
Standing there with his laptop under his arm and a stupid look on his face, he extended his right hand for her to shake it. Looking down at his hands, she twisted her lips as she raised her hands, exposing them covered in yellow rubber gloves that seemed wet with some kind of sweet-smelling cleaning chemical.
Noticing she wasn’t going to remove her gloves, Brian’s hand dropped to his side while he tried his best to force a smile. But the embarrassment caused his smile to appear more like a frown and he quickly wished her a good night and walked out of his office. Standing at the elevator waiting for it to reach his floor, he looked back and noticed Rose bending over his desk with her backside facing him, wiping it down vigorously. Watching her immediately sent him on a fantasy ride of him standing behind her naked body, as they were enthralled in a lustful “sexcapade” complete with loud moans of ecstasy, and her bucking and thrusting her amazing ass against his pelvis. Looking down, he noticed his mental fantasy had awakened his sexual being and it slowly rose to attention. Startled, he quickly placed the laptop in front of himself right when the ping of the elevator’s arrival filled his ears. Rose turned around in time to catch Brian’s fixation on her ass. Her eyelids slowly lowered halfway over her eyes while she shook her head. Embarrassed, he quickly scurried inside the elevator, praying the doors closed quickly.
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER
OPTEC OIL MEXICO CITY CENTRAL OFFICE
Brian sat at his desk in a tailored three-piece designer suit, a fresh haircut and a well-groomed beard covering a portion of his caramel colored face. He kept glancing at his desk clock with childlike anticipation, counting down the minutes and at 1 am sharp, Rose stepped out of the elevator towing her cleaning supplies. He peered over the top of his laptop’s screen watching her step out of the elevator and walk towards his office. He eagerly watched her get closer through the large floor to ceiling glass windows that covered the entire front of his office, giving him an unobstructed view. As she walked towards Brian’s office, she noticed him peeking at her and she rolled her eyes.
God, please not him again.
Once she got to his office door, she inhaled deeply, preparing herself to have to deal with the awkward executive and his awful Spanish.
“Buenos Días, Rose,” Brian greeted her gleefully as she stepped into his office.
“Buenos Días, Señor Turner,” she responded blandly. She quickly noticed the obvious improvements to his appearance. Looking him over, her eyebrows elevated as she began noticing just how attractive he was once all the rough edges were made smooth. Underneath his quirky and uncoordinated demeanor was an eye-popping specimen of a man. She continued staring at him until she noticed the silly boyish grin on his face and she quickly looked away. Peering back at him, she noticed his satisfied look and concluded that this transformation was for her and a feeling of regret came over her.
Oh no, Señor Turner. This will never happen. No matter how guapo (Handsome) you are.
“How are you today, Rose?” Brian asked while he stood up adjusting himself, revealing a groin print that caused Rose to gasp and blink repeatedly.
Oh…oh…that can’t be real, she thought.
“Rose?”
“Oh, my day was good, Señor. Gracias,” she responded, snapping herself out of her trance after witnessing the unbelievable imprint on his suits pants.
“De nada.”
“Anyway, I’ll get out your way now,” Brian said and started gathering his belongings. Once he was sure he’d grabbed everything he needed, he began to leave the office. As he walked past Rose, her alluring aroma invaded his nose, causing a slight dizzying effect to come over him. The intoxicating effect of her perfume momentarily stopped Brian’s brain from working properly and he immediately turned to her and asked, “Rose, would you like to go out for a drink sometime?”
Giggling, she looked up in his eyes and responded, “No, Señor Turner. That won’t be possible.”
Noticing his once confident stance disappear, she began to feel remorse for her blunt answer and decided to give Brian a more in-depth reason for her rejection of his offer.
“You seem like a very nice man, Señor, and you are very attractive, but if we are seen together I could lose much more than my job. Any other time I might consider it, but I can’t. I hope you understand Señor Turner.”
“I understand,” he whispered, looking down at the floor. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“No, Señor Turner. You didn’t offend me or overstep. Our lives are just so different and it wouldn’t be a good idea to start something I know wouldn’t work out. But I am flattered that you asked and you look really nice in your suit, Señor Turner.”
“Thank you. Rose, do you think you could call me Brian instead?”
“Yes, Señor―sorry, yes Brian, I can do that and you can call me Rosita.”
A big silly smile shined across Brian’s face as he looked at Rose, right before walking out of his office. Rose watched Brian until the elevator’s doors closed behind him. Once she was sure that the elevator was heading downstairs, she flopped down on the large brown leather couch in Brian’s office.
Oh, my Lord, what was that about?
CHAPTER FOUR
Going Down
TWO WEEKS LATER FRIDAY 1:35AM
OPTEC OIL MEXICO CITY CENTRAL OFFICE
Rose looked at Brian’s desk clock, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her forearm, as the time of 1:35 am glared back at her. A sharp pain stabbed her neck and her throat was desert dry, causing her to swallow hard trying to lubricate it. She was in a bad mood and it hit her as soon as she walked into Brian’s dark office and noticed he wasn’t there. Her sour mood made her job more difficult than other nights and she was eager to get out of there as soon as possible. Double-checking the office to make sure she’d completed her assignments, she started to gather the numerous cleaning supplies that lay in different areas of the office, in preparation of leaving for the night. It’d been about six days since she’d seen Brian and she realized that her bad mood was due to her disappointment that he wasn’t here yet another night. They’d began talking more each night that he was there, and soon she found herself looking forward to him there to help her pass the time as she cleaned.
Shaking her head, she grinned at the thought of her becoming attracted to Brian, and decided to evict any thoughts of him outside of work from her mind. Her life was too complicated to include Brian in it. After gathering everything, she slowly made her way towards the elevator. From her left she thought she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, but when she stopped walking to listen, she didn’t hear anything. Rolling her neck, she pressed the elevator button, leaned her back against the wall next to the elevator doors and waited. Within a half-minute, she heard the smooth sound of the elevator’s doors opening and she instinctively reached down for her bucket and supplies. She turned towards the elevator half-aware of her surroundings and when her foot stepped into the elevator, she quickly discovered that the elevator car wasn’t there and her body’s weight propelled her forward and down. Screaming, she frantically tried to reach for the sides of the elevator’s entrance, but she couldn’t grip onto anything as her bucket fell from her hand and down the forty-story elevator shaft.
The cold air from the shaft blew in her face as her body fell forward and right before her left foot left the floor’s landing, a firm and strong hand wrapped around her wrist.
“I got you!” Brian yelled, as he braced his six foot four frame by wrapping his left leg around the inside of the elevator door’s edge.
Rose looked up at him gritting his teeth, as her weight began to pull him forward. Watching him slowly lose his footing; she started kicking and twisting her body, making it difficult for Brian to keep himself anchored while her body flung back and forth wildly.
“Calm down before you kill us both! I’m
going to pull you up now, but I need you to stop kicking, okay?”
His stern and commanding voice startled her, lacking the nasal tone she was accustomed to. Now his voice was filled with a masculine bass line that sent light, yet deep impacting vibrations through her. Nodding, she took a deep breath and did what he commanded. Making sure he was properly anchored again, Brian quickly pulled her up towards him and once she was safely back on the floor, he held her in his arms and looked her over to make sure she wasn’t injured.
“Are you okay?” he asked, breathing heavily.
Swallowing hard and shaking uncontrollably, she nodded, refusing to say a word. He then moved her away from the elevator’s door opening and pressed the down arrow button to close the elevator doors. Once they were closed, he turned towards her, looking concerned.
