by T. S. Ryder
I remained standing, watching him leave and then eventually sat back down.
“Your brother is a tease,” Marcia said as the server poured her a glass of wine. I tried to smile, even though I was feeling uncomfortable in her presence. I couldn’t quite establish what was wrong with me.
Marcia was beautiful and I knew what she wanted. And I’d never had a problem with situations like this before. So what was holding me back? The fact that Jonathan had set us up? That Jonathan believed this would atone him for his sin of sleeping with my girlfriend?
“So what is it that you do, Marcia?” I asked her and she threw back her head and laughed. It exposed her long neck and brought her cleavage to my notice. I could feel myself harden a little, but it was gone in a second. My warring emotions were suffocating me.
“Let's not talk shop, Oscar. Tell me about your life in London,” she said, leaning towards me casually.
I drank my whiskey quickly and called for two more. I couldn’t remember feeling this insecure and uncomfortable, not since my teenage years. I couldn’t believe that Jonathan was still capable of making me feel so small.
“Nothing to report really. It’s like any other major cosmopolitan city,” I said, knocking back another glass as quickly as possible. I couldn’t understand why I wanted to be drunk.
“Did you meet a lot of beautiful English girls?” she asked, touching my arm lightly. I flinched, clenched my jaw and smiled at her.
“None like you,” I said and Marcia laughed loudly.
“You’re a naughty boy. Just like your brother,” she said and I flinched again. I hated being compared to Jonathan. I didn’t take it as a compliment.
She had barely finished her first glass of wine, but I was already on my third finger of whiskey. It was starting to take effect, my head was swimming a little.
I ordered more.
“Jonathan told me you like a good time. He’s probably right. Look at you, knocking them back like a champion,” she said and gave my forearm a squeeze, feeling my biceps as she inched closer to me.
For a second when I looked at her, I thought she was Kayla. Kayla! The thought entered my brain, and I looked away quickly.
“What’s the matter?” I heard her ask and I pulled at my collar. It was getting hot in here.
“Nothing. Just looking around,” I said, growing a little annoyed by Marcia’s incessant talking. I wish we could just sit in silence for a bit and think.
“You know, if you think this place is too noisy, we could just go back to my place,” she said and I turned to look at her. Her lips were inviting, her voice was sexy as Hell and those legs were endlessly long. I didn’t have to struggle to imagine what she would look like naked.
“My place might be closer,” I said and she bit on her lip, tugging her lower lip with her teeth.
“You’re the boss,” she said huskily.
Boss. That reminded me of Kayla again. I had an image of her naked, standing at my bar, drinking a glass of whiskey. Could she be the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, or was all that whiskey starting to get to me? Surely there were more attractive women in the world. Marcia, for instance.
I stood up from my chair, draining the last glass of whiskey. I felt slightly unsteady on my feet. Marcia dragged herself out of the chair too and tugged at my arm.
I reached for my wallet, pulled out several notes and flung them on the table.
“Shall we proceed to your castle, then?” she said, leaning on my arm, and looking up at me with that sensual bright red smile.
“I’m going home, alone,” I said and watched as she pulled away from me, surprised.
“What? I thought we were only getting started,” she said, panic entering her voice.
“Look, Marcia, I don’t know what my brother told you, but I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep. I’ve been working long hours this week,” I said, trying to pull myself away from her grip but at the same time trying to be polite. She was holding on, though.
“I thought you were fun. Don’t be boring, Oscar,” she pleaded, trying to pull me back.
“I really have to go,” I said, jerking my arm away from her now. My head was swimming again. I wanted to feel Kayla’s skin under my fingertips. That is what I was craving, even in my drunken state.
Marcia scowled at me and picked up her purse in a huff.
“Your brother clearly thinks more highly of you than you deserve. You don’t even know how to treat a lady,” she snapped at me. I breathed in deeply.
“My brother thinks very low of me, in fact. He is the one who doesn’t know how to treat a lady, throwing you at me like this. Good night, Marcia,” I said and walked away from her, out of the bar.
I looked at my wristwatch, it was nearly midnight. I wanted to see Kayla, watch her undress in front of me. But it was too late, I thought. It would be unfair to expect her to come over at this hour. I knew I’d spend the whole night thinking about her, though.
Chapter Seven
Kayla
I checked my phone on the way home from work and saw that he had texted me.
Nine, my place.
My brain buzzed with the thought of Oscar’s body, even though I was tired. It had been a long day at the office. At work, it was all business, and thoughts of us lying in bed together usually escaped my mind. It was only when I was away from him that the memories resurfaced.
We had fallen into a pattern now, he invited me to his house every alternate night. It had been going on for ten days and I had still not grown tired of him.
I arrived back at my apartment and stepped in for a quick shower. I dried my hair off with an old towel when I got out, patting my body down as I stood in front of the mirror. I remembered where he touched me, the grip of his hands on my hips when he pushed into me. He didn’t shy away from looking into my eyes as he entered me, and the very thought of it made me get wet.
He was a man like any other, I tried to remind myself, but I could feel myself growing excited now that I knew I was going to see him soon.
It was always the same. He opened the door for me, I entered and then we either fucked in the living room or the bedroom. We spoke very little, I asked him no questions and he had stopped offering me drinks or dinner. Within an hour I was out of his house and on my way back home. Then I’d spend the night in bed, trying to sleep with a smile on my face. Hungry and satisfied and looking forward to seeing him the next day at work.
I put on a dress, the same black leather one he seemed to like peeling off my body. I tied my hair up tonight, tightly in a neat bun behind my head. I wanted to feel the swoosh of my locks cascade down when he undid it.
I made sure I was on time.
I rang the bell outside his door and instead of being greeted immediately, my eyebrows furrowed when I realized I had been waiting longer than usual. What was taking him so long? The door cracked open and Oscar stood before me, the look on his face distracted. He wasn’t smiling this time.
“Kayla…,” he began but was interrupted by a woman’s voice from behind him.
“Who is it, honey?” the woman asked and then I heard the sound of heels clicking behind him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and her face appeared. A beautiful middle aged woman, with Oscar’s blue eyes and curly blonde hair.
“Hello, there,” she said to me, eyeing me from head to toe. I felt naked under her gaze. My face must have displayed the confusion and embarrassment I was feeling because she suddenly smiled and extended her hand to me.
“I’m Janet, Oscar’s mother,” she said, in a warm understanding voice.
“Kayla Edwards,” I said, shaking her hand. I hoped I didn’t come across as nervous as I actually was.
“Kayla Edwards…you work at the office, don’t you? My husband mentions your name all the time,” she said, sidestepping Oscar as she stood in front of me. She was wearing a pair of cream trousers and a black ruffled blouse. Her hair was neatly styled into a side chignon and she had expensive jewels on
her neck and dangling from her ears.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Mr. Connell’s PA,” I said, exchanging a look with Oscar. I could see that Janet was studying me closely, probably wondering what I was doing at her son’s apartment at this time of the night, and dressed like this.
“Oh well, come in then. We were just about to sit down for dinner. Maria has been very kind and cooked us up something.” Janet held the door open and I had no other choice but to follow her in. I avoided looking at Oscar, feeling the heat climb up the back of my neck.
“Mother, I’m sure Kayla has plans. Don’t force her to stay,” I heard Oscar say, but we had already walked into the living room, where Oscar’s father, Richard Connell was sitting.
“Oh, nonsense honey. Kayla will stay,” Janet said, walking over to her husband. Richard Connell stared at me, a slight look of surprise coloring his face.
“Good evening Mr. Connell,” I said. His face broke into a smile.
“How many times do I have to tell you, Kayla, stop working so hard. I hope Oscar isn’t pushing you too much,” he said, looking at his son as he entered the living room.
“Not at all Mr. Connell, I was just here to pick up a report and then I’ll be on my way,” I said, trying to smile as genuinely as possible.
“I’ll get that for you right away,” Oscar said and our eyes met. He looked truly apologetic, and I looked away from him.
“Oscar, Kayla should stay for dinner. It’s the least we can do. I apologize on my son’s behalf for making you come all the way for a piece of paper at this time of the night,” Janet interrupted him and turned to look at me, with kindly welcoming eyes.
“Yes, of course, Kayla, you have to stay,” Richard said and stood up from the couch.
“Now, Oscar, pour Kayla a glass of wine and the two of you join us in the dining room. Richard, come with me,” Janet said, leading her husband away.
Oscar and I stood staring at each other in silence till we heard the scraping of chairs in the dining room, telling us that they had sat down.
“I apologize, Kayla. They surprised me by showing up here.” Oscar took a few long strides towards me. I licked my lips and looked up at him. My heart was still racing. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this embarrassed.
His parents weren’t stupid, especially Janet wasn’t. The amount of cleavage my dress was revealing made it pretty clear why I was here. They were just being polite. I felt dirty and disgusted with myself. How could I have let this happen? My purpose with this deal was to use and throw away Oscar, not to make a fool of myself. Did they think I was stalking their son? That he was buying my body? Would they fire me from my job tomorrow morning?
“I have to go, I can’t stay,” I said in a whisper as he came closer to me.
“They’re sitting at the table, expecting you to join us for dinner. You can’t just leave now,” he said, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He looked gorgeous, more casual than I had seen him before. A polo shirt and simple blue jeans. I wanted to see him naked, of course, feel those hands on my body, but my feelings of shame overrode my desire for him.
“I can’t sit there and pretend to eat, Sir,” I said, emphasizing the last word, reminding him of what our relationship truly was.
“Just pretend it’s a work dinner. My father used to be your boss, I’m sure you wouldn’t have been uncomfortable being invited to dinner with his family,” Oscar said, looking deep into my eyes.
“I can’t. Not dressed like this, not when they’ve just caught me out,” I said, intertwining my fingers and pulling them apart again. My shame was building up, I hoped I wouldn’t break into tears.
“Kayla, it’ll be fine. They’re not thinking anything of this. I know my parents.” His voice was soft and gentle, showing me a different side of himself. But I was grounded in my resolve. I wasn’t going to spend time with him in this kind of social setting. I had to avoid it at all costs.
“I don’t care what you think is going on. I can’t do it. This wasn’t a part of the deal so you can’t force me to do it,” I hissed at him through gritted teeth. His eyes widened and he looked like he was shocked that I would ever speak to him this way.
“I’m not forcing you to do anything, Kayla. They’re waiting for us to join them for dinner, that’s all,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest. He looked more sexy than ever and I wanted to pounce on him, rip his clothes apart and devour him.
“It’s not my problem, Sir. They are your parents. You deal with them the best way you can,” I snapped at him and brushed past him. He didn’t call out to me or follow me to the door.
I softly shut the door behind me and then I ran. Down the stairs, instead of taking the elevator and out of the front doors till the fresh night air gushed into my lungs.
I don’t know what I was running away from. Oscar might have been right. They might not have thought anything of it. But I couldn’t bear to handle the thought of what might happen if they did. What if I had walked into the same trap as my mother did? What if I was being judged for sleeping with my boss? What if I lost my job?
I walked all the way back home. It took me over an hour. I had kicked my heels off and walked in silence. It gave me time to think. Slowly, I was beginning to feel bad. I had abandoned Oscar in a sticky situation, left him to deal with the awkwardness of the circumstances. But the justification was that I did it to save my skin.
My emotions wobbled. One moment I was feeling sorry for my actions, the next I was trying to justify them. He deserved it. Men deserved it. He should have felt as uncomfortable as I was. But he was feeling uncomfortable, I had seen it in his eyes when he looked at me. Confident, suave, successful and handsome Oscar Connell, was uncomfortable and upset at what I was going through. He wanted to save my face in front of his parents. I hadn’t expected him to care. What I had expected from him was to throw me out of his house. But he didn’t, he was trying to convince me to stay for dinner. Why would he do that?
I pushed open the door of my apartment and sat in my tight leather dress on the couch in the dark. I felt lonely, and I wished Oscar was here with me.
I couldn’t claim I knew him. I knew nothing about his childhood, his likes and dislikes, his bad habits, how he liked his eggs or if he ever had any pets. What I did know was that he was strong, that he held me like he was afraid I was going to fall, that he felt responsible for my reputation, that he respected his parents, that he wanted to save his company from downfall, that he was scared and new to the business and that a lot of what the world saw of Oscar Connell was just a facade.
But I didn’t want to know anything else about him. That was not a part of the plan. The plan was going smoothly till I started thinking about him when he wasn’t there. I knew that he was going to stick to the contract; because I knew Oscar Connell kept his word.
Chapter Eight
Oscar
Handling my parents was the easy part. Handling my ego and my emotions; not so easy. I pushed open the door of my office, flung my briefcase on one of the leather armchairs tastefully arranged in the center of my office, and walked over to the windows behind my desk.
I was still angry. Not quite sure who I was angry at, though. Kayla maybe, for what she had said and how she had simply left. But what more could I have expected from her? The terms of our deal were plain and simple, and she had stuck by them. How could I have expected her to play along with entertaining my parents? She must have been embarrassed. But I was angry nonetheless.
There was a knock on my door and I whipped around to see Jonathan entering my office.
“Morning Oscar,” he said. I hadn’t seen him in a few days, not since he had abandoned me and Marcia at the bar.
“Morning Jonathan,” I said curtly, keeping my hands firmly interlocked behind my back.
“What can I do for you?” I asked him as he shut the door behind him. He was grinning as usual and smoothened the few strands of pale hair that remained on top of his head.
; “Nothing much. I was just checking in on you. I know you’ve sent me a report on your findings, but I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet,” he said, helping himself to a seat without me having offered it to him.
“I suggest you look at it soon, Jonathan, I need to get a few new regulations approved by the board and then hold a press conference. None of which I can do unless you approve them as well,” I said, annoyed that he hadn’t been doing his job. Here I was, working my ass off while he didn’t seem to be interested in saving the family firm.
“I’ll get around to it, Oscar. Jesus, now I can see how Marcia felt,” he said, crossing his legs and playing with the rings on his fingers.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, gripping the back of my chair with both my hands.
“When did you become like this, little brother? All serious? What happened to the guy I heard London stories about? Don’t take this job too seriously,” he said, in a patronizing tone. It was clear to see that Jonathan still believed that he knew more than me, that he was better at the job than I was. I took a deep breath, gripping the chair harder and clenching my jaw.
“Don’t you think we should take it seriously? Given that the company could go bankrupt in less than six months?” I asked, glaring straight into his eyes. It didn’t faze him, I was still his little brother.
“That won’t happen, Oscar. You know father has just been overreacting,” he responded with a laugh.
“I’ve looked at the numbers, Jonathan. It’s very likely to happen unless we think about a complete overhaul of our policies, which, as you will see, are outlined in my report.” I walked around the table to stand in front of him.
He remained silent for a few seconds, staring at me with a smile and a mocking gleam in his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Oscar? Has Kayla been yanking your chain too hard?” he asked in a low voice. There was a challenge in his voice that I recognized and I could feel my brain snap.
