Arousing Her

by Tia Siren

  The meeting ended, and everyone left the room apart from my good friend and longtime associate Mr. Rowling. He stood and walked to my end of the table.

  “So, what’s up, Jay?” I asked as he sat in a chair next to me.

  “Charles, I have known you for many years, probably more years than anyone else apart from Jonathan. I’m not sure if the others noticed you were not with it this morning, but I did. What’s wrong?” Jay asked as he leaned toward me.

  “You know, Jay, it’s all gone wrong. I had an eventful time with a woman,” I said. “I’m just too old to feel run-down like this. It’s like I have this pressure constantly weighing me down.”

  “Say no more, Charles. I know exactly what you are going to say. I have in my time had similar relationships with younger women,” he said as he chuckled and looked over his shoulder.

  “It’s not like that,” I said.

  “Charles, I know all about your silver case. Worry not; your secret is safe with me. You should hang on to her though. It only gets easier. She’ll help you feel young. You know the saying: You are only as young as the woman you sleep with,” he said with a laugh.

  “Maybe, but I feel like shit. I’ve not eaten anything since yesterday, and I feel like puking,” I said.

  “Bah, this is just the first stage. All that will pass. You go through hell at the start, and then come the happy days,” he said as he stood up.

  “Thanks, Jay. I trust your judgment. I just hope I trust myself,” I added as we headed out of the boardroom.

  I thought about the conversation I had just had with Jay, and I thought he made a valid point. He did indeed look young for his age, so something had obviously worked for him. I mean, he was like a dynamo for his age, so he must have had quite a few younger dates. I trusted his judgment and decided he was right. I needed to call Elizabeth and set it right. I needed to see her soon before it was too late.

  I had a plan in mind when Jonathan walked into the office.

  “Jonathan, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked as I swung my chair back under my desk.

  “Charles, you need to get a grip. I saw you in the meeting. You are losing it,” he said in a raised tone.

  “Relax. I have it under control. I’m fine,” I said, trying to put him at ease.

  After talking to Jay, I was starting to feel at ease. It had been the thought of trying to forget Elizabeth that had been making me feel sick.

  “Charles, you have lost control. You have—you have… Fuck, you have gone weak,” he said in a raised voice.

  “It’s okay. I’m going to call her. I know what to do now,” I said as I leaned back in my chair, smiling.

  “For fuck's sake, Charles, she’s never going to be a trophy wife, hanging on your arm or anything like that,” Jonathan said as he stood over me.

  “She could be,” I said. “You don’t understand.”

  “Wake up, Charles. It’s you who don’t understand. You are the boss of a billion-dollar company. You have the world watching you. You have shareholders you have to answer to,” he screamed. “Get a grip and get your shit together.”

  “All right, just relax. I’ll do the right thing. Don’t you worry,” I said.

  Jonathan headed out of the office and walked down the hallway in disgust. He was close to me and just had my best concerns at heart. Yet he had no way of knowing how I felt at the moment. I felt alive for the first time in a long time. I felt like I did when she and I were together.

  “Mr. Dillon, you have the lunch appointment with the investors in an hour. Should I bring the car around already?” Lyndsay asked from her desk.

  “If you could please. I’ll be downstairs in ten minutes,” I replied. Then I had a quick wash to freshen up.

  I had an appointment with some new women from a company that had transformed virtual assistant working for single mothers. Their concept was new and radical and could be the future of home working, and that I would soon find out.

  The car arrived at Pacino’s Italian restaurant; the investors had chosen it. It showed they had done their homework and paid attention. It was a classy joint. I should know. I own half of it.

  I entered the restaurant and headed toward the table. I could spot the lawyers a mile off. They had the obligatory suits that stood out and could only be bought from the same store where the Secret Service bought theirs. The remainder of the table was taken up by women, and some fine women from the looks of it. They had the look of class; they had dressed for the occasion.

  “Good afternoon, ladies,” I said as I approached the table.

  “Well, hello, Mr. Dillon.” They greeted me in unison.

  “Just call me Charles. It’s lunchtime after all,” I replied with a smile.

  I sat next to Joanne, who was the brains behind the concept, and Elisa, who was their secretary and had her tablet ready for taking notes.

  “So, ladies, do you want to eat first or get the business out of the way?” I said.

  “Business before pleasure. Is that not right, Charles?” Joanne said with a small smile.

  I was feeling like my old self for the first time since yesterday. I had paid attention. Joanne would make a move on me before lunch had finished; I knew it. I made a small wager to myself that I would be correct.

  The ladies ran through their proposals and growth plans for the next five years. I had to say, they had fucking done their homework. Everything they said made perfect sense. They already had a small following of customers, and the market they were entering was quite new. They had even carried out surveys of single mothers who had the skills but not the computer equipment or Internet connection. The opportunity and the pool of resources were huge. Why had I not thought of this earlier? Their concept was simply that the company provided the equipment and connection and deducted this from their virtual assistant salary. It was simple yet brilliant.

  I listened as the lawyers ran through their side of things. Joanne started to reach into her purse (which she had conveniently placed next to my leg). Here it comes… Without fail, she slid her hand over my thigh as she reached into her purse.

  “Sorry, Charles,” she whispered into my ear.

  “No worries,” I said, as to ignore what she had done.

  We finished the first round of talks and decided to have lunch. Joanne said she needed the bathroom and placed her hand on my shoulder as she stood. There it was, sign number three. She was just too obvious with what she was doing.

  Joanne returned to the table and again ran her hand over my shoulder as she sat next to me. I was waiting for sign number four, which would be the old napkin trick. I waited and watched. The waiters came and laid out a buffet-style selection of plates rather than individual servings.

  I sipped on my wine and then took my napkin and laid it on my lap. I could have counted how long it would have been before Joanne seized the opportunity. My hand had just finished placing the napkin on my lap when my fingers were grabbed by Joanne. I turned my head and looked in her direction.

  “Everything seems to be going well, don’t you think?” she asked as she leaned toward me.

  “It does. Everything seems to be going just as I expected,” I replied.

  She caressed my fingers as she pretended to adjust her napkin. It was good that I had my poker face on. She was hitting on me big time and would surely make a proposition before we signed the deal. Behind it all, I was thinking of Elizabeth, my queen of hearts who had stolen the show altogether.

  Normally, I would seize this opportunity. Joanne was stunning. With four-inch heels and long black hair, she looked just like she could bend and be flexible, and she looked like she would enjoy being humbled and dominated. Behind my poker face, there was a different story. I had no interest in Joanne apart from as a business acquaintance. Anything outside that was out of my mind and out of bounds.

  I excused myself and headed to the bathroom. My mind was full of Elizabeth. I had to somehow let Joanna know I wasn’t interested, yet be polite enough
so as not to hurt her feelings.

  I walked out of the bathroom and found her waiting for me. “Charles, what are you doing after the meeting?” she asked as she pressed me against the wall.

  “I have a personal engagement, and it’s something I don’t want to miss. It’s very important to me,” I said as I moved around her and offered her my arm. “Come on, old friend.”

  I had my plan clear in my mind, and as soon as the meeting was over, I was going to carry it out. I was excited for the first time in my long, fucked-up love life.

  The meeting ended and the girls left. I remained at the table and took out my cell phone. What I wanted and needed was to see Elizabeth, but I still had to keep an element of control.

  I texted the address and said to be there at 8 p.m. sharp, adding that if she didn’t respond, I would be out of her life. Forever.

  Chapter 19

  Elizabeth

  I had woken up and had a rough morning. I had no time to think of Charles and was on a tight schedule. Chip had called, and he was desperate for some help at his office. One of his nurses had called in sick, and the temp agency had no one available. I had hoped for a relaxing day at the beach to just let all my worries flood away from me, yet it wasn’t destined to be.

  “Elizabeth, you have any luck with getting the rent?” Nancy asked as I grabbed my things.

  “Not yet. My dad stopped that ten grand he promised me, and my card has been put on hold. It was all his fault, and he goes and welches on his deal. Fuck, what a two-faced bastard he is,” I said as I picked up my bag and cell.

  I headed to Chip’s office. I would only have to work until two, as his afternoon staff would be arriving then. So I could still grab a couple of hours at the beach later. When I parked at the office, I grabbed my bag from my car. The car was not as good looking as the Jaguar, yet the old classic VW Beetles were such fun to drive.

  I entered the office and found Chip busy trying to man the phones. “Here, let me,” I said as I took the phone from him.

  Chip gave me a thumbs-up sign and went to grab his next patient. I sat behind the counter and answered the phone and did all his filings. This wasn’t what I wanted to do when I finally left college, not for Chip or anyone.

  I hit a quiet spell and continued to think about the past couple of days. I had released all my frustration on my worthless dad, and with a bit of luck, he may just realize what he had done and get his shit together. But I doubted it very much. He’d had a love affair with the bottoms of his bottles for a few years now, so there was no way he would recover that quickly, unfortunately.

  Nancy, my dear Nancy, had been sympathetic when I told my tale of the island, even though I omitted quite a few details. I had no idea what she would call me if I told her everything. After I had brought her up to speed on all that, she had started to give me a hard time. I had said I would cover the rent for three months, and now with my ten grand not showing up, there was no way I could keep my promise. The joys of normal life. I could see why all I’d wanted was to bum around for three months. If I’d done that, I would not have been to the island, I would still have accessible cash on my credit card, and the rent would be paid. And I would have no thoughts of Charles popping up in my head all the time.

  Life sucked balls, big time, and I had done enough sucking over the last couple of days to give that saying justice. I giggled.

  Chip came out of the office and sat down on one of the waiting room chairs.

  “Finally, a chance to sit for a while,” Chip said as he rested his head.

  “Well, you did want your own business!” I said with a chuckle.

  “So then, Lizzy, how was your weekend?” he asked.

  “I don’t really want to talk about it. Let’s just say, in a way you were right, and I should have listened. Yep, that is the main thing, and that is all I want to say about the whole thing,” I said.

  “Okay, Lizzy. No pressure. As long as you know you should have listened to your big brother, that is fine with me,” he replied as he smiled.

  “Well, I better get going. Your other staff members will be here soon, and then you have to start all over again.” I chuckled and grabbed my bag.

  “Thanks for the assistance, Lizzy. It was much appreciated. I’ll know who to call next time,” Chip said as I walked out the door.

  I walked slowly across the parking lot and was just about to reach my car.

  “Hey, Elizabeth, wait up,” I heard from behind me. I turned, and jogging across the car park was Trent.

  “I thought it was you. I recognized the car,” he said as he recovered his breath.

  “How you been doing?” I asked.

  “Not bad. I have a job in the arcade. I’m working in the sports shop.”

  “That’s not that impressive, Trent. Your dad owns the store,” I said with a laugh.

  I had dated Trent for a couple of months earlier in the year. He was an okay guy and pretty decent in bed. I couldn’t really remember why we had split up, but I did remember it was me who had decided that. And it was probably for no reason apart from me being bored, which seemed to be the trend.

  “So, Elizabeth, you fancy grabbing a few drinks later once I get off work?” he asked.

  I was not overly bothered, but it would be a good way to stop thinking about Charles, for a few hours at least.

  “Yep. Why not? It could be good for a few laughs if nothing else,” I said as I grabbed my keys.

  “Cool. I’ll meet you later. Murphy’s Bar on the boulevard,” he said.

  “Okay, then. I’ll see you later. I have to run home anyway and do a few things,” I said as I climbed into my trusty Beetle.

  I looked from the window as I left the parking lot and saw Trent waving before he turned to go back to his dad’s store. I had to go home and take a nap. I’d had a crappy night’s sleep and had just thought about Charles as I’d lain awake in bed, alone.

  I returned home and jumped straight on the bed. I lay there and grabbed my pillow and placed it between my legs for comfort. I tried to sleep, and my body ached from the lack of it, but thoughts of the weekend prevented me from reaching it. I relived all the episodes I had experienced, from Charles pinning me to the wall and telling me he loved to fuck to the last night when he had taken me from behind and filled me with his hot cum, all yummy before we curled up together and fell asleep.

  I tried to figure out what had happened between our last night and the writing of that note in the morning. I had not been a bad girl at all. I may have cursed a few times, but I had done nothing physically wrong. I had been more receptive than I should have been; I could have put up more restraint or not played along with some of his games.

  I decided to ignore it all and forget about it. It would just bring me down, and I would become even more miserable. I closed my eyes, thought about my date later with Trent, and slowly fell into a light sleep.

  I heard a noise and called out. “Charles, is that you?”

  I opened my eyes and realized I had fallen asleep. I was back home. I had just called out his name in my semi-sleep, and I hoped Nancy had not heard me. I swung my legs to the floor and shuffled into the lounge.

  “Was that you calling for your lover boy?” Nancy asked with a smile.

  “I must have been dreaming,” I said.

  “I think you were doing more than that. I popped my head around the door earlier, and you were saying all sorts of stuff,” Nancy said.

  “Shit, it wasn’t embarrassing, was it?” I asked.

  “I think you need to talk about it. It sounded like you have a little bit of something built up inside you that you need to get out of your system,” Nancy said as she sat on the couch.

  “I would love to sit and chat, but it will take too much time to explain everything, and I have a date in a while,” I said.

  “Ah, I see. Something happened, and you are going on a date to forget it, or nothing happened, and you are dying to get someone into bed?” Nancy said, laughing.

/>   “Nancy, you know me too well, but there is more to it than that. I’ll explain it to you one day, but for now I must have a shower and get ready,” I said.

  I stumbled into the bathroom and let the water flood over me in the shower, and again my mind cast itself back to the weekend. I realized today was the first day I had not had any form of sexual interaction. On many days, I just masturbated, but I knew if I did that now, my dream guy would be Charles. It had always been him, and since yesterday it was always going to be him in my dreams.

  I got dressed and said my farewell to Nancy.

  “Have you seen my phone anywhere?” I asked.

  “Nah. I haven’t noticed it anywhere.”

  “I must have left it at Chip’s office when I rushed out the door,” I said.

  Nancy called my number, and we heard nothing, so it must have been at the office. I would just have to go and get it in the morning. I headed down the stairs and crossed the parking lot. The bar was only about a fifteen minutes’ walk. It wasn’t worth taking the car. I felt I could do with the fresh air on the way.

  I slowly walked down the promenade and looked at all the bars serving cocktails and thought of the beach hut on the island and the cocktail bar Charles had built into the sea. He had taken me and pleasured me in the ocean right at the start of our weekend, and I had never experienced anything like it. It seemed everything I looked at reminded me of him, from the bars to the beaches to the boats. God, it was like everything was screaming his name at me, and I had no idea how long this feeling would haunt me.

  I finally reached Murphy’s Bar and could hear the music from outside. This was a traditional Irish bar and was owned by, of course, a Murphy. Or is his first name Murphy? I had forgotten, but it was irrelevant.

  I walked through the door and looked around to see if I could see Trent. I spotted him over by the wall in one of the alcoves. Ah, the alcoves. On a few occasions, I had let my hand slip where it shouldn’t have once the lights had gone down, and that had certainly surprised a few guys.