by Anita Cox
I hated her for making sense. It was completely ruining my pity party.
“Now, is there anything else you want from me before I head out?” She jumped off the floor and dusted off her butt.
I wanted to ask her to stay, to drink with me until I forgot my name. I wanted her mostly to take back everything she said about the place being no more than brick and mortar. But all I could do was nod.
“Okay then, pick your happy ass up off the floor, pack your dishes and breakables. Then relax. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”
Can I kick you and get away with it? “Thanks,” I said.
When the door closed behind Olivia, deafening silence invaded the space. I pushed myself back up to a standing position, plugged my iPhone into the jack and blared dance music as loudly as I could handle while I finished packing up the kitchen.
There was no need to take my coffeemaker with, since John already had one and I was pretty certain Stacy needed just about everything.
That got me to thinking – I didn’t really want to take my furniture either. It just wouldn’t match the décor in my new home. So I taped the last box and swiped my phone off the stand and unplugged the speakers, dialing John’s number.
“Done already?” he chuckled.
“Almost. Olivia is like a crazy person. She damned near had my whole place packed before I got here.” I fiddled with the bottom of my shirt.
“That’s pretty amazing, but you don’t really have a lot of stuff.” John cleared his throat. “You’re sort of utilitarian that way.”
I rolled my eyes. “Where are you?”
“Actually, I’m at the apartment grabbing a few things. Why?”
I took a deep breath. “Feel like furniture shopping?”
“What? Now?” He cleared his throat. While I knew shopping was never a high priority for most men, I expected him to be a little more excited about my effort to make the place my own.
“Is now not a good time?” I tried to fight the scowl, not that he could see it. What happened to the guy who was making every effort to get me excited to move in?
“Sure, uh, give me like twenty minutes.” He hung up before I could answer.
What the hell is wrong with him? Deciding to go figure out what was causing him to act so strange, I snatched my purse off the counter and locked the door behind me.
When I reached his hall, my heart stopped. Slipping out of John’s door was Stacy. She looked guilty as sin and shocked as hell to see me.
“Candy!”
“Stacy. What’s going on?” I crossed my arms and glared at her.
“I, uh, came by to see if you were here.” She gave a half-hearted chuckle and threw her hair over her shoulder.
Lying fucking bitch.
“Forget how to use a phone?” I eyed her, managing, by some super-secret force of nature to maintain my composure.
“I can’t seem to find my phone. I think I ran out of the apartment a little too fast this morning. Your friend, uh, startled me.” She fidgeted, digging through her purse for a mysterious unfound object.
I dialed her number. The ringtone made the color drain from her face.
Manipulative dishonest fucking skank!
“Here,” Olivia yelled from behind me. “I think I took your phone by mistake.”
She walked over and handed it to Stacy.
So I was wrong about the phone. What about my boyfriend?
“It’s funny, John didn’t mention you were here when I called a minute ago,” I barked. My teeth were clenched so tight I could have cracked a tooth.
“I just got here a second ago and…”
Olivia put her hand on my shoulder. “Candy, are you okay?”
My feet sounded like they were covered in concrete blocks as I stomped over to John’s door and flung it open. I nearly hit a woman behind the door.
She was dressed in a business suit, complete with one of those corporate suitcases on wheels, like pilots use. Her dark hair was wound tight in a bun on her head and her crimson red lipstick turned down in a frown as she straightened her glasses.
“Pardon me,” she said, clearing her throat.
“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here? Soon, before my fucking head explodes!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
John stood behind the woman, pulling a shirt over his head.
“You just interrupted my Sunday morning session, ma’am. That’s what happened. Now if you will stop acting like a child, I’m going to grab some food before my next appointment.” She pushed past me and rolled her cart over my toes as she stormed down the hall.
“I…I…I just can’t.” Stacy ran off crying.
I gave Olivia a pleading look for help. Suddenly, I felt betrayed and alone. Someone needed to be in my corner.
“If you’d ask your friend to go on home, we can come inside and talk.” John held the door open.
“No, she isn’t going anywhere! I want answers and I want them now!” I crossed my arms and planted my feet on the floor.
“Olivia, right?” John looked at her.
“That’s right.”
“Olivia, I don’t want to be rude, but this is a personal matter and I’m going to take it inside instead of in the hall.” Without waiting for her to answer, John slung me over his shoulder like a rag doll and carried me into his apartment.
In turn, I screamed, slapped and kicked like a child.
John didn’t miss a beat. He carried me in, making sure not to bang my head on the door jamb, turned and locked the door behind him, before walking over to the couch and gently placing me on the cushions.
“Now, would you calm down and let me speak?” He took a deep breath.
I returned to screaming like a psychopath. “I do not appreciate being slung over your shoulder like you’re some damned caveman. You can’t treat me like this.”
“Candy, calm down!” he yelled.
“Calm down? I see my best friend sneaking out your door. On that note, you didn’t even mention she was here. You’re half naked with some woman in a suit that’s two sizes two small and an ego the size of Texas. You’d better tell me what the hell is going on around here and tell me everything right this minute!” To add to my already large stockpile of infantile moves, I slammed my fist on the couch for good measure.
“Oh my God! I was taking a class with the woman in the suit. Stacy came to observe because she’s thinking of taking the same class. Nothing was going on!”
“What sort of class? How to fuck your girl’s best friend class? Every asshole can do that without lessons.” I jumped from the couch and put my hands on my hips. “Stacy, sneaking out of here, guilty as can be. She looked like a freakin’ deer in headlights when she saw me. A class doesn’t make someone feel guilty.”
“It’s a Dominant/submissive class, Candy. I’d think of anyone on the planet, you’d understand the embarrassment of going to a class like that. Stacy wasn’t caught with me, she was caught learning about her own sexuality and that shit’s a hard pill to swallow!” John fisted his hands in his hair.
“Oh,” I said with my mouth open. “Oh. Oh!” I put my hand over my mouth. “You’re, uh, taking classes to be a sub?” Had I been in an adult cartoon, a bubble would be over my head indicating there was an asshole below.
“Not a submissive,” John said staring at his feet.
“Oh,” I said quietly, reclaiming my seat next to him. He was taking classes to be a Dom. Whoa. “Wait…why?”
John gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Do you really have to ask?”
His question gave me a few moments of contemplation. I had no answer as to why he felt the need to take any class at all. He was a tremendous lover.
“Yeah, I think I do. It’s not like you lack skills in the sex department.”
He looked at me and smiled. “Well that’s really great to hear but there’s more to it than just knowing how to fuck.”
I swallowed hard. “Such as…”
“I h
ave to be able to keep things interesting, Candy. How can a man keep up with this pace? Orgies, swingers parties, clubs, islands…I mean really. What in the hell is left but kink? I can’t run the risk of boring you.”
If I didn’t feel guilty about acting like an ass and insinuating that my boyfriend and my best friend were having an affair, his last spoken words had really done me in.
“That’s completely impossible, John. I don’t need kink or anything else. The parties, that’s like, it’s like…ganache.”
“Say what?” He looked thoroughly confused.
“Say you love cake, right? You have cake with icing and it’s really awesome cake. It’s your favorite flavor, the perfect texture, the right amount of icing. Then someone serves you cake with all that and ganache. The ganache makes it rich and sinful. But you still love cake and if you eat too much ganache, it’ll make you ill. So you don’t. It’s just something you have once in a while. When, you know, you want to indulge just a bit more.”
“Ganache is that thick chocolate stuff, right?” he asked, still confused.
I snickered. “Yes.”
“I get it.” He leaned back on the couch and put his hands on his head before letting out a deep breath.
“I’m sorry for acting like an ass. You must understand what I just saw, how I saw it and everything.” I bit my lip. “Do you forgive me?”
John didn’t say a word. Instead, he slung his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me, kissing the top of my forehead.
“I need to go talk to Stacy. I can’t imagine what she must be thinking.”
“Yes you can,” he said. “But you’re right, you need to go talk to her.” John kissed my temple, squeezing me gently.
After a deep cleansing breath, I left John’s apartment. The walk back to my own seemed to take forever. Perhaps I was dragging my feet. If I was honest with myself, I was ashamed at how horrible I had been.
When I got to my door, I could hear Stacy yelling at someone. I opened the door to see her pacing on her cell phone.
“You fucker! You’ve ruined my life. I hate you!” She threw her cell phone across the apartment. When it hit the wall it broke into several pieces.
“Stacy?” I walked carefully toward her.
“Shit! Now I gotta buy a new phone.” She dropped to the floor and cried in her hands.
I ran over to her and put my arm around her. “Don’t do this. He’s not worth it.”
She looked up at me, mascara running down her cheeks. “I wouldn’t have even been here, with John learning stuff if he…if he…” Stacy went back to crying.
“No, no, no! I’m sorry. I totally misunderstood what was going on. I thought…”
“I know what you thought and what it looked like. I should be happily married and raising babies.” She cried again, this time leaning into my chest.
“I’m sorry, Stacy. I know how bad this sucks. I’ve been right where you are.” I smoothed her hair, trying to comfort her. “The best revenge is to be happy. You’ll eventually find someone who deserves you. Until then, you need to recuperate. You have to lick your wounds and heal before you dive into this crazy shit.”
Stacy wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“I look like shit, don’t I?”
I smiled at her. “Yes you do.”
“You’re a bitch,” she said laughing through the tears.
“I know. Now go take a shower and get your ass back out here.” I kissed her on the cheek before helping her to her feet.
I watched Stacy until the bathroom door closed then plopped on the couch. I thought about my own situation. Maybe I could have gotten on with things sooner if I had moved on, put myself out there and not been so shy. It was Stacy who got me on my feet and I owed it to her to return the favor.
I picked up my cell phone. A great idea was only a perfect one if it came with a plan. I had a plan and I had the perfect accomplice in mind.
Chapter 13
The next morning I left a note for Stacy to meet me at our favorite martini bar when I got off work. I looked around my apartment. In less than 48 hours it would be hers, not mine. Happiness and excitement had replaced the sadness from the previous day. This place was my first step at independence after my divorce. Maybe it would be as good to Stacy as it had been to me.
I sang my heart out during my drive to work. While I couldn’t really carry a tune, I was a hell of a car-diva.
Olivia was at her desk already as usual.
“Good morning!” I plopped a file on her desk. “Bring your coffee.” I didn’t wait for her to reply as I hurried to my desk.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.” Olivia grinned as she sat across from me. She slid a cup of coffee across the desk to me.
“I am. Who knew I could enjoy a Monday?” I kicked off my heels and put my feet up on the desk, reclining with my fresh cup of coffee in clutch.
“So I take it you got over the brick-and-mortar thing? And whatever happened with Hot Stuff?” She winked as she teased me.
“I love the new haircut.” Olivia had cut her black hair really short on the sides. The top was a bit longer and very messy looking, yet very chic at the same time. “Anyway, I got over the apartment. A very wise woman gave me some sage advice about the definition of home. As for John, let’s just say it was the mother of all misunderstandings.”
“Great. Now you can enjoy the next chapter in your life.”
I gave her a brief nod, eager to steer the conversation.
“I have a task for you that definitely falls way outside the normal scope of work. And because I’m your boss, I have to add that if this offends you in any way, you need to tell me so as to avoid any sexual harassment lawsuits and whatnot.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Give me a break. Let’s just call it a favor between friends. We’ve never really done that whole boss thing. Have we?”
I nodded. “I need you to find some property.”
“Okay, well that’s totally not sexual. What kind of property do you want me to find?” Olivia, as usual, had a tablet of paper on her lap and was ready to take notes.
“You won’t need nor want to write this down. Trust me.” I got up from my seat and closed the door, not speaking until I returned to the desk. I leaned in on my elbows this time.
“Oh, this must be good.” Olivia’s eyes widened.
I tried not to grin, but couldn’t help myself. “I need a rather large building, sort of out of the way, but easy to find. It should probably be on at least a few acres. It doesn’t matter what’s inside the building because I’m going to gut it anyway.”
“Crack den?” Olivia snickered.
I shook my head as I laughed. “Swing club. The closest one around is over an hour away.”
“Wow.” Olivia shook her head. “Wow, uh, wow.” She continued to repeat herself.
“Olivia! Snap out of it!”
She looked at me and started to snicker. “Sorry.”
“If you don’t want to…”
“Stop,” she interrupted. “I’m happy to do it. But you do realize I can’t do this here.”
I nodded then picked up my bag and handed it to her. “My laptop and personal WiFi device are in there. Take it wherever you want to go. Don’t come back until you have at least a handful of properties.”
She looked at the bag, then at me. “But what about the office?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been in this job for quite a while. I think I can handle it. Do you think you can find what I’m looking for?”
“Yes, but I don’t need to leave. My sister is a real estate agent. I’ll just go make a call and she’ll find the perfect spot.” She slid the bag back to me.
“Olivia, this has to be strictly confidential. I don’t want…”
She put her hand up. “Not to worry. I’ve got this. I’ll be gone about twenty minutes.”
She didn’t wait for me to say anything else as she went back out to her desk, retrieving her purse and her p
hone.
“Where is she going?”
Great. Eric Dekker, my direct boss, walked into my office. Just when I was having a good day.
“I sent her out on errands. What’s up, Eric?” I turned away from him and faced my computer.
Eric sat in the chair across from me. “I came to speak with you and I’d appreciate a little eye contact.”
Asshole. “Sure. What can I do for you?” I opened my email to let it download while he babbled and then turned my attention to him.
He undid the button of his overpriced jacket and crossed his leg, resting his ankle on the opposite knee. He was making himself comfortable, much to my dismay. This wouldn’t be a quick conversation.
“You’re a valuable resource around here Ms. Kavana, and you should know that we appreciate all you’ve done to make this firm grow. That’s why I came to talk to you personally.”
Oh shit.
“We’ve just finished negotiations and are merging with Takahashi, our Japanese counterpart. This is an integral move for us to break into the global market. Things will be changing around here.”
I squinted at him. “We already touch a global market.”
“Of course, but our clients are American. We want to acquire customers around the world. There’s a huge market out there we haven’t even begun to touch.” He scratched the back of his head.
“I’m not sure why you’re telling me this. I’ve already got more than I can handle alone.” My heart leapt into my chest. I could sense something unpleasant in the air, but couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Ms. Kavana, it’s time that Ms. Bryant steps out on her own. She’s being promoted. You’re going to have to hire a new assistant. We can’t have two of our best assets both focused on the same accounts. That’s a waste of our resources. Besides, she’s paid well enough to have an office of her own.”
There was something about Eric’s face I’d always hated, but the smug look he was giving me right now irritated me even more. I wanted to smack him so hard, he’d spit teeth.
“Well, you’re not going to be happy, but I’ve already tried to talk her into taking on her own accounts. She’s more comfortable being an assistant. You’re just going to have to find more talent.”
