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ALL WORK
& NO PLAY
Shanika Patrice
Copyright © 2013 Steam Books Erotica & Romance
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
“That’s an interesting outfit that you have on.”
Those were the first words Jay said to her. When Paulette heard him speak, she started not to look up because she was certain he was not speaking to her.
Paulette had been seeing Jay in this same building for over two months now. She started working there in August as the head of ticket sales and room rentals; Jay was one of the many donors who often came to the connected offices for weekly meetings. For the first month while being trained and learning the ins and outs of the facilities, Paulette would always speak to Jay—that was just her character. Then there was the fact that she thought that he was hot—how could she not go up to him? He would never speak back first, though.
Or speak at all, come to think of it.
The first time Jay looked at her quickly, avoiding eye contact, Paulette brushed it off as he being shy. The second time Jay ignored her. That following week Paulette came to the conclusion that he just was not into black women. He’s Hispanic, Paulette would later tell her best girlfriend, Vera, at dinner one evening. How is he going to be prejudiced against another minority?
That following week, Paulette made it a point to not even acknowledge him at all; it seemed to have a reverse effect because he started making eye contact as if he expected Paulette to say something to him; she refused.
That is when she asked some of her coworkers for some background information on him. Jay Garza was a 30-something entrepreneur who had started his own organization there in his hometown catering to fellow minorities in developing career opportunities for them. The organization was now 20 years strong and had gained exposure not only in Michigan, but also in 9 other states in the US.
Jay had become a sought-after speaker and consultant promoting the organization and assisting in the beginning of affiliates in major cities. He loved his own community, though, and had decided to stay close, not only for his family but also to help the community grow. Jay had started a scholarship in honor of his mom at the community foundation that was housed within this building that was also the workplace of the beautiful Paulette Harris.
All around a stand-up guy, Paulette thought. So what was his problem?
~
Jay noticed her from the very beginning, but was thrown off by her beauty.
That first day she looked him in the eyes and said hello as he headed into his meeting that afternoon. She seemed very direct and confident, which was a turn on for Jay, but because of his busy schedule it had been quite some time since he had been aroused so suddenly by a woman in passing like this. He was left speechless, so instead he just remained quiet.
When Jay made it to his meeting, he found out that Paulette would be the new rental and sales lead for the part of the building that rented out rooms and galleries for meetings and events. When the meeting ended, Jay was ready to go introduce himself to Paulette when he headed out of the building, but she was nowhere to be found.
The next time he came to the building, Jay was ready to introduce himself to Paulette again, but then he got an unexpected telephone call; he was so distracted by the call he did not notice until seconds later that Paulette had passed him and spoken again; when he realized it Paulette had disappeared around the corner.
“Damn,” Jay had said aloud, forgetting he was still on a call; she must think I’m an asshole, he thought.
And he was right. From that point on he noticed that Paulette did not speak anymore, and he could not blame her. Jay found it to be a little entertaining, though, because he could tell she was trying to avoid him. When Paulette avoided looking at him, he would stare back at her intensely hoping it would make her speak.
~
Paulette contemplated over Jay staring at her at times, obviously interested even though he had barely acknowledged her earlier. Men, she thought to herself—do they know what they want?
This particular evening, Paulette was working the first half hour of a mixer taking place in the main lobby of the gallery that patrons saw first before going upstairs to any of the various meeting rooms that were available. She was looking over the guest list when she heard Jay’s voice, but, again, she just knew he was speaking to someone else. Paulette did look up because she was curious to see whom Jay had the nerve to be checking about their wardrobe—he was indeed speaking to her.
“Excuse me?” Paulette glanced up at him noticing his smile for the first time.
“I was just saying that is an interesting outfit you are wearing. And before you go off on me, I’m just referring to the tights and colorful heels. It’s interesting but I like it.” Jay cleaned up his comment nicely.
“Thank you, I guess,” Paulette responded attempting to politely smile back. She had already written him off as a well-to-do jerk so this exchange was strange to her at first.
“I’ve been meaning to introduce myself to you but every time I’ve seen you I’m so distracted. I want to apologize if I came across as rude. I noticed you stopped speaking to me and started ignoring me.”
“Who, me?” Paulette said quickly, regretting the response and the grin that had escaped. I’m sounding and acting like a schoolgirl lost for words, she thought.
“By the way, I’m Jay—your name is Paulette, right?” he said, extending his hand.
“Yes, that’s right. Nice to officially meet you, Jay,” she said as she stood up and shook his hand.
As Paulette checked out Jay, noticing his tall stature and handsome rugged features, Jay was also checking out Paulette and her beautiful caramel skin, the thickness of her legs, and her curvaceous figure. His admiration did not go unnoticed, either.
I guess I was wrong, Paulette thought to herself, because this man’s demeanor right now was far from prejudiced—she had his complete attention.
~
Shortly after the brief exchange with Jay at the mixer, Paulette headed out with Jay by her side.
His plan had been to come show his support by passing through for a few minutes. He’d wondered if Paulette would be there, and he’d been delighted to see her sitting at the entrance greeting guests.
She looked so sexy, Jay thought to himself. He had to make things right with Paulette and show her he was not the asshole that he was coming across as. His opening line to her about her outfit almost blew it for him too, but he cleaned that up real quick.
After leaving the mixer, Paulette and Jay found themselves strolling down the beautiful streets of the downtown area exchanging stories of their upbringing and how they ended up where they were in their lives at this moment. Jay was impressed to hear that Paulette was a couple of semesters away from her Master’s degree, attending classes two evenings out of the week after she got out of work. With her schedule, no wonder she was single, but there had to be more to it, Jay thought.
“You’re 28 years old, single and without kids—why is that?”
“I hate when men ask me that. It’s either men
or old people who assume something must be wrong that I am single,” Paulette said in a frustrated tone while trying to force a smile on her face.
“I didn’t meant to offend you, I just can’t believe such a beautiful, smart woman who appears to have her shit together is not taken,” Jay said as he looked her in the eyes, hoping that he had not said the wrong thing again in his attempt to get closer to her.
“Thank you, Jay, and I apologize for my tone. It’s just that I get that response so many times. One guy that I met on my last blind date even started an argument with me about this subject. When I told him I had not had children yet because I had not yet met my Mr. Right, it was as if such a thing was unheard of for me to make that choice for myself.”
“Really? Well I think the way you have been doing it is the right way to do it. It’s your choice and your life, anyway. Lucky me that your blind date did not work out.”
As soon as Jay said it, he wondered if he had said too much. When he looked at Paulette her face showed that she was surprised by the comment, but her smile made him think that maybe she was flattered. Even so, he wasn’t expecting her to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Jay asked through some light chuckling, trying to keep his confident appearance up even though he was nervously anticipating her response.
“It’s so funny because I thought you had a thing against black women when you weren’t responding to me and acting all weird. So to hear you sound interested and even flirting…this is just something I was not expecting at all from you,” Paulette explained as she smiled back at Jay.
Paulette was actually nervous as well because she was starting to like Jay. She was impressed with all that he accomplished at such an early age, and how he still managed to stay humble. They were alike in more ways than she ever would have guessed. Jay was also single—his last serious relationship ended over a year ago. Although he did not have any children, he had grown attached to his ex-girlfriend’s two kids. As time passed and he moved on, he only communicated with them via social media and telephone, still supporting them for school fundraisers and such.
“How can I be prejudiced when I’m a minority, too?” Jay asked.
“Same thing I said but come on—some people are prejudiced against their own race at times, so don’t even go there!” Paulette said as Jay nodded his head in agreement and chuckled at how sharp she was.
“Ok true, but not me! You just had me distracted and awkward.” Jay smirked. “It’s your fault, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh, you’re not going to blame that on me, mister!”
They joked back and forth with each other for a few minutes more before Paulette had to surrender and give her feet a rest in those heels. They had been walking and talking for almost an hour already.
Before they parted ways, Jay asked if they could exchange phone numbers. Paulette gladly agreed and Jay suggested they check out a performance at the symphony that upcoming weekend.
Paulette had never been to a symphony performance before, so Jay thought that would make a great first date. Although it’d be a new experience, it was one that Paulette was open to, especially while accompanying Jay.
He was the perfect gentleman, walking Paulette to her car and making sure it was started and that she had taken off before he headed to his own car.
Jay only lived minutes away from downtown and most days could walk from his condo to the downtown area without breaking a sweat. He could not take his mind off of Paulette as he drove the short distance home, and he was trying to decide if he should anxiously call her that night like he wanted to or wait until the next day.
~
Paulette, on the other hand, had made up her mind that she was going to let him initiate the first phone call since he asked for her number first. She was hoping that he would call her that night because Paulette liked Jay already and she was excited about the possibility of a date with him the weekend.
She immediately called up Vera to tell her of the change of events that had taken place that night.
Vera sounded pleased. “Well it is about time, girl, because it's time for you to get the dust knocked off…”
“Wait, hold up,” Paulette interrupted Vera before she started encouraging her to pursue sexual escapades, something Vera always talked about. “It’s too early for that, Vera. Let’s see if he even calls first.”
“Oh, he’ll be calling. I’m sure of it. And when you get a piece, I can’t wait to hear all the details,” Vera said as she turned the conversation back to her favorite subject.
Paulette and Vera had met many years back when they were high school age but they hung in different circles at that time. A few years back, though, they ended up at the same bridal shower for a mutual friend. They remembered each other from attending the same school. After conversing at the shower, and then connecting online, they became fast friends and started hanging out.
Vera was always trying to encourage Paulette to take some time from her busy schedule to date more. Sure, she wanted Paulette to find her Mr. Right, but Vera was not against a “Mr. Right Now” until the right one came along. Vera was thrilled to hear the update on Jay because she knew from the first mention of him that Paulette must have been attracted to him. Things were starting to look up for her friend’s love life, and she could not wait to hear what was in store.
~
It was a month later and things with Paulette and Jay had progressed quickly. Jay ended up calling Paulette that following day after their downtown stroll and conversation. Jay was strong that first night and did not give in to calling Paulette, but he had to hear her voice that next day. The rest of the week was spent having late night conversations with both of them having to wake early the next day to work.
Although Paulette was going into work on little amounts of sleep, the high she was feeling from this thing with Jay had her feeling on top of the world. People seemed to notice this light in her too; those around Jay also noticed.
Their first date at the symphony was a night that both would always remember. Jay picked Paulette up from her apartment complex on the other end of town that Saturday afternoon. They drove to the performance taking place about 30 minutes away, starting the date with dinner at a restaurant near the performance center.
They had made an attractive couple, both dressed fitting the occasion: Paulette in a sexy black cocktail dress that she found in the back of her closet waiting for another occasion to be worn; Jay in one of his custom made suits with light pinstripes and mint green accents. Paulette already saw how good he looked in business wear, but imagined that he may have looked just as handsome in casual, everyday clothing. She was hoping that she would have the opportunity to see after they made it through this first date. She had no reason to worry because their first date night was awesome.
Paulette was now a fan of the symphony, as well as her introduction to tapas cuisine. Jay started their relationship showing her new things and new sides to herself, and now a month later she was excited about what more was to come.
Each weekend on from that first date was spent on exploring something that was a favorite activity or hangout for each of them, giving each a dose of the other’s world. Jay even went to Sunday morning church service with Paulette in that first month, followed by dinner at Paulette’s childhood home. The Harris’ loved their daughter’s new beau and silently hoped that this relationship had some potential. It was not often that Paulette brought anyone home, so this looked promising.
Paulette had met Jay’s younger sister when she had arrived to Jay’s home for a home-cooked meal he had planned one Friday evening after Paulette got off of work. His sister, Lydia, had graciously helped out her brother with the meal and had not left fast enough, giving Jay the chance to take all of the credit. Lydia had heard so much about Paulette from the very beginning, and from those first few minutes Lydia knew Paulette would be good for her brother; the two women hit it off immediately and were getting along perfectly before Jay rushed his sister
out the house so his date could begin.
That was the third week and both were trying to hold their sexual tension back. Jay had been involved sexually with someone since his relationship had ended, but it was nothing but a booty call—they probably hooked up about every couple of months. Rosie was actually an ex-girlfriend from his teenage years that grew up with him in his hood. Their lives took different directions, with her wanting to live the fast life and chase after the things that were not so good for her. Once they connected as adults the only thing that seemed to work for them was their sexual chemistry.
It had been over two months since he had heard from Rosie, and she happened to call him just days before he had gotten up the nerve to officially introduce himself to Paulette. As a matter of fact, one of those incidents early on in which he’d unwittingly ignored Paulette was because he was distracted on the phone with Rosie. That was the last time he had sex—after he agreed to meet up with Rosie at her place that evening.
Jay remembered how that night went:
In usual fashion, Rosie had opened the door in nothing but her short, burgundy satin robe that was already half open and easily accessible: the better to get this session started fast and over with just as quickly. It was not the least bit romantic, but it fulfilled their needs and held them over until the next time.
As soon as the door shut behind Jay, Rosie opened her robe and let it fall to the floor. She stood in the middle of her small living room, nude, with her bronzed skin shining from the oils she usually rubbed herself in each time they were together.
Jay was turned on by Rosie’s thick but fit dancer-like figure, and usually she had his full attention. That night was different though; each stroke Rosie gave his dick while he lay on the couch, he imagined it was Paulette’s hand pleasing him; each suck and in-and-out motion Rosie used to suck his dick, Jay imagined it was Paulette’s lips and tongue tasting him; when Rosie got on top of him and eased her hairless, wet pussy down on his long, thick dick and rode him like a cowgirl, Jay imagined it was Paulette.
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