by Katie Dowe
“You don’t get to speak to me like that.”
Alyssa sighed. “I'm sorry Brian but I'm leaving. Life is too short for us to be living like this.”
“You're my wife,” he repeated stupidly. “I'll go out tomorrow and try and get another job. I think they're hiring at the Floral Palace. I happen to know the manager and I think I can get something there until things pick up with my business.” He leaned forward as if trying to convince her.
“It’s too late,” she said with a tinge of regret in her voice. “I'm sorry.”
“It’s not too late.” The desperation was ripe in his voice. “We can try and make this work.”
“I'm in love with someone else,” she told him slowly.
He stared at her as if she'd gone crazy. “No,” he muttered.
“Yes. And he wants to marry me.”
“Too damn bad you're married to me.” He'd gotten to his feet and she backed away.
“I'm carrying his child,” she blurted out. This time the shock was frozen on his face as he stared at her.
“You bitch!” he screamed at her as he lurched towards her. She fled and left him standing there frozen with shock.
Chapter 5
“I'm sorry to drag you all the way out here but I didn't know what else to do,” he told her with a heartbreakingly sad look on his face. He'd called her in panic and had sounded as if he'd been drinking.
“I might be fired because you dragged me out of a meeting with my boss, but what are sisters for?” she asked with a tinge of dryness in her tone.
“She left me and she's carrying that man’s baby. I'm going to kill all of them!”
“No, you're not,” she told him firmly. “You're going to let it go and pull yourself together.”
“Have you ever been married?” he asked her heatedly. They were sitting outside on the porch and the wind had picked up slightly, causing the temperature to drop.
“No, but I'm smart enough to know that your marriage wasn't working for a long time.”
“You're taking her side,” he accused her.
“I'm taking your side,” she told him. “You two do not belong together. I have no doubt that you'll find someone else and get on with your life. You need to do something with your life Brian. You've been sitting here letting life slip by you and you need to do something about it.”
“In other words you're saying that I'm not a man,” he said resentfully.
“I'm not saying that,” she told him patiently, privately thinking that Alyssa had done the right thing. “I'm just saying that things need to change with you.”
“How could she do this to me?” he wondered bitterly, and Sydney had a feeling that what she'd just said had gone through one ear and out the other.
“You want to come back to my apartment?” Sydney said it out of obligation and prayed that he would say no.
“No,” he said decisively. “I need to be a man and not let my little sister pick up the pieces for me. Did she ever love me?”
Sydney turned to look at him. He looked so sad and dejected that her heart went out to him. He'd told her that Alyssa had run and left everything behind. “I think she did but life got to her, to both of you.”
“I told her that I would get work at the Floral Palace until things picked up but she didn't listen. She's gone Syd.” To her horror she saw the big fat tears rolling down his cheeks and she wanted to take him in her arms. He was her brother after all.
She reached out and held his hands tightly in hers and sat there for a long time while his shoulders heaved with sobs. She waited until he was spent before she followed him into the kitchen and made him something to eat. He looked so defeated and hopeless that she was tempted to stay the night with him. But the place was so depressing and run down that she just wanted to go to her apartment, take a long hot bath and try and get some sleep. So after a while she left, assuring him that she would call and check up on him.
“It’s going to be okay Bri,” she told him quietly. She sat in her car for a little bit before she drove off, fighting the tears that she had kept at bay.
*****
She was climbing out of the bath when her phone rang. At first she thought it was Brian but frowned at the strange number. “Hello?”
“Ms. Manchester?” his deep voice caused goose pimples on her damp skin.
“Mr. Gessner?”
“Is everything okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You ran out of here saying something about your brother. Is he okay?”
“Oh,” she responded, startled that he would call and ask her about that. “He has some domestic problems but he's dealing with it.”
“I see.”
“Are you still at the bank?” She glanced at the clock and saw that it was after eight.
“No, I'm actually home.” He paused and Sydney waited for him to continue. “Well goodnight, see you on Monday.” He hung up before she could respond. Sydney removed the phone from her ear and sat on the edge of the bed with the towel wrapped around her. He'd called to make sure everything was okay. So maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
*****
Julian wandered around his bedroom restlessly. He'd taken a shower and had poured himself a glass of wine. He'd brought work home with him and had found it hard to concentrate. He'd been thinking of flying over to the Elite Club in the morning to see what they had to offer. He had become a member automatically through his father and whenever he was in the US he would stop by there whether to greet friends and stay for drinks and dinner or to play a round of two of golf and their famous card games. He wasn't one for much partying and socializing but it was required of him. When his mother had been a part of society she'd made the rounds as the dutiful wife hanging on the arm of her husband, always with a smile on her beautiful face. He drank the Cabernet moodily as he stood looking out the window. He'd hired a landscaper who had done wonders to the grounds and a gardener who kept the place looking beautiful. A housekeeper came by every other day to clean up and cook but most times he had meetings at restaurants so the food would pile up in the refrigerator. He was restless and concerned and he was thinking too much of a certain employee.
*****
“Your brother is on the line Sydney,” Greta’s soft voice came over the intercom as they were about to start the discussions about changing the terms of the loans payment made to customers. It had been two weeks since Alyssa had left him and instead of getting better he was getting worse. She had no idea how long she could keep carrying him. He kept interrupting her meetings and causing her to rush out to make sure he was okay.
She squirmed a little as Julian looked over at her, his grey-green eyes like flint. “I'm so sorry. I'll take it in my office Greta. I'll be right back,” she told the three men gathered inside the room.
She hurried into her office and closed the door before going over to pick up the call. “What is it this time, Brian?” her voice sounded weary and a little tart.
“Am I being a bother?” he sounded woefully sad and her heart melted.
“No, but I have work and you keep interrupting me. The bank is going through a transition and we're very busy here. I need to prove myself. What’s up?”
“I was going through her things and saw the bracelet I got her for our first anniversary. She didn't even want it and it’s real diamonds. I guess the man she threw me out for can give her more than these small stones.”
“Brian you cannot keep doing this.” Sydney closed her eyes briefly as she sat on the edge of the desk. She felt as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. The transition was taking longer than expected and in spite of the number of advertisements going out and reassuring the public that Midwest Bank was still in business and better than before, things were taking time to settle. She was also getting calls from her brother every minute of the day, because he wanted reassurances that he was still a man. “Alyssa is gone, you're going to have to accept that.”
“Could you com
e over later?” he asked her plaintively.
“I'm going to be working late,” she told him. “How's the job going?”
“I haven't been in for two days. I'm not doing well.”
“That’s because you've been drinking!” Sydney said in exasperation. “Brian, I thought you said the work was okay and you liked it.”
“I'm trying but it’s so hard. I'm not as strong as you are and my wife left me for another man and is carrying his child. I feel as if i have lost the will to live.”
Sydney hunched her shoulders and wished she could tell him to stop calling her and get a grip. “I'm sorry Brian. Look, how about I come over tomorrow night and stay? I could leave from there and come to work. It would be like old times.”
“Thank you sis. I'm sorry to do this to you but you're the only one I've got.”
“It’s okay. I have to go.” She hung up from him and sat there with her eyes closed. She felt the tears gathering inside her closed lids and willed them away. Even though he was the one who caused it on himself she felt sorry for him. She couldn't imagine what he was going through.
“Is everything okay?” Julian’s deep voice at the doorway caused her to jump. She hadn't heard the door open. Her eyes fluttered open and he saw the sheen there.
“Yes, everything's fine.” She got to her feet and straightened her shoulders. “Is the meeting over?”
“Yes, we had to continue without you.” His grey-green eyes searched face before asking, “Are you going to be having more of these personal calls?”
She bristled. “Do you have a family Julian?” he'd asked her to call him Julian several weeks ago. It still felt strange.
“A mother and a sister.”
She looked at him in surprise. There was never a mention of a sister when she read up on him. “You have a sister?”
He inclined his head as he stepped into the room. “I do. It’s not something people know about so I would appreciate it being kept in confidence.”
“Why?”
His brows rose as he looked at her. “You don’t need to know why, Sydney.”
“You're right. It’s your concern that you don’t want people knowing about your sister. Is she an ogre?”
His lips tilted in a slight smile. “Far from it.”
She lifted her chin. “My brother is going through some issues now and I have to be there for him.”
“Does he appreciate you being a crutch?”
Sydney bristled and a sharp retort sprang to her lips but she reigned it in. “I'm not being a crutch.”
“If you say so,” his expression cooled. “We have things to do Sydney, and it means staying in meetings and giving your input. I will not tolerate you running out every time to attend to a personal matter. I'm sure that others have things going on as well. I gave you the management position because I was impressed by your performance. Don’t let me regret it.”
Icy anger tunneled through her and sparkled in her dark brown eyes but she remained calm and lifted her chin. “It won’t happen again.”
“Good,” his look was ironic as he stared at her. “Let’s get to work.”
*****
He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her as she sat with her head bent over her laptop. It was almost eight and the rest of the staff had gone home but she was still there. He'd watched her the rest of the afternoon and realized that there was a tenseness around her that was probably due to the problems she had at home. But she was determined to make it and do her job and he admired her grit and everything else about her. She must have sensed his presence because she looked up suddenly. “Don’t worry I'm not taking any personal calls,” she told him caustically.
He stood fully and entered the room. “I should hope not.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark blue dress pants and stood in front of her desk. “Hungry?”
“Why?’
“It’s a simple question, Sydney.”
She shook her head. “I think I am. I ate a sandwich for lunch and that was it.”
“I ordered us Chinese.”
Her tapered brows lifted. “You just assumed I like Chinese?”
“Who doesn’t?” he shrugged a little carelessly and half sat on the edge of the desk. “So, do you?”
“Do I what?” she asked like she was a bit dazed.
“Like Chinese?”
She nodded.
“So why did you say what you did? Are you always in the habit of objecting?” His voice had dipped and the atmosphere around them had changed drastically. She felt the sudden cloying heat invading every cell in her body and sat there staring helplessly as he came around to her side.
“Stop,” she whispered. She was vulnerable because of her brother and the pressure to prove herself more capable than Marco Purcell, that was what this was. He pulled her out of the chair and Sydney braced her hands against his chest. His eyes wandered over her face and to her parted lips. She'd chewed off her lipstick a long time ago and her lips were bare. Tendrils of hair from the neat bun at the back of her neck hung around her face. Julian knew he should let her go and apologize to her but somehow he couldn't. His body had a will of its own.
He bent his head and she arched her long neck automatically, quivering as his lips feathered along the soft skin. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and her breath hitched inside her throat. He's your boss, a voice screamed inside her head. But the rushing tide of desire blocked out everything except his mouth on her skin. He lifted his head and she was startled at the transformation in his eyes. They were more green than grey. His head descended and she met his lips halfway. It had been so long! She moaned as his lips touched hers. She parted them eagerly, not thinking of the consequences, nothing mattered but this moment between them. His tongue dipped inside her mouth and bells went off along with smoke curling into the pit of her stomach. Her tongue tasted his with a hunger that took their breaths away.
Julian felt the gut punch of desire in the lower part of his body and hauled her closer to him, his arms like steel bands around her waist. He deepened the kiss, his tongue battling with hers furiously as the passion overrode the common sense that had always been his trademark. Sydney’s arms came up and around his neck, holding on as her body trembled against his. She wanted this, no she needed this and didn't want him to stop. It had been so long and this was amazing.
“Please,” she mumbled inside his mouth. He knew what she was asking for because it was exactly what he needed as well. He lifted her against him and she felt the heaviness of his erection against the skirt she was wearing. He fisted his hand in her hair and held her fast as he devoured her mouth with a passion that threatened to ignite them and overwhelm them with its intensity. He put her onto the desk and opened her legs. He lifted her up and took off her stockings and panties along with her shoes. His hands wandered up her bare legs as his lips continued to drive her into frenzy. She jumped and her head fell back as he touched her warm sex. She opened wide for him, not feeling the usual shyness of being with a man. She wasn't a virgin but could almost be considered one as the only sexual experience she'd had before was nothing to write home about and it had been so long ago. His fingers eased in as if he knew that there would be barriers. She cried out sharply and pulled her mouth from his, her breathing raspy and ragged. His fingers went in deep, seeking and touching the core of her.
Sydney reared up at the pleasure he was giving her. He started thrusting into her and further sent her into a spasm of out of control desire as he started tonguing her hard nipple through her thin blouse. Sydney clung to him, her movements feverish. It was getting to her; there was a fever inside her brain that was making her delirious. He pulled out and she almost tore him apart but he was fumbling to release his straining erection.
He stood there looking at her, his hard, handsome face intense with passion, his eyes heavy. She braced against the desk with her elbows, her legs open as she stared at him. They hadn't spoken a word but words would have been too insignificant for wh
at was happening between them. He came forward and entered her slowly. Neither of them thought about protection, this had been too sudden, they hadn't bargained for this but nothing could stop the tidal wave that was overtaking them.
She lifted her feet as he entered her and fell back against the desk, moaning as he filled her and went in deep. He stopped and stared down at her. She cried out as he ripped at her blouse and sent buttons flying. He popped her lace bra and latched his mouth onto her nipple, his tongue swirling around the hardened bud. She couldn't think, only feel as every sensitive area in her body came to life. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on for dear life as he moved inside her, increasing the speed as she moved with him.
Julian uttered a guttural sound deep in his throat in a language she suspected was his mother tongue. Her vision was hazy and her body felt as if it had floated away from her. She couldn't feel anything except the mad passion raging through her body. She didn't want him to stop. Please God, don’t make him stop! She dug her short nails into his shoulder as her tightness wrapped around him like a glove.
Julian felt as if he was drowning and he couldn't come up for air. Sex had always been casual for him, a meeting of bodies and nothing else but this was so much different that it was sending him into a tailspin! His heart thundered inside his chest and his body was hot to the touch. He eased out of her a little but she clung to him and wouldn't let him get out too far. He wanted to regain a little bit of control but she wasn't letting him. He heard when her breathing changed and her body stiffened and knew she was near. He felt the tightening of his testicles and knew he was about to erupt.
She lifted her head and looked at him, her dark brown eyes bright and feverish. He lifted his head and took her lips with his, crushing the softness of hers. She cried out as the orgasm tore through her body, causing her to reach up and clasp his thick hair in her fingers as she shuddered from the tide tunneling through her body. He shuddered against her as his orgasm took over and his control snapped. He bit down on her lip and sucked the bottom one between his teeth.
