Best Served Cold

by Sandy Lynn

  Dressed in an incredibly low-cut top and pair of skin tight jeans that accentuated the aches and helped her continue to feel Demetri’s claim on her body, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

  As she headed for the elevator, she noticed that someone had picked up the clothes she’d dropped along the hallway. The desire to blush and be embarrassed rose up inside her, but was quickly stomped down. She refused to feel that way. She wasn’t embarrassed about anything she’d done with him. And damn it, she wouldn’t allow any false sense of morality or decorum to make her feel guilty.

  Last night had been about primitive urges. That deep-down need that most people were content to bury and pretend didn’t exist. Fuck anyone who couldn’t understand that.

  She headed to her car with a sense of purpose. She drove to work, her mind whirling with so many thoughts that before she realized it she had pulled into her parking space. She headed for the office and, when she stepped through the door was greeted by Tina sitting behind the desk.

  “Ms. Pope is expecting you,” Tina said as soon as she’d opened the door.

  Stacy smiled. She wasn’t surprised.

  Walking through the door, she felt completely calm as she strode through the hallway. She wasn’t even surprised when she found her boss’s door open for her.

  “Come in,” Ms. Pope said from behind the desk. “And please close the door behind you.”

  Stacy did as she was told, then sat down in her usual chair. For a few moments, she simply sat there, staring at her boss.

  Neither woman seemed to mind the silence. Nor did they act as though they had anything else that needed to be done. It was almost as though time stood still. And Stacy was okay with that. There was no frustration, no anger or annoyance that her boss already knew what she would say, only this moment of complete acceptance.

  “You seem much calmer. Now, I need you to take a deep breath, don’t punch Marix again, and go help him with a torture. That nurse you find so distasteful has crossed the line. She’s in there, and your presence is needed.”

  Stacy didn’t say anything, just nodded her head. This certainly wasn’t what she’d expected when left Demetri behind in her bed.

  “And Stacy,” Ms. Pope waited until she looked back from the door. “When you are one of the ones doing the torture, you are allowed to just enter the room. They are expecting you, and you will not be...corrected for it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She followed the familiar route to Marix’s lair. She briefly wondered where they had put the poor woman who had been there previously but shrugged. It wasn’t her business.

  Despite her permission not to knock, out of habit, she did. She smiled when Marix answered with a black eye.

  “She’s strapped in now. We were waiting for you before we started doing the heavier stuff.”

  Stacy approached the woman, naked and strapped to various tables. Inside she felt that same burst of little glee that she could do anything to this woman that she wanted. No one would bat an eyelash if she made the woman perform oral sex on her, tasting whatever was left of Demetri’s cum still inside her. She could pick up one of the tools placed helpfully nearby. They ranged from so sharp you couldn’t even feel the nerves being severed until the blood pooled around them, to so dull it made a butter knife seem severe. She could stitch the foul bitch’s mouth shut for saying such horrible things.

  The nurse’s eyes shot daggers at Stacy, her expression growing more furious with every step that brought them closer.

  Stacy allowed her hand to caress some of the tools, all things provided because no one knew yet what her brand of torture would be. But before she picked one up, she looked at the woman, naked and trembling with rage as much as the restraints would allow.

  “I don’t need these,” Stacy said. She closed the distance between them. “I thought I wanted to come in here and torture you. For the way you treated me when you had all the power. I wanted you to feel just how insignificant, how low, how inconsequential and dirty you made me feel. I wanted to pay you back for all that and more. I was going to make you pay for everything anyone has ever done wrong to me. But I don’t need tools for that.”

  She walked around the table to the woman’s other side.

  “I could do that to you with words, but I won’t do that either. I don’t know what you did to get here, and I don’t care. Because those were choices that you made. Quite honestly, the only power you have to make me feel wrong is the power I give you. And there are people I have met who deserve that power so much more than you do. And they don’t ask for it. They don’t want it. And I don’t want this.”

  She returned to the tray and pushed it aside.

  “I know you can smell Demetri on me. I know that you know he was inside of me last night. And I don’t care. Because he was with me because he wanted to be, not to punish you. And I was with him for the same reason. I don’t need to do anything to you. Because I’m happy. I know that we care about each other. And though thoughts of making you suffer may once have put a smile on my face, now thoughts of him have replaced that. Thoughts of my best friend are more important. Thoughts of my new family... all of that is more important than you. And while I may not know the full significance of this bite,” she fingered the mark that was somehow still visible. “I know it is significant. And that when this is over, if you go back to your job, you will have to see me when I come in. And you will see this. And you will remember, every single time, that I am happy and you have no power over me.”

  Stacy walked away. Marix was staring at her as though she’d grown a second head. Maybe that was possible, but she didn’t really think it had happened.

  Instead of returning to the office, she found herself outside of Ms. Pope’s office.

  “Come in,” was called out before she could even knock, and that put a small smile on her face.

  “You’ve decided,” Ms. Pope said. It wasn’t a question.

  “I have.” Stacy stood there for a moment, enjoying the calm feeling inside of her that came with finally knowing what she wanted. And of complete understanding about what Ms. Pope had meant about saying something aloud, despite the fact that what she had to say was already known.

  Another moment of silence passed. “Since I’ve begun working here, my life has changed in ways I never could have anticipated. I’ve seen and felt things I never before would have believed possible. My eyes were opened to just how much of a lie I was living.”

  Ms. Pope nodded, but did not interrupt.

  “I don’t know what I feel for Demetri. But I know it scares me and excites me at the same time. I don’t have a name for this feeling, because I’ve never felt anything like it before in my life. It makes every other emotion I’ve ever felt pale in comparison. I’m tempted to call it love, but it feels so much stronger, deeper than anything that word implies. I have obligations to this company, to you, and to myself. I will honor them, and pray that Demetri meant what he said about understanding.”

  “He did,” Ms. Pope interrupted.

  “I hope so. With all my heart and soul, I truly hope so.” She took a deep breath to brace herself for what came next and allowed the silence to stretch out for a moment as she attempted to organize her thoughts.

  “Feeling whatever I do for Demetri...it takes up so much space inside me that there is no room for other things. Other emotions, like hatred. And I just figured that out with that nurse. Which I think was what you were hoping would happen. If so, thank you for helping me to realize this.

  “In a way, I feel I should be grateful, should thank my ex for what happened between us. Because essentially it’s thanks to him that I have everything that I now have. Because of him, and this company, I have a best friend. I have freedom and independence. I have a chance for happiness. And I have a boss who is more understanding and tolerant than I could ever have hoped for.”

  Ms. Pope smiled. The other woman could easily see into her mind, and
knew the compliment was sincere and not an attempt to suck up to her.

  “Of course she can also be annoying and completely frustrating.” Ms. Pope’s eyebrow lifted slightly, but she didn’t interrupt. “But I’m kind of thankful for that too. Because then I know it’s not all just some dream I’m going to wake up from.

  “So, embracing my new life, this rebirth that I have been granted means I need to finish burying my old life. I know what I want as my revenge, though now I’m not certain I need revenge when I think of everything I’ve gained from my ex being such an asshole.” Stacy took another deep breath. It was time to let the past go and move forward in her new life, wherever that would take her. “My revenge is that I want my ex to have exactly what he wants. He wants the woman he’s with now, Amanda, so I want him to have her and everything he thinks he wants with her.”

  “Done,” Ms. Pope smiled.

  Stacy nodded once and stood up. Before she could open the door, her boss spoke.

  “You have never ceased to amaze me. Despite the fact that I know what is going on inside your head at times, I am constantly surprised. Not many humans would have done what you did. It makes me wonder what adventures we will have together in the future. How else you will surprise me. And it almost makes up for the migraines...”

  Stacy turned to look at the woman sitting behind the desk. Ms. Pope was smiling, she was teasing her. “Almost.”

  “Thank you...”

  The other woman waved her hand. “Enough of this. Please speak to Tina, she has much to fill you in on.” She looked down at her desk and began to write.

  Dismissed, Stacy exited the office. When she entered the sitting area, Tina was waiting for her.

  “It’s done?”

  She nodded. “Do you know?”

  “Yes. I’ve known for a while...”

  Stacy thought about this. A few days ago the thought would’ve bothered her much more than she’d cared to have admitted. But now, she accepted it. It was simply a part of the world she now lived in.

  As she looked at her friend, sadness filled her. A few more days—if even that—and the other woman would be finished training her. Would they remain friends when they no longer worked together?

  “Could you file this for me?” Tina handed her a file.

  Stacy nodded and accepted it. She walked over to the filing cabinet and froze when she saw Tina’s name on it. Opening the folder, she saw that it was a contract.

  “What...”

  “I renegotiated my contract. I’m not sure I’m ready to leave all this behind after all.”

  Stacy stared at her. The curiosity of what Tina had received was eating her alive, but she struggled to keep herself from asking. It was really none of her business.

  She filed the folder in the appropriate spot and sat down behind the desk. She began to fiddle with various objects sitting in front of her in an attempt to distract herself from the question burning inside of her.

  Tina laughed. “Wow, you really won’t ask. That’s okay. I’ll tell you anyway. I wanted this bitch to pop out several children, get fat and become an annoying nag to her husband.”

  “Why?” Stacy was completely confused.

  “Well, you see, there’s this jerk who hurt my best friend. And all she wanted was for him to get what he thinks he wants. So, I’m just making sure he stays trapped in the situation and realizes just how big of a mistake he made.”

  Tears filled Stacy’s eyes. Words couldn’t express how she felt at the moment, so she didn’t try to speak. Instead, she just got up and hugged her friend as tight as she could, happy to feel her embrace returned.

  * * * * * *

  Demetri entered the office as Stacy typed and laughed with Tina.

  “I was told I’m finally allowed to come back into the office.” His tone was sulky. “I’m here on official business. As your lawyer,” he added as an afterthought.

  “I’ll go be useful somewhere else,” Tina said, then quickly left the room.

  When she was gone, Demetri continued. “Your ex has agreed to all of our terms. He wants this to happen as smoothly and quickly as possible. He said he plans on marrying his girlfriend and just wants this over with.”

  “Okay.”

  Stacy signed the papers he handed her. When she tried to give them back to him, she saw him staring at her, frowning.

  “You were gone when I woke up,” he complained, making no move to accept the paperwork. “And then I was told I couldn’t come here to see you.”

  “I had something to take care of.” Stacy looked into his eyes. “That’ll happen, you know. Sometimes you’ll wake up and I won’t be there. And I’m sure there will be times that I wake up and you’ve had to leave to take care of things. It’s something we both have to accept if we...” Her voice trailed off. It was the closest she could come to telling him what she wanted. At least, for now.

  Demetri was behind the desk and yanking her up to him before she could move. He kissed her hard, his tongue thrusting deep into her mouth as he tried to hold her so close they became one person.

  “I love that you’re finally showing off my marks,” he said when the kiss ended. His hands had begun to wander lower, caressing her through her clothes as he kissed her again.

  “Not in the office,” Ms. Pope’s voice came from the speaker. “Good grief, if you two are gonna act like a couple of animals in heat, do so somewhere else.”

  Demetri and Stacy laughed. She hit the button and replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Taking her hand in his, Demetri pulled her from behind the desk and toward the door.

  She would definitely be sending her ex a wedding gift and a thank-you card for all that he had given her. He may have been trying to ruin her life, or maybe he was just so self-centered that he hadn’t considered how his actions would affect her. But either way, because of him so many doors were now open to her. And she felt truly alive and happy and cherished, for the first time in her life.

  Well, thanks to him and that small white business card the stranger at the bar had given her.

  Sandy Lynn

  With a love for the quirky and different, Sandy Lynn tries to bring her own sense of humor and style to writing. She loves putting her own twist on old stories.

  With a love of Contemporary and Paranormal Romances, she writes books that she enjoys reading.