Nonetheless, his desire to see her was increasing along with his frustrations about not being able to do so. He anticipated his schedule would become more manageable once the two new lawyers he hired started working. However, for the time being, he had to manage without her. Unlike their encounter at the conference, this time was different. They were trying to see where their relationship would take them—how they would navigate their lives to make it all work. For the first time in very long time, he was cautiously optimistic, if not downright hopeful.
He rolled out of bed and took a shower with her squarely on his mind. Like so many mornings lately, he awakened with dream remnants of her etched on his brain. The dream was so familiar because it was a mix of memories that conspicuously morphed into visions of their future. Among them was her infectious laugh while toying with him or the sound of her voice as she debated some point of law. And then there was the image of her crawling towards him and lovingly staring at him as she readied herself for his commands.
His heart was aching for her and his body longed to embrace and make love to her. His sexual urges were getting stronger by the day. But he promised himself he wouldn’t reach out to Nikita even though she offered to fill the need for him. He lowered his head letting the water wash over him and taking deep breaths to suppress the desire building within him.
It was of little use and a part of him loathed the fact she had such a hold on him. His mind kept returning to dreams of her. He adjusted the water to a cooler temperature thinking it might ease his building erection. It didn’t work so he firmly gripped his penis, closed his eyes and began stroking it slowly. With each stroke he imagined her on her knees looking up at him taking him into her mouth. Her bright eyes reflecting her love for him as well as her eagerness to please him. It didn’t take long before he had increased the pace of his strokes and found himself ejaculating on the shower wall.
As good as it felt to release, it simply couldn’t compare to her skillful tongue when she lovingly wrapped her soft wet mouth around him. He washed again, stepped out the shower and sat for a moment on the toilet seat. He willingly resigned himself to the fact this was going to be his sex life for a while. He grabbed a towel wrapping it around his waist and went to the kitchen to start coffee.
He glanced at the clock, noting once again he had overslept. He wouldn’t get to the office at seven as planned. He hated being late even if it affected no one else but him. While the coffee brewed, he hurriedly shaved and dressed hoping to make up some of the time. He had the Sorenson House case to deal with and it required a lot of research to lay the framework for his arguments.
One the surface, the case was simply a breach of contract. However, he was representing a health and human services organization against a very wealthy and powerful donor known as much for his business acumen as he was for his generous philanthropy. The donor made a multi-million-dollar pledge to substantially change operations and services for the organization.
After a very public gift announcement, the organization completely restructured itself to meet the challenge over the course of two years. With the donor’s initial payments, the organization entered into contracts, hired new staff, and took out bridge loans to begin construction on new facilities. Within three months of construction, the donor reneged on the gift balance claiming the project had shifted priorities straying too far from the original intent. The effect was devastating not only for the organization, but for the hundreds of clients receiving services.
The case garnered media attention not only because of the famous donor but because The Sorenson House had to cease critical services and halt construction. Michael was certain more attention would be forthcoming if the case actually got before a judge or jury. Even though they were still in the discovery phase, there was keen interest not only in the legal community, but also in the nonprofit and philanthropic communities. It was extremely rare—if not unheard of—for a donor to renege on a ten-figure gift. Usually disputes between parties or changes in a donor’s fortunes were renegotiated quietly. In fact, most nonprofits expected and financially prepared for a certain percentage of pledged gifts to go unpaid. But few organizations could prepare with such a reversal.
He spent hours at home and in the office reviewing documents related to the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of the gift. But there was still so much left to do. He got to the office just shy of eight. He set his bag down, gathered his legal pads and went to the conference room. Plastic hung adjacent to it as painters put finishing touches on offices created by the expansion. The paint fumes were strong, but he had to give Lacy and Jocelyn credit for minimizing the impact of work crews during the build out and renovation.
His first meeting was at eight-thirty with key members of the Sorenson House staff directly connected to the gift. He wanted to interview them again to ensure none had inadvertently promised more than the organization could deliver. Rather than meet with them individually, this time he requested to meet with the group. He hoped they’d spark each other’s memories about events surrounding the gift not found in the documents. He’d meet with key board members later in the afternoon to provide necessary updates and discuss remaining strategies. As it was, he’d already met select board members and its chair when he was first approached to take the case.
As he entered the room, he was pleased to see Ricardo had it set with a light coffee service. The video recording equipment was set up and the stenographer was expected at any minute. With a case like this, he liked having both written and visual records of client interviews. Sometimes the cadence, a pause or other subtle change in a client’s voice could be very revealing. By listening carefully, there was always an opportunity to hear something the written word wouldn’t catch leading to new discoveries aiding the case.
He sat for a moment gathering his thoughts when Lacy came in. Now nearing eight months pregnant, she was finally looking and feeling considerably better than she had in the second trimester.
“You got a minute?” she asked.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Jocelyn’s coming for lunch and I was hoping you’d join us. She has a few minor changes she wants to make.”
“You’ve handled everything so far. Why do you need me for that?” he asked.
“Because she’s ready to do your office. She has a few ideas to spruce it up and you’re the only one who hasn’t met with her to discuss what you want.”
“How much time are you asking for?”
“No more than a half hour.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want a sandwich or salad for lunch? Ricardo is placing the order this morning for delivery.”
“A corned beef sandwich is good.”
“Is that all you want? What about a fruit cup or chips with it?”
“Chips are fine.”
“You need fruit.”
“Yes, dear!” he chuckled.
“One more thing…”
“What?”
“Have you decided who’s going to be your second on this case yet? I’m working on assignments for Tanya and Stephan. They start next week. Since Kevin can’t do it, you said you’d have one of the newbies work on it with you.”
“Who do you recommend?”
“Based on what you’ve said about the case so far, I’d say Stephan. He has more litigation experience than Tanya. She’s great with contracts and negotiation, but Stephan has the courtroom experience.”
“Okay, Stephan it is. I may need them both at some point, though.”
“Understood. Thanks.” She turned to leave when he stopped her.
“How are you feeling?”
“Really good actually. Thanks for asking. We do need to talk about who’s going to run the office when I’m out on Maternity Leave. Your case won’t be resolved by then. I just don’t see how you’ll be able to resume my duties.”
“Later, okay?”
“Don’t put this off, Michael. It’s important.”
“I
know, Lacy. Is there anything else?”
She was right. There was no way he’d be able to manage it all while she was away, but he wasn’t ready to discuss it.
She looked at him with deep concern. “No. I guess not.” Turning to leave she said, “Looks like the management team and stenographer are here. You ready?”
“Yep.” He joined her at the door. “I do appreciate you. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know.” She smiled, patted him on the shoulder and left for her office. “Now make us some more money so I can pay for the renovation!”
After three and a half hours of grueling discussion, he finally finished the interviews. With Sorenson House staff gone, he went back to his office to catch up on calls and get ready for the lunch meeting. He hadn’t seen Jocelyn in a while. Each time she came in to meet with Lacy and the others, he was usually out or meeting with clients. Lacy jokingly suggested he was deliberately avoiding her. That certainly wasn’t the case, but his other commitments took precedence over meeting with an interior designer. At the end of the day, as long as they both stayed within the budget he authorized, everything would work out fine.
The hour between his interviews and Jocelyn’s arrival flew by. It was common for him to focus on his work to the point he’d lose track of time. Ricardo called his line letting him know they were waiting for him in the conference room. Rather than keep the ladies waiting, he went down the hall to meet them. The sooner he got this over with, the better and he could get back to his work.
Jocelyn and Lacy were seated looking over design sketches and fabric swatches. There was also a furniture catalogue marked with lots of sticky notes.
He greeted her warmly with a bright smile, “Hi Jocelyn!”
She stood extending her hand to him rather formally, “Michael. It’s nice to see you again. Thanks for selecting me to work with your team.”
She looked lovely and it didn’t escape him. She wore a chic pair of capris with high heels, silk scarf and a tailored short jacket accentuating her figure. She’d cut her hair since he’d seen her last and it looked as if she had highlighted or dyed it too. It definitely gave her a more youthful appearance.
“I told Lacy you were the best and how much I enjoyed working with you on my condo.”
“It’s nice to have the opportunity to serve you again.” She had an interesting smile letting him know her choice of words was quite deliberate.
He shifted his head ever so slightly and invited her to sit. “I understand you have a few ideas for my office. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet with you before. Honestly, I presumed Lacy would pick something for me.”
“I know better! I don’t want to hear about it if you don’t like what I select.” Lacy turned to Jocelyn adding, “Michael has very particular and refined tastes. He definitely likes things a certain way.”
Jocelyn flashed a little smirk his way and said, “Having worked with him before, I have a pretty good idea what he likes.”
He was a little surprised she was flirting given their last conversation after completing work on his condo.
“Why don’t you have a seat and show me what you have in mind.”
“I’d love to.” She turned her attention to Lacy and said, “Thanks for arranging this meeting. I was beginning to think he was avoiding me.”
“Michael, I’m going to head back to my office to return a few calls. Buzz me when you’re finished then she and I can wrap up. Okay?”
“Sure thing,” he said as she exited. He turned to Jocelyn, “I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve come up with.”
“Well, I have two directions we can go with. I just need to get a sense of how much time you spend in your office and the types of things you do in there.” Once again she displayed a devilish grin.
“Like my home office, I work in there. That’s it.”
“I see. Well, in that case I just need to know if you want to go with the darker woods again, or if you are open to natural oaks or light woods this time.”
He had to chuckle at the innuendo referencing their conversation months before. “Show me options and I might consider it.”
“Take a look at this one.” She opened her portfolio showing him a very contemporary rendering with a fabric sofa and an oak desk. She presented a contrasting ergodynamic chair along with a sample of the window treatments being used in each of the offices.
“Interesting. But I’d prefer to have a leather sofa. Fabric stains too easily.”
“Not if it’s treated. Stains can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.”
“Show me something else,” he said as he leaned back in his chair resting his elbow on the armrest.
She raised her eyebrow and said, “Yes, sir.” She pulled another rendering for him to view.
This continued until he finally said, “Jocelyn, I’ll make this simple for you. I want a contemporary oak desk with a leather sofa in soft Cordoba brown. You can select the chair fabric to work with the window treatments. New shelves would be nice—but I don’t need too many since we’re adding a library with this expansion.”
“Consider it done. Are you sure you don’t want anything else in there? Perhaps for your more…complex tastes?”
Her continuous attempts to toy with him were mildly stimulating. Under any other circumstance he might consider taking her on the adventure she was alluding to. There was something about her definitely appealing. However, he leaned forward and said, “Work is work. Play is play. I don’t usually mix the two, but I admire your persistence.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
He reached for the phone. “We’re done here. She’s all yours, Lacy.” He stood up and walked out the door. “Take care. I’ll contact you if I need you.”
After a tiring day, he was relieved to be getting home at a reasonable hour. He cooked a light meal and relaxed on the sofa catching up on the news and business channels. He must have dozed off because when he glanced at the clock it was a little after ten. He reached for his cell phone to call Janine. After several rings, it was apparent she wasn’t available. He sighed heavily and decided to do a little reading.
It was after eleven when she finally returned his call.
“Hello, Baby” he answered.
“Hi.”
“How are you?”
“Good.” She sounded tired.
“Long day?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I missed your call.”
“Were you out at one of your events?” he asked.
“Dinner, actually.”
“Usually you send me a text if you’re going to be late for our calls,” he said.
“Time got away from me tonight.”
He didn’t want to read too much into her response, but something was off. “Did you have a nice time?”
“Yeah, I did. It was nice to unwind a bit.”
“So you were out with friends?”
She hesitated before saying, “A friend.”
“I see.”
He suspected the “friend” was likely male. Tinges of jealousy were creeping into his thoughts, but he tried to contain them. If he was capable of limiting sex to her, she certainly was capable of the same. But there was no doubt he wanted and needed to see her. “I’ve been going over my schedule. I can come out there in two weeks.”
“That won’t work.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m heading to Charlotte that weekend to see my family for a few days. Then my mom and I are taking a vacation. We’re heading to Switzerland for the jazz festival. She’s always wanted to go.”
“That sounds nice. So when are you coming back?”
“A few weeks later.”
“A few weeks? I don’t understand.”
“We’ll spend ten days there, then she flies back to the States and I head to London for meetings. Then I have to go to Brazil and Chile to do site visits for the foundation.”
“Wow. Okay so you’ll be gone for what? Three or four week
s or so?”
“Yeah. My travel schedule was confirmed today.”
“When are you free for us to get together?”
“I’m still working on that.”
“The idea of only seeing you every few months is hard to deal with.”
“I know it’s frustrating but…this is my life right now.”
“Then you tell me when we can do this,” he said hopeful she’d have a satisfying answer.
“I’m travelling all over the place right now. I’m still trying to get to know clients and board members. It’s fucking exhausting and all this pressure…”
“Me wanting to be with you is putting pressure on you?”
“That’s not what I said at all,” she snapped.
“Okay. So where do we fit in the grand scheme?”
She paused and he could tell she was trying to find the right words. “Be patient…please. I’m doing the best I can. I’m frustrated too. This job gets to be too much sometimes. But most of the time, it’s exciting and I love every minute.”
“I understand. I just want to see you, Baby.”
“I miss you too. But there’s going to be stretches like this. Maybe we can get together when I get back stateside. I might be able to arrange my flight to come through D.C. I’ll see and get back to you about it, okay?”
“I’ll take a look and see what I can block during that time too. But things are going to get insane for me too with this case I’m working on. Plus Lacy’s taking Maternity Leave soon and that’s going to leave me stretched thin.”
“The Sorenson House case?”
“Yep, and it’s big.”
“Oh, okay. Well, good luck with it.”
“Thanks.”
She let out a long yawn, “Oh my goodness! Sorry about that!”
“I was hoping we could play with our remote toy tonight, but you seem tired.”
His Pleasures and Pain (Book II) (Allen Trilogy 2) Page 20