by David Manoa
“Nothing…”
She held my tie and straightened it, adjusting the knot, folding the collar of the shirt over it. I noticed her nails were painted the same colour as her dress. I could smell the perfume that was infused into her dress. I held my chin up to make it easier for her. “Where’s your glasses?”
“You said it was a dinner date.”
“I’m sure I said business afterwards.”
“I must have missed it...” she chuckled.
She walked over to grab my waistcoat and Jacket and I couldn’t help looking at her from behind.
“I heard what you said... What were you thinking about.”
Emily turned around and handed me the waistcoat which I put on and then the jacket. She stood there and admired.
“Oh, I forgot to call a taxi!” I said.
“It’s already on its way, about ten minutes.”
“Thanks, Emily, I can’t think without you now.” I laughed.
We walked out into the entrance way and waited. The light giving Emily's dress another shade of colour. Her eyes were also distinguished by the light. We stood in silence for a bit. I guess a lot of things were rushing into my minds.
“You look very nice tonight.” I said to break the awkwardness.
“Thank you Oliver, I was worried that you might send me home to change.”
I laughed. “Yeah, upon reflection, I was a bit hard on you. I’m sorry.”
Emily raised her head. “You avoided my question before….”
“What question?”
“You’re avoiding it again...”
I stalled when she stepped in front of me to say, “Let me spell it out for you.
We both like each other but what is really holding you back?, I don’t believe for a second that it's because you're my boss either, Oliver. “Is it because I’m a whore? Because, I’m not attractive enough for you?”
Her questions were compounding and bogging me down and I couldn’t stand anymore.
I pulled her in and kissed her deeply. Emily’s inward breath betrayed her surprise as I held her. My fingers threaded through the softness of her hair to hold her at the nape of her neck. Then I felt her mouth and tongue submitting to my kiss. I slowed down the pace, to ease the shock to her system.
Her hands lifted up to hold my shoulders. I lowered my head and moved my hands on her back, caressing it. Emily moved her arms up around my neck. She raised her head high when my tongue penetrated and smoothed the surface of hers. She responded with a deep moan that resonated up her throat, I could feel the sound coming through her tongue, creating tingles of arousal all over me. I leaned back and closed my eyes.
“Emily… that’s my answer to your first question." I whispered.
I opened my eyes to see her electric blue eyes dilated. She was fixated on me. She had this energy all over her, I won’t ever forget. I knew she had fallen in love. I parted her hair again and said “I have another answer to your last question…” I leaned in again and closed my eyes and kissed her again till the taxi arrived.
The taxi was late too, not that we cared.
***
We'd arrived outside Garrisons, when Emily stopped me. She took out a tissue and wiped the Russian red lipstick off my lips. I went hot with embarrassment, picturing myself looking like a clown. I adjusted my cufflinks and we went in.
It was a welcome change from the last time, so dead that it felt like we were in a deserted Wild West saloon. We could even hear our own footsteps this time. There was no music playing, no bright lights and no shouting. The bartender’s eyes lit up, perhaps excited to see customers. He put down the glass, he was probably polishing for the last hour.
“She’s late.” I said.
“Cougars come out late at night.” Emily snickered.
“Yeah, this one will eat us alive if we don’t pull this off,” I muttered.
“I’ll grab us a drink, ok?” she said.
I nodded and she headed to the bar. I checked my phone to see a message from Sherry, she cancelled out on the meeting. I walked over to the snooker table to vent.
Emily placed our drinks on the table, her eyes shifted to me, and she caught the expression on my face.
“She cancelled, didn’t she?
I nodded and took a pool cue and chalk, to polish the end of the cue stick. I setup the balls and aligned the white ball on the black spot. “Sorry Emily, I guess we will have to rebook.”
She smiled and sat on a stool holding her wine while I prepared to make my shot.
“I guess…this makes it a date then?” she said.
“Let’s call it a team building exercise.”
“Do you play?”
Emily shook her head. “I wouldn’t know how to even hit the ball!”
“C’mon, it’s easy. I’ll show you. You can break.”
I handed her the pool cue and she stood by the end of the table to aim. She looked clumsy with her aim, but the moment she leaned down, her breasts hung low. I blinked a number of times, distracted. Her cue missed the ball.
She straightened up and with the cue in her hand she tapped it to the ground, out of frustration. I smiled and walked over.
I stood behind her. “Try Again…”
She leaned in to take another shot and my body shadowed her. She angled her head to look into my eyes, but mine were on the white ball.
“Focus on the white ball.”
She paused, then slowly turned her head towards the ball. She moved back when her rear ground against my crotch. Her eyebrows rose and she smirked before taking the shot. The white ball hit the aligned balls, making them scatter everywhere.
We both straightened up and I gave Emily a pat on her back, proud of her achievements. “Great stuff Emily… ”
“Oliver, you didn’t answer my questions earlier…” she said, changing the tone.
“I thought I did?”
She started to get frustrated.
“Kisses are not answers.”
“Look, come here,”
I leaned against the snooker table and held her around the waist. “What you did before should have no bearing, to the way I see you now. I admit, when I first met you, it bloody bothered me. But in these last few months since we have been working together my perspective has changed. “Emily, I think you are an amazing woman. Attractive and smart. Damn, you pretty much do most of my thinking for me.…” “Then what is it, Oliver? Why can’t we date?”
“This whole situation. You being my subordinate. I can’t help feel that the dynamics will change if we take this further.”
“You just did when you kissed me!”
“I know… Emily, I did it so you wouldn’t get upset.”
She leaned back. “So you regret it?”
“No I don’t. Because of our situation we can’t go there. I care about you too much, to do so. Do you understand?”
Emily didn’t seem convinced.
“Oliver, I think you’re afraid…” She grabbed her purse and left.
***
I entered the office and greeted Emily, who gave me the silent treatment. I sighed and opened my door, to see Sherry in my Office sitting in the chair in front of my desk.
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you…”
“I’m very sorry I cancelled on you, my hands were tied," she said in a way that flashed an image in my brain. “Do you mind if I page my partner in?”
“Sure, best to kill two birds with one stone.”
I didn’t respond, picking up my phone and paging Marc. We waited in silence while Sherry watched me move across the room with those steely eyes.
“He will be here in three minutes.”
Sherry licked her lips and crossed her legs. Gosh, the damn woman wasn’t wearing any underwear. “Enough time for us to…”
Her comment made me raise my head. I turned around to look out the window.
“Sherry, is the view good out of your building?” I
“It is… when you’re taken from behind…”
/> “Excuse me?” I adjusted my collar.
Marc arrived. As soon as he caught sight of Sherry, he lifted his shoulders and puffed his chest out and walked slowly like a cowboy.
Sit down you idiot.
“What do you want Sherry?” It was obvious she didn’t want to wait twenty-eight days for us to sign the document.
“Oliver, we went through the sale agreement and we feel that assets were undervalued.”
“Then our jobs should be reinstated. That’s the reason why we stayed on as consultants.”
Marc said “You agreed and signed to the due diligence.”
“Yes we did, but let me finish. We are not going to chase compensation and damages for the assets already acquired, but on the condition you two resign.”
“What about the agreement for the remaining twenty percent?”
“Ha, do you think we are that stupid, to pay for the rest of your worthless intellectual property?” she said.
I stared at Marc, and both our minds we were thinking the same thing.
We got her…
Marc had a glint in his eye and went overboard and played into it. Cheeky.
“Sherry, fuck you. This is our dream! And you are taking it away from us.”
Marc dropped down to knees and started sobbing he had his hands on his face.
“Why?” he shouted with his hands high in the air. “Why did you do that to us? No!”
Oh my god, I was trying so hard not crack up. I reckon Marc could have won an Oscar and a golden globe with that performance. I walked up to Sherry and agreed to our resignations, signing the documents. Marc started shaking when he signed his, I nudged him to stop.
“Oh and another thing. I have hired your executive assistant as my assistant,” Sherry said.
“What?” I said.
“No! You’re taking her too!” Marc screamed. He knelt down and grabbed my leg. “Oliver don’t let Sherry take her! Please! I beg you!”
I turned to Sherry. “Look, you better get out of here before he goes postal.”
“Argh!“I’m gonna kill you, bitch!”
I stepped in front of Marc and held him back. Sherry at that point picked up her things and ran out. She didn’t even wait for the elevator, took the stairs. When the door shut we both burst out in laughter, so much, we curled up on the floor. My stomach muscles were about to cramp.
Emily burst in and we both gave her a hug, thanking her.
“I’ll leave you two love birds I’m grabbing a drink.” Marc said as he stumbled out my office closing the door behind him.
I took in two deep breaths to settle and sat on my desk and held Emily by the waist. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “I rang and told her about the assets, and explained that I had lost my Job. I think she felt guilty and offered me the higher role, so I took it.”
“You don’t like working for me, Emily?” I said, flicking her hair aside.
“Don’t worry, its only temporary, I guess this changes everything now doesn’t it? With your silly talk about dynamics and situations?”
“Yeah, it does.” I exhaled.
I paused to hold her hands. “I thought about what you said at the bar. I couldn’t sleep last night, because I was thinking of you. I guess I was concerned a lot about what other people thought, my reputation. You were right, I was afraid.”
Emily began to rub my arms comforting me.
“Do you know what I was afraid of the most?”
She looked puzzled and her eyes were darting to each eye of mine, trying to figure me out. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, her eyes began to well up.
“I was afraid of falling in love with you…”
I paused and I lifted her up and cleared the contents off my desk and placed her down. With my thumb, I wiped the streaming tears off her beautiful face.
“Emily, I’m not afraid anymore, because of you. It means all I have for you is answers…” I leaned in to kiss her so deeply, again and again.
Thank you for reading Cocotte
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Thanks again,
David