Opulent

by Manoa, David

  I swallowed when she took another three steps and stopped, staring again like a lioness. I lifted my glass and took a large swig. Then when she came closer, another sip.

  The wine tasted bitter and gritty, but its hit to my head was intoxicating. I felt like I had just drunk from a poisoned chalice. I watched as Vivian smoothed her hand down the rail of the stairs.

  I felt like her prey, the way her eyes fixated on me. She moved closer and her seductive smirk seeped to the surface. She began to undo the buttons of my crisp white shirt. She left the tie and the top button done.

  She whispered in her raspy tone. “You kept me waiting…you know.” Her hands navigated my back and then held the front of my chest. “I don’t like that at all…” She dug her nails into my chest. The pain was discomforting, then she ran her fingernails down the front of my chest. Scraping. But it turned me on.

  “Chad, I have some good news. Cerberus are willing to triple the market offer but I need to close the deal tomorrow.”

  “Really?”

  She kissed my neck and then gave me a peck on the lips. “Uh, huh.”

  “Gosh, how you pull that off?”

  She inhaled. She put her arms around my waist. “I have my ways. We are going to be so rich, filthy rich. I’m so fucking horny right now just thinking of it.” She picked up the folder and I had a look at the numbers. She slithered to move behind me, her arms around me, her chin by my shoulder watching. Her hardened nipples poked my back. I’d dreaded having to tell her what I was going to do initially, so this was a godsend.

  “This is great!” I said.

  She kissed my shoulder and whispered, “Sign away…”

  I signed the documentation while Vivian clutched again at my chest… Her fingers ran down to my torso, her nails dug in. I tensed hard to null the pain. I paused, placing the folder down when she began to nuzzle at my neck, then her mouth pressed quick, teasing kisses to my chin and lips. I became aroused, losing my train of thought. I shouldn’t have had that drink, my physical desires were taking over.

  Vivian pulled on my tie and led me to the sofa, guiding me like I was some pet. She removed my belt and my pants and began stroking my cock. Her hands had me in her control, her rhythm making my breathing become tense. Her intuitive touches made me tingle. My cock twitched and hardened. Her teasing ways made me want to engulf her, I ached to get inside her. I pushed away her hands and grabbed her, taking her on the sofa, back first. My kisses were nuzzling the right side of her neck. I was lost in my need. She moaned the moment the stubble of my jaw brushed against the smooth surface of her cheek. She said in her raspy tone, “Fuck me…”

  I lifted her tunic to feel her thighs. Vivian groaned when my fingers reached the thin band of panties she wore. She pulled on my tie again; the choking motion made it so uncomfortable that I undid the button and moved her hands away.

  My mouth entered hers; my tongue delved in aggressively. My eyes closed and for some bizarre reason Felicity came to mind, I couldn’t help it. But there was no guilt. I changed the way I kissed. Imagining it was her.

  Vivian pulled back.

  I said, “What?”

  Vivian ran her eye on me. “Is something wrong?” she paused. “You looked like you want to tell me something.”

  “Nothing. Just had Felicity text me earlier about some things she was unsure about.”

  She said, “I hate the way that little bitch looks at you. Like some over-eager puppy.”

  I tensed and closed my eyes, blocking out what I heard.

  “She refused to do some of the tasks I asked. I think you made a wrong choice.”

  “She’s a direct report to me so my work takes priority. Give her time, she’ll be okay.”

  Vivian expressed in a commanding tone, “You belong to me, remember. I’m sick of these little young sluts, trying to get attention. This company would be fucked ten times over if it wasn’t for me. Remember that, Chad.”

  I grinded my jaw, taking in her comment, fighting the anger and the truth, trying not to feel insulted.

  I ran my hand down to her right thigh, feeling the thin string of her red panties. She moaned. I ripped the string which made her scream, I threw her panties on the coffee table. Her scream from the sharp pain was soon followed with groans of pleasure when I began to slide my fingers in her.

  Vivian was hot and wet. Her waterfall of arousal lubricated my index and forefinger as it slid slowly in and out of her. My index bent at a forty-five degree angle. She shuddered when she felt the hard rhythm of the penetration.

  Her thighs tensed when I reached a certain spot deep inside her. She moaned again when I moved my thumb over to her clit, my thumb already wet from the juices of her arousal. I rubbed, moved in a circular motion.

  I remembered the hateful things she said about Felicity. The sexual aggression got to me, pleasuring her out of hate. Increasing the tension until my bicep and forearm, bulged. The veins popped, from going harder and harder. But Vivian moaned and groaned each time I thrust with hate, she had ecstasy lining her mind and I had resentment. Sick of the bullshit, I said, “I belong to no one…” Sliding my fingers out from her, I got up, and put my clothes back on and left. Listening to her possessive screams to get back.

  Fuck her.

  ***

  Next day Felicity arrived a bit late but within reason. I felt ashamed of myself, disgusted with what happened last night. She brought us some coffee and, sitting in a chair in front of the desk, was quietly sipping her coffee. Watching me. Fidgeting with her pen.

  I raised my left eyebrow. “What?” I said.

  “You look a bit off today Chad. C’mon. Tell me what happened? Details? Did you tell her?”

  I sighed. “No, I didn’t need to.”

  “How come?” she demanded.

  “She managed to get a better offer so I signed.” I put my pen down and sat back with my hands on my head.

  “What’s wrong then?”

  “I need to touch base with Sione again to tell him I sold.”

  “So much for being honest?”

  “I know, it pains to go back on my word. But it was difficult.”

  “Vivian, huh?”

  I noticed Felicity was wearing the same outfit again. “Felicity, in regard to what you can wear at the office, you know it’s not a uniform?”

  She went red, embarrassed. She tapped on the lid of the coffee cup.

  I said, “You do have other clothes, right?”

  “I do, but I don’t have anything nice to wear to the office apart from this.”

  Vivian would have overheard what she said as she came up beside her. “Oh, so that’s where the bad smell is coming from…”

  Felicity turned. Vivian walked up beside the chair, twitched her nose at her then turned to me. “I need to talk you now about this Sione Suarvea…”

  “I’m in a meeting with Felicity. It can wait.”

  “You're such a fucking cock.” Vivian tensed her jaw and gave a downwards glance to Felicity.

  Felicity raised her hand, waving to her.

  Oh, did it make Vivian's blood boil. She briskly walked out, and slammed the door behind her, making the digital photo frame of my mother and me fall off the desk.

  Felicity leant over and picked it up. “Menopause does that to women, you know.”

  I laughed; “She’s thirty five.”

  “So you did tell Vivian about Sione’s offer?”

  “I didn’t, but what’s done is done. I don’t want to be messing to and fro trying to squeeze more money. I feel more confident selling to Cerberus.”

  “That’s creepy… Does she have a telepathic link with you or something?”

  I sighed. “Something like that. I’m getting sick of her having her thumb on me. I gave her my two finger salute last night. Pissed off at her at a few things.”

  “The bird is done with one finger…” Felicity lifted her hand and gave me the middle finger. I laughed.

  “We argued yesterday because sh
e wanted me to put together her presentations.”

  “I know. I told her that my work is priority and then she went feral.”

  Felicity raised her head. “Feral as meow feral? Or grizzling roar feral?”

  I laughed, not saying anything. You should see my chest…

  Felicity bit her lip again and said, “Thank you for standing up for me, Chad.”

  “No worries, it was about time I grew some balls, huh?”

  She lifted her finger. “And just for the record, I wash this outfit every day. I’m not that gross. I shower twice a day too.”

  “Let’s solve that problem then. I’m taking you shopping for some new outfits. When you work for me, I want you looking like you belong at this company. C'mon, let’s go.

  ***

  Walking to the carpark, Felicity seemed reluctant, as if something bothered her. When we came to my Aston Martin, her eyes widened.

  “Is this your car?”

  “We’re standing in front of it. So yeah.”

  Felicity smiled and took out her phone. “Can I take a selfie?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Felicity…”

  She put her phone away and then she adjusted her collar. She said, “I don’t feel comfortable with you doing this Chad.”

  I stopped and held her elbow. “Look, I understand your situation and I didn’t like what Vivian said.”

  “I can’t take up this offer, Chad. I feel embarrassed. It will be so obvious to the other staff.”

  “I don’t care what they think and neither should you.”

  “I can’t Chad. You’ve done a lot for me already. I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

  “Think of it as a uniform allowance.”

  Felicity suggested, “I could just wear my nurse's uniform.”

  I squeezed her elbow and said, “Get in the car now and don’t be ridiculous.”

  ***

  I took Felicity to the mall in the affluent part of town. It had three levels with all the designer brand stores. Prada, Versace, every luxury brand graced the stores in this place. I became familiar with these places since this is where Vivian took me when we went shopping. I always had an eye for fashion. And my mind tracked back to when we first met Sione, the comment that Felicity was a beauty behind the glasses. I was intrigued what she would look like with a change in wardrobe.

  We arrived at the first floor and stood outside the first shop. I stared at Felicity, to see her trying to contain her excitement. I said. “We’ll get five sets, that should be okay.”

  Felicity protested, “No, that’s too much. One will be enough.”

  “Do you want Vivian to put you down again?”

  Felicity’s nose twitched with a cheeky smirk, “Okay six sets…”

  I laughed “That’s my girl…”

  We were greeted by the two young female staff who ran their eyes over Felicity, then me. Probably thinking I was her sugar daddy.

  I let Felicity run wild on the outfits she wanted to choose. We spent ages while she tried everything on, posing in the mirror.

  She tried on blouses and skirts, mixing everything up, getting opinions from the staff and me. Most guys would be shooting themselves right now, but I loved the experience. It brought back memories of my late mother, the smiles and the emotion I saw in Felicity's eyes. I checked my phone to see a message from Vivian. It read, “Where the fuck are you? I need to talk to you right now!” I swiped and pressed delete.

  I’ll talk when I’m ready…

  I ran my fingers through a couple of outfits, then I came across this elegant set at the end of the rack. I lifted it out because it was its texture that got me and the way it felt against my skin. It was smooth but it had a purple matt finish that wasn’t silk. It had embossed patterns designed into to it that at first glance you wouldn’t notice.

  They were images of orchids arranged in a pleated pattern. I ran my thumb over the shape of the orchid. Then I put the fabric against my cheek to experience its texture. There were some odd stares when I realised what I was doing. The two young assistants were giggling to themselves when Felicity saw me. She said, “I’ll try it on for you?”

  “Nah, nah, it’s okay. It felt nice to touch that’s all.” I replaced it.

  Her eyes shifted to each one of mine and she took it out of the rack. She went to the dressing room when my phone rang. It was Alex.

  “Bro, we need to talk, it’s about Felicity. It’s urgent.”

  I turned off my phone, then this entirely different and amazing-looking woman came out the dressing room. Damn she was gorgeous. Smoking hot. My phone dropped to the floor from the awe. The way it fitted against her. I said. “How many have you chosen so far?”

  “Six.”

  I turned my lips inwards and licked them, angling my head slightly. The outfit was making her look so desirable and damn sexy. People in the store were gawking. “I guess we’ll make it an even seven then,” I said.

  Felicity frowned, a bit puzzled, then smiled. “I'm not gonna argue with you on that one.”

  I watched as Felicity conversed with the shop assistants. They were envious of the number of clothes purchased. Especially at the prices on the tag. The expression on her face was something I’ll never forget. The five grand bill, worth the memories I won’t ever forget.

  I took a moment to remember my mother. I closed my eyes, wondering if she would be smiling the same way, if I’d ever had the chance.

  Felicity tapped the crook of my arm and I looked up with watery eyes. “Are you alright, Chad?”

  I paused to let the dark moment subside. “Nothing…the air-con in here is making me sneeze.”

  ***

  We drove back to work with the rear seats were full of bags. I asked the shop assistants to wrap them up in Christmas wrapping. It was the 23rd of Dec and I thought it would be nice for Felicity to open them in front of her family. But she told me her family lived in New York so it was a Christmas alone for her.

  Halfway through the journey, I noticed Felicity just staring at me.

  “Is there something on my jaw?”

  “You have grey hair on your temple.”

  “You’re such a crack up. Must be all the stress.”

  “Old age, I think.”

  I baulked. “Hell, no.”

  Felicity laughed. “You can borrow my blonde hair dye any time, you know. Grandpa.”

  I turned to her. “I’d prefer to grey.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  I paused. When I turned my head to her, she had that sort of combative look women do when they are not happy about something.

  “Yeah… shoot.”

  “Why do you keep seeing Vivian?”

  I exhaled. “I’ve been asking that question a lot lately. We started great as a team. Hand on heart I put an effort. Then it became–well, is-what you say, ‘benefits with friends?”

  Felicity giggled. “Friends with benefits!”

  “Whatever. But ever since she got the key account role everything changed. She commenced in the same position you did, as my Personal Assistant. Then the role upgraded to Executive Assistant. I thought by moving her into the key account role it would give us some space, since I wanted to pursue a relationship.”

  “I get that Chad, you would have been sick of each other, seeing her at work than at home.”

  “Yeah… Only it backfired. She became so career driven that we hardly got to spend any time together. I asked her to move in with me, but she felt that it wasn’t the time. Yet I was going over to hers to sleep with her on her terms.”

  I paused for a moment to click on the thought. “Call me rotten but I’m addicted to her sexually. Perhaps you’re right, maybe I am her slave. I let this happen to a degree but that’s the thing that’s messing with me. If I stand up to her I lose her. If I do nothing I keep her but on her terms.”

  Felicity flinched. “Either way, the thing is that you’re not happy.”

  I paused to take that comment i
n. The more I internalized it, the more it became a conviction. I said, “Vivian feels threatened by you. Her bitchy behavior is getting to me.”

  Felicity's eyes widened. “That explains everything.”

  “We hired two women before you, and Vivian made it a living hell for them. I have to admit there was a bit of bias in it, since Alex chose them.”

  Felicity laughed, then said, “I bet they were bimbos with huge boobs and no brains, huh?”

  “You could say that. I hope she’s not making things too stressful.”

  “Maybe she’ll back off. I worked till two a.m. in the morning stitching up her preso’s you know. Then she got me to punch in all her sales orders. Then when you gave me that task she went feral on me.”

  We pulled up to the carpark. I stopped the car. I opened the boot and was taking out the bags when Alex pulled up in his Red Ferrari. His eyes narrowed, scanning the bags of shopping, and he started shaking his head. “Chad, I gotta talk to you bro!”

  I turned to Felicity. “Are you going to be okay with all this, I really need to head out with Alex now.”

  “I’ll be fine. Thanks again for everything, I do appreciate it all. What are you up to for Christmas day?”

  “Spending it with my best friends Jack Daniel and Jim Bean.”

  “Huh? You're not spending it with Vivian?”

  “Christmas is off limits. It's kinda complicated with her family and all. Hell, I’ve never met them. Vivian was waiting for the right time, if that ever eventuates, to tell her father about me. He’s a bit of a racist. ”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah… Be sometime before Othello here gets to meet him.”

  “What? Who’s Othello?”

  “Never mind…”

  “C’mon Chad, don’t be such a downer. Come over to my place and spend Christmas day with me. You bought me my presents so you're coming over. It’s the least I can do.”

  I paused when Alex tooted, then shouted, “Hurry up, bro!”