Mending the Soul

by Alexis Lauren

  "That's fine. I'm sure we'll be talking to one another a lot more often, and please, call me Jenna."

  "Well thank you Jenna. Call me Zoey. I'm looking forward to meeting you. Nicholas has been so much more pleasant to work for since he met you. I've been his assistant for nearly six years, and this is the happiest I've ever seen him."

  "Thank you Zoey, that means a lot to me. I'm glad that I can make him happy because he does the same in return for me." Jenna told her with a huge smile on her face.

  "Well, he's ready to take the call now. He's practically pulling the phone out of my hand, so I better let you talk to him. It was nice finally speaking with you." Zoey said.

  "It was nice speaking with you too. Maybe we can all get together for lunch one day?" Jenna asked.

  "Sounds good. Here's boss-man!" Zoey said before transferring her to Nicholas.

  "Good morning beautiful." A deep voice said into the phone.

  "Good morning! How are you today?" Jenna asked.

  "Tired, and missing you. Think you can meet me for lunch today?" Nicholas asked.

  "I think I might be able to arrange it. Is everything ok?" Jenna questioned him.

  "Yeah, I just want to see you and I can't wait until tonight." Nicholas told her. "And I talked to my lawyer and I wanted to tell you what he said, but I don't have much time to go into it now."

  "Sure. I'll meet you at noon, at the diner at the corner of 18th and State St.? That's about halfway between our offices." Jenna suggested.

  "Sounds good to me. I like the food there." Nicholas told her.

  "Ok, well I'll see you then?" Jenna asked, thinking he had to get back to work.

  "Noooo…not yet. I just got you on the phone, I can't stop talking to you yet." Nicholas mock whined.

  "Well, you said you were busy." Jenna laughed.

  "I know, but not too busy to tell you how much I've missed you since I left you last night. Have you given any more thought to what I asked you?" Nicholas questioned.

  "Yeah, I've done nothing but think about it. I sat down at my desk this morning to start working, but my mind drifted to that and I haven't gotten a bit of work done yet." Jenna told him. "If you keep giving me things like this to think about then I'm going to lose my job. She teased.

  "I'll support you then." He laughed, even though he knew it wasn't a joke. He would be more than happy to bring home the bacon if Jenna wanted to stay home with the kids.

  "Ok, now I have to go. I have another call coming in. I'll see you at lunch." Jenna told him.

  "Ok, see you then. Love you!" He told her.

  "Love you too." She said before breaking the connection.

  Jenna worked like crazy right up until lunch time to make up for the time that she spent daydreaming that morning. By the time she got to the diner, she had worked up quite an appetite. As soon as she stepped through the doors, Jenna spotted Nicholas sitting at a booth waiting for her.

  When Nicholas spotted Jenna, his eyes lit up. As she approached the table, he stood up and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. They sat down and he took her hand and held it from across the table, slowly rubbing his thumb across the soft skin on the back. They placed their order, and as soon as the waitress left, they started talking.

  "Ok, I have a list of questions that we need to talk about before I agree to live with you." Jenna told him.

  "You're making this sound a lot less romantic than it is." Nicholas replied, flashing a big smile across his face.

  "I know, but if we don't think this through, then I'm worried that it might have a negative impact on the kids." Jenna said.

  "Ok, you're right. We'll look at it from every angle before we do it. Ok, grab your questions and hit me with them."

  "Ok, first is what would you do with your house?" Jenna asked.

  "Well, I can either sell it or I can rent it out. If you're really nervous about this, then the best bet would be for me to rent it out, and if you decide that you don't want me anymore, I'll kick the tenants out and move back in." Nicholas said, half teasing, half serious. "Or, if you decide you want to keep me I'll put it up for sale."

  Jenna smiled. Nicholas always knew how to calm her fears. "Ok, glad to know I have options then." She joked. Jenna looked at all her other questions and none of them really seemed that important. She crumpled up the piece of paper and looked into Nicholas's eyes. "I only have one more question."

  "But you had a whole list there. Jenna, I don't mind answering your questions if it's going to make you feel better." Nicholas protested.

  "There is only one question that I need an answer to, the rest of them don't matter anymore." Jenna drew in a deep breath. "Where do you see this going between us?"

  "Jenna, if I thought that either of us was ready for it, I'd ask you to marry me today. I think you still have some trust issues and are trying to work past the insecurities you have about my marriage with Leslie. And I'm finally just able to let go of a marriage that ended three years ago. We have some work to do before I ask you to marry me, but I promise you, that day will come. I can't see myself spending one day of my life without you Jenna. And I think that us living together will help us come to the point where we are both ready to go the next step and make it official. I love you Jenna, so much that it scares me sometimes." Nicholas told her.

  "I love you too." Jenna told him, feeling more sure of their relationship now more than ever. "And after everything blows over with Linda, I want you and Emma to move in."

  "You do?" Nicholas asked excitedly. "Are you sure?"

  Jenna laughed. "I've never been so sure!"

  Nicholas leaned over the table and took Jenna's head between his hands. "I love you so much Jenna!" He said before he kissed her lips. Jenna giggled as he started placing kisses all over her face. He didn't stop until the waitress brought their food out.

  "So, what did the lawyer say?" Jenna asked.

  "Just that there's no chance in hell that biddy will get my kid." Nicholas said. "He said that if she does try to pursue a custody battle, then we will first go in for mediation since the family courts are too full, and if we can't reach an agreement in mediation then we will have to go to court. It's best to settle with the mediator, because if not, the court battle could take forever."

  "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. Mediators are usually pretty fair, so hopefully that will work out for you." Jenna said.

  "Plus, my lawyer is putting a letter together for Linda telling her that I have done nothing wrong, that it's ridiculous for her to want to uproot Emma from her school, friends, and family just for personal reasons. She lives in Florida for nine months out of the year, then the other 3 months she spends traveling. How is that good for Emma? He's going to make it sound all legal and lawyer-ly, so hopefully that will stop her before she tries to start anything." Nicholas added.

  "Lawyer-ly? Did you get that one out of the dictionary?" Jenna teased.

  "It just so happens I did. They were selling the dictionaries down on the street corner for $0.25 apiece. I got one for you too." Nicholas joked.

  Jenna laughed as she looked over at Nicholas. She couldn't remember the last time someone had made her laugh so much, and he did it with ease. She loved his sense of humor. She always thought that a guy who could make her laugh was always sexier than one who couldn't. She had to admit though, she couldn't find anything about Nicholas that she didn't find sexy. As she watched him eat, her mind started to wander to all the dirty things she wanted to do to him. She was getting hot just thinking about it all.

  Nicholas noticed that Jenna's eyes were glossed over and her face was getting red. "Baby, are you ok?"

  Jenna grinned. "Yeah, I'm ok." She told him. "Um, do you have a busy afternoon today?"

  "Not really. Why?" He asked.

  "Well, I was just thinking that the babysitter was taking Colby and Emma to the zoo today to celebrate their last day of freedom before heading back to school tomorrow, and my afternoon is empty, so…" She started to explain.
>
  "So you were thinking about a little 'afternoon delight'?" Nicholas asked, hopefully.

  "You could say that." Jenna told him. "I was just sitting here watching you and thinking about how sexy you are…I guess I got myself a little excited."

  Nicholas took out his wallet and threw $30 on the table. He grabbed Jenna's hand and dragged her out of the restaurant. "We'll take my car, I just have to stop at the office quick to get some paper work that I need to get done by tomorrow."

  Jenna smiled as she got into Nicholas's Xterra and buckled her seatbelt. Nicholas hauled ass driving over to his office, and when he parked, he told Jenna he didn't think he'd make it until they got home. "Zoey is out to lunch, she won't be back for another half an hour, and my office has a lock on the door. Let's go." He said, pulling Jenna out of his car and into his office building.

  As soon as they got into his office, Nicholas locked the door and shut the blinds on his window. Clothes were shed in a mad fury before they met in a passionate embrace. Jenna hopped up on Nicholas's desk as they joined together. When things started to fall off Nicholas's desk from the zealous coupling, Nicholas picked Jenna up and sat back in his leather office chair, with her on top of him. She rode him to their climaxes, kissing him at that point to drown out both of their screams of ecstasy.

  Jenna laid her head on Nicholas's shoulder as they both tried to regain their breath. After a few minutes, Jenna started giggling. "Well, now every time you sit at your desk to do paperwork, you'll think of doing me." She laughed and got up off of Nicholas, starting to gather her clothes.

  Nicholas stood up and looked at his desk. "Yeah, especially since you left an ass print right there."

  "What!? You're kidding right?" Jenna asked, not believing him as she ran back around his desk to see.

  "Look for yourself!" Nicholas told her.

  "Oh shit! Will it come out if we clean it?" Jenna asked. She turned to look at his chair. "Looks like you left one on your chair too."

  "Ah, just some lovely souvenirs of our love." Nicholas said, pulling her into an embrace. "I'm sure they'll both come out when I clean them. I have some furniture polish around here somewhere, though I don't know what to clean the leather with."

  Jenna handed Nicholas his clothes and then got dressed herself. After they were both presentable again, Jenna left to go to the ladies room, leaving Nicholas in his office to try to clean his desk.

  As he sprayed the polish on the desk, he heard a soft knock on his door. Thinking it was Jenna, he called for the person to come in.

  "Hey boss, just wanted to let you know I'm back from lunch." Zoey said as she walked into Nicholas's office. "Damn, was there an earthquake or something?" She asked when she saw all the papers on the floor, along with pens and pencils that were once together in a cup on the desk.

  Nicholas could feel the blush rising up his face as Zoey surveyed the mess. "Um, I was just cleaning…" He stammered out as Jenna walked back through his open office door. She stopped when she saw that there was someone else in the room with them, a woman of about 35, with short blonde hair and a curvy figure. "Uh, Zoey, this is my girlfriend Jenna. Jenna, this is Zoey."

  Zoey turned around to where Jenna was standing and a knowing look spread across her face. She smiled and said, "Hi Jenna. Nice to meet you. When we spoke this morning, I didn't think I'd get to meet you so soon."

  Jenna turned the same color red as Nicholas was. "Nice to meet you too. I hadn't planned on coming over here today, we were just going to take the afternoon off and Nicholas said he needed to pick up some paperwork before we left."

  "Oh, I see. And he just thought he'd clean while you were here?" Zoey teased.

  "Yeah, I'm going to be moving in with her soon, and I just wanted to show her that I know how to clean." Nicholas said, trying to sound believable.

  Zoey just laughed and bent over to pick up some of the stuff from the floor. "I guess I better help so that you two can get out of here and enjoy the rest of your day then."

  "How about you show Jenna around the office and I'll finish cleaning up in here?" Nicholas suggested. He didn't want his assistant picking up after him and his girlfriend, who just had sex in his office.

  "I can do that. Besides, I'd like to get to know the woman who put a smile back on that sour puss face of yours." Zoey said as she headed for the door.

  Jenna followed behind, leaving Nicholas alone in his office. Yes, he was embarrassed, but it was so worth it!

  "You and Nicholas seem to have a great working relationship." Jenna said as she walked with Zoey.

  "Yeah, he's a great boss. Very laid back and easy going. It's not often that you can tease your boss without having to worry about crossing the line." Zoey told her. "So is it true that he's going to move in with you?"

  "Yeah, we just decided today at lunch. After things calm down with Leslie's mother, him and Emma are going to move in with me and my son." Jenna smiled.

  "Ah, so it was a celebration of sorts back there in the office." Zoey teased.

  "No…well, yes, but no. I don't think we're going to actually celebrate until it happens. Leslie's mom is being a thorn in our ass right now, so we're trying not to get too ahead of ourselves." Jenna explained.

  "Nicholas told me what she's threatening. You know, if you want her taken care of, I know some people…" Zoey offered.

  "What!?" Jenna was shocked.

  "I'm just kidding. I just wanted to see if you were a moral person or not." Zoey said laughing. She showed Jenna to the break room where they got a couple of sodas and sat down for a minute. "You know, I meant what I said this morning. I've worked for Nicholas for a long time and I've never seen him this happy."

  "Can I ask you a question then?" Jenna asked.

  "Absolutely. And anything you ask will stay between us, as long as whatever I answer will stay between us." Zoey said.

  "What was Nicholas's relationship with Leslie like? Did she make him happy?" Jenna asked, almost feeling guilty as the words poured out of her mouth.

  Zoey sat there for a minute, trying to decide on how to say what she was thinking. "Nicholas and Leslie had a different relationship. The only way I can describe it was that they were like best friends who weren't really in love, but were too afraid to not have each other there. You know, like they both knew that their love for each other wasn't the normal type of love that a husband and wife share. I think that she made him happy in some respect, but not in the way I've seen him happy in the past few months. They did fight a lot, and there was one time when they almost divorced, but Leslie found out she was pregnant, so they decided to stay married. I think that the only reason Nicholas has held onto the memories of Leslie for so long is because he feels guilty that he didn't love her the way that he should have. I know he's felt a lot of guilt since her death, for one reason or another, and it's kept him for truly living his life…until now."

  "Wow. You know, I've been so hung up on worrying that I'll never be as good for Nicholas as Leslie was. I was worried that I'd never make him as happy as she did, and that I'd constantly be living in her shadow." Jenna confessed.

  "Well, it's time you stopped worrying. The relationship that you have with Nicholas is so different than the one he had with Leslie that it's like comparing grapes and watermelons. Trust me, you make him happy. If you didn't, then he wouldn't be with you. He's been single for three years since Leslie died, he wouldn't exactly attach himself all of a sudden to someone that doesn't make him happy." Zoey reasoned.

  Jenna smiled. "I guess you're right. Thank you so much for talking to me about this. You have no idea how much weight you just lifted off my shoulders!"

  "Glad I could help. Now, let’s go see if my boss has cleaned up from his little romp that he had in his office with his girlfriend." Zoey said as Jenna's face got red again. Both girls laughed, enjoying the new camaraderie.

  When the girls returned to the office, Nicholas was sitting in his chair, gathering some papers to take home with him. Everything seemed to
be in order, just like it was when Jenna had first entered the office earlier in the day. She handed him a Pepsi that she bought for him in the break room when she and Zoey were in there. "I thought you might be thirsty."

  "I am, thanks." Nicholas said as he opened his soda and took a long drink.

  "Must have been some workout in here earlier. Jenna just about drank hers all on one sip earlier." Zoey teased. As she watched their faces get red again, she turned to leave the office. "I'll leave you two alone now. You want me to close the door and lock it on the way out?"

  "No!" Jenna and Nicholas said at the same time. Zoey snickered as she walked out to her desk.

  "So, are we ever going to live that down?" Jenna asked.

  "Probably not. At least I got most of it cleaned. You can still see a little outline of our butts on the desk and chair though, but only if you look close enough." Nicholas told her.

  "Hey, don't blame me, it was your idea!" Jenna laughed.

  "And what a good idea it was too." He kissed her softly. "Let's go home."

  "Sounds good to me." Jenna said as they gathered their stuff. They waved goodbye to Zoey on the way out, letting her know that they were leaving. Jenna mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to her and Zoey gave her a smile and a nod of her head, knowing exactly what Jenna was thanking her for.

  As Nicholas drove Jenna back to their houses, Jenna replayed her conversation with Zoey over in her head. She felt like she was in a whole new place in her relationship with Nicholas, and was finally going to be able to move past her insecure thoughts of Leslie.

  Chapter 22 Ooops!

  When Nicholas and Jenna got home, both of them were tired and decided to use the time alone to relax, rather than get in another 'workout'. The kids and babysitter would be back from the zoo shortly anyways, so they decided to just sit in the hot tub and unwind.

  Jenna brought out some wine along with cheese and crackers for them to enjoy as they sat in the steamy water, trading back massages and talking.