As I was rolling the cart around replacing the books on the shelves I noticed a very long, winding staircase.
“What’s up there?” I asked Tim.
“It’s the banquet hall and several corrals that professors rent to do research.”
“Banquet hall?”
“Yes. Well actually it’s really just the hall. Here let me show you.” He took my hand and we went up the stairs. The view at the top was magnificent. The hall was very long with marble floors and fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It was framed in dark wood with three sets of glass doors at the end leading out to a balcony. On each side were six large cherry wood doors with gold handles and an arched window in between each door.
“The twelve doors are the corrals. It’s just a small room with a desk, computer, round table and shelves. Professors come here to work, and do research. Some of them let their students use them as well.” Then he paused and held his hands and turned in a circle to accent the enormous hall. “But this space is rented out for banquets, private parties and even weddings.”
“Really? I had no idea,” I said.
“Oh, yes. We became so busy five years ago, booking events for the hall, we had to hire an event coordinator. Her office is down stairs and she has a staff of four people now. They stay pretty busy up here.”
We went back down stairs and finished putting the books away. Tim started to show me the children’s section, when it was time for me to go.
“That’s okay. I can show you tomorrow. I’ll also show you what happens to the old books, books we have too many copies of, and damaged books.”
“Thank you for all your help today. It really went fast, didn’t it?”
“It only feels that way because it’s your first day. When you’ve been here awhile, the day drags on.”
I couldn’t imagine ever being bored surrounded by books. Just inhaling and smelling the scent of all the book bindings and paper, made me smile. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Liam about my day. Although I was concerned with telling him I was working with a man.
He sat quietly as I went through the details of my day. As I started to explain how Tim trained me to use their computer system, it occurred to me that Liam probably thought this was the biggest waste of time. I slowed my speech and took some of the enthusiasm out of my voice. My new job was really nothing compared to his. He probably thought a well-trained monkey could do this job.
“Tomorrow he will show me where they keep the damaged books,” I started tapping my fork against my plate. “And the books that are, ah,” I started stuttering, “old books, and books that are old,” I lowered my eyes and stopped talking. I moved my food around my plate and took a sip of my wine.
“Norah?” Liam hadn’t taken his eyes off me. I looked over at him. “What happened?”
“Nothing, I was done. That was it. That was my day.” I took another sip of wine. “Tell me about your day.”
“You know what I do. Endless meetings, conference calls, talking to lawyers, and negotiations that usually end nowhere.”
He took another sip of his wine. “I was enjoying listening to you talk about your day. Why did you stop?”
“I thought I was boring you,” I whispered. He touched my hand.
“Nothing you do is boring, little one. Your job may not be my cup of tea, but I like to hear you talk about it. You seem very happy. I assume you had a good day, and liked working with…..Tim? Was it?” I smiled but fidgeted with my fingers in my lap.
“Yes. Are you mad? About Tim?” I asked.
“Why would I be mad about Tim? Is he mean to you?” He laughed.
“No. I just thought you wouldn’t like me working with a man…so closely.”
“Does my working with Marcy… bother you?” He clasped his hands in front of him and rested his chin on his knuckles.
“Well to be honest, I guess at first it bothered me,” he interrupted me before I could finish.
“Really? I had no idea. Why?” he looked like he was enjoying this conversation. He had that smug, cocky grin on his face.
“It bothered me because when I met her the first time, I wasn’t sure about us. And I guess I didn’t understand why she kept looking at you and me…and staring almost. I thought she might like you. And since I didn’t know much about you at the time, I thought you might be involved with her.” I hated stroking his oversized ego, but I was just being honest.
“Well, if you had asked me I would have explained that she looked at you and me together, because I had never brought a woman I was seeing into work before. She probably wasn’t sure what to make of it.”
“Well I know that now. And the next time I came in she was more than generous and made me feel like a queen.”
“Well to answer your question, no I’m not mad. When you aren’t the boss you can’t control who you work with. I trust you, Norah and more importantly I trust your judgment. I’m just glad you had a good day.” He smiled and sounded very reassuring, but I still had this feeling that he thought this job was beneath me. Maybe he was still offended that I even wanted to work at all. Maybe he felt as though I was wasting my college degree. I didn’t continue with the conversation because I thought it might cause an argument. Instead I just nodded and finished my dinner. After dinner, he talked on his cell phone while I watched television in the den. I woke up just after midnight with him carrying me to bed. We didn’t make love. I don’t think he even touched me all night long.
The next week or so things between us were the same. We made chit chat about our days during dinner and then he engrossed himself in his work until I fell asleep. I didn’t want it to be this way. Our relationship was fast becoming mundane and predictable. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. He didn’t seem unhappy, but I knew he was. How could he not be? He was used to doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He was used to having women do what he wanted them to do. I thought the idea of a normal relationship interested him, but the reality was very different.
After my second week on the job and our second week of no sex, I was over it. If he was going to act like a big baby and withhold sex from me to punish me for having a job, then he needed to be a man and admit it.
Chapter Six
Liam
I could see something was bothering Norah. We were both running on the treadmills in my gym, but she wasn’t running at her normal pace and her face looked more flush than usual. I finished my ten miles and slowed to cool down. I grabbed my water bottle and started guzzling it down while looking over at her. She usually kept up with me, but this morning she wasn’t even trying. She was on mile four but looked like she was on mile fifteen.
“Norah, are you alright?” I panted. She slammed the stop button, stepped off and leaned over to catch her breath. “Norah, what’s wrong?” I walked over to her. She snapped up holding her side.
“You’re what’s wrong!” she panted. “I have tried to be patient with you getting use to me working, but this is ridiculous!” She held her side tighter.
“Norah, you don’t look so good. Maybe you should sit down.” I reached out for her arm, and she slapped it away.
“I don’t need your help!” She walked over to the bench and took a seat. “I thought the only sex games you played took place in your basement. If you don’t like me working, you should have just said that!” She bent down and put her head on her knees.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I think you should drink some water, or lie down.” She snapped back up.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I thought women were the only ones that withheld sex when they didn’t get their way! Certainly not Dominate, sexaholics like you!” Then she covered her mouth with one hand and held her stomach with the other and looked as though she was dry heaving. I put my hand on her forehead; she was burning up.
“Norah, you have a fever. We need to get you in a cool shower and in bed. I’m going to call the doctor.” I tried to help he
r up but again she slapped my hand away.
“Oh, I get it! Now when I’m covered in sweat and about to be sick, you want to take a shower with me and get me in bed?”
“We can talk about this nonsense later, Norah. Let me help you, please!” As I reached out to grab her arm she vomited all over the floor, barely missing my feet. I quickly picked her up and carried her upstairs to clean her up. A process I had to keep starting over because she kept getting sick all over herself and me. After finally managing some success with cleaning her up, I put her in pajamas and laid her in our bed. Then I went back down stairs to clean up the gym and call the doctor.
“Rosa, I was going to clean that up. If she’s got something contagious you shouldn’t expose yourself.” She was on her hands and knees cleaning up the mess on the floor. She turned to face me and I saw she was wearing a mask. She stuck out her finger and spouted off something to the effect of that I needed to protect myself and worry about cleaning myself up. This was part of her job and she would clean whatever she wanted to. I looked down at myself and saw the remnants of whatever it was Norah’s body was getting rid of all over my t-shirt.
I paced the floor in the foyer while Dr. Greenberg examined Norah upstairs. I called Marcy to inform her I would be late and I would call back if I wasn’t coming in at all.
Then I called the library to inform them Norah was sick and wouldn’t be in today. Now I just walked back and forth waiting. Waiting, I hated waiting. Worrying, I hated worrying too.
“You’re going to wear a path in the floor if you keep pacing like that,” Dr. Greenberg said as he came down the stairs.
“What’s wrong with her? Is she going to be alright? What do I have to do?” I asked. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Mr. Hastings, I have never seen you act like this before. I think you need to calm down some yourself, sir.” We walked in my study and I made myself a drink.
“Do you want anything?” I asked him.
“No thank you.” He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs. “She has the flu, Liam. She has a temperature of one hundred and two degrees, she’s nauseous, she has the chills, and she’s extremely tired.” He took a breath and I sat down across from him.
“She has the flu? Can’t you give her a shot or something?”
“I can make her a little more comfortable, but no sir, there isn’t a cure. She has to let it run through her system. I gave her something to bring her fever down, and something to calm her stomach. She’s going to need rest and lots of fluids.” He stood up. “I’ll give you a list of things for Rosa to get from the store that will help her. She isn’t going to be hungry, but she will need to eat a little something every day.” He started to walk out then turned back to face me. “You should be fine since you had the flu shot a few months ago.”
“Thank you Dr. Greenberg.” I ran my hand through my hair.
“You’re welcome, son. I’ll send you my bill,” he waved his hand at me as he walked out.
I went right up to check on her and she was sleeping, so I left her alone. I just stood there and watched her. She looked pale now, but still had little beads of sweat building up on her forehead. None of my subs had ever been sick around me before. I wasn’t sure I knew how to take care of a sick person. My instincts told me to get in bed with her and hold her until she felt better. But I knew my body heat would just make her worse. I ran my hand over her forehead wiping the sweat away. For a brief moment I thought she might have been pregnant, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Then I remembered her ramblings before she puked all over the floor. She was going on and on about ‘sex games’ and me not liking her working. I didn’t have any idea what she was talking about, but put it on my list of things to talk to her about.
Norah
I woke up with a cool cloth on my forehead and could hear the sound of some sort of news program on television. I rolled over and saw Liam sitting in the corner in his big chair, legs propped up on an ottoman, working on his computer. He had what looked like his iPad sitting on a side table. He was using it as his portable television, getting up to the minute news. I slowly leaned up to my elbows.
“Excuse me, sir, who taught you how to use your iPad as a television?” I coughed out. He put his laptop on the floor, took off his glasses and stood up.
“How are you feeling, darling?” he whispered as he walked closer to me.
“I’m sure I look as good as I feel,” I covered my mouth as I coughed. He sat on the side of the bed and touched my leg over the blanket.
“Well you look beautiful, but you sound like death.”
“I feel like death,” I huffed.
“I guess you don’t look like you feel then,” he laughed shaking my leg a little. “You had me worried, little one. But in perfect Norah Chandler fashion, instead of admitting you weren’t well, you would rather go down fighting.” He moved closer and took the cloth from my face and felt my forehead. “You’re still very warm,” he looked at his watch. “I’m going to get you something to eat and the thermometer.” He stood up and started towards the door.
“I’m really not hungry,” I managed to get out just as Rosa came through the door with the rolling cart. She said something to Liam gesturing to the food on the cart, then she picked up what looked like a thermometer and started to walk toward me.
“She wants to take your temperature.” I leaned up and she stuck the thermometer in my ear and clicked it. While we waited she touched my face, moved my hair behind my ear and said something to me in Spanish.
“She says even when you’re sick you are still pretty.” Then she turned to Liam and started talking very fast. “Now she’s saying this is my fault for making you do too much and letting you get sick.” She was shaking her finger in Liam’s face. “Would you tell her I don’t make you do anything, and that I didn’t let you get sick, please!” Liam pleaded with me. I laughed a little.
“It isn’t his fault, Rosa.” She turned to face me. “He didn’t do this. No one did. I just got sick. It happens.” She shrugged her shoulders and said something else to Liam. He nodded and she left the room. He rolled the cart over to me and sat on the edge of the bed again.
“She says your temperature is 99.9, which is still too high. And you need to eat something.” Before I could object he held up his hand to me. “I didn’t say you had to eat a lot, just a little something. I have some soup and crackers here, some ginger ale, and Rosa said she would bring you some popsicles if you think you can hold them down.” I didn’t argue. I just leaned up and he moved his hands behind me and propped up my pillows so I could lean on them.
“Why are you being so nice to me after I yelled at you this morning?” I asked. He smiled and put the tray in front of me across my body. As he raised the spoon to my mouth he spoke.
“Well I just assumed that your morning rantings was just crazy talk from someone who was obviously sick……in her head.” I opened a pack of crackers and started eating one. “Do you really think I would withhold sex from you, little one? Do you think I am even capable of that?” He fed me more soup.
“I don’t know. I seem to remember a period in our relationship when we didn’t engage in any sex.” I was looking right in his eyes, he was concentrating on the soup and feeding me.
“That was a different time, Norah. Do you really think I would play those kinds of games with you now? Open your mouth, please.” He was holding another spoonful of soup for me.
“I’m not hungry…and yes, I do think you are playing a game with me.”
“Just a few more bites, little one.” He held the spoon to my mouth. I shook my head at him.
His eyes darkened and he gestured for me to open my mouth. I shook my head again. He exhaled deeply, then reached out and plugged my nose with his thumb and pointer finger. “See, you are the one that acts like a child and insists on playing games.” He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at me. I finally opened my mouth and he r
eleased my nose. He fed me three more bites of the soup, which was some corn, chicken, potato thing. It was good, I just didn’t know if I could hold it down. He wiped my mouth and handed me the glass of ginger ale. I sat up and drank it down. “Can you tell me why you think I would play such sex games with you?”
“It’s been two weeks, Liam.” I handed him back the glass and he handed me two pills and a glass of water.
“It’s for the fever,” he said. I took them and drank the water, then handed him back the glass. He moved closer to me and leaned on his arms in front of me. “I know how long it has been, Norah. But believe me when I say this is not a game. I have been very busy at work, as you might have noticed.”
“I have been working late into the night, and sometimes until morning, on several deals my company has going on right now. When I finally come to bed you are sleeping. In light of your new job, I have chosen to let you sleep instead of waking you up for my pleasure.” He reached out and touched my face. I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes. “Maybe I should have shared that with you, since you seem to feel neglected.” He ran his hand down my face to my chin and pulled my face up to look at him. “I’m sorry, little one. You know how much I want you. It’s been hard for me too.” He moved his face closer to mine and our noses touched. “I didn’t know you were keeping track. I wish you would have said something.”
“Well I just thought it was odd since that’s what I am here for…..your pleasure,” I said. He smiled and let his lips brush against mine.
“Well I promise that as soon as you are over this illness, I will make it up to you. But more importantly….” He cocked his head to the side, and gave me that smug grin.
“I’ll let you make it up to me,” he gave me a light kiss on the lips and then stood up. “Now get some rest, because you look like hell.”
“Hey, I thought you said I looked beautiful!” I said as loud as I could but it still came out raspy. He rolled the cart to the door then turned back to me.
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