by MJ Masucci
She set out to his office hoping he was already there. Her heart felt light as she saw that his door was open. He was sitting at his desk reading something on his laptop. He looked up, and his face brightened at the sight of her.
“Close the door behind you.”
She did as he asked and when she turned he was behind her pressing his body against her. He kissed her neck and moved his mouth to her shoulder pulling at the collar to suck on it.
“Is there a reason why you are dressed like that?”
“Like what?”
He slipped his hands around her waist.
“Are you trying to entice me?”
She pushed his hands away from her and slipped under his arm moving to the chair in front of his desk.
“I am merely dressing for the office. If you find this enticing, there is nothing I can do about it.”
He sat at his desk and gave her a steely look.
“Don’t try to tempt me; it won’t work.”
“I think it already has.”
He crossed his arms and looked at her. She looked away brushing an imaginary speck of dust off her dress and smiling widely.
Xander decided not to push the issue and started to discuss with her what documents he needed her to complete. She took notes, and as she went to open the door, Xander couldn’t help zeroing in on her beautiful ass. He felt himself start to get hard and averted his eyes.
Ava went down to her desk to start work. Samantha, who had just come in came over to her desk.
“I heard you’re working with Xander. How is that going?” Sam made sure to whisper so no one else could hear that was nearby.
“It’s going well. We are cordial to each other.” She didn’t like lying to her best friend, but it was important that their relationship remained secret.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Sam, I’m okay.”
She wanted to tell her what she found out about Tim but if she did it would require her also to tell Sam that she was dating Xander again.
“If you need me, just let me know.” Her friend hugged her and then went back to work at her desk.
Ava picked up the folders and her laptop and went to the research room. There was no room to work at her desk. At ten, Jacob stopped by to let her know he was in the office and if she needed anything. She told him that she had gotten everything from Xander.
“Are things okay with him?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Because for someone who was so broken up over your break up with him, you are adjusting like it meant nothing.”
“I just realized that you were right. Don’t create tension.”
He looked at her with a blank stare, but it was obvious that he was satisfied. He turned and left the room. Several minutes later, Xander entered to see how she was doing.
“Sweetheart, how is the research going?”
“Shh, Xander. You can’t call me that here.”
“I can call you whatever I want. What’s going to happen when we are married? I can’t talk to my wife?”
“We have a while for that you know especially if we have to follow your wicked plan of courting. I’m ready to marry you now.”
“It’s not wicked, and we can’t go from A to Z in a few days. I promised you all the bells and whistles. I don’t want to rob you of the experience of dating, engagement, marriage.”
“I’m not twenty-four. I’m practically out of my twenties. I don’t care about all that.”
“You do,” Xander insisted.
“I don’t. I just want you for my husband. I don’t care about the other parts.”
Xander hesitated and though about what she said.
“I want you to look back on the experience years from now and say how wonderful it was. Not, that we went to the town hall and boom, married.”
Ava sighed, “You make me crazy; you know that?”
“Yes, but you love me so what does it matter?”
“I have work to do. Go back to your office.”
Xander bent down and kissed her neck then left the room.
Ava started to daydream about what it would be like to be married to Xander. She didn’t care about all the milestones he mentioned. She didn’t want the long courtship or engagement; she just wanted him.
The following day she dressed even more provocatively. It was a gray area in the office to be showing so much cleavage, but she didn’t care. She was going to keep doing it until someone told her to dress more conservatively or it pushed Xander over the edge. But she had to keep a balance as she worked with her cousin, too, who would have no problem calling her out over her appearance.
Jacob had a hearing at the courthouse so he wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. Xander would be in his office all day, and she planned to use it to her advantage and tease him. Unfortunately, the office was chilly, and she had to put on a sweater. Her breasts and ample cleavage were hidden from his view until later that morning.
She sat on his couch and transcribed her notes while he went through some case files. When Ava got warm enough, she removed the sweater, and she placed her laptop on the table to resume typing. Xander had not been paying attention until she removed her sweater, then he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She knew exactly what she was doing to him.
Her low cut dress was exposing enough of her ivory breasts when she was upright. But as she was leaning over for files or whatever the hell she was doing, he could see straight down her dress. In very little time, he was sporting a large erection and his pants at the crotch were incredibly tight. He shifted in his seat and looked away from her trying to think of something else. But his eyes kept wandering over to her.
“Fuck, Ava. Stop that.”
She looked up at him and noticed his face was red. He had loosened his tie and was wiping at his forehead with a handkerchief.
“Stop what?” She smiled innocently as she looked up from her laptop, knowing she got to him.
“You damn well know what. Put your sweater back on.”
“I will not. I’m warm, and that’s why I removed it.”
“Then put the laptop on your lap and type.”
She rose from her seat and went over to him leaning against the edge of the desk next to his chair. She leaned down to kiss him and thrust her hand between his legs.
“Is this the problem?” She stroked him through his pants.
“Ava, please remove your hand,” he choked out.
She removed her hand and went back to the couch. She sat down and adjusted the top part of her dress revealing even more of her breasts. Then she picked up the laptop and began to type.
Xander was having a hard time controlling himself with her in that condition. His nostrils were full of her perfume. He got up and began pacing the room avoiding looking at her until his erection had subsided. Ava continued to type and ignored him.
Later that evening in her apartment, she straddled his lap to kiss him. He slipped his hand under her shirt and stroked the smooth flesh of her back, moving his hand higher until he was touching her bra strap. He ran his fingers over the soft cloth until he got to the clasp and began fiddling with it. He slipped his other hand under and together expertly opened the clasps that held the bra closed. She moaned into his mouth as his fingers massaged her upper back. He traced the sides of her ribs and moved his hands to the front of her shirt until he was skimming the undersides of her breasts.
“It’s nearly nine; I need to go.”
“What? No way, you are not leaving me here like this.”
“Oh, you don’t like being seduced?”
“Oh my God, this is for today isn’t it?”
Xander gave her a lopsided grin.
“You, Xander Wilder, are a bastard. Wait and see what I wear tomorrow.”
He looked at her wide-eyed. This is how it went for the rest of the week. Ava dressed provocatively, and at night he paid her back by seducing her. Even though she wasn’t able to be s
ated, she was enjoying the cat and mouse game they played. It was even more enjoyable because it was being done without the knowledge of those around them. Their coworkers and family just assumed that they had come to some agreement to be civil to one another. They didn’t see the stolen kisses, caressing of skin and the loving glances they gave each other.
The next weekend, they made good on their promise to volunteer at the Kids Afloat Center. Xander taught a drawing class, and Ava assisted him. He drew a sketch of her with charcoal and the children tried to follow suit. A couple of them were pretty talented, and Xander promised to teach them how to paint.
Ava was curious if he had continued his creative activities when they were apart. When they arrived back at her apartment, she asked him if he was sketching in California. They had not discussed the things they did when they were apart. Xander would be shocked to learn of her behavior, and she wanted to be honest with him.
“I wasn’t, but I was writing in my journals each day.”
“Xander, how come you were writing if you had Kaycee?”
“Because she wasn’t you. I won’t disrespect her by saying she was a distraction. She is a very nice, caring person just not for me.”
“What did you do when we were apart?”
She didn’t want to look at him and hung her head.
“Ava, look at me? It doesn’t matter because we weren’t together.”
“It does because the things I did were out of my nature.”
“Tell me; I want to know even if they are horrible.”
She told him about her friends with benefits arrangement with Luca, sleeping with David and what she did with Jimmy at Ember. She also told him about her overindulgence in alcohol during that time. He patiently listened to her, and his heart grew heavier with each piece she revealed.
“I’m so sorry. I just lost it when I got that email.”
“That brings me to something else I wanted to ask. Who is this person that invaded our relationship and what are we going to do about them? I’m sure that we can have them arrested for fraud.”
“I don’t want to do that. I have my own brand of justice for him.”
“You don’t need to risk injury to get him back. We can let the police handle it.”
“Please let me take care of it. He’ll get what he deserves.”
“It’s not that guy you were with at the party, is it?”
“I suspect it is, but I need to trap him to find out if he is the one.”
“I want you to be careful if you do. If he went to these lengths to break us up, then there is no telling what he might do. I worry you’ll get hurt.”
“He’s harmless, a little strange and creepy, but harmless.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Sunday was a lonely day for Ava. Xander was having lunch with his parents and his sister Suzanne. He hadn’t seen her for awhile, and he was elated that she was traveling from Stamford to see them. His niece and nephew decided to stay home since they didn’t want to miss a day of video games and movies.
Rather than study for the bar exam that was rapidly approaching, Ava decided to put her plan in motion. She called Tim to see if he was interested in getting together for coffee. He sounded far too eager to see her. It had been a couple of weeks since they had gotten together, which was the time she said she only wanted to be friends. During that time, they had rarely texted and spoke on the phone. He suggested he come over to her place, but she countered by saying they could meet at a small café near her apartment.
She was shocked by his appearance. He looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. It looked like he had aged far more than just his thirty years. He looked unkempt with a wrinkled shirt and jeans. It was a far cry from his usual appearance.
“Tim, are you okay? You look very tired?”
“I am. I have been very busy lately.”
The truth was that he wasn’t sleeping or eating very well. His business was booming, but there were occurrences that made him uneasy. Each week his college distributor needed more and more supply. It wasn’t just a small increase either. This concerned him but he was making great money, and all he had to do was pass the product off and collect. He had no need to sell to his students or sit in a cold alley on Friday nights.
They talked about things going on in their lives. He asked her if she was seeing anyone and she lied and said no. She said she was too busy with work and studying for the bar exam. As she talked to him, she simmered with anger and found it hard to contain herself.
“Tim, my cousin is concerned that her husband is cheating on her. Is there any way for her to track the people he talks to through text or email?”
Tim became all too accommodating showing her websites of places her cousin could download applications and explaining how to use them. She played dumb by saying she had no clue what he was talking about. She wasn’t very good when it came to technology. Then he explained to her that her cousin could also send an email to her husband using the same email from his lover. What an idiot he is. He just admitted he knows about these things.
They finished their coffee, and she invited him to her apartment to hang out. It was there that she was going to deliver the final punch to his gut. She was in danger of boiling over and she just might when they got into her apartment. She stood by her kitchen counter figuring out the right words to say while he sat on the couch.
“Tim have you ever used those types of applications?”
He rose from the couch, and she saw a look of fear flicker across his face.
“For who? Who would I use them on?”
“For me. I might not be up on technology, but I’m not stupid. You son of a bitch. You put those things on my phone and were tracking my every move. You knew everything that I was doing including where I was. How could you do that to me? You were supposed to be my friend.”
“You were my girlfriend, and then you go off for some weekend and all of sudden I get dumped? I deserved better than that.”
“I wasn’t your girlfriend, and I deserved better than what you did to me. How dare you send emails using such cruel words, breaking us apart. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? You are a disgusting person. I could have you arrested for what you did; it’s fraud.”
In a flick of a switch, Tim’s demeanor changed. He went from being frightened to enraged. He reached out and grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the refrigerator.
“You fucking whore. You think I don’t know what you were doing? You were fucking everyone but me.”
His hand squeezed her neck harder, and she clawed at him. He wasn’t much taller than her, but she was one hundred ten pounds to his one hundred sixty. She couldn’t speak and felt herself blacking out. It had been several years since she had self-defense classes but she lashed out with her knee and got him right between the legs. He loosened his grip, screaming in pain as she connected.
Ava reached out and started gouging at his eyes causing him to scream again. When she pulled her hands away, he was bleeding. He swung his hand and connected with her face, splitting her lip. She tasted blood and strangely, it made her feel powerful. Ava kicked at his stomach and connected, knocking the air out of him. Tim backed away giving her enough time to run into her bedroom and lock the door. It was a solid wood door, and he banged at it for several minutes before he realized he wouldn’t be able to get through.
She had left her phone in her purse on the counter, and she had no landline. It turned out she didn’t need it because the neighbors called the police when they heard the racket. The officers arrived just as Tim was running towards the fire stairs. They dragged him back to her apartment and identified themselves so she would come out.
She told the officer the entire story of what had happened, and they arrested Tim. He didn’t even look at her or try to dispute the story she told. The officers asked if she wanted medical attention, but she declined. After they had left, she looked at herself in the mirror. The corner of her lip was to
rn open, and blood had streaked onto her cheek. She dabbed at the blood. The worst part were the bruises on her neck. They were very visible on her ivory skin.
Ava iced her lip after she cleaned off the blood. She had to work tomorrow, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to hide the injuries. Xander was going to lose his mind when he saw what Tim had done to her. He would want to go to the police station and kill him. He had warned her, but she told him that Tim was harmless. It turned out that he was not what she thought.
An hour later her phone chirped with a text telling her that Xander was on his way. More than what had just occurred she was more upset at having him see her this way than they fact that she was attacked. He arrived fifteen minutes later, and she winced at the look on his face as she opened the door.
“What the fuck happened?” He yelled.
She was overtaken by emotion and started to cry.
“How did this happen? Who did this to you?”
He kissed her and took her to the bathroom.
She didn’t want to raise her head because in the dim light of the apartment he didn’t see the bruises on her neck. In the bright light of the bathroom, he would. It took him a moment before he noticed the bruises in the shape of a handprint.
“Oh my God. This was that bastard Tim, wasn’t it? I’m going to kill him. Where the fuck is he?”
“Jail. The police took him.”
“I told you he was dangerous.”
He kissed the bruises on her neck and gently turned her head to see the damage to her lip. It was a superficial wound, but the lip had swelled. He took her by the hand and filled a bag with ice, then brought her to her bedroom to lie down. Up until now, he was still wearing his coat and boots. Xander took them off and brought them to the entryway closet, then came back to lie with her.
“Did you tell the officers everything? Even about the applications and emails?”
“Yes, I told them what he did, every bit of it. He wouldn’t even look at me because he knew he was guilty.”
“I’m going to call the police station tomorrow to find out what they are charging him with besides assault.”