by J A Fielding
“Yes. Are you surprised?” Natasha shook her head.
“Depends. How old is this information?” she asked.
“Three months,” Stacy said as she gave her a guilty smile.
“Three…three months? Are you serious?” Natasha asked standing up.
“Where are you….” Stacy started asking before Natasha snapped her fingers.
“We are going out. You and I need to have a talk, a long one,” she said.
“But what about this, um…file…that, um…”
Natasha rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake, Stace, I know there is no work related thing on your screen and I’m your boss. You have the rest of the day off,” she said, pulling her from her seat. Stacy smiled and grabbed her bag.
“Awesome. Where are we going?” she asked as she followed her out of the office.
“Right now, the coffee place outside the office building. After that you can go wherever. I only have a couple of hours,” Natasha said as they got inside the elevator. As they rode down, Natasha tried thinking of all the things she wanted to ask as she adjusted the laptop bag on her shoulder. She had a billion and one questions. What happened? Did he cheat on her? Did she cheat on him….wait…was that even possible? The innocent Stacy she knew? But she did sleep with…no, fucked her cousin so the innocence was long gone. Once they were out, they casually made their way to the coffee shop.
“May I take your order?” the waiter asked when they sat down.
“Latte, please and…what will you have, Stace?” Natasha asked looking at the menu.
“I’ll just have the same,” Stacy said. When the waiter walked away, Natasha put the menu down and looked at Stacy.
“So, what happened?” she asked.
“Gee and I were okay at first….” Stacy started before Natasha put her hand up.
“Wait up. Who the fuck is Gee?” she asked.
“Oh, that’s how he first introduced himself to me. I kind of liked the name so…yeah. I stuck with it,” Stacy said. Natasha shook her head. That was a classic move from her cousin. He had once introduced himself as James Bond to a Russian model. Natasha could not put anything past him.
“So, what happened?” Natasha asked. Stacy paused for a minute as the waiter came back with their coffees.
“Well, Gee was a great guy at first in every way but what was supposed to be a one night stand became so much more than what I expected. I developed feelings for him and it was weird because I normally take a considerable amount of time before I even consider liking someone,” Stacy explained. “He was just what I needed at the time, a good friend who I occasionally slept with. I guess I overdid it,” she added smiling.
“What do you mean overdid it?” Natasha asked.
“About a month after your wedding, we hooked up again and then he moved back here for a while and we sort of decided to define the relationship. That was the beginning of the end. He was too….what’s the word…possessive, clingy, take your pick. I could not answer a call from a male workmate without him throwing a fit,” Stacy continued. “It was a living hell. So I broke it off,” she said, looking at Natasha.
“That was three months ago?” Natasha asked.
“No. That was four years ago. It was just after your wedding remember?” Stacy asked. Natasha nodded and then took a long sip of her coffee. It was evident that she had not been a very good friend to Stacy for a while.
“So? What happened next?” she asked, eager to know what had happened in Stacy’s life since then.
“Nothing much. We have been on and off for three years but he only seemed to get worse. Suddenly, he wanted to be around me all the time. He was talking about moving in together and, get this, he wanted me to quit my job,” Stacy said. Natasha’s eyes grew wide. She had known her family to have the crazies but this was a kind of crazy she had never expected.
“He wanted you to do what?” Natasha asked surprised.
“I know, right? I told him that was crazy. And he told me to choose. It was either him or my job and of course I chose my job,” Stacy said. “I just liked him. I did not love him nor was I in love with him and unfortunately, I think he was already there with me. I just could not handle it. So I made my choice,” Stacy said. Natasha looked at her and shook her head.
“So this was three months ago?” she asked. Stacy nodded. “I can’t believe you were in a relationship with my cousin for almost four years and I never knew about it,” she added. Stacy laughed.
“Technically, he was the one in the relationship. I just had an enthusiastic fuck buddy,” Stacy said, laughing. Natasha laughed and took another sip of her coffee.
“I just feel really bad that I didn’t know about this. I consider you one of my closest friends,” she said. Stacy smiled at her.
“I know and it is for that reason that I chose to keep the truth from you. You had a lot going on with you and work and the baby and Rita’s mother. There is only so much you can handle in your life at a given time, you know. You are not Wonder Woman,” Stacy said. She took another sip of her coffee and smiled. “Now that you have given me the day off, I think I will spend it with my new man since he is around this week,” she added. Natasha looked at her, surprised again.
“New man?” she asked, looking at Stacy who was now nodding. “The way you have just described your life left me thinking you would not have enough time to meet any new people. When did the new man happen?” she asked.
“Well, somewhere between Gee being an ass and me deciding to have a life,” Stacy said smiling. “It has not been so long. I met him a few months ago but it’s going so well. He is simply awesome,” she added.
“Okay. I need to know more about him. Like his name, where he’s from, what he does...that kind of thing,” Natasha said, smiling. Stacy laughed.
“Okay, but this feels like me being grilled by my parents the first time I brought my high school boyfriend home,” she said. Natasha laughed.
“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to make up for all those years,” she said. Stacy shrugged.
“His name is Larry. We met on one of those days I wish I was married to your husband,” she said. Natasha frowned.
“Say what?” she asked.
“Hey, don’t go all black girl on me. Sometimes there is so much work in that office I wish I could just go MIA for a week and get some much needed spa treatment,” Stacy said. “Yeah, so I was working late and there was literally no one to send on a food run. So I thought I would carry the work home. On my way I walked into one of those late night delis to get a sandwich and Larry had the same idea. He was working on a case and he needed some brain food. His words,” she explained.
Natasha could not help but notice the dreamy look she had in her eyes as she talked about him. She had never seen her like this with any other guy, not that she knew a lot of the men she had dated before.
“A lawyer,” Natasha said smiling. Stacy’s cheeks flushed.
“Yeah. He is a family lawyer at Smithson and Associates,” she said, smiling.
“Cool. You are never winning any arguments. You know that, right?” Natasha asked. Stacy shrugged and nodded.
“Sadly, I came to terms with that fact a long time ago” she said.
“You said he will be around for this week? Where is he going to be?” Natasha asked.
“He is working on something in New York starting next week and it may be a while. So I am taking all the time I can with him,” Stacy said, smiling. Natasha looked at her and smiled.
“You really are happy with him, aren’t you?” she asked. Stacy’s cheeks flushed again.
“Yeah, I am and I know it is still too early to say this but this is definitely the sort of guy I want to settle down with,” she said smiling. Natasha’s eyes grew wide. She reached across the table and took Stacy’s hands in hers.
“I am so happy for you, sweetie,” she said looking into Stacy’s beautiful blue eyes.
“Thanks,” she said before she pulled a hand out of Natasha’s grip. She took one
last sip of her latte and looked into Natasha’s eyes. Natasha smiled.
“It’s okay. You go on ahead,” she said. Stacy smiled and picked up her bag.
“Have fun in Aspen,” she said smiling.
“France,” Natasha corrected. Stacy frowned. “Naima gave us a place there. I think her friend owns it or something,” she added.
“Wow, you guys are sure lucky. You hit the jackpot with the Schmidts,” Stacy said. Natasha laughed.
“Really?” she asked still laughing. Stacy shrugged and then bent down to whisper in Natasha’s ear.
“Wherever you go to do the nasty, have a blast,” she whispered before walking off. Natasha smiled. This time it was her turn to blush. She took her bag and pulled out her laptop. She thought that since she had to wait for Mitchell, she might as well journal.
Dear Diary,
It has not been so long since my last entry but except for work, there hasn’t been much happening in my life. So let’s see....today was an awesome day. We were supposed to leave for Aspen in the morning but we got called into work. I know it sounds silly since we were supposed to be taking time off so that we could take some space from work and we got called back...haha...interesting. So, anyway, turns out that my work is globally acclaimed. This is a good time to give myself a well deserved pat on the back. So....applause...WHOOP WHOOP!!!
Natasha looked up feeling stupid at what she had just typed. She looked around and realized that no one had seen her goofy smile and after all, it was her diary anyway. She did not have to feel stupid for anyone. She looked down and went on typing.
So this woman from the United Arab Emirates walks into the office building and asks for me personally. That was a great honor. So we drove down to the office and had a great meeting. She is officially our new client on retainer plus she has just given us a thirty million dollar contract. I know!!! Thirty freaking million dollars! This has to be the greatest day of my life...okay, maybe the third greatest since there is my wedding day and the day Alexis was born. But then again, they will never see this so maybe this once I can say that today was greater than both days combined...she paused and then shook her head. Okay maybe not but it is a close second. And she also gave us a place to have our perfect weekend in France. I am so excited. I have only been to France once and it was for business plus Mitchell wasn’t even there!! But this time around I am a hundred percent sure that I will enjoy my time there. But I am a bit nervous. I want everything to be perfect but I am not so sure I’ll be able to. I am kind of out of practice...that sounded ridiculous in my head but it’s true. Me and Mitchell have actually become strangers in the bedroom. We only use our bed to sleep nowadays. It’s like work has taken all the magic out of our sex life. Sad face galore. But maybe I should just be relaxed and let everything come at its own pace. Kind of roll with the punches...we’ll see how it goes.
She looked at the bottom right corner and saw the time. Mitchell should have been back by now. She paid the bill and shut down her computer. She needed to get back before Mitchell did because she had every intention of taking her computer with her. As she walked back to the office, she could not help but feel like she was on top of the world. This was what she had dreamed of when she was in college, getting so good in her career that people come from all corners of the world just to work with her. And it was happening. When she got to the parking lot, she opened the trunk and put her computer under some of her clothes.
“Thank God for private jets,” she thought as she pictured Mitchell’s disappointed look at customs. She then walked back to her office and sat down at her desk. She thought back to the first day she walked into the doors of NSCS. She remembered the awkward feeling she got when she saw that one of the men who would be interviewing her would be the same hunk who had helped her out after she passed out in the parking lot earlier. The same guy who had made her get wet just by smiling at her. The guy who she never thought she would end up marrying. She smiled to herself. Things had a weird way of working themselves out. It had been one of those blessed embarrassing moments, if anything like that existed. She smiled to herself again. Stacy was right, she had hit the jackpot and it had nothing to do with the Schmidts’ net worth. It was to do with the fact that she had it all, the best of both worlds. Most people had either one or the other, a happy marriage or a great career, but not her. She was happy, she had a great career and she had a great family. What more could a girl ask for? This was so much more than most people ever got in their lifetime.
Chapter 5
After having coffee with Stacy, Natasha made a call to Rita. She was right to take a vacation but the truth was, she had no idea what to do for two whole days. Of course, the whole idea was to rekindle the romance but she had become so much of a workaholic that she didn’t know how to just live a life of fun anymore, not just with her husband, but in every aspect of her life.
“Hey girl. I thought you’d be in some posh resort in Aspen by now,” Rita said when she picked up. Natasha smiled.
“Well, there was a last minute change of plans. Something came up at work,” she said.
“What? I thought the whole point of taking time off was to get work out of your system,” Rita said surprised.
“I know, but this one was a major one. There was no one to take the meeting and the lady asked for me in person,” Natasha explained.
“Really? What made her so special?” Rita asked.
“Well, I can think of thirty million reasons and that’s just off the top of my head plus she looks like a great art collector too. This may be a win-win,” Natasha said. She heard Rita take a long deep breath.
“Forget I said anything,” Rita said. Natasha laughed. That was so predictable of her. “So, I am in kind of some deep shit. I think I may have lost my touch in bedroom matters,” she said. She heard Rita laugh.
“That is not possible. You are like Spartacus and the arena,” she said. Natasha shrugged as if Rita could see her.
“Well, I don’t feel that way,” she said. Rita laughed again.
“Look, the more you stress about it, the more terrible you will be at it. If you have such a hard time getting in the mood, let him lead. You’d be surprised at how much potential playing the humble servant can unlock,” she said. Natasha laughed at her choice of words.
“There is no hope for you, girlfriend,” she said in a mock Madea voice before she hang up.
As they rode to the airport later that evening, she could still feel Rita’s words ringing in her ears. Maybe she was right. Maybe letting Mitchell lead would work in her favor.
And it did. As soon as they were airborne, she caught Mitchell giving her a look, that all-knowing “I want to rip your clothes off” look. She smiled at him and shook her head.
“What? You have a look that tells me that this is not one of my ordinary flights,” she said. Mitchell shook his head.
“I am not looking at you any different than I have for the last four years,” he said.
“Really? Because that bulge in your pants can hardly wait to get to the chateau so that it can be freed,” she said. Mitchell laughed. “And there is the guilty laugh that tells me I am right,” she added as she ripped open a bag of peanuts. Mitchell reached for the bag and placed it next to his seat making Natasha give him a confused look.
“You know one of the perks of not flying commercial is the privacy,” he said, pulling her close to him. She smiled.
“Mitchell Schmidt, what do you have in mind?” she asked.
“Roll with it honey, roll with it,” Mitchell said as he pulled her down to kiss her. She closed her eyes as their lips met in one passionate kiss that almost left her breathless. She felt a tingle run down her spine as he kissed her. She had to admit, he had not kissed her like that since…back when they were dating. She was almost out of breath when he finally pulled away from her. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
“Babe, the pilot is still here in this plane, you know,” she said in a whisper.
“T
hat makes it even hotter,” he said smiling. Natasha shook her head. It was like making out with a teenage boy behind the bleachers. She hated the fact that thinking about it that way made her feel even more aroused than she was supposed to be. She smiled and allowed herself to get lost in his kiss. He pulled her down and Natasha got the point. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck. She loved every moment of his kiss. The way he was caressing her back was sending shock waves through her body. She began cursing herself for not wearing pants. She would have straddled him right there but then again, a dress gave him the perfect leeway to get his hand up under the thin fabric and feel the smooth skin of her legs. She let out a soft moan as she felt his hand slowly running up and down her thigh. She pulled away from him and then looked into his eyes as she ran her fingers through his thick hair. He smiled as he let one of his hands go up her back and slowly pull the zipper down. She breathed slowly as he let the dress slip down her shoulders.
He looked at her breasts concealed behind her royal blue lace bra. He could have sworn her breasts looked bigger but that was just probably because he had not seen her undressed in a long time. She looked into his eyes and began to loosen his tie.
“I must say that you in a suit, looking all official, makes me all hot,” she said as she let the tie drop on the floor. She smiled and pushed his coat off his shoulders before she began undoing his shirt buttons.
“Well, I’m officially turned on by all these right here,” he said as he put his hands on her breasts. She gasped when she felt her nipples respond almost immediately to his touch. He smiled as she ran her fingers down his chest. She could feel his body tingling as he brought his fingers closer to his crotch. The excitement was not only being dished out to her. He took the reins and began running his lips along her neck. She snaked an arm around him as she felt him kissing her neck, slowly at first and then more intensely as he went on. She was still getting used to his lips being on her neck when he suddenly began running his tongue up and down her neck slowly. She was not sure whether it was the fact that this had not happened in a long time or that it was his expert moves, but she was sure of one thing, whatever he was doing was good…too good.