by Nella Tyler
“Nobody has turned in a phone if anyone does I will certainly call you,” she said as the beautiful woman went along with my lie.
“Thank you so much,” I said to the receptionist. “It was good seeing you, Alicia, I’ll see you at the gallery tomorrow night.”
The men behind Alicia were not known to me, except for one: Bill Yobi. He stood and peered at me like he wanted to kill me right there in the lobby. I wasn’t quite sure what I had ever done to him that he hated me so much, but he definitely hated me. The look in his eyes could have killed me on the spot if he had laser vision.
I waved and made my way out of the building and around the corner. My gut sad that I should wait and watch Alicia with the group of men. It was odd that she had a so many men involved in a women’s clothing company. I wondered if the men were investors or part of her company. Yet I couldn’t help but think how utterly strange it was that Alicia never had other women around here; especially at work.
I tucked myself into a doorway as Alicia and the men she was with left the building and drove off. Part of me wanted to turn around and go back into the building and flirt with that receptionist and see if she would tell me where the boxes had been moved. But I realized it would be too much of a risk because the receptionist likely would talk with Alicia.
“Sir, you are going to have to move from that doorway,” a young kid dressed in a security officer's uniform said.
“I’m sorry.”
I stepped out of the doorway and started to walk down the street before a great idea came to me.
“Do you know where ALL Warren Clothing brought their storage boxes? I helped pack them and lost my phone yesterday.”
“Oh yeah, Mr. Yobi had the boxes sent to Ms. Warren’s condo. I’m sure you could just ask her about your phone.”
“Oh, yes, thank you.”
Of course, I could just ask Alicia. I’m sure she would love to have me over to her house and let me have an hour to rummage through her secret documents. I had to laugh as I thought about how I had just had the documents in my hands but then let them slip away.
My frustration level was through the roof and, of course, the first thing I thought about was heading back over to Edward’s Bar. But after the event with Stacey, I really didn’t have the energy to go there again. Instead, I made my way home and decided to spend the evening hunkered down on my own couch without distractions.
I enjoyed having some time to myself every now and again. It didn’t happen very often, mostly because I liked spending naked time with women much more than I liked being alone. But overall, some independent time to relax was often very useful to me. It gave me the necessary time to reflect on life as well as plan my days ahead.
Most people took their weekends to relax, but I worked almost every day of the week. I didn’t get time to just sit around and worry about things. I worked hard for my money and that involved working all weekend long, nights and holidays. Working hard was something I loved to do, it meant that I was closer and closer to being the best in my field.
Although I still had a long way to go if I wanted to make partner. My portfolio would need to be strong for at least a year and I would need to bring in almost double my current clientele. I was possible, though, I knew it was; especially because of the level of work I was able to put into building my brand.
Chapter Nineteen
Unfortunately, Alicia hadn’t called or text me since we had seen each other at her office last. This girl was either extremely busy or playing the ultimate game of hard to get; I wasn’t sure which it was just yet.
To be honest, I didn’t know if she was even going to show up at the gallery event that we had planned to meet up at. She was obviously a very independent woman and didn’t need a man on her side, but I couldn’t help but think she wanted a man around.
The way she looked at me when we were alone together made me think she wanted me to be the man she kept around. It was near impossible to get a read from her when we were around other people, though. Or maybe it was just when we were around people she knew?
It wasn’t really my kind of thing to call a woman and ask if she was going to be at an event, especially if we had already planned to meet there. Typically women didn’t stand me up, they were eager to show up to spend time with me.
When I arrived at the gallery, I instantly realized that I was very much underdressed for the evening. My expensive jeans and black t-shirt made me feel like I was one of those hipster guys who didn’t feel the need to conform to traditional dress codes. Yet, I was very much the kind of guy who conformed to dress codes. I loved dress codes! It made me feel secure in both my work and private life; so I felt very exposed as I stood in the gallery in my casual attire.
Logically, I knew that no one really cared about what I had on. Men just weren’t the center of attention when it came to clothing, but as I looked around at the evening gowns that the women had on; I wanted to hide.
My instinct guided me toward the corner of the room where I was not as visible, yet I could see everything that was going on. I kept my eyes peeled for Alicia and hoped she wouldn’t just leave when she realized the dress was so much more formal than I had thought.
Then I saw her.
She had on a short green dress, which was casual but looked appropriate enough for the event. In fact, with her hair pulled up in a bun, Alicia could have pulled off any look she wanted in that dress.
“You showed up,” she said to me after she made her way across the room.
“Me? Of course I did. I wouldn’t give up the opportunity for date number four.”
“Yep, maybe this time you’ll get lucky,” Alicia leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
The funny thing was, I felt pretty damn lucky already. I grabbed her and pulled her up against me and took her mouth with mine. I didn’t wait until the end of the date. I didn’t want to. I wanted to kiss her and I was going to do exactly that.
She pulled back from me at first, but then quickly gave in to her desire for me. It felt like we were the only two people in the room as I held onto her and our bodies worked together to entice each other.
Slowly, I moved my hands from her hips down to her ass, but Alicia grabbed them and pulled them back up. While she kept kissing me.
Then I tried to do it again, but she held onto my hands and pressed them into her back so I couldn’t moved them. I wiggled my hips so she could feel my cock as it hardened. That’s what she did to me. She needed to know that just her lips against mine made my body react like that. Her body and my body were like electricity when they were together. The voltage was high and the more I kissed her, the more I was drawn to kiss her more and more.
“I think you dressed up a little too much,” Alicia said as she pulled her lips away from mine.
“You think?” I said as I shrugged and smiled.
“Good thing you’re so damn good looking, I doubt anyone will notice your clothes.”
Alicia was happy again. It was like a switch that turned on when she was away from work or the people she worked with. The Alicia that stood in front of me at that moment was the same one that had been at the trampoline place before.
This Alicia, she was the one I liked. She was happy and confident. Her genuineness overpowered me and made me want to do anything I could to make her life easier. She wasn’t guarded or sad, she wasn’t evasive or worried; this Alicia needed to come out much more often.
“You look amazing,” I replied as I tried to take the attention off of me.
My hands moved up and down her hips as I felt the fabric of her green dress under my fingers. I could have fucked her right there. Everything about the moment had my body on high alert and I wanted to bring her to a back room and screw her until she screamed and screamed with desire.
Alicia played it so cool between us; I had to wonder when the last time was that she had even had sex. She was so distant, I wondered if she had ever had a man and had her heart broken. That seemed like a huge poss
ibility.
“Thanks, Evan,” she kissed me again but this time on the check. “Let’s go take a look at these paintings. Should we?”
“Yep, that’s what we are here for. Let’s do it.”
Alicia grabbed onto my arm and let me lead her around the room as we looked at each of the paintings. She was utterly entertained by the artwork and seemed enthralled with all the details. It was so enjoyable to watch when we met up with the artist and Alicia and her were able to talk about creativity and working as independent artists.
I noticed Alicia got bashful when it came to talking about the success of her company. She didn’t tell the artist just how large her clothing line had gotten, most likely because she liked to identify herself as an artist.
To me, Alicia certainly was an artist. It didn’t matter how big her company had grown to. Alicia still enjoyed the creative aspect of designing new clothes. I could tell it on her face as she talked about her new designs, she was passionate about them. Her life revolved around the creative aspect of her company and she appeared to hate the business side of things. This made me feel like she was ripe for the taking when it came to being swindled by Bill or anyone else who was trying to control her financials. Alicia just didn’t understand how quickly someone could control her entire company if she wasn’t careful.
My heart ached for Alicia. I knew there was something shady going on with her company and I wanted to just come out and tell her. But the problem was that I didn’t have firm evidence yet. I didn’t have anything more than a suspicion that something was going on. I also didn’t have a clear idea if Alicia was part of the problem or not. Although I didn’t think it was possible, Alicia could have been the best actress ever and could have been deceiving me the entire time. I had no proof one way or the other.
“You want to take me home tonight?” Alicia asked as she sipped on her fourth glass of champagne.
“Of course I do.”
I had waited over a week to hear those words from her mouth. Yes, I wanted to take her home. I wanted to take her right into her bed. My body wanted to do things to her that would make her scream out in pleasure. It was the only solution to the thoughts that I constantly had in my head of Alicia.
“Let’s go then,” she winked at me.
I grabbed her hand and lead her out of the gallery and to a cab that was out front. As we got into the cab Alicia blurted out her address and we didn’t waste any time. I leaned over and met her tender lips with mine and let my hand move slowly between her thighs.
My body wanted to take her right there, but my brain didn’t want to scare her away. She was finally interested in moving things along a little so I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize that. I wanted to be the man she needed me to be so I could have her.
At her place, she let me come upstairs with her and I felt my body react with excitement. It was finally here. I could have her naked in her bed and then maybe find the financial information some time during the middle of the night. Somehow I would make it work, I knew I would.
At her door, Alicia stopped and I felt like she had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. She went back and forth and contemplated me and the relationship we had so far.
“You are so beautiful,” I said as my lips touched hers gently.
It was the truth, Alicia was insanely pretty. Both in the traditional sense and the non-traditional sense. She was quirky, yet fashionable. She was shy, yet strong. Alicia was the whole package and my mind kept thinking about that.
“Thank you for a fun night.”
“You are very welcome,” I said as I used my hands to pull her body tight against mine.
“I’d invite you in, but I can’t.”
And there it was! The explosion, the letdown, the most devastating news of the night. I wanted in that apartment. I wanted in her bed. I wanted in her. It was devastating to hear her say that there was no way for me to come inside with her that night. My need to have her grew with every visit and I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to hold out. Sooner or later, I needed to be with her. I had to.
Without much pushing, I decided to just give Alicia one last kiss and then head home for the night. I knew her well enough to know that if she said no that it wouldn’t happen that night, then she meant it.
Alicia was honest and sweet and incredibly sexy. It just solidified my thoughts that someone else was at the bottom of my search for the fraud in her company. Alicia couldn’t be behind it, she was just too genuine.
“I understand,” I said as I gave her one last kiss.
“How would you like to go to my friends clothing line fashion show tomorrow?”
“Well fashion is obviously my thing,” I said as I pointed to my jeans. “I would love to attend their show. What kind of clothing do they have?”
“It’s a mix between classic American and grunge, you’ll love it.”
I didn’t want to tell her that I probably would hate it. Although men’s fashion was somewhat interesting to me, women’s fashion just didn’t have a spot in my heart. But since it was clear that I would not be getting to have my way with Alicia that night; I had to move forward with a plan for another day.
As I left the building, I felt a twinge of anger build up inside of me. As sweet and innocent as Alicia seemed, it was odd that she continued to avoid us having a night together. Women just didn’t do that to me. I knew it sounded like I was a chauvinist pig, but I really couldn’t figure out why Alicia kept denying me.
She obviously found me attractive; we had a chemistry that almost electrified us when we were near each other. There was no explanation for her turning me down over and over.
Then there was her reasoning or lack of reasoning when she didn’t invite me inside. She simply said she couldn't.
What did that mean? Why couldn’t she?
Alicia was a grown woman; she could do whatever she wanted. If she had wanted to invite me to her place she certainly could have. As we had made our way up to her apartment, I thought for sure she was going to invite me in, and then there was a pause just as we got there. Something made her change her mind at the last minute and I had no idea what it was, but I was going to find out.
I wasn’t going to quit that easily. I needed those financial records and I wanted Alicia, both of them would be mine very soon. I was sure of it.
Chapter Twenty
Another night without sleep and I was a zombie as I showed up to work. The temporary assistant was there and she handed me my coffee exactly as I wanted it. She came in a moment later and gave me the numbers for the day.
“Darla? Was that your name?” I asked as she turned to leave the room.
“Yes, Mr. Gade.”
“Oh for God’s sake, call me Evan.”
“Alright. Evan it is. You look like you had a rough night. Anything I can help you with?”
“Not unless you can tell me the secret to women,” I laughed, but I was actually very serious. I would kill for a woman to just let me in on the secrets.
Especially the secrets a woman like Alicia kept. Those were obviously so well hidden that I couldn’t even begin to scrape them away from her. The closer I got to Alicia, the farther away I felt. There were moments when I saw it in her eyes, she was distant and somewhere totally different than in that moment with me. Other times I felt totally connected to her. The problem was, I couldn’t tell when I had the distant version of Alicia or when I had the other version.
“Oh, I can’t tell you much about women. I still haven’t figured them out myself. My wife is constantly an enigma to me.”
I froze solid in my seat as Darla talked. Did she just say her wife?
“You’re a lesbian?” I blurted out in the most unacceptable socially awkward way.
She laughed and then came back into the room and sat across from me. I felt like people probably asked her that question a lot out of shock when she told them she had a wife. First of all, she was so drop dead beautiful that it didn
’t seem like the universe should give her to another woman. But I wasn’t against lesbianism, I was a huge fan; especially when I got to be involved in their intimate time.
“Yes, I am. I’m married,” she flashed her ring at me. “We have two children, also.”
“Wow.”
I couldn’t respond with anything else. I was mind blown by the revelation that Darla, with tattoos all over and a shy personality, was a lesbian mother. It was a new age for sure and I was all for equality. I just had not ever had the chance to meet such a progressive woman; most likely because I spent my days in the most traditional of places, the stock market. Although I estimated that many of the women who worked in my field could be lesbians, or at least told a lot of men off by telling them they were.
“Is it so shocking to meet a lesbian in this day and age?”
“No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You are beautiful and I bet your wife is as well.”
“No, we won’t have a threesome with you,” Darla said as she smiled at me.
“I bet you get asked that a lot.”
“Every time someone finds out I like women.”
“It’s one of a man’s biggest fantasies. We can’t help but ask a pretty woman to give it a go. Especially if you have another pretty woman at home.”
“So let’s get back to you understanding women. What’s up? Do you have women troubles?”
I didn’t want to delve into my issues too much, but I did like the idea of bouncing around my thoughts with another woman.
“I’ve been on four dates with this woman and we haven’t slept together yet.”
As the words came out of my mouth, I heard how ridiculous I sounded. Had I really become so accustomed to instant gratification that I didn’t even know what normal dating was?
Darla laughed as she thought I was joking with her, but when she noticed the look on my face, she realized I was unfortunately very serious.
“Come on, four dates is nothing. You want to get to know her don’t you?”