by Adams,Claire
********
I ended up going home alone that evening. Before the night was over, Adam received a call from the CEO of the large petroleum company our firm had begun representing recently. There was a large oil spill in the gulf, and Hanson and Partners were the attorneys for the defendants, a large and very rich company that was being sued for hundreds of millions by the EPA and others who had smelled money and jumped in on the bandwagon. Adam normally sent an associate or a junior partner when something came up late in the evening, but this new liaison with the Petroleum Company was sure to prove to be a lucrative one. Adam felt that while we were still in the courting stages at least, he should give them VIP service.
I had been disappointed at first, but once home and in my comfy yoga pants and cotton t-shirt, I decided that a night alone to think might be just what I needed to figure this all out. I made myself a cup of hot cocoa and called Kyla, my best friend. I knew she would be up because she’d been at the party I just left.
“Hi.” She always sounded like she had a smile in her voice. It was one of the many things I loved about her. “Missed me already?”
“Of course, I did,” I told her. I took a breath then and said, “I need some advice.”
“About Nico?” Kyla asked, playfully. She knew good and well that wasn’t the advice I was looking for.
With a groan, I said, “No! Did everyone see me make a fool of myself with Nico tonight?”
Kyla laughed. “Calm down, silly. I was only giving you a hard time. I saw Adam watching you and Nico dance, and I swear he had storm clouds in his eyes. Then you two disappeared for a while, and you both looked happier and a little flush when you came back. I suppose though that since I am the only one at the firm that knows the truth, I was paying much closer attention than anyone else.”
“Thank you, Kyla,” I trusted her with my and Adam’s secret because I knew she was too loyal to ever say anything to anyone. “I hope Nico didn’t get the wrong idea, though.”
“I think Nico indulged a bit much in the champagne fountain tonight. Odds are he won’t remember all that much in the morning.”
“Good. The last thing I need is another man at work angry with me.”
“Is Adam angry with you?”
“No, not anymore, anyways,” I told her. “I just don’t know what to do, though. I’m so tired of all this drama with Marjorie affecting his moods. I’m tired of pretending to everyone at work that I’m just another colleague of his. But every time I think of calling it quits, I look at him and I melt all over again. What’s wrong with me, Kyla?”
“Absolutely nothing at all,” my friend said, “You’re in love, that’s all. It can be the most wonderful, amazing, titillating, frustrating, maddening feeling you’ve ever had. It’s just confusing sometimes. I know it’s hard for you having to hide it.”
“Well, thank you for saying nothing is wrong with me, but you’ve told me what I already know. Don’t you have any special advice that will relieve this ache in my soul? It wants to reach out to him, but I feel like I have to keep it in a cage.”
“My advice to you is that if your soul is already involved, aching or not, you’re in too deep to get out now. Follow your heart, honey. You have a great head on your shoulders, but sometimes you get too analytical with that attorney brain of yours. Try not to overthink it, just do what your heart tells you to do. Hearts always know best in the end.”
“Thank you, Kyla. My heart loves you, too. Get some rest.”
“I will, you, too. I will see you bright and early Monday morning in court.”
“I can’t wait,” I said sarcastically with my lip curled. The case we had to be in court for on Monday had consumed every one of our waking hours for months now. I wasn’t looking forward to facing the sleazy D.A., but I was looking forward to the surprise we had for him. “The NYPD and our tacky little D.A. are going to be dumbfounded when we present the motion to suppress the confession.”
“Yep, I can’t wait to see Dawson’s face,” Kyla said.
“Me, too!” I heartily agreed. Dawson was Robert Dawson. He was the D.A. for the Manhattan borough of New York, and he was also a short, balding, and pudgy little man with beady eyes and hairy arms that thought his position of prosecutor gave him some kind of clout with the ladies. He has hit on both Kyla and me more than once. He’s a pig, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I offered up the evidence that his police detectives had coerced a confession out of my client after he had asked for a lawyer.
Our client in this case is the son of a very wealthy contractor who was already a client of the firm. The kid’s name is Nelson, and he is not very likeable at all, which makes my work even harder. It’s not really his fault. He was the product of uber rich parents who had little time to help him develop his social skills and instead gave him every material thing he could ever want. I knew, though, that the kid hadn’t done what they were accusing him of. It was all part of a political game and I had no use for people who would play games with a young man’s life, whether he’s likeable or not.
After hanging up with Kyla, I headed for bed. Just before snuggling down underneath the soft down comforter that my mother had helped me pick out just before my move to New York, my phone rang. It was Adam.
“Hi, baby. Did I wake you?” he asked.
“No, I was just lying down. I’m glad you called.”
“I wanted to say goodnight. I hope you’re not mad at me still.”
I didn’t want to get into it again right then, so I said, “No, I understand. How did the meeting go?”
Adam sighed. “This isn’t going to be pretty. A reporter from the Times has zoned in on the story and is acting as if she has taken up the Cross. She’s hounding the CEO of Brigham Mobile, no matter how many walls the company puts up to protect him. This reporter, Rose Dugan is her name; I hear she's like a dog with a bone when she gets ahold of a story. She's digging into his personal life and personal finances. She has also started beating a drum about his connection to the presidential campaign.”
“Can you get a judge to issue a gag order?” I asked.
“I wish,” he said, “Unfortunately, this was an international incident, and apparently the ‘people’ have a right to know. I’ve scheduled a meeting with Ms. Dugan in the morning. Hopefully, I can convince her to ease up…”
“Be careful. Hanson doesn’t need a reporter snapping at our heels with everything else that’s going on.”
“I will. I just wanted to say goodnight and I am thinking about you.”
“Goodnight, Adam, sweet dreams.”
“I will be dreaming about you,” he told me.
CHAPTER TWO
ADAM
I was running late. The meeting with the oil company had gone on and on last night and then after I’d gotten home and talked to Alicia on the phone, I couldn’t go to sleep. I wanted her in my arms. I understood why my situation would upset her. If things were reversed, I doubt I’d put up with it. I just have to find a way to make her understand that I’m doing this for us. If I let Marjorie take everything that I’ve worked for my entire life, there would be nothing left for us. I’m not willing to let that happen. Alicia and I both just had to be patient. This divorce couldn’t drag on forever.
I rushed into the café where the reporter Rose and I had arranged to meet. I only left five minutes late but the traffic on the turnpike had been horrific and now I was running a half an hour behind. I had seen a picture of Rose under her byline in the paper so I knew her as soon as I spotted her sitting at a table alone sipping her coffee. I watched her for a moment, as she had yet to notice me. She held her coffee with one hand and sent and received text messages on her phone with the other. She looked so young to have such an important position. I smiled as I remembered having the same thought the first time Alicia had walked into my office for her job interview. I assumed it must have something to do with growing older. Everyone else seemed to be getting younger. Sometimes I couldn’t believe
I was already forty. It was kind of a depressing thought.
The young lady finally looked up from her texting and I took that opportunity to gauge her expression as I approached her table. I made eye contact with her and watched her look over my three-thousand-dollar suit. I’m not pretentious. I just truly believe that how a person dresses is an extension of who they are both personally and professionally. I thought I detected a change in the confident expression the young woman had pasted on her face. It was very brief, but I recognized anxiety when I saw it. Holding out my hand as I approached the table, I said, “Ms. Dugan?”
She stood up, all five feet two of her, and offered her hand, as well. I was surprised to find that although her hand was so small and appeared fragile, she possessed a powerful grip. “Yes. Mr. Hanson, I presume?” she said, releasing my hand and sitting back down. “Please, take a seat.”
I sat down and said, “Please forgive me for being late. The traffic was terrible for a Sunday.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, “I drove all the way in from Queens. I think it must be the approaching holidays bringing more people out and about in the city.”
“Well, Ms. Dugan, I am grateful to you for spending your Sunday morning driving into Manhattan to meet with me.”
“Please, call me Rose,” she said, “And maybe we can save the small-talk and get right to the point of why we’re here today.”
I raised an eyebrow at her brusqueness, but if that’s what she wanted, that’s what she would get. “Okay, Rose, right to the point we’ll get. I like that. Perhaps you can explain to me why you are determined to smear my client’s good name all over the front page of your paper?”
“Well…Adam…do you mind if I call you Adam?” I nodded slightly, knowing full well that calling me by my first name was an attempt on her part to keep us on equal footing.
“First of all, your client’s ‘good name’ as you put it, was lost the day he spilled hundreds of gallons of oil into the Gulf and killed countless fish, birds, and wildlife. Not to mention, contaminated drinking supplies to thousands of human beings.” I stayed silent, and Rose continued, “Second, I am simply doing my job, reporting the news, as are you doing yours, defending slimy oil barons who support crooked politicians.”
I smiled. It was a happy smile, but an ironic one. It wasn’t often that I met someone that stood up to me so easily. I knew I could be intimidating and over-bearing. It typically bodes well for me in my business. I could see that with this young lady, I would possibly need to use a softer approach.
“I agree that we are both doing our jobs. What I would like is for us to find a way to do our jobs without resorting to smear campaigns in the press.”
“And if I should choose not to smear your clients so called ‘good name,’ what would be in that for me?”
I could tell that although she was doing a great job of keeping her facial features neutral, her eyes were daring me to offer her some sort of bribe. I thought about what Alicia had said about being careful. I got the feeling she was dead on in this case. Rose Dugan was hoping that I would turn out to be a dirty, slimy S.O.B. Smiling what I thought was my most charming smile I said,
“Going to bed at night, happy in the knowledge that you’ve done the right thing?”
She laughed. “I sleep very well at night, thank you for your concern.” Her phone vibrated, and looking at it, she said, “If that’s all, I really need to be going.”
I was confused. I just got here. Was she only just trying to set me up for a bribe? “I thought you wanted an interview from someone close to Brigham Oil? You’ve hardly gotten anything but my name.” Rose stood up with her phone in her hand and her purse on her arm and as she started walking away said,
“No, Mr. Hanson, I do believe I also got your number. Have a nice day.” And with that, she was gone.
I sat motionless for a moment. I was infuriated by this practical child’s holier than thou attitude. What could someone so young and inexperienced know about anything? My number? What the hell does she think she means by that? I shook my head and mumbled out loud to myself as I left the restaurant, “She's way in over her head. I hope she knows what she’s in for.”
********
When I got to Alicia’s apartment that night, she was just putting the
finishing touches on the table for dinner. I realized as soon as I saw her how much I’d missed her. God, she's beautiful. I pulled her into my arms and gave her a long, deep kiss. “Wow!” she said, breathlessly when I allowed her to come up for air. “What was that for?”
“Because I missed you, and I needed that.” She had her pretty dark auburn hair braided along the side of her face and wasn’t wearing any make-up. The freckles across her nose were visible and it made her look a lot younger than her twenty-seven years. I kissed the tip of her nose and said, “I barely slept without you next to me last night.” I moved into the living room and she followed me. I loosened my silk tie and plunked my lanky frame down on her couch.
She sat down next to me and put her hand on my thigh. As tired as I was, I felt an erection rising from her simple touch. “Rough day?” she asked.
I ignored the erection for now. I really was afraid that I was too tired. I sighed instead and rubbed my temples. “Rose Dugan is not our only problem where the press is concerned. This entire case is being tried in the press. I talked to Alex today. The president’s campaign manager wants a meeting with me. We want our name taken out of everything concerning this lawsuit. Brigham’s people, however, are holding onto the fact that we are politically connected and want to use that our advantage. I’m exhausted.”
I leaned my head back into the couch and closed my eyes. When Alicia asked if I’d like a glass of wine I nodded, but left my eyes closed. I felt her get up and go into the kitchen. I opened them when I heard her come back in, and as I took the glass with one hand, I patted the couch next to me with the other hand and told her, “Sit.”
She sat, and I put my arm around her and pulled her in close. She smelled so good. It was just more encouragement for my cock to stretch out the front of my pants. “Some days I wish it was like this always,” I told her. “Just you and I, a glass of good wine, and a comfy couch. That’s all a man really needs.”
Alicia smiled and laid her head on my shoulder and agreed, “Me, too.” We sat that way for a while before she finally mentioned that dinner was probably getting cold.
I reluctantly got off the couch and followed her to the dining room. “It smells delicious,” I told her as my senses came alive at the smells coming from the kitchen.
“I made lobster bisque soup, boiled snow crab, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce.”
“Sounds great.” We sat down and ate mostly in silence, making a little small talk here and there, but both of us trying to avoid the subject of work. Dinner was as good as it smelled. I was surprised sometimes at how domestic she was since she was raised in a house with wealthy parents and a full-time staff. She told me it was part of her “training” to be a lady. I helped her wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen. As we made our way back to the living room, I let out a big yawn.
“Would you like to turn in early tonight?” she asked. I was tired, but I needed her worse than sleep. I grabbed her from behind pulled her up against me so her round butt was against my rising erection.
I bent down and put my mouth to her ear and said, “I want to go to bed, but I’m not sleepy.”
She laughed and wriggled her way around so that she was facing me and then she rose up on her toes and kissed my lips. “Then let’s stop screwing around in here.” We walked backwards down the hall with our lips and tongues connected. My hands were busy removing her clothes while we walked and by the time we made it to her bedroom, I had her out of her shirt and bra. Her body is incredible.
I pulled out of the kiss and began unbuttoning her skirt while my hands reveled in the feel of her soft skin. I teased her nipples gently until they stood at full attention and watched as her skir
t fell to the floor. I didn’t wait for her to finish taking off her panties before I lifted her up and lay her back on the bed. I grabbed the panties and pulled them down myself and then stood there for a minute just drinking her in.
“God, you’re beautiful,” I breathed out while I began taking off my own clothes. I couldn’t stand her lying there like that and not touching her, so I used one hand to play with her nipples while I finished undressing with the other.
Once I was naked, I lay down on the bed and pulled her up on top of me. I pulled her down for another hot kiss and ran my hands down her back until I got to her ass. I clutched her cheeks in my hands, squeezing and massaging them while she slid her lips down and attached them to my neck. She kissed softly at first, but the harder I touched her, the harder she sucked and nibbled at my neck. My core felt like it was on fire and my cock was rock hard now. She kissed down to my chest as I continued my massage on her shoulders. By the time she had slid all the way down to my stomach, I couldn’t stand it anymore. If she took me in her mouth tonight, I was going to explode. I pulled her back up. She smiled down at me and while I slid her now soaking wet pussy back and forth across my hard cock, I reached up and took out the band holding her braid in place. I ran my fingers through her hair until it was loose around her smooth white shoulders and then I pulled her down for another kiss. I felt her hand slide down between us while we kissed and take hold of my cock. I groaned into her mouth as she gave it a couple of strokes. It was covered with her warm, sticky juices. She pulled her hips up slightly and lined me up with her opening before pulling out of the kiss to sit up straight. She lowered herself down on my cock slowly until I was buried inside of her and we were skin to skin. She whimpered when she hit bottom. God, I love making her moan. My wife had been one cold, uptight bitch. Alicia is just the opposite. She's a little wildcat in bed and I fucking love it.
I reached up and played with her perfect tits while she moved up and down on top of me. I thrust up my hips to meet hers and each time I hit bottom, she cried out. I pulled her down so that I could take one of her nipples in my mouth and sucked her whole breast in. I licked and sucked on it and the harder I sucked and scraped my teeth along the edge of her nipples, the faster she moved and the more noise she made.