by Ju Ephraime
He owed a great deal of his progress on his present project to her. Some days he wondered what he’d do if she up and left him, which is why he insisted an exorbitant salary for him be included in his budget, but she was worth every penny.
She was standing in his office now, looking lost. She always looked lost. He suspected it was because her mind was always occupied elsewhere.
She was a rather plain-looking young woman, who took no particular pride in her appearance. She always wore her signature baggy jeans and a tee. Her hair appeared to be fairly long, although he couldn’t be sure because it was always bunched up on top of her head in a thick knot.
She wore no makeup and had some thick glasses, which she was forever pushing back up her nose. Her features came mainly from her Caucasian mother, but her dark brown eyes and wide generous mouth came from her father, who was a full-blooded coolie—the local name for the native East Indians on the island. These Indians came to the Caribbean at the time of slavery and had remained, just like the Africans.
The inhabitants of the island of St. Lucia, like all the other islands, were a mixture of so many different races and nationalities that he had given up trying to figure them out. Besides, whenever he’d tried, he’d been wrong.
“If I’m not back by four, you can lock up, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told her.
“Okay, Mr. Montgomery. I’ll take care of things here until you return.”
Grabbing his car keys and briefcase, he left her standing in the office looking over the notes he’d been working on.
***
As he emerged from the roundabout into the traffic heading toward the northern end of the island, he picked up his phone and dialed Josephine’s. He was praying Josephine answered the phone. He was in luck; she answered on the third ring.
“Josephine’s, how may I help you?” she said.
“Hi, Josephine, Todd Montgomery here. I’m hoping you can help me. What’s on the lunch menu today?”
“Oh, hi, Mr. Montgomery. Today we’re serving steamed red snapper, root vegetables, and stewed black-eyed peas. Are you joining us for lunch?”
“I’m thinking about it. I have to rush home first though to pick up some paperwork I left there. I’ll stop by on my way back,” he lied.
“That will be fine, Mr. Montgomery. I’ll make certain you are waited on as soon as you get here.”
“Speaking of that, I see you have new help. What happened to the old waitress? I had grown used to her, although her name escapes me now.”
“Ah, you mean Citah?” she asked.
“Yes, Citah,” he responded.
“Citah left us to go work for her uncle in one of the neighboring towns. We miss her a lot. She was such a pleasant girl. Her replacement, Lenora, is a pleasant enough individual, but she rarely smiles. I guess we’ll get used to her in time.”
“Where did she come from, the new help, Lenora?”
“She’s from one of the towns in the south, Soufriere. What’s your interest in her? Did she do something to annoy you?”
“Oh, no, not at all. I haven’t had that many interactions with her for her to annoy me. I was just curious because I’d gotten used to Citah.”
“I understand. Most people have their favorite server,” she said pleasantly.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, and then he hung up the phone, pondering over the bit of information he’d learned from Josephine.
He felt like a fraud. There he was trying to get information on this young woman when he had no proof that she was responsible for his situation. Still, his guts told him he was right. He didn’t want to see her today. He was going to stop there to see if he could learn anything more about her but planned on disguising himself.
He wanted to observe Lenora without her being aware of him doing so. He was so excited about what he was about to do he was almost shaking in anticipation. Maybe he was a sadist after all, if the thought of being incognito caused him to react this way.
He didn’t take the time to examine his reaction too closely because he was too caught up in the moment. Part of him was annoyed that the magic woman thought to take liberties with his body, as mind-blowing as the sex was. He resented the fact that she thought to claim his body as her own personal plaything. If this were to continue, it would ruin his relationship with his wife, and this he would not tolerate.
CHAPTER THREE
He was breathing hard by the time he pulled into his garage. He went to his closet and pulled out an old costume he’d worn to a Halloween party the year before. At the time, he’d gone as Indiana Jones. He would wear the entire thing minus the belt. The hat provided a good camouflage for his face. As an extra precaution, he decided to wear his Ray Ban sunglasses.
He was striding rapidly to his car when he heard his name being called. For a minute, he thought of ignoring it, after all, he was in disguise, but he didn’t want whoever was calling out to him to get any closer or question him in anyway.
So, turning, he was about to raise his hand in acknowledgment when he almost ran right into his neighbor.
“Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Montgomery, is that you?” she asked, a bit breathless from the run she had to make to catch up to him.
“Yes, it’s me, Mrs. Pascale. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, nothing, I thought someone had broken into your home. You are not usually here this time of day, and I’m part of the neighborhood watch,” she informed him.
“Neighborhood watch, my big toe,” he muttered under his breath.
This woman was just a busybody. He didn’t think she slept at nights. She was always peeking out of her window from behind her blinds. The funny thing about this, no one had the heart to tell her that, with the light behind her, she was clearly visible. He didn’t know what had happened to her husband, but she needed something or someone to keep her occupied. It was just not going to be him.
“I’m in a hurry, Mrs. Pascale. Is there something you wanted?” As if I care.
“No, I’m all set now. I was just doing my neighborly duties. Where are you going dressed like this? Are you working undercover?” she wanted to know.
What a nosey woman, he thought. Die already.
“Yes…um…I’m working undercover, so please keep this to yourself. I can’t stay to chat now. I’m running late as it is. Have a good day, Mrs. Pascale.”
He turned and hopped into his car. She stood there at his garage door looking at him with a wide grin on her face. As he looked at her from behind his Ray Bans, he realized she wasn’t a bad looking woman; she was just too nosey. Does she intend to stand there watching me with that silly grin on her face?
“Bye, Mrs. Pascale.” He waved as he pulled out of the garage.
He made it to Josephine’s in fifteen minutes. He quickly parked his vehicle and walked into the restaurant. It was not very busy because the lunch crowd had not arrived yet. So, taking a seat at the back of the restaurant close to the exit, he sat down to observe the activities.
After his encounter with Mrs. Pascale, he was concerned that his disguise wouldn’t work. But he had nothing to fear because not even Josephine recognized him. She walked right by him and sent another of her servers to take his order as she stopped to chat with some of her regular customers.
Whew, that was a close one.
He exhaled again when he saw the young woman waiting on him was one of the high school kids who helped out at the restaurant during school break. He gave her his order and sat back to wait. He didn’t have long to wait. The helper Josephine had identified as Lenora walked out of the kitchen carrying two dishes in her hand. Amazingly, she was able to balance two dishes on one hand as she walked to the front of the restaurant.
Then a freaky thing happened. He knew she hadn’t seen him, but his temperature went up a notch just watching her walk.
She was a petite young woman, and if he had to guess, he’d say she was in her early twenties. But it was often hard to tell with the island people. They didn�
��t always show their age. She wore slightly loose jeans that hung on her hips, which remained there without any belt to keep them in place. She also wore a sleeveless white tee that barely grazed the top of her jeans, allowing a bit of skin to peek out every time she moved. Her hair was a heavy mass of dark red, which she had stuffed under the hairnet they were required to wear for sanitary purposes. He found he could sit all day and watch her walk. She swung her hips in the most sensuous manner as she walked. If there was a walk that screamed sex, she had it down to a science. The walk made him think of her in various positions that had nothing to do with walking.
He closed his eyes behind his Ray Bans and tried to ignore the urgent message his body was sending to him. HOT DAMN!
He was trying to take his mind from where it insisted on going, despite his best intentions, when she turned and began walking towards him. He knew now why he hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with her before. This was a woman who would make a saint sin. He resented her for it.
If she was sexy going, coming toward him she was his most vivid fantasy. Since the jeans rode low on her hips, her pelvic bone was playing peek-a-boo with every step she took. As his eyes traveled up to her chest, he felt as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs. The way the T-shirt embraced her generous breasts made his mouth water. He felt his blood pressure rising and his body getting flush. God, she was coming straight towards him.
“Hi, have you been waited on?” she asked.
She had a deep sexy voice that made him think of making love until he was hoarse from screaming.
Her voice caressed him, but she fixed those unusual eyes on him, and he was glad he was wearing sunglasses. He swore she could see right through the glasses and his disguise.
He was hard from the moment she’d walked out into the restaurant from the kitchen, and now he was throbbing with need. She had to know it was him because there was no other explanation as to why his body reacted in this way.
Just then, his waitress returned, bringing his drink and his first course, a tossed local salad.
“Oh, you took his order already, Cin? I didn’t know.”
“Yes, I did. But thanks, Nora.”
Nora, he thought. Josephine said her name was Lenora. Nora suited her better than Lenora.
Judging by his body’s reaction to Nora, he was convinced she was the one who visited his bed at nights. She must have infected his blood. Why else would he be so enthralled by her?
He was so excited he couldn’t take his mind off his crotch to enjoy the wonderful meal that had been placed in front of him, particularly when he could feel Nora’s eyes on him with every move he made. Finally, with a muttered oath, he discarded his lunch. There was no way he could eat a morsel, not with the way his body was reacting. Signaling for Cin, his waitress, he meant to ask for his bill. But just his luck, as he raised his hand, Nora happened to look up at the same time, and she was over to his table before he could blink.
“Are you needing something, sir?” she asked with emphasis on the needing.
She knew damn well what she was doing to him as his temperature ratcheted up a notch. He was in physical pain now. He had to get out, fast.
“Can you send my waitress over, please?” He was sweating buckets. But he refused to allow her to see her effect on him.
“Certainly, sir.”
She walked away with that sway of her hips. His eyes were riveted to her ass. How did she do this? It was as if every sway of her hips was saying, fuck me, fuck me. God, he was losing his mind.
He pushed his chair back just as the girl, Cin, came rushing over to him.
Noticing he had not touched his food, she became very concerned.
“Was the meal not to your liking, sir?” she asked, her tone apologetic.
“No, no,” he assured her. “I just realized I’ll be late for an appointment. But everything was wonderful.”
“Would you like a take-away bag?”
“No, I’m all set. Can I have the bill, please?”
He wondered why she was holding on to his bill.
“Sorry about that. Here you are.”
“Thank you,” he said, glancing down at the bill. It was only fifteen dollars. He dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the table.
“Keep the change,” he said brusquely.
“Oh, thanks, sir.”
He felt like a worm for walking away so dismissively. The poor girl hadn’t done anything to him. It was that witch Nora who had ruined his lunch and his day.
He knew he was in for it tonight. He would have to seek some help. Tonight, he was going to get a room at the hotel and make certain he stayed up well into the wee hours of the morning.
When it had first begun, six months ago, he’d thought he was imagining the entire thing. Then he became so caught up in it that he actually looked forward to her visits. He’d made himself believe it was a bit of harmless fun, and since he had not initiated it, what harm could there be?
It was only when he’d gone home on a short visit that it had been brought home forcibly to him that this was not a joke. He was being ruined for his wife. He had tried the entire time he was there, but he could not get an erection. He had a difficult time explaining it to Simonia. He was able to buy himself some time by suggesting it was a medical condition and promising to visit the doctor, which he did. But it changed nothing. He still couldn’t function in the bedroom.
It was such a blow to his ego he couldn’t wait to leave. This made Simonia even more suspicious because she thought he didn’t like being home and was not attracted to her sexually any more.
Of course, he couldn’t get her to accept the fact that he was still very attracted to her and very much in love with her, when the evidence proved otherwise.
He was torn leaving home and upset that he had to return to his post in that frame of mind. He’d been so looking forward to seeing Simonia and being with her. He’d missed her something terrible. That was why he had to get to the bottom of this thing that was ruining his life. Besides, the thought of someone… anyone controlling him to such an extent stuck in his craw.
***
He had been back for four weeks now, and he was no closer to solving his problem. He would have to bite the bullet and consult an Obeah woman against his better judgment. But before he went down that route, he would take another leave of absence and return home to try to see if the effect would wear off. He doubted the witch could travel all those miles across the ocean to come after him at his home in New South Wales. Besides, while he’d been unable to get a rise out of his Charlie the last time he was home, he didn’t have any visits from the magic woman.
CHAPTER FOUR
After leaving the restaurant, he returned to work, where Sharon had set out most of the slides for his inspection. He was pleased with the progress they’d been making in combating the deadly disease. The particular strain of malaria in St. Lucia was spread by mosquitoes infected with a parasite called Plasmodium. Plasmodium in many parts of the world was resistant to the usual course of medicine, and in St. Lucia, the parasite had done a number on the inhabitants of the island.
Due to the way the parasite multiplied in the liver and infected red blood cells, it disrupted blood flow to vital organs. Symptoms usually appeared between ten and fifteen days after a mosquito bite and included fever, headache, chills, and vomiting. These symptoms often got ignored or misdiagnosed; if left untreated, malaria could quickly become fatal.
He knew he was close to a breakthrough because the specimen Sharon had on display for him had not been able to withstand the artemisinin-based combination therapy they’d applied to the samples. Unfortunately, almost as quickly as a treatment was discovered, just as quickly, the parasite developed an increasing resistance to that medicine. So, it had been an ongoing battle, with prevention being the best, most effective treatment.
But now that the sorceress seemed to have dug her claws deep into him, he had to remove himself from the environment. He’d decided that
returning home for a long stay would be his first step in combating the disease that seemed to have infected his blood…the disease that had rendered him useless to his wife.
He didn’t know how he would explain his leaving to Sharon, but leave he must. He would dispatch an email to his home office to see how soon a replacement could be sent. He hoped they could send someone soon, preferably tomorrow.
He felt like a fool, but how could he fight something he couldn’t see? Look at him. Rather than being excited by the breakthrough they were making in combating the malaria, he was thinking of the witch. She had taken over his body, and it appeared his mind would be soon to follow, but not if he had anything to do with it.
Too soon it was the end of the workday, and he had to be making his way home. He felt very bad because, just as he’d suspected, Sharon didn’t take the news of his leaving well. There was nothing he could do about that. He tried to reassure her that her job was safe and that he wouldn’t leave until his replacement arrived.
“It’ll be okay, Sharon. There will be no interruption in your work.”
“I heard you, Mr. Montgomery. It’s just that I’ve grown accustomed to working with you. You allowed me to do important work on the slides. Your replacement might not run things the same way.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Sharon. Just work with him the same way you work with me. He’ll see your worth in no time. And don’t forget, I’ll be back. This is only temporary.”
That did little to console her. He had no idea she was this attached to him, but then again, he’d been her boss for the two years he’d been on the island. He just never paid any attention to her. His attitude toward her was like his attitude toward all the other women on the island. He’d deliberately gone about like a horse with blinders on. It had worked beautifully until now.