by Suzanne Hart
I was thinking about Clark. About the way he’d turned up when I most needed him. How he’d been able to scare Gordon into releasing me, into letting me go. He’d held out his hand to me and I sank into him, feeling the warmth and strength of his body against mine.
All these years, I thought I was a strong independent woman. I’d never thought I needed a man like this. I just never realized that everyone needs someone to look after them. I needed Clark.
But he’d already made up his mind. He had decided that we couldn’t be together.
But I could still fantasize about him! I touched my swollen pussy folds, imagining his fingers on them instead. I slid my forefinger in and gasped at the feeling. Of imagining it was Clark. With my other hand, I reached for my breasts, squeezing and touching my nipples till they felt raw and I left them throbbing for his mouth.
The bathroom door opened suddenly, without warning. I gasped, whipping away to face the wall.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear the shower,” I heard Clark say. Thankfully, the cubicle was all fogged up and he couldn’t see me…I hoped.
“It’s okay. It’s my fault, I should have told you I was going to occupy the bathroom for a bit. It’s your bathroom after all,” I mumbled.
“You don’t need my permission to take a shower, Tessa. Sorry, I’ll leave you to it,” he said. I heard the door shut again and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I could still feel my pussy throbbing. I was still turned on. In fact, Clark’s sudden appearance in the middle of my fantasies had made it even more intense for me.
I chewed on my lip, my hand traveling down to my pussy again. I wanted to finish. I wanted to pleasure myself, but I pressed my eyes closed and decided against it.
I would have to control myself. I would need to resist Clark and all his fantasies as much as I could—till this was over.
Because if I didn’t, then I was going to have my heart broken and this time, I wasn’t so sure if I could actually recover from it. Clark Webber had already left a pretty deep impression on me.
After my shower, I dressed in the pajamas I’d left aside and stepped out to find Clark already in bed.
He was shirtless, but was wearing his pajama bottoms. Like we’d discussed before, he had laid out one row of pillows between the two sides of the bed.
I gulped as I saw him lying on his side, his face turned from me. I could see his bare torso, I could feel him in the room. I could smell the faint traces of his cologne.
How was I supposed to sleep tonight? Beside him? So close but our bodies not touching. It felt like torture. I was going to explode with desire. I could feel an intense rush inside me which was painful enough that I thought I would cry.
I knew I was falling in love with him.
26
Clark
I hadn’t been sleeping well. In fact, I hadn’t been sleeping at all. Lying beside Tessa, spending the night with her—had to have been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. I could hear her soft measured breathing, I could smell the shampoo of her hair, feel the warmth of her body. I had to do everything I could to resist just reaching out to her, stroking her arm.
I got up the next morning at dawn, before Tessa had the chance to wake up.
I felt miserable and anxious as I dressed. I watched her as I did.
She looked peaceful and beautiful as she lay there, on my bed. What was I doing? What kind of example was I setting for my son?
I left the room and went to check on Alfie. He was fast asleep too.
I left a note for the household in the kitchen:
Got an early conference call. Gone to the office. Enjoy breakfast! See you all later.
Instead of going to the office, I drove to a nearby park and sat on a bench—in my suit and tie, feeling like a complete idiot. But I needed to get out of there. I needed to spend some time by myself.
I’d also left a note on the bedside table for Tessa to find. I was sending one of my cars to pick her up for work. I didn’t want her driving herself to the office. I didn’t want to give Gordon any more opportunities to surprise her.
When I did eventually go to work, I realized that I’d missed an important morning meeting with our offices in London. We had to reschedule it, and I was caught up in arranging other conference calls—and truthfully, I was glad for the distraction.
I passed Tessa once in the hallways, and she kept her head down. She was with one of her colleagues, and she didn’t want to make eye contact with me or make other people suspicious.
Apart from all the other ways that this situation was messed up, there was also the fact that I was her boss. She was supposed to look up to me and respect me. Instead, I’d seen her naked. She rode my cock and I came inside her.
I’d messed up big time, and I had no idea how I would solve any of this.
I stayed in the office later than usual, but I decided I didn’t want to miss dinner at home. Alfie didn’t deserve to be abandoned just because I’d made some poor decisions lately.
I’d checked with the chauffeur already, to make sure that Tessa had been safely dropped back home.
I returned to the penthouse with some chocolates for Alfie, in the hopes that he’d forgive me for missing breakfast. Before I’d even entered, I could sense there was something different in the air.
Then I heard the voices and realized what was happening. Gordon and Celine were here.
I rushed in, not bothering to take my jacket off first.
In the living room, Alfie was sitting on the carpet, surrounded by a heap of new toys. Celine was kneeling down with him, while Gordon was standing over them. They looked like the picture of a happy family. Tessa was nowhere in sight.
“Hello, Clark!” Celine exclaimed. There was a delightful smile on her face when she looked up at me.
“Daddy! Look at all the toys I got!” Alfie squealed. He jumped up off the floor and came rushing towards me. I lifted him up in my arms and glared at Gordon and Celine.
“You seem to have forgotten the rules. You’re supposed to give me prior notice before coming to see him. That is what we’d agreed to,” I said, trying not to sound too aggressive because Alfie was still in the room.
“Oh, come off it, Clark! We were here, close to the building, and I just couldn’t resist coming over to see my handsome little boy!” Celine scrunched up her nose and came towards us. She threw her arms open for Alfie to go to her, but he didn’t.
“Where’s Tessa?” I asked Alfie and he shrugged, pouting his lips.
“I don’t know. She said she had something to do,” he replied and I looked over at Gordon.
“Hey! Don’t look at me, Brother. I haven’t seen her all day,” Gordon said. “How about you and I go piggyback riding?” He said to Alfie.
That caught my son’s attention and he leaped out of my arms to his uncle. Celine laughed, like she was proud of her son.
While Gordon gave Alfie a piggyback ride, Celine turned to look at me. She crossed her long arms over her chest. She had a coolness in her deep chocolate brown eyes.
“So, you’re literally going to do anything to keep my son away from me, aren’t you?” She said.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“I don’t have to try hard at all. Last year, while we were all living in London, you visited Alfie exactly eight times. Eight times, Celine! Out of three hundred and sixty-five days!”
She pursed her lips together and held her head high up.
“I had a busy year, Clark. Of all people, you should have appreciated the hard work I was putting into my business!” She snapped.
I drew in a breath and shook my head.
“And what happened with that business?” I asked. She rolled her eyes.
“I have a new idea, which I’d rather try my hand at instead. And Gordy is going to help me with it. Which is more than I can say about to you,” she said.
“I tried helping you with all the business ideas you had while we were married, Celine,” I argue
d. I didn’t even know why I was arguing. I wasn’t going to win this quarrel.
“Is that what you’re doing for this new girl too? Trying to help her with her career? Is that why she’s sleeping with you?”
There was a sparkling glint in Celine’s eyes as she spoke. A smirk stretched her lips. If Alfie wasn’t in the room with us, there was a lot more I could have said to her.
27
Tessa
After I got back to the penthouse, I played with Alfie for a little while and then went for a walk. I was in desperate need of clearing my head.
Spending the night lying next to Clark had been hectic. I hadn’t been able to sleep much, and I was pretty sure he was awake all night as well. I had no idea how we were going to do this. How we were going to pull through the following days without exploding.
At work, I tried to distract myself, I tried not to look at him when he walked past, but it was hard. My body reacted in its usual way when he was around.
I’d been walking for over an hour now, when I decided it was time for me to return. It was dinner time, and I didn’t want Alfie to throw a fuss.
How were we going to deal with him?
He’d already grown so attached to me, and I knew that when this was all over and I had to leave—I’d be breaking his heart all over again. Just like his mother had undoubtedly done.
I decided to speak to Clark about it when I got back because we definitely needed a plan. Alfie was innocent in all this and he didn’t deserve to get hurt.
I took the elevators up to the penthouse and when the doors pinged open, I saw a woman standing in the hallway. A woman I hadn’t seen before, but whose face I immediately recognized. I’d seen her in a picture. The one Clark had shown me of Gordon and her.
She was whispering into her phone and had her head bent away from me. I stepped in and my heels clicked on the marble floor, alerting her. She looked up, then hung up the phone and slipped it into the pocket of her smart short jacket.
“And you must be Tessa! I am so happy to finally meet you,” she said, rushing towards me.
There was no denying it, Celine was a beautiful woman. The photograph I’d seen of her hadn’t done any justice to her beauty in real life. She had short blunt-cut blond hair, and deep brown eyes and a winning smile. She was wearing a pair of checkered pants that reached a little above her ankles and a long silky black blouse under a grey jacket. She was extremely fashionable, in a London way.
She was smiling at me, holding her hand out for me to shake. I couldn’t stop staring at her.
This was the woman both the Webber men had fallen for. The woman Clark had a baby with and now, Gordon was sleeping with. I didn’t blame them; she was ravishing.
“And you must be Celine,” I said, and the smile never faded from her face. We shook hands.
“Clearly, the men have been talking about us, haven’t they?” She remarked with a charming giggle and leaned towards me. “But we mustn’t let that get in our way. Us ladies must band together!” She declared. Before I could do anything, she’d slinked her arm into mine like we were old friends from long ago.
I felt quite swept up, like everything was happening without my consent.
“I…is, Clark around?” I managed to say. She leaned into me, our arms still linked together.
“Of course, he is, he’s in there with Gordy and poor Alfie, being his usual grumpy self. I don’t know how you stand it all day. No sense of humor, that man. Whereas, I’m sure you know this about Gordy, he’ll have you in stitches constantly, won’t he?”
Celine continued to chatter, as though there was nothing awkward about our situation. She was talking about the two brothers, in full knowledge that we had both slept with them both. And for some reason, it didn’t seem to bother her.
I tried to tug my arm away from her, but she wouldn’t let go.
“You must tell me everything, darling! You know how Clark is. Always full of secrets. He hasn’t told us anything,” she continued and I watched her speak. She barely stopped to breathe between sentences.
I tried to smile as often and as politely as I could, but I was finding it hard to keep up.
“For some reason, that man blames me for everything. And now, just because Gordy and I have found each other, he’s blaming his poor brother too. I’m sure you understand,” she said. I stared at her, shaking my head. I had to put my foot down at some point.
“No, I don’t understand, because I’m not a part of the family. I know very little about what happened between the two of you and I would like it to stay that way. I have no intention of meddling,” I told her.
I didn’t want to come off as rude, but I wanted to be firm. I wanted Celine to know that we couldn’t exactly be friends.
She looked at me wide-eyed, with a smile curling her lips.
“Ah, but darling, if you don’t meddle how are you going to have any fun?” She asked and a laugh masked her voice. I crossed my brows at her.
“This is not the least bit fun for me,” I told her, and Celine smiled fully now.
“That’s a shame, because let me tell you, I’m having the most fun I’ve had in my whole life. Those two are going to knock each other out because of me. Because neither of them will ever get over me. It’s the tragedy of their lives. Two brothers, both in love with the same woman,” Celine said.
I watched her turn from me and walk down the hallway towards the living room again. She threw a look at me over her shoulder, and the sheer self-confidence that she exuded, made me believe her.
In that moment, I believed her. Clark was still in love with Celine, and that was the reason he could never be with me.
28
Clark
First, Celine walked into the living room and then, Tessa. Gordon and Alfie had been playing with the new toys, while I was in the process of making myself a drink. Neither Gordon nor I had spoken to each other. I had a lot to say to him, but I couldn’t in Alfie’s presence. I could barely stand to look at my brother anymore. Not after what he had tried to do to Tessa.
Celine walked in with a beaming smile on her face, and she looked at me like she knew something. Behind her, Tessa was pale-faced and anxious.
When Alfie saw her, he jumped up and away from Gordon and rushed past his mother and went straight to Tessa. She lifted him up in her arms and he hugged her tight.
“Where did you go? Daddy was looking for you too,” he complained and Tessa stroked his hair.
“Sorry, honey, I just needed to do something. I’m here now,” she said. I could sense Celine and Gordon glaring. They probably hadn’t expected Alfie to be this well-adjusted to my ‘new girlfriend.’
“Don’t bother with introductions, Clark. Tessa and I had a little chat. And she and Gordon are well acquainted, of course,” Celine said. She walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of wine. Celine had a distinct way of making herself very comfortable wherever she went.
“You all know Tessa, already?” Alfie asked.
“Yes, Alfie. Tessa and I are old friends, actually,” Gordon said. He was smiling too, enjoying Tessa’s discomfort.
“Old friends? Like even before Daddy and she became friends?” Alfie asked and Gordon threw me a look.
“See, even your son understands. Yes, sport! Tessa and I were friends long before your daddy met her,” Gordon said.
Alfie looked up at Tessa and she nodded.
“But darling, isn’t it lovely? How we’re all friends? Isn’t that nice? Come to mummy,” Celine said, throwing her arms open for Alfie again.
Tessa put him down on the ground and urged him to go to his mother. Alfie reluctantly went and Celine pulled him into her arms.
“There’s a good boy. Mummy’s missed you. Do you miss London?” She asked him and Alfie nodded his head.
“Would you like to go back to London?” She continued and I stepped in.
“But Alfie, you know we can’t leave right now. Not till I finish work. You understand that, don’t
you?” I said and he nodded his head again.
Celine stroked his hair, smiling at Gordon from time to time.
“Uprooting your son like this might not have been the best idea, big brother,” Gordon remarked. He’d stretched himself out on the carpet, and most of the time, he was staring at Tessa. She was standing at one end of the room, away from the rest of us.
“Are you going to educate me on how to bring up my son, Gordon?” I asked and he shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m just making an observation.” He turned to Tessa, abruptly. “How does it feel to be a mother, Tess?” He asked.
She stared at him, and from the way the color drained from her cheeks, I could sense that she was deeply uncomfortable in his presence. I walked towards her. She was standing stiff, not moving an inch.
“I don’t know what you mean, Gordon,” she replied and tried to keep her head held up.
“I remember having conversations with you, when all you could talk about was your career and the kind of work you wanted to do. Dating Clark must have changed all that, eh? Now you have to be a mother to his five-year-old,” Gordon continued.
“That is a private matter we don’t need to discuss with you!” I snapped.
“Tessa is my new mummy?” Alfie squealed and Celine tried to hush him.
“I will always be your mummy, darling. Nobody else,” she murmured to him.
“It’s just a genuine question. I’m concerned about what things you had to give up to sleep with your boss,” Gordon continued. I took a threatening step forward, but I felt Tessa’s hand on my arm.
“Alfie,” she hissed, low enough for just me to hear. I was glaring at Gordon, who smirked at me.
“Don’t worry, Brother, I totally get the appeal. Remember, I tasted that too,” he said. I could still feel Tessa’s hand on my arm, holding me back.
“We shouldn’t be talking about this right now,” she said, raising her voice.