by Hart, Romi
“But nothing! Look Denise. It’s obvious what’s going on here. You’re falling into the same pattern that you always do. Making excuses for these guys that don’t treat you well. You’re doing the same thing with Simeon that you did with Mickey.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mickey was all about the sex too. And that’s all Simeon wants. That’s all he wants from anyone. Come on…he’s a womanizer.”
“No-”
“I know, I know, you remember him from twenty years ago when he was just a guy. But believe me, I know. Those players, those guys that cruise for sport fucking? They’re all the same. Simeon just took a while to develop all of his hunting skills.”
“You’re very down on men, you know that?”
“Really?” Chrissy says with a dreamy smile. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me!”
We laugh it off and have another drink.
“Ms. Cornet? You have a visitor.”
God! Another one? I have no time for visitors today! I have to make a dozen calls to our legal department and talk to Jim in marketing, and discuss the quarterly report with my boss that secretly wants to fuck me. I have enough stress for one day!
“It’s going to have to wait!”
“Ummm…I don’t think this can wait,” my secretary says sheepishly.
“Really? Come on, Renee. You got to be firm with some of these people.”
“Yeah but…”
“Ugh fine!”
I stomp out of my office ready to kick someone in the shins. Don’t these people understand my time is valuable?!
There I see a most peculiar face. I admit, I was halfway expecting to see Simeon there, with roses and chocolates in hand, ready to sweep me off my feet.
Instead, I see the face of a total perv and a jerk and a deviant AND a very disturbed individual.
And of course, knowing what I think of him, he gives me a big oily smile.
“Hello Miss Cornet,” Zander says.
Zander, the old buddy of Simeon. The senior member of the boy’s club. Who knows, probably the corrupting influence in Simeon’s life!
“Oh, it’s you.”
“Not a very professional way to greet a potential client.”
“Yeah but honey,” I say in sarcasm. “If you want to work with us you go see Marketing. This is Financial. So two levels down from here.”
I point downward and give him the finger.
“I sense you don’t like me.”
“Not really. But let’s cut to the chase. I have a long day ahead of me. And it just keeps getting longer and longer.”
“That’s what she said.”
“Funny.”
“Seriously though. We need to talk.”
“I’m busy. I’m working.”
“So take the day off. Because I want to talk to you.”
“NO, I’m not going to cancel my day to talk to you, Zander.”
He sighs. “How much do I have to pay for you to take a breather and just talk to me?”
“I don’t care if you give me a billion dollars, Zander!” I say in frustration. “It’s not about the money. I’m not as rich as you are but you know, I’ve made enough money on my own to say FUCK YOU, you can wait like everyone else can.”
“Okay. Let me just say it then.” Zander steps into my office and welcomes himself inside, sitting down without permission. I shrug it off and follow him inside.
“Yes, just say it. What?”
“I think I know what the problem is between you and Simeon.”
“Oh? You know my business?”
“I do.” He looks into my eyes and speaks from the heart. “He’s hurting you know. He’s not the most expressive or empathetic man in the room, that’s for sure. We agree on that. I might even agree with you if you say he’s a man-child.”
“Uh huh?” I say with my arms folded.
“But he IS hurting. And I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s hurting because he is in love with you. But he doesn’t know how to handle it.
“Yeah I get that. I really do. But, even though it’s not any of your business, I accept that it’s his choice to walk away.”
“Yes…” he says with an uncomfortable gaze. “But I do think you need to know the whole truth.”
“What, some girl broke his heart? Yeah I’ve been there. Not with a girl, but a guy, of course. But still that…”
“What did he tell you about Sarah, his first girlfriend?”
“I MET Sarah!” I say proudly. And that was one of the reasons I never cheated with him, even though he obviously wanted me back then. I get that he wasn’t thrilled to be with Sarah. But I still think you should always be faithful to the one you’re with.”
“I meant, what did he tell you about Sarah after they moved away?”
“I don’t know…that they just fell out of love.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Zander says stoically.
“They broke up right?”
“Yes they did. And Sarah moved on and he moved on, well, he tried to move on.”
“Well fine, so then…”
“And then Sarah died.”
“What?”
“She was killed, Denise,” he says weakly. “A fatal crash. No one saw it coming. I know because I talked to Simeon that night, right before we both heard the news. I listened to him for hours at my house, we were drinking beers and trying to talk about love and philosophy. I listened for hours as he told me that he missed her, he regretted the relationship ending, and that he needed to go back to her and re-propose. He was so broken up about losing her.”
Zander shook his head. “And THEN, and THEN, she died right in the middle of the night. No warning, no…no indication, just out of the blue. Dead. And then he got the call from a family member, right there, Denise, I watched it all happen in front of me.”
I quietly listened, biting my knuckles, not sure what to think. “And then what?”
Zander laughed. “Then he got drunk. And just kept talking crazy, jumbled sentences. Half thoughts, nothing made any sense coming out of his mouth. Not that I expected him to make much sense after hearing that. He kept apologizing to me.”
“What did he say about…her?”
“About her?” Zander says with wide eyes. “He got drunk. Then he started laughing. Not regular laughter, just insanity. And he’s never spoken of HER ever since.”
I crinkle my brow, trying to figure out if this is real. If it is…oh God. That poor man. “You better not be scamming me.”
“I promise, I’m not. I don’t joke about serious things. I mean, well, yeah I do. But still…I would never make light of someone’s death. I knew Sarah too. I felt horrible about what happened. And I know he did too and I know he blames himself for it.”
“But it wasn’t…his fault.”
“Yeah. Try telling that to an alcoholic writer who has billions of ways to hide from the world.”
“He’s an alcoholic? I never knew.”
“Of course not. He’s a happy drunk. And he actually does write more than he pukes. But drinking with me is probably the only joy he gets out of life anymore. Well…at least until you came around.”
“Me? Are you sure this is true? I mean…of course I know you’re not lying. But…why didn’t he mention to me about Sarah?”
“I don’t think he can accept it,” Zander continues. “He does mention her in passing, as if she’s still alive. But I swear, he can’t even talk about what happened to her. He’s blocked it all off, for over a decade. He can’t grieve, he can’t communicate. I’m the only one he ever opens up to. And we talk about everything except Sarah. I’ll always be there for him, he knows that. But you know…I’m not YOU, Denise.”
“What can I do?” I say, shaking my head. “It’s not my job to fix him.”
“You don’t have to do anything. And no, it’s not your job to FIX him, you’re right. All I’m saying is, please don’t think he’s this heartless guy and perverte
d guy. He’s just confused. Like we all are. But for what it’s worth, I think he really felt something for you. I think you were the first girl that really brought him up out of that vat of self-loathing and denial.”
“Jesus. How can I compete with the memory of Sarah? No wonder he has a wall up.”
“Oh come on,” Zander says. “He was never in LOVE with Sarah. He confuses guilt and depression with love. Even sex he treats like a drug.”
“Oh God…” I say, feeling the urge to cry, for Sarah and for Simeon. What a fucked up situation. I can’t even say I blame him…how do you get over that? How do you reconcile a bad decision and a terrible tragedy all in the same breath?
“Look…” Zander says, putting his hands up. “I’m not telling you to get back together with him. To be honest, I don’t even KNOW if it’s possible for Simeon to love anyone, you know, in the normal way that a man loves a woman.”
I tilt my head in sarcasm. “Yeah but you’re not normal and you found a way to love!”
“True,” he says, finally smiling again. “Maya is the love of my life. I’m lucky, I know it.”
“But I will implore you to keep being his friend. Losing friendships…you know, it still hurts him. He cherishes everyone he knows, maybe even a little more now that he knows what it’s like to feel loss.”
“Thanks,” I say cautiously. “I really do have to get back to work. But I appreciate you telling me this.”
“Sure, happy to help.” He gets up and walks towards the door.
“And thank you, Zander, for not making any crude sexual comments about how you’ve seen me naked.”
“Wha-Wha-?” He shakes his head in shock and embarrassment.
“Oh cut the shit, Zander. I saw Simeon’s phone!”
“Ah,” he says with a greasy smile, this time probably well-deserved since I was giving him some shit. “Well, Miss Cornet, may I say you’re just as lovely in person as I imagined you would be. You have a great uh…smile?”
“UH HUH.”
“I’ll see myself out.”
I give him a smirk as he quickly walks out of the room and on to his billionaire shenanigans.
It didn’t take long for news to travel. Call me crazy but I think Zander may well be the love of Simeon’s life! Within a few hours, Simeon came to see me at work, all riled up because apparently Zander couldn’t keep a secret and spilled the beans without Simeon’s consent.
“What do you want?” I say casually to Simeon.
“Hey,” he says nervously. “Sorry to pop in on you like this.”
“It’s fine,” I say, calming my voice down, remembering that in fact Simeon is a damaged soul, at least he would be if Zander’s story is true. “I’m almost done anyway. These thirteen-hour days are killing me, you know.”
Ooops, wrong choice of words!
But Simeon only laughs it off.
“Look, I don’t mean to keep you. The only reason I came here was to ask you about Zander.”
“What about him?”
“Well,” Simeon says anxiously. “He implied that he REVEALED to you something about me, my past. And whatever he said, please don’t believe him.”
“Really? You’re saying he’s lying?”
“No, not lying.”
“Then what?”
“He tends to exaggerate. He only sees things from his own perspective.”
“Hmmm. And so you’re all weirded out that he told me certain things?”
“Well…I’m not sure what he told you,” he says uneasily. “But please, don’t believe him. As a matter of fact, I’m mad at him. Because he violated my trust by disclosing secrets I was not ready to disclose.”
“Oh, really? Sort of like you sending him pictures of my ass?”
“Well…” he laughs. “No, not like that.”
“Uh huh, well it sounds like that. You know, about the whole exposing a secret thing? Because it sounds a lot like that, from where I’m standing.”
“I know…I deserve shit for that.”
“Ohhhh, it’s fine, I’m just messing with you. I’m just saying honey, I got over it. My ass is great, so what do I have to be ashamed about? I’m cool. So I hope you’re cool with whatever Zander was saying about you. Transparency, right? So don’t be mad at each other. He’s just looking out for you.”
“Yes, well…I don’t need anyone to look out for me,” he says with a moody stare.
“Oh I think you do.”
“No, I don’t. I really don’t need anyone’s sympathy. I don’t need anyone to be my pity friend or my pity fuck, okay?”
I fold my arms and listen.
“And fuck him if he thinks he’s doing me any favors.”
“Jesus, you sound like a girl who’s been taken advantage of. Just chill.”
“I don’t like my secrets being exposed!” Simeon says firmly, almost sending a chill down my spine.
“Why not?” I say, suddenly very aware of the fact that no one on the fifth floor is even working in the office anymore. We’re all alone…at least until the cleaning crew comes to do their business. “I thought you liked all that kinky weird stuff? Why are you so afraid of secrets being exposed?”
“Because it’s my…my…”
He quiets up when I start dancing around his body, touching his sides and admiring his firm abdomen.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to see you exposed.”
“That’s not funny,” he snaps back.
“Come on…I got to get you back,” I tease. “You sent a picture of my ass to your best friend. That was naughty.”
“Well yeah…” he says hesitantly.
“Now I get to see your ass,” I say unbuckling his pants.
He laughs in disbelief. “Are you trying to tell me that after lecturing me about how this was all about sex, that you’re trying to seduce me.
“I’ve been working like a mad woman all week!” I say. I don’t quite remember when I turned from carefree spirit into this workaholic prude. But I know that spending all these months with Simeon has awakened something in me. And I don’t want it to stop.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Simeon said, trying to sound angry, but still not able to wipe the smile off his face.
“You can’t resist me, Simeon,” I say back to him, flirting shamelessly. “Besides, it’s my office so you get the fuck out.”
“I will. I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”
“Yes you are,” I say to him taunting a little. “You’re not a brilliant writer…you’re just a gorgeous piece of ass. What do you think of that?”
“Flattery,” he says, fighting a smile.
“I don’t want to fuck you in my office,” I say haughtily. “Been there done that.”
“With me or with someone else?”
“Does it matter?” I say bobbing my head.
He tilts his head.
“But I do want to fuck you. Maybe we should go some place…you know…interesting.”
“Like where, a museum? A McDonalds? Get a life, Denise. I’m too old for these games.”
“Ohhhh you’re such a vanilla, aren’t you, old man?” I say with a sexy scowl, admiring his lips. That gives me an idea and I blush at the thought.
“I’m definitely not vanilla,” he says defiantly.
“Says you.”
“I’m not.”
“Compared to me, you’re a little…innocent, aren’t you?”
“Me?” he laughs. “Innocent?”
“That’s right, you have that SEX DUNGEON, don’t you?”
He stares at me and goes wordless.
“What kind of a sex dungeon is it?” I say.
“It’s uh…”
“A vanilla kind? A cutesy little kind of dungeon with little toys and board games?” I say now aggressively mocking him in a cutesy voice.
He smiles but holds his tongue. He hard-fucks me with his eyes. “I’ll show you.”
I smile at him and salivate at the idea. Wow look
at me…turns out I’m more chocolate than I thought.
To my surprise, Simeon was thrilled to show me his sex dungeon and didn’t even get bashful like a bitch might when confronted by a willing woman. He embraced the opportunity to further corrupt me.
We drove back to his place, joking the whole time, and me faking innocence and revulsion at all his kinkiness—which he seemed to love. When we finally got to his place, he seemed to be losing all control over himself, tickled by the thought of me submitting to a dungeon tour.
And now we take the long, winding hallway corridor to the dungeon. He signals for me to follow him through the corridor and past two guest rooms. We walk about five minutes worth of hallways and huge pretentious doors, only to come out to some sort of secret elevator.
I put my hands on my hips, drawing his attention to my very generous hips and the tight pants that tempt him. My eyes say it all, show me what you got.
“I thought you might enjoy the real house tour.”
“Uh huh, I’ll bet.”
We walk over through another set of doors and down to a quiet little room on the northern end, towards east wing.
“Through here,” he says, directing me to a small, cozy and chilly room that, well, feels like a dungeon at least from where I’m standing.
“What the hell am I looking at?”
The room is darkly bleakly colored, softly lit and a little too Goth to be anything but super freaky.
“This is the dungeon,” he says with a smile, but obviously proud of the room. It does look amazing…doors of steel and soundproof walls. Padded walls, an operating table with a velvet top to it, and strange little torture devices on the other side of the room, which, much to my surprise, make my nipples perk up. On the other side I see flogs, whips, and some strange metal chains that I have NO idea what they do. The whole place is ingeniously designed, like a playroom for an adult…Pee Wee’s Playhouse rebooted for naughty boys!
I notice Simeon is all excited at the thought, and he can’t help but lick his lips a few times still eying my work cloth-covered body.
I walk around the dungeon, in awe of all the torture toys and just wondering how much I could stand.
“What do you do with this?” I ask, feeling the soft top of the operating table, which I now see has large straps on it.