by Hazel Keys
“I was thinking that I might just get a burger or something. I don’t want to order anything too messy for fear of accidentally slopping something on myself. It would bother me all day if I had to sit at work with a food stain on my shirt because some errant piece of food decided that it wanted to kamikaze in its last moments,” he said with a laugh, the little quip actually helping to improve his mood even more.
Isabella giggled at his comment, that playful smile that Amun loved so much now firmly planted on her lips. He knew that his jokes could be a little out there at times, but the fact that Isabella still laughed at them made him really happy. Even if she was only humoring him it was good to see that he could make her smile. There had been a few instances in their relationship where Isabella had gone through bouts of depression, and the fact that Amun had been there to cheer her up was something that she had repeatedly thanked him for. He had told her that no thanks were necessary. He was just happy to be able to help her in her time of need.
“You two ready to order, or do you need some more time?” the kindly older waitress asked, her blue eyes glittering kindly from her somewhat lined face. Her white hair was done up in a bun that helped accentuate her broad forehead, her notepad and pencil for taking orders held gently in her hand. “I know that there are a lot of tasty choices to choose from, so I understand if you need a little more time.”
Amun looked over at Isabella, who was tapping an item on the menu and seemed to be nodding to herself all the while. He was ready for his order, so he figured that at the very least he may as well get his stuff started. They had already been at the restaurant for ten minutes now, and their lunch break only lasted an hour. He cleared his throat gently before looking back at the waitress, noticing that her nametag had the name Debbie written on it in bold letters. Debbie was definitely the kind of name he expected to encounter at the diner, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from grinning.
“I think that I am ready to order, Debbie,” Amun said smoothly, folding his menu up and setting it on the table before the older woman before continuing. “I think that I would like to try your Philly cheesesteak. I hear that it is rather good, and would like to taste it for myself,” he added, casting another glance at Isabella as he spoke.
She was just about to order when the front door of the diner opened, the bell jingling merrily before it shut once more. Amun allowed his eyes to wander over to the door just in time to see Brad and Rachel, who had just walked into the diner and were looking around for a place to sit.
“Brad, Rachel, come sit by us,” he called out cheerfully, raising his hand to wave toward them in a beckoning gesture.
“What? Rachel and Brad are here?” Isabella asked, looking over her shoulder to try and get a glimpse of them.
“Hey guys didn’t realize you were eating here too,” Brad said with a grin as he walked up to the table, slipping into the chair next to Amun as Rachel sat herself down beside Isabella.
“Were you guys just about to order?” Rachel asked as she set her purse on her lap, scooting closer to the table and reaching over to pick up Isabella’s menu.
“Yeah. I just got done placing my order, actually,” Amun replied, his hand moving to pick up his menu so that he could offer it to Brad. “We were waiting on Isabella’s order when you guys walked in.”
“I don’t mean to hold up the process,” Isabella said teasingly, sticking her tongue out at Amun before looking over at Debbie, the waitress having been standing there patiently the whole while. “Debbie, I think I will just go ahead and have the Philly cheesesteak as well. I was the one who told him that it was good, and I had been planning on ordering it anyway.”
“I see you listened to my recommendation,” Rachel said with a smile, her hand moving to brush a long lock of her blonde hair away from her face. “Wasn’t it just as good as I said it would be?”
“Even better,” Isabella replied eagerly, casting a glance over at Amun and winking at him. “I am just glad that Amun listened to the recommendation too. I can’t wait to see his expression when he tries it.”
“He’s going to love it,” Rachel said, looking over at Brad. “Do you have something in particular that you want to order, or are you alright with us just getting what these two are having?”
“Philly cheesesteak sounds fine to me. It won’t take too long to prepare, so it might be the best thing to get at this point,” he answered, glancing down at his watch and grimacing slightly. “I should really talk to Ryan about extending the lunch break.”
“Talk to Ryan? I thought that you had some power too, Mr. Vice President,” Amun said cheekily, nudging his friend gently in the ribs. “Can’t you make calls like that on your own?”
“I could, but I prefer not to abuse my power by making spur of the moment changes. The business has been perfectly successful up until this point in no small part because of Ryan’s dedication and timeliness. I wouldn’t want to make such a decision that could ultimately affect the amount of work that can be finished in a day without at least consulting him about it first,” he said, breaking off the conversation to thank Debbie as she brought both he and Rachel glasses of water. “Could I go ahead and get a Coke as well?”
“I’d like a Sierra Mist,” Rachel chimed in, handing the menu over to the waitress with a smile on her face. “And can you add those two cheesesteaks for us?”
“I can certainly do that for you,” Debbie said with a smile, scribbling quickly on her notepad before looking back up at the group. “Do you all want fries with your sandwiches, or would you prefer onion rings? I know there are a few customers who prefer the rings when they order it, so I wanted to offer you the choice.”
“I’d like onion rings,” Amun said quickly, his nose wrinkling slightly at the mention of French fries. He had never been a fan of them, something about the way they usually didn’t have enough salt or were too salty with no middle ground always serving to rub him the wrong way.
“I’d also like the rings,” Brad said gently, fist bumping Amun shortly afterward.
“We’ll take the fries,” Isabella and Rachel said in unison, looking over at one another in surprise and giggling gently.
“Alright, I will go ahead and get that stuff started for you guys,” Debbie said before walking away from the table, leaving the group to their conversation.
The group chatted amongst themselves for a while, Amun enjoying the conversation so much that he temporarily forgot about his stressful morning. It was just like old times, albeit with the absence of Tristan and Bella, who were still enjoying the perks of their two-month paid honeymoon vacation. Amun made a mental note to himself to give Tristan a hard time for having missed the chance to eat with everybody else.
“Do you guys remember when Tristan almost tripped and fell face first into the wedding cake because his shoe caught on the carpet?” Brad said amusedly, taking a bite of one of his onion rings.
“If memory serves me you caught him just in time, didn’t you, Amun?” Rachel asked, the blonde looking over at him with a small smile playing across the corner of her mouth.
“What can I say, I got lucky. If I didn’t have my trademark cat-like reflexes our dear friend would have ended up with a tuxedo covered in cake. I know for a fact that he would have been in a really bad mood the rest of the night if that had happened, even with the promise of having Bella all to himself. Tristan is a stickler about keeping his nice possessions clean, after all,” Amun said, using his knife to cut a section of his sandwich off before taking a bite out of it.
“I’m still not entirely sure how you managed to pull that off,” Isabella said, an expression of awe spreading across her face at the memory.
“That makes two of us,” Amun said with a laugh, the other three soon joining in as well. “So how has Ryan been lately, Brad? I never seem to see him anymore. He always slips out of the office before I have a chance to catch him, and he isn’t exactly buddy-buddy with me like he is with you,” he asked eventu
ally, watching Brad slowly chew his food like he was considering what he was going to say before he spoke.
“He’s been alright, at least from what he has told me. Apparently, he is under a little bit of stress thanks to his plans on expanding the business. He recently told me that he is already in the process of creating a branch for the company, and judging from what he’s been saying it is almost ready for people to start working in. Just a few small things left to do, then the new office will be up and running,” Brad said, washing down the bite of his sandwich with some of his Coke.
“A branch company? Why is this the first time I am hearing about this?” Amun asked incredulously, looking over at Isabella, who had a similarly shocked expression on her face.
“Ryan wanted to keep it under wraps until it was completed. He said that people wouldn’t be able to focus on their work if they kept thinking about whether or not they would be sent to the branch company and since he is pretty content with leaving most of us here at this office he figured there was really no reason to bring it up. At least that is what I am assuming,” Brad said, shrugging slightly.
“What do you mean when you say he is content with leaving most of us here?” Amun asked, his eyebrow arched in obvious curiosity. “Is he planning on moving someone from this office to the branch company?”
“Apparently he offered Tristan and Bella the opportunity the night of their wedding. He told me that they didn’t give him an answer yet, but with the two of them starting a family I doubt that they would pass up the opportunity. It would be the perfect way to help them be financially stable enough that they could consider having kids if they wanted to,” Brad said casually as if their best friends having kids was just another normal topic for a conversation.
Amun bit his bottom lip gently, his head lowering so that he could stare down at his plate. He forced himself to eat, their hour for lunch no doubt having rapidly dwindled in the time that they had been sitting there. The news that his friends were looking at being moved to a branch company had stirred up a myriad of emotions in Amun, and he needed time to process them all. On the one hand, he was genuinely happily for his friend and his new wife. The ability for them to make more money since they had gone and started a family made perfect sense, and in that aspect, he couldn’t complain.
However, there was a small part of him that couldn’t help but feel jealous. He was the number one sales representative in the company, yet he had never received so much as a raise. It had been hard enough to stomach the news that Brad was being promoted to Vice President, and now he had to hear that his best friend had been chosen to receive a higher position as well? That was just a little too much for him to have to take in all at once. He remained silent for most of the rest of the meal, perfectly content to allow Brad and Rachel to steer the conversation until they all finished.
“Well, I guess it is about time that we get back to the office,” Brad said finally, standing up out of his chair and stretching lightly.
“Yeah, wouldn’t want to be late getting back from lunch. That wouldn’t reflect too well on our Vice President, would it?” Amun said, trying to sound like his usual playful self, his mind still quite preoccupied.
Chapter Four
Isabella
After returning from their lunch break Isabella followed through on her promise to help Amun with his workload. Each time he would get multiple calls he would transfer some of them over to her phone, and between the two of them, they seemed to get a lot more done. It was admittedly a little hard to keep up with her own work while also assisting Amun, but somehow she managed. It came to her as a big relief when the calls seemed to lessen considerably around closing time, a small smile spreading across her lips as she realized that they had managed to get through it. She was hoping that their accomplishment would help to somewhat improve Amun’s mood since she had noticed that he had gotten awfully quiet in the aftermath of Brad’s revelation about Tristan possibly moving to the branch company.
It had surprised her as well when she had first heard it, and while she felt a little bit bitter that Bella hadn’t told her she also realized that her friend and her new husband were probably taking advantage of the time they had to be alone on their honeymoon. Knowing Bella, she would mention something when she returned since they never really kept secrets from one another. She could understand why Amun might feel slightly upset, her boyfriend having put so much effort into his job each day. It probably was beginning to feel like a little bit of a thankless position, especially when both of his friends had already been presented with promotions.
I should do something to try and cheer him up, she mused as she rose up out of her chair and walking over to the door of Amun’s office. She peered inside, noting the fact that her boyfriend was sitting with his chin resting on his interlocked hands, his eyes seeming to be gazing disinterestedly at the screen. It was a little heartbreaking to see him have such a forlorn expression on his face, and Isabella felt a small pang in her chest at the sight.
“Hey honey, you okay?” she asked quietly, only speaking loud enough so that he would be able to hear her.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” he said somewhat thickly, clearing his throat before he spoke again. “Just got some stuff on my mind, that’s all.”
Isabella was tempted to ask him if the news of Tristan’s possible promotion was what was on his mind, but she decided against it. She didn’t know if he was feeling jealous of the fact that yet another person had been given a promotion, but if that was the case she didn’t want to poke an open wound. She decided instead to try and distract him from current mood, moving close to him and hugging him gently from behind, allowing her breasts to press gently against the back of his head.
“So, I was thinking that you should come over to my house tonight,” she whispered seductively, nipping his earlobe gently in an affectionate manner.
“Your place? We never go over there,” Amun said in slight bewilderment, turning his head slightly so that he could gaze up at her. “What’s the occasion?”
“Show up at my house at 8 pm tonight and you’ll find out,” Isabella said cheekily, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth as a plan began to unfold in her mind.
“That sounds slightly ominous,” Amun said with a gentle laugh, his brown eyes glinting with amusement. “I’ll be there. I look forward to seeing what surprise you have waiting for me.”
Oh, and what a surprise it will be, Isabella mused silently, leaning down so that she could give Amun a gentle kiss on the lips. She was happy to feel him return her kiss, his lips pressing insistently back against her own. They kissed for about a minute or so before they finally separated, Isabella waving flirtatiously at him before making her way back to her desk.
The workday finished about an hour after that, Isabella letting out a sigh of relief as she finished her last bit of paperwork for the day, setting it in the basket marked Finished Paperwork that sat on her desk. There was a sizeable stack of papers in there, Isabella having taken the liberty of catching up on a little bit of paperwork that she had fallen behind on the day before. Now when she came into work tomorrow she would be able to start fresh without worrying about any old paperwork. That would also reflect well on her during her performance review, which was coming up in a couple of weeks.
She grabbed her purse and made her way towards Amun’s office once more. Rachel had told her during lunch that she and Brad had plans right after work to go to an orchestral performance, which meant that Isabella wouldn’t be able to carpool with her today. Her friend had invited her to drive her car back home, but Isabella had turned her down. She didn’t want to leave her friend without a vehicle, even if Brad would have been more than happy to cart Rachel around to wherever she wanted to go. Isabella figured that she could just get Amun to take her home, putting a sultry sway into her walk as she found him coming out of his office.
“Hey babe, do you think you could drop me off at home today? Rachel and Brad have plans, so she can’t take me b
ack home today and I didn’t bring my car,” she said cutely, pressing her breasts against his arm gently.
“Sure babe, I can do that,” he said casually, a small smile playing across his lips as he spoke. “Will you be inviting me in when I drop you off?”
“Afraid not,” she said flirtatiously, her finger moving to poke his nose playfully. “You have to wait till later for that. I need time to put the rest of your surprise together.”
“The anticipation is killing me,” Amun complained playfully, his arm moving to loop through hers gently as they headed outside toward his car.
After Amun had dropped her off at home, Isabella set about preparing herself for the night. She jumped in the shower and washed carefully, taking the time to shave her legs and privates since she knew that Amun had a bit of a fetish for smooth-shaven women. She had happened to see some of that on his browser history a few times when she would spend the night over there, so she knew that he would really appreciate her actions. She also made sure to do up her hair in a stylish bun, not wanting her hair to constantly get in the way of her movements later. The excitement was welling up inside of her with every passing moment, the two of them not having had sex for about two weeks now because of how long her period had lasted.
It had been hell to be abstinent for two weeks, particularly with how much she enjoyed sleeping with Amun, but now that her time had passed she was more than ready to make up for lost time. She sprayed a small amount of perfume on her naked body before she dressed in a pair of the skimpiest lingerie that she owned. It was a lacy pink bra and pantie set with a hole intentionally made right at her crotch. They were the kind of underwear designed for people who liked to be able to have sex while still having a few pieces of clothes on, and Isabella could already see the lustful look that Amun would have when he saw her wearing the risqué garments. It was enough to make a delighted shiver run up her spine.