by Lila Younger
“Jordan, this is Deacon,” Willow says. “Deacon, Jordan.”
“Hi,” she says, holding out a hand. “Nice car.”
“Thanks,” I say. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Well, let’s go inside,” Willow chirps. I can tell she’s nervous because her voice has jumped an octave.
Jordan shrugs, and together we troop into the house. The little home is more spacious than it seems from the outside, with a big fireplace in the living room and cozy furniture. Shoes and coats spill out of the hall closet, and the dining room table has been used as a dumping ground for all manner of things. Despite that though, there’s one thing about the home that makes it better than mine in every way: it feels lived in, and loved. This is the feeling that I’ve been missing. This is what I would love to have with Willow. This fact wraps around my chest, almost paralyzing me with the strength of my desire.
“Sit, sit,” Willow instructs me, grabbing some pillows off the couch and tossing them into the armchair. “I’ll get everyone some drinks.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jordan says. “I’ve got homework.”
She bounds up the stairs onto the second level. Willow pauses for a second, then rushes up after her. There’s nothing for me to do but to wait, so I wander over to the mantel. There’s a picture of the whole family on it. I can see Willow takes after her mother, while Jordan takes after their father. There are other pictures too, one where they’re on vacation at Disneyland, another with a young Willow holding up a ribbon for a science project. Snippets of the sisters’ conversation floats down from above. They must be on the landing.
“Do you not like him?” Willow asks uncertainly.
“What? No. I think he’s great. Or great for you anyways. It’s about time you dated.”
“It is?”
“Sure. You’re so worried and guilty and uptight all the time since mom and dad died. It’s like, suffocating. Deacon’s good for you Willow. And that means he’s good to me. I just don’t see a need to sit down and hash it out or whatever. He’s your boyfriend, not mine.” I can just imagine Jordan’s eye roll.
“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m forgetting you or something.”
“Believe me, if this is what he does to you, you can forget me even more.” There’s a pause. “Oh come on Willow, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I- I do love you Jordan,” comes Willow’s voice, cracking with emotion. “I know I’ve been a crappy sister, always yelling at you and getting on your case.”
It’s getting personal, and I don’t know if I should be listening more. So I wander into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. A few minutes later Willow shows back up.
“I guess we can go,” she says with a shrug.
I pull her close to me, my arms snug around her waist.
“You don’t have to worry about Jordan,” I say, leaning my forehead against hers. “I promise.”
“How the hell are you still single?” She asks me softly as she looks into my eyes. “You’re so smart and handsome. And incredibly sweet. I’ve never met a man as wonderful as you.”
I love the sound of wonder and love in her voice. I know that for her, this isn’t some casual thing, and that she’s giving me more than just her physical self. She’s trusting me with her heart.
“I guess I just needed to find the right person. There’s never been anyone like you either Willow.”
The moment is perfect, but suddenly my stomach gives a grumble. I didn’t have as much for lunch because I’m taking her to a great all you can eat sushi place and wanted to save space. Luckily, Willow finds it funny. She gives me a soft kiss on the nose.
“Shall we go eat raw fish?” she says, making a little face.
“It’s not just raw fish. That sounds gross. Sushi is more elevated than that. We’ll start on the cooked stuff first, ease you into things.”
“Okay,” she says dubiously, but she lets me take her hand and lead her out.
**********
Pepsi sets a date to visit Bronson & Burke, which sends the office into a frenzy. We’ve never had a company as big as this come to us, so everyone is petrified and excited. The opportunities and benefits of securing the contract can’t be understated. Even Willow and I stop having sex in my office and focus on making sure that we put everything we have into this, as well as staying on top of our other projects. I become ruthless, even by my own standards, my nerves set on edge as the day looms ever closer.
It’s after one of these frustrating days that Willow comes into my office. I hadn’t called her in, but I’m glad to see her nonetheless.
“Hey you,” she says in her soft voice as she circles around my desk to sit in my lap.
“What are you doing here?”
She leans in, the fruity smell of her hair wafting over me. Her lips gently kiss mine. I feel her hands gently unbuttoning my shirt and I smile against her lips.
“I thought maybe you could use a break,” she whispers into my ear. Her hand skims across my chest, drawing patterns as she makes her way down to my belt.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well-”
Her voice is cut off by a sharp knock on the door. We look at each other, confused. I cough and clear my throat.
“A bit busy,” I say.
“Not for this.”
It’s Aiden. What the hell is he doing here? We almost never cross over to each other’s offices. There’s never been any need to. He runs his team, and I run mine. Panic seeps in as Willow quickly jumps off my chair, and I start buttoning up my shirt again. Aiden knocks on my door more insistently.
“Deacon. Open up.”
“One sec.”
I’m going as fast as I can, and Willow tries to help, but her hands and mine bump into each other. She realizes it and pulls her hand back and I finish up as fast as I can. I’m done just as he begins to open the door. Aiden’s in the doorway, and surprisingly, so is Cassandra. She’s smiling like a cat that ate the canary, and a lump of dread settles into my stomach.
“Hello,” he says smiling widely. “Am I interrupting?”
“Yes,” I say irritated. “But you knew that and came in anyways, so out with it.”
The two of them come in and close the door behind them. They wait, not saying a word, until I finally break the silence.
“Well?” I say.
“You’ve certainly got a rather cozy arrangement here don’t you Deacon?” Aiden begins. “A junior associate at your beck and call, catering to your every whim.”
I bristle at his description of Willow. He’s got some nerve.
“That’s not how it is,” I grit out. “I’d watch what you’re saying if I were you.”
“Oh please,” Cassandra bursts out. “Your shirts unbuttoned and it took you forever to open the door. I’m pretty sure we all know what’s going on. Why don’t we just drop the charade?”
Willow’s mouth drops open and her head swivels to my shirt. I look down, and sure enough, in my haste, I’d skipped a button on the bottom. Fuck. This is bad. Really bad.
“Willow? Get out.”
Her eyes snap up towards mine. I can’t stand the hurt in her eyes, but the last thing I want is for her to get caught in the crossfire. I know that Aiden’s been pissed about me being here for a long time, but he’s never done anything about it.
“Out,” I say tersely.
She blinks a few more times, but then ducks her head and quickly walks past Aiden and Cassandra. I see the smirk she’s wearing and feel an unreasonable anger bubbling up. I remember Willow warning me about her, but I hadn’t taken it seriously. I got complacent and this is my fault. I’ll make it up to you, I promise, I say to her back as she walks out.
Once the door shuts again, I sit heavily down in my chair.
“What do you want? Whatever it is, I’ll agree as long as you leave Willow out of it.”
Aiden comes over to the chair across from me and sits down, crossing his leg.
> “Those are just the words I want to hear,” he says with a cold smile.
Chapter 11
Willow
I am worried when I come out of Deacon’s office, but I know that I have to pretend to be calm. I shouldn’t have worried though because the office is humming along as usual. Everyone’s too busy to notice what has happened, and I don’t want to draw any attention to it so I move quickly to my desk and sit down. My hands are shaking so much that I can’t focus on anything, so I just mindlessly click open an email so I look like I’m working.
What’s going on in there? I wonder as I glance towards Deacon’s door. And why did he make me leave? I’m worried, not just for my own job, but for Deacon. He could get into a lot of trouble. I think about going over to Burke, maybe telling the story first so that Aiden and Cassandra don’t twist things for him, but I’m not sure that it wouldn’t do more damage. I should have been more insistent about Cassandra. The way she’d look at me sometimes, curious and yet disgusted... The ‘what ifs’ play over and over in my mind.
Finally the door opens and Aiden and Cassandra walk out. I scrutinize their faces. Aiden’s is totally devoid of emotion, just like always. I swear I’ve never seen that guy crack a smile. It’s like he’s dead inside, which he very well might be if he’s trying to blackmail Deacon. Cassandra however is grinning from ear to ear. She’s practically bouncing on her feet she’s so happy. I watch them go, the lump in my throat growing bigger. What happened in there?! My phone beeps the next second, as if answering my question.
Willow, I’m resigning. I’ll pick you up tonight in front of the Jumping Bean and explain everything then.
I reread the text over and over, willing the words to sink in. What does he mean he’s resigning? What about his campaign for Pepsi that he’s all excited about? Deacon loves his job. Like he actually breathes and lives for marketing and branding. I can’t imagine him doing anything but that. But Aiden and Cassandra have taken that away from him. Is that the deal they struck? Their silence for Deacon leaving? Were they really that threatened by him? I want to talk to him, ask him what he means, but I know that once he’s made up his mind, it’s hard to change. It doesn’t matter anyways. A second later he exits out of his office, holding a folded piece of paper. His resignation.
Part of me wishes that I followed him. What did he tell Burke? I know that Deacon is a star employee and Burke would fight to keep him. When he doesn’t return in twenty minutes, I decide it would probably be best if I focused on our work in case maybe Deacon doesn’t go. I pull up the new redesigned logo Deacon wanted me to make especially for this and get to work.
He doesn’t come back for almost an hour and a half, and when he does, there’s a brightness to him that I don’t expect. Instead of feeling crushed by the turn of events, it seems as though he’s almost... happy? But that can’t be right. Leaving a job he loves couldn’t have been easy for him. I fight to keep myself in my chair, but I shouldn’t have worried. Deacon comes out to make an announcement.
“I’ve got something to say to everyone,” he says, standing outside the door to his office.
The whole place falls silent. Most of the faces are curious, maybe even irritated at being interrupted.
“I just want to let you all know that I’m resigning.”
There’s a split second where nobody speaks, and then we’re all clamoring for explanations. Deacon holds up one hand.
“It’s already done. I’m sorry for leaving you so abruptly like this. As of right now, you’ll be supervised by Aiden and Burke together, but a new manager will be found. Nothing’s changed. It’s nobody’s fault. Just my decision that I’ve come to.”
My eyes scan the crowd, trying to see if Cassandra’s there. She’s probably off celebrating with Aiden, I think bitterly. The two of them are probably toasting the end of Deacon’s career.
“I want to thank everyone for making the job here at Bronson & Burke fantastic. And maybe I’ll be seeing you around.”
Deacon finishes with a smile and heads into his office. Everyone’s talking to each other, and some have even hurried after him to talk to him. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m afraid I’ll betray us if I go to him, though I’m not sure it even matters anymore since he’s resigned. I just wish it was five p.m. already so he can hold me and explain everything to me. Once Deacon’s got all his things in a box, he gets escorted out. I keep my head down the whole time, and he doesn’t try to make eye contact either. Burke shows up and gets everyone back to work, but I can tell even he’s confused by what’s going on. He speaks to a few of us, and then goes.
I need to know what’s going on, so I go over to Joan.
“Hey, what’d Burke say?” I ask.
“He doesn’t know what’s going on. He was hoping that maybe Deacon had spoken to one of us, but it’s a surprise here too. Did he ever say anything to you?”
I shake my head. At least my confusion is real.
“I wonder what’s going on,” Joan says, worried. “Burke said he wouldn’t even consider staying until the Pepsi meeting at the end of the week. Can you believe it? And he’s the one who was kicking up such a big fuss over it a month ago.”
“Yeah,” I say hollowly. “It’s unbelievable.”
Joan pats me.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’ll get another partner to work with. I’m actually surprised that Burke didn’t come speak to you either.”
I shrug.
“I guess I better get back to it,” I say at last.
The minutes drag by, but finally it’s time for me to go. As promised, Deacon’s parked at the Jumping Bean, a chocolate croissant (how?! They always sell out!) in one hand and a mocha in the other for me. We get inside his car but I don’t eat yet. I need to know what’s going on.
“First. Are you mad at me?” Deacon asks.
“A little,” I admit. “Croissant makes up for it though.”
He grins.
“I had to beg them to make a batch.”
“And you got just one?” I say, mock angry.
Deacon laughs, and I relax. Whatever has happened, it can’t have been too bad. Otherwise why would he be so happy? He starts driving back to his house.
“So tell me,” I say. “What’s going on?”
“It turns out you were right. Cassandra was onto us. She told Aiden, who thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally get rid of the competition I guess.”
“What’d they blackmail you for?” I ask, afraid to know.
“Quite a bit. Aiden sure knows how to exploit an advantage. He knew that your probation hadn’t expired too, so he used that to get me to resign and hand over a pitch for Pepsi.”
I gasp. No! Deacon’s been working so hard for that. It was supposed to be his big break. Guilt rises in my throat like a big lump. He sees my horror and reaches over to take my hand and kiss it.
“Don’t worry Willow. I’ve been thinking about quitting for a while. All Aiden did was hurry it along by a month or two.”
“But the campaign. You poured everything you had into it,” I say. “I’m so sorry. Because of me you won’t be able to get it now. Aiden will take credit for it.”
Deacon shrugs.
“There’ll be other campaigns. I didn’t sign a non-compete agreement when I was first hired too, so if I really wanted I could always send in my idea to Pepsi. I know a few people who could get it into the right hands.”
“I’m confused. Didn’t you say that you gave your idea to Aiden?”
“I gave a pitch to Aiden. I’ve got plenty more ideas, and better ones. I was even toying with the idea of starting my own branding firm. Years ago I helped a college friend who was starting up a computer company, and he gave me stocks instead of payment. They’re now worth a lot. Enough that I don’t have to work for a very long time if I don’t want to. So I’m not worried about my job. I just wanted to make sure that he didn’t try and get rid of yours.”
He pulls up to his driveway and parks
the car. He turns towards me and strokes my cheek. I can’t believe that he would do something like that for me, for our relationship. The very last bits of doubt I had that this wasn’t as serious for him as it is for me completely disappear.
“I love you Willow,” he says softly. “I wanted to be with you, and now I can. I’m happy to give up my job, any job, for you. Although I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss our daily lunch sessions.”
My heart feels as though it’s about to burst, it’s filled with so much happiness.
“I love you too Deacon,” I reply.
“Now how about we order in some Thai and celebrate with some champagne?” he says with a grin.
But of course, we don’t get that far. As soon as the door closes, our hands are all over each other. My hands pull at his shirt, pushing it over his head. I know that Deacon likes to take the lead, but this time, I want to do something special just for him. I start kissing him slowly down his body, across his pectorals, down his rock hard abs. My hands undo the button of his jeans and push them and his boxers down as I kiss slowly over his bellybutton, my tongue licking a trail down to his already hard cock. Deacon groans as my hands grip onto his length, and I look up at him.
“This is for you baby,” I say, not breaking eye contact as my lips close around his sensitive head.
I watch the bliss flood his features as my tongue swirls around the rim of his cock, sending shivers down his spine. My tongue laps at his slit, then along the sensitive underside as I take all of him, until the head pushes against the back of my mouth. Deacon groans as my throat constricts around the head, and then I pull back. My hands massage his balls, gently, then harder.
“Fuck yes,” he groans as he leans against the wall for support. His voice is low and full of lust.
My tongue flicks his head again, and then I bob up and down, taking as much as I can each time. I take slow breaths so that I don’t gag, and try to relax, and it seems to be working, because his groans are getting louder. Deacon’s hips start to move, his hands tightening as they thread through my hair, holding me in place until he’s fucking me as deep as I can take it. I love that he can’t control himself, that I am the only one who he’ll let himself go with, and I suck as hard and as much as I can, until he comes with an animalistic sound, holding my head into his crotch as he shoots ropes of his hot seed into my mouth. I cough there’s so much, but I finally swallow most of it down.