The Sunday Arrangement

by Lucy Smith

  On Sunday, Toby showed Pierce the 3D computer model of the casino mock-up. Pierce, however, wanted several adjustments and tweaks, most of which I agreed with. I was surprised. Normally, Toby took a lot of pride in his designs, but this one looked really sub-par for him. I felt bad for him—my brother would essentially have to go back to the drawing board.

  That night, as I had predicted, Toby wanted to hang out and do something. I made up the excuse that Pierce and I were scouting a popular club, and he was welcome to join us. After the brutal meeting and the hashing out of the new plan, I wasn’t sure if he’d take me up on the offer. The club scene had never been his type of hangout anyway. When he agreed to come, I was terrified but excited at the same time. I was praying Pierce’s plan would work and that Toby wouldn’t find out about us.

  Before today, Toby had never seen me in the type of dress I chose to wear. He seemed a little shocked that I’d go out looking the way I did. Pierce wore a causal suit, and Toby donned a button-down dress shirt and a pair of jeans. We were an odd-looking group, but at least there weren’t any paparazzi at the club entrance; there was no reason for us to hide our faces.

  The club was small compared to other clubs, but it was packed. The line out front wrapped around nearly half the building. Pierce had purchased VIP passes beforehand, however, so we didn’t have to wait. As we entered the popular club, techno music blared from the DJ booth. There were cage dancers, strobe lights, and VIP booth tables. The lighting was dim and the place was flooded with men and women, all on the prowl.

  Pierce chose a table and we all sat down. Toby ordered the drinks, and we watched the people around us dance in the neon lights.

  “This place is pretty cool!” Toby shouted. He was five inches away from me, but I could barely him over the music. He slammed his shot of whiskey down and I watched him head to the bar for something else.

  “Looks like this is gonna be easier than I thought,” Pierce whispered in my ear.

  I watched as Pierce continued to feed Toby drinks. The music got louder, the place got more crowded, and despite everything that had happened that week, I was incredibly horny. It didn’t take long before my brother was drunk, talking about his wife and how much he loved her. Pierce’s hand went to my thigh, and I almost jumped out of my skin. His hand tightened its grip as he looked at my brother. “You should give her a call. We need to go speak to the DJ about his services.”

  My brother nodded his head and slowly stumbled from our private booth. “I’ll step outside and call her, see how she is.”

  I cringed slightly. Margret would tear him apart for getting drunk, especially since she was stuck at home taking care of two little ones. I couldn’t blame Toby though—we all needed our releases. Toby left with a slight sway to his step.

  Pierce stood from the table and pulled me behind him.

  “Where are we going? I thought we were—”

  “I’d rather not get arrested. The point is that it’s in a public place where we have a greater risk of being caught, but not actually getting caught.”

  I was slightly relieved. He led me back to a darkish corner with a small loveseat, sat down, and pulled me into his lap. I leaned into his chest, ready for a release of my own. He kissed my shoulder, and I whimpered at his subtle touch. There was the thought that we could be caught at any moment, which added to my slowly building arousal. His arm was around my waist, and I could feel the familiar start of his erection. I broke the kiss and looked around. The other people sharing the club level we were on were in their own worlds, not paying attention to the couple making out in the corner.

  Pierce drew me back into a kiss. His tongue made it easy to forget the others who were there. Pierce had a way of quieting everything else. He practically forced me to focus on him and the sexual animal raging within me. I ground my ass against his crotch. He let out a small moan in my ear, and his arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer to him. He started to rock against me, back and forth. Back and forth. I couldn’t believe how incredibly hot this was.

  He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a condom. In a series of awkward movements that involved me keeping watch to make sure no one was looking, he got the condom on and I lifted my dress slightly. I was thankful now I had decided to forgo panties. I sank down onto him and bit my lip to keep myself from moaning; this was one of the hottest things I had ever done.

  He made small thrusts into me, and I rocked my hips. We didn’t have a lot of time; I knew Toby would be back and looking for us soon. I picked up my pace and reached behind me, placing my hand in his pubic hair. He let out a small groan. I leaned my head back on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Someone could see us together any second.” I then licked his earlobe and blew on it, smiling as he tensed underneath me. The fact that I made him come so easily—just my words and a simple touch—turned me on. A small orgasm overtook me, and I relished the fact that all this had been done in a public place. I stood and fixed my dress. He also adjusted himself, and the two of us were back downstairs, acting as if nothing happened.

  I looked around to see if Toby had returned and didn’t see him. “I’m going to go see if Toby is still outside.”

  Pierce nodded and surprised me when he followed me out of the club. Toby was sitting on the curb, and it looked like he had thrown up a little. I went over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He looked up at me with glassy eyes. “No . . . she’s mad at me.”

  I knew she would be. I couldn’t help but feel a tad guilty for letting Pierce talk him into calling her while drunk. My brother hardly ever drank to get drunk, so when he did, it never ended well.

  Pierce lifted Toby off the ground. “Come on. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

  “I’ll stay here. I need some fresh air,” I said.

  The two of them went back into the club, and I waited outside for them. A few minutes passed and suddenly my phone rang—it was Toby. They probably want me to go back into the club.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  I heard the sound of fabric moving against the phone. Toby had obviously pocket-called me. I was about to hang up when something caught my attention.

  “I thought about the proposal you presented me with the last time I was here, Maverick. I want in. I’ll help you take them down. It’s been a long time coming.”

  Pierce said something in return, but I couldn’t make it out. I continued to try and hear what they were saying, but the words became jumbled. I jumped in surprise when the two of them greeted me outside. Quickly I hung up my phone.

  “Were you talking to Margret?” Toby asked. He swayed slightly on his feet and threw an arm around my shoulder. “Did you tell her I’m sorry? You’re such a good sister!”

  I helped him to the car, but didn’t say a word about what I had heard. I knew I’d need to stay quiet about it, for now. A feeling of dread entered my stomach. If only I had known then what it would all lead to.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next day at work, I forced myself to focus and forget about the accidental butt dial from Toby the night before. If those boys thought they could pull the wool over my eyes, they’d clearly underestimated me. I didn’t get where I was today by sitting on the sidelines and letting people walk all over me. Though I wasn’t thoroughly convinced I had any reason to panic, I made a mental note to consider everything that was said with unforgiving scrutiny. After all, there was no need to alert Dad until I was absolutely certain that my lover, Pierce, and my own brother were plotting against Hart Corp. I wasn’t going to raise the red flag just yet.

  “Pierce, what’s your ETA on the projected expense reports? And Toby, where are you with 3D model?” I barked with more tenacity than I had shown in the office in a while. It felt good to back in the driver’s seat.

  Pierce stared me down, questioningly. Clearly, he didn’t approve of my tone. “April is working on them. They should be in your hands
by tomorrow evening, Friday at the latest.”

  “I can’t continue with the budget until I have them. See that she gets them to me immediately.”

  Toby shuffled some papers around on the conference table. “The 3D model is taking longer than anticipated. I think—”

  “Well there’s your problem right there. You’re thinking too much. Stop contemplating and get it done. We need the model yesterday.”

  “You do realize these models usually take four to six months to construct? It’ll be a miracle if I can pull off your two-month deadline as it is.”

  My heart softened at my brother’s voice. I hadn’t meant to sound like a bitch, but I was tired of sitting idle on this project. “We’re all working with impossible deadlines, Toby. That’s the nature of the business.”

  Toby exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “Damn, Lo. What crawled up your ass and died? You were so fun last night.”

  I caught Pierce’s intense stare from the corner of my eye. “I’ll say,” he added.

  “I’m the boss and I need things done. This casino isn’t going to build itself, ya know.” I cringed at my tone, hoping I didn’t sound like a pathetic wind-up toy you couldn’t shut off. “I’m taking my lunch at my condo. When I get back, I expect some progress.”

  I left the men in the conference room before they had a chance to protest. As I left, I wondered if leaving them alone was a mistake. Would that give them more time to plan whatever it was they were plotting? I shook my head, dismissing the thought. Hopping into my limo, I told the driver to take me home. I had more important things to think about than expense reports that afternoon.

  ~*~*~*~

  Later that day, I lounged on the couch, talking to Kat on the phone. It had been a while since we last talked, and I missed her. I had something up my sleeve for the next Sunday arrangement, but I was hesitant to broach the subject with her. It was an idea I had toyed with for a while, but I needed her input.

  “Hypothetically speaking, would you ever want to do it with me?” I asked cautiously, after filling her in on my latest sexual exploits with Pierce.

  “Depends, are we drunk and partying?”

  “Nope. We’re stone-cold sober.”

  “As long as you were sober, and you weren’t just drunk and horny . . . I’d do it,” she admitted. “I’d want you to remember every fantastic second of me being a sexual goddess.”

  I laughed. “So given the opportunity, you would do me, your best friend?”

  “Obviously you’re a fox and I love you, so why not?” she asked. “What’s bringing this on, Lo? Suddenly having bi-curious urges you want to explore with a safe friend?”

  I took a deep breath before I spoke. “You’re the only person who knows about Pierce. He’s really allowed me to be myself and explore the sexual side of my personality.” I stood from the couch and began pacing. An image of my frantic father walking back and forth across my carpet last Sunday morning flashed to mind, but I willed it away. Now was my time. Now was about Kat. “Being with a woman has always been something I’ve wondered about. One of my long-time fantasies. I just . . .” I paused for a moment, “I just want to explore every side of this new me. I don’t want to walk away from this with regrets.” When she didn’t respond, I continued, “Kat, I understand if you don’t want to, but would you be willing to let me play out the fantasy I have with you? There isn’t any other woman I’d want to share my first experience with.” My heart beat hard at the silence on the other end. “Kat?”

  “I’m here. Are you serious? You’re not kidding around?”

  I licked my lips nervously. “I’m not kidding. I want you to be my first. . . . Is that totally weird and creepy?”

  “It will change things between us.”

  I gripped my phone tighter. “I know.”

  “Yes. I’ll be your first lesbian experience. When do you want me out there?”

  “By this Sunday?”

  “I’ll be there. I need to go now. My break is up.”

  “All right. Thank you. Text me the details, and I’ll buy your plane ticket out here.”

  “I’d do anything for you, Lauren, you know that. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” The line went dead when she hung up. I let out a long breath of relief. I’d finally done it. I’d finally admitted my desire to experiment with a woman. It was liberating, exhilarating, and impossible to describe what I was feeling. Thank God for Kat. I didn’t know if I would have ever played out this sexual fantasy of mine without her. She was the only one I trusted completely to do this.

  ~*~*~*~

  Later in the day, as Pierce and I sat in the conference room together, each working silently at our laptops, I found myself reassuring my mother about our progress. This even though I wasn’t sure myself what was going on. “Yes, Mom, the project is going fine.”

  “What about that Maverick boy? Are you two getting along?”

  I forced my voice to remain calm. “We’re not children, Mom. We’re business partners, and we act as such.”

  “I’m sure you do, honey. Next time your brother is out there, please don’t get him drunk. Margret was livid that he got drunk the week his daughter was born.”

  I laughed. “I felt bad about that, but we were having such a good time. I don’t think either of us realized how much we drank.” The lie slipped easily off my tongue, and I felt a little guilty. Poor Mom, was everyone in her life lying to her? Me? Toby? Dad?

  She chuckled heartily. “You two are adults now, so I can’t be angry with you. I’ll just leave that up to your partners to do for me. Speaking of partners, have you met anyone while you’ve been out there?”

  I sighed. “Well, that’s a record thirty seconds.”

  “A mother has her concerns!” she exclaimed.

  “Mom . . . no, I haven’t met anyone. I’ve been working.”

  “I know you have, but you do have one day off. Don’t you ever get out of that apartment?”

  “I do, but I haven’t been looking to date anyone right now. Besides, my Sunday nights are usually . . . busy. So I like to have my day off to recoup. I still have tons of time to find someone and settle down before I’m, ya know, old.”

  She huffed into the phone. “That’s what your great aunt Myrtle said and look what happened to her.”

  “She bought a few cats and lives alone. That’s what she wants to do. I’m not striving to be the next cat lady of the family, trust me.”

  My mother sighed exasperatedly. “You’re missing my point, Lauren.”

  I knew exactly what her point was. “And that is?”

  “I want more grandchildren.”

  “Mom, you just got another one! You have two already, and one is barely a week old. You haven’t even had time to spoil her yet.”

  “Let me rephrase myself. I want grandchildren from you, too,” she said curtly.

  “Okay, crazy lady. I’ll get right on that and find a guy to be my baby-making machine. We’ll start cranking ‘em out here real soon, okay? I need to go now. I love you, bye.” I hung up before she could say anything else. I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair. Ever since I’d turned twenty-four, she had been nagging me about children for her to spoil. I loved her, but enough was enough. Better she worry about that, I supposed, than my father’s impending doom.

  “Is your mother pressuring you to get married and make her more grandchildren?” Pierce asked from across the conference table. His feet were on top of the table, and he was chowing down on an egg roll from April’s Chinese run at lunch. I didn’t admit to him that I was bummed about not seeing Lucas today. Every time he brought lunch for us, I talked to him for a good half hour about random things. He was an interesting guy, and I thought I might have a small crush on him. I also thought Pierce knew this, and maybe that was why he’d been ordering out the past few days.

  “You have no idea! Almost every time I talk to her, she brings it up. ‘When are you going to date a nice man and give me more grandchildr
en?’” I said, mimicking her tone with my voice.

  “I can’t wait to get married and have kids!” April piped up.

  I had an urge to roll my eyes at her naiveté but was able to resist it. Pierce’s annoying assistant invited herself, again, to sit with us. If she sat any closer to Pierce, she’d be in his lap. I felt a little sorry for her; she seemed so young and so immature. Even though I knew he would never make her a girlfriend, I was still jealous that she had the freedom to openly show her affections, however misplaced they might be. I couldn’t do that without worrying about it catching fire in the rumor mill.

  “How many kids do you want, Mr. Maverick?” April asked. I cringed slightly at her voice.

  “One or two, I suppose. I’ve never really given it much thought.” He gave me a long glance. “What about you? Have you given any thought to how many kids you want?”

  I shrugged and poked at the Kung Pao chicken with my chopsticks. “One, I guess. I would like to have a little boy. Though I’d also be fine with a girl.”

  “I want two boys and two girls. What do you think about that, Mr. Maverick?” April asked. Her pestering questionings were beginning to sound like a yapping Yorkie. She just wouldn’t shut up.

  Pierce looked bored. “If that’s what you want. It’s not up to me.”

  I didn’t think Pierce realized the impact his words had on her. She was not asking about his personal opinion on her life. She was asking because she was planning their future together.

  She smiled and reached out to touch his shoulder, her fingers briefly resting on his neck. “Good. I’m glad.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sunday finally came, and I eagerly awaited Kat’s arrival at the entrance to the hangar. I nearly bounced on the balls of my feet. I couldn’t wait to see her, but at the same time, I was extremely nervous and hopeful that things wouldn’t become awkward between us as two friends experimenting together. I could see her now walking toward me, a big smile on her red painted lips. She was wearing a black lace corset dress and her arms were outstretched. I returned her smile, relieved that she was happy to see me. There didn’t seem to be any trepidation in her eyes. We hugged, holding each other for a moment. It had been over a month since I’d seen her. I slowly pulled away and led her into the white stretch limo. I made sure the privacy divider was up so that the driver couldn’t hear us.