“Does my past really matter? I mean, I’m not holding Craig against you.” She rolled her eyes.
“Please, that man was so vanilla that it took him four times before he made me come.”
“Four times? That’s horrible, but you don’t see me flying off the handle because he’s had you four times more than me.”
“I know what you mean, but it’s still aggravating.”
“I gave her a sly smile. “Someone’s jealous.” I teased her the same way she’d teased me.
“Stop it; I’m not jealous. I’m just grossed out.” She gave a little laugh, and I pretended to be wounded by her words.
“Stop picking fights with me and let’s go to dinner.” I got up and went to my room and quickly changed, then I waited forty minutes for her to get ready.
***
Just over an hour later, we were sitting at my reserved table looking at menus. “I can’t believe you have a permanently reserved table. That’s pretty amazing.”
“It’s only because of my money. One of the perks of being stupid rich.” I knew I sounded bitter, and it wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the perks of being wealthy, but I didn’t really like to brag about them. Things were what they were, and I couldn’t help them. “Some of the perks are good, like this one, but others just make me feel like a jerk.”
“You’re a thoughtful man.”
“Don’t say that too loud; it will ruin my reputation as an asshole.” She let loose a soft giggle and shook her head.
“I think I’m going to get the grilled chicken salad. The picture looks amazing, and I’m not allergic to anything in that one.”
“Get anything you want.”
The waiter came over and took our orders and brought with him a complementary bottle of wine which he used to fill our glasses. “From our best stock, Mr. Thomas.” The young man gave us a nod and scampered away.
Minutes of silence went by, but the waiter came back with Maya’s salad and my appetizer.
“I’m sorry about today, Maya. I wish I knew how to act to make things perfect.”
“There’s no magic formula. This isn’t your lab, James, you can’t find the perfect mixture. But I accept, and I’m sorry too.” She was beautiful, and her eyes sparkled like diamonds in the dim light of the room.
She stabbed her fork into her salad and took a bite.
“You don’t ever have to be sorry with me. I just want to move forward.”
I waited for her to speak, but instead, I looked up to find her gulping down the glass of wine with her eyes wide with what could only be a look of panic.
“Maya?” I leaned forward to assess if she were choking as she held her throat.
“There was something in my salad,” she croaked. Her voice was strained and raspy as she tried to explain. “I’m having a reaction.” She gasped for air, and her lips swelled up so fast, I couldn’t believe it.
“The tabs?” She shook her head. “Not in this purse.”
“I have some in the car. I’ll be right back.” I left her at the table and told the wait staff to sit with her as I ran outside and tried to find my car where I’d left a box of the samples. I pushed through the crowd of people waiting and grabbed the valet.
“Whoa, guy, what the fuck’s your problem?”
“I need my car. This is a medical emergency. I have to get the medication from the car.” The guy hurried and brought me to my car, and once I got the medicine, I left it with him, keys and all and rushed back into the restaurant to find Maya covered in welts and her lips and tongue swelling. I pushed the tablet into her mouth and held her in my arms as she tried to catch her breath and the restaurant called nine-one-one.
Before the paramedics arrived, she was feeling better, and we’d examined the salad to see it contained sliced strawberries. Turned out, it was the wrong salad. “I feel better, James. I don’t want to go in the ambulance.” She curled against my side, and I spoke with the paramedics, promising I’d take her myself.
“I want you to go for me, but I’ll drive you. I want you to be checked out.”
“If you hadn’t had that medicine, Sir, she wouldn’t have made it. I can’t tell you how many people don’t even have the proper treatment for a reaction, and I’m so sick of seeing people die before we can make it to them. When the restaurant called, I won’t lie. I didn’t think we’d make it in time. I’ll let you sign this release, and then you can take her yourself. She’ll need a few things to get her back one hundred percent, and she might not even realize it at the moment.”
“Yeah, I’ll be sure I do.” She met my eyes, and I gave her a look, daring her to challenge me. As the paramedic left, we went out to the car, and I buckled her into her seat and kissed her splotchy, swollen lips.
“I’m hideous, aren’t I?” She put her hands over her face. “Oh, I’m so embarrassed.”
“You’re beautiful no matter what. Your swelling is already going down, but I want to get you checked out to be sure the medicine is working okay. It’s been tested a million times, but nothing’s going to make me feel better until a doctor looks at you.”
“You’re a doctor, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but I don’t practice like that, and I’m mostly a biomedical scientist whose gotten lucky a few times.” I was feeling really lucky at that moment.
“You’re a hero.” Hearing her say that made me feel warm inside, but I also felt humbled. “I’m nobody special.”
“To me you are.” She shrugged and laid her head over against the window. “If you value my opinion, then that means something.”
“Well, I do, so thank you.”
I raced as fast as I could to the nearest hospital, and after checking her over, and giving my product more praise, they released her.
We arrived at The Avalon just after eleven, and as we approached, George opened the door. “Is she all right, Mr. Thomas?” Maya was laying against me with her eyes closed, so I scooped her up into my arms.
“She had an allergic reaction, but she’s been to the hospital. She’s sleepy from the meds.” The formula did make you drowsy, and poor Maya had just about lost her fight with the Sandman.
“I’m so sorry, Sir. Would you like a chair to take her up?” He winced and made ready to fetch the chair if needed.
“No, I’ve got her.” The elevator opened, and Darek Dillon walked out, eying Maya.
“What happened?”
Maya’s eyes fluttered. “Hi, Darek. I’m all better now.” She closed her eyes and Darek held the door.
“Do you need any help, man? I can get your door if needed.”
“No thanks, we’ll manage.” His eyes were wide, and he hesitated, keeping the door from shutting.
“She had a reaction at dinner; she’s fine. I’m a doctor, for fuck’s sake.” I cleared my throat, and he stepped out of the way and let the door shut.
Maya was a little thing, but she got heavier before we could get to the sixty-first floor. I should have accepted the chair.
I managed to carry her to her bed, where I slipped off her shoes. Before I could step away, she whispered to me, “James.” The soft tone of her voice had my heart pumping.
“Yes?”
“Stay?”
I kicked off my shoes and slipped between the covers with her.
Chapter 14
Maya
I rolled over just before dawn and realized my throat was dry. The reaction I’d had to that strawberry had done a number on me, and I rolled over to find a bottled water on the bed-side table along with a tube of lip balm which I smeared on my lips.
“I thought you might need those. Your lips were so swollen they nearly split.” I turned my head as I brought the water to my mouth and found James laying on his side.
“Thanks for taking care of me.”
“No problem, but let’s not repeat that anytime soon.”
I gulped down another swig and then went to the bathroom before returning to his warmth. I curled up next to him, and he rolled over
onto his back and stroked my hair.
“I didn’t think I’d make it back in time. I’m not even sure what I said or did to the poor valet, but he got a move on fast.”
“You weren’t gone long at all, but I can imagine it felt that way to you.” It had seemed like lifetimes at the moment.
“Too long.” He seemed lost in thought as if reliving those terrible minutes. “I’m not going to be able to go with that company. Not after what happened last night.”
I brought my leg up over his hips and felt his stiff cock which was lying thick on his tummy, so I brought my hand down to stroke him. “Let’s forget all about it for now.”
“You keep doing that, and it won’t be a problem.” He closed his eyes as if to savor the movements.
“You took care of me last night, now let me take care of you.” I gripped his cock and stroked it nice and slow while raising up to make love to his mouth, kissing him slow and deep.
I kissed my way down, and he moaned as I disappeared beneath the covers and took him into my mouth.
“Fuck, baby, that’s so good. Your mouth is always so good on my cock, but don’t overdo it.” His concern for my well-being was sweet, but I relaxed my throat and took him deep, past my tonsils and into the back of my throat.
“I’m going to come, baby.” He tapped my side as if to warn me, but I continued to work my mouth and slurp on his thick member.
“Fuck.” His cock spilled his release in heavy spurts which I wasted no time swallowing down.
I rose up, and he reached down, stroking his cock. “I’m not done with you yet, Maya.” He stood, his cock straight up, and it was still just as hard as ever and craving attention.
I straddled him and settled over his cock and eased myself down. His girth stretched me wide with delicious pressure, and I ground my mound against him.
He reached up and cupped my breasts and took turns with them, kissing; sucking; nibbling, as I bounced up and down.
I ground until my release was just on the cusp and then I rocked my hips, moving my ass on his cock until I quaked around him, milking his juicy cock with my thirsty hole.
I leaned over, and he continued to taste and suck my tits. “Lift up; I want a taste of that sweet pussy.” I pulled off his cock and walked on my knees to straddle his face, and he gripped my ass and pulled me down to him, moaning against me, lapping with his tongue with greedy pulls from his lips in between.
Another wave of ecstasy washed over me, and I felt my juices flow as my walls quivered, aching for his cock to fill me, even though his tongue felt like heaven.
“Mm. Let me up, baby.” I lifted my knee and sat to my bottom beside him as he rose up and took my hand. “Come bend over here.” He put me on the side of the bed and went down to the floor where he spread my ass and stroked my tight hole. My cheeks flared red as he gave it attention and all sorts of embarrassing thoughts went through my mind as he darted his tongue in and out of me. “Rub your clit.” His words were like an order, so I wasn’t going to argue. I slipped my hand down and stroked my fingers lightly over my aching bud.
“Don’t stop, okay, trust me, Maya.” His fingers filled my channel and worked in time with my own ministrations, and then his mouth found my tight star again, licking and darting. But then I felt pressure as he stroked his finger around my back door and gently slipped it inside. I worked myself with more enthusiasm as he fucked me nice and steady, working both hands until my orgasm had me trembling uncontrollably on wobbly legs.
“You’re so fucking wet; I’m going to fuck you so good.” He rose up over me, and I felt a lick of pleasure as his cock filled my swollen, aching pussy. His fingers took over for me as I collapsed on the bed, but he never removed that steady, stroking finger. That one little digit was making me crazy as I writhed beneath him. “That’s right, angel, come for me.”
He slapped against me with so much force that my tits clapped together making a sound that grew louder with each thrust.
He fucked me hard until suddenly he jerked his cock and shot his load all over my ass and up my back. “Next time, I’m going to fill you up,” he promised as he pulled his fingers away and kissed my shoulder and neck. “Would you like that, angel?”
I was breathless and spent as I collapsed face-first onto the bed. “Yes.” I wasn’t sure if it were a promise or just dirty talk, but my sweet core ached for more of him still.
I reached and touched myself, and he smiled and slipped his hand down to cover my hand. “I love when you do that. Do it for me?” He took his hand away after pushing two of my fingers into my channel, and I laid back, my cheeks warm with a blush as I fingered myself.
“Touch your nipples, baby. Give them a nice little tug.” He crawled up on the bed with me and settled between my thighs to enjoy the show. Then he eased his face down closer and kissed my slick mound, which was so tender now, that it burned. I could feel the aching need of my next release demanding me to keep going, and when it crashed down on me, I screamed with pleasure until I was limp.
He gathered me up in his arms and held me, caressing my back with soft, small circles. “I need to rest. That meeting has me wrecked inside. Part of me is afraid that if I pass this opportunity by, I’ll regret it.”
“Wait? Are you considering taking the offer? You know that they’re assholes!”
“I know, but this is business, and sometimes you have to make the hard decisions. The impossible ones. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. My heart tells me one thing; my head is telling me another.”
“I can’t believe that. You heard what the paramedic said. People are dying.”
“I’m going to ask him to renegotiate the terms. If he can’t, I’ll let it go. It’s just a lot to think about.”
“Promise?”
He gave a soft mhm and then snuggled closer. I was suddenly wracked with emotion as tears filled my eyes. “You have to do the right thing.” He couldn’t suddenly let his integrity be shaken. His hand had stopped moving on my back, and I turned expecting to see him in deep thought, but instead, he was sound asleep, his breathing having leveled to a soft purr.
This was just another fantasy. Last night should have been a warning sign not a revelation of things actually working. It was solid proof that my life was a disaster, and that the two of us together were toxic. My heart was telling me one thing and my head another.
I’d wait until he went to his meeting and use his house phone to call home. I’d saved up enough money to buy a ticket, and I’d swallow my pride and see if my family would let me stay. I’d catch hell for leaving home, but at least I had somewhere to go, even if it made me miserable.
First, I had one last stop. I had to get my phone.
Chapter 15
James
I walked into ScriptTech to find that Maya had been replaced with another leggy blonde. This version of Tom Wright’s fantasy woman wasn’t nearly as attractive as Maya, but she was a beautiful woman in her own way, and by the blank stare in her eyes as I approached, I figured Tom was mouth fucking her so hard he’d killed a few brain cells.
“Hello, Sir.” She looked up from her computer, and her eyes widened. “What can I do for you?” She leaned forward and showed me her cleavage.
“I have an appointment with Mr. Wright in five minutes. My name is James Thomas.”
“Have a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
The door opened beside her desk, and Tom poked his head out. “That won’t be necessary, Britney. Come on in, James. It’s good to see you, man.” He stuck out his hand and turned around to lead me inside.
I looked back to see Britney was looking me up and down as if she wanted to devour me.
I shut the door and watched as he walked around his desk. “I was hoping to revisit the numbers, and maybe we can compromise a bit. I’d really like to go with your company, but I need to do it knowing you’re not going to gouge customers who really need the drug.”
“Have a seat.” He gestured to the
nearest chair. “You’re really eager to get down to business.”
“I see no reason to waste any more time. If we can’t get the prescription costs down to a decent margin, I’m going to have to pass.” Coming in and seeing that this guy had gone out of his way to hire another woman to take advantage of, was the icing on the cake. His morals were reprehensible, and I knew I couldn’t go home to Maya having left my product in his hands.
“I told you I couldn't see us changing the figures much. Maybe by ten percent at best.” He lifted his shoulders and then took a pen from his drawer and scribbled on an I love Golf tablet. He pushed the paper in front of me. Here’s what I’m willing to give you. I thought if I sweetened the pot a bit on your end, you’d see that I’m the best man and the best company.”
I read the paper and shook my head. I had more money than I knew what to do with, and even though the bonus he offered was a healthy chunk of change, I couldn’t do it. I’d promised myself that I’d be a better man since Lex had died, and I knew in my heart, that if one child died from an allergy because they couldn’t afford his tablet, I’d never be able to live with myself.
“No deal.” I held my hand out, and Tom stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Are you sure? You won’t find another company willing to pay you as much.”
“Then I’ll just have to make it myself.”
“What? Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much you’ll burn just getting set up for production? Maybe you should take some more time. Take these numbers home and look at them again.” Tom’s temper flared, and he shoved the paper back toward me.
“No. I’m good. Thank you for your consideration, but I developed this drug so people wouldn’t have to die over something as common as an allergy. When you make it so unaffordable that insurance companies are not willing to cover it, and people can’t afford it out of pocket, you create a problem that endangers the lives of innocent people. Maybe you can sleep at night knowing that, but I can’t.”
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