I’d been too tense to dance with her, especially when her friends had been groping each other. But she’d gently nudged me to dance along, and I’d walked off.
It didn’t seem like Mrs. Gallagher would’ve had anything to do with such a situation. I’d walked myself right into it. No one had forced me to do anything I hadn’t wanted to do. But then, why had Mrs. Gallagher been talking to Zola? Was it a coincidence or was there something more going on?
When I finished my glass of wine, I gently massaged my neck and my hand fell on the pendant necklace Mrs. Gallagher had given me. I walked back to the room, went over to the mirror and looked at it. It fell on the valley between my breasts, complementing my cleavage.
I remembered her gentle touch as she’d put it around my neck and sensations she’d provoked in me. Her touch was as powerful as her presence.
Shaking away the thoughts, I took a closer look at the pendant. It looked expensive and I doubted Mrs. Gallagher had given it to me for keeping. I took it off, deciding to return it now that the evening was over.
I didn’t really think about it, but I should’ve because once the thought crossed my mind I left my room and went to knock on her door. It was then that I realized I should’ve probably waited till morning. What if she’d gotten into bed? And how inappropriate was it of me to knock on her door so late at night?
Wait, what time was it? The door opened and an overwhelming wave of nervousness overcame me. I wanted to apologize and head back but it was too late.
She was standing on the other side of the door in a robe. Her hair was freely falling over her shoulders and she was holding a glass of red wine in her hand. It was a seductive image I hadn’t prepared myself for.
“Olivia, come in,” she said, leaving the door open for me as she retreated back to the room.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, I know it’s late,” I said as I closed the door behind me and turned around to find her watching me.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
Think. I commanded myself, successfully managing to tear my gaze away from her. “I uh, wanted to return this,” I said, showing her the pendant necklace on the palm of my hand.
She placed her glass of wine down and slowly approached me. She stopped right in front of me and I struggled to keep still as those untimely sensations started coming awake.
She slowly ran her index finger over the pendant and deliberately touched my palm, rousing awake every dormant desire I tried to keep buried within me.
“Do you like it?” she asked softly.
Whether she was asking about her touch or the necklace, I wasn’t sure. She withdrew her hand and looked at me, waiting for an answer.
“I do but‒.”
“Then keep it.”
“Mrs. Gallagher, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I tried to think of a plausible excuse. “It looks really expensive,” I said.
“So?” She seemed undeterred by my reason.
“Mrs. Gallagher,” I wanted to remind her of the shopping I’d charged on the credit card and all the other things she seemed willing to pay for, but when she took another step closer to me, every thought flew out of my head.
“It looks good on you, and I’m giving it to you as a gift. Why wouldn’t you want to keep it?” she asked in a low tone of voice, which made me tremble.
I wasn’t sure if she noticed the effect she had on me, but it didn’t seem to stop her. I felt like I was drowning and I needed a lifeboat so I said the first thing that crossed my mind. “Did you ask Zola to befriend me at the party tonight?”
“Yes,” she said.
She didn’t even flinch or pause at the question. “Why?” I asked.
“I was testing you.”
I was slightly glad I hadn’t been paranoid, but surprised she wasn’t going to any length to conceal the knowledge from me. “Why?”
“I wanted to see how you’d behave under the circumstances.”
I was a little baffled and was trying to understand, which was hard because she was so calm and she was still standing really close to me. I took a few steps away from her, creating distance between us so I could think clearly.
“Are you upset?” she asked.
“Yes, no, I mean–.” I was confused.
“Olivia, I need to know that I can trust you.”
“Trust me with what exactly? I feel like I’m constantly jumping through hoops for you trying to prove myself and now you’re what–playing games with me?” I might’ve been a little upset.
“I don’t play games,” she said.
I was frustrated with myself for being so damned attracted to her. What had she used Zola to test me on? And what if I’d played into Zola’s hands? What would Mrs. Gallagher have done?
“Did I pass?” I asked, trying but failing to conceal my anger.
“Olivia,” she said.
I remembered the first night I’d kissed her, how daringly brave I’d been. I’d risked everything for a kiss. And now, I was confronting her. What was I thinking? Did I want to risk losing my job?
I walked up to her in resignation and held out the necklace. If I wanted to keep working for her, I needed to be stronger. I needed to push down everything I felt and remember she was my boss.
She opened her palm and I dropped the necklace on her hand. When she closed her fingers around it, I headed for the door, but she closed her free hand around my wrist, stopping me on my tracks.
I turned to face her and she moved closer to me. I held my breath as her presence absorbed me. I couldn’t think or speak. I didn’t know what she was doing but my body was fully under her command.
All those things I was trying not to feel came back alive. The attraction I fought to conceal was now visible and the sensations her magical touch had on me left me completely bare.
I deeply inhaled, trying to contain the heat burning me up inside as her gaze held me captive. She released my wrist and gently placed her hand over my waist, causing every strand of hair on my skin to rise.
With a deliberate slow speed, she trailed her hand up from my waist to my ribs and I exhaled in desire as more heat spread through my body. She intently stared into my eyes as though she was enjoying the effect she had on me.
Our lips were inches apart. I wanted to lean in and kiss her, but she’d warned me against it. She was in control of the situation. I couldn’t do anything other than continue to melt as she tortured me. I wanted to beg her to just kiss me and end my suffering, but I couldn’t expose such degree of weakness.
Her blue eyes grew darker and I realized through my weak state that if she was holding me that close, something I felt for her had to be reciprocated. When I felt her delicious warmth merging with mine, I stopped caring about the repercussions and closed the space between us in a fiery kiss.
She responded to the passion in kind, crushing my lips with her own and my lust for her burned through me as it increased. She allowed me to taste her once more in a moment I’d never thought would occur again and just when I was starting to enjoy it, she broke the kiss, but didn’t pull away.
I wondered if she was deliberately torturing me as I stared at her in desperation. She must’ve known what she was doing to me. She must’ve known how desperately I wanted her.
She trailed her other hand over my cheek, as she leaned forward and captured my lips in another kiss. With incredible restraint, I slowly responded at her pace as she gently brushed her velvet lips against mine.
I was completely turned on and was dying to run my hands all over her perfect body. I felt like I was kissing a goddess and I could never quench my yearning for her. I wanted to feel her hands skimming all over my body, to feel her touch underneath my dress, and all that need and passion drove me insane. I was longing for so much, but she was offering so little.
She slowly broke the kiss and pulled away, this time fully letting go of me and I deeply inhaled as I struggled to regain my composure. I felt like I was still unde
r her spell as she turned her back to me and took a few steps away from me.
Knowing that was my cue to leave, I placed my hand over my heart in an attempt to calm it down because it was beating loudly out of control and shakily left her room. I weakly leaned against her door when I was outside and replayed the scene of what had just happened between us in my head.
I could still feel her on me, her scent, her warmth and her kiss. She had kissed me! She’d looked into my eyes and seen everything I felt for her and she hadn’t pushed me away. I had no idea what any of it meant. I just knew something had changed.
When I went back to my room, I was still trembling. No one had ever had that kind of effect on me. It was a little terrifying and the fact that my body was still stuck in an animated mode of arousal didn’t help.
I undressed and stepped into the bathroom. I turned the knob and stood under the nozzle as the cold water ran down my body, nicely cooling me off.
Chapter Fifteen
The shower helped during the duration of time I was in the bathroom, but the rest of the night was filled with erotic dreams of every other possible way my night could’ve ended with Mrs. Gallagher.
I woke up the following morning as I’d fallen asleep, hot and bothered. I couldn’t get the previous night out of my mind. Mrs. Gallagher had kissed me. I wanted to focus on the erotic part, because it was fun and I’d dreamt about it so many times, but my stupid brain kept dragging me back to the questions I didn’t want to dwell on.
Had any of what had happened between us meant anything? Did the fact that she had initiated the whole thing mean that she liked me? Did anything have to change between us? And they kept on going to the point where I thought I’d go crazy.
Finally, I got out of bed around seven in the morning and forced myself to study. It was Wednesday and my exam was taking place the following day. I was almost certain Mrs. Gallagher had forgotten until she called me an hour later.
“Good morning, Olivia,” her voice sounded casual.
I was glad we were talking on the phone because if it had been in person I wouldn’t have been able to conceal my growing desire for her. “Good morning, Mrs. Gallagher.”
I wasn’t sure if she was in the next room or if she’d left already but I walked over to the wall separating us and leaned against it as we spoke.
“Some business has come up and I have to stay in Paris a while longer, there’ll be a car waiting for you at ten after you check out to take you back to the airport.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I was happy to know I’d travel back to New York, but sad to know I’d be traveling alone. Plus, as far as I was concerned, our work hadn’t come to a conclusion yet. “What about Mr. Delacroix? Weren’t we supposed to meet up with him again today?” I asked.
“He called me this morning, the deal went through,” she said.
“Oh, that’s great.”
“It is. You can take the day off tomorrow. I’ll see you on Friday,” she said.
I wanted to protest because a greater part of me wanted to stay, but with my exams coming up, it was compulsory I go back to New York.
I tried to force myself to study long after the phone call had ended, but thoughts of Mrs. Gallagher kissing me and touching me kept taking over me. It was like she’d left a part of herself inside of me.
Several minutes before my check out time, I was at the front desk. I couldn’t help wonder if Mrs. Gallagher would continue staying at the hotel for the next few days she’d be in Paris.
After checking out of the hotel, I was handed a package and shown to the car that’d take me back to the airport.
During the drive, I distantly looked at the beautiful city as memories from the last couple of days replayed themselves in my mind. It all felt like a dream I was just about to wake up from.
I’d never intended to show Mrs. Gallagher how I felt about her, but she’d practically charmed it out of me. I’d never desired anyone else with the intense passion I desired her. I had no idea how her knowledge of my attraction to her would impact our working relationship, but I hoped it wouldn’t end up costing me my job.
A few hours later when I was in the air heading back home, I decided to study further for my exams. I was reaching for my laptop when the package I’d gotten from the reception desk fell from my bag.
I thought it was a random gift the hotel gave to visitors who stayed at their hotels. I opened it in curiosity and my jaw dropped when I found the pendant necklace Mrs. Gallagher had offered me the previous night.
I stared at it for a long time in disbelief. I’d already rejected it and wasn’t sure if it’d seem rude to reject it again. Mrs. Gallagher was a generous woman but I wasn’t sure where she stood on giving personal gifts to her employees.
I didn’t want to overthink it. Maybe she’d given me the necklace simply because it had complimented my outfit. It didn’t have to have a hidden meaning behind it. I placed it back in the bag and took out my laptop. I needed to prepare for my exams.
Thursday was a long and mentally draining day. I managed to do all three exams, but at the end of the day, I didn’t feel like I’d done the best that was expected of me. I didn’t feel like I had passed.
I’d been so busy during the last few weeks, I’d missed coursework, essays, and group work, fully relying on studying which I hadn’t done enough of. Before leaving the school, I went to the administration to enquire about evening classes.
Now that I had a job and was confident in myself, it was time I made a schedule for school. I worked eight hours a day. I could attend evening classes from seven to eleven. I just needed to figure out how I’d make it work what with all the traveling.
Since it was still early, I went to Rex’s art studio. He was renting out a small amount of space from an old building a few blocks from his place. I’d been there a few times before and more often than not, felt like it wasn’t a safe place but it was the cheapest he could afford.
I was driving my car, which I was planning on selling because I didn’t need it to get to work. I was getting used to moving around in a sleek BMW and every time I saw my car I was reminded of the poor state of my finances.
After parking it near the entrance of the building, I headed to the art studio which was situated at the very end of the second floor. I could hear a soft buzz coming from the room when I got to the door.
I knocked twice and opened. Rex was wearing an apron and protective gear; a pair of glasses and headphones. He was making a sculpture using hard limestone and the area around where he was working was covered with paper to collect the dirt.
He didn’t store finished pieces in the studio because of theft. Two finished pieces of paintings had been stolen from the studio before, which was a mistake he was unwilling to repeat.
I wished he could afford a safer neighborhood for the studio so that he could store his pieces. Instead he stored them either at his place or mine and neither one of us had enough room, which slowed his work.
He stopped working when he saw me and removed his gear. He was always happy to see me, which gave me a warm feeling. He approached me and raised his arms in an attempt to hug me when I stopped him because his apron was covered in dirt.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked him.
“C’mon, I’ve missed you,” he teased.
“We saw each other four days ago and we’ve spoken on the phone every day since,” I said.
He lowered his arms and offered me a seat on the couch he slept on when he spent nights working at the studio, which was placed some distance away from his working area.
Apart from the couch, a small fridge, his equipment and the pieces of art he was working on, there wasn’t much else in the room. The art studio was small and bordering on filthy but he’d done some work to make it presentable, and I was proud of him because he took his work very seriously.
“What are you working on?” I asked.
He took a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to me, then walked o
ver to his masterpiece and turned it to face me.
“That’s…” I wasn’t quite sure what to say. The piece he was working on appeared to be the upper body of a man screaming as he tried to escape from a frame and there were arms grabbing at him, almost pulling him back inside. “Dark,” I said.
The sculpture was far from done but he’d done a great job because the representation was so clear.
“When I’m done you’ll be able to see the articulation more clearly,” he said.
“You must be drawing your inspiration from a very disturbing place.”
The sculpture was a little terrifying.
He smiled at me as he came to take a seat beside me. “How was Paris?” he asked.
I was dying to tell him about my amazing encounter with Mrs. Gallagher but I didn’t want him to reproach me and remind me of everything I was risking by doing exactly what he’d warned me against.
“Paris was amazing, I didn’t manage to do much but I visited the Eiffel tower, which was a humbling experience.”
“Don’t be modest, I want to hear everything.”
I recounted the events, but didn’t mention anything about my kiss with Mrs. Gallagher.
“I envy you,” he said.
“If I were you, I’d envy me too,” I said.
“Private jet, expensive hotel room, in the most romantic city on earth and with the woman of your dreams, must’ve felt like a dream.”
I remembered her sweet scent, the amazing kiss and her hands trailing up my body and exhaled.
“That amazing, huh?” he asked.
I nodded, unwilling to reveal more.
“What did she say about the shopping?” he asked.
“She didn’t care.” I remembered her interest had been more on my satisfaction.
“There is something you’re not telling me,” he said, closely studying me.
I hated how well he knew me. I got up to conceal my expression and his hand closed on my wrist as he turned me to face him.
“Something happened between you two, didn’t it?” he asked as though he could read my mind.
“I want to tell you but I’m afraid you’re going to reproach me.”
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