by Mary Peart
“I might be planning to use it in the future,” he shrugged into his jacket and put his hand on the doorknob, regretting that he had not taken the other route.
“I see.” Mitsui gave him a knowing look. “So, will we be seeing you early this evening?”
“I don’t know what my day will be like mother,” he told her impatiently before pulling open the door and letting himself out.
“Of course you don’t,” she murmured with a wide smile. With a spring in her step she went into the kitchen to tell Miki what to prepare for dinner.
*****
Michael and Jack came by at nine and they started the tough job of removing the tiles that were already there. The floor was also made of parquet and the countertop was a beautiful marble. There was an island in the center and she decided that it would match with the color scheme she was doing. She sat on the floor and was deciding how to lay the tiles. Mitsui had popped inside and told her that she would be out for a little bit and that Miki and Linda would bring lunch up for them but they should raid her son’s fridge if they were hungry. “He usually keeps just water and juice in there but I had asked the ladies to stock it up.” With a wave she had left.
“It’s such a pleasure to work for a lady like that one,” Jack said chipping away at the tiles. “Such a classy and caring lady.”
“I think Jack is quite taken with her,” Michael said to Elise with a grin. He had come around and was talking more, and for that Elise was happy. He had been like a surrogate father to her and he had no one else but them.
“I think he is,” Elise agreed with a smirk.
“Cut it out you two!”Jack ordered darkly, chipping away vigorously. “I am just making an observation.”
By mid afternoon the broken tiles were on a heap on the floor and they had started to put the new ones up. They had taken a break when lunch was brought up for them and ate and relaxed a little before starting to work again. The tiles were laid with painstaking care and Elise made sure that they were done to perfection; she always told her crew that it was better to stay extra time on the job and get it done properly than to hasten it and it was not done properly.
*****
Peter sat in the meeting and twirled the pen he had in his hand. The shipment of vehicles had come in and had been cleared and was now waiting for inspections from his team of expert mechanics. He already had orders for the high end vehicles and they needed to be sorted out, but he could not concentrate on what was being said. The sales team was giving their report and the finance department had just reported profit in the high nineties. He had nodded and made the necessary noises, but his mind was far away. He was thinking about her and how she had made him feel while he was standing next to her. He had wanted so much to kiss her and he had avoided doing so just in time. He wondered what she would have done if he had carried out his wish; probably kneed him in the groin. She looked like the type of woman who would do that.
*****
Elise got the call at two, just as they were laying a fresh batch of tiles. “What’s up mom?” she asked swiftly.
“I picked up Daniel from school honey, he’s running a temperature.” Leslie told her.
“I’ll be right there,” she said briefly.
“Honey, he is okay now. I gave him a sponge bath and he is drinking some soup and watching his favorite cartoon.” Leslie protested.
“I am still coming home, mom.” She said, her tone firm. “We are done here for the day, guys. We will start back tomorrow. You can go and look at the next job downtown if you want or you could take the rest of the day and go and drink a couple of beers.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Jack said with a grin. “How about it, Mike?” he slapped the middle-aged man on the shoulder playfully.
“I think that’s a good idea.” He said slowly. “Say hello to Danny boy for me.” He said with a smile at her.
“I will,” she told him warmly and then hurried out. Her son needed her!
Chapter 4
He called her that night. She had just put Daniel to bed and was sipping some herbal tea in the kitchen when she got the call. “Hello?” she frowned at the unfamiliar number, wondering who could be calling her this late. A quick glance at the clock in the kitchen told her it was after nine.
“It’s Peter Hamasaki,” the deep authoritative voice said. “I understand you had to leave early because your son was not feeling well. How is he?”
Elise did not reply, surprised that he cared enough to call. “It was just a touch of fever but he is fine now. Thanks for calling.”
“Well yes, you told me you are a single mom and I was thinking that must be hard on you.” He responded.
“I do okay,” she said with a small smile. “My mom helps out a lot.”
“I see” he hesitated a while as if he was wondering what to say. “I like what I see so far, in the kitchen I mean,” he hastened to add.
“I am glad you do.” She told him in amusement. “I will be there early in the morning to see how far I can get.”
“You will?” he asked wonderingly. “Will your son be well enough for you to leave?”
“He is already driving us crazy,” she said in an indulgent voice. “Children are very resilient, they bounce back quickly.”
“I guess they are. So I will see you tomorrow then.” He said briefly.
“Sure,” Elise said before hanging up.
She resumed sipping her tea contemplatively. That was very nice of him to call, she thought in appreciation. She had come home to see her son watching television and eating a hot dog. Her mother had given her a telling glance as if to say I told you so, but even though her mother was such a big help and did not mind doing anything for her grandson, Elise was still very much aware that she was Daniel’s mother and the only parent in his life and she took her responsibility seriously. The beauty about her working for herself was that if anything happened she could always leave and come and take care of him, and she was grateful for that. She knew of several single mothers who were having a hard time finding the time to spend with their children and she was glad she had her mother around. The thought of putting Daniel in a daycare center had never appealed to her the slightest bit.
“Hey mommy, what are you doing home so early?” he had looked up at her in surprise, barely taking his eyes off his cartoon.
“I heard a little boy was not feeling well.” Elise told him, hunkering down in front of him and looking at him keenly.
“I am fine now. Grandma gave me a bath and medicine and I feel so much better.” He had stopped looking at her and was looking at the antics of the cat and the mouse on the television.
“Good to know, honey.” She said wryly, kissing him on his cute little nose.
She finished the tea and went to bed, yawning and stretching her aching muscles, thinking about the job at hand tomorrow.
*****
Peter swirled the amber liquid inside the glass and looked at it broodingly. He had no idea what was wrong with him. He had been in total control of his life before now, before he had seen her sitting on his kitchen floor, and now he was doing a lot of things that he had never done before: rushing home from work just to see her and feeling the weight of disappointment when he had reached home only to be told that she was not there, and to make things worse, calling to find out how her son was just so he could hear her voice.
His mother had looked at him strangely when he had asked for her number. He had told her he had some questions about what she had done but he doubted she believed him. He pulled the thick robe around him as he felt the cold penetrate the material. There was a stiff breeze blowing and he knew that very soon he would have to go inside, but he did his thinking better outside on the balcony. He was interested in her and he did not know what he was going to do about it.
*****
Elise propped up against one side of the cupboards with their many drawers, and looked at the work already done. The burgundy and tan ceramic tiles looked very good against
the two toned wood. It was a little after six and Michael and Jack had already left but she had stayed back to do some fine tuning. Mitsui had gone to another charity event and had told her that she could stay as long as she wanted.
She turned her head as she heard footsteps in the hallway, smiling languidly as she saw that it was Peter. “Hi there,” she called to him.
He stopped right there in the doorway his eyes on her. She was sitting with her legs curled underneath her and she had obviously just taken off her work shirt and was in a thin see through blue camisole where he could see the outline of her generous breasts. “Do you always make a habit of sitting on floors?” he forced his voice to remain light as he came inside the room. He had stayed at the office, thinking that she would have gone by now. He did not know how to act around her and he was afraid of doing something foolish; like closing his mouth over hers.
“Most of the times, yes,” she told him with a smile. “I want to look at it from this angle,” she added. “Why don’t you join me?”
“Pardon me?” he looked at her startled. He still had on his suit jacket; an expensive silver gray tweed and burgundy cotton shirt and gray tie.
“Oh, you don’t want to get your expensive suit dirty,” she said with a daring grin. “I get it.”
He took off his jacket and draped it over one of the stools and loosened his tie and crouched down on the floor beside her.
“Bravo!” she said with a laugh, clapping her hands. “You are not going to have a fit when I leave here are you?” she turned to him, arching a brow.
“I just might,” he told her with a smile, loving the way her full lips devoid of make-up, curved over her white teeth. Her hair had become undone and several curls were on her cheeks and the base of her shoulder. “How is your son?” he forced his gaze away from her lips.
“More than okay,” she said with a shake of her head, surprised and pleased that he had asked. “He jumped on the bed early this morning and woke me up, telling me he wanted pancakes with strawberries.”
“Proving that he is all better,” Peter said softly. He hesitated a fraction and asked her the question that had been burning a hole in his gut. “What happened to his father, if you don’t mind my asking?”
She shrugged and looked away for a bit. “I was young and foolish and fell for a guy with a pretty look and smooth talk. He left as soon as he found out I was pregnant.”
“I am sorry,” he sounded sincere and Elise turned her head to look at him, going still as something in his eyes captured her interest.
“That’s okay, I have moved on and my son is a delight to me, so no regrets there.” She said with a shrug.
“I am sorry you had to go through that,” he said softly. There it was again, the intensity and something else she could not identify. The atmosphere was charged with electricity and Elise had the urge to leave but she could not budge.
“I tried to stay away,” he continued, one hand reaching out to cup her cheek. “I deliberately stayed at work because I was thinking that maybe you would have already left.” Elise could not breathe and she felt her flesh getting hot. He used a thumb to caress her lips.
“Peter-“she began but before she could continue he bent his head and took her lips with his. Elise opened her mouth automatically and with a groan he deepened the kiss! She felt the feelings explode inside her as his tongue met hers. She had been with one other man and it had been only a few times but now she felt as if she was drowning as his mouth moved over hers hungrily. He braced her back gently onto the floor and lay on top of her, his mouth delving inside hers, his body pressing against hers. She gave in to the kiss, her emotions spiraling out of control. He eased away from her, his mouth still on hers and reached underneath her T-shirt to touch her breast. Elise moaned inside his mouth and when he pushed up her lace bra and touched her already hard nipple she felt as if she was going to explode! Somewhere in the fog of emotions swirling around her she found the strength to push him away forcibly, hurriedly getting up, her breathing shallow. He stood up and would have reached for her but she shook her head frantically. “No!” she bit out, her body trembling. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
“Elise,” he opened his mouth to apologize and closed it, knowing it would have been false. “We both wanted it.” He said instead.
“Oh is that so?” she asked her voice dangerously soft, her large dark brown eyes flashing. “Mr. Big Shot Billionaire, you think that you can have any woman you want. Or is it the fact that I have a son without a man around, you think I am an easy lay?”
He stepped back as if she had struck him and shoved his hands through his normally tidy dark hair. “That’s an unfair thing to say,” he told her harshly, giving her a frustrated look.
“Is it?” she drawled in amusement, “I am a novelty to you, a working girl doing a ‘man’s’ job so you wanted to know what it felt like to bed somebody like me, is that it?”
“Stop!” he said harshly causing her to jump a little bit. “It is not like that and you know it.”
“I don’t know anything,” she folded her arms across her chest. “I am not looking for a relationship or to jump into bed with the first available man, so you are looking at the wrong girl. I just want to do my job and get back to my son.”
They stood there staring at each other and Elise was the first one to move. She picked up her work shirt and pulled it on and without a word she hurried from the room leaving him staring after her!
Elise climbed inside her truck and sat there without turning the key into the ignition. The imprint of his body was still on hers and she could still feel his mouth on hers. How dare he! She thought angrily. How dare he think she was easy bait and because he was rich she would be willing to drop her panties for him! She had made the mistake of letting a man get too near to her and it will never happen again! She was way too smart now!
She drove home in a daze, hardly concentrating on the road, not noticing the fine rain drizzling on the windshield. It was the first week of November and weather had gotten decidedly chilly. She reached home and parked the vehicle inside the garage and sat there for a while thinking, her thoughts confused. What if he decided not to use her to finish the job? What would she tell the men?
With a sigh she hopped from the vehicle and went inside, forcing a smile as her son launched himself into her arms. “Mommy, I made a toy train at school today and teacher said that mine was the bestest!” he told her in excitement. He was growing so big and it broke her heart to think that his father wanted nothing to do with him.
“Best,” she corrected him automatically. “Hi mom,” she greeted her mother who had come out of the kitchen to find out what the commotion was all about. “So where is this train?”
“At school,” he wriggled out of her arms and went to sit on the sofa where he had been watching his cartoon. “I am hungry. When are we going to eat?” he complained.
“Right after you go and wash those dirty hands of yours,” Leslie told him.
He hopped off the sofa and raced away leaving the two women staring after him. “So how was your day?” her mother asked as she busied herself setting the table.
“It was all right,” Elise said with a shrug, wondering what her mother would say if she told her that she had been on the kitchen floor with Peter Hamasaki on top of her. “The work is going good. Is that meat loaf I smell?” she asked sniffing the air and wanting to change the subject.
“It sure is.” Leslie said with a smile. “Go wash up and let’s eat.”
*****
Peter stood under the tepid water in the shower, his head bent, letting the water beat down on him. He had watched her leave and had wanted to stop her but how could he? She had made herself clear. He had touched her because he could not help it and now he was paying the price. He had felt the pain of his erection and he closed his eyes as he remembered how she had felt beneath him, how her lips had felt against his and her breasts! He groaned as he recalled touching the hard nipple. He had n
o doubt that she did not want to see him again. Well that was too damn bad, because if he judged her correctly, she would not leave without finishing the job.
*****
Elsie worked in silence while the two men ribbed each other about some card game they had lost. Mitsui had come in briefly and admired the work so far and had gone back to her book club meeting. He had not been there when she came and she was so relieved that she had found herself sagging against the wall. She had made sure to wait for Michael and Jack so that they would reach there at the same time. She had gotten there at nine and had started working without taking a break because she wanted to leave before he came home. She did not want to see him; did not want to remember the feelings he had stirred up inside her.
It was already Thursday and the second week of November. She had planned on finishing his kitchen by Monday or Tuesday of next week but she did not know if that was at all possible. The place was huge, not as large as the main kitchen but still they had a lot to cover and both Michael and Jack not seeing the urgency, were doing it in a timely manner.
She had her life in order. She did not date because it meant putting some man in her son’s life that maybe was not worthy of him and she had been too busy to even think about the physical side of a relationship. She had been doing well until last night when he had kissed her!
“Damn!” she muttered as the tile she had being putting up shifted slightly.
“You okay there, El?” Michael looked at her curiously.
“Yes,” she said briefly, taking it off and positioning it better.
“Want to take a break?” Jack asked her.
“No, I am okay.” She said dismissively. Just then Mitsui came in with Miki behind her bearing a tray with pastries and tea. It was a little after three and Elise was planning on leaving by five. “I am giving the order for you to stop working right now and let us take a seat and have some of these tasty treats left over from our book club meeting.” She instructed the girl to put them on the countertop and gave Elise and her crew a pointed look.