The Designer's Wicked Intentions

by Yvonne Sibanda

  “I am not,” she retorted as his grin widened. “She is my model and nothing else, am not interested in her in that manner.”

  “Why not? She is young, beautiful and a career woman.”

  “Abigail is not you Aggs, none of them are.” He said it with a thoughtful look before winking at her. Aggy choked on her wine and looked up to where her handsome hunk sat.

  “There you go flirting again,” she chuckled dismissing the elation she felt when he said that. “Let me take you home before I carry you off to my lair and show you how serious I am,” he whispered with a chuckle before standing up and reaching towards her hand.

  He swiftly settled the bill as Aggy stood up and walked beside him to the car. “Are you not getting in,” she raised her brow when he opened the door for her. “Will follow behind with my car,” he advised and waved to her before walking towards where he had parked it.

  Ethan knew Aggy would never take him seriously and was contemplating on what to do in order to convince her that he was right for her. Aggy sighed as he trailed behind her car and came to a halt at her house. Coming out of his, they chatted for a while as he accompanied her to the door.

  “Good night Aggy,” he whispered before he bent his head and lightly kissed her on the lips and walked away, hoping he was doing the right thing. Giving Aggy what she wanted would land them at the stalemate that they had been at for a couple of months. He had really wanted to hold her and kiss her badly, but the light feathery kiss would have to do.

  Getting into the house, Aggy was a bit breathless as she grazed her lips with her nail thinking of the light featherlike kiss that had managed to send her body at a fritz again. This was rather getting out of hand and she was getting irritated at the way she acted whenever he was around. Her treacherous body acted up and she didn’t know how to stop it from doing so. She craved for more than the kisses. That coming together of the flesh as one and the release derived from it, except she couldn’t do that to Ethan if it meant losing his friendship at the end.

  The sound of water splattering on the tiled roof brought her to the present and she rushed for the window. It had started raining. She rushed to her bedroom, removed her clothes before dressing in her nightie and getting into bed. How she hated such a kind of weather, the rain and the cold.

  Lightning flashed through the sky lighting her whole room up as she cringed and huddled deeply into her bedcover. She missed her children since they used to keep the fear at bay by being noisy and sleeping in her room at such a time.

  Ethan had reached the roundabout when it suddenly started raining and he almost cursed. As much as he was trying to avoid Aggy, the weather elements appeared to not be on his side. Aggy was afraid of lightning. A flash of lightning passed through the sky, followed by a thunder clap as he inwardly groaned and drove further before making a u turn when it was safe to do so.

  His tender heart would definitely be the end of him, he thought as he drove towards her place, came to a halt and ran up the flight of steps before taking out his mobile and giving her a call. He was relieved he wasn’t soaked as he had expected as another thunder clap sounded.

  Aggy was startled by the ringing of her phone and became relieved when she saw who it was. “Aggy,” Ethan called her name in his deep baring tone voice, not at all the sonorous and modulated one he used at times. Lightning flashed and the sound of thunder followed as Aggy yelped.

  “Aggy,” Ethan spoke still on the line, his voice full of concern. “Can you walk to the door love, am outside?” he advised before hanging up. It was so like him to know even her fears. Scrambling off from bed, she rushed for the door and easily fell into his arms relieved as he carried her like a baby back into the house. She inhaled his musky cologne and reveled at the comfort it brought to her tense nerves.

  “It’s ok love,” he comforted. Laying her on the bed, he joined her and cradled her tiny body as she cringed every time when a thunder clap sounded. She drifted off to when she was five and playing in the gazebo at the farm having visited her grandparents.

  It started raining and she refused to rush with her cousins to the main house as she feared the mud would mess up her white patent shoes she had worn for the occasion and her pretty flowery dress. They had chuckled and run off; leaving her huddled with her teddy in hand in the warm enclosure, except the rain increased and flashes of lightning could be seen lighting up the sky.

  She screamed, wanting the sound to go away as she covered her ears with her tiny hands. The rain persisted and she suddenly regretted not having gone with her cousins. Especially when smoke started drifting in, terrifying her as she became more hysterical. Her father got into the gazebo and found her whimpering and still clutching at her teddy for comfort, grabbed her and rushed out of the gazebo. She was in time to see the roof burning while the rain continued falling in torrents. He handed the screaming girl to the mother when they got into the main house yet that image had stayed with Aggy for life. Her granny had comforted her saying it was nothing and lightning never hit twice on the same spot.

  At every sound that issued, Aggy clutched harder on Ethan as he spoke some soothing words into her ears. It felt like an eternity of torture yet she felt safe and sane in his embrace. Finally it became silent except for the rain splattering on the roof. “Thank you,” she muttered as he chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

  “I wasn’t ready to lose you to the terror.”

  “Ha-ha,” she punched him on the side for saying that as she huddled deeply into his embrace. “You know me so well; I wonder if there is anything that you don’t know about me.”

  “A lot actually, for example I thought you loved white roses and Luc mentioned that you loved daffodils.”

  She grimaced at that, as Luc had assumed so much about her without taking the time to know her as a husband should. “I actually love white roses; Luc as usual assumed that I loved his horrible taste of flowers.” She rolled her eyes at that.

  Ethan shifted from the embrace and moved away to her disappointment.

  “Don’t tell me you are leaving already.”

  “Can’t a guy excuse himself to take a leak and a change of clothes without having to announce it.” Aggy blushed out of embarrassment before motioning with her hands and giggling “Go on.” Her phone was ringing so she didn’t notice Ethan roll his eyes and walk away while she reached out to answer it.

  “Are you pregnant considering the way you kinda like me today,” she giggled after Sophie greeted her. “Not at all darling just concerned that’s all. I met the girls by the way. So how was your date out with Ethan?”

  “I didn’t go on a date with Ethan, I was alone.”

  “Babes which ones do you prefer, the strawberry flavored or banana flavored,” Ethan asked sauntering into the bedroom as she hollered at him. He had changed into his grey sweat pants and white and red sleeveless t-shirt. He was still holding a towel, drying up his hair from the little water that had fallen on it while bare on his feet. Agatha nearly gaped at him as he grinned and she clutched the phone for comfort.

  “Then she says she wasn’t with Ethan……HEY ETHAN,” she shouted and Agatha put the phone on loud speaker. “Hey love. How are you doing and the family?”

  “We are all good, thanks, just curious pertaining to you and Aggy.”

  He winked at Aggy before replying, “Aggy is just a hard nut to crack. Please tell her to just give me a chance.”

  Sophie laughed out loud before responding, “I have tried Ethan to no avail. The poor old girl is set in her ways, unless you had an aging formula and you became older, sorry to tell you this but you don’t stand a chance.”

  He sighed loudly while Aggy rolled her eyes. “True. Anyway, how’s Greg doing?”

  “Greg is great, enjoying fatherhood and since his cousin doesn’t want to give you a chance, he found just the perfect mate for you.” Greg answered over the phone as Ethan got the chance to see an irritated Agatha. Rather interesting considering the fact that she was playin
g hard to get. “Can’t wait to meet the lucky girl bud,” he answered and had the phone snatched away from him before he could chat further with his mate.

  Agatha whispered a few things before hanging up as he chuckled and left the room.

  Getting back into the room fifteen minutes later with a bowl of popcorns, Ethan found Aggy having changed into a rather unattractive cotton nightie, sitting on the bed with the remote in hand. He raised a brow at the huge reading glasses as she tried to make herself look unattractive. Settling next to her, he took the remote amidst protestations as he shrugged her arms off and flipped through the channels. “It’s my turn now to choose a movie.”

  She huffed and settled properly before taking the bowl of popcorn. As usual, it’s as if they knew what the other had been thinking. Ethan rather enjoyed such times with her in which they could spend the night watching a movie over a bowl of popcorns. At times she came over to his place and they did the same, just enjoying their friendship without turning it into something more.

  Lately it was beginning to get more difficult ever since Aggy made him taste her sweet lips. It was innocent before, now it had become deadly unless he stopped his mind from wandering and focused on one thing at a time. That’s how he had managed to stay chaste in the first place. He would focus on God and His strength in him and not at what his body dictated. He settled more comfortably on the bed as the movie began and took his mind off Aggy the seductress, to Aggy his friend and movie loving mate. In some minutes he was already engrossed in the movie as she was.

  CHAPTER THREE

  THELMA UNLOCKED the door and let herself in. She was relieved when she came into the house and noticed it looked clean and guessed the children might not be around meaning her madam was alone. She rather dreaded running after the brood and cleaning up after them, especially when the naughty twins would drag in the dog into the house. She usually prayed for them to go back to school or the farm as her workload increased with them around. Though Agatha paid her well for her services, she very much thought her boss would have done much better by planning her family properly. Switching on the kettle, she moved to the cupboard after and busied herself with the household chores.

  Agatha opened her eyes to the sound of a vacuum cleaner and stared into Ethan’s face as he slept. He looked cute even in his sleep, she thought as she sighed loudly and thought it time to go and check up on her boutiques.

  “When will you stop staring at me,” Ethan asked startling her back to the present.

  “I wasn’t, was just thinking facing your way.” He grinned and she retorted, “Serious, I promise I wasn’t.” The man would surely get an inflated ego if he knew the wicked thoughts she was now having.

  Scrambling off from bed at noticing the threat in his eyes she giggled when he sighed out of frustration. She congratulated herself knowing if he laid a finger on her, she would be gone; she might as well give him the go ahead to do whatever he wanted.

  At least they had survived one night together, but she wasn’t willing to put her or his restraint to the test. Already she was contemplating pasting one on him that would frustrate him for the whole day when they were safely out of her room which had the bed beckoning them back.

  “Morning, should I tell Thelma to prepare breakfast for you?”

  He nodded before getting up and going to the shower. Some of his clothes already were at Aggy’s place including his toiletries and he chuckled at the irony of it. She also had some things at his place. He doubted very much the platonic card would work when he explained his relationship to those who didn’t know him so well. Once he was done, she also rushed to take a bath and get ready. Thelma was in the process of beating an egg into the frying pan when Ethan got into the kitchen and settled on the bar stool. “Morning Ethan,” she greeted wishing she could take a picture of the handsome young man, since some of her friends still did not believe it when she mentioned that the designer usually slept over at her madam’s house.

  “Morning Thelma, how are you and how’s June and Nancy.”

  “Fine, being a nuisance as usual.”

  Chuckling Thelma marveled at how caring he was to the point of knowing about her daughters. He usually made sure that on certain special days like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and birthdays he gave her vouchers for them to get something from any of his clothing retail outlets.

  “Tsk tsk, I have been waiting for Nancy, thought she wanted to work at one of the boutiques,” he shook his head good naturedly as she scoffed. “Well Nancy decided to come home pregnant and might be giving birth soon, so she can’t.”

  She turned the egg over before continuing. “I don’t know how many times I should tell my girls to be careful when it comes to these sexual matters. You should tell them your secret since Aggy isn’t knocked up yet.”

  He choked on his coffee as the woman went on without a pause.

  “Morning,” Aggy greeted Thelma again when she came into the room and settled down before taking a slice of bread with a cup of coffee her maid handed to her. “There is a new range of baby wear that Aggy has made, inform Nancy to come and pick some things for the baby.” Ethan advised. He knew he could pay for whatever Nancy got since he couldn’t offer her that from his retails, having no baby section.

  Aggy had been shocked when she realized that he didn’t cater for babies, while he smirked and stated, “Why don’t you open a boutique for children including ours that we will later have.” She had rolled her eyes, thinking of the six she already had as if they weren’t enough. The fact that Ethan was the only child like her, she realized more children might appeal to him.

  She had felt the loneliness of being an only child and not having a brother or sister to run to, hence even when horrible Luc treated her badly she gave birth to her planned out number, not caring at all how he would scowl every time she came home with another girl. Relief always flooded her senses when she went for scans and would be informed that she was expecting a girl. She didn’t want a son who would grow up and be like Luc.

  “No sir, not this time, thanks all the same.”

  “Why not?” Aggy asked having caught on to what they were talking about. “This seems to be becoming a habit. This time Nancy will take care of her child without any help from me or anyone. I told her as much.”

  Ethan and Aggy both smiled and shrugged their shoulders before eating the breakfast and leaving the maid to her work.

  “He was here,” Thelma said over the phone to her friend Natalie. Natalie was the maid at the house opposite Aggy’s place and could clearly see her driveway. She was peeking through the window while Thelma spoke and nearly shouted to the couple to get a room after observing their body language. Aggy was her age mate and she could definitely tell her to behave than act like a teenager on heat.

  ‘Good Lord,’ she almost screamed when Agatha was wrapped in a passionate embrace and smooched to her hearts content before her man went to his sports car, drove the opposite direction while she got into her sensible one for women her age and drove off to her boutique. “Nat, are you even listening to me,” Thelma yelled after noticing Natalie wasn’t replying to the question she had asked. “Yes love, who was there by the way? Tell you what, lets meet at the usual time and we talk.”

  Thelma huffed and called Luisa, who was in love with Ethan and always doubted her. They spoke a bit before she hung up after making their ten a.m. tea plans.

  Just like clockwork, the doorbell rang at ten and Luisa and Natalie got into the house.

  It was their norm as they would sit and chat over tea and Aggy didn’t mind even if she happened to come back from work.

  “So he slept over again?” Luisa asked as she took a sip of her tea and stared at Thelma who was sharing the juicy story about her madam.

  “Yep, you should have seen how she was glowing.”

  “I still can’t believe this,” Luisa retorted, “Such a young man, what does he see in her considering she has six, “ she flicked her fingers, “Not one or two, but si
x children in tow. She must work really hard in that area to keep him satisfied.”

  They giggled over that fact. “Can’t you just burn her clothes or something, seeing she has taken my love away?” Luisa pouted her lips while the other ladies giggled.

  “Aggy is a good woman, I wouldn’t do that to her. Why don’t you forget about Ethan since he doesn’t even know that you exist?”

  Luisa was the youngest in their team. She had recently turned thirty while the other two were now in their mid-thirties.

  “Well I could sure use that also. Find me a nice young successful man, madly in love with me and who will spoil me rotten” Natalie finally stated as she thought about Aggy’s ex who had treated her abominably.

  Thelma couldn’t wait to tell her cousin who was so taken by Ethan and claimed he was a good role model. What the famous people did with their private lives was shocking and further from what was portrayed. They had already bet that Aggy would be holding child number seven considering the fact that she never seized to give birth where Luc was concerned and that man hadn’t been good to her. Always berating her every time and cheating on her like no man’s business.

  “We should be taking lessons from her on how to get our groove back,” Natalie giggled. “Six months of divorce and already she is back on the horse, riding it as we gossip about it with nothing better to do than envy her” she continued before taking a slice of bread and putting spread on it. She did feel a twinge of guilt at the fact that Aggy was nothing but good to them, while they chortled at her expense at how she appeared to be having it all, the fat alimony and a successful famous ben ten to boot.

  Unlike her friends Natalie was forthright and had asked Aggy about her relationship with Ethan. After all she was the one who helped Aggy get Thelma as the maid. She used to work for Aggy and her family when Agatha and Lucas first got married but was forced to leave because she was rather opinionated over the way Luc used to treat his wife. Especially when Aggy travelled with the children, Luc usually brought women over and she was forced to change the bedding and do laundry afterwards. She just didn’t get it, why a man like him who had everything couldn’t be satisfied with his beautiful wife and girls.