“Morning, Sandra. Sorry if I spoilt your plans yesterday,” Jim said with an apologetic smile.
“No problem, and thank you for the gifts. I got your message, Lizzie’s coming for breakfast,” she said with a gesture to the already laid table.
She was looking at Tasha now and smiling.
“Sandra, this is Tasha, Tasha, this is Sandra, my housekeeper and so much more, oh and Mike’s wife.”
Sandra extended a hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you. Mike told me all about you and he’s so happy to have another Hammers fan around.”
Tasha realised this woman had no evidence of an English accent any more, unlike Mike.
“Hammers?” asked Jim.
“Football,” they both replied.
“You mean soccer,” he corrected. “My country, my labels.”
They both laughed at him again before Sandra said, “I think Mike has a bit of a crush, Jim.”
He smiled as he took a seat at the table, totally unbothered by the words or phrasing the other woman had used. “I have yet to meet a man who hasn’t.”
Tasha sat opposite Jim who was pouring them both orange juice and smiled at him as she accepted the glass he offered.
“What?”
“You. My country, my labels? I was just glad you stopped before you listed all of the things that belong to you,” she laughed.
“So long as you and I know all of the things on the list and we make it clear to anyone who wants to borrow them, we’re good baby.”
“Coffee or tea, Tasha?” asked Sandra.
Jim stared at her, bemused as she asked, “Is it proper tea?”
Sandra laughed, but understood exactly what she meant. “It certainly is, we’re only missing the chimps.”
Tasha laughed too as Jim huffed. “What is the British obsession with tea and why would you have monkeys?” They laughed again and as they hadn’t answered his question he continued, “Sandra, I will have coffee please, thank you, proper or otherwise.”
Tasha smiled at him as he appeared to sulk so went around the other side of the table and squeezed onto his lap.
“You are very sexy when you sulk in your work clothes,” she said, smoothing her hand over his chest.
“And you are very sexy wearing anything, especially my shirt last night,” he replied, nipping her ear.
“Are you sure you can’t come back upstairs?” she asked in a whisper, hyper aware of Sandra’s presence.
“No can do, baby.”
She moved her position so she was directly over his groin and grinned with smugness to find just how hard he was.
“Your loss, James.” A broad grin broke out across her face, her teasing made him smile and shake his head, but he offered no other response as the sound of the front door opening then closing was quickly followed by people entering the kitchen.
Suddenly, a very bouncy and beautiful girl with curly blonde hair dressed almost identically to Tasha came flying in.
“Daddy!” she cried and as Tasha was still on Jim’s lap as she hugged him she enveloped Tasha in it too. She was followed in by another blonde with incredibly long legs who must have been late thirties and very attractive, standing at almost six feet tall.
Sandra laughed as Lizzie turned and hugged her.
“Good morning to you too,” said Jim. “Lizzie, this is Tasha, Tasha, this is my daughter, Lizzie.”
