The sense of sadness and hurt that she’d felt at finding herself cast as the mistress quickly turned into anger causing Steph to pull away sharply from Jon’s embrace. Although, she knew her anger was misplaced because she really had gone into this with her eyes wide open, but now with the image of the real life Mrs Brooker fresh in her mind, reason wasn’t playing any part in her emotions. She slipped her shoes on and leapt to her feet.
“I should go, I have to find a new job,” she announced, already heading for the door, her head awash with a dozen different conflicting emotions.
“What? Have I missed something?” Jon too was on his feet in pursuit of Steph whose arm he was reaching for.
“No, I’ve just told you . . .” she started, reaching for the door handle, but Jon had already encased her wrist in his hand and was pulling her back towards him.
“Yes, and now you are behaving as if I have just said something to offend you. Now, we are agreed that you need a job, but you don’t have to find one, there are jobs here,” he said, but before he could complete his sentence she sighed, then shook her arm free of his grasp. “Stephanie, you need totalk to me. I am beyond fucking confused by you, by this, by everything.”
Looking at his perplexed frown caused something to soften inside Steph, just a little and only briefly as she recalled the sight of Lucy leaving this very office.
“And how would your wife feel about that? You employing the slut that you’re fucking behind her back. Maybe that’s why these things keep happening to me; Simon, Jack, you; you can all see that I’m slutty Steph and, well, she’s bound to be up for it, so . . .”
“Shut up, Steph!” he ordered with a deadly seriousness. “Your self-deprecation is not an attractive quality and you are talking shit. Simon is an idiot who sees you as a meal ticket to get him what he wants with no regard for your happiness. Jack Baker is a fucking animal who is a boss of the worst sort in my book. While I may have to accept some blame for the whole slutty Steph thing, I have already said that I am sorry for that and that I was mistaken, but Simon and Baker are not your fault and if you continue with this, you and I are going to have a serious fucking problem. And as far as my wife is concerned, you are way off the mark on that one, darling, and we still need to discuss that calmly and sensibly, whether you want to or not, but not here and not now. Do you understand?” His firm tone matched his expression as he stood opposite her now with his hands resting on her shoulders.
“Yes,” she replied a little sulkily, making him smile.
“I now know exactly what the fourteen-year-old sulky Steph looked like, although I am generally not a fan of sulking,” he said, pulling her against him, holding her. “But for you I could put up with it in moderation.” He landed a single, gentle spank on her bottom. “There may be consequences though.” He lifted her chin so that she was gazing up at him.
“I like your consequences,” she admitted smiling at him, the negativity of her dark mood already lifting, leaving a softer, calmer persona behind.
“Then maybe we should pursue them at some point, but not now. What did Eddie want?” he suddenly asked.
“To invite us to theirs tonight. Zoe wants to meet you and Eddie would like to get to know you better, whatever that means.”
“What time?”
“I’m not sure, I have to call him back, oh, and he asked about Stringers, or Swingers as I may call it from now on, which I assume is one of your places, with your contact there owing you a favour?”
“Yes, but I wish I had met your dad before it was named.” He laughed with her, relieved that her fluctuating moods were back on an even keel, at least for now, although the day, week, maybe more she’d experienced was more than enough to induce serious mood swings. “Three o’clock Sunday and I booked it for thirty in case there were any other family members hiding in the background!”
“Okay, I will call my dad later, but I can put Eddie off,” she offered.
“No, don’t. Tonight is one of our nights to see each other anyway, so we will go to Eddie’s and then stay at mine.” He didn’t wait for a response. “Oh, and do not bother with job hunting today, I have an idea.”
“No–” she started and stopped dead as he bent down and kissed her.
She allowed him to part her lips easily and probe her mouth with his tongue. She reciprocated immediately and cursed herself for being so weak where he was concerned. He un-tucked her shirt a little and as his hand made contact with her lower back she gasped in his mouth. Steph couldn’t believe just howwell programmed her body was to react to him, had been from the very second she’d met him. Yes, she’d found him attractive but it was so much more than that because she had fancied other men, dozens of them and yet she had never, ever felt this way.
“I like this blouse, it feels nice.” His words broke her thoughts and musings.
“I like it too, the way it feels on my skin, when I put it on and when I take it off.” She ran her hand across the fabric and down her body, the combination of her words and movements saw him moaning lowly.
“I am very busy today but would really like to take this off for you.”
“My dad always says silk reminds him of chamois leather.” Her face broke out into a grin that grew wider and brighter when Jon’s hand followed the path of her earlier movement.
“I kind of get that, although discussing your dad as I kiss and touch you isn’t the best motivator,” he told her with an arch of his brow and a slightly pained expression. “But I prefer the feel of your skin, your skin on my skin.” He stroked her back until her phone rang.
She pulled it from her bag reluctantly. “It’s Rosie. Hi, are you okay?”
“Yes, better than that. I have a new job, it’s temporary at the moment, but it’s in the accounts department so at least I know the kind of thing that goes on there.” Rosie sounded thrilled, and why wouldn’t she be? It was only a couple of hours ago she was panicking about paying her mortgage and upcoming wedding.
“Great, I am pleased,” said Steph genuinely. “When do you start?”
“Tomorrow. How about you?”
“I don’t know yet, but something will come up,” she assured Rosie as Jon grinned and winked at her from behind his desk where he was sitting now.
