But the idea of leaving JoJo behind made my lips fall back into a frown.
Still, I felt a fire stoking itself within my gut once more. Now that I knew JoJo’s position regarding me hadn’t changed, I had something to work toward. Something to look forward to in the future. So, I turned toward my desk and got to work. I placed a quick order for a salad and a sandwich from a deli up the road that delivered, then I started in on the calculations that were all wrong because of one slip of my stupid little finger.
Numbers never lied, and that brought me comfort. Numbers never tried to manipulate me, which meant they could never lie. The only lie they told was a lie concocted by the calculator, whether by error or by force. But that didn’t mean the numbers were to blame. It meant the person in charge of the numbers was to blame. They were a truly innocent array of strokes and mechanisms that gave me full and utter control over the finances of one of the most powerful companies in the country.
Which gave me all the control I needed to feel safe inside the walls of JoJo’s company.
13
Rebecca
Days passed without much sleep.I tossed and turned, waking myself up from dreams that made my panties wet. Every morning I showered down, and the steam carried the scent of my womanhood throughout my place. It was as if my own smell were trying to out me for the dreams I had been having, and my biggest fear was that it would eventually come with me to work. Especially whenever I ran into JoJo.
So, one random Friday after work, I shot Brit a text message to ask her for the name of that sex shop we went to after the burlesque show.
Me: Hey, what was the name of that place with all those crazy dildos?
Brit: LOLOL! Are you going back? Please tell me I can come with you.
I didn’t have the stomach to shop with anyone, so I came up with an excuse.
Me: I might stop by, but I’m not sure yet. It depends.
Brit: So, code for “I’m embarrassed about my interest in it, so I don’t want my friends seeing me freak out if I back out.” Got it.
Me: Brit, can you just tell me the name of the place?
I watched those three little dots bounce for way too long before the name finally popped up.
Brit: Happy Haven’s Adult Pleasures. Don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya. And hey. If you use them, I at least get first impression stories. All right?
I snorted as I reached for my purse.
Me: Deal.
With my work week behind me and nothing ahead of me, for once, I soared out of my apartment. I rode the elevator all the way down to the main floor before I flagged myself a taxi. I looked up the address of the place on my phone because I sure as hell didn’t want to say the name of that place to some random stranger driving me around. But the grin on his face told me that he was quite familiar with the address.
Which filled me with horrible embarrassment when he dropped me off.
“You have fun in there, okay?” he asked.
He winked at me, and I wanted to vomit. “Thanks.”
“And if you’re lookin’ for recommendations, me and my wife love their flavored lubes that they make in-house. Vanilla Raspberry is her favorite.”
I wanted to die. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He peeked his head out the window and yelled after me as I walked toward the front door of the store. “And don’t forget about their DVDs in the back!”
Dear God, kill me now.“Have a nice day!”
I quickly slipped inside and forced the door closed behind me. I closed my eyes, drawing in a few deep breaths to calm the shaking of my hands. As the taxi drove off, I groaned to myself. From now on, any trip that required anything sensitive would simply have to be done with my own gas.
Then, I opened my eyes and turned to face the rest of the store.
“Welcome to Happy Haven’s!” the young woman behind the counter chirped. “Are you looking for anything specific?”
Might as well see how close to dying of horror we can accomplish.“Uh, do you guys have, like, I don’t know… a BDSM section?”
