Tinkerbell: And that is exactly why you’re amazing. And exactly why we’re not doing anything now. We’re not them. I’m not single right now, and neither are you. Maybe we revisit this later?
Shane: Definitely. It’s a date.
Shane exhaled. Wow. That wasn’t a flat no. In fact, it was downright encouraging. This might be real. He knew it was at his end but couldn’t be sure of her feelings. She was right though. They couldn’t act on anything yet. They were emotionally done with their partners, but not physically or legally.
Chapter 18: Mason—Work enemies and errant hairs
At 8:30 am, Mason was sweating buckets. He sat in his car in the office building’s car park dreading the day ahead. It seemed so fun, so harmless at first. Low-level workplace flirting wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? It went from double entredres and random compliments to winks and seemingly casual touches. When did he cross the line? He screwed up his face in thought. The line was crossed when he began actively flirting with another woman, but he remembered the conference room incident as his ultimate descent into irredeemable madness.
“Hey, work wifey, you just made my morning with that view,” Mason said, making an effort to make his voice as deep as possible.
April was bending over trying to get a projector to work, her ass on clear display in tight calf-length pants. This was the worst conference room of all. It was old, the equipment was spotty, and April was trying to get it all online for an afternoon meeting.
He closed the door behind him as he entered. Why did he close the door, he wondered at the time? Even then he knew he was crossing a boundary.
“It’s about time you noticed my ass, handsome!” she purred back. She wandered over to where he was standing. She was so close he could smell her strong perfume. She placed a hand on his chest.
“I saw you looking at boats online yesterday. You in the market? You must be a secret Christian Gray. We are so underpaid here it’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, I’m looking. I come into my trust soon and figure there’s no harm in preparing a shopping list,” he said in a gravelly tone.
“How exciting! Will you still work here? I’d miss you,” she pouted.
“Of course. I still value my career. My parents have always been wealthy, and even without my trust, I’m doing well, but we all believe in hard work. I think I’ll start my own company, be a CEO,” he bragged.
April lent in even closer.
“Need a personal assistant? Averypersonal assistant?” she cooed.
“Definitely.”
“Of course I don’t expect you to hire me without a trial.” April winked suggestively.
For some reason, Mason found his hands reaching around her, clasping her ass cheeks in his hands.
“Do I need a credit card for this trial?” he asked, lowering his face.
“No, but I do love gifts,” she joked.
The memory sickened him. They’d kissed after her last comment, making out and groping each other in the dingy conference room. So, it began. Lunches, car sex, office sex once everyone had left for the day. She’d come over once and he’d eaten her out on the sofa. Even at the time, he'd felt sick. Nervous that Anna would finish work early and return home. Guilt ate at him as he ate at her, but judging by her moans and shrieks, she felt no such guilt. God, she was responsive. Anna had never made this much noise. She’d left that night without sex because he’d been a nervous wreck. He decided then that bringing her to his home was too risky.
Last night had been a complete disaster. He’d felt so anxious he’d “fallen asleep” on the sofa watching Netflix while Anna had gone to bed. He missed her so much. Missed touching her, kissing her, loving her, but felt sick any time he tried to put his soiled hands on her. And fuck, that stupid red nightie. She’dlooked beautiful, but all he could see when he looked at her was his foolish mistakes. The fact that she didn’t fit the bodice was sexy as fuck, but his guilt rendered his stupid greedy dick useless. He had to get April out of his life. This was a mistake of monumental proportions.
Stupidly, he’d agreed to a weekend away with April. He was too scared to refuse. He planned to use it to end things, to somehow make her see that they couldn’t be together. He could promise her money in a few months, enough to shut her up. He still didn’t plan to tell her that it was Anna’s money. Her anger at being lied to would trigger a vengeful hell he didn’t want to imagine.
Mason: Hey babe, something has come up this weekend. A client has an issue that needs to be sorted by Monday, so I’m going to have to sort it out on Saturday and Sunday. I promise I’m going to take you away next month. Just us. Love you baby xxxx
Anna: Flat out right now, can’t talk, but ok.
Hmm. Anna was distant lately. She was there, but not really. She was spending so much time with her friends. Maybe Rosa had finally poisoned Anna against him. He felt helpless but steeled himself with the knowledge that after this weekend, he’d be free to reconnect with Anna and begin rebuilding their life and becoming a man he could look at in the mirror without wincing.
No doubt this weekend would be expensive. April always wanted the best rooms and the most expensive meals. He was running out of funds and knew he couldn’t extend his line of credit again. He’d borrow from his mom, tell her that he’d relapsed in his gambling and wanted to hide it from Anna. His mom would be furious, but she loved Anna and would never do anything to risk their relationship. No, that wasn’t an option.She’d push him into counseling again. Surely $5K would be enough to get him through one weekend?
The fear of Shane finding out was another cause of random sweats and heart palpitations. He was a scary-looking man, though he didn’t seem to care for April. Maybe he wouldn’t beat Mason to a pulp and remove his head after all. But men had their pride, and even if he didn’t care for April, he would care that another man had gone behind his back with his wife. Maybe he’d chase Anna as payback? He certainly seemed to be devouring her with his eyes last night. Fucking Anna for revenge would be no hardship for the Incredible Hulk. The thought left him feeling emptier and more desperate than the thought of having his head ripped off.
April: Baby, my suitcase is getting so old. I’d love the new Louis Vuitton case *online link*
He clicked the link. Fucking $2.3K?! Was this case made of gold? That was just under half of his remaining funds. But how could he say no? This could be his goodbye gift. The sweetener that would make April accept that they had to end things.
