Alex left work a little after five that afternoon with strict instructions
for Kelly not to call her that weekend about the case unless it was an
emergency. Her first stop was to her favorite wine shop to pick out Bren’s
favorite champagne as well as some chocolates for her fiancee. Then she made
a quick detour to the flower shop to pick up the roses she had ordered
earlier that afternoon. When she arrived back at home, she found Bren out by
the pool lounging in Alex’s favorite bikini and sarong on her and reading.
The table had already been set for them. As soon as Alex stepped out of the
french doors to greet her, Bren gave a wide smile.
“Good evening, Miss Worthington.” Alex said with a sexy grin.
“Hello. What do you have there?” Bren inquired coming to give Alex a kiss.
“A little something for you.”Alex extended the flowers and chocolate to her
fiancee.
“Well, thank you. Is this for dinner?” she asked pointing to the champagne.
“Maybe after. It needs to chill a little first.”
“All right. Well, why don’t you let me take all this off your hands? Dinner
will be ready in a few moments.”
“Great. Let me help you bring it to the table.”
“Oh no. You sit right here. I’ll be out in a few minutes. Why don’t you
pour the wine and light the candles for us?”
Alex did as was requested of her, pouring each of them a glass of wine as
she waited on Bren’s return. Bren came back with two plates already served
with Alex’s favorite meal, steak, salad, and baked potatoes. “Bren, this
looks fabulous. Thank you.”
“I hope you enjoy it. I have a surprise for dessert, so you better save
some room.” she mentioned with a smirk.
During dinner they discussed the wedding some more, having found out they
the places they wanted were available. Even with their meal long over, they
continued to enjoy their time together out by the pool until Alex mentioned,
“Did you say something about dessert earlier?”
“Are you ready for it?” Bren inquired with a seductive grin.
Alex gave her own charming smile and answered in a matching sexy timbre,
“If you are.”
“Oh, I’m ready all right. You stay here until I come get you. Okay? I want
this to be a surprise.”
“Okay. I’ll sit right here and dream of what wonders you could’ve possibly
concocted.”
Bren leaned over to Alex’s ear as she brushed by her to go inside and
licked along the curvature lightly as she whispered, “I think this one will
be your new favorites.”
Alex gave her a raised brow in response mumbling, “We’ll see, won’t we?” As
Alex sat alone at the table, she wondered if this night would end the way
she was hoping it would. Bren seemed rather playful and alluring that
evening, making Alex wonder if her young fiancee had the same thoughts for
the night as she did. Ten minutes passed before Bren returned empty-handed.
Extending her hand to Alex, she quietly inquired, “Are you ready?”
Alex smiled reassuringly, knowing that things were going in the direction
she had hoped. “Are you, Bren?”
Bren blushed lightly. “Close your eyes, Alex.” she whispered.
Alex closed her eyes as she took Bren’s hand. Even though she couldn’t see,
she sensed where they were headed in the house and even expected it when
Bren told her that they were going up the stairs. Alex kept her eyes closed
knowing that’s what Bren wanted, but she was anxious to see what Bren had
done as she heard the familiar squeak of the master bedroom door. As Bren
led her into the room, Alex noted the suggestive music of Al Green and that
the room was considerably darker than normal but yet there was some soft
light. Bren brought her to a stop a few feet into the room, and then she
heard Bren shut the door. Alex remained still and waited for Bren’s next
move. She felt her hands be guided to Bren’s hips where she felt the strings
to the suit bottom under her fingers.
“All right, Alex. You can open your eyes now.” Bren said, her voice
wavering a little with nervousness.
When Alex opened her eyes, she first saw Bren standing in front of her,
looking more beautiful than she’d ever seen her. Her fiancee looked soft and
slightly vulnerable but her eyes expressed the depth of love and trust she
had. Alex didn’t say a word at first as her eyes shifted to the room. It had
been elaborated decorated with candles, giving it an inviting feel. The
music played quietly, setting a romantic ambiance and by the bedside were
the roses Alex had brought home, the chocolate, and the chilled champagne
with two glasses. Looking back at Bren she mumbled, “Wow. This is quite
impressive. You did this all for me?” Bren nodded. “It’s wonderful. Thank
you.” Bren stood unmoving and silent as if she was waiting for Alex to take
the lead. Alex gave her a gentle smile. “So, where’s the dessert,
beautiful?” she teased tenderly, already knowing but hoping Bren would put
into words what she was feeling at the moment.
Bren took hold of Alex’s hands with her own and brought them to her
shoulders. Then she guided them all over her upper torso, taking extra time
with her breasts. When that was complete, she put the left one back on her
hip but steered the right down the front of the outside of her suit and
nestled it between her thighs. Alex took a ragged breath as she now touched
the most intimate place on her lover’s body with only thin fabric separating
her from the ultimate treasure. Bren pressed Alex’s hand harder, making them
both shudder slightly. Meeting Alex’s gaze Bren whispered, “This is
dessert.”
Alex could only moan in response as she stepped toward Bren to embrace her
fully. Their mouths met in a methodical kiss as Alex wasted no time in
beginning to undo the four ties holding Bren’s little clothing in place. The
bikini pooled around her feet within moments as Alex let her hands roam
along Bren’s back. Bren’s hands went to Alex’s shirt but with Alex’s lips
distracting her, she had to push her away slightly and focus on the task at
hand. Alex merely watched patiently as Bren’s trembling fingers undid each
button on her dress shirt. Bren proceeded to remove each article of clothing
with great care until Alex was standing naked in front of her. Alex moved in
again, bringing their bodies together as they began to kiss again with
escalating fervor. After a few minutes Alex moved them to the bed, pushing
Bren onto her back and then following her down. Propped on her arms in
between Bren’s thighs, Alex gave Bren a loving smile.
“You are so beautiful, Bren. I love you so much. I’ll give you anything you
want. Just tell me what I can do to bring you pleasure.” she whispered
nipping lightly at the blonde’s ear.
Bren pulled Alex down on top of her, so they were touching completely. “I
want you so much, Alex. Please. Make love to me. Touch me everywhere.”
Alex took her time in touching Bren all over. She wanted to feel every part
of Bren’s body, to memorize every curve and leisurely outline it faintly
with kisses and caresses. Then she began to concentrate on the areas that
she knew would bring Bren the most satisfaction. Alex didn’t even think
about how much time was passing as she acquainted herself completely with
her fiancee’s body, but as Bren’s need mounted, she knew that the moment
they both had been longing for had arrived. Kissing her way down Bren’s
body, she settled her shoulders between Bren’s accommodating legs. Casting a
glance up to Bren’s face, Alex saw the slight fear in her lover’s eyes, but
she also saw the passion burning with an intensity she’s never seen in
anyone.
“May I?” Alex asked letting Bren feel the power of being in control of
their lovemaking.
“Please.” Bren whimpered followed by a gasping cry as Alex let her tongue
glide over Bren’s heat.
“Um, you taste so good, baby, better than I ever imagined.” Alex mumbled as
she dove merrily into her task of directing Bren to peak. Alex could feel
Bren’s hands grasping at her head, trying to relieve the pressure building
within her body, but Alex stayed at her torturously slow pace, slowly
driving Bren crazy. Alex enjoyed the way Bren was responding with cries of
mounting passion and erratic breathing. When Bren’s hips began to move
faster involuntarily, Alex knew that she was close. Alex began to work
harder, but soon Bren was begging her to stop. Reluctantly Alex pulled away
and looked at Bren in concern. “What is it, sweetheart? You were so close.
Why did you want to stop?”
Bren smiled as she leaned up to give Alex a long kiss. “I just wanted to
look into your eyes and hold you. I just want to feel you on top of me, all
over me. I want you to be inside me the first time you make me yours.” she
sexily stated in uneven breaths.
“Oh, of course, sweetie. Anything you want.” Alex replied leaning to kiss
her with delight. Reaching down between them, Alex cupped Bren’s wetness for
a moment before tenderly sliding into her. Bren gave a soft shriek as she
reflexively tried to pull back. Alex remained still waiting for her to get
used to her as she whispered comforting words of reassurance. “It’s all
right, honey. I’ve got you. I love you, Bren. You mean so much to me.” When
Bren’s body relaxed, Alex pushed in a little further surprised when her
fingers tore through a thin barrier. Bren yelped at that moment, once again
involuntarily trying to expel Alex’s fingers. “It’s okay, Bren. I’ll slow
down. Just relax.” Their eyes met.
Bren’s were watery, but they held nothing but love in their gaze. “I love
you, Alex.”
“I love you too, Bren.” Alex replied, her own eyes beginning to fill with
tears at the realization that Bren had waited for her to be the first one to
know her this way. Neither said anything for a moment before Alex asked,
“Are you okay now?”
Bren nodded. “Better than okay, Alex. I’m perfect.”
Alex smiled. “So am I. Are you ready to continue?”
“I’ve been ready for you for years, Alex.”
Alex gave a nod before gently bringing Bren to an earth-shattering climax,
the whole time with them staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Alex stopped
to let Bren revel in the glory of the moment as she held her with love. A
dreamy smile transformed Bren’s face.
“I’ve never seen you more beautiful than you are right now, Bren.” Alex
mentioned brushing back the wet strands of hair along Bren’s forehead.
“Oh, Alex. This is the way I always dreamed it would be.”
“I’m glad. Why don’t we rest a moment? Would you like for me to pour you
some champagne?”
“That would be nice.”
Alex rolled off of Bren to reach for the bottle and glasses. Filling them
both she handed one to Bren and then picked up the box of chocolates.
“Hungry?” Alex inquired presenting them to her. Bren nodded in enthusiasm,
so Alex picked on up and held it to Bren’s lips. Bren moaned in satisfaction
after swallowing the mixture of chocolate and champagne.
“This must be what heaven is like.” Bren said making Alex chuckle.
“It would be nice if it was. I had no idea that you were still a virgin. I
had always just assumed that you had been with people during college.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise. It was something I always knew could only be
for you.”
Alex gave her a tearful smile. “Thank you for that gift. I’ll cherish it.”
They lay cuddled together for awhile listening to the music, drinking
champagne, feeding each other chocolate, and just talking quietly, but as
the night wore on, they succumbed several more times to the carnal pleasures
they provided for each other.
When morning arrived Alex awoke first. Leaving Bren in bed, she made her
way down to the kitchen to make them breakfast. Taking it up to the bedroom,
she stirred Bren from sleep with gentle kisses along the limbs that the
sheet wasn’t covering. Bren moaned as her eyes fluttered open. “Morning,
beautiful.” Alex whispered seductively.
“It certainly is.” Bren yawned leaning up to Alex’s mouth for a slow kiss.
“I brought you some breakfast. Thought you could use it after the way we
burned off the calories from dinner.” Alex joked slipping the tray onto the
bed and climbing on herself.
Leisurely they ate and snuggled under the covers for awhile. “I wish every
Saturday could be like this.” Bren mentioned as she repositioned herself
against Alex.
Alex ran her fingers through Bren’s blonde hair. “It’s the best.”
Bren looked up at Alex and grinned mischievously. “Better than last night?”
“Nothing could be better than last night, but this is wonderful too. I love
just being with you.”
“Good because you’re stuck with me.”
“You know, we should probably get up. This would probably be a good
opportunity to look for outfits for the wedding, don’t you think?”
Bren nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. I’m so comfortable though.” Bren
snuggled in closer to Alex’s chest.
“Well, I can think of ways to make you comfortable in the shower.” Alex
suggested.
Bren raised an interested eyebrow. “Really?”
Alex nodded. “What do you say? How would you like a little massage?”
Bren smiled. “I think I could get up for that.” She made a move out of bed,
but as soon as she took a step, she grimaced.
Alex noticed and asked, “You okay?”
“I feel like I’ve been riding a horse for the last ten hours, or maybe it’s
more like a horse had been riding me. You really are quite the stallion. My
hips are sore.” she joked.
“Sorry to hear that.” Alex said coming to her. Her hands rubbed along
Bren’s hips. “Maybe I can find a way to make you feel better.” she whispered
leaning into Bren’s neck. Lightly dusting it with kisses, Alex’s mouth
trailed along her shoulders before moving down to her breasts.
Bren sighed as she whispered, “All ready feeling better. Any other bright
ideas?”
“Lots. Let’s get in the shower, so I can show you.” Alex led them into the
bathroom and began the shower while she continued to run one hand along
Bren’s body. When the temperature was just right, she moved Bren into the
open shower and began to bathe her lover with gentle strokes of soap-filled
hands as she kissed lightly over Bren’s face and neck.
“Oh, this was a good idea of yours.” Bren purred, allowing Alex full access
to her body.
After a lengthy shower, they moved back into the bedroom to dress for the
day. Alex was finished first and began to straighten up the space when she
came to notice the stained bed sheets. Deciding to remove them before Bren
saw them, she quickly tore them off the bed and rolled them into a ball,
throwing them down the staircase as she moved out into the hall to retrieve
fresh sheets from the linen closet. She was still putting them on when Bren
came out of the bathroom.
“Why the new sheets? I just put those others on.”
“I figured after the romp we had last night, they needed to be washed.”
Bren nodded. “Well, in that case, while you’re doing that, I’ll just take
these dishes downstairs. Meet me down there when you’re finished?”
Monday came too soon for Alex. After an incredible weekend of making love
to Bren at almost every available opportunity, she was saddened to leave the
sleeping blonde early Monday morning. As she tiptoed around the room to get
dressed, she repeatedly stopped to gaze upon her fiancee, who was blissfully
unaware of Alex’s eyes roaming over her. Even though Alex knew it was taking
longer than normal to get ready for work, she still felt as if time passed
too soon and regretted having to part ways with Bren even for only a
business day.
Once at work however, Alex automatically went into her professional mode,
having been away from the action all weekend and had to be caught up to sped
by Kelly before heading to her office. A little while after arriving, Kelly
dawned her doorway with another woman. “Alex, can you spare a minute? I want
to introduce you to the new intern.”
“Yeah. Come on in.” Alex said standing. Extending her hand to the
strawberry blonde, she stated, “Alex Schreiber.”
“Victoria Schumann. Nice to meet you, Ms. Schreiber.”
“Please, call me Alex. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Victoria.
In case Kelly didn’t tell you, I’m one of the junior partners here.”
“She told me you were more than that actually. She said that you were next
in line to become a senior partner.”
Alex nodded. “That is the general assumption here at the office, but
nothing has been confirmed. Please, why don’t you have a seat, and we can
talk for a few minutes. That is unless Kelly needs your services right
away.” Alex looked at Kelly.
“No, no. You go ahead. I was hoping that you could possibly show her the
ropes today if that fits into your schedule. There’s nothing better than
learning from the best.”
Alex laughed. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Kelly.” she teased. “It
just so happens that I was devoting most of my day to your current case, so
I think that could work out well. How about it, Victoria? You want to hang
out with me for a while? I’ll show you around, teach you the hot spots.”
Victoria gave a smile, making her green eyes sparkle merrily. “That sounds
good to me. I was hoping to be able to spend more than just a moment with
you.”
“Good. Have a seat.” Alex said again gesturing toward one of the chairs
across from her desk.
“I have to get going, Alex.” Kelly stated. “By the way, it looks like a
weekend off did you some good. You look like a new woman.”
Alex smiled broadly. “I feel like one.”
“Next time I see Bren I’ll have to thank her on behalf of the staff. You’ll
be much easier to deal with now that you’ve released your tensions.” she
teased. “She must be some miracle worker.”
“That’s enough, Kelly. Let’s not scared Ms. Schumann on the first day with
your lewd innuendo. Now get out of here.” Alex joked shooing Kelly from the
office. Taking her seat she inquired, “Would you like some of my special
coffee? It’s much better than what’s in the break room.”
“I don’t drink coffee, but thank you anyway.”
“Don’t drink coffee? You’re in law school, and you don’t drink coffee? My,
my. Wonders never cease. So, tell me what you meant when you said you hoped
to spend more than just a moment with me.”
“Well, you have an excellent reputation. That’s why I first looked into an
internship here. You are quite the inspiration to minority populations.”
“I see. My reputation precedes me. By looking at you, I can only see one
minority group that you fit into, Victoria. That is unless I can infer from
you last name that you are Jewish as well.”
“You are correct, counselor. I am Jewish too. Once again your reputation
precedes you in that area as well.” Victoria joked.
Alex chuckled. “You know, Victoria, you might just have to tell me what you
perceive my reputation to be, so we can dispel fact from fiction straight
off the bat. What have you heard about me?”
“That you’re a strong Jewish attorney, and you fight for the rights of all
people. You are well-respected for your abilities as well as your
humanitarian efforts.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes but it isn’t a work place kind of topic. Besides that rumor was just
confirmed by Kelly anyway.”
“Oh. You mean that my interests lie with the female persuasion?” Victoria
nodded. “Well, do you believe everything you hear, Victoria?”
“Not always but that is a fact, is it not?” she defended.
Alex smiled. “I already like your style. Yes, that is a fact. I am Jewish,
and I also am a lesbian. The fact that you know that would lead me to
believe that you may also put your interests there?”
“It does appear that we have similar tastes, counselor. May I ask you
something personal?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Do you attend synagogue?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Well, while I’m here I would like to attend. I was just wondering if you
knew of any.”
“You should come to mine. You’d like it there. My fiancee and I would be
more than happy to take you to a service sometime.”
“Your fiancee? Would that be the Bren of which Kelly was speaking?”
“You do have an eye for details, Victoria. That’s good. Yes, Bren is my
fiancee. Now enough idle chatter. How about a tour of the office? Then we’ll
give Kelly and hand on her case.”
“Wow. I can look at a case on my first day?” slightly sarcastically she
said. “I thought I’d be stuck in the mail room for weeks.”
“Yeah. We run things a little differently here. Although you will be stuck
doing some of that junk work, like filing, sorting mail, answering phones
and what not, we believe that hands on experience counts. You will get to be
involved in cases under strict supervision of course, and it appears that
Kelly is going to be the one to do that unless she passes you off to me to
run through the ringer.” Alex joked.
“You’ve been so tough to deal with so far. I don’t know if I can handle
it.”
Alex showed Victoria around the office, introducing her to staff that they
passed along the way before going into the conference room where Kelly had
taken over for her case. They remained there assisting Kelly until Alex
noticed Victoria’s attention wandering. Looking at her watched, she noted
that it was after two o’clock. “Victoria, how about we take a break? Let’s
get some lunch. My treat today.”
“That would be great.” she answered. “I’m so hungry that I can’t think any
more.”
Kelly caught Alex’s eyes as they gathered their things. “Are you all right,
Kelly? Would you like something?”
“No thanks. I’m fine. You okay?”
Alex shot her a confused look until it sunk in what Kelly was inferring.
“Victoria, why don’t I meet you out in the waiting area?” Alex suggested.
“Sure. I need to run to the restroom anyway.”
As soon as she was gone, Alex stepped to Kelly. “Exactly what did you mean
by that?” she gruffly asked.
Kelly pulled them over into a private corner, so no one could hear them.
“Didn’t you get a good enough look at her tits the first time?” Kelly
inquired.
Alex huffed. “What are you talking about?”
“Alex, don’t play dumb with me. I know you too well. I’ve seen you looking
down her blouse on more than one occasion this morning. Don’t fuck this up.
She’s not worth your career or your marriage. She’s just a little intern.”
“Kelly, she’s just a kid. I have no interest whatsoever.”
“She’s older than Bren, Alex. Not only that she’s given you the once over
more than a few times when she thought no one was looking.”
“Thank you for your concern, Kelly, but this is business, and there is
nothing that will get in the way of my job or marriage. Mark my words.”
“I hope so.”
Alex sighed loudly before turning to leave. She met Victoria out by the
elevator, and together they made their way over to one of the local cafes
for sandwiches. As they sat outside under one of the umbrellas, Alex glanced
over at Victoria. She admitted to herself that she did think the younger
woman was attractive, like Bren in looks but also like Megan in many ways
with her wit and strong knowledge in the law. She frowned unknowingly as she
took another bite into her ham on rye.
“You seem upset.” Victoria mentioned.
“It’s nothing.”
“An ex-girlfriend quarrel?”
Alex couldn’t help but crack a smile. “You think you’re so perceptive,
don’t you? For your information, Kelly is not an ex but a concerned friend.”
“Concerned over me.” Victoria stated plainly.
“How did you know?” Alex asked in bewilderment.
Victoria smiled. “I bet I know what she was talking to you about too.” Alex
gave her a challenging look. “She was telling you to be more discreet when
looking down my top.”
Alex began to choke on her sandwich as she gasped. Victoria leaned over to
swat her on the back to help dislodge the food. “I... uh- damn you’re good.
How in the hell did you know that? I only noticed once.”
“Oh, I believe my generous endowment pleasured your eyes more than once
today, Alex.” she stated seriously.
Alex started to defend herself but then stopped. “Shit. You have me dead to
rights. I apologize. I was out of line, but you are difficult to miss in
that blouse.”
Vitoria slid her hand over Alex’s, patting it lightly. “It’s okay, Alex. I
know when women find me attractive. Why do you think you were given an
unobstructed view?”
“Uh, Victoria, I’m engaged.” Alex said quickly.
“I know, so we can keep this between us. I know you’re unobtainable, but I
still don’t mind being your object of lust at work. I was hoping you would
find me so. After all you are incredibly sexy yourself.”
Alex sat dumbfounded for a moment as Victoria went back to casually eating
her salad. Finally gathering her senses, she stated, “Victoria, I appreciate
the compliment, and I extend you the same. However, I need to make something
crystal clear, and it’s best you learn this early on anyway. Women only get
to the top of this industry two ways, being a tough as nails bitch or
sleeping with their supervisors. I’ve made it a point to be known as the
former in the courtroom, and I would hope you would be smarter than to
choose the latter. I’ll be frank with you. There are some partners at the
firm that would help you out in exchange for a little extra attention. I
even bet those same gentlemen think I treat women of the office with the
same regard, but I don’t. For me to give another female associate a leg up
for sexual favors goes against my feminist thinking. If I did that, I’d be
just as much of chauvinist as my counterparts. I want to see women make it
based on their abilities, and I’ll do what I can to help you, because I
believe that if you do have the abilities, you should be given the chance
regardless of how much time I’ve spent between your legs. Now we’ve gotten
ourselves off on the wrong foot here. I haven’t been exactly the perfect
role model Kelly was hoping I would be, and you’ve picked up on that. I
don’t want you to think based on my unprofessional behavior today that I
would be expecting to be treated with your sexual favor, because I do not
want that at all, and furthermore, I won’t tolerate sexual advances either.
I’m set in my thinking on that. Now I do apologize for my behavior, but I
would ask that you take ownership of your part of this little incident.”
When Alex stopped talking, she just stared at Victoria waiting for a
response, but Victoria was perfectly silent. Instead she signaled their
waiter and asked for a to-go box for her salad. When it was packed away,
Victoria finished her water and stood before sending Alex a scowl. “I can’t
sit here and listen to this. You are correct in the fact that your
reputation of being a bitch is warranted. You act as if I just threw myself
across the table and asked you for the fucking of a lifetime! You are
mistaken, counselor, if you think you are God’s gift to J.A.P.s like me!
This was obviously a mistake on my part to accept this position, but since I
can’t quit, I will just stay out of your way! Take note though, counselor!
You will never be getting between these thighs! I don’t care if you’re the
last woman on earth! I don’t care if you are the world’s best cunt shagger!
This is one you won’t ever be getting your hands on, so you can just kiss my
ass!”
Alex was shocked into immobility at first at Victoria’s verbal assault, but
quickly she recovered enough to shake her head patronizingly at the younger
woman. “Temper, temper. You should try to watch your language.” she said
calmly knowing that the whole outdoor café was now intently listening to
their argument.
“You know, Alex, while you have your head up your ass, eat shit and die,
you fucking dyke! You think you’re so cool, the big, bad Alex Schreiber, but
you’re nothing more than an arrogant asshole! You think you’re all that, and
women should bow at your feet, but you are mistaken! This is one woman who
will eat you up and spit you out if you make me mad! You have no idea what
kind of wrath I will bestow upon you! You haven’t seen anything yet!”
“I’ve seen enough to know that if you learn to channel your passions you
will be a brilliant attorney, but you have to curb your usage of foul
language. If you want to eat me up and spit me out, you’ll have to learn to
do so without that latrine you have for a mouth.” Alex simply stated.
Victoria huffed loudly. “Fuck you!” she yelled turning and walking away,
leaving Alex laughing at her departure.
Only a moment went by before Alex heard her name be called. Turning she saw
Arthur standing there with a to-go bag in his hand. “Alex, that was quite a
show.” he mentioned.
“Yes, it was. Have a seat if you’d like, Arthur.”
“I wasn’t going to, but after what I just saw, I better. You should tell me
what that was all about. It sounds like she was accusing you of sexually
harassing her.”
“You know I would never do that, Arthur. I’m engaged to be married, and it
could get me fired. We had a misunderstanding, and Ms. Schumann blew it way
out of proportion.”
“Do I need to speak with her? I would hate to think I made a mistake by
hiring her for the internship, but I thought she was the best candidate.”
“It was no mistake, Arthur. She’s going to be so great one day, but she has
much to learn. She’s got the fire that it takes. Believe me. I just felt her
heat, but she needs to learn how to direct it.”
“But she used severely derogatory and discriminatory language towards you.
That can’t be tolerated. She can’t go around saying that kind of language.”
“Don’t worry about her calling me a dyke, Arthur. Takes one to know one
after all. Besides I thought it was kind of amusing all the colorful ways
she used her words. My personal favorite was her combination of two insults
when she told me that my head was up my ass and to eat shit and die. That
was a good one.”
“Exactly what did you say to bring on such behavior?”
“I just gave her a little speech about not sleeping with any of my
subordinates.”
“Did she give you a reason to give her that lecture?”
“Yes. She was beginning to flirt with me and admitted to allowing my eyes
easy access to her assets this morning. I wanted to make it clear that she
was barking up the wrong tree if she wanted to sleep her way to the top.”
“Do you think that was her real intent, or do you think maybe she was
genuinely interested in you?”
“It doesn’t matter nor do I care, but I truly don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“It just seems to me that she is just attracted to you, not your position.
All that foul language and denial was just a way for her to cover how she
really felt, especially when she knew it wouldn’t be reciprocated. I thought
she might have that particular interest in you when I interviewed her,
because she wanted to talk about you for quite awhile during the third
round. It was my idea to stick her with Kelly and you, but if that’s going
to be a problem, I’ll move her right away under someone else’s supervision.
I don’t need another explosion like that to occur.”
“No. It’s all right, Arthur. I can handle her. She is a real spitfire,
though. Someday with experience and discretion she will make a killer
attorney. Did you see the way her face ignited with that passionate energy?
It was amazing.”
“Alex, are you absolutely sure you don’t want me to move her? I don’t want
this to become a problem between you and Bren either.”
“What does Bren have to do with this? Why would Victoria be an issue for
us?”
“Because the fire that you ignite in Victoria is the same one I see burning
in your eyes. This attraction is not one-sided, and I would hate to be
responsible for your downfall.”
“Arthur, first of all if I did have a downfall, it wouldn’t be your fault.
Secondly, I would never do anything to hurt Bren, and lastly, you heard the
woman. She wouldn’t want me if I was the last woman on earth.” Alex joked.
They both laughed for a moment. “Alex, I know this seems funny now, but I
really don’t want this to become a problem. At the first sign of trouble, I
want you to tell me, so I can reassign her. Deal?”
“Deal. Well, I should get back. I know Kelly is dying to know why the new
girl came back with her panties in a wad, especially when she’s Kelly’s
responsibility.” she mention quickly downing the rest of her sandwich.
They walked back to the office together and simply were talking and teasing
each other as Alex stopped back in to the conference room. Kelly looked up
from her paperwork. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were having lunch with Arthur
as well.” she said, casting a quick look at Victoria. Victoria didn’t even
acknowledge Alex’s entrance.
“Oh, he just stopped by briefly after Victoria left to come back here. I
know she was just so anxious to get back to the work that she could barely
sit still.” Alex said also looking to Victoria. She did look up for a moment
and met Alex’s eyes, but her expression was unreadable. “Look, Kelly. I’m
just going to finish up my part of this stuff in my office, so buzz me if
you need anything.”
“Okay. Sounds good. Your help is always appreciated. I might run some
thoughts by you a little later.”
“Fine. You know where to find me.”
Around five that afternoon, Alex began to prepare to go home when Kelly
knocked on her door. “Do you have a minute?”
“Yeah. What’s up, Kelly?”
“What in the world could you have said to Victoria? I ran into her in the
restroom when she came back from lunch, and she was a wreck, tears and
mascara running down her face. It was like she’d had her heart ripped from
her chest.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s between Victoria and me.”
“That’s what she said when I asked her.”
“We just got into a fight. Let it lie for now, and we’ll see if it blows
over. If it doesn’t I’ll talk to her. Just give her some time. If I wasn’t
the Ice Queen, what she said might have hurt my feelings too.” teased Alex.
Kelly nodded. “You just hide your emotions better, but I know whatever was
said hurt your feelings. That’s why you hid in your office all afternoon.
Nevertheless I’ll leave it alone if that’s what you want.”
“I do. We’ll give it a few days, and if she doesn’t show improvement, I’ll
speak to her.”
“All right. Well, I can tell you were about to leave, so I’ll just get out
of your way. Have a nice evening.”
When Alex arrived at home, Bren was waiting on her with dinner already
prepared. “You know, you’re turning out to be quite the culinary expert.”
Alex said coming to embrace Bren in a hug.
“My God. You’re as stiff as a board. Are you okay?” Bren asked in concern
gently kneading Alex’s back.
“I will be if you keep doing that. My whole back and neck are rigid. I just
had a bad day, but it’s improving drastically now that I’m here with you,
beautiful.” Alex leaned in to kiss Bren’s neck lightly.
Bren giggled. “I’ll tell you what. Let’s eat dinner, and then we’ll get you
undressed. I’ll then give you the best back massage you ever had. How does
that sound?”
“You truly are the best, Bren. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Probably starve. Come on. Sit down and eat something.”
Alex got to work early the next morning. Heading directly into her office,
she closed the door and got directly to work. She was interrupted several
hours later by a knock on her door. She yelled for them to enter and then
looked up to see Victoria standing there with papers in hand. “Kelly wanted
me to bring these to you.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks. How did your first day of work end yesterday?”
“Awfully.”
“Sorry to hear that. What happened?”
“I made a complete ass out of myself, and then Arthur asked to speak with
me. He asked if I was happy with my decision to come work here.”
“I assure you I had nothing to do with that. I told him to stay out of it,
but he’s the boss, so it’s his prerogative. He overheard our talk yesterday
at the café.”
“I was afraid of that.” she mumbled.
“As far as I’m concerned, Victoria, it’s over, in the past, finished. You
apologize for your unacceptable behavior, and we might be friends. Otherwise
you’re just a pain in the backside intern with whom I will have very little
to do. Your choice. Feel free to make it at any time.”
“You want me to apologize? You’re the one who should apologize for sexually
harassing me! It was you who brought up having sex with me to improve my
position here! I shouldn’t have to apologize for being offended by that
crude behavior! I was simply defending myself!”
“Defending yourself? That’s a load of garbage, Victoria! You tried to
verbally degrade me in front of all those people with that abusive language!
If I wasn’t such a bitch, it might’ve hurt my feelings!” Alex yelled moving
around her desk toward Victoria. “You are the one that needs to apologize,
Victoria!” she screamed pointing a rigid finger at the petite woman as she
closed the distance, so she stood almost in Victoria’s personal space.
Victoria stared at the finger close to her face before looking up into
Alex’s dark eyes. Alex stared back at those green eyes, holding such fire
aimed at her. Victoria boldly stepped forward, forcing Alex to withdraw her
hand before it touched Victoria’s face. They were so close that Victoria was
standing on one of Alex’s feet with her pointed heel and her breasts touched
Alex’s midsection. Alex was immediately distracted by the faint touch, but
she held firm. Victoria sneered at her and growled, “Never demand that I
apologize for what I think about something. I will never apologize for the
way I feel about you, Alex Schreiber.”
Alex was caught off guard by the statement, not realizing the full extent
of Victoria’s words. “Well, at least when you’re blasting me out, you’re not
using obscenities. That’s an improvement over yesterday. Maybe in a few days
I might get an apology out of you, but until you can act civilized toward
me, get off my foot with that heel and kindly leave my office. I don’t want
to see you again until you get rid of that attitude.”
“You’re the one with the attitude, Alex, an arrogant bitch attitude. No one
told me about this side of you. I wish I had been warned.”
“What can I say? Guess you just bring out the worst in me, Victoria. Now
get out.”
Victoria shook her head and then turned to go. Alex watched her all the way
out and then discreetly watched from her office door as the little woman
made her way back to the conference area. Alex sighed deeply. Trying to make
amends with the woman was going to prove harder than she expected, and she
briefly considered having Arthur reassign her, but she knew she couldn’t do
that to Kelly. Kelly needed the extra set of hands, but she resolved to talk
to Kelly. A few minutes later she got her opportunity when Kelly came to her
office.
“Did you have to put Victoria through the grand inquisition again? She’s a
mess. All I ask for is a little cooperation between her and you. What went
awry this time?”
“Kelly, don’t tell me what to do. She doesn’t want to cooperate with me,
and that is fine. Keep her out of my sight. Don’t send her to my office ever
again.”
Kelly shook her head disbelievingly. “Shit. She has you all bent out of
shape. You’re even being weird with me.”
Alex sighed. “I’m sorry, Kelly. She just knows how to push my buttons. I
don’t know how she does it, but one sentence and she’s just under my skin
like a bad itch.” she growled irritably.
Kelly laughed. “Oh, boy. I guess you’ve finally met your match, Alex. I
think she feels the same way about you. You’re like two magnets repelling
each other, but just like with magnets the opportunity for attraction is
just as equally great.”
“I am not attracted to that little imp. She’s got the most atrocious mouth
on her, and I swear she’s got the temper of a redhead. She’s breathes fire,
Kelly, and I’m tired of it being directed at me for no reason. She gets one
more chance, and then Arthur is going to have to find another place for her.
I can’t work with her. Now I hate to do that to you, because I know you
could use the help, so do both of us a favor and keep her the hell away from
me.”
“I’ll keep her away from you but not for you. I’m doing this for Bren. The
look in your eyes tells me that you want to get between Victoria’s thighs as
badly as you’re denying it. If you weren’t engaged, you’d already be all
over her. You like her hard-headedness, and you would love to be the one to
break her. You know what else? She wants you between those legs of hers, to
make her scream so loud the whole world would hear it. She wants to be your
personal Seven-Eleven, and she can’t stand that you won’t fall for her
charms.”
Alex sighed. “What am I going to do, Kelly? If it’s that obvious to you,
who else in this office has picked up on that? Arthur already has.”
Kelly shrugged. “Well, if you’re lucky, maybe she hasn’t figured it out
yet, but my friend, I’m afraid she has your number. She’s smart enough I
think to know that you’re attracted to her. You have to watch yourself.
Don’t let that snake ruin what you have with Bren.”
“Don’t worry about that. Bren means the world to me. She’s an angel.
Victoria is the spawn of Satan. There’s no contest. Now do I have your word
that you will keep her out of my way?”
“Yeah. She’s out of your hair permanently. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“No problem.”
The next month passed with Kelly playing referee between Alex and Victoria.
As Alex had requested, the intern had limited access to her, so there were
few altercations. As was custom for the firm, they held a summer family
picnic at the country club one Sunday afternoon near July fourth. Bren and
Alex arrived a little earlier to talk with the coordinator again about their
own event scheduled for September, so they were already there when everyone
else began arriving. Due to the casual nature of the event, most of the
people were dressed in shorts, khakis and patriotic attire, including the
children. As in years passed, Bren was a favored spouse among the senior
partners and graciously conversed with all of them as Alex talked with other
families.
Alex and Bren were talking with some of the kids when Alex noticed Victoria
arrive on the arm of an athletically-built, raven-haired, blue-eyed Amazon.
Bren noticed as well and inquired, “Who’s that?”
“Victoria Schumann. I’ll introduce you.” Alex said taking Bren’s hand and
leading the way over to Victoria and her date. However just before they got
there, Kelly beat them to it. As Alex approached with Bren, Victoria spotted
them.
“Well, if it isn’t Alex, the arrogant ass.” she stated cooly.
Bren cast a look at Alex, at the uncharacteristic description of her
fiancee. “Great use of alliteration, Victoria. You’re being more creative
with your insults. That’s good. I would like to introduce you to my fiancee,
Bren Worthington. Bren, this is Victoria Schumann.”
The two blondes shook hands. “It figures that only a beauty could tame the
beast. Bren, you have my respect for being able to tame this bear.” she said
before introducing her own date.
Bren looked at Alex in disbelief that this woman didn’t have a positive
regard for her fiancee. Seeing the gaze Alex said, “Bren, Victoria is our
new intern. She is one of the most talented law students to ever to grace
our firm, but she doesn’t like me, because I call her on her bull shit.
Victoria has aspirations of one day winning a verbal debate with me, and
with experience and time, she will be able to do so, but until then it’s
Kelly’s and my job to run her through the rigorous paces of being the low
person on the totem pole.”
“Oh, I see. Well, Victoria, I would hate to have to put up with Alex in a
professional capacity. She can be quite forceful. You have my sympathies,
but you must realize that under that armor, she’s really quite the
pushover.”
“Honey, don’t tell her that. She’s supposed to think I’m the Queen Bitch.”
Alex teased. “Right, Victoria?”
Alex looked at Victoria who was just standing there with an expression Alex
hadn’t seen since her first day, one of awe and fascination. “Right.” she
mumbled faintly just looking at Alex in confusion.
“Well, I hate to break up this little pow wow, but Bren, would you mind if
I snagged Alex for a few minutes to dance? After all she is by far the best
dancer at the firm, and I want to get my fair share before the ladies begin
taking numbers.” Kelly joked, breaking the sudden awkwardness.
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Go ahead.” Bren said leaning up to kiss Alex’s cheek.
“Stay out of trouble now.” she teased winking at her fiancee.
Alex led Kelly to the dance floor. As they began to move, Kelly asked,
“What was that all about? That’s the nicest you’ve been to Victoria since
she started. And what was all that bull shit about her being so good?”
“That’s not bull shit, Kelly. As much as we don’t like each other, that’s
all true. She is one of the best interns we’ve had in years. Bren doesn’t
need to know about all the fights I’ve had with Victoria. It would serve no
purpose. She wanted me to introduce them, so obviously she thinks Victoria
is interesting. She’ll form her own opinion. I’m sure Victoria is a nice
person. We just can’t get along.”
A little while later Alex was dancing with Bren and Victoria with her date
when Victoria’s date asked to cut in with Bren. Alex freely allowed Bren to
go with the dark-haired woman, leaving her and Victoria standing on the
dance floor. “Well, we should either dance or get out of the way, don’t you
think?” Alex asked extending her hand to Victoria. Victoria put her hand
into it, and Alex began to led them through the steps on the floor. A moment
passed as Alex watched Bren before turning her eyes to Victoria. “Victoria,
do you really hate me?” she asked conversationally.
“No.” she answered softly. “Do you hate me?”
“No. I don’t hate you at all, Victoria. You just frustrate me sometimes.”
“You frustrate me too, Alex.” she stated. A second passed before she
inquired, “Did you mean what you said about me to Bren?”
“Yes.”
“That’s the nicest compliment I’ve ever gotten professionally. Your opinion
and approval mean a lot to me, Alex. I still think you’re brilliant.”
“And I still think you are the best intern we’ve had in years. I know that
one day you will surpass me in legal abilities, but it will take time,
experience, and discretion. I made it clear to Arthur that I think you’re an
asset to us, and when I become a senior partner, I intend to see that you
are challenged to the fullest extent, because I think you’ll be able to
handle it. You have so much talent inside you, Victoria. It’s a matter of
channeling your abilities. You’ll have to learn not to go off half-cocked
and to control that temper. You can be impassioned, and you must be in this
kind of work, but you can’t throw a temper tantrum in a courtroom. You have
a lot to learn, but you already have so much to work with. I think you truly
have a leg up on all your fellow students, because we only take the best.
You are the best, Victoria.”
“You know, Alex, I have a confession to make. One of the reasons why I
worked so hard for the internship here was because of you. When I first
learned of you, you inspired me to become an attorney. I kept up with all
your cases, and I wanted to be just like you. We have so much in common, and
it made me feel like if you could do it so could I.”
“Well, that’s a very nice thing to say. Thank you.” Alex replied gently.
A few minutes passed before Victoria looked up at Alex again. “Alex, I’m
sorry for the way I’ve acted toward you for the past month. It’s not in my
nature to be as rude and insulting as I have been toward you. You see I’ve
always found it very easy to turn the heads of women, and I enjoy feeling
their eyes on me. It makes me feel beautiful. When I noticed you, my idol,
looking at me, I felt a tremendous amount of power as well. It made me feel
brave and strong. That day at the café I was some other woman that I had
never seen before. I have never flirted with a supervisor in my life, but
the way your eyes kept seeking out my body, it made me feel more confident.
However you squashed any notion of us ever having that type of relationship.
I understand why you did it, and it was right, but the way you verbally
berated and brutalized me hurt my feelings so deeply. It was like you had
torn my heart from my chest and stomped on it, and I could only do one of
two things. I could’ve shamelessly wept in front of you, which I would’ve
regretted for the rest of my life, or I could’ve turned into a raving bitch.
I chose the latter, only in an effort to disguise the fact that I was
wounded by your words. A simple no would’ve have been sufficient, but
instead you went off on a tangent about manipulating my way to the top. It
never was about trying to advance my career, Alex. It was about hoping you
liked me as much I as liked you.” she mumbled progressively dropping her
head lower and lower until her eyes were downcast to the floor, and Alex
could barely hear her.
Alex heard her sniffle, and she felt a sympathetic pull at her heart. “Oh,
Victoria, I feel like the world’s biggest jackass. I’m so sorry that I
caused you such pain. I misunderstood your intentions. I just assumed that
was the only reason for a woman like you to be interested me. In truth I
normally don’t act the way I have the past month either. I shouldn’t have
egged you on every time I saw you. It was my way of dealing with the fact
that I thought you only wanted to use me. I guess my ego was stung that I
didn’t think you were interested in me, just my position.”
“Alex, how could you ever think that? You’re absolutely perfect in every
way, including the fact that you’re Jewish. That’s all I ever wanted in
life, a nice Jewish woman to take care of me financially and to be an
attorney, because I feel I can help people. I came to this firm for you,
Alex. I wanted to learn everything I could about you, your style, your
methods, your process. All that I wanted out of this internship was to learn
from you how to be the best. Would you give me another chance, Alex? Please?
It would mean a great deal to me.” she humbly said, still not meeting Alex’s
eyes.
“But you were getting so good at insulting me, Victoria. You’d give all
that up?” Alex joked lightly. Victoria laughed and looked up at Alex again.
“Victoria, you have bestowed some great compliments upon me, and I thank
you. I would also like the chance to work together again. It would bring me
great pleasure to know that I had a hand in creating the next superwoman
attorney for our firm. I’ll talk to Kelly about it first thing tomorrow.”
Victoria gave a bright smile. “I would hug you if it wouldn’t be
misconstrued as sexual harassment.” she teased.
On Monday morning Alex was greeted in her office by Victoria who handed her
a cup of coffee. “Just a little peace offering.” she said with a smile.
“What’s first on the agenda?”
“Same as usual but with Kelly’s permission, you’ll be spending more time
under my tutelage.”
“I can hardly wait. Thanks, Alex. This means a lot to me.”
Over the next few weeks Alex had to stay late to assist Kelly with the
case. Since she had been spending more time at home, Bren was understanding
of the extended hours at work. During those times Victoria was a willing
assistant as well, relishing all the extra time she got to spend learning
from some of the industry’s best. One night Alex and Victoria stayed later
than everyone else due to the fact that Alex sent Kelly, who at that point
was a walking zombie from overwork, home for a decent night’s rest. The
cleaning crew were the only people left in the office as the two of them
poured over the work that they promised Kelly they would finish. Alex was
lounging on her couch as she read over several briefs, but a headache was
impeding her from fully grasping what she was trying to mentally process.
Pulling her reading glasses up to the top of her head, she rubbed her eyes
for a moment. She cast a glance over at Victoria, who had taken up residence
at her desk. Her eyes roamed over the unaware blonde, who was diligently
typing. Victoria had taken off her suit jacket, leaving her in a
short-sleeved green silk blouse that matched her eyes perfectly and a linen
skirt. Somewhere along the line she had grown tired of her hair being down
and swept it up off her neck into a bun being held by a pencil. Her heels
had been discarded haphazardly hours ago near Alex’s black loafers by the
front of the bookcase. Alex sighed at how sexy she thought Victoria looked
at the moment, knowing that she was a still a temptation. The sigh caught
Victoria’s attention, and she turned to look at Alex.
“You okay?” she asked softly.
“I have a terrible headache. Nothing has helped. I took aspirin, caffeine
but nothing.”
“What about water? Maybe you’re dehydrated.” Alex shrugged. “Here. I’ll get
you some.” Victoria offered going to Alex’s mini-fridge. She brought the
older woman a small bottle of water and took a seat next to her. “Where does
it hurt?” Alex rubbed her temples and forehead. “Why don’t you close your
eyes for a few minutes while you drink this water? Maybe that will help.”
Alex took the suggestion, leaning her head back against the couch and
slumping down comfortably. She spread her legs out and put her heels against
the floor to stretch her calves. After a moment she felt Victoria’s
fingertips against her temples. Alex began to protest, but Victoria
whispered, “Just relax, Alex. Let me help you.”
Alex could feel Victoria’s body pressed against hers as Victoria leaned
over her. Her fingers were working wonders though as the ache began to
recede. Alex was beginning to relax further into the couch and hardly
noticed as Victoria straddled her thigh, so they were facing each other
completely in order to get a better angle for the massage. Alex could feel
herself slipping from consciousness as the massage continued down her neck
and shoulders. She didn’t even realize it had stopped as Victoria just
stared at her in longing. Suddenly Alex was roused from sleep by a pair of
lips against her forehead. Alex opened her eyes to the supple neck she had
been admiring minutes before as Victoria’s perfume assaulted her senses.
Alex automatically wrapped her arms around Victoria’s waist as the lips
trailed over her temples. Even though she should have known, Alex was
surprised when Victoria’s mouth met with hers. Alex groaned as her desire
flared, and she responded to Victoria’s gentle probing. Bringing their
bodies together, Alex dove passed Victoria’s lips, making the younger woman
moan in pleasure. A few minutes passed before Alex felt Victoria moving
Alex’s hands from around her back to her silk-covered breasts. Alex gasped
and pulled back. Victoria was straddled across her lap, looking so soft and
feminine.
Alex took a moment to control her breathing. “Oh, Victoria. You have no
idea how many times I’ve thought of this since you came to work here. You
look so sexy and irresistible right now, and if I wasn’t engaged, I would
already be well on my way to laying you out on this couch and showing you
how you affect me, but I am engaged. I promised Bren that I would only be
with her, and she trusts me. I can’t break that trust. She takes my word as
my honor, and my word is my most important asset with her. You truly are a
goddess, a vision, and I am flattered beyond belief that you find me
attractive. Please, Victoria, have mercy on this old woman. Please try to
understand that I can only make love to you in my fantasies. I couldn’t face
Bren if I violated her faith in me.”
Victoria dropped her face into her hands. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I don’t know
what got into me. I’m just drawn to you. I ache for your hands on my body,
Alex. I fantasize about you making love to me every night, and I long to
feel the reality. I need to feel you inside of me, Alex, taking me passed
that edge over and over again.” she whispered leaning in to Alex’s mouth
again.
Alex’s pulse was racing at Victoria’s word and lips. Her weakened defenses
followed for a few more minutes before she forced herself away a second
time. “So help me, Victoria, I’m only human. If I do this, it would destroy
me emotionally. Physically I’d be sated, but I couldn’t carry the emotional
baggage of an adulterous fling. Please, Victoria. I beg you. Let me be. I
couldn’t face you or Bren if I did this.”
Victoria slowly nodded and stood. “I’ve just made a fool out of myself with
you again.” she mumbled in embarrassment as she stood looking out the
window.
“No, Victoria, you didn’t. I’m telling you. The only reason I am not doing
this is because I’m engaged. If I wasn’t I would be honored to be with you.”
Alex said standing and moving to her. She put her hands on Victoria’s
shoulders and gently squeezed them. Victoria moaned in appreciation. Alex
closed the gap between them as she pulled Victoria into her arms, so the
blonde’s back was in her chest and rested her head on top of Victoria’s. She
sighed deeply. “Victoria, this is extremely difficult for me. You are so
beautiful and so smart. You’re witty and charming. You really are a
magnificent specimen of femininity, and I am completely attracted to you
whenever you’re near. I do want you desperately. I’ve thought it about what
it would be like to be with you at the most inappropriate moments, and I’ve
felt horribly guilty. Victoria, I pride myself on being an honorable person
and knowing that my word is as binding as any legal document. I gave my word
to Bren that I would forsake all others to be with her, and come September,
those same words will become a vow of fidelity. I’ve known Bren for over
four years and most of that time I was in love with her. I am still in love
with her, and I will continue to be in love with her for the rest of my
life. Even if we were together for a night, I would still choose to be with
Bren when it was said and done. You deserve better than to play second best,
Victoria. You deserve a woman who loves you completely. I’m sorry that it
can’t be me.”
A moment passed before Victoria gently pushed Alex away from her and said,
“I need to leave if that’s all right.”
“Sure. It’s getting late. We should both call it a night. I’ll finish this
stuff up at home. I’ll walk you to your car.”
“No. That’s okay. I’ll see myself out. You stay here and work. I know you
still have a lot to do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As soon as Victoria left, Alex began to gather her things as well, knowing
that she just didn’t have the ability to work any longer that night. Heading
out to the parking garage, she made her way to her car and got in. She was
on her way down the winding garage when she noticed a little sports car with
the driver’s side door open, but there was no one in sight. Alex drove by it
slowly as she overlooked the situation, but just as she passed the car, she
noticed the lithe blonde lying face down against the pavement unmoving.
Instantly Alex’s heart froze as she quickly exited her own vehicle.
“Victoria!” she screamed making a cautious approach.
Victoria just moaned incoherently. Alex looked around, not seeing anyone,
so she knelt down next to her co-worker. “Victoria, can you move at all?
What happened?”
“Alex.” she mumbled.
“Yeah. I’m right here. Can you sit up?” she asked extended her hands to the
woman. Victoria made her way into a sitting position against her car. When
Alex saw her face, she gasped at the disfiguration. “What happened?”
“I was getting in my car, and next thing I know there was a person grabbing
at my bag. We struggled. He was so much bigger than me. He knocked me down
and took off with my purse.” she sobbed.
Alex brought her into a hug. “It’s going to be all right. This is my fault.
I shouldn’t have let you walk out here alone. I’m so sorry. I’m going to
call the police and the night time guard. There are cameras in the garage,
so maybe they caught it on tape. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. Just
lean into me.” she instructed as she dug out her cell phone from her pocket
and called the appropriate authorities.
When they arrived Victoria was standing on her own, but she still held
fastly to Alex for safety as they talked with the police. It was a couple
hours before they could leave the scene, and when they were allowed to go,
Victoria was hesitant to leave Alex’s side. Being sensitive to the woman’s
needs, Alex offered to drive her home. The ride was quiet except for
Victoria’s directions. After they got there, Alex escorted her up to her
apartment.
“Thank you for the ride, Alex.” she mumbled.
“You’re welcome. Are you going to be okay?”
“I’m scared. That bastard knows where I live now, because he has my
driver’s license. I wish I didn’t have to be here alone.”
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I come in, and we’ll check everything out
together to make sure you’re safe before I go. Okay?” Victoria nodded her
consent. Together they entered the studio apartment. Alex looked around, but
there was no real place for anyone to be hiding except in the bathroom,
which was quickly investigated. When Alex returned Victoria was slumped down
onto the couch shaking. Alex came to her. “It’s going to be all right.” she
assured her, embracing Victoria tightly against her chest. “We’re the only
ones here. Everything is as it should be.”
“I don’t want to stay here alone, Alex. Please don’t leave.” she cried.
Alex sighed. “I can’t stay, but you could come back to my place with me.
Why don’t you do that? We’ll pack up some of your things that you’ll need
for work, and then you can spend the night with me.”
“No.” she cried. “Please, Alex. Just stay here with me.”
Alex sighed, torn between staying with Victoria and returning home to
Bren’s arms. “All right, but I need to call to Bren. She is expecting me, so
I need to tell her I won’t be home.” Alex withdrew from Victoria’s embrace
and moved into the kitchen area to make the phone call. The conversation
with Bren wasn’t really pleasant, but in the end Bren understood Alex’s
reasoning. She just made it clear that she didn’t like having to be without
her at night but allowed Alex to do what she thought was for the best. When
Alex came back to the couch, Victoria had changed into her pajamas, light
green silk pajama pants and short sleeved top. “Well, it’s getting late. Why
don’t we just go ahead and try to get some sleep?” she suggested.
“I’ll get you something to sleep in.” Victoria offered moving to her
dresser. She pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts. “These are the
largest I have. I’m not used to having to dress giants.” she joked.
Alex took them and moved into the bathroom to change. The shorts were
slightly too small but bearable, so Alex tugged the t-shirt down over her
backside before leaving the bathroom. Crossing her arms she said, “Do you
have an extra blanket for the couch?”
“Yeah but I just thought you could sleep in the bed with me. There’s enough
room for both of us.”
“Oh, no, Victoria. That’s suicidal on my part. There is no way I can sleep
in the same bed with you. The couch is where I belong.”
“All right. It was just a suggestion.” she said digging linens out of her
closet for Alex. Victoria quickly made a bed on the sofa before turning to
Alex. “Would it be too much to ask you to hold me while I fall asleep?” she
inquired softly.
Alex knew she couldn’t say no to the request, especially when Victoria
looked so scared and vulnerable. “All right but just for a few minutes.”
Victoria led her over to the queen bed, and Victoria climbed under the
covers. Alex made herself comfortable on the outside before turning out the
lights and bringing Victoria into her arms. A few moments passed before
Victoria whispered, “Thank you for staying, Alex. I always feel so much
safer when you’re near.”
“You’re welcome. Go to sleep now. I’ll keep you safe.”
Alex awoke later that night to the feeling of Victoria snuggling up closer
to her. Realizing that she had fallen asleep on top of Victoria’s bed, she
began to try to extricate herself from Victoria’s embrace, but as she began
to move, the blonde held tighter whimpering. After a moment the whimpers
turned to cries of distress as Victoria began screaming for Alex in her
sleep.
“Victoria, Victoria, it’s okay. I’m here. Wake up.” Alex whispered trying
to shake Victoria out of her nightmare. It took a few moments of coaxing
before Victoria awoke with a startled scream, sitting upright. “It’s all
right, Victoria. It was just a bad dream.” Alex said softly, embracing her
in consoling arms and kissing the top of her head.
“It was so real, Alex. He broke in to my apartment, and he... he...” she
cried.
“Shh. It’s okay. As long as I’m here, he won’t hurt a hair on your pretty
head. I won’t let him.”
Victoria wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and buried her head in the
crook as she trembled in fear from her nightmare. “I’m scared, Alex.”
“I know, but I’m here to protect you, sweetie. If he even comes near you,
I’ll tear him apart. You have nothing to worry about. He can’t get through
me.”
Victoria nodded. “Thank you for being here, Alex. You make me feel
protected.” she said looking into Alex’s eyes through the darkness.
Alex smiled at her as she combed Victoria’s blonde hair back off her face.
“It’s my pleasure, sweetie.” They continued to stare at each other as Alex
kept stroking Victoria’s hair. Victoria leaned into the caress as Alex’s
fingertips brushed along her swollen cheek before dropping to her cracked
lower lip.
Victoria dropped her head forward away from Alex’s gaze. “Don’t look at me
in pity, Alex. It makes me feel ugly.”
“Oh, Victoria. I can’t help it. He really hurt you, and he demolished your
beautiful face. If I ever find out who did this to you, I’m going to give
him a lesson on how to treat women. I’m going to give him a beating that
he’ll never forget.”
“I wish you didn’t have to see me like this. I’ve always tried to look
perfect for you.”
“You still are beautiful, Victoria. Nothing can change that.” Alex
whispered leaning to kiss Victoria’s bruised cheek. Alex repeated it over
the entire area, but then with a slight movement, Victoria and Alex’s lips
met in a tender kiss. Alex wasn’t sure who moaned first, but all too soon
they were engaged in fervent lip locks as they settled down in the bed.
Repressed emotions overtook them both as they took in each others bodies
with their hands and mouths. Alex showered Victoria’s neck and chest with
kisses as the little blonde clung to her, crying out in increasing ardor as
Alex attended to the breasts she’d only seen in her dreams. As Victoria’s
hips rocked more erratically into her midsection, Alex became more
impassioned. Her hand slipped down between Victoria’s legs to the top of her
thighs. Victoria gasped as Alex began to tease her in a circular pattern and
met every thrust that Victoria’s body made. Alex brought Victoria up to her
peak until Victoria was begging to be pushed over the climatic edge. In
desperation Victoria grabbed Alex by the wrist and shoved Alex’s hand down
the front of her pajama pants to get more intimate contact. Alex shuddered
at the feeling of Victoria hot and wet for her. Alex thrust herself into
Victoria with her whole body as she sunk into the depths of the younger
woman. Victoria rode out the pinnacle of her pleasure impaled on Alex. As
Victoria’s body contracted and pulsated around her, Alex instantly knew she
had made a the worst mistake of her life. Carefully she withdrew from
Victoria’s body as not to hurt her and rolled off the blonde onto her back.
Immediately Victoria curled up next to her as her breathing began to even
out. Neither said a word. Alex laid awake the rest of the night holding
Victoria as she slept.
At six that morning Alex slipped out of Victoria’s apartment, leaving her
sound asleep. Going home Alex prepared to tell her fiancee of the
indiscretion, but when she got up to the bedroom, Bren was still asleep.
Alex laid down next to her and just watched her. Alex began to cry as she
gazed at Bren lying peacefully, unaware of the torment that consumed Alex’s
soul. Curling up around her, Alex held Bren closely until Bren began to
stir.
When Bren turned in her arms and opened her eyes, she whispered, “What’s
wrong, sweetie?”
Alex didn’t say anything at first as she just pulled Bren closer. “I love
you so much, Bren. I could never handle it if I lost you.”
“You won’t. I love you too, Alex. You’ll never be without me. I’m here to
stay. What has you so upset this morning?” Alex moved back a little to look
into Bren’s face, but before she could confess, Bren noticed the dried blood
on her shirt. “Oh my God. You’re bleeding.”
Alex looked to where Bren’s eyes were focused. “No. That’s not my blood.
It’s Victoria’s. That jerk really beat her up badly. It was so scary to see
her like that. I wouldn’t have been able to handle it if it had happened to
you.”
“Oh. So that’s what has you so emotional. All I can tell you, Alex, is that
hopefully it never will. I’ve been mugged before, and it’s not a pleasant
experience, but it’s not the end of the world either. I was able to move on,
and Victoria will too. You’ll see. You’re such a tender-hearted woman, Alex.
That’s one of the reasons why I love you so much.” Bren said leaning in for
a kiss. Alex surrendered to the feeling that Bren stirred in her as they
began to kiss more deeply. In her mind Alex decided right then that she
couldn’t tell Bren in fear of all that she would lose. Pulling Bren into a
tighter embrace, Alex lavished her most intimate attention on her fiancee.
They made love for hours before tiring. Wrapped in each others arms, they
were quiet for a moment. “You know, as much as I’m loving this, don’t you
have to get to work?” Bren asked.
“Yeah.” regretfully Alex mumbled. “I don’t want to go, though. I just want
to call in sick, so I can stay here with you.”
“Can you really do that?” Bren asked hopefully.
“I wish, but I swore to Kelly I would have this stuff done for her by
today, and I couldn’t finish it last night like I had planned because of
what happened. I really need to go in at some point. I should go ahead and
get up.”
“Well, maybe I could help you in the shower? Would that make you feel
better?”
“That sounds wonderful.”
As they moved to take their shower, Bren noticed the scratches on Alex’s
back. “Baby, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting your back?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I completely scratched it up. I don’t remember doing that this time, but I
must have in my zeal to have you inside of me.” she sais seductively as she
kissed along Alex’s muscular back. “It’s just that you make love to me so
well that I am always anxious for you.”
Alex moaned at Bren’s mouth on her skin, but in the back of her mind it
registered that it was in fact Victoria who had clawed at her back during
sex, not her beloved Bren. “You know, I didn’t even notice either. I just am
always anxious to feel you that you could probably do anything to me, and I
wouldn’t notice anything but you.” she joked as she turned around to face
Bren. “I love you, Bren. You complete my life.”
When Alex arrived at work, Kelly immediately saw her. “Hey. Where have you
been? Where’s that stuff I needed?”
“I haven’t finished it yet. I’ll have it to you by this afternoon. There
was an incident last night in the garage with Victoria, so I spent a few
hours with the police instead of working. She got mugged as she tried to
leave. I was heading home myself to finish it up when I found her
half-unconscious.”
“So that’s why she isn’t here. Is she okay?”
“Not really. She was beaten up badly and she’s an emotional wreck right
now. I ended up staying the night at her house, because she was too scared
to be alone. I hardly got any sleep.”
“I bet Bren wasn’t too thrilled either.”
“No. I had to make up for it this morning. Anyway, I have to talk to Arthur
about what happened, and then I’ll finish that stuff up. It’ll just take me
a couple of hours. You’ll have it by 2:00. Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. I’ve got more than enough to work on.”
Alex tried to go about work as normal, but her mind was on Victoria, so she
finally called her that afternoon. “I woke up, and you were gone.” Victoria
stated.
“I had to get home to dress for work. How are you?”
“Okay. Did you see Bren?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you tell her what happened?”
“No. I couldn’t hurt her that way, Victoria. I love her, and I wouldn’t
bring her pain by telling her that. It would only devastate her, and I’m the
one who should bare this pain alone. I deserve it.”
“So, what about what happened? Where does that leave us?”
“Victoria, I told you last night that regardless of what happened, I am
still going to marry Bren. I love her, and I want to be with her for the
rest of my life.”
“But that was before you had sex with me.”
“My feelings on the subject haven’t changed, Victoria.”
“Oh. I see. So, you just thought playing with my emotions was okay then?”
she inquired rhetorically. “Alex, you had sex with me. This isn’t like we
made out at the office or anything. We shared a bed. Did you think I would
be fine with you fucking me and then running back to Bren?”
“Victoria, you can’t blame this all on me. You were there too. You wanted
me to sleep with you. I didn’t have to convince you. It was you who was
doing the seducing, too well I might add. You set me up by pretending to be
scared, so that I would stay the night.”
“I was scared, Alex. I wasn’t pretending, and I did feel safer with you
here.”
“Victoria, I’m sorry if you thought something else would become of last
night. I can’t give you what you want. I’m committed to Bren.”
“Yeah right. You’re not that committed if you slept with me.”
“I’m serious, Victoria. I cannot have a relationship with you, and I’m
sorry if I led you to believe I could.”
“Fine. Apology noted but not accepted, Alex. You’ve hurt my feelings again.
It’s going to take some time to get over that. I’m taking tomorrow off as
well. Arthur and I already talked about it, so I’ll be back in first thing
Monday. Please don’t check up on me again. I’d rather not talk to you right
now.”
When Alex returned home that evening, Bren was awaiting with dinner as
usual. As appreciative as Alex was, her mood was darkened by what had taken
place. She kept thinking about Victoria and how awful she felt for betraying
Bren’s trust, especially when her sweet fiancee was as cheerful and
attentive as ever. Over dinner Bren asked several times if she was okay, but
Alex couldn’t bring herself to admit her guilt. She knew Bren sensed the
uneasiness surrounding her, but since Alex didn’t say anything, they spent
most of their night in awkward silence.
The next morning Bren was up early with Alex making them breakfast. She
kept trying to coax Alex into talking, but Alex refused, knowing that her
admission would only hurt her beloved.
At the end of breakfast that morning, Alex took Bren into her arms and held
for in silence for several minutes before expressing her deepest love and
devotion for her. Kissing Bren thoroughly Alex left for work with the weight
of the world on her shoulders.
Arriving at work, she retreated directly into her office where she remained
most of the day off in her own thoughts until a knock roused her from her
self-pity. Kelly came in and studied her for a moment. “Are you having
problems with Bren?” she asked in concern as she closed the door and moved
to her friend.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Kelly.” Alex mumbled turning to look out
the window.
“Alex, something is bothering you. You’re a wreck. I can see it in your
eyes. I’m just trying to be a friend and give you a ear to listen to you.”
There was quiet for a moment before Alex asked, “Kelly, have you ever done
something so completely horrible, and you knew right when it happened it was
the worst mistake you had ever made in your entire life?”
“What did you do, Alex?” Kelly inquired softly moving to the same side of
the desk.
Alex ignored the question at first. “Have you ever loved someone so much
that you knew you couldn’t tell them, because you were afraid it would
destroy them?”
Kelly put her hands on the arms of Alex’s chair and turned it around to try
to see Alex’s face. “What did you do, Alex?”
Alex looked up at her with tears streaming down her face. “I ruined my
life.” she sobbed.
“How? What happened?”
“Victoria.” Alex mumbled dropping her head.
“Oh no. You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t have sex with Victoria.”
Alex was quiet for a moment but then whispered, “That night she was mugged,
I stayed with her at her apartment.”
“Does Bren know what happened?”
Alex shook her head. “You aren’t going to tell her, are you? Please don’t
tell her.” she pleaded.
Kelly knelt down next to her friend. “I swear I won’t say a word to her.
That’s what’s wrong though, isn’t it? You feel guilty, and it’s eating you
up inside.”
Alex nodded. “I can’t tell her, Kelly. I love her, and I don’t want to hurt
her. I deserve this suffering, not her.”
“But it’s not right to be deceitful with her either.”
“It would hurt her too much, Kelly. She would leave me. I couldn’t bear it
if she left me. Every time I look at her I feel that much worse. I don’t
know if I can go on this way.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t know what to tell you, but I won’t tell her. You
have my word. She’ll never hear it from me. You just need to think about why
you’re keeping it from her. Is it for her or yourself? I have to get back to
work. Come find me if you want to talk some more. Okay?”
Alex nodded but kept her gaze out her window as her tears continued to
fall. Due to her work schedule, Alex had to stay late that day and called
Bren to let her know. Since Bren wasn’t at home, she simply left her a
message and then tried to go about her work. Alex finally got home after ten
that night. When she went into the house, it was dark and quiet. Being that
Bren was almost always home when she got there, Alex was surprised. She
began to call for Bren as she moved through the house, but there was no
answer. Alex went up into the bedroom and immediately called Bren on her
cell phone but as it rang, she heard Bren’s phone ringing from in the
bathroom. In confusion, Alex went in there to see it sitting on the counter.
Next to it was Bren’s house key and her engagement ring. Picking up the
ring, panic struck Alex. She looked around the bathroom to see that Bren’s
belongings had been removed. Alex hurried over to the closet and threw open
the doors. Bren’s side was completely bare except for the exquisite wedding
gown that Alex had purchased for Bren to wear on their special day. She
moved back into the bedroom to the dresser and ripped the drawers open, but
Bren’s clothes were gone. Alex could feel her heart sinking as she hurried
back down to the kitchen to where Bren normally kept her phone book, but it
wasn’t there. Since Alex didn’t know any of Bren’s friends phone numbers off
the top of her head, she called Bren’s mother.
“Have you seen or heard from Bren?” Alex asked hysterically.
“Alex, hello. Bren thought you might call here looking for her.”
“Where is she? What did she say to you? Why did she move out of the house?”
she asked in a rush.
“Alex, I can’t answer that. I can’t get involved. You need to speak to her
about it.”
“Where is she? I’d talk to her if I could find her.”
“I can’t tell you where she is, Alex. She asked me not to.”
“Is she with one of her friends? Is she safe? Tell me what’s going on!”
Alex yelled in alarm.
“Alex, Bren is safe. She is with a friend. When I heard from her, she was
upset and crying. She said she was leaving you, but when I asked her why,
she wouldn’t tell me. I don’t know what’s going on either, Alex. I do know
that she’s in a safe place with friends. I wish I could tell you more.”
“Shit! Did she leave you with a phone number?”
“No. She said she wouldn’t, because she knew you’d call here, and she
didn’t want me to have to lie to you and say I didn’t have it when I did.
What could’ve happened, Alex? I thought you two were so happy together.”
“I have an idea, but I need to talk to her first. I need an answer! I
deserve that much after all that I’ve done for her! Just because I royally
fucked up doesn’t give her the right just to abandon me without so much as a
word! She owes me an explanation!”
“Alex, calm down. I don’t know what happened, but I can imagine. Bren
wouldn’t leave you for something minor. I sense that there is another woman
involved. I don’t know which one of you strayed, and furthermore it’s not my
business, but it seems to me that would be the only reason she would just
take off this way.”
“Fuck! Dammit to hell! You have to tell me where she is!”
“I do not know, Alex. I swear it to you. She refused to tell me.” Alex
sighed deeply and took a moment to collect herself. “Alex, listen to me.
Relationships are hard, and sometimes they don’t work, but you and Bren have
something special. I can only imagine what you did, but I know that she
loves you more than anyone else in this world. I’ve never heard such pain in
her voice when I spoke to her. As a mother I felt helpless to hear her that
way. Her heart has been broken, and she was desperate and hopeless. She’s
left everything behind, her home, her belongings, her heart and just walked
away. The pain that emanated from her voice was too much for me to even
bear. I want so badly to take that pain away from her, but you’re the only
one who can. You’ve torn her heart into a million pieces, but I know you’re
the only one that can mend it again. Without you she’ll just go through the
motions, but her spirit will not thrive. Do whatever you have to, Alex, to
get her back. You’re her lifeline and have been for years. She needs you.”
“I need her.” Alex mumbled. Alex talked with Bren’s mother for several more
minutes before finally hanging up the phone. Dialing Kelly’s number, she
waited for her friend to answer.
“Alex, what a surprise. What’s up?” she asked conversationally.
“Kelly, did you tell Bren about Victoria?” she inquired in defeat.
“No. I promised you I wouldn’t. Why? What’s wrong?” Kelly asked in
immediate concern.
“Bren’s gone. She’s left me. When I came home, she wasn’t here, and all her
things are gone. I found her ring in the bathroom. She’s just gone, no note,
no explanation, nothing.”
“You mean she just left? You don’t know where she is?”
“No. I called her mom, but she doesn’t know either. I don’t know the
numbers of any of her friends or where they live. She took her phone book
with her, so I can’t call anyone. Her mother said she had talked to her and
that she was safe, but Bren wouldn’t tell her where she was. I don’t
understand it. I didn’t tell her, and if you didn’t tell her, how could she
have found out?”
“Oh no.” Kelly mumbled.
“What?” Alex asked curiously.
“Victoria. Yesterday she called me and asked for your home number. She said
she wanted to call Bren to thank her for letting you stay the other night.
She sounded okay over the phone. I didn’t know what had happened at the
time. I gave her the number. You don’t think she would’ve called Bern and
told her, do you?”
“Anything is possible. She was pretty upset with me yesterday when I talked
to her on the phone. I told her that I couldn’t have a relationship with her
and that it had been a mistake. She didn’t take that too well.”
“Oh, Alex. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to cause trouble for
you and Bren.”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Kelly. You didn’t know, and you shouldn’t
have to cover for me. Victoria had to have told her. She was the only other
person who knew.”
“That bitch. How could she do that? How could she call up Bren and tell her
that she slept with you? Poor Bren. I can just imagine it. Victoria’s cold,
callous voice, practically throwing it in Bren’s face. You know she was as
malicious as she could possibly be.”
“She had to have called her sometime today. When I left this morning, Bren
was being so attentive and caring. She got up early and made me breakfast.
She held my hand through the entire meal, trying to get me to talk about
what was wrong. It must have been a crushing blow to find out over the phone
from Victoria. Dammit. Why did I do this? Why didn’t I admit it to her? It
would’ve hurt her all the same, but at least she would know that I was still
honorable. Now I’m just a cheating, lying asshole. I played her, and I bet
she feels like a fool, because I got out of Victoria’s bed that morning and
went straight home into her arms. She was totally open and responsive to my
advances, and we made love for hours. She was so trusting of me and kept
telling me how much she loved me, because I helped Victoria. I just cried
the whole time as I loved her. My guilt was too much to bear. My emotions
just overtook me, because I knew I had made a terrible mistake, and I
couldn’t tell for fear of losing her love. I was such a fool. I don’t
deserve a woman like Bren. She’s too good for the likes of a jerk like me.
She deserves better, and I know I’ll envy the woman who sweeps her off her
feet for good.” Alex mumbled.
“Alex, don’t give up. Maybe you can work through this.” Kelly said
hopefully.
“No. She’s gone, and it’s better for her this way. I never deserved the
chance to be with her. She’s too good for a slime like me. I just would’ve
corrupted and hurt her the way I did Megan. She’s better off without me.”
“Alex, don’t talk like that. She’s nothing like Megan. Megan was a bitch,
and she was corrupted long before she met you. You’ve never brought any harm
to Bren, only helped her in every way you knew. You helped her through high
school, college. You facilitated the reconciliation with her mother. You
gave her a chance at life, Alex. Without you, she’d still be on the streets
of New York without a future and without a family. She’s everything she is
because of you. You made her this wonderful woman. She’s got to know that.
She’s got to sense an obligation to you after all you’ve done.”
“I don’t want her to feel obligated to be with me for those things. I don’t
want her to feel like she needs to be with me for any other reason than that
she loves me. I love her, Kelly, and I want her to be happy. Maybe it’s for
the best that it’s not with me.”
“Don’t give up on her, Alex. You can work this out.”
Alex gave a depressed sigh. “What am I going to do about Victoria? How am I
going to work with her? Do I let her see what she did to me, or do I pretend
everything is fine?”
“I don’t think there’s an option, Alex. You can’t pretend everything is
normal. You’re good at hiding your feelings, but you aren’t that good. I
think I should talk to Arthur about getting her removed.”
“Kelly, don’t do that. I appreciate your concern, but this is my own fault
for being too weak. I deserve to suffer the consequences of my actions.”
“Fine but I’m pulling rank here. You’re going to needlessly torture
yourself, and I won’t have it. I’m seeing that she gets removed from our
supervision. I don’t want anything to do with her, because I might kill her
on your behalf for doing this to you and Bren. I know what’s best for you,
Alex.”
“Thanks for caring, Kelly. I’m glad I have you for a friend.”
“Anytime, Alex. Are you going to be okay alone? Do you want me to come
over?”
“No. I’m afraid I won’t be much company right now. I think I just need to
sit here and contemplate my life for awhile. I need to figure out how to
move forward if I can.”
“All right but I’m just a phone call away if you need me. Don’t hesitate.
If you need anything at all, give me a call. I don’t think you should go
through this alone.”
“I’ll manage, Kelly. I brought this on myself, and now I must accept my
fate.”
“Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow. All right?”
“Okay. Good night.”
Alex ended up drinking herself into a stupor after hanging up with Kelly
until she passed out on the couch. Alex was in a daze for the rest of the
weekend as she just sat in silence on her sofa. She didn’t eat, shower,
change, or even sleep until alcohol forced her into slumber. Finally when
Monday morning came, she decided to try to go to work.
Continued Part 5: