Felice
Felice stood in her office, looking down on the great city of Henderson, Nevada. Her office was on the top floor, her wall of windows behind her desk opening up into the skyline. Buildings stood like sentinels in the desert, sprawled across the huge, orange-brown space. The Black Mountain rose up in the background, towering over even the tallest of them, its beautiful, rocky slopes catching the light of the setting sun and holding it close.
There was something exceptional about her view that made Felice want to spend every sunset in her office to watch the peaches and pinks spread across the sky like a carelessly dumped paint across a canvas.
Jennifer, sitting across the office from Felice, finished off the list she was reading out loud. “And that should be all of it. Did I miss anything?” Nothing about her best friend had changed over the last year; not her long, voluminous black hair nor her fetish for weird-colored contacts. She was dressed a little better today, however, switching out her normal armfuls of bracelets for something a little more low-key. She always loved playing dress-up, even when she and Felice were kids, and now she seemed to love dressing up “like an adult,” as she put it, for work every day.
“I don’t think so. We should be alright by the time the spring fashion lines start being released in a couple of months,” Felice tapped a long nail on her lips, trying to remember if she’d forgotten anything important. “Can you call Rachel in the Manhattan office and have her go over the checklist, too? She’ll most likely have something to add after the week she’s spent covering the shows out in Italy.”
“Good thinking, Felice; I’m on it.” Jennifer got up from her seat and swished out of the office.
Felice stared out after her, her mind caught up in all of the things she had to do today. The list seemed to grow every day, stemming from the success not only of Steel Dom Couture and her tiny little family, but also of the spin off reality TV series she’d finally talked Pierce into allowing. The world seemed to love their little boy almost as much as they did, and the first season of Fugitive Seduction had been well received by fans of the original series.
Yes, things were going perfectly. Busy, yes, but busy didn’t mean bad. Not when Felice was happier now than she’d ever been in her whole life. Standing in front of her favorite window, Felice contemplated the paperwork that was currently covering up a good portion of her desk. Paperwork that would open locations for Steel Dom in Paris and Tokyo, bringing her fashion line into the international scene.
A dream come true, by anyone’s standards, but not a deal she could rush into without a lot of thought. Opening international locations would pull her away from her family several times a month, scattering all of her time all over the planet instead of only the country. But Steel Dom was growing by leaps and bounds and needed this deal to keep growing.
“Communications technology has also grown; perhaps I wouldn’t have to physically go to these places as often as I think.” She pondered the paperwork a little more closely, trying to decide which of the Steel Dom ladies would not only be willing to relocate overseas, but would be a good fit for heading the brand outside of the US.
It was a big decision, and one she couldn’t make lightly.
So caught up in her thoughts was she that she didn’t hear the door of her office open. She didn’t notice anyone had entered until the door shut loudly behind them, breaking her out of her thoughts.
But as soon as she turned around, she smiled broadly. This interruption was always welcome.
Lenny squealed in happiness at seeing his mother and held out dirty little hands that had obviously been into some mischief. Felice laughed, her eyes traveling up from her already one-year-old son to his father.
Pierce hadn’t changed much on the outside, but a year on diaper duty with his son had remade him into something softer and gentler than Felice had ever known him to be. And she was glad of it; Pierce was the best stay-at-home dad she could have asked for.
“Good afternoon, beautiful,” Pierce said, coming to kiss her on the cheek. “How’s business?”
# # #
Pierce
Pierce pushed little Lenny forward in his Harley Davidson stroller, grinning down at his little champ. Lenny was like a daily miracle to Pierce, bringing a kind of wonder to the world that he’d never experienced. Lenny found everything fascinating, from bugs to dirt to boxes and crayons. In fact, Lenny’s favorite game involved coloring the insides of boxes he sat in for hours, doodling little pictures and singing made-up songs to himself.
Never in his life had Pierce imagined he’d end up at home all day, caring for a baby, but now that he had it, he wouldn’t trade it for the world. Love and warmth filled his chest as he pushed his son through the doors of the headquarters (soon to be international headquarters) of Steel Dom Couture.
Lenny squealed with delight at the elevator ride to the floor where Felice’s offices were. He laughed at everything, pointing and asking questions in his half-formed language of giggles, noises, and the three English words he’d managed to get down pat.
“Good afternoon, beautiful; how’s business?” Pierce asked as he stepped into the huge offices of Felice Domiano, TV star, successful businesswoman, and the perfect woman he had the luck of waking up to every day.
“Business is great! How is Razor doing now that she’s taken over the repair shop?” Felice asked, her face lighting up as soon as she saw her baby.
“Just got off the phone with her; she’s really making it her own,” Pierce grinned, feeling a swell of pride in him. “She’s doing just fine. She’ll leave quite a mark on the MC, that’s for sure.” He couldn’t have left it in better hands; Razor would do more for the MC than Pierce ever could have.
Felice chuckled. “That sounds about right.”
The office was massive, lined with books and Felice’s awards and photos of the three of them. A huge desk sat in the center of the room. The decor was solid white with hints of rich, honey-colored wood, much like their whole home. Felice insisted on keeping everything white, even though they had to hire extra help for Paula the maid to keep all of the whites white with a toddler running around the place.
The entire back wall was giant picture glass windows, displaying an amazing view of the city. Sunset across the city, lights popping up like desert flowers after the rains.
“Felice certainly knows how to intimidate people with the decor.” Pierce glanced around, feeling very small inside of this massive office, just as Felice wanted to make people who came here feel.
Heedless of her spotless, white suit, Felice picked up Lenny out of the stroller, wrapping her arms around him and planting a huge kiss on his forehead. Lenny squealed with delight as Felice stepped forward to give Pierce a kiss, too.
Fire burned along his veins, even at that gentle brush of lips. Being a parent hadn’t diminished any of Pierce’s feelings for Felice; in fact, he was pretty sure he wanted her more than he ever had. There was something deeply erotic about a woman who did it all, yet still made time for him. He could tell the kiss affected her, too; she looked up at him through her lashes, a slight blush creeping along her cheekbones that lit up her perfect face.
“And whose birthday is it today?” Felice asked Lenny, her face pressing in close to his. Lenny made a high-pitched noise and Felice laughed in return, the sounds filled with incredibly joy. “That’s right. Baby Lenny is one year old today!”
Pierce chuckled. “Baby Lenny asked for something very specific for his birthday in the car just now; do you know what it was?”
Felice grinned at Pierce, her eyes glittering like emeralds. “Please tell me you didn’t get him a puppy or a kitten; it’ll ruin the carpets.”
“Nope, even better than that.” Pierce reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box about the size of his hand. The outside had been doodled all over with Lenny’s distinctive art style, covered almost entirely in marker scribbles.
“Wait, is this for me?” Felice said, her brows furrowing. “Oooh, did you decorate this all by yourself?” Felice kissed the top of Lenny’s head, turning the baby to set him back down in his stroller. She smiled, taking the box in her hands with a gentle smile.
“Lenny wanted to get you something for his birthday.”
Felice chuckled. “I hope it’s a drawing,” she said, her eyes glowing as she opened the box. As soon as she saw what was inside, however, her face lost all trace of emotion. For a moment she seemed to stop breathing, for that second, the whole world stood still. Pierce got down to his knees as tears started to spill down Felice’s face. With a quiet, tearful solemnity, Felice slid the little diamond engagement ring out of the box and admired it for a moment, before very firmly slipping it onto her finger.
“I know you’re busy with the business, but Lenny and I were hoping that we could still find some time in your busy schedule for a wedding.” Pierce said from the ground. “Then we’d be a real family.”
Felice was crying so hard, she couldn’t speak, her green eyes lit up from the inside with a glow Pierce had never seen before. Throwing herself to the ground in front of Pierce, she threw her arms around him, her lips kissing his face frantically. “Of course I will, Pierce. Of course I will.”
And in that moment, Pierce knew what unbridled joy felt like.
THE END
***
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