It had been a few days since the graduation party, and so far there didn’t seem to be any blow-back from my indiscretion. I’d talked to Sergio several times since, and he hadn’t even mentioned Tatiana’s name to me.

I was on edge though, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I imagined my colleagues talking about me in the break room. So when Dianne asked me out to drinks at Little Pete’s one evening, I said yes. It caught her by surprise; me too. But I needed to test the waters and allay my concerns that Tatiana and I were the latest gossip.

On Wednesday night, when I’d typically be working out, I was seated at a large table of colleagues and listening to their conversations. The air reeked of stale beer. The jukebox played one terrible song after another. It was definitely not how I wanted to be spending my evening.

I’d almost convinced myself that this excursion was useless and I should head home, when RJ Dalton, a supreme douchebag from the marketing department, caught my attention. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t hit that, dude,” he said loudly. “Jesus, that dress Tatiana wore at her party? It was fucking perfect.” My ears burned as I tuned in. I hated the idea of anyone looking at Tatiana like I did. “It’s just not worth the risk. Montalla would have my nuts in a vise if I even glanced in her direction.”

“It wouldn’t be worth your time either,” a man who could be RJ's twin said. “That chick is so stuck up. Can you imagine how high maintenance she would be?”

“I heard Mr. Montalla basically paid for her to get that degree,” a blonde woman—I recognized her from the front desk of the office—said. “You know rich girls like that. They never have to lift a finger or work a day in their lives.”

I grit my molars. The Tatiana in their imaginations didn’t match the Tatiana I knew. I could feel myself growing defensive for her, wanting to explain to them all about her interest in water management and how hard she’d worked through college. But what did it matter to me what a bunch of office sad sacks thought about her? I didn’t care about them, and I certainly didn’t, shouldn’t, care about Tatiana.

I started to sweat and my hands were twitching with the urge to knock out RJ. It was time to go. There hadn’t been the smallest hint that anyone at this table suspected anything happened between Tatiana and me. If someone did see us, it wasn’t any of these yahoos.

The paranoid voice in my head had quieted down, but it was replaced with another that whispered tender thoughts of Tatiana. And tender thoughts about Tatiana always led to very impure thoughts about Tatiana. I checked my watch, deciding I could make it the gym and work off some of this tension before it got too late.

The cool air outside the bar was a welcome sensation on my skin. Without the jukebox’s assault on my ears, I could really think. It had been days since I kissed Tatiana, since someone may have seen us together. There was no indication anyone I know saw us. If someone had seen us, what would the motivation be to spill? And if they were motivated to tell our secret, wouldn’t they have done it already?

Carefully considering each of those facts, I put the matter to rest. What happened the other night, it happened. I couldn’t turn back time. Our paths had no reason to cross again anytime soon. It was time for me to move on with my life. My predictable, well planned life.

Had it always felt so hollow?

****

Driving over to Lakeside Plaza the next morning, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing. Sergio’s phone call had woke me before my alarm even went off. I was annoyed my schedule for the day had been disrupted. There was no arguing with the boss, though, especially since he seemed on the brink of offering me full access to the books at work. I knew I could work more efficiently without Marcus as a go-between.

Sergio said he had a special assignment for me. The details were vague but since I was going over to a shopping mall, I assumed I’d be looking at some commercial property he was considering buying. With that in mind, I was mentally going over the checklist of questions I’d have for the realtor  before reporting back to Sergio.

I arrived at Lakeside Plaza exactly on time. I grabbed a black coffee while I waited at the main entrance, exactly as Sergio had directed me. It was ten minutes past my appointment time. With whom I was meeting, I still didn’t know. I was getting antsy from the uncertainty and feeling like I was wasting my time.

Just as I pulled out my phone to text Sergio, a sleek, black Maybach pulled up to the valet. The driver, decked out in black brimmed hat and white driving gloves, opened the back passenger’s door. A gorgeous bare leg extending out of the car caught my eye; I swallowed in anticipation to see the beautiful woman attached to it.

My eyes traveled up that body, taking in the tight denim skirt, the loose fitting flannel shirt knotted just above her navel, unbuttoned at the top revealing just a peak of cleavage, all the way up to... Tatiana Montalla’s infuriating smirk.

This was not what I had anticipated. Was Sergio setting me up somehow? Was it a trap? Why would Sergio arrange for me to meet Tatiana, of all people?

“Tatiana,” I said as I walked toward her, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Trust me. I didn’t have a choice in this. It seems you and I are both my dad’s subordinates and subject to his whims.”

Her skirt swished toward the bakery where I’d bought my coffee. It clung to the perfect swell of her ass, a temptation I wasn't handling as well as I hoped I would. I had to keep my dick in my pants and my eyes above her shoulders.

Following her, I waited as she ordered a cappuccino. She was relaxed and didn’t have the air of confusion that I most certainly did. But she wasn’t looking at me. We were standing inches apart and she wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I stood silently by while she added two sugars and a sprinkle of cinnamon to her cappuccino. Then she strode out of the bakery, leaving me behind.

Did I chase after her because of that tight denim skirt and the scent of lavender that wafted behind her? No. I chased after her because I needed my job and to keep her father happy. The sooner I understood my task, the sooner I could complete it and get back to my desk, to the comforting and predictable spreadsheets I didn't want to spread wide and fuck.

Still not glancing at me, she ascended an escalator deeper into the mall. Where was she going, what was all of this? “Tatiana. Tatiana!” I called as I took the escalator steps two by two, trying to reach her. When we got to the top she continued walking, as if she didn’t hear me. “Hey, hold on now!” I raised my voice as I grabbed her shoulder. Rule number one already broken.

She looked at my hand for an instant and then slouched away from me, causing it to fall, but she didn’t run, she stayed and looked me in the eye. “What do you want?” she asked.

“What do I want? Your dad’s left me in the dark. I have no idea what we’re doing.”

“My dad is taking your advice,” she said, pursing her lips. “He says his days of hemorrhaging money are over. You’re here to babysit me, to make sure I don’t spend too much money. Isn’t that perfect?” she asked sarcastically.

I was at a loss for words. Sergio had taken my advice? I should have been ecstatic. This was like some monkey paw curse, though. “He expects me to curtail your shopping?”

“He sure does.” She rolled her eyes, then pointed over at a department store. “Either follow me, or don't, but I've got clothes to buy, budget limit or not.”

Still reeling from the situation, I walked with her.

****

“So what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?” Tatiana’s voice carried over the dressing room door in Barneys. It was the first time she’d spoken to me in the past hour that I’d been  sitting here in the VIP dressing suite. Apparently when your last name is Montalla, you get special treatment at Barneys and a special attendant named Amy.

I was perched on a stool in the suite outside her dressing room, an untouched glass of champagne by my side, scrolling through market reports on my phone and wondering how much work was piling up on my desk while I was away. Amy came in from time to time to bring new clothes and take the rejects away. So far, Tatiana had chosen about a dozen things to buy, and I had carefully noted each price tag, keeping a running tally to keep her under Sergio’s budget.

“Just the usual. Work. Gym. The unexpected trip to Barneys,” I laughed.

“You don’t have much of a personal life, do you?” she asked.

I didn’t like where this conversation was heading and I was going to cut it off before it even got off the ground. “Let’s not blur the boundaries here, Tatiana.” I walked closer to the stall door so I could speak more quietly. “I really enjoyed the other night. But this...this thing between us, it can’t happen. You know it. So please, let’s just buy a few things and get on with our day.”

She opened the door wearing a tight red gingham dress that stopped just below her knees. “Rolland, get over yourself. I may be a young but I’m not a child. For your information, I’ve moved on. In fact, I’m shopping for a weekend away at the beach with my cousin. I expect I’ll meet lots of guys who are closer to my own age and a lot less...stuffy than you,” she said. Then she turned around, the dress was unzipped to her white lace panties, her dark hair falling down her bare back. “Now zip me up,” she said haughtily.

Zip the dress and then we can leave, I told myself. But my fingers were shaking as I took the tab in my hand. I had to move her hair to the side, and I tried so hard not to notice how silky it was. Tatiana trembled as I zipped the dress, my finger inadvertently skirting over her soft skin.

“What do you think?” she asked, stepping back into the dressing room and turning to the three-way mirror. She smoothed her hands over her body, scrunching up her nose as she studied herself. She reached over to a bench and picked up a straw hat. I couldn’t help but observe how perfectly the dress hugged her ass, and I balled my hands so I wouldn’t reach out and touch her.

“It’s fine,” I said curtly.

“It’s fine,” she mimicked back. “Thanks a lot, Coco Chanel.”

“Fashion advice is above my pay grade, Tatiana,” I said, stepping into the dressing room. She was determined not to make this easy. “I’m here to keep you within budget. If you tell me how much it is, I’ll tell you what I think. I’ve kept a running account on my phone and–“

“Get out. I have one more thing to try on.” She took both hands and placed them on my shoulders, turning me around and shoving me out of the dressing room.

I hated this feeling. This situation had too many variables. Tatiana was exasperating. She was sexy. I wanted to bend her over my knee and spank her. I wanted to kiss her.

Downing my ignored glass of champagne seemed like the safest bet at the moment. After I drained that glass, I poured myself another. The workday was a total wash, there was no use pretending otherwise. Even though this was a bullshit assignment, at least I’d earn Sergio’s gratitude by keeping Tatiana under budget. And if I could get through an afternoon with just a door separating me from naked Tatiana without losing my mind, well, that was a major accomplishment.

I heard a whistle come from the dressing room.

“Are you whistling at yourself?” I called over the door. “How many glasses of champagne have you had?”

“I’ve just found the pièce de résistance of this shopping trip,” she called breezily to me.

“Fantastic, then let’s wrap it up and get out of here. Give me your credit card while you’re at it and I’ll find Amy. Maybe I can salvage a few hours at the office.”

Her black AmEx card came sailing over the door and landed by my foot, followed by the price tag that fluttered down beside it.

Chantel Dressing Gown, Amethyst. $3,885.00

“Are you out of your mind!” I shouted. “No dress is worth that price.”

I was so close to extricating myself from this nightmare. I was minutes away from getting into my car, reporting back to Sergio that the trip had been successful, and having kept my dick safely in my pants the entire time. I didn’t want a fight, I just wanted her to go with the fucking plan, act like an adult for a change. Be just a little reasonable for once.

“It’s not a dress, it's nightwear. Like a bathrobe. I’ve been looking for something like this for ages and I have to have it. So suck it up, I’m getting it,” she said like a little brat.

“Then some of this other shit has to go back,” I growled, pulling up the list I’d been keeping on my phone. “I’ll read you my spreadsheet and you tell me what you can live without. We’ll start subtracting until we get within Sergio’s budget. Let’s start with Gucci Tortoiseshell Sunglasses. That’ll free up about $600. Agree?”

“No,” she said bluntly.

“How about the Brent Black straw hat for,” I couldn’t believe I was reading this correctly, “$900?”

“No.”

I was close to my breaking point. It was like she was trying to make this difficult for me. Hold it together, Rolland, I told myself. I had the AmEx card now and I was in charge. I could wait her out. She had to come out of the dressing room eventually.

But then she did something I hadn’t been expecting.

She threw the door open.

Holy fucking shit, how had I gone my entire life not knowing what a Chantel Dressing Gown was and that it is absolutely worth every penny? My eyes immediately zeroed in on her ass. The gown was a sheer deep purple floral lace, and I could see Tatiana’s white lace thong through it. Raising my eyes to the mirrors, I saw the front of the gown. She wasn’t wearing a bra and the flower print of the lace concealed her nipples. A sash cinched the waist, and the robe parted giving a clear view of her legs. She was practically naked in front of me, and no scenario I’d anticipated included coming face to face with her like this.

Amy’s voice rang into the suite. “Can I help you out with anything else, Ms. Montalla?”

Tatiana's eyes locked on mine. “I’ll just need a few more minutes to finish up,” she called out. “I think I have everything I need.”

When I heard Amy's heels click away, I focused back on the beautiful woman in front of me. How was she so calm? “Listen,” I hissed, training my eyes on hers and trying to block out the infinite reflections of her body flooding me from the mirrors, “you’re not walking out of here with this garment. I’m going to go outside, pay for everything else, and you’ll meet me at the register without this ridiculous getup.”

A storm of emotions ran across her face. Gathering the hem of the gown, she seemed to grow several inches taller before my eyes. “You’re not my father and I’m not your little girl, Rolland,” she sneered at me. “If you want it off, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

Shit. Why was that so tempting?

She studied me with hot anger making her eyes glow. “Trying to weigh the pros and cons, Rolland? You don’t need to make a new spreadsheet because I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. You’re going to turn around and go pay for everything, including this, and you’ll find some way to explain it my father.”

Who did she think she was to order me around? To act so unreasonably, so haphazardly with my life. It was time for me to take control. “Take it off,” I gritted through my teeth.

She was dead calm. “I told you, if you want it off, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

I was livid. There was a rhythmic whooshing in my ears and my blood was spiked with adrenaline. I reached out and roughly tugged at the sash, causing the robe to open wide, exposing her. I closed the distance between us with a single step, pushing her against the mirror mounted on the wall.

We stood there silently for what seemed like an eternity, both of us breathing heavily from anger or excitement, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t have a next move planned out. I couldn’t think of a single action to get myself out of this situation. Or if I even wanted to.

I kissed her roughly, pressing her against the mirror. My action broke down the wall between us; Tatiana moaned, collapsing into me. Her tongue slid into my mouth and she started clawing at my jacket, sliding it off my shoulders. There was urgency in our every move; I didn’t want to risk thinking. I just wanted her.

I nibbled down her neck, across her clavicle, until I reached her breast. Grabbing her flesh, I covered her flushed nipple with my mouth, swirling around the hardening bud and feeling her slump against me, her knees buckling. I squeezed her breasts together and sucked on her other nipple, encouraged by the sounds she was making, a low moan I could feel vibrating in her chest.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and drew my head back up, covering my mouth with another kiss. Her hand meandered down my chest, tweaking my nipple and stopping at my belt. The sound of the zipper opening and the feeling of her hand over my boxers had my cock throbbing. She traced her fingernails up and down my shaft a few times. Every nerve in my body was on fire and I was holding my breath.

“This is what you really want, isn’t it?” she whispered in my ear. She was rubbing her hand firmly against me now, still over my boxers. Each time she stroked up, she avoided the head and stroked back down. I was trying to match her strokes, desperate for her to touch my skin and the most sensitive tip.

“Tell me what you want,” she said. “Answer me.”

I was lost in a flood of sensation. I knew what I wanted. Why couldn’t I just say it? I was uncomfortably hard, the head of my cock straining against the elastic waist of my boxers. The answer to her question was easy: I wanted her to jerk me off until I came all over her hand.

“Under my boxers. Touch me,” I finally said.

When her cool skin touched my cock, I jumped. I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Fuuuck. Faster,” I ordered her, all composure forgotten.

She stroked up and ran a finger over the head, wet with drops of precum. She swiped her finger up and down the cleft a few times before she started pumping with a steady rhythm. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I exploded.

My head was resting against her shoulder, absentmindedly kissing, licking and biting her. When she reached lower and grabbed my balls, I sucked on her skin so hard I was sure I would leave a mark.

Her strokes got faster and shorter, concentrated entirely on the top of my cock, swirling her thumb along the underside. Heat was spiraling through me and my balls were tight and begging for relief. I crushed my mouth against hers as the early waves of my orgasm went through me, groaning into her mouth as the first burst of come spurt onto her hand.

She wrapped her fist tightly around me, and I kept pumping, shooting two more streams of sperm. I was breathing heavily. I’d forgotten where we were until I heard the door to the suite open. I pulled away from Tatiana quickly.

“Are you ready for me to ring you up, Ms. Montalla?” Amy called.

“Yes,” Tatiana replied breezily. “We’ll take everything on the rack out there.”

“And the lingerie? Should I put that on the bill?”

Tatiana laughed. “Oh yeah, I’ll be taking this home with me. Add it on.”

I searched her face to see what was so funny, and she pointed to her hip. I’d come all over the $3,885.00 Chantel Dressing Gown. Shit. I guess it was in the budget after all.