CHAPTER FOUR
Forbidden Fruit and Floral Petals
“Because she’s just not. I’m not dealing with that crap again, not on your life.” Tim chortled. “Besides, she moved back to Michigan.”
“Really, huh? You never told me that.” Aiden took a swig of beer from his bottle. They lounged on his sofa, watching the Seattle Seahawks game from last week that he still had on DVR. The bastards were getting their asses handed to them by the Rams. It was brutal to witness but they both needed the reprieve after a long Friday at the office. “We shoulda gone to Shorty’s tonight.”
“Man, I just wasn’t in the mood.” Tim groaned as he thrust his hand down the front of his trousers. “I had a real live one today…”
“Couldn’t have been worse than the guy I had yesterday who demanded a job that would allow him to park his motorcycle indoors. I swear these people are from the damn moon and Pluto. He was serious, too.”
“As utterly absurd as that sounds, Aiden, trust me, mine was worse. Check it out.” Tim turned to him straight on. “The guy only did construction back in New Jersey, right? He moved here like three months ago for some lady he met online. She was tired of him not working so she sent him our way and he said he’d only accept an office job that paid 70K minimum, but he has no experience whatsoever. And check this out, too, he didn’t want customer service or something like that. It had to be white collar and management. He looked at me like, ‘Make it happen.’ I showed him the exit and told his ass to return when he woke up and came back down to the land of reality. What a fucking waste of time. I can’t believe these people sometimes.” Tim huffed.
Aiden chuckled and got up to go to the kitchen. “I can believe it,” he said. “But trust me, he knew how silly he sounded. He really didn’t want to work, so he put unreachable goals to the test to use as an excuse when nothing comes through. Last week I had a lady who was overqualified for all the jobs she was interested in. I dug a little deeper and found out why. She’d been a convicted arsonist.”
“Fire in the hole!” Tim chortled, causing him to burst out laughing too.
“She neglected to share that bit of primo hot fire information, but of course it popped up on her background check amongst other questionable things. Anyway, how did you deal with the guy today, the one who has been on your back for the past six months? I hope you used some of my pointers.” He pulled out two ice-cold beer bottles from the stainless-steel refrigerator, then returned to the couch and offered one to Tim, who was ready for another round.
“I gave him some job training information but we all know nothing is going to come of that.” Tim popped the cap before guzzling. He swallowed hard and smacked his lips. “Some people just like to pretend they’re looking for work but really aren’t, just like you said. He couldn’t care less. His parents are paying for me to help him; it’s no sweat off his nose. But he’s wasting my time. I’d much rather be productive rather than deal with him and all of his games.”
“Don’t you just hate that?” Aiden grimaced and rolled his eyes as he spread his legs wide and stared aimlessly at the television.
“It cost me time and money that I coulda been talking to someone else—someone serious.” Aiden understood his best friend’s frustration all too well. “So anyway, what’s up with that promotion? Heard anything else?”
“Nah.” Aiden shook his head. “Last I heard is what I told you, that William was keeping an eye out for me and I had his permission to spread my wings, basically. That’s good news no doubt, but I guess the whole process takes a while. Oh…” His lips curled in a grin. “Did you happen to see my 9:00 AM appointment on Tuesday?” The dazzling beauty that had walked into the office had crept into his mind on and off long after her visit.
“Nine on Tuesday…” Tim looked away as is if surfing his memory bank. “Probably not. I think I was on a conference call. I missed some primo princess, huh?”
“Maaaan!” Aiden slapped his leg. “You have no idea. This was better than that Betty chick Pete scored last month that had everyone drooling when she walked in. Her name is Addison, right? Fuckin’ gorgeous!” He kissed his fingers and waved them towards the sky as if he were Italian. “This woman has legs longer than a country mile, man. Her tits, ass, everything was perfect. And get this? She’s got a brain, and seems really nice, too. Not our typical nice-looking clients who have a chip on their shoulder or act like they are doing us a favor by even being there.”
“Damn, she’s not working, huh? Maybe she can do some dome work, make an extra buck or two,” Tim teased, and raucous laugher followed.
“She works here and there, but nothing full-time. She’s a fitness instructor.”
“This gets better and better. You should’ve asked ’er for a little training, under the sheets.” Tim snickered.
“If she were one of the girls we see at Shorty’s I sure as hell would have, but of course, well, you know…” He shrugged before popping the top of his beer and taking a deep swallow. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold.” He smirked.
“Yeah… can’t exactly go around screwing the clients, especially while attempting to get promoted. So, uh, what’s her story anyway?”
“Well, she’s been divorced for like a year and a half or so. Really smart lady, too.”
“You said that…”
“I know, but it bears repeating. She graduated from Seattle University and was working for a couple of years before she met her husband. He was old fashioned I guess, I don’t know,” Aiden said dispassionately. “And he didn’t want her to work as a speech pathologist anymore so she quit her job while he was the main bread winner. They split, and now she’s trying to get back on her feet.” Tim nodded, listening intently. “She grew up in Clyde Hill.”
Tim’s eyes grew big. “Wow, nice area.”
“Definitely.”
“Well, at least she’s nice to look at. Can’t take it further than that, though. Hey, let’s order a pizza.” Tim grabbed his phone off the coffee table and looked through it for the pizza place number.
“All right, but I uh.” Aiden looked away from his friend, avoiding eye contact. “I got a little curious after she left our office. I looked up her social media stuff.”
“Well, we do that anyway, to get a feel for how they conduct themselves.” Tim shrugged as if to say, ‘so what?’ before turning back to his phone.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t for that, you know, vocational reasons. I was curious about her.”
“Oh… ohhhhhh.” Tim’s voice dropped as he gave Aiden a faux judgmental glare.
“Shut up, man.” Aiden chuckled, then took another swig of beer. “I don’t even know if she likes White guys. I may not even be her speed. Some people are funny like that.”
“White guys? She’s like, Black? Asian or Hispanic or something?”
“She’s Black. You never dated a Black chick before?” Aiden grinned, surprised his best friend hadn’t partaken in the buffet of sexy ethnicities from around the world. Aiden had always prided himself on never turning down good-looking pussy, no matter the owner. He was an equal opportunity fucker, and he happened to like all women, regardless of their race.
“Like, as in a relationship? No, but I went out with one Black lady a few times. It was years ago.” He waved him off and grinned. “We messed around a few times but neither of us really wanted a relationship so we just remained friends. The sex was fucking amazing. Anyway, I’m not opposed to it or anything like that, you know me. I just never really heard you talk about anything like that, you know, interracial dating.”
“To me it’s not really a topic of conversation. It’s like, who cares? If I find a woman attractive, and we have some things in common, she’s my type and all of that, then hell, that’s good enough for me.” Tim nodded in agreement. “So anyway, I saw some more photos of her… like her training people in the gym and stuff that she’d posted. She was looking amazing. She likes to put up motivational stuff, too. I saw some pictures of her friends and family, the public ones anyway. I liked what I saw… she seems to have her shit together. There’s just the one issue you know, but I don’t see it as completely her fault. She’s busting her ass trying to turn this around from what I can tell.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight.” Tim sat up and cleared his throat. “You broke up with Tina five months ago and swore on an imaginary stack of Bibles that you weren’t going to get involved with anyone for at least a year. You said you were tired of the drama and craziness, and just wanted to be alone for a while or, at the most, just some sex here and there, no commitments, nothing serious for a while.”
“Right, yeah, that’s what I said. What’s that got to do with anything?” He grimaced, not sure where his friend was going with this.
“I’ll tell you what it has to do with it. Pretty women come and go at the club, at work… hell, you’ve got a couple of our coworkers that have been trying to fuck you since day one, but you managed to avoid temptation. But then, as soon as a gorgeous, divorced, Black, unemployed fitness instructor—unemployed being the key word,” Tim said, holing up his finger, “walks into the office with long legs and tits out to here, you begin to stalk her online. Good job, Aiden!” He gave a big golf clap. “You’re the official chump of the year and we’re only in February!”
“It’s not like that!” Aiden threw up his hands and burst out laughing. “How is me just being curious stalking? I don’t even know her like that. I didn’t private message her or slide into her DMs. I just think she’s sexy is all, and if she weren’t my client and I bumped into her at a club or out and about, I would have probably bought her a drink and struck up a conversation. You’re making more out of this than it actually is. Why are you reading so much into it?”
“Because I know you…” Tim shook his head. “This is how it starts for you. I’ve seen it too many times before. You see somethin’ you like, you dance and sniff around it for a bit and then, BAM! You’re on it like salt on popcorn and the woman is hinting to you about wedding bells and babies.”
“That’s not true!” Tim’s grimace said it all. He didn’t believe a word of it. “All right, it’s true sometimes, and I know this is going to sound stupid, but… I really, well, it’s hard to explain… there was just something about her.”
“Yeah, her body. She’s a fitness instructor and you want to fuck her. This is no great mystery. You’re just smitten and horny. ’Nuff said.”
“It was more than that. She just, I don’t know, she seemed like the type of lady I would like to get to—”
“Don’t say it.” Tim shook his finger in his direction. “Look, Aiden, this could be bad news. We’ve both had people walk in there that we’d love to fuck, but you know dippin’ and dabblin’ in that could be chaotic. Don’t mess with the clients. What if she turns out to be a total nutjob? You can’t smash and dash in these cases. It’ll just come back to bite you and it’ll only lead to trouble…”
Tim sighed and got on the phone to call Pagliacci Pizza.
“Yeah, I wanna get two large pepperoni and mushroom pizzas… extra sauce…”
It felt rather odd sitting before him again…
This time Addison wore her short, natural curls combed back with some conditioner, water, and gel, and a sharp part on the right side. Small silver hoops hung from her earlobes and a delicate chain around her neck. She’d decided upon her charcoal pants suit and black heels, the ones that made her feet ache but looked killer on. A V-neck cream blouse under the blazer gave the perfect amount of contrast. Once again, Aiden was nose deep in his computer, typing away. When he was done, he clasped his hands on the desk and wore a crooked smile on his handsome face.
…She’d envisioned that face pressed hard against her pussy…
“I have two leads for you as I told you on the phone, Ms. Blue, but one of them I think is a better fit than the other.”
“Addison… call me Addison.”
“Sure… Addison. Your degree in speech therapy has garnered quite a bit of interest so I am going to first set you up on an interview with a rehabilitation facility for adults who’ve experienced brain trauma—Golden Farms. Are you familiar with them?”
“Yes, I have heard of Golden Farms. They help a lot of vets.”
“That’s right. Unfortunately, they recently experienced some budget cuts due to reduced governmental funding, but they are still in need of an additional speech therapist and they also have two vacant managerial positions. Believe it or not, they pay very well, too, so that of course is another incentive. Since you’ve been out of the loop for a while though, we’re going to shoot for the therapist position rather than the managerial, despite you having some managerial training. Then, perhaps, if everything works out, you can look forward to advancement opportunities with them in the future. Does that sound like something you’d like to pursue?”
“Oh goodness, yes. I’m definitely interested.”
“Good!” He opened a green file before him and began to flip through it before spinning it around in her direction. He pointed out pertinent information for her to go over and sign. “They have a generous healthcare plan. You can see all of that broken down here and after three months of employment, you are fully covered. After two months, you have partial coverage so that’s a bonus as well. They have an onsite gym that can be used by employees, a full cafeteria, and covered parking.”
“They have physical rehab there too, correct? That would explain the nice gym I suppose.”
“Yes, that’s right. There’s also a pool employees can use during non-business hours. You’ve got the whole nine. From my understanding, all of the therapists work together and have their own offices for one-on-one client time, but there are also two large room for accommodations regarding group settings and meetings, a common area basically. The Golden Farms facility is really quite spectacular, Addison. State of the art in fact, and they are rather selective about their therapists… picky, basically. So, while you are sitting here, I want to first get you scheduled in to interview there. They’ve already sent possible days and times and we just need to confirm. Then, after they accept the appointment proposal, you’ll come back and we will go over some interview questions that they are likely to ask you. Sound like a plan?”
“Yes, I’m all in.” Her cheeks hurt, she was smiling so hard, what a wonderful opportunity. She sat there quietly as Aiden dialed someone and engaged in laid back banter before going into his spiel about her. The man really built her up, made her sound like she was the best option of all time, a true superstar. He truly had a way with words. What a salesman, sexy and persuasive, but not overly so. He came across as authentic. More importantly though, he was helpful and truly seemed to know what to say and do to make someone feel at ease. It appeared to come to him naturally. And she liked that… she liked that a lot.
“All right, all done! You will go in next Tuesday at 3:00 P.M. I have it all set up.”
She’d been daydreaming for so long about the man, she barely realized he’d finished his phone call and was looking right at her. Well, his green eyes were actually keenly upon her chest…
“This is great, thank you. I don’t even know what to say.”
“Well, you haven’t seen anything yet. The breast, I mean…” He swallowed and his complexion deepened. “The best is yet to come. Uh, okay.” Flustered, he quickly spun his chair away and began to pound the keyboard keys once again. “So, let’s tie up a few loose ends and you’ll be on your way.”
“All right,” She sat up straighter, feeling ready for whatever the man threw at her. “Let’s do this.” He paused, smiled at her, then chuckled lightly. “What?” She grinned. “What’s so funny?”
“You’re just… that’s great how enthusiastic you are. That’s cool. I just don’t see that as often as I’d like. You don’t give up, do you? Just wonderful.”
She hung her head, then looked back at him.
“I do sometimes, but I manage to pull myself together fast, thankfully. I’m not a quitter, if that’s what you mean.”
“Yeah.” His eyes hooded as he ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip. “That’s exactly what I mean. You just keep holding on to hope… that’s awesome. I like and appreciate that.”
She wondered if it was her mind playing tricks, but the way he spoke seemed almost flirtatious. The way he was staring at her—a mixture of lust and concern. This turned her on in ways she couldn’t fully compute or express.
“You know what, Addison? I change my mind. Let’s run through some interview questions right now. It couldn’t hurt, right?”
“Not at all! I’d like to, actually.”
The next twenty-five minutes were spent responding to questions she had no idea how to answer, but she maneuvered them in the best way she could. If she did great, he told her so. If something she stated needed improvement, rather than chastise her, he’d suggest a better alternative. He was an amazing teacher—gentle yet practical. If she said so herself, this was the man’s calling. He was damn good with people. He cared and she hadn’t felt cared for in a long ass time.
Grabbing her coat from the back of the chair, she stood to her feet to put it on, but hated that she had to go. She wanted to keep sitting there, listening to him, laughing at the jokes he wove between some of the questions and hearing his sexy, soothing voice.
Is this wrong? Am I wrong to feel this way about him, right? Of course it’s wrong. This man is trying to help me and I am having all sorts of thoughts about him… crazy thoughts. Totally inappropriate, but I can’t help myself.
She tried shoving her arm in her coat jacket, but she was floating, adrift inside the swirling confines of her mind, unable to concentrate and pull it all together. The tall, lovely man came over and helped her slide her arms through. She couldn’t see him as he stood towering behind her, but she smelled his sexy, masculine cologne which mixed in the with the aroma of the rich coffee that sat on his desk, and the orange peels from the fruit he’d discarded in the waste basket. She’d seen them as soon as she’d sat down, their bright color catching her eye.
“There you are.” She turned towards him and tried to find her tongue as her thighs grew warm from the moisture of her needy pussy. She risked a peep down at his crotch, trying to gauge if she could see a bulge or not. Yes, there was definitely a protrusion and from the looks of things it was, well … impressive. She swallowed as another trickle of honey webbed between her legs, soaking into her panties like drops of rain onto a cloth. The entire damn time of this exchange she’d been getting her kinky jollies off his voice, his demeanor, his natural sexiness. “Thank you,” She finally choked out.
“You’re welcome.” He held her a gaze a bit too long.
“You don’t have to walk me out. I know my way.” She gathered a pleasant smile as she mustered the courage to slide around him, her body gliding into his as she attempted to pass. He cleared his throat and stepped to the side, though he seemed reluctant to vacate the path for her.
“Well, I suppose that it’s for now. Addison, if you have any questions before the interview, feel free to call me. I want to help make sure you knock this out of the park. But I have a feeling you will either way. You’re a natural.” His lips curled at the corners in a sly grin.
“Thank you.” She started to walk away, swaying her hips a bit more than usual before pausing and casting him a glance from over her shoulder. Her heart beat practically out of her chest as her lust for him increased ten-fold. “I’ll make sure to do that should I need you…”
Tim told me not to do it, but if you tell me ‘No’, I consider it a dare…
Aiden stood in the small, quiet floral shop perusing the various options for what felt like an eternity. He was definitely not in his element and made no bones about it. If the damn flowers he kept looking at weren’t roses, he couldn’t identify them. He was determined to figure it all out though, for he’d made up his mind. The woman consumed his thoughts. Addison had made a terrible mistake—that is, if she didn’t wish to attract his attention. The day after they’d met for the follow-up, she’d called him and asked for a couple more interview questions, stating she was nervous and wanted to ensure she had her bases covered. He’d obliged, and joked with her about loosening her nerves. And she’d laughed. Shit. She’d laughed hard, so much so, it was contagious. He’d made her smile, made her relax, made her say things he couldn’t shake…
‘You’re very good at what you do, Mr. Summers. I’m lucky that they paired me with you.’
“I’m lucky too,” he’d thought in his mind, but had kept that to himself.
“Mr. Summers, that’ll be $120.32.” Shaken out of his deliberations, he stood there, gone with the wind in a reckless train of thought.
“Uh, what?”
“That’ll be $120.32. Do you want anything with them? A nice box of chocolate truffles? Some heart shaped balloons?”
“Uh, no. $120 you said? All right.” He handed the man his VISA credit card then looked around as he waited, checking out the various plush plants, fancy ceramic vases, and the glass refrigerator stocked with corsages, wedding bouquets, and grave wreaths. “Must be a very lucky lady.” The old man grinned, exposing small, pearly teeth. “Or man.” The guy shrugged, then smiled wider.
“Yeah… well, I don’t know what I’m doing here, actually.” Aiden leaned against the register counter, not certain what to do with himself.
“Did you mess up that badly?” The old timer chuckled as he grabbed a bin full of colorful ribbons and rummaged through them with knobby, freckled hands.
“I didn’t mess up or impress, actually. Well, if I did impress her I honestly don’t know. I like her though, a little too much I guess. You ever just, you know, meet somebody and they light up something inside you? Like, it’s just a stranger on the street maybe but they smile at you, and you two have a little small talk and then you never forget them—but you can’t figure out why?”
“Sure I have…. and then once they’re gone, you regret not saying anything, too.” The old man’s eyes twinkled, as if he’d had such a situation happen just as described and lived to regret it.
“I shouldn’t be here getting her these flowers.” He sighed dismally.
“Why not?”
“Because she doesn’t know me like that. She’s a client. Well…” He shifted his weight. “She knows me, but not in a romantic way.”
“But you want to make it romantic, I take it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, but uh, I shouldn’t be doing it.”
“And yet you’re here anyway.”
“Yeah, I’m here anyway,” Aiden said.
“She must be worth the possible humiliation and risk. And besides, someone has to say something if you’re to get to know one another, right? All those who are in love right now, Mr. Summers, at one point were strangers. All right, so what do you want on the card?” The man whipped out a small white rectangular piece of paper, grabbed a pen, and waited.
“Put uh, shit…” Aiden grabbed his forehead and briefly closed his eyes as he searched his brain, trying to think of something catchy, but not offensive. “Put… ‘I became tongue-tied when I looked into your eyes. Thankfully, you’re an expert in speech.’”
The old man nodded and began to write his name on the bottom of it.
“No, no, no!” Aiden swung his hands back and forth and leaped about. “It’s a secret. I can’t let her know who I am. Don’t write my name… leave it just like that… it’s only a clue, you know?”
The old man peered at him suspiciously from over his glasses, then nodded before handing the credit card back.
“All right, young man. They’ll be delivered to her in a couple of hours, as soon as my delivery guy gets back from lunch. Good luck. I put my extra pretty ribbon on there—usually an upcharge, but for you, consider it a gift.”
“Thanks.”
Aiden waved to the guy before exiting the floral shop, then hightailed it to his car. The cold air blew through him to the point of pain. Swinging the door open, he threw himself inside the thing. Turning on the engine, he boosted the heat to the highest setting. The cool winter air had practically frozen him to death during that brief jaunt outside. It pierced his skin, his muscles, his bones. Damn near pierced his soul. Perhaps it was just in his mind for it hadn’t seemed that cold before he’d gone into the shop. Now that his adrenaline was going full throttle, trepidation and excitement swirled within him and he wasn’t sure what to think or feel. He was the kind of man who took calculated risks, but when he woke up that morning, he’d never anticipated he’d be buying flowers for a client, ‘just because’. He was digging her, and there was just no denying it. Rubbing his palms together, he turned on the radio and sat back for a spell. ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ by Savage Garden played out the speakers. He smiled at the tune, one of his all-time favorites…
Maybe it’s a sign?