Sunday, March 18, 2007
7:26pm
Time waits for no one. Two months have passed, and I’ve been able to get so much accomplished. Victor and I still have our casual sexcapades and it’s getting more intense. Feelings are raising so much that I have to fall back and pull away from him. No one at either of our places of employment knows about us, and we both want to keep it that way. Fernando’s extra ass is always snooping around and trying to pick Savannah for information. She and I both think it’s entertaining, so she laughs at him just as hard as I do. I’ve established a steady client base and Felicia has promoted me to Executive Financial Planner. She has appointed me a few company accounts to handle, and they’ve been taking up most of my time. I appreciate the opportunity. That’s why I work with no complaints. Valentine’s Day came and went, causing me to miss the dinner plans Victor and I had. With things going the way they have been, I’m glad I worked through dinner because the position I’m in doesn’t allow me to act on these feelings I’m gaining. I’d rather keep it as a sexual relationship and make him continue to beg for more. His persistence is a turn on but makes me question if it’s the reason behind all these feelings floating around between the two of us. The best solution is to tame me. With Victor and work as distractions, I haven’t thought about Carmen that much. Hardly at all. Though, I miss her warming energy at times.
Mother leaves tomorrow for her “vacation”, and I’m still wondering if she will tell anyone the actual reason for her departure. She’s beginning to look weird. She’s thinning out more, and she has heavy bags under her eyes as if she hasn’t slept in days. She has lesions forming on her face, but tries to cover them with make-up. Her increased drinking and lack of effort to go to work hasn’t gone unnoticed. She can’t go to work, but she can spend an enormous amount of time at Sam’s boutique, which hasn’t been doing well at all. I’m surprised it’s lasted this long. Victor told me how Sam confided in him about the failure of the business. He even admitted that I was right about Sam and has made plans to take this investment as a loss.
Victor appreciates me being his personal banker and financial advisor because I take my time with his accounts, and I’ve yet steered him in the wrong direction. The company he works for is one of the many accounts I’m assigned to, and they’re doing an outstanding job with their artists and how they manage their money. I’ve only been in the position for a month and they’ve taken all the advice I’ve offered, saying they trust my judgment. Felicia tried to give me Sam’s account, but I refuse to see how much money my mother spent on nothing. It’s not his fault because he can only do what my mother allows him to do.
I found a penthouse downtown, closer to my job. It has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a panoramic view of the ocean. That’s more than enough for me, but I want to make sure there’s enough room for Lucia and Bella if they ever need to move in. My plan is to move next week after my mother leaves. No one knows about me moving except for Savannah and Lucia. Victor doesn’t know because I’m not sure if I want to tell him. To keep Sam’s suspicion down, everything of mines that’s here will remain here. While Sam is away one day, I’ll take a few clothes, and that’s all. My anxiety kicks in so often it makes me want to leave sooner.
My phone rings just as I’m finishing. I look at the caller ID and it’s Victor. I decline his call, sending him straight to voicemail. I must get ready for our last dinner at the main house with my mother before her departure.
Lucia has prepared steak, lobster, shrimp, baked potatoes, two different salads, boiled corn, and my mother’s favorite, peach cobbler, for dessert. We all sit around the table eating without conversation. Mother is picking over her food more than she’s eating it. Sam looks at her and tells her to eat her food. I look over at Lucia and she winks her eye at me. That has always been her way of telling me not to say a word. She knows I desperately wanted to.
I obey Lucia’s wink and look at my mother with disgust. She catches me and questions, “Is there something you’d like to say, Serenity?”
“No, Mother, I’m just going to miss you. That’s all,” I boldly lie.
“Well, you just make sure you take care of yourself while I’m away. I’ve transferred enough money into your account and it should last you until I return. I don’t know how long that’ll be, but you have more than enough,” she tells me.
“No offense, but I don’t need your money, Mother.”
“Yes, you do,” she says as she turns to Lucia. “I’ve paid your salary up and provided you with a little extra. You’ll find it in a safe deposit box at the bank that Serenity works at.” She pulls a small envelope from the pocket on her blouse and slides it to Lucia. “All the information along with the key is in this envelope.”
“Gracias, ma’am.” Lucia thanks her as she takes the envelope.
“Now, if you all will excuse me, I have an early flight.” My mother gets up from her seat. I stand as well and go to hug her, but she rejects my embrace by putting her hands up.
“None of that. It’s not like I’m dying.” She slowly walks past me, then turns, “Sam, come.” He gets up and follows on cue as they both climb the stairs to her master suite.
I sit, staring through my office window, recollecting the most recent events… It hasn’t been three weeks since my mother left, and Sam’s boutique closed down. He moved his wife and children into my mother’s house. I moved out two days after she left, but Lucia has kept me in the loop. She came by and told me what was going on the day she saw him and his wife laid up in my mother’s bed. Reaching out to my mother was a waste of time because her cell phone keeps going straight to voicemail. I wonder about her often and wish there was a way we could keep in touch. I called Raven to see if they’d heard from her and she told me the doctor has, but what they discussed is confidential. Raven is so afraid of losing her job, that she won’t snoop in my mother’s file and give me her location. My mother probably wouldn’t care about Sam’s actions, as long as he’s still here. After all that’s been going on at her house, I’m glad I left when I did, because my mouth can be brutal and Lord knows what I would’ve said to Sam, his wife, or one of his kids.
A reminder on my phone breaks my thoughts. Victor and I have lunch plans today, so I finish my work and meet him in front of the building. He’s no longer allowed up to the office unless we’re handling business. My rule.
When I get to the car, his driver comes around and opens the door, “Thanks, Aki.” I slowly climb in the back seat.
“Serenity,” Victor greets me.
“Mr. White,” I reply.
“There’s something you need to know.” His voice is calm.
“What is it?”
“I’m in love with you.”
I swallow hard and loud, damn near choking. “I’m flattered,” I tell him. “We need to keep this professional.”
“You really are.”
“I am what?” I ask in confusion.
“Inevitable. I can’t stop thinking about you. I yearn for your touch and your smell every day, all day. I can’t get enough of you. I want to be around you every second of every minute of every day. What have you done to me? I can’t look, let alone think about another woman. Can we go steady and see how it works?”
“Where’s all this coming from?”
He orders Aki to drive. “I’m not sure. It’s how I feel and you’re making me feel weak as a man by questioning my feelings.”
“Victor, I honestly don’t think that’s a splendid idea. There’s so much I have to figure out about myself that I wouldn’t be able to give you the attention you desire. That wouldn’t be fair to you. You want to give me all of you, but I’m not ready to give anyone all of me. The feelings I have for you are deep, I’m just… a little confused about those feelings.” The look in his eyes makes me regret rejecting him. He looks sad and lost. I want to be with him in every way, but as much as I want that, the words just don’t come out.
“I understand, even though I don’t want to, I do.” Victor sadly turns and looks out the window.
We ride in silence. Once we arrive at Mr. Chow’s, the conversation and mood has shifted. Victor seems to be a little distant now, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. That’s an easy fix, so I remove one of my shoes from under the table, place my bare foot between his thighs, and fondle his Mandingo with my toes. My actions surprise him and he jumps. I wipe my tongue across my lips as his erection grows on my toes. “You sure know how to lighten the mood, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. White.”
“Well, Ms. Moore, your little toes have found themselves in a place that could get them in trouble,” he indicates.
I continue to play with his manhood until he declares that it’s time to go. Our lunch remains on the table untouched as we make a dash for the exit. Once in the car, he tells Aki to drive to the shore. Victor takes me right there in the back seat, not caring that someone else is present. He licks me down low as if it’s his first time. His hunger becomes apparent as his tongue penetrates my opening. Not caring that Aki can see us; I moan and squirm as my body reaches its highest heights. Victor removes his pants and sits me on top of him to ride his enormous erection as he sucks my breast.
Once we’ve gone a few rounds. Victor looks into my eyes, “You will be all mine one day. I will marry you and then I will remind you of this day. You will be Mrs. White.”