Chapter 13

 

Adam arrived at the Sedgwick Arms Suites a little before 7 o’clock.The gated community of sixty upper class town houses rested in a cozy suburb north of Old Brooking. He entered her house code into the keypad and waited for her answer.

“Is that you Adam?”

“Yes, it is”

The panel buzzed and the twenty foot iron gate began to swing open. Her town house was within view of the front gate. He drove in and parked his Buick Lucerne in front of the Brighton Suite sign.

Marcia was at the door waiting for him. “Come on in,” she said as he walked up the short entryway, through the door and into her living room. “I made hors d’oeuvres in keeping with the theme for tonight‘s dinner. We have a little time, don’t we?”

“I’m sure we can spare fifteen or twenty minutes. What culinary surprise do you have for me?”

“I have mini-quiche Lorraine and a liver pate and garlic/onion crackers. I don’t know about you, but I just had half of a roast beef sandwich around noon, and I’m really famished. Can I get you a drink?”

 “I think I’ll wait until we get to the restaurant.” He was pleased by his self-control. “I had a few drinks earlier when I met with dad.” He placed a quiche, a scoop of pate and some crackers on a plate, grabbed a napkin and took a seat at the end of the leather couch.

She filled her plate and joined him on the couch. “That’s right, you were planning to break the good news to your father. How did that go?”

“I got mixed signals. On the one hand, the new medicine has transformed the man. He has come out of the shell that he has been hiding in and is once again exhibiting many of the characteristics that made him a ‘Captain of Industry’. On the other hand, there was one incident that occurred when I was leaving that shook me up a bit.” Adam stopped for a minute to gather his thoughts, “During our time together he gave every indication that he understood about our takeover of Preston. He even wanted to go to the office to manage the details.”

Again he hesitated, “Then, as I was leaving, he asked me for my name.” Tears began welling up in Adam’s eyes. “He actually thought I was a messenger from the office, bringing him the good news.” His voice cracked as he got the last part out.

“You poor man. I guess it’s going to take a bit more time.” She patted him gently on the hand. It does sound as though he is making some progress, though”

“I suppose you‘re right. He left our meeting with a smile on his face. That was good to see.”

It was time for Adam to change the mood. He reached for the knife and “pate’d” a cracker. He took a bite and immediately voiced his approval. “Wow! This is great. What did you put in this?”

“It’s a new recipe I got out of a gourmet magazine. It’s got veal and chicken livers ground together with onion, bacon bits and a touch of garlic. It‘s a great recipe, isn‘t it?”

“I could stay here and enjoy these all night.”

Ten minutes later the snacks were finished and they left for the restaurant. They pulled into the restaurant parking lot with ten minutes to spare. Adam handed the keys to the valet and they walked into the Champs Elysees. The five star restaurant is usually booked three to four weeks in advance. The Hampton name had cut through all that.

“Monsieur Hampton, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Your table is waiting. Please follow me.” He led them to a quiet little table in the corner and handed them a one page menu. “Your waiter will be Henri. He’ll be right with you.”

There were only four entrées on the menu. They quickly made their selections and waited for the waiter to show up.

 “Good evening, my name is Henri and I will be serving you this evening. Have you had a chance to select your dinners, monsieur?”

There was nothing French about Henri. He was really just a “Henry” with a phony accent and an abundance of pretense, or at least that was how he came across. Playing along, Adam said, “Yes, Henri, we have. We’re both having the halibut with parsley-lemon sauce, roasted potatoes and green beans. We’ll skip the appetizers and salads today. We would like an appropriate bottle of wine.”

“May I recommend the Domaine Seguin-Manuel Puligny Montrachet?”

Adam quipped, “You may and that’s fine as long as I don’t have to repeat it.”

Marcia gave him a big smile, but Henri, remained stoic.

“Very well, sir. I’ll be right back with your wine.”

When the wine arrived, Adam sniffed the cork, swirled the wine around in the glass and sniffed the aroma. So far, so good. Two can play this game. He took a small sip and let it roll over his tongue as he swallowed it. It had the bouquet and taste of hazelnuts and flowers with a slight lemon acidity. All in all, a thoroughly fine tasting wine. Adam gave Henri an approving nod. With an exaggerated flourish, Henri poured their glasses, re-corked the bottle, nested it in the ice bucket and headed back to the kitchen.

Adam looked at Marcia and the two burst into laughter. He shook his head as he said, “It seems that good food comes at a greater price than just the dollar amount listed on the menu. Why is it necessary to have to endure all this pomp and ceremony? You know, one of these days I’m going to reject a bottle just to see how they’d handle it.”

During the meal, Marcia brought Adam up-to-date on her time with Kane Masterson. Adam was pleased to hear that that Kane was a bit miffed with the treatment Marcia was meting out.

“Well don’t let up. I promised him ‘hell on earth’ for the next six months and I expect you to stoke the coals.”

“Don’t worry; I’ve already made that clear to him. He got a little sarcastic at one point, but I ignored him. If he gets out of line again, I’ll rap his knuckles with a ruler.”

Adam burst out laughing, picturing the image.

A half hour later, Henri appeared with their dessert, a dried cherry compote with shortbread and mascarpone cheese. Another waiter served their café au lait.

Marcia tasted the dessert. “This is really good.”

Adam took a bite. “You’re right. Have you ever noticed that the tastier foreign food dishes are, the fancier their names get. Why not just call this what it is; stewed cherries in a light sauce over cheese and lady fingers?”

“That wouldn’t justify the fifteen dollar price?”

“No, of course it wouldn’t and could you imagine calling Henri, Hank. I guess I better not fill out this suggestion card,” he said, pointing to the small card nestled between the salt and pepper shakers. “I would never be allowed in here again if they knew how I really felt. I always do enjoy their food.”

“That’s probably a good decision,” she replied, with a smile.

They left the restaurant and returned to Marcia’s town house. The air became charged the minute the front door closed behind them. All that each remembered was that they came away from their previous get together with a desire for more; sex, that is.

“Would you like to have a drink first, or do we go right to the bedroom?”

Adam was struck with her directness. He was unaccustomed to forthright sexual conversations with women and wasn’t certain what response was expected from him.

 “I think I’ve had enough alcohol for one day. I want to be able to remember every moment that I spend with you. I certainly don’t want a repeat of last time, except, of course, the intimacy we enjoyed together.”

“You’re so sweet. Well, then, let’s get to it,” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom. “I’m a bit fuzzy about last time, too. I think I had too much wine.”

“Then I’ll go slowly so you don’t miss anything,” he said with a smile.

“We’ll see how slow you can go after you get a look at the Martin’s of Beverly Hills lingerie I picked up yesterday. They call it ‘Strappy Cord Teddy’.”

“I can hardly wait.”

When they got to the bedroom, she excused herself and went into the bathroom to change.

Adam recalled the round bed, but he was hazy about everything else. He looked around the room for something that would trigger a memory, but was unable to recognize a single piece of furniture, picture or decoration. That was a red flag for him. If he wanted to have a lasting relationship with Marcia he would have to greatly curtail his alcohol consumption. He was more than willing to pay the price.

He removed his clothing down to his shorts, piling everything on an armchair in the corner of the room. He rolled up the comforter and placed it on another chair along with the sham pillows and the half-dozen multi-shaped pillows that were lying on top of the bed as part of the decor. He turned down the three lamps in the room, creating a soft romantic glow.

The sheets weren’t silk, but they had a sheen to them. He slid under the covers and waited for her return. He didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes, Marcia entered the room wearing her Strappy Cord Teddy. Adams eyes opened wide. His memory suddenly flashed back to their first encounter, when she dropped her robe to show him what he would be getting. For some reason, he was more excited by seeing her in the teddy.

She stood before him, her ample breasts and crotch barely covered. She turned to reveal the “strappy cord” part, which consisted of a thin lace strap across her back directly under her shoulder blades, a second strap at the waist and a third filling the space between her taut buttocks.

She crawled under the sheets with him. Since her memory of their first time was clouded except for the multiple lovemaking, she only a vague clue as to what to expect from him in the way of lovemaking. She was totally unprepared for what was to follow.

True to form, Adam passed up the opportunity for fore-play. He kissed her several times on the mouth and neck while he quickly removed the teddy and without a single passionate word or gesture he entered her and commenced with his mechanical lovemaking. Once sated, he rolled over onto his back.

Marcia was stunned. While she managed to enjoy a mild orgasm before he stopped, she couldn’t believe that it was over so quickly. She had a vague memory of having multiples last time. They had spent hours together. What the hell was going on? She knew he was rough, the bruises from last time attested to that, but she didn’t expect to be on the receiving end of a mechanical banging. That wasn’t the kind of “love machine” she had in mind. What’s with the “Wham, bam, thank you ma’am” business? That’s not lovemaking, that’s just screwing. I wish I had a clearer memory of what happened last time. It couldn’t have been like this. I don’t want a one-trick pony. I can do a lot better than that. Maybe it’s me? Could I be doing something different?

The night was slowly turning into a disaster for Marcia. Dreams of a long-term romance were quickly fading.

Adam spoke first, “That was great.” He stopped as, suddenly out of the blue, he took notice of her nipples as if he was seeing them for the first time. They were only dime-size, but they were now erect and a bright rosy color. He leaned over and took one of them into his mouth. He pursed his lips and sucked on it as he flicked his tongue over the tip. He fondled her other breast at the same time.

Marcia shuddered. What now, some sort of after play? What a jerk. She rolled over, to discourage him, wondering how the dreams of a wonderful evening turned out so bad. I was so looking forward to tonight. What the hell went wrong? This can’t be what we did last time. What’s different? Then a thought flashed into her mind, Could it be that alcohol is an aphrodisiac of some sort for him? Does he have to be blotto to be passionate? Is he extremely shy when he’s sober? I can’t deal with this. I don’t have to. Finally, when is this going to end? I can have a better time with my vibrator.

Her last question was answered immediately. “Well, we both have busy schedules tomorrow. I’d better be going,” Adam said as he rose from the bed and walked to the chair where he had piled up his clothes. He dressed hastily.

Marcia drew her knees and the sheet up to cover herself. She had no intention of sharing any more of herself with this “bozo”. She said nothing.

When he was dressed he came over and sat on the edge of the mattress. “It’s been a perfect evening. We’ll have to do this again.”

Marcia didn’t reply right away. She needed a moment to construct an appropriate response. She was thinking, not anytime soon, buster. Not if I have my way, but she said, “It was nice for me too, Adam. I’m so glad that we could squeeze it in now, because I know that we’ll be spending long days and even longer nights working on this merger.”

 “Well, let’s not make it too long and good luck with Masterson. Look, I’ll let myself out.” He leaned over and gave her a peck on the lips, rose and left the room.

Moments later, when Marcia heard the front door close, a feeling of relief came over her. She leaned back against the pillows, thoughts flooding into her head, I have to end this. If I sleep with him again, the way I feel now, I’d be no better than a whore. All feeling she had had for Adam was strangely gone. She didn’t blame him. He was what he was, but she was glad that she found out before things went too far. 

She took a long, hot shower and went to bed. She would need all her strength for Kane Masterson.