Chapter 18

“I’ll have a glass of champagne. We’re waiting for two more people to get here, but they should be here any moment. So please also bring out a glass of the pinot noir and an old fashioned,” I say to the server who came by to take our drink orders.

“How do you know what they order?” Jackie asks me once the server has left our table.

Jackie and I came separately to the hotel bar from the office, but we’re both on time while Olivia and Maddy aren’t anywhere to be seen. Michelle told me they were still holed up in a conference room when I left so I knew I’d beat them here.

“I did a fair amount of research on the two of them after our meeting. Their drink preferences were pretty easy to find,” I reply. I don’t mention that I almost asked Lauren for the information until I decided that wouldn’t help her already rising anxiety.

If I wasn’t so distracted about Olivia and Maddy’s impending arrival, I may have thought sitting here with Jackie was awkward, but right now I’m so focused on looking out for the two of them that sitting here with her almost feels normal. It also doesn’t help that we’re in The Four Seasons and all I can do is remember my first time getting a drink with Lauren here. Luckily, we’re at a different table or I’d start thinking about hidden underwear in hotel bathrooms more than I already am.

“Trying to even the playing field?” Jackie asks.

“She talked to my ex-boss about me. I think I have a right to do a bit of my own digging.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already. I stalk the shit out of my girlfriends’ exes,” she says and it’s so casual that it almost feels as if we’re just two friends again. “And those women weren’t still married to their exes,” she adds.

And there it is. I was probably too hopeful to momentarily think we were back to how we were before Lauren ever came into the picture.

“Googling someone and going out of your way to talk to their past boss are two entirely different things,” I reply, ignoring her subtle jab.

“Michelle may not want to talk about it, but we both know why she’s doing all this. Good thing her detective skills only seem to run surface level. Imagine what she could find out about you if she dug deeper,” Jackie says.

The server comes back to our table with the drinks, allowing me an easy excuse to ignore Jackie’s follow-up statement. I take a much-needed sip but can still feel her eyes on me.

“Did you talk to Michelle?” she asks when I just continue to drink my champagne in silence.

“Just to tell her about Olivia’s invite for drinks. She seemed to agree we couldn’t get out of it.”

“We didn’t get it as bad as Michelle did today. Olivia didn’t even let her talk and now she’s not even invited to whatever this is,” Jackie says, waving her hand around the bar.

I’ve been so wrapped up in my own drama, I didn’t even really think about how hard that meeting must have been for Michelle. She’s the leader of our team and was treated with about the same importance as an intern.

“She seemed fine when I left, but it’s hard to tell with Michelle,” I offer, but immediately stop talking when I can see Olivia and Maddy enter the bar from the hotel lobby. “They’re here,” I say quickly to Jackie so she knows we can’t keep talking about Michelle.

As they walk towards us, I can see a few of the heads in the bar turn towards Olivia, which I can understand. She’s a striking figure and still looks as immaculate as she did this morning. I notice that as they walk, Maddy stays a few steps behind her boss, which I’m guessing is some weird, corporate sign of respect.

“Hello, ladies,” Olivia says as she approaches the table.

Normally I would get up to shake a client’s hand, but I feel like I’ve touched this woman enough for a lifetime so I stay seated. Luckily, Jackie doesn’t seem inclined to get up either.

“Are these for us?” Olivia asks, looking down at the two drinks in the seats across from us.

“They get busy this time of night so I thought I’d get ahead on your order,” I reply as casually as I can and take a sip of my drink.

Olivia raises her eyebrow slightly and gives me the same cocky smirk she had on her face this afternoon in my office.

“Thank you, Emma. Your attention to detail is noted. Though this feels a little too much like an interview. Jaqueline, why don’t you move over here to Madeline’s side,” Olivia says, but her inflection didn’t raise at the end, implying this was a command and not a request.

Jackie gives me a side glance before turning her eyes back to Olivia and giving a small nod.

“Don’t worry, I won’t call you Jaqueline like Olivia does,” Maddy says with a warm smile directed at Jackie.

“Great. Olivier and Emmaline can sit over here,” Jackie says as she scoots out of her chair and moves her body and beer across the table.

Olivia picks up her old fashioned and takes the seat next to me.

“My name isn’t Emmaline,” I say dryly back to Jackie.

“It is now,” Jackie replies. With the way she’s cocking her head and smiling, I can’t tell if this sudden banter is genuine or if it’s for the benefit of our clients.

“I’m impressed. There aren’t many people bold enough to make Olivia the butt of a joke,” Maddy says and tips her glass to Jackie’s.

“Yes, very clever,” Olivia deadpans back to Maddy.

I’m guessing Maddy and Olivia have a close relationship if Maddy is willing to tease Olivia like this.

“How long have you two worked together?” Olivia asks.

“Two years. But I’m surprised you didn’t know that already,” I respond with a small wink that I hope will offset my snark.

“It looks like I’m not the only one to do her research,” Olivia says as she raises her glass to me. “Besides, I didn’t ask if you’ve dated. That, I already know the answer to.”

Jackie catches my eye for a moment and even Maddy looks uncomfortable with Olivia’s comment.

“How do you know we dated?” I ask.

“I didn’t until you just told me,” she replies easily.

“Behave,” Maddy says from across the table, looking at her boss.

“I am behaving,” Olivia says back and it almost reminds me of the way Jackie and I usually banter.

“And how long have you two worked together?” Jackie asks Maddy, seemingly not as affected by Olivia’s manipulation of the conversation as I am.

“It feels like it’s been since birth,” Maddy jokes and I notice again how much more relaxed she seems in general than Olivia. Maddy has an easy confidence to her, but she’s much less imposing than her boss. “I started working for Olivia’s consultancy firm about five years ago.”

“You must be talented if she’s taking you to Ellison with her,” Jackie said next, her attention fully on Maddy now.

“She’s the best there is,” Olivia says, bringing the attention back to herself. “Though, maybe she has competition,” Olivia says as she turns to me and raises one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows.

I can see Jackie narrow her eyes sightly at Olivia’s comment and I really wish the woman would stop blatantly flirting with me in front of her. Jackie’s already mad enough about another certain executive taking an interest in me.

“And where are you originally from?” Jackie asks Maddy, turning her body slightly towards the other woman.

“My family is from San Antonio,” she replies, also turning her body towards Jackie.

“Ah, so a Texan through and through,” Jackie says back with a smile.

“Via Mexico. My parents moved to Texas two years before I was born.”

“Your family sounds like mine,” Jackie replies. “My parents moved to Seattle from Brazil. But I guess that was quite a few years before I was born.”

I can feel Olivia shift in her seat next to me and I wonder if she’s as uncomfortable as I am. Jackie and Maddy are so engrossed in their conversation, I feel as if I’m watching a movie of a first date, not able to actually interact with the actors myself.

“That’s quite the jump. What brought them all the way to Seattle?” Maddy asks Jackie.

“My dad is a software engineer and there are more jobs here.”

“Fascinating,” Olivia says, but her tone implies that she’s anything but fascinated. “Did you two have any questions we didn’t get to today or are we going to find out about Madeline’s high school experience as well?”

“I for one, would love to hear about high school,” Jackie says with a smile directed at Maddy before turning a more serious look back to Olivia. “But I’m also curious about something you said in today’s meeting. You mentioned needing the creative campaign to be nimble. Can you expand on that?”

I’ve always appreciated Jackie’s skill in balancing professionalism with her dry humor and Olivia’s presence doesn’t seem to hinder that at all as she smoothly transitions from her conversation with Maddy back to PR-mode.

“There’s a good chance this launch will coincide with a separate re-brand for the company at large. We will need to make sure that any creative we use can evolve so it aligns with that re-brand,” Olivia answers.

“Are you re-branding just Ellison Tech or all the subsidiaries?” I ask.

“Just Ellison Tech. And it may be another year before that happens. But I need to know that our agency partner has the in-house resources to shift things quickly.”

“Who’s handling the re-brand”? Jackie asks and I know exactly where her head is at when she does.

“Are you trying to secure two contracts from us, Jaqueline?” Olivia asks.

“As many as I can,” Jackie replies with a charming smile. “I do have quite a bit of re-brand experience as well.”

“I saw the branding campaign your office did for Tech Farm. It was very clever. Did you work on that?” Maddy asks Jackie.

“I led the creative on that campaign, actually,” Jackie responds with a small shrug.

“Really? It was amazing. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a creative re-brand drive so much PR on its own. Especially without a product launch attached,” Maddy adds.

“Unfortunately, we’ll be handling the re-brand in-house,” Olivia says in a louder voice, cutting into their conversation again. “We just need to know your own team can be flexible as we work through it.”

At that moment, the server comes back up to our table to check on our drinks. Olivia’s drink is still almost full and she just shakes her head at the server when he asks if Olivia wants another.

“Nothing for me. Just another glass of champagne and whatever they’d like,” Olivia says, pointing to Jackie and Maddy across the table.

I was already going to order another drink to get through this happy hour, but it grates on me that Olivia just took the initiative to do it for me.

“Next question?” she asks, turning to me in her chair.

“From what we’ve learned, your father didn’t want a great deal of importance put on digital paid media. In fact, he would only allocate a very small portion of each budget to it. What is your opinion on the matter?” I ask, but direct my attention to Maddy instead of Olivia, who’s eyes I can still feel on me.

“Good question,” Maddy says. “Richard is a bit more traditional than the two of us. While we want the big story, we also recognize that the channels where people read their news and get their information is vast. We’ll expect to see how you plan to secure coverage while also amplifying that coverage through paid media and other channels.”

Her answer is music to my ears considering the digital-heavy focus our campaign ideas have taken. Part of why I love working at Altitude so much is the agency’s innovative thinking when it comes to traditional PR strategies and I’m glad Olivia and Maddy also see the value in that kind of thinking.

“You also mentioned thought leadership today. Who will be the Ellison representative that’s the face of the launch?” I ask next.

“I will,” Olivia says. “People expect to see an actual Ellison leading our major launches.”

“We also have a man named Simon Simpson on our board. He’s very influential in the Southwest sustainability space and would also be a good target for speaking engagements or white papers,” Maddy adds.

I recognize Simon’s name immediately as one of the board members who Lauren said would be pro-Altitude. I believe she had said he owned a large electric truck company in Austin and wasn’t a huge fan of our major competitor.

“I would say we haven’t made a final decision on Simon’s involvement,” Olivia says, looking pointedly at Maddy, who busies herself by picking up her drink to take a sip.

I catch Jackie’s eye again for a moment and I know she’s also noticing the brief moment of tension between the women. I hope it means that Lauren’s intel is right and Simon is a much better avenue for us to focus our pitching efforts on than Olivia.

“I assume as CEO you’ll be incredibly busy. It might be good to designate a secondary option if you can’t make yourself available to us. If Simon has a background in the industry, he could be a good option to legitimize our narrative” I say to Olivia, trying to see if I can get any more information on the topic of Simon.

“I have no issue making myself available to you, Emma. Day or night,” Olivia responds in a low voice and it’s impossible not to notice the slight husk her tone took. “Next question?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Before I leave the hotel bathroom, I quickly look at my phone to see the time. I was too scared to check it at the table because I didn’t want to come across as rude and I was worried Lauren’s name would be on the screen. But as I look at it, I see that she hasn’t texted yet.

As I head to the door of the bathroom, I pass by the vanity I once put my underwear behind and even though I’m still stressed out about the day’s events, I feel a wave of arousal course through my body at the memory.

It’s been almost two hours since we got to the bar. I had only planned to stay an hour, but Olivia was so forthcoming with her answers, that I wanted to take advantage of her loose lips. Lips that didn’t seem to be affected by alcohol since she never did have any more of her one drink.

I stopped drinking after my second glass even though Olivia tried to order me another. I never drink more than two glasses when with a client and that rule seems especially prudent tonight.

“Speak of the devil,” Jackie says a little too loudly when I get back to the table.

I’ve known her long enough to know that the slight increase in volume and the red that is now lightly tinting her tanned cheeks is a sign that Jackie is feeling tipsy.

“I was just asking Jacqueline here how social the employees of the Seattle office are with each other,” Olivia says as I take my seat again.

“Oh,” is all I manage to say through my tightening throat.

I instantly regret leaving Jackie alone at the table with them when she’s had so much to drink. I can’t imagine she mentioned Lauren, but Olivia’s smirk is making me nervous.

“Yes, she says you never believe her theories on who’s sleeping together,” Olivia adds.

I feel immediately relieved at her comment. Jackie does often have theories on who in the office is sleeping together and they’re never right. The latest being that Michelle is sleeping with Guy, who I keep telling her is gay.

“That’s because Jackie’s theories are always wrong,” I say back.

“Not all of them,” Jackie says, making eye contact with me and my stomach, which had slowly started to uncoil at Olivia’s comment, tightens again at Jackie’s subtle implication.

Before she can make this any worse, I decide to put an end to the evening. I’m anxious to see Lauren again and now that I’ve gotten all my questions answered, more than anxious to no longer be in Olivia’s company.

“And on that note, I think I’ll grab the bill. I have an early meeting tomorrow and I know you two have a morning flight to catch. We both appreciate this extra time though,” I try to say as smoothly as I can so it doesn’t seem like I’m running out of there.

“It was our pleasure,” Olivia replies.

The server hasn’t been by our table for a while so I stand up from the table so I can find him and pay. I’m suddenly desperate to get out of here and don’t want to wait for him to leisurely come by again.

When I come back to the table, I can see Jackie and Maddy leaning into each other and talking quietly. Olivia quirks her eyebrow at me when she sees me looking at them.

“These two are staying. I’ll walk you out,” Olivia says and gets up from the table.

“You’re staying?” I ask Jackie, looking down at her.

“We’re going to have another drink,” she says casually back, but I recognize the challenging look on her face.

She knows I can’t say anything with Olivia and Maddy watching us, so I just give her a nod.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she shows up for work tomorrow,” Maddy says with a smile directed to me.

“I’m not worried but thank you. Have fun,” I say and give Jackie one more look before I turn and walk towards the exit.

I know Olivia is following right behind me, but I don’t turn around. I could tell from the beginning of the night that there was some spark between Maddy and Jackie and I’m just hoping Jackie doesn’t cross the line with her. That would make this situation even more complicated. And I really hope she has enough sense to keep her mouth shut about Lauren.

It’s raining when I step outside of the hotel so I move over to the valet area so I can pull out my phone and order an Uber.

“Did you drive?” Olivia asks.

“No, I’ll order an Uber. But I don’t like getting wet,” I reply and it’s only once I say it that I hear my own innuendo.

Olivia gives me a slow smile, but fortunately lets my comment go. “Are you upset about them staying?” she asks me, nodding her head to the entrance of the hotel.

“No, not at all. Jackie’s free to have a drink with whomever she wants,” I reply.

“So that wasn’t jealousy I detected?”

“No. The two of us haven’t been in that place for a long time,” I say back, intentionally leaving out Jackie’s recent declaration to me.

“Good. Come up to my room with me.”

My head snaps up from looking at my phone and I know my eyes must be wide. Of course, I could feel Olivia’s eyes on me at times today and tonight, but I didn’t think Lauren’s prediction would be so spot on.

“I thought this wasn’t a date?” I ask.

“It wasn’t. But it could certainly turn into that,” she says as she moves some of my hair behind my ear.

My whole body tenses at her touch and it’s not lost on me how different her hands feel touching my hair than Lauren’s do.

“I have a girlfriend,” I reply.

“I don’t mind.”

Olivia takes a step closer to me and the professional space we had between our bodies is suddenly eliminated. I can smell the light scent of alcohol and mint on her breath and if I was interested, it wouldn’t take much to lean in and kiss the woman.

“I do,” I reply in a low voice. “And she doesn’t like to share,” I add.

It feels scandalous to be talking to Olivia about my girlfriend, knowing she has no idea that said girlfriend is actually her ex-wife. And as much as that amuses part of me, the other part of me just wants to get out of this situation as fast as I can.

“She sounds controlling,” Olivia says back before lightly grazing her hand down my arm.

I let out an involuntary shudder of discomfort at the sensation, which I hope she doesn’t read as arousal.

“That’s rich coming from you,” I respond as I take a small step back.

Olivia lets out a laugh at my comment. “I like your sass,” she says, but thankfully she doesn’t move back into my space.

“I’m not trying to be sassy.”

“Even better.”

“I have to believe that even Olivia Ellison understands the idea that no means no.”

Olivia doesn’t respond for a moment, but just looks at me before her smirk slowly comes back onto her face.

“She does. But I won’t be forgetting you any time soon, Emma King. And I’ll see you in two weeks,” she finally says.

She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a card that she hands to me.

“My personal number is on there. Feel free to use it,” she says with one final smile before turning around and walking back into the hotel.

I let out a breath the second she’s gone. I’m glad I didn’t have to do more to get out of that situation, but I assume Olivia has no trouble finding women to bed and isn’t that upset about the rejection. She probably just has to snap her fingers and women submit.

I turn my attention back to my phone so I can order a car and message Lauren.

On my way. I need a cheeseburger and fries, I text her. 

The Uber takes no time getting to the hotel and I hop in to avoid getting too rained on before looking at my phone to see Lauren’s response.

One Happy Meal coming right up.

As I read her response, I feel the first genuine smile I’ve felt all day cross my face and I’m reminded that the woman I’m going to right now is so vastly different than the woman I just left.

Chapter 19

I feel instantly lighter as I walk into Lauren’s apartment and can smell the now-familiar scent of my girlfriend. I still have a knot in my stomach at the thought of what Jackie and Maddy could be talking about, but right now I just want to focus on something other than Ellison.

As soon as I come into the living room, all thoughts of Ellison and Olivia fly out of my head the moment I see Lauren.

“Welcome home, honey. Drink?” she asks.

But I’m still staring at her outfit and can’t seem to form words. Lauren has on what appears to be a pair of very short shorts and nothing else. Covering the front of her bare body is a tight apron that says, “Best Dad Ever” on it.

I’m simultaneously turned on by how hot she looks and also amused at the odd choice of apron.

“Yes, please....dad, is it?” I finally respond with a smile on my face as I stand in the entryway still staring.

“It was the only apron they had in the grocery store and I thought it would be funny. You seem to like it,” she says in a suggestive tone.

“Oh, I like it. Come here before you pour me that glass,” I say.

Lauren sets down the bottle and glass she had picked up from the table and slowly walks over to me, making sure to sway her hips as she does.

“Yes, darling?” she asks when she gets close to me.

“I missed you,” I say and lean in so I can kiss her.

Lauren seems to need this moment of connection as much as I do because her hands instantly move up to my face as our lips touch. I move my hands behind her back and grab on to the bare skin there as we allow our mouths to slowly explore each other’s.

Finally, Lauren lightly pushes my face backwards a bit so the kiss is broken, but she continues to hold my face as she looks into my eyes.

“You missed me?” she asks in a whisper.

“Of course I did,” I reply.

I can see a shadow of something cross her features as she continues to look at me. “I’m so sorry about our call earlier,” she says. “I have no right to be upset with you for just doing your job. And I’m sorry you’re even in this situation to begin with.”

Instead of responding, I move my lips back to hers and give her a light kiss before pulling back again.

“Thank you for saying that. I hope you know I didn’t want to be there tonight.”

“I know that. Now come have some expensive champagne and a cheap burger and tell me about your day.”

Lauren moves back over to the new dining room table. The room is so much more put together than the last time I was here. Besides decorating, the room seems about done with expensive-looking furniture filling the space.

It’s only when I smell the cheeseburger on the table that I realize I haven’t eaten all day and I don’t even wait for Lauren to take a bite of her own burger before I’m shoving my own into my face.

“Oh, god,” I say when I finally take a breath between bites. “This tastes so good. I was starving.”

Lauren still hasn’t taken a bite of hers and is just staring at me with an amused, yet warm smile on her face.

“You’re so cute,” she says. “But I’m not surprised you’re hungry. You’ve had a long day.”

“I’m not even really sure where to start,” I say before popping a fry into my mouth.

“You don’t need to tell me anything. I know the NDA makes things hard,” she says but she’s not entirely convincing in her ambivalence.

“She invited me up to her room,” I say quickly, putting down my burger. When Lauren just looks down at her plate, I feel like I need to say more. “I just wanted to be honest.”

Lauren is silent for another moment before she speaks. “Well, I wish I could say I didn’t see that one coming,” she says. “But thank you for telling me, Ems. How did she react to your rejection?”

“She didn’t seem too bothered. She gave me her card with her cell phone number. And then told me she’d see me in two weeks.”

“She’s not one to try too hard. That’s beneath her,” Lauren says.

“Jackie was still with Maddy when I left the bar. Is Maddy gay?” I ask and take another bite of my burger.

Lauren’s eyebrows shoot up at my latest reveal. “She is. But I’ve never known her to date anyone. Was it a thing between them?”

“I don’t know. It made me nervous to leave them alone, but I also needed out of there.”

“Maddy is very loyal to Olivia. But I’ve never thought of her as a bad person. In fact, I’ve always gotten along with Maddy.”

“I got the same sense from her. She really did give us some good information. And that was one benefit of tonight. I got some much-needed intel, even if Olivia didn’t mean for me to.”

“As I knew you would,” Lauren replies with a soft smile.

“Actually, I think you were worried she’d try to sleep with me,” I quip back.

“That too. But it’s not the worst thing for Olivia to be rejected by a hot blonde,” Lauren replies in a playful tone.

“I do have some questions though,” I say as I finally push the last bit of cheeseburger away from me. “What’s up with the way she uses everyone’s full name? She called Jackie ‘Jaqueline’ the whole time.”

“Oh, that,” she responds with an eye roll. “It’s one of her things. I think it’s her small way of asserting power. She does it to everyone who goes by a nickname.”

“I don’t even think I realized Jackie’s full name until today. OK, next thing. Does she drink?”

“Barely. She’ll take a sip or two but not much beyond that. She thinks holding an old fashioned makes her look sexy. But I’ve never seen her really enjoy one. Alcohol makes her feel out of control.”

“Well, at least I got her drink right.”

“Meaning?”

“She did this creepy thing in our meeting where she dropped knowledge that she knew about us. We were clearly researched. So, after our meeting I did my own sleuthing to see what I could find and I ordered their drinks for them before they got to the bar.”

“You could have just asked me.”

“I didn’t want to upset you more. I know you weren’t comfortable with me going to get a drink with her. But I have to be honest. Now that I’ve met her, I want to know more about your marriage. Because it’s hard for me to picture you with someone like that.”

“Are you ready to come to bed? Let’s talk there.”

“Is always too cheesy of a response?”

“It’s certainly cheesy. But I like it.”

“You’ll need to take that apron off though if you expect words to come out of my mouth.”

She just smiles at me as she gets up and moves to the bedroom. I follow her silently, but as we walk towards her room, Lauren begins to undo the ties behind her apron and finally lets it drop in front of the room to her door.

She pauses with her bare back to me before she fully moves into the bedroom. “For tonight, I won’t worry about where our clothes land.”

But when we get to the bedroom, she doesn’t continue to disrobe. Instead, she moves over to her dresser, removes a shirt and puts it on before crawling onto her bed.

“Is this better attire for a conversation?” she asks as she moves up to the pillows and lays back against them.

“Yes, but now I feel overdressed.”

“Top drawer,” she says as she points to her dresser across the room.

I can feel her watching me as I move over to the dresser and randomly choose a t-shirt and pair of sweats. Once I’m changed, I move up the bed so I’m laying my head on the pillow facing her.

“Hi,” I say quietly once I’m settled.

“Hi,” she says back. “I need to say some things.”

The look Lauren is giving me is so intense that I just nod in response, not wanting to break the moment.

“Olivia being here has made me think about a lot of things,” she says. “And maybe that’s good because I haven’t really allowed myself to dwell on certain aspects of my marriage because it was easier to just walk away.”

“You’re not about to break up with me, are you?” I ask with a smile to show her I’m not being serious.

“I don’t generally invite women into my bed for the breakup talk,” she responds with her own smile.

“Well, that’s good to know. Now, tell me what you’ve been thinking about.”

She lets out a long sigh before she answers. “I guess I’ve been thinking about how I ever let things go so far with her. Why I ever let myself marry her. I think I knew who she was long before she ever showed me. And I’ve been too afraid of the real answers behind those questions to let myself think about it too much.”

“What do you mean?”

“Life was so hard, Ems. With my parents especially and then even after I left home and got to college. I had a small scholarship, but I also had two jobs and I was always paranoid I would have to drop out because I couldn’t make tuition. Or I’d have to choose between food and school. Olivia suddenly made life easy,” she says in a small voice.

“I never experienced the kind of childhood you did. It must have felt incredible to have someone who cared about you and supported you. Especially if you never had that. I don’t think you should judge yourself too harshly. We’ve all been in relationships for the wrong reasons.”

“I married my wrong reason,” she replies. “And I knew deep down that she wasn’t a good person.”

“From what you’ve told me, Olivia’s true self took years to come out. Right now, you’re able to look back and see all the cracks. But when you’re in the moment, those are a lot harder to detect.”

Lauren moves closer to me on the bed and begins playing with the ends of my hair. It feels so much better than when Olivia did it earlier and I close my eyes for a moment to savor her light touch.

“Look at you being all logical and insightful,” she says. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I don’t think it was luck that got me to take off my clothes in my office,” I say back jokingly, recalling our first time together.

But Lauren’s hand drops from my hair and I can see a frown cross her features again.

“Hey. What just happened?” I ask, pulling her hand back over to me.

“I just don’t ever want to be like her,” she says so quietly I can barely hear her.

“You’re nothing like her, Lauren. I can say that because I just spent an entire day with your ex. Everything she says is dripping in deceit and manipulation. You’re so warm and loving and maybe you put on a hard exterior, but I see who you really are. I feel safer with you than I ever have with a woman. Olivia didn’t make me feel that way. Quite the opposite and I honestly have trouble even picturing you with her."

Lauren lets out a small laugh at my comment. “Sometimes I can’t either. We butt heads a lot, even when things were relatively good. And I acquiesced more than I should have. I was a different person back then. It took leaving her firm and making my own way at Altitude to understand how unhealthy our marriage was. And how much control she had over me. Suddenly I was seen as valued and talented in my own right just like I was when I first started college. I just lost my way with Olivia.”

“I know today must have been just as hard for you as it was for me. And I still think it was the right decision for you not to go to the office. But I’m also sorry you had to sit here all day waiting.”

“Not your fault, Ems. But I did go through a lot of different emotions today just sitting here. At first, I was so jealous, thinking about her eyes on you. Then I hated knowing I couldn’t protect you from her. And finally, I remembered that you don’t need a hero. Since then I‘ve just been thinking about this. Having you here, back in my bed.”

“Knowing I’d get to see you was the only thing that got me through that happy hour,” I say and lean in so I can touch my lips lightly against hers— partly because I feel a desperate need to touch her and partly because if I don’t kiss her, something much more intimate may come out of my mouth and I’m not ready to say those words yet.

Lauren pushes up off her pillow as she deepens the kiss, causing me to fall back on my own pillow as she leans her body over mine. As my hands start to make their way up her back, she stops the kiss and pulls her face away so she can look down at me.

For a moment I assume she’s going to say something about me putting my hands on her back without permission, but the look she’s giving me isn’t the normal Miss Callahan look. This is still Lauren and she still seems more anxious than her usual, confident self.

“Wait. Before we go any further, I wanted to say one more thing.” She leans on her elbow so she can continue to look down but isn’t putting her body weight on top of me. “Being in control in the bedroom is something that I enjoy in a relationship. But it has to be about mutual respect and pleasure. And it wasn’t always like that with Olivia. There were times I felt really uncomfortable. That’s why consent and communication are so important for me. Ems, if I ever make you feel uncomfortable, I need to know you’ll tell me.”

I look up at her face before answering and push her falling hair back behind her shoulder. Like so much of our conversation tonight, this moment feels charged with an intense energy. Lauren has never made me feel uncomfortable, but her statement still settles in my mind and I feel a warmth flow through my body. Lauren is so thoughtful in the way she does everything and I bet few people have seen that side of her.

“I will, Miss,” I reply.

But as soon as I say it, she’s shaking her head. “No. Not tonight. No rules tonight. Just this,” she says as she dips her face back down to mine and takes my lips in a deep kiss.

The need for conversation seems to be gone as our lips take over, moving with each other’s in a sensual dance. As she brings her body above me, I can feel her tongue begin to lightly play with my own. It’s as if we both needed this— to come together intimately and romantically after the day we had. Right now, nothing feels rushed as we continue to let our mouths do the communicating.

Once her tongue slides all the way inside my mouth though, I let out a moan and can feel myself begin to get wet. As much as kissing Lauren has become one of my favorite activities, I want to feel more of her so I gently push my body up, causing her mouth to leave mine.

“Clothes,” is all I’m able to pant out.

Lauren seems to understand my meaning though because a second later, her shirt is off her body and flying across the room. She gives me a playful smile when she sees my wide eyes looking at the way she haphazardly threw her clothes.

“No rules tonight, remember? Your turn,” she says before pulling her shorts off and letting them join her shirt.

Soon we’re both fully naked with our clothes strewn across Lauren’s floor and she’s moving back so she can take her place over my body. Her leg slides in between my own and I can tell from her sharp intake of breath that she can feel just how wet I am.

I’m going to take advantage of a night where I get to freely touch Lauren so I grab onto her back and pull her in for another kiss. As the kiss grows more desperate, I can feel Lauren sinking down so I gently flip us so she’s on her back.

My hands intertwine with hers above her head as we continue to kiss and I push more of my weight into her, eliciting a sexy groan from the woman underneath me, which only increases in volume as my leg hits her center.

I’m desperate to feel this woman’s touch on my body, desperate to come around her fingers and mouth. But overriding that feeling is the need to touch her.

I pull my mouth away from hers and have to smile at the cute sound she makes at the abrupt end to our kissing. I give her a small smile before dipping my head so I can trail wet kisses down her neck and over her chest. I finally land on her left nipple and give it a gentle kiss before swirling my tongue over the hardening bud.

Lauren brings her hands up to grab onto my hair as I move over to the right nipple, urging me on. My licks become longer and wetter as I move between each nipple making sure to get her chest as wet as I can.

As I take one of her nipples fully into my mouth so I can suck on it, I move my right hand down her torso and push one finger into her folds.

“Mmm, baby. Yes,” she whispers as her grip tightens on my hair. “More, inside of me. Please, baby, I need to feel you inside.”

I bring my head off her tits so I can get into a better position. I do as she asks and slip that same finger into her pussy, allowing her to get used to the feeling before I add another.

As I add a second finger, Lauren brings her hands up behind my back and scratches down the length. The feeling of her fingernails just turns me on more.

“Fuck. You feel so good. Add another,”’ she cries out.

I now have three fingers pumping into her as I look down at her beautiful face. She looks so open and free right now, with her eyes slammed shut and her mouth hanging open. I’m in absolute awe of her beauty, even in times of such uninhibited pleasure, that I can’t help but take her mouth again with mine as I fuck her.

We moan into each other’s mouths and I can feel her hands grip my back even harder. When I move my thumb to her clit, it’s already hard and I know she won’t be able to hold off an orgasm for long.

My mouth doesn’t let up on hers, and soon my tongue is matching the in and out motion of my fingers. Her cries are swallowed by our kissing but even without the sound I can feel her body begin to shake under me and know she’s about to come.

She breaks her mouth away from mine suddenly and her hands fall from my back to the bed.

“I’m coming, baby. I’m coming. Fuck. Don’t stop. Don’t stop!” she screams.

And I don’t stop. I push up so I’m leaning above her as my fingers drive into her, making sure I drag out her every remnant of her orgasm.

When she finally puts her hand on my arm, I know her pussy can’t handle any more and I slowly remove my fingers.

I don’t move my body from its position above her but do lean on one side so I’m not holding myself up. Lauren turns her head to me lazily and when she looks up at me her eyes are so clear and green that I can feel my heart skip a beat at their intense beauty.

“You’re so beautiful right now,” I say quietly to her.

“You’re amazing,” she whispers back. “That was amazing.”

As I bring my wet hand back up to my face, I can smell her scent on my fingers and all I can think about is tasting her. As I look down at her, I put all three fingers that were just inside of her into my mouth so I can swirl my tongue around her juices.

The look Lauren is giving me leaves no room for doubt that she’s turned on by the act and I can feel my own juices coat the inside of my legs as I get my first taste of her.

“I want more,” I say and begin to move down her body, but she puts her hand on my head.

“Wait,” she says. “Let’s taste each other.”

It’s clear that though this isn’t one of our play sessions, Miss Callahan is still very much a part of who Lauren is. There may be no rules tonight, but the woman can’t help but be a top.

But the implications of her statement are so hot that I don’t dwell on that much. And quite frankly, I wouldn’t have Lauren any other way.

Once I’m back up near her head, Lauren sits up and motions for me to lie down on the pillows. After fucking Lauren and getting that little taste of her from my fingers, my body is so on fire that I’m glad I’ll be on the bottom because I don’t have much strength to hold myself up. I also know I won’t last long in this state of extreme arousal.

Lauren crawls over my body so her head is down by my pussy and her own pussy is right above my face. Now that I’m this close to her wetness, I inhale her scent and feel another wave of juices flow out of me.

Without warning, I feel her tongue come down onto my pussy as she makes one long stroke up the length of my folds.

For a moment I’m distracted by the loud moan she lets out as she first tastes me that I forget what I’m also supposed to be doing. But she must be getting wetter because I can swear the smell of her gets stronger as her licks become more frenzied.

I wrap one arm around her lower back and lift my face so I can reach her pussy with my tongue and what I predicted is right— Lauren is impossibly wet, especially for a woman who just came.

The room is suddenly filled with the erotic sounds of our mutual licking and moans as we both continue to feast on each other’s pussies.

I begin a rhythm of sliding my tongue through her folds to get it nice and wet, before bringing it back up to her clit and as I do so, I can feel her own tongue start to flick my clit.

My legs begin to shake even more and I know I’m getting close to an orgasm. Not wanting to be the only one to come, I start circling Lauren’s swollen clit with tight circles of my tongue.

Nothing is graceful about the way I’m panting into her pussy as I try to pleasure her at the same time as I feel an orgasm drawing nearer, but whatever Lauren is doing to me is sending me to the edge and fast.

I plunge my tongue as far inside her pussy as I can in this position at the same time as I can feel her slide a finger into my own. It only takes two pumps of her finger and I feel my orgasm rip through me.

As I let the intense feeling wash over me, I manage to keep enough awareness to continue flicking her clit with my own tongue and soon I feel it harden and know she’s about to fall into her own orgasm.

I feel her mouth lift off my pussy as she speaks. “Come again. I’m going to come with you, baby,” I hear her command from the bottom of the bed.

Lauren adds another finger inside me and pushes harder into my pussy right as I plunge my tongue deep inside her own pussy and suddenly, I can feel both our bodies tense.

As she fucks me with her tongue, I feel my second orgasm hit and hear the sounds of Lauren’s own pleasure rolling through her as we both continue to lick and suck each other.

As I give her one final lick, I feel her body jerk and know that her pussy is too sensitive to keep going. Lauren seems to sense the same with me and slowly removes her fingers from inside me before giving me a light kiss on the inside of both my thighs.

We both don’t seem in a rush to move as we catch our collective breath, but I have to assume Lauren’s arms are getting tired so I shift and pull her back up to the pillows.

“Wow,” she says as she rests her body against the headboard. “That was fun.”

I let out a small laugh as I let my own body fall backwards onto the pillows. “Yes, it was.”

We’re both quiet for a minute as we savor the aftereffects of our mutual orgasms and let our breathing come back down. But when I bring my eyes back up to Lauren leaning against the headboard, I can see her eyes trailing around the room.

“You’re thinking about all the clothes thrown about, aren’t you?” I tease.

“No,” she says but her tone isn’t convincing.

“It’s OK that you’re a little neurotic. It’s adorable.”

Lauren quickly takes one of the pillows on the bed and lightly throws it at my head, causing laughter to erupt from me.

“Always so sassy after an orgasm,” she says with a smile before her face turns a bit more serious.

She moves the hair off my face that the pillow had ruffled. “This day didn’t turn out so bad,” she says.

“Actually, I think it turned out pretty well,” I say but at the same time I’m also hit with a giant yawn I can’t stop and my words are a bit muffled.

“That was really cute. Now bedtime. Turn,” she says and motions for me to get into our normal spooning position.

“Bossy again already, I see,” I joke as I move my body into hers.

“Old habits die hard.”

“That’s understandable, Miss.”

“It’s not too late for a spanking, you know.”

Lauren wraps her arms around me and pulls me close. I can feel her inhale the back of my hair as she has done so many times before.

“How about a cuddle instead?” I ask as I allow my eyes to close and the feeling of her arms wrapped securely around my body to bring me closer to sleep.

“It’s never too late for that.”