Painful Love

Chapter Four (Part II)

Thinking about the day, she wondered what she had to face the next day. Although Mr. Smoke was the one that was going to benefit from the merger, Mr. Walker only agreed after much persuasion from her, and finding another company for the merger a week before the project was supposed to start was going to be tough. She had agreed with Marce that they would meet each other at the site first thing tomorrow morning, and Ha-Neul butted in by saying that he would pick her up. Sometimes she wondered if he and Alexei had any job, it always seemed that they were always there whenever her eyes her open. She didn't get the chance to ask Ha-Neul about his business. She was actually curious to learn about it. As she thought about Ha-Neul, she slowly fell into a deep slumber. Alarm going off the following day, she took a second before she got off the bed. She hated the uncertainty of things, but then again, she was well aware that it was within those uncertainties that one builds grit. She'd like to think that she had it, but deep down, she didn't believe it, and until she did, she would just be lying at the person she looked at in the mirror. She made the bed and did a workout before she took a shower. As she was about to make tea, she heard a door knock. She went to open it, and there stood Ha-Neul. She was still on her robe when she walked away from the door. "Tea, chai tea," Ha-Neul announced behind her.

"Let me get dressed first." She had opened the box that morning only to find lingerie. She liked it. It looked... well, it looked sexy, she thought, but she wasn't sure if it was going to fit her well enough. Looking at the time, she hurriedly put the two pieces on. She put on a skirt that ended below her knees and a deep v neck crop blouse. Walking out of her room, she found Ha-Neul pacing the living room floor.

"You seem nervous," she stated as she went by the kitchen counter and took a sip of her tea. "Thank you." They headed outside her apartment, and although she noticed the look that she was given, she dared not say a word. 'It was too early to be criticized for what she was wearing,' she thought. He opened her side of the door before going to his. The ride to the site was short. One could walk there if one wanted to. When Ha-Neul stopped the car, he went to open his mouth but then closed it, and before Zarah could ask anything, he was already opening her door, and Marce was walking towards them. They started walking before Marce said, "I thought you were just dropping her off."

"Do you want me to leave?" Ha-Neul asked with an innocent voice. Marce looked at him for a second and shook his head. The building had 5 stories, and as they started to walk on the bottom floor, three people showed up. Zarah recognized them as the people that were supposed to oversee the physical project itself. They were the contractors. They walked together throughout the first floor, with Zarah taking notes as they walked through, and when they got to the second floor, they stood to discuss the first floor before they proceeded to the second one.

"What do you think about expanding the space?" Zarah asked.

"What do you mean expanding?" one of the contractors named Jeff asked.

"We originally based the building on accommodating the two companies, but since that is no longer the case, then why not expand it so that each floor is an individual entity?"

"So instead of renting to two companies, rent to five, for instance?" Marce asked to clarify.

"Exactly. I mean, it doesn't...." Zarah stopped mid-sentence when she felt a slight vibration through the panties that she was wearing. She looked down and frowned and then looked back up to everyone. "We can expand it to however many companies we want to, we need...." she stopped mid-sentence again when she felt the vibration again. This time, she c****d her head to the side as she frowned. 'Is it the panties I'm wearing?' she thought to herself. "We need to figure out what type of companies we would like to work with first." She managed to finish as she felt another sensation.

"Don't you think it's a bit too late for you to change the layout?" another contractor asked. You could sense the annoyance in his voice. It was either he didn't know how to hide it, or he did it on purpose.

"Do you get annoyed easily, Mr. Burt?" Zarah asked with a serious voice.

"We have exactly a week left for the project to start, and you are talking about redoing the entire layout," Burt said back with an equal tone of voice.

"I suppose you never encounter roadblocks with your prior projects?" came another question from Zarah.

"Choose your words wisely. She's not to be messed with." Marce chimed in when Burt went to open his mouth.

"This seems to be your problem and not ours, we have a contract in place and shall we finish it on time, we would get bonuses, but with what you are trying to do, we wouldn't be able to finish it on time. And it's too late for you to get another contractor given the time frame." Burt continued sounding cocky and looked upset at the same time. Zarah looked at him and smiled, the same smile she gave the young Mr. Smoke. Marce looked down and up again with a shaking head. This was the first time he was doing business with her. She was always a friend and a coworker, and despite her reservedness, he managed to see a thing or two about her. This was a different side that he never knew existed. He knew for a fact that Ha-Neul didn't know either by the way he was looking at her. Zarah pulled out her phone, and through a speaker came a thick Spanish accent.

"Hola Enrique!" Zarah spoke.

"Zarah, my friend, how are you?" Enrique replied.

"Amazing, what about you, Chico?" Zarah responded.

"Pretty good myself. What can I do for you today?"

"Remember the Yin project?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Do you still have the revised version?"

"Yes, I do, my friend."

"How many men do you think you would need if I were to ask you to start the job next Monday?"

"About 30 men or more."

"Can you get me, 40 men, out here by Monday?" Zarah asked, keeping her gaze locked on Burt, who now looked furious. Muting the phone, Zarah pressed a button or two on her phone as all five men were looking at her attentively. There were shuffles and a "hold on a minute" before the phone went silent for a minute, and "yes absolutely" came through the speaker.

"You are fired," she said with a smile.

"You f*****g b***h!...." Burt shouted, but before he could say anything else, Zarah raised his hand to stop him.

"I am willing to give you a list of companies that are looking to start new projects and are in the process of finding new contractors under one condition." Zarah continued.

"What condition?" Jeff asked.

"I'd like Burt out of the projects that I am going to refer you to. I understand that he is your partner and your boss, but unless you promise me that he would have nothing to do with the projects that have my name attached to them, whether verbally or in writing, then I am going to have to leave it. At you are fired." She finished and stood up straight when she felt the buzzing sensation through her panties, but this time it was a bit stronger than the last time. She looked at Ha-Neul, and she noticed him looking at her groin area. She smiled and turned her head to the three contractors. They were looking at each other and back again at her. Burt clearly looked distressed, but he knew that losing on such a big project brought down their company attention to the right where they started. This was supposed to be their breakthrough. Burt nodded his head as if to say he agreed, and as soon as she opened her mouth, she felt another wave of vibration. He was increasing the speed. Looking back at Ha-Neul, she noticed that both of his hands were in his pockets. When her eyes connected with his, he smiled big with a hint of lust in his eyes. She automatically squeezed her legs together. She was wearing heels, and she was starting to get tired of them. She turned back to Jeff and said, "check your email. I already sent you the list of the companies."

"Did you know that we were going to agree?" James asked the third contractor.

"No! I was the one that chose you despite my partner's protest. It would be sad if I didn't have anything to offer. Give me a call when you decide what kind of a company you want to go with, and I'll see if I can work things out quickly for you. Thank you for your time." Zarah said and turned to Ha-Neul. "Will you please excuse us?" She said as she motioned for Ha-Neul to follow her. They went to a little secluded area, and when they got there, she took off her heels and her panties as well. She put the panties in Ha-Neul's pocket before she put back on her heels.

"I am not your woman Ha-Neul. Please try and remember that." She said before she left. When she got back to where they were all standing, only Marce was left. They continued the walk throughout the building, making notes with Enrique on FaceTime video guiding them. When Marce looked at Ha-Neul, he wondered what they talked about when they left. It wasn't even five minutes before Zarah came back. 'Could it be something she said?' he wondered. Ha-Neul had an animalistic look, he looked like with one wrong move, and he just might rip her clothes off and f**k her. He wanted to ask, but he was too scared to even want to know. He was a man, after all, and he thought about f*****g Zarah thousands of times. The woman was hot, and as she was changing her style, his desire seemed to grow, but he valued the friendship more, and although she doesn't voice it, he knew that she valued the friendship they had more than anything at the moment. And he liked it. It made him feel important. It was because of their friendship that she even agreed to work with him. He didn't know whether he was lucky or cursed, but it made things a little easier with Sofi by his side. Sofi was a freak in the bed and so loud that even when he called Zarah's name as he would be f*****g Sofi, she didn't hear it or acknowledge it. Either way, he was thankful. Looking back at Ha-Neul, he shook his head with a smile. The guy was bewitched. He wondered how things were going to work out for him. He seemed conflicted. On their way back from the fifth floor, Zarah took her shoes off, and she was walking barefooted.

"Would you give me a ride home?" Zarah asked Marce.

"Apologies, my friend, but no can do. I'm meeting Sofi in 30 minutes," Marce replied and waved before he headed to his car. Zarah didn't really want to get into the same vehicle as Ha-Neul, so when she took out her phone to call a ride, he snatched the phone out of her hands and walked to the car. He opened the passenger seat door and motioned for her to get in. She was hesitant, but she eventually budged. He looked surprised. He really didn't think that she would. Knowing Zarah, she was never one to give in. She was the dominant one from the day he met her. He wondered if she was that way in the bedroom as well. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts, but it was nearly impossible knowing that she was sitting right next to him with no underwear on. It was the sexiest thing he had ever seen a woman do. Touching the pockets that had the panties in, he took a deep breath. Zarah was on the phone for the remainder of the ride up to her apartment. She didn't even notice that Ha-Neul walked in right behind her. When dinner time rolled around, she was still on her laptop doing work. He went out and got them some food, but she wouldn't get off the laptop. He even placed the food by the nightstand, and 30 minutes later, she still hadn't touched the food, and so he took matters into his own hand. He had bought some chicken and shrimp skewers because that was what she said she was craving that day, and so he started to feed her with his hand, and to his surprise, she didn't protest. He shook his head with a smile as he was feeding her. It was a sight to see. She was still holding her mouth open when the food was gone. She turned away from the computer to see his hand right below her mouth. She involuntarily licked his middle finger, which was covered in sauce, index and when she wrapped her mouth around the thumb, she looked up at him and slowly pulled her head back. "Sorry, it's a habit," she said apologetically as she licked her lips. "Thank you." Ha-Neul was left in a daze. He never knew a man could get blue balls because he was pretty sure that he was, from knowing that she was walking around with no panties on to her... He was flabbergasted. He couldn't even think. He reached for the laptop, but she moved to the side and said, "few more minutes, I promise." And that was when he realized that she still had no panties on because when they walked into the apartment, she went straight to her room and opened the laptop before she started working. "I might do something that you might not like. Please put away the laptop," Ha-Neul said calmly. She looked up at him and closed the laptop. Suzy never talked to him when he wanted to. It was always on her time, and seeing how she completely set aside the laptop, although she said that she would be done in a few minutes, gave him butterflies. She had always been the only person that truly listened to him. That's what made him fall in love with her. Sitting on her legs on the bed, she turned, so her whole body was facing him.

"I'm listening," she said with a smile.

"I really want to f**k you right now," Ha-Neul said with a low voice. Zarah felt her p***y clench.

"I already know that," she responded as a matter of fact.

"No, like really f**k you, rip your skirt off, open up your legs and taste you and bury my d**k so deep that your toes curl, your back arch and your eyes roll at the back of your head," he whispered, leaning forward. Zarah bit her lip as she felt her thighs moist. 'The man can talk,' she thought.

"Suzy..."

"I broke off the engagement the day I came to America. He was looking into her eyes, searching for permission, and he noticed that she was biting the inside of her lip. She was stopping herself. He put his hand on the side of her face, and she automatically leaned into his hand. "She thought I was kidding." He continued.

"I love you, Zaraphinah Queen. I am awfully madly in love with you."

"I thought you didn't believe in love." It was a topic they had when they first met in Korea. He wanted to f**k her then, but she enjoyed s*x with emotions, although it wasn't going to last, and that was when he shared what he had to go through because of his parents' divorce, which led him into not being a fan of falling in love.

"You remember," he said with a smile and then frowned. "Your memories... Are back!" He said with excitement, and as soon as that feeling came, it was followed with a strong sense of desire. His memories went back when;

'He had gone out to take care of some business. When he walked out of the door in the little apartment, Zarah was nowhere to be seen. When he got back to the apartment that evening, he opened the bedroom door to find Zarah in a silk robe, laying on her back with one hand inside the rob touching her breast and the other one holding a vibrator against her naked c**t. Her legs were open with a pillow on her back. She had her eyes closed. He had never seen something like it, at least not in real life, face to face. When his eyes slowly found their way back to her face, he found her looking at his groin, and he felt his pants tightening. No words were said as they met gaze and as if on cue, she arched her back and let out a loud moan. He watched as her toes curled and her body stiffened. Her legs crossed each other, and she lay still for a minute. Ha-Neul just watched her from the door. He slowly brought his hand and touched his member through the fabric. He was going crazy. He started regretting having to stay with a woman that he thinks nothing about except f*****g her, and in return, she would rather masturbate than entertain the idea of them f*****g. The first time he heard her in the bathroom, he thought that it was something that she desired because of the s****l tension, but after talking to her, she enlightened him by letting him know that it was something that she did daily. It was only after they were staying together for that time that she found herself doing it more and more. "If you are not going to f**k me like it's the last day on earth, then I'd rather satisfy myself, and that requires emotions," is what she told him after she came out of the bedroom fully dressed in normal clothes. The tension between the two was undeniable, but resistance came to her as if she was flexing her muscles. She was a natural at it.'

He smiled as the memory crossed his mind. She watched as Ha-Neul leaned in for a kiss and slightly pushed him away, "I need fresh air," she spoke as she got up. She wanted him, so bad but remembering the scars on her back, she suddenly felt unattractive. She hadn't always felt insecure about her body. It was just recently that the realization that there were men that actually found her attractive. That's when she had a notion in her head that she was supposed to look a certain way. She knew that her back wasn't something she could hide. Remembering the look on Alexei's face just gave her the chills, for a split second just second, a look of pity crossed his eyes, and she didn't want to see that look on someone that she would supposedly be sleeping with. She was consumed by so much shock because of the past memories that she wished she'd go back from where she couldn't even remember her name. She understood why she had no friends or family. She wasn't a loner. It was a choice that she chose that she thought was beneficial for humankind. As much as she liked the person that she saw in the mirror, there were plenty of days where she felt like not good enough, not pretty enough, and when it came to men, she never thought that she was sexy. It was a constant struggle that she had to fight with herself. Being disabled for a while, as it came to no surprise considering the treatments she got from people, her self-esteem took a hit, although not by a long run, she had to rebuild herself. She opened the window, and she sat as she looked at the stars.

"You are doing it again?" Ha-Neul spoke up as he walked up to her. "I am never going to force you to do something that you wouldn't want to do, you know that, right?" He asked, and she smiled with a nod, "and I think you are f*****g hot, absolute beauty, and if you ask me, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met in my life, and that would never change, I can promise you that."

"You haven't seen my whole body."

"Even when you were in a wheelchair, I found you attractive. I don't think if there's anything about your body that I wouldn't want to devour," he said with a wink and crossed his tongue across his lips, making a so delicious face. Zarah smiled. Alexei's pity face came to her mind, and she shook her head. She wasn't ready to show her body to someone she loved, let alone be intimate.

"Is there something you remembered that is bothering you?" He probed. She continued to look out of the window. Saying something is an underestimation. She watched as he left the room, and 30 minutes later, he came back, took her hand, and he walked with her to the living room, where there was her favorite ice cream on the coffee table, and a paused video on the screen. He laid the blankets to make a soft and cozy spot, and pillows were against the couch. He sat her down and tucked her with the blankets, and handed her the ice cream with the spoon. He played the video. It was a Jim Carry movie, Ace Ventura. She smiled, and her heart melted. It was so simple but so thoughtful at the same time. Throughout the film, they cracked up. When the movie was going towards the end, he got off the floor, and when he got back to the living room as he predicted, the film had ended. "I ran you a bath," he said as he put everything to where he found them. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him but knowing that nothing was stopping them from being together, she would only be playing a very dangerous game. She stared at him for a while before she headed to the bathroom. The water was just perfect. Upon taking her clothes off, she submerged herself in the tub.