Favorite Vice

Chapter Two

She doesn’t reply, but that’s fine. “What would you do if I kissed you right now? Will you allow me, my angel?” Her head bobs up and down and her eyes glide down to my lips. So, without ceremony, I claimed her lips. Licking and biting at her plump, red bow. A sobering sound echoes through the room, and she scrambles to find it. It came from her bag that I set on the couch.

“I’m sorry. I have to take this call.” She runs off to the bedroom and I laugh at myself. I almost lost it there. The soft touch of her lips lingers in mine and I want nothing more than to take her back in my arms and savor more of her. But, time doesn’t allow it as I received a text from my secretary reminding me of the interview I needed to handle today. With a reluctant sigh, I get off the couch and hesitate to knock on my bedroom door when I hear her talking to someone desperately. “I know, Sam. I’m really sorry. I’ll explain everything to you when I get there, okay? Bye. Take care.”

The doorknob turns open and reveals her angelic face to me. Every single time, she robs me of my breath so easily. How can she do this to me? “Sorry, I was about to knock. Ah, are you leaving now?”

She nods and gives me her shy smile again. “Yeah. I have to go to work today. Thanks for letting me stay again.” I took a step towards her, and she stepped back, until her knees hit the edge of the bed.

I held her by the waist and nuzzled her neck. I creep up to her ears and lick her earlobe. “Are you in a hurry, angel?” I ask, stealing a few kisses to her earlobe down to her neck. I’m tempted by her protruding bone just further down. So, upon hearing her tiny, breathy moan, I slid down to her collarbones. The square-neck of her summer dress presents her collarbone delectably to me. Then, I press chaste kisses on the valley of her breast. And to tease me further, my phone rings. The annoying ringtone tells me it’s from my secretary. She’s a childhood friend who decided to work for me. But, now that she’s pregnant, she has decided to leave for good. So, I have to find a new competent secretary to replace her. “What?” I yelled at her, frustrated and sporting a massive boner.

“Just in case you forgot, boss. The applicants will start coming in by 8. It’s already past 7. Will you be fine?” I love her, and we’ve been best friends for a long time, but she irritates me to no end today. Her teasing tone amplifies my annoyance and I groan, trying to hold back from yelling at her.

I brushed my face and let out a loud breath. “Fine. I’m coming, happy?” I heard her chuckle along with paper flipping furiously.

“Very.” She ends the call and I look back at Jasmine. I learned her name from her friend. Such a delicate beauty with a delicate name.

“Sorry. I have to go now, too. My secretary has been pestering me. Ah, why don’t I drive you home? Less time to spend in traffic.” She doesn’t say anything, but nods, then hurries out of the room. I pull a gray shirt and a suit from my closet then slip them on fast.

***

I open my phone where I see a new set of text messages from Samantha, asking me where I am or if I have been kidnapped. She’s a worrywart, but I still love her. So, I open her messages and send her a text telling her I’m okay and that I’m on my way to see her. I turned to the devilishly handsome man beside me and cleared my throat. “Ah, can you drop me off by the DeMarco Corp. office, please?”

He stares back at me, pressing me down with his overwhelming presence. “The DeMarco office, huh? Sure.”

“Are you absolutely sure? It’s fine if it’s not along the way. I can take a cab.” I was about to take my seat belt off when he grabbed my hand and shook his head.

“Don’t worry. It’s along the way.” He gave me a million dollar smile and took my breath away. “If I may ask, angel, who are you meeting in DeMarco Corp.?”

My mom’s voice rings through my head, “The eyes are the windows to a person’s soul.” Those words have always kept me wondering if a person's soul can really be seen through their eyes. And right at this very moment, I somehow have proven it’s true. Because I see that dark glint in his eyes, as if prodding me to touch the flames only to be burned.

I hesitated to answer him and chose to reply with a curt, “A friend.” He hummed at my response and didn’t probe further. The car ride was overtaken by silence, which I welcomed. I had been trying to think of different excuses that would please Sam’s ears as to why she couldn’t reach me for a whole night. And I just promised her I’d cook dinner for both of us. I’m so screwed.

We arrived at a towering building with a huge sign in front that says, KDM, in bold letters. “We’re here.” I take off my seat belt while he runs to my side of the door and opens it.

I muttered a shy ‘thank you’ and fixed my dress. I was waiting for him to return to his car, but he was just standing in front of me. “Aren’t you gonna go to work? You might be late.”

He nods and flashes me his charming smile with the deep dimples on his left cheek. “Yeah, but I’m waiting for my reward.” I scrunch my forehead while he chuckles. He leans into me and gives me a kiss on the forehead. “You have my number on your phone. Call me anytime you need me, angel.” I stood starstruck at his actions and words, but what’s more perplexing when I saw him run towards KDM’s entrance and the two guards bowing at him.

“Jazmine!” Someone yelling my name took me out of the trance I was in.

“What?” I asked. Sammy stands in front of me, her face only a breadth away from me.

“What is going on with you? Last night, I couldn’t contact you, and today you are out of it! Is it Art again? I swear to god when I see that man…” She cuts herself off and mumbles away. “No, wait. I can’t even call that guy a man! When I see him, I swear I’m gonna cut his balls off. Or maybe he doesn’t even have them in the first place. He couldn’t even have the balls to defend you against his parents. What a coward! Ugh!”

By the end of her spiel, she was breathless and red in the face. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. I hold it in, or she’ll turn her wrath towards me. “Are you done? We don’t talk about shitty boys anymore. They don’t deserve to be mentioned. It’s better to let them rot in the past.”

She scoffs and flicks my forehead. “Yeah, like you didn’t go the club last night to drown in alcohol just to forget him.”

Ouch! She hit the nail on the head. I didn’t correct her. It’s easy for me to say that I’ll let whatever happened remain in the past, but the truth is that I’m still hurting. But, I’ll get over it. I know I will. “Let’s forget about that. So, what was your problem again? About your boss’ bank account?”

She flicks my forehead again and glares at me. “No, we will not forget about what you did last night and where you went to.” She emphasized the last bit; I knew she was not going to let this go. “But, I have to solve this today if I don’t want to be fired today!” She shivers and crestfallen face shows the dread of working under a tyrannical boss.

“Hey, that’s not the Sammy I know. My Sammy would barrel through this problem. Bring me back my Sammy.” I grip her forearms, shaking her slightly. Hearing her laugh lightens my worry a little. She might not say it to me, but she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. Due to her dad’s huge debt, she was forced to work since college. She’s been doing odd jobs here and there. Even having this full-time job, she still needs to work part-time. I once offered to help her, but she declined; she said she didn’t want me to be burdened by her own problems.

We entered a small café, and she ran me through what had happened. Basically, after she withdrew the money, an unknown transaction happened, withdrawing twice the amount she took. “The bank manager told me it might have been a fraudulent case, maybe identity theft. I withdrew the money through ATM and no one was behind me, so I’m sure nobody peeked through my shoulders for any personal information. I don’t know what to do. I even managed to buy the gift, but my boss called and asked me how much I withdrew from the bank because he got two notifications about his bank activities just moments after the other.”

“So, does he know what happened?” I asked.

Sam fidgeted in her seat and sipped her matcha latte before looking straight into my eyes. “No.” I facepalmed myself, thinking she'd be in so much trouble if her boss found out.

“Hold on. Let me call Veronica. I’m sure he has an idea of what to do.” Veronica is a licensed CPA working as a bank manager. I don’t understand why Sam would go for me first when she has a bank manager friend.

As I was talking to Vie, Sam’s phone lit up, flashing the name Kurt DeMarco. She picks up her phone with trembling hands. “Hello, sir.” The more she listens to the person on the other line, the more her face contorts into pain. “I’m really sorry, sir DeMarco. I was being careful, and I swear I only withdrew enough to buy the gift you told me to. I didn’t know what happened next.” The call goes on for a few minutes before she hangs up with a pale face. “I’m doomed. I’m gonna lose this job, and I’m gonna have a bad record on my resume. What am I gonna do?”