The Tempted and The Temptress

Chapter 14

It was a beautiful day for it to be so cold.  The sun was shining, with not a cloud in the sky, and the people on the street seemed to have a lighter step. The contrast from the dreary past few days was refreshing to anyone who was outside.  The office seemed to buzz with activity and excitement, something that only happened during the summer and on the holidays. That is everyone but me.

The paper on my desk no longer made sense, each of the words running together until they become a big blur. Between Tammy and the baby, life was becoming more complicated until my concentration at work was almost none existed.  I was so confused by her actions, suddenly making dinner for us.  Then the massage. I just couldn’t understand.  It was as if nothing happened, but I knew that we were on fragile ground.  I should be relaxed and basking in the aftermath of the best lovemaking we’ve had since this whole ordeal began. But I could only think about ways I could mend this fix between us before the baby comes.   

            “How’s it going?” a soft feminine voice said. It could only be one person and I didn’t really feel like being bothered with her. Emilie was still a sore spot for my Tammy and the recent events didn’t help.  We had dated a for a short time before we decided that we were just much better friends, especially since we worked so closely on the majority of our projects.  At twenty-seven, she was a young heavy hitter in the company, and would without a doubt own an advertising agency as some point if she choose.  She was witty, and absolutely stunning, and had the most charming personality, often having men and women going out of their way to do whatever it was she needed.

            “Great!” I replied, without much enthusiasm. I didn’t want to open a discussion with her about my life.  That wouldn’t lead off too well because she would go into a litany about how I could make it all better.  I honestly just didn’t want to hear about it today.

            “Then why are you stapling your tie?” Emilie asked.  I looked down to see that in fact, my blue, cream, and brown striped tie attached to the document I was currently working on. 

            “Yea, you got me” I said. “I guess the white isn’t a good look for me.”  I’d never been able to hide things from her very well.

            Emilie laughed, which was music to anyone’s ears. A few of the guys outside of the office stopped their work and turned in the direction of the sound.  “You did such a good job with the blue shirt brown pants combo.”

            “Hey, I could always dress myself,” I said, undo the staples from my tie.

            “Here, let me,” Emilie said, getting the staple remover and detaching me from the paper.  “There you go, partner.”

 We were on projects so often that we came to know each other very well.  And today, she was searching for something. “What’s up?”

            “Mack wants us to get on this project right away.  There’s a Suave Natural deodorant line that they want to market.  There is both a male and female line.”

            “How is the product?” I said, going into full business mode.  I thoroughly enjoyed my job, so this was truly a welcome change.

            “We get the samples tomorrow,” Emilie replied, sitting on the edge of my desk, her skirt raising up a little. She was a stunning woman, with olive colored skin, and eyes the color of the desert.  She was one of the few people I knew with a Coke bottle figure, bust, waist, and hips, all in direct proportion. I remember Malcolm once telling me that I was a fool to not keep her around. 

            “I’ll try to work on a few concepts tonight, and we can start bouncing ideas tomorrow.”

            “How about dinner?” Emilie said.  She has just flipped her shoulder length, dark brown hair, and was running her finger around her collar.

            “Sorry, I can’t,” I replied.  She definitely knew what she was doing.  Question was why?

            “Something special.”

            “Just dinner with Tammy.”

            “Oh, that’s right, the family.  How far a long is she?”  Emilie was toying with her necklace over the opening of her brown fitted button down shirt.

            “Six months,” I said. Something was up.  The last time Emilie used her body around me was to convince me to put her on the new shoe advertisement for one of her favorite football players.  It almost worked then, but I know the signs.

            “What is it, Em?”

            “What ever are you talking about, Max?” Emilie said, feigning innocence.

            “Come on.”

            “Fine,” Emilie said, repositioning herself to sit less provocatively on the desk.  “I need you to come with me to the opening on Friday at Selsiers.”

            “I really can’t,” I said.  Damn, Tammy and keeping our marriage under wraps until we could really get things together was not helping.

            “Why not?” Emilie going for blood and I could see her not letting up. I sighed because there was almost no what to get out of this.

            “Well, Tammy already asked if I could come to support her,” I said. I wasn’t completely a lie.

            “She’ll be working the event, as always.  She won’t be coming as going.  You can escort me and still make it back in time to take her home.  Besides, you told me you would take me to the next big one, and this, by all accounts is big.  Even the people who don’t care about the art will be there.”

            “I just want to be available for her, you know with the pregnancy and all,” I made out less confidently.  Get out the fire, get out the fire.

            “Is the baby yours?”  The words hit me like a stack of bricks. Since Tammy and I are the only ones who talk about the baby, it was hard to hear it come from someone else. I was just silent.  I most definitely wasn’t going to deny it, but what was I to do?

            “Hmmm,” replied Emilie.  “That explains quite a bit.  Why haven’t you married her yet?  You’re too old fashioned to not make sure your child carries your name.”

            “I’m not going to discuss this today, Em.”  This was going to be a disaster.

            “Well you clearly don’t want any one to know, for whatever reason you have. It’s obvious you two are in love with each other.”

            “You think so?”  I asked.  I had my doubts about Tammy, so a woman’s opinion was well appreciated.

            “No wonder you don’t want to talk about it,” Emily said, standing. “Let’s make a deal.”

            “About what?”

            “Simple,” she said.  “Escort me on Friday, and I’ll keep everything to myself.  In fact, I’ll even tell you how to get out of this mess you’re putting yourself into.”

            “And what do I tell Tammy?” This was getting out of control too quickly. 

            “Tell her it was an obligation you had a long time ago.  Besides, since you’re no longer available, you owe it to me to find an eligible bachelor.”

            “Take one of your single girl friends, they would help you better than I could.”

            Emilie laughed.  “You know so little.  Trust me, I will have the men knocking my door down if I show up with you no my arm.  And after my association with Tiara, I have to establish myself on the team again.”

            “Alright,” I said standing.  “I’ll get it all together.”

            Emilie hugged me.  “Thanks so much.  And hey, Max.”

            “What’s up?” I replied.

            “It’ll all work out.”

            I needed the vote of confidence.  At least one of us was certain of the outcome.

            Later on that evening, I opened the door to the house and was met with the smell of something so delicious that it literally pulled me into the kitchen, like the imaginary hands they had on cartoons.

            “Hello, I’m home!” I called.

            “I’m in the dining room.  Drop your briefcase and come on it.”

            I put down my briefcase in my office, and walked into the dining room, which had only candle light. When I entered, I saw Tammy standing off in the corner, wearing nothing save an apron, loosely tied around her belly, and some low heeled shoes.  The table was set again, with everything I liked, and even the non-alcoholic wine for herself.

            “Hi,” I said, taking in the sight. She was so beautiful.  The white apron was a glowing contrast against her cocoa brown skin.  The pregnancy agreed with her, her thin black locks growing significantly longer than I remembered, now shoulder-length and curly.  Her eyes held a mixture of desire and mischief in them that pulled me in.

            “Hi, yourself,” Tammy said and she approached me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

            “You’ve been busy.  Are you working too hard?”  I got a little worried because of her condition, but I was quickly losing my focus as my arms felt her bare back.

            “Can’t I take time out to appreciate my man?”

            “I just don’t want you over taxing yourself.”

            “Shhhh. No more talking,” Tammy said, her voice sultry.  “Are you hungry?”

            I laughed, my voice already husky from her heedy smell, as I picked her up in my arms. “Always.”

            “But I spent time make all of this.”

            “I see all the feast I need right here,” I replied and kissed her deeply.  There was no discussion after that.

            Much later, after she was sleeping, satisfied from a different kind of food, I came back down to see the Cornish hens seasoned with some spicy sauce, little red potatoes, green beans, homemade corn bread, and a pecan pie.  I fixed myself a small plate and put a little on a plate for her.  A man could get used to this.  We had a lot to talk about in the morning.