AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 15
Sam
I didn’t mind giving Natalie the watch.
Not really.
There was a moment when I thought I should find something else. But it had to be important to me. An object or item that held meaning for me. There weren’t too many of those around and the watch had never been about telling the time as much as it was a signal that I’d arrived, that I’d finally become part of a certain group of people. The watch was a symbol and looking at it over the years sometimes reminded me of those early days; when a watch could mean so much. I could afford to buy myself a new one, at double the price.
But Natalie meant more to me than the watch.
In the days that followed her return, I knew it had been the right decision. We spent hours in bed, talking about the past and getting to know one another again. I gave the housekeeper time off and made Natalie breakfast in bed, went out of my way to treat her in little ways. I wanted her to feel special and try to make up, in small ways, for what had happened in college. I’ve never been one for regret, for agonizing about decisions made in the past. Things happened, sometimes mistakes were made, and you moved on. It was clear to me though, that breaking up with Natalie and especially the way I’d done it, was not right. No matter how cold I could be in the boardroom, I was not a monster like some people thought. I’d been wrong about Natalie.
I was determined not to screw this up.
I went in to work later now in the mornings, so that I could have breakfast with the two of them before I left. It didn’t feel like a chore or something I had to force myself to do. I wanted to. I came home earlier, so we could walk in the garden or have a drink before dinner.
Dana knew something was up.
I was spending less time at work and delegating more tasks to other team members. I think she suspected I was seeing someone as she’d sometimes drop hints about where I’d been the night before if I came in later in the morning. I ignored these comments and found them annoying. Just because Dana sometimes helped me out with Ethan and matters of my personal life, she was not entitled to know everything about me.
Then the annual IT conference hosted in New York came up. This year the conference organizers asked me to present one of the sessions and attend two panels. It was a big honor and a major networking opportunity. Dana came with me, and I’d booked us into a hotel for two nights. There was a dinner on the second evening and even though I wanted to go home to Natalie, I knew I had to stay on. My presentation had gone well, several people had come up to me to talk to me about business, and I’d handed out many business cards. I took a long shower and got dressed in a smart but simple suit. Dana knocked on the door and I noticed she wore a revealing gown with a plunging neckline. Her hair was a deep auburn and had been curled for the event.
“What do you think?” she asked and twirled around for me.
“You look nice,” I said, and she smiled widely at me. She seemed overly pleased by my remark, and it occurred to me that she was reading more into it that I had intended. But I was thinking about someone I wanted to talk to at the dinner. Dana took my arm and pulled me close. Her perfume, something heavy and oriental, made me sneeze. I pulled away slightly and we went down to the hotel lobby to get a car to the event dinner. It was a tedious event that seemed to go on for hours and hours. The guy I wanted to talk to never showed up. The food was cold and bland, and I drank more than I usually did, mostly from boredom. I checked the time, hoping to be able to slip out soon. When I looked at my new watch, I smiled thinking of how I’d given my Rolex to Natalie, to show my commitment to our relationship.
I looked up and Dana caught my eye, returning the smile she thought was meant for her. I indicated my head towards the door, showing her I wanted to leave. I didn’t expect her to come with me, but she said she’d had enough. We took a cab back to our hotel and went up in the lift to our floor.
Our rooms were next to each other.
As I reached my door, I said good night.
But Dana was not walking past me to her room. Surprised, I saw she was leaning against the wall outside my room, very close to me. “Well, it could be, you know, a good night.” Her voice was low and suggestive, and it took me a while to figure out what she was saying. I shook my head, as if that would change the meaning of the words, make them sound less like a come on. I didn’t think of Dana that way, I never had. She was an attractive woman, but she was my personal assistant.
My door clicked open, and I went in, heading straight for the bathroom. When I came out, ready for bed, I saw that Dana was lying on top of the covers. Naked. It took me a while to process the image of an unclothed Dana on my bed.
“Dana.”
“Come on over here,” she said in a sultry voice. She reached up and pulled me down onto the bed. It was happening too fast, and I needed to come up with a way out of this that would not be embarrassing to either of us. While I was thinking, she kissed me. She was aggressive and athletic, taking me by surprise by straddling me with her strong legs, grinding down on my groin, pushing her breasts in my face. Her nipples were large and dark pink. They swung deliciously in front of my face, tantalizing close to my face.
“Wait, give me a sec,” I said, and she paused, easing off me.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” I went into the bathroom again, closing the door behind me.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
I knew I could sleep with Dana if I wanted to. Natalie would never know. I could hide it from her, easily,
I just didn’t want to.
There it was. I had become that mythical beast, the one-woman man.
When I opened the door, Dana had put her clothes back on.
“Jesus, my stomach,” I said, pulling a grimace. “I think something I ate at that dinner didn’t agree with me.” She turned to me, concern on her face. “Do you want me to get you something?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
