A Small Indiscretion Ch. 03

He got up and walked over to her. Before she could object he pulled her close to himself and lowered his lips on hers. She resisted initially but then went still.

Finally he pulled apart. She was still breathing heavily but the shivering had subsided.

"Look Sherry perhaps it did not come out the way I wanted it to. We are both under a lot of stress and all I wanted to say was that it would be better that we took our time to plan our next step ahead. There's too much at stake here. In our society, even a murderer gets a second chance after he has completed his sentence. And it would be a good idea if we get together again. I just want you to understand that whatever happens next will be decided by the two of us as mature persons. Got it?"

Sherry nodded her head.

They talked some more till Dave thought it was time to leave as Ma would be returning soon.

"Thanks for having me over Sherry. Maybe we should get together again."

"Yup, I don't see any harm in that."

Dave brushed her cheek with his hand and then abruptly turned and walked out into the night.

Sherry watched her husband walking down the street from the window, his long, manly strides taking him further and further away from their home.

-----------------------------------------------

"Hi Cyndi, is Dave in?"

Cyndi looked up from her computer screen. It was Rita from the procurement cell.

"I am supposed to update him with the status of the purchases, stock level blah, blah for his video conference with the Head Office later today," she continued with a smile.

Cyndi looked hard at Rita. She was a curvaceous, long legged, blue eyed blond who had just come out of a scrappy marriage. Rita was wearing a fashionable skirt coming up to just above her knees and a sleeveless blouse. It was a well fitting blouse and it seemed her ample boobs were straining to break free. The top button was open and a flash of cleavage was clearly discernible.

She frowned. "Yeah, he is expecting you," she finally said.

Cyndi wore a disconcerted look as she watched Rita enter the cabin.

"Hi Dave," said Rita as she walked briskly up to him, her breasts doing a quick juggling act within the tight confines of her form-fitting blouse. She gave a sweet smile as she saw Dave staring at her bosom.

He saw Rita smiling at him and flushed realising that she had caught him looking at her assets.

"Rita you are looking wonderful as always," he finally said with a smile, acknowledging the fact that he had been admiring her and that she was also aware that he had been doing that.

"I'm sure you say that to all the girls over here, but thank you for that compliment. It makes a girl feel wonderful to know that she still has it in her to turn a few heads," she replied as she sat down and took out her reports.

"Rita you are a nice, good looking girl with a sensible head on your shoulders. We all know what you have been through in your personal life was really not your fault. It was just one of those cases of mental incompatibility with the two of you having different perceptions of what to expect from life."

"Yes, you are so right," she replied in a low voice, "I never imagined he would be so focused on his career. Having a family, it seemed, was never going to be a priority item for him."

"And you?" asked Dave with a raised eyebrow.

"Babies, babies and more babies, the more the merrier," she replied with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you will find the right guy. So cheer up and let's get down to some working," replied Dave as he gave a quick, appreciative look at her cleavage. She was indeed a good looking lassie.

The two began poring over the numbers. The video conference was scheduled in the afternoon.

Unknown to him, outside his cabin, a different type of discussion was being held about him.

"It seems the word has got around that Dave is single and available," said Cyndi over her cell.

There was a slight pause at the other end.

"And what makes you arrive at that conclusion, office wife?" came a tentative voice from the other end.

"Well, some of the girls are more attractively attired nowadays and are making it a habit to bring reports over for a one to one discussion with him rather than sending them over to me for vetting—under the pretext of a short timeline, of course" replied Cyndi grimly.

"So I suppose we shall soon know whether there is indeed another side to Mr. Dave Harding's nature or whether things are as he tells them to be," came back the reply.

"In other words you want to give him some room to ... uh, play around?"

"Do you have to say it that way?" came Sherry's brusque reply.

"I don't like it."

"But neither can you stop the pretty faces from flocking around him can you?"

"Look, you wanna be sure that you can trust him don't you?"

"Yes," came back a tentative reply.

"Then just hear me out for now," said Cyndi as she started talking in a low tone. She spoke for some minutes and then came to a stop. "Well?" Cyndi quizzed as she finished outlining her rough plan.

"Give me some time to think over it."

"Okay, but don't take too long," she warned as she swivelled back to her computer screen.

In his cabin, Dave was becoming impatient. "How many more pages to go?" he asked.

"Just a couple remaining," replied Rita with her head down, furiously ticking the numbers.

Definitely D size cups, thought Dave. During their working a second button had popped open and Dave was treated to some wonderful visions. He could see Rita's brown areolas peeking out from her bra.

He felt his little fella responding to the beautiful vision. Standing up with her around was indeed going to be a problem, at least for a while.

Dave tore his eyes away from their dessert, picked up his mobile and called Scotty at the site.

"Hi Scotty, anything new to report?"

"No Chief, things are running as per schedule, and no fuck ups either."

"Good, Head Office should be pleased with that," he replied, his gaze gravitating back to Rita's unbuttoned blouse.

"And Scotty, you have the coming Friday off. I have made reservations for two at the balcony and then dinner for two at that upscale restaurant you always wanted to take Stella out to."

"Hey! you made quite a dent in my pocket," he replied with a laugh.

"Oh I will take care of that through my miscellaneous expense account," replied Dave, "Just have a good time."

"Thanks Chief that should put me back in her good books. In fact I have already begun softening her up," he continued in a conspiratorial tone, "She asked me if she could accompany her colleague Evelyn to a wedding as Evelyn wanted some company. I told her to go ahead 'cause I know it will get her in the mood, and on Friday I will take her to the theatre for what should be the beginning to a fantastic weekend," concluded Scotty with a chuckle.

"As long as you make it back to The Orbit Mall on Monday I have no complaints," replied Dave with a hearty laugh.

"Finished," exclaimed Rita as Dave put his mobile back on the desk.

Dave went through the numbers and the accompanying summary analysis one final time.

"Nice work Rita, nice to have a reliable person like you on board," said Dave.

Rita leaned forward, placing her hand gently on his, "Dave you can ask from me anything ... anytime," she replied softly, her eyes gazing into his.

Dave felt uncomfortable. He was sure that statement from Rita meant more than just business and he was not in the mood to play around.

He pressed her hand for a moment before releasing them, "I'm looking forward to some more in-depth analytical outputs from you," he replied.

Rita smiled and left with a wave of her hand.

Dave called in Cyndi and the two began putting the final touches on their Power Point presentation. Fred joined them a few moments later with his fund flow projections.

Dave glanced at the morning newspaper. Damn, he cursed himself silently. He had intended to call his wife and congratulate her for her story on parental child abuse. Now that will have to wait till the evening.

* * *

Sherry crossed and uncrossed her legs as she tried to pay full attention to her editor's talk. She, along with the other sub editors, had joined Ed in the conference room for a briefing on their next story assignment. Her mind kept going back to her husband and the mess they were in. Their newspaper had got wind of some critical goof-ups by the city councils of some major cities in the allotment of lucrative building contracts. Ed was explaining the information in detail with the help of a manual which laid down the ordinances and guidelines for awarding contracts, and which some city councils were cleverly side stepping to allot the contracts to their favoured few.

She scribbled down the cities she would cover along with the names and contact numbers of the persons they would network with.

Ed was winding down. "Look guys, you are all experienced hands and so I am not going to go into how you should go about collecting the story. Just make sure we get some real hard hitting information and yes, also ensure that we are not open to any litigation proceedings. Sherry you have been allotted some major cities. You did a great job with that last story and we expect a lot from you."

"Sure Ed, you can look forward to it," she replied, beaming happily, forgetting the turmoil in her personal life for some moments.

The discussions went on for some time before Ed finally called the meeting to a close. Each had been given a CD containing the relevant information, bylaws, et cetera, pertaining to the city or cities they were assigned.

"Sherry, could I have a moment please?" called out Ed as she made her way out.

"Yes, Ed?" asked Sherry as he walked up to her.

"My daughter Alice will be coming over next week. They have a couple of days' break at their college. I was planning to buy her a nice dress but when it comes to buying ladies' dress I'm a poor judge, especially what a young lady would like to wear. So I was wondering if you could help me out by accompanying me to the shopping mall?" he asked in an apologetic tone.

Sherry looked up at Ed's chiselled face, his friendly eyes looking pleadingly at her. Ed had often spoken about his daughter who was pursuing a course in mass communications. Sherry had never met her but had come to know a lot about her through Ed. He adored his daughter.

"Sure Ed, I will be happy to do that. When do we go?"

"How about this evening?"

"Sure Ed, I think we can do it today," she replied with a smile and walked out of the conference room.

Across the town, another heavyweight conference was underway in right earnest. Dave, along with Cyndi and Fred, was bringing his head office up to date with the Orbit Mall work report.

"Dave, we do not want the city inspectors swarming all over our work site. So keep your house in order and ensure complete safety of your crew members," said Paula. She was the Vice President of Projects. With a degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University and over fifteen years of experience, she was a walking dictionary on everything related to civil construction.

"Keep a close watch on the workings down there," added Bob Thomson in a raised voice. He was another senior executive assigned by the head office to the Orbit Mall project. "Once we complete Phase 3, we will be through the most sensitive stretch of work. After that we should be able to complete the remaining work well in time to qualify for the Wilbur Smith Housing Project. Our company cannot afford to lose out on that project. Do you get me Dave?"

"Your message is loud and clear, Bob," replied Dave in an irritated tone. He knew what Bob was implying: Another mess up and Dave would be replaced. Dave never did like that seedy-looking Thomson fellow. Thomson had joined their company some time back and they had never gotten along well. Now it seems Thomson was getting a good opportunity to tweak Dave's nose about.

"I plan to be there the day after Phase 3. Book a couple of tickets on the commuter jet so that we can make a quick visit to the site. We can plan for whatever reinforcements you may need, if any" said Paula in an attempt to cool down the fraying tempers.

"We will be ready," replied Dave. As long as that stick in the mud didn't accompany her he had no problem.

The meeting went on for some time longer, and by now it was apparent that the head office was a bit rattled with the inspectors' paying surprise visits. Nobody wanted any more slip-ups at the Orbit Mall, or to finger the real issue, nobody wanted to lose out on the lucrative Wilbur Smith Housing Project.

Dave held an impromptu meeting with Cyndi, Ron and Fred after the meeting with the head office came to a close. He rechecked the quality standard of the material being used at the Orbit Mall site and then the expenditure to be met through the additional funds being disbursed by their head office. As far as he could see, the quality of work was good and so was the material being used. It was only the string of accidents that had him worried.

He looked wearily at his watch. It was close to eight in the evening. The others had left a long time back for their home and family. But he had no family to go home to, just a sparsely furnished one bedroom flat awaited him

Dave looked at his family photo on his table. He missed his kid and yes, he missed Sherry too. But he knew that the trust-building process was going to be a slow, uphill task. If the positions had been reversed—had Sherry confessed to him about a one night stand—then he knew it would have torn his heart apart. He just could not bring himself to imagine his Sherry in bed with another man, and likewise he could well understand the turmoil going on inside his wife's mind.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, reliving happy memories of times past. Sherry must be home by now, he thought. He mentally envisioned the activities that must be taking place. It was close to DJ's bed time. No doubt Sherry must be in the process of preparing him for the night. He really missed reading the bed time tales to his son.

* * *

"Sherry, you have been of awesome help!" exclaimed Ed as they settled down at their dinner table. As planned, Ed had picked up Sherry from her home and the two had gone to the downtown shopping mall to pick a dress for Ed's daughter. Thereafter they had made their way to the restaurant at Hotel Marriott, where Ed had already made a reservation for dinner.

"It wasn't rocket science, but nevertheless, thanks," replied Sherry as she sipped her wine with a twinkle in her eyes.

It had been quite some time since she had gone out anywhere. Since her estrangement with Dave, she had been spending most of her hours after work at home, going out only for the most essential chores. It had been Ma Harding's idea. Ma had been after Sherry to take care of herself, to go out and meet her friends or go shopping with them instead of doing things all by herself and spending most of the time at home brooding about her personal life. Meeting people, as Ma Harding had reasoned with her, would help her to get a grip on her life and think ahead with clarity.

Even then she had hesitated. Her heart was not really into it, but Ed had turned on all his charms to get her to help him out in his hour of distress as he was completely out of his depths when it came to shopping for a young lady. She smiled as she watched him fill up her glass, while he regaled her with stories of how he cooked the goose of some of the politicians who dared to try foiling his well planned exposures. Her editor could really get persuasive.

"By the way Sherry how old is your kid?"

"He will be six in a couple of months," she replied.

Ed leaned back and sighed. "I wish I could turn back the clock and watch my little girl grow up all over again," he said with a wistful look in his eyes.

"Really? We keep thinking when our little boy would get big enough to start handling things on his own a bit," replied Sherry with a chuckle.

"Oh, I know what you mean Sherry, little kids do need that much more caring and attention, leaving very little time for anything else. But I think those are some of the best years of one's family life, full of responsibility and fun," replied Ed as he finished refilling their glasses once again.

Ed then went on to tell her about some of the incidents he would always cherish in bringing up his daughter. The band started playing a fast song. Ed stretched out his hand towards Sherry with a request in his eyes. Sherry smiled. She put down her now empty glass and accepted his request. They continued to dance for the next few minutes. Then somebody asked for a slow number and the band obliged. Ed slid his arm around Sherry's waist and pulled her towards him. He maintained an appropriate distance between them as they moved across the floor, gently swaying to the tune of the music.

He was a good dancer. Sherry felt herself relaxing in his strong arms as he guided them across the dance floor. Perhaps it had not been a bad idea after all to go out for the evening, thought Sherry as she twirled around and came back into his arms.

"Wow! That was great," said Sherry as they finally made their way back to their table. "You sure are something on the dance floor," she added.

"All your doing," he replied, "with such a wonderful person as my partner, it was all coming out real natural," he finished with a wink.

Sherry laughed, accepting the compliment coming her way.

They continued chatting animatedly as they finished off their dinner. As they got up to leave Sherry saw the waiter hand over a small packet to Ed. She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"I know just the perfect spot on the way back for us to polish off the remaining wine. It will be a fitting grand finale to a wonderful evening," said Ed in response to her inquisitive look as he guided her out of the restaurant.

Sherry tilted back her head and laughed. She had really enjoyed her outing. It had been quite some time since she had felt so free and light hearted; perhaps the wine had also something to do with it.

Sherry leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes as the car picked up speed, enjoying the feel of the night's cool air softly caressing her face, blowing her hair back. She could hear Ed speaking to her animatedly, but she was really not listening. It had been a lovely evening.

She must have dozed off. She opened her eyes as she felt her body give a gentle jerk. The car had moved off from the road to the side dirt track. They continued to slowly make their way between the trees, until the car finally came to a rest.

They had been on a curving, uphill mountain road and by taking the dirt track they had come to the edge of a small knoll overlooking the city. The two stepped down and walked to the edge. The sight was breathtaking. The moon was already up in the sky, it's cool, silvery rays lightening up the sleepy town below.

"Oh, it's so beautiful, so calm and peaceful," exclaimed Sherry as she savoured the sight before her.

"This is one of my favourite locations. In fact, whenever I feel stressed out, I take a break and make a beeline for this spot," replied Ed.

They moved under a clump of trees. Ed took off his coat and spread it on the ground and the two settled down on it. He then took out the bottle of wine and poured out a drink for both of them.

"One for the road," he said with a smile as he raised his glass.

Sherry acknowledged by raising her own glass. The two continued with their idle chit chat, with Ed telling her about some lovely spots he been privileged enough to visit in his career. Sherry leaned back against the tree, enjoying the stillness of the night, so much in contrast to the tumultuous goings on in her married life.