Contract Extensions

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My shoes shined, I was carrying a leather bag and I was dressed in my best suit when I knocked on their door.

"Mr. Hernandez!" Ted started pushing his chair back when his mother stopped him.

"Ted, stay at the table. I have to talk to Mr. Hernandez."

She opened the door, stepped onto the porch and closed it behind her. She looked me over. Maria had never seen me dressed up and I felt uncomfortable. "What's going on, Mark?"

"I know that you're upset, or, I don't know, cautious? But I'd really like to speak to you and the kids for about ten minutes. I swear, give me ten minutes and I'll be out of your hair and if you don't want me around I'll be the neighbor across the street that you wave to once in a while and see at block parties. Ten minutes?"

She thought for a moment and sighed. "Okay, ten minutes."

I followed her inside and she called the kids into the living room. It was oddly nerve-wracking standing before them.

"I owe you guys an apology. I sort of disappeared for a while and you need to know why. So, you know what I do, right? I make apps? Remember when we were at Sardino's and Ted wanted to make the green beans they had there? He and Wendy searched out recipes and found out where to get almonds and made the dish the next day. It got me thinking."

I placed my valise on the coffee table.

"What if there was an app where you can take a picture of a dish and it would identify it, tell you where ingredients were on sale near you and give you a recipe? So I created a bare-bones version of an app that does that and that's where I messed up. When I start on a project I become obsessive."

"What's obsessive?" Julie asked.

"It's when you can only think about one thing, sweetheart. So, I blocked everything out for days and lived on caffeine while I coded. And I forgot about the garden and I forgot about the vegetables and the peppers and worst of all, I didn't come by or explain why. I forgot about most things but I didn't forget about you guys."

I grabbed some paperwork from the valise.

"Years ago I wrote a very popular program and made a pretty good name for myself. I contribute to a number of tech magazines and blogs and people in my field know me. I got an appointment and flew to England a few days ago. I met with King Foods International. They own about thirty percent of the grocery stores in the US. The app will feature sales from their stores exclusively in areas they are in."

I was starting to speak more quickly as I became excited. The kids seem to be coming along for the ride but Maria seemed reserved.

"When I left England, I went to New York and worked out a deal with the Food Network. We'll be working with their recipes and advertising their shows and chefs. They have a huge database of identified photos of meals. It's going to save us lots of time and energy."

"You said us and we." Wendy seemed to be as bright as her brother.

"That's why I'm here. Well, that and to apologize." I placed the paperwork on the table. There were four copies. "I created a company called Culinary Quartet. That's us. I did the work, but you kids pretty much came up with the idea." I placed a check for a little over sixty-thousand dollars on the table. "That's yours. It's made out to your mom. I was thinking that she could put half away for college and use the other half to pay for things for you guys, but that's none of my business. We're equal partners. Julie, Wendy, Ted, and Mark. The Culinary Quartet. There should be a lot more coming in when we get agreements with other groceries."

There was silence in the room.

Maria was the first to react. "Are you serious?"

"Serious as a heart attack."

Wendy grabbed Julie. "We're rich!"

I laughed. "Not exactly, sweetheart but it's a nice start."

I gave their mother the contracts to sign and explained that they should probably have a lawyer look everything over. She walked me to the door.

"I really am sorry, Maria. You were absolutely right. I wasn't thinking about anyone else. I just get, I don't know, driven? I guess obsessed was the right word." She was looking at me oddly and I couldn't place her expression.

There was a knock on my door about two hours later. Maria was standing there, clutching the paperwork. I opened the door for her and she came in.

"The kids are with Mrs. Cruz. This," She waved the contracts. "is very generous. Are you sure?"

"Coders are a dime a dozen, Maria. It's the ideas that count. I'm not giving them anything. They earned it and deserve it."

"Well, they're signed. Thank you."

"You sure you don't want to have a lawyer look them over?"

"I will so that they can explain everything to me but we trust you."

She paused, uncertain.

"Mark, why haven't you made a move on me? I see the way you look at me and it's obvious that you like the kids. Is it your wife?"

"You talked to Jennifer?"

"Don't be upset with her. She told me about your brother and your wife. She told me about your nieces and nephews. She cares about you, Mark. A lot."

"I'm not upset. Yeah, I guess it's about all of that but I guess that I'm also about fifteen years older than you. There's just, there's no opportunity there and it would end up hurting us both let alone the kids."

She stepped closer.

"It's not fifteen but thanks. And it doesn't matter if it was. You've seen the picture of Thomas, my husband. He was two years younger than you. That's it. Two years. And I've never loved anyone or anything more than I loved him. The age difference is meaningless."

She leaned in and kissed me. I froze for a minute and then kissed her back. Her tongue searched my lips, looking for entrance. When I relaxed, her tongue danced in my mouth as she pulled me closer. She eventually stood back.

"Tomorrow is the Fourth of July fireworks show. I'll make a basket. Pick us up at seven. You clean up nice, by the way."

She was gone before I could put together a coherent thought.

* * * * *

I was wearing khakis and a polo shirt when I picked them up. We took my SUV to the fairgrounds and found a good spot. Ted and Wendy couldn't stop talking about the app and demanded to try it out on every food item they could find. Snowcones, sausages, fried twinkies and their mother's picnic were all utilized multiple times. Julie was much more enamored with the sparklers.

After playing some Frisbee and eating way too much, we sat down on a blanket to watch the fireworks. The actual holiday had already passed but the town had a long-standing tradition of the first Saturday in July for their festivities. The music started and the beautiful lights illuminated the sky overhead.

Maria leaned back, resting on her hands behind her. She quickly pulled her left hand back when it accidentally landed on mine. She slowly returned it, squeezed my hand and left it there.

The fireworks display ended after ninety minutes and we packed up and headed home, Julie sleeping while Wendy and Ted talked about the evening. I dropped them off, went home and made some coffee. Maria knocked on the door an hour later.

"Hello, Mark."

"Coffee?"

"I'm not in the mood for coffee, Mark." Her voice was pitched lower than normal and I grew a bit nervous.

"Where are the kids?"

"Having a sleepover with the Cruz's."

Coffee quickly dropped off my list of priorities.

"I've come to a conclusion. Want to know what that conclusion is, Mark?" She kept repeating my name and it sent goose bumps skittering across my arms and the back of my neck.

"I've decided that if I don't make a move, you never will." As she did yesterday, she stepped forward and kissed me. It was slow and passionate and filled with need.

We eventually made our way to the couch. I felt a hell of a lot less old than I had been lately as I slipped my hands under her shirt and up to her bra. We continued kissing as I tweaked and pulled her stiffening nipple. She eventually raised her arms as I pulled her shirt off. Her eyes flicked to the large bay window and she pulled away.

"Where's your bedroom?"

I stood and picked her up, carrying her to my bed, kissing her ear and neck as we went.

I put her down and fumbled with her bra straps until she reached behind herself and released them. She held the bra to her breasts as she looked at me standing while she sat on the bed. She had a half-smile as she watched me while she slowly lowered the bra. She was enjoying seeing me dumbstruck.

She was stunningly beautiful. Maria was in her prime without having lost the bloom of youth. Her breasts were more than a handful and looked even larger on her petite frame. Her dusky nipples were surrounded by large, peach-colored areola.

"Your turn."

I continued to stare and she giggled.

"Mark, it's your turn. These pants aren't coming off until yours do."

I shivered as her words registered. I pulled my shirt off and started fumbling with my pants. She stood and did the same with hers. I started staring again as she stood there in just her panties. I pulled myself together as I yanked my boxers down and over my straining, erect penis.

"Nice! Very nice." She seemed pleased.

I laid her back on the bed and kissed down her body. My lips moved from her eyelids to her mouth to her throat to the valley between her breasts to her sternum to her belly button and to her pelvis. I stopped at her panties and looked up at her face. She was biting her lower lip and staring at me.

I pulled her panties down a bit and kissed her on the flesh that was revealed. I repeated the process until I reached the top of her cleft. She was completely hairless. She lifted her hips as I pulled her panties off and slipped them down and off her legs.

I continued with the kisses, moving back up her leg. Her aroma was pushing me forward but I was stronger than my need and remained slow and measured. I used my lips and tongue to pleasure her until she climbed her peak twice.

"In me. Mark, I need you in me! NOW!"

I rose and pushed into her velvet glove. I couldn't believe how tight she was. Maria had me on the edge within minutes.

"I'm... I'm not going to last. It's been too long."

She had been moaning but managed to speak. "Come in me. Come with me!"

Maria climbed that mountain again as I erupted inside her. She reached down and used her fingers until she came for the third time. I rose up, gazing at her but kept my cock in her smoldering sheath. I leaned down to kiss her and then slipped out and rolled to my side.

We made love twice again that night.

The kids were ready to go to breakfast when we walked across the street.

"Any new news for me, Mark?" Jennifer prodded when we were alone.

She seemed happy to see my smile, as if it were a friend you knew was there but hadn't seen in a long time. "Well, I got a contract for another six weeks. Maybe I can make the position permanent. Give me a little time. I'm hoping I'll have a scoop for you about that neighbor lady with the cute kids."

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Thanks for reading and thanks to Todger65 and Seth for their assistance.

Please feel free to comment. I'd love to read what you have to say.

Are you looking for something else to read? There's an excellent and brief story by Ohio entitled Scenes From A Marriage. Take a look.

https://www.literotica.com/s/scenes-from-a-marriage