Embracing Life Ch. 02

Monday.

"No! Are you serious? He said that?" my friend Jessica screamed in disbelief over the phone as I recounted my conversation with Patrick.

"Calm down! Yes he did say that and it was a joke. Come on you know him, you shouldn't be surprised at that comment."

"Izzie I do know him. I remember him being a horny bastard! You cannot expect him to respect you and put you on a pedestal. He was treating you so bad by the end of your relationship, it was emotional torture. I'm the one who saw you cry and so I know the effect he had on you. Frankly, I'm a little worried for you." Anyone could tell from her voice that she genuinely cared. I had known Jessica all my life and she was one person who stood by me no matter what. I smiled to myself at that thought.

"Jess," I spoke, "It was five years ago. We have both grown up its different now. I'm sure he has matured and so have I. it's going to be okay. Don't worry now. I have to go. Don't want to be late on my first day."

"Fine. Take care of you. And give my greetings to the boss." she said glumly.

"I will. Bye now." I kept the phone and got back to the matter in hand. What to wear? After serious consideration I picked out a full sleeved, high-neck black dress. It was a perfect fitted dress and showed off my newly acquired curves. I put on a grey jacket and my conservative black ankle length boots. I put on minimal make up as always and left for office.

___

I nervously walked into Patrick's office. It was his father's office, the place where I'd been so many times in the past. It was so familiar being there, it gave me the strangest feelings of nostalgia. Patrick saw me and stood up to greet me.

"Hey Superstar! You showed up!" he exclaimed.

I smiled unnervingly.

"What's the matter? Everything okay?" His sudden change of voice startled me. I took a mental note to work on controlling my expressions.

"No no I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous." I reassured him and his face broke into a smile again.

"Listen I'm your boss now. Now I know you and I know you have absolutely nothing to be nervous about. You've got this. And you know the boss is always right."

"Sir yes Sir." I grinned.

I spent the rest of the day with a woman named Chloe who taught me what my job entails. Patrick was right. It wasn't very difficult. The office was small, only 27 people including me, so it wasn't very hard to manage. And then I realised I was also kind of Patrick's secretary in a way. It was weird to think about but I had braced myself for the worse this morning and so I handled it. I caught up with Patrick at the end of the day.

"So how was it?" he asked

"It was fine. I think I can do this. Hey thanks Patrick. You really helped me out." I smiled at him.

"No need for thanks. Just work hard so that I can thank you with a heavy pay check next month." He grinned. "Listen, I have this conference in New York that I have to attend. I'm leaving tonight. So are you all settled in? Coz I have a friend's wedding later and I won't be back until next Monday."

That made me sad. And a little doubtful about myself. Will I be able to handle all this by myself? Well, I did not really have an option. I controlled my expressions better this time. "No problem. You have a great trip. I'll see you next Monday."

___

Thursday.

The week was going pretty well. The people at the office were nice and helpful. I was handling the office as well as Patrick's calls and appointments for when he comes back. Chloe was really supportive and by now I was doing everything on my own. There was an important meeting with a client starting and I was talking to Chloe as she was preparing to take some important files inside.

"I hate waitressing on these board meetings. Why can't we have a buffet? Why do I have to serve those snooty idiots? This is idiotic. And these old idiots they scan you like you're wearing a bikini." Chloe blabbered on in her Barbie doll voice.

Before I could say anything she tripped over her own foot and cried out. I rushed towards her. Considering that she was wearing 6 inch stilettoes I knew it had to hurt. Someone went to get ice and Chloe requested me to take over the waitressing for a while. Seeing her pain, I could not say no.

I knocked and went inside the board room. There were 2 men from our office and 3 men who I assumed were the clients. Being the only female in the room was a little weird. I cursed myself for wearing the skimpy grey skirt. Even my blouse had a wide neck. I ignored the eyes on me and went to the corner of the room to fetch the files I was supposed to lay out for them.

As I kept the files in front of them one by one, the man sitting on the far end, who seemed to be their head as he was older, looked at me continuously. As I reached him and gave him the file, he smiled, put his hand on the small of my back and said "Thank you my dear." In the most gentlemanly fashion. But the touch didn't feel gentlemanly at all. I smiled awkwardly and calmly walked out the room. Serving food was even worse. The man wouldn't stop looking at me. He was least interested in the presentation going on. As I came back a third time to clear the dishes I realised that they were finished with the presentation.

"Thomas, I must say I'm impressed." The old man spoke with an authority in his voice "But do you mind giving us a minute? We wish to make this decision today itself. I just need to discuss it with my colleagues."

"Of course Mr Mason. Take all the time you need." Thomas said happily and both men from my office left. I finished what I was doing and started to follow them out when he spoke to me. "Miss?"

"Yes, Sir?" I spoke hesitantly looking at him.

"Could we get some coffee here?" he said with a calm smile on his face. I smiled at him and left the room. I came back after 5 minutes and stopped at the door. The two men were nowhere to be seen in the room. Only Mr Mason sat at the far end of the table looking into his phone. I looked around and saw them through the window in the balcony smoking cigarettes and deep in some discussion. I felt suspicious and braced myself as I went over to Mr Mason and served the coffee in front of him. I was standing next to his chair. All of a sudden, I froze. His hand was on my leg. He slowly grazed my leg upto my thigh and looked at me. I was still frozen unable to think what to do. I wanted to stop him. But I knew if I insulted him he would decline his business to the company and somehow blame it on me. And even if he doesn't, I still did not want to be the reason something bad happened.

He squeezed my thigh, right below my skirt and said in that authorities tone, "Pour the coffee my dear, I'm sure you wouldn't like to disappoint your boss when they find out how disrespectful you were." I looked at him and I could see he noticed the fear on my face. I did not want to disappoint Patrick. I could not disappoint him. Even if he believes me, I don't want to cost him important business. I owed him way too much.

So I slowly picked up the cup and started working. I could see the look of achievement on his face. His hand now grazed higher, inside my skirt. My body tensed but I kept serving the coffee. "Milk and Sugar?" I asked him, merely audible. "One spoon each" He replied.

His finger went inside my panties as he traced the inside of the edges. And then his hand was on my bare ass, squeezing and rubbing. I somehow finished his coffee and now I stood with me hands on the table. He played with my ass for a good half minute before he found my pussy and quickly dipped his finger inside. My cheeks flushed. I had never been this embarrassed in my entire life. I was clearly wet. I realized my panties were soaking. I did not look at his face but he took out his hand and turned me around. Slowly, he put his hand under my shirt and freed my boobs from the bra and started fondling with them. He was way too harsh, and I was groaning in pain as he squeezed and pulled and twisted my nipples. But I realised there was pleasure in that pain. I felt confused and bad. Why was this turning me on? Maybe I really am a masochist. How can I let him do this to me? I had no answers and it was hard to concentrate. He took me by the waist and guided me to sit on his lap. He pulled my top over my boobs and took my nipples in his mouth. His tongue exploited my breasts. He was harsh and eager. I look over him at the window. Then two men were still smoking. One of them looked at me, smiled and looked away. Soon enough, Mr Mason said "Get down on your knees." It took me a second but I did as told.

It was difficult to believe what was happening. I was on my knees with my top pulled above my exposed boobs in front of a stranger who now unbuckled his belt and moved his pants and underwear to his ankles. His cock was hard, the top glistening with precum. "Suck me dry." He spoke looking into my eyes. It was an order. I followed.

I took him into my mouth, closed my mouth and sucked him with all my strength. I licked and sucked his balls and cock for 10 minutes as he was continuously playing with my boobs. I wasn't thinking anything. I couldn't. My mind was dazed. Then he held me head and started moving his hips along with me. Soon enough his cum was in my throat. He pulled away as I swallowed, leaving me knelt on the floor half naked with tears in my closed eyes. I was still for a minute while I mentally composed myself. Then I opened my eyes and felt the shock. The two men had come back now. One of them was sitting on a chair, uninterested looking into his phone and the other one was standing next to Mr Mason and looking at me. My hand instinctively went to cover my boobs. "Stop" Mr Mason ordered. And I stopped, for some reason. He stood up and took my hand and helped me stand. I stood embarrassed and flushed but I did not cover myself. "You should show off that beautiful body angel. That's nothing to hide." The man next to me spoke and then reached out, without hesitation, to grab my boob. He squeezed my boobs lightly for about 20 seconds and that went down and pulled up my skirt over my waist. My mind was dazed and I couldn't move. He found my pussy and his finger slipped inside it. I supressed a moan. He laughed. "This one had a good time." He said, "I can't believe I let you have her."

"Well, maybe the next time we come here it can be your turn." They both laughed. The second man walked past me and slapped my ass. I jumped up and gasped. He ignored me. "Get out of here. And tell Thomas we'll see them now." He commanded.

It took me a few seconds to move. But I quickly composed myself and straightened up my clothes and walked out without looking back.

__

Monday

The mood around the office was happy and spirits were high. The team was very excited about the big client they obtained. Apparently, they were a really important client and this success was bigger than I imagined. Everyone was congratulating Thomas, the recent superhero. I wish I could tell everyone they were giving credit to the wrong guy.

I spent the last three days thinking. Trying to make sense of what happened on Thursday. Why did I let him do it? Because I didn't want the company to lose the client. Because I didn't want to disappoint Patrick. And because I was clearly turned on. Why was I turned on? I revisited my masochist theory. Maybe I had a hint of that side. Or maybe because I haven't had sex in months. I still wasn't sure about this answer.

But what surprised me the most was how the entire time my mind was so dazed. I wasn't thinking about anything at all. The past weekend I felt like my troubles were far away. Strangely I didn't feel so bad about a guy harassing me and blackmailing me to suck his cock. I masturbated that night.

Around six, the office was empty. I was alone on my desk finishing up some work. As I stood up to leave I saw the door open and Patrick walked in.

He broke into a smile when he saw me. "Liiiiiiizzz! You're still here!" I recognised his drunk voice. He staggered over to me and secured me in a tight hug. "I'm so happy you're here." He had me locked in a tight hug and I couldn't move, not that I was trying. After half a minute he pulled away to look at me. "You are just so beautiful. I've missed you." I stared at him blankly. He took my face in his hands. We were looking into each other's eyes. I was slightly panicked and slightly blissful. A few seconds had passed, though it seemed like an eternity, he leaned forward and I closed my eyes. His lips met mine. He kissed me slowly but I couldn't respond. I forgot how to move my lips. The panic was rising. What was happening? Why is this happening? But the bliss took over the panic as I started kissing him back. He was more furious now, sucking and biting my lower lips. Patrick had a lower lip obsession. His right hand slid to my waist and his left hand was in my hair as he explored my mouth with his tongue. I could taste the whiskey. We were lost in that kiss for several minutes when suddenly he stooped. He looked at my face. It looked like he was considering the next step. After four seconds he took my hand and paced towards his office. I kept up.

Neither of us spoke a word as we stood in front of his couch. We just looked into each other eyes. He bought his one hand to my face and gazed into my eyes looking for approval, I guessed. I blushed. And that was his cue. He leaned in and started kissing my neck. He kissed and licked and bit all over my neck and collar bone. Soon he was struggling to get my clothes off and very soon I was completely naked. He took a step back and looked at me. His eyes scanning my whole body from head to toe.

"Perfect." He murmured silently. He took off his jacket and his T shirt and came to me so that our torso were touching. His held me by my waist and kissed me again. His hands were fondling with my boobs now. Squeezing and caressing. He slid his hands done my waist and on my ass which he grabbed tightly. I gasped breaking the kiss and he pushed me on the couch. He slipped out of his pants and boxers and almost attacked my body kissing and sucking and biting all over my torso. Then he slid his fingers into my wet hot pussy and I moaned in pleasure. He started moving his finger in and out and then slid another finger. I was shaking with pleasure and he was kissing my neck again. It took only so much to give me an orgasm. A wave of relaxation washed over my body and I went limp. But he suddenly grabbed me and pulled me off the sofa. He bought me to my knees and gently pushed my face into the couch that I held onto for support. His hand lightly scratched my back from the nape to my ass. I felt a tingling sensation and he entered me from behind. My body was on fire. He was slamming in and out of me with force. His hand spanked my ass, not painfully. He knew how spanking turned me on. I tightened my grip on the couch as I felt like I lost myself in the motion of the pleasure. He kept slamming into my steadily. His hands found my boobs and he started lightly pulling and twisting my nipples. After just five minutes he held my ass with a tight grip and increased his speed slamming into me with great force as I had an orgasm. It was a ripple of pleasure and numbness going through my body. He finished along with me with a wild groan. He pulled out in a moment and we both slumped on the floor.

__

Tuesday

I woke up early. I had gone to bed early last night. Content and relaxed as I was. Alcohol and sex was like a drug for Patrick. The combination always made him too drowsy. I had to half carry him to his apartment and put him to bed. He dozed off in a minute. I came back home then in spite my desperate wish to sleep there itself. I didn't want it to get weird in the morning.

I had my breakfast and got dressed. I put on black trousers and white collared shirt and a light brown pullover. I didn't give last evening much thought. I enjoyed it. Why should I regret something I enjoy? It was all nostalgia and memories. I was smiling on my way to work. I was unusually happy. Could this be a start to something new? Do I want something out of this? I guess I'll find out sooner or later.

When I reached the office I realised Patrick was already in. I thought I'll be nice and got him some coffee. I knocked on his door and went inside. He gave me a half smile as I put the cup in front of him. "Thanks." He said "I needed that."

"No problem" I smiled. He started reading some papers as I stood there waiting for him to say something. But when I realised he wasn't going to I turned around to leave.

"Liz?" He called out. I stopped and turned.

"Yes Patrick?"

"I was wondering, have you told anyone at the office about us being friends?"

"Umm, no. It never came up. Why?" I asked trying keeping my tone normal.

"Well I realised that if people find out that I gave you this job because you're my friend, they won't be happy about it. It might affect both are images. Infact, two of the people here were actually trying to fix someone up for this job but I refused saying it doesn't work like that here and then I did the same, so if they find out it might get weird. You know what I mean? And I don't want them to think any less of you either." His business tone again.

"Oh of course Patrick. I totally understand. I won't tell anyone." I smiled.

"Great. Well this one might sound a little strange, but no one calls me by my name in this office. So in front of the other, if you can.." he trailed off. He was avoiding my eyes.

"It's okay Mr Wilson. Not an issue. Anything else Sir?" a feeble attempt at a cheerful voice.

"No Thank you Ms Bell" He smiled, finally looking at me. I smiled back and left the office.

At around six when most of the people left, Patrick called me to his office. "Hey Liz" He greeted. "Sit down."

I took a chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you Mr Wilson?" I said.

"Oh come on Liz cut it out. Don't make me feel worse about this." There were hints of annoyance and guilt on his face.

"Just kidding Patrick. Tell me what's up?" I smiled.

He was avoiding my eyes "Well, I think we need to talk. About..." he paused and looked at me "About what happened yesterday."

I took a deep breathe. "Well, clearly you regret it. I can see it in your face and you know it's alright. I understand. It was a mistake and it's not like we haven't made that mistake before" I tried to laugh" But the point is, you don't need to feel guilty. I'm fine."

"I do not regret it." His voice scared me a little. He softened his expressions and looked away. After a moment of hesitation he finally spoke, "I don't regret it. I wish I did but I don't. It was amazing. But.. But I can't do it anymore. I don't want to be unfair to you. I've done some bad things in the past but I can't lie to you now. Liz.. do you remember Sarah Bailey?" He asked carefully.

Sarah Bailey. The girl who stole the love of my life five years ago. The girl that I never met, but have hated for as long as I knew of her existence. The girl Patrick left me for.

"Yes, I remember. Why?"

And I could see the answer to my question in his face. The guilt and hesitation and nervousness in his eyes gave it away. I spoke before he could "Are you still dating her?" I asked calmly.

He closed his eyes. "Yes. I'm sorry."

I expected to have started crying by now. I expected to feel hurt and cheated and bad. But I didn't. I felt jealous. Jealous that he had him in a way I never could. But that's all. I still felt the same about last evening, like it was supposed to happen. I just didn't care.

He saw me with a confused look on his face.

And without thinking I spoke "I don't care."

He was stunned. "What do you mean you don't care?"

Something came over me. I started having realisations and revelations and I started speaking as they came in my mind without thinking. "I don't care if you have a girlfriend. I don't see you that way. Last evening I did not stop you because I just couldn't refuse anything you ask for. You've done me a huge favour. I am at this place because of you and I'd do anything whatever it takes to make you happy. I'm not saying I didn't want to do it last night, I did. But I'm saying even if that weren't the case, I can't refuse you anything. If you really don't regret last night then I'm happy. I don't want you to regret it. And I seriously do not care about Sarah."