Chapter 9: A Wife For Him

She resumed at Wolfe group on a Monday morning in a corporate cyan blue suit. Nat summoned her to his office after giving her a tour of hers, just outside his.

“Hey!” he said

“Heyyyy!” she teased in an elongated smile. Her switch from wearing naked clothes to a smart office PA interested him.

She looked dapper in the cyan suit, with a straight wig and sensual red lipstick. Her brown eyes pierced beneath seductive lashes.

“You don’t look bad” He stood up from his chair and walked towards her, his eyes lingering around her.

He held her hand and spun her in 360. Her smile lit the room.

He half-sat down on the table, in front of her.

“What’s my day like sexy?”, he asked in a low baritone voice.

“I don’t know. Where is your former PA? Or you wanna to tell me you didn’t have one?”

“I sacked her,” he said briskly.

“You did what ?” she repulsed

He moved towards the couch motioning for her to sit down.

“You heard right”

Terror showed on her face as she sat next to him.

“That’s wrong. I really do not mean to be the cause of someone losing their job. I’d return the offer”.

“Shuuu”—he shut her up.

“She’s gone. I paid her off for a year. Besides, she’s had me for long. It’s your turn now” he smiled his sly smile.

“Had you ?”

“I mean, what do you think?”

She was slightly irritated.

“Are you actually passionate or just a sex monster”

“Both”, he laughed. “But it’s different with you. I actually want you here. I’m glad to have you here”

“So I'm just your sex toy. I knew, but well at least you helped me”

“You’re not a sex toy. Just a good friend, with benefits of course. So show me your PA skills”

She brought out her notepad and recited his itinerary. He instructed her to send a couple mails to his appointees and respond to some.

As she was about to leave his office, he ran up to her and reached for their door and bolted it.

His eyes shone with the look of sensual lust, hunger written all over him and his facial expressions. She felt the heat in her bones, goosebumps mixed with libido rising up.

He kissed her and unbuckled her bra cups to free her breast, his warm tongue on them. She moaned, softly.

Then he squatted and brought down her pants.

“O! you want some candy?” she said in a dark voice. He ate her. Slow at first. Then hungry like a wild untamed animal. Zara screamed. He didn’t have to find her G spot. He himself was it—her G spot, the colonizer of her vaginal territory.

While Wolfe group, hummed with the sound of office work, the atmosphere of the corporate world, here lied these two, burning bridges over sex.

- - - - -

Nat’s family house in Manhattan where he grew up was a crown set in concrete. Its stone facade spoke of years of inherited wealth. Inside, tall chandeliers glittered above long velvet curtains. He drove up the short driveway, past the water fountain and parked by the entrance. He rang the bell. The maid, a fat, smiley faced Mexican woman who had been there since his childhood opened it.

“Greg!” she beamed. Her name was Helena.

“Hey, Miss Helena”

“Come in! Come in!” she gestured enthusiastically with the movement of her hands.

His mom walked down the staircase railing

“My, my, my, Look who we gave here”. She was a brown skinned goddess, tall and pretty even for her age. She wore a green gown which graced the floor, with mock feathers at the ends of the fabric.

“Nathaniel!”

“Mom!” She pulled him in a tight hug. Their faces shone with eclectic smiles. She kissed him on the cheek twice.

“How are you Mom?”, he asked cheerfully

“Fine, as you can see, how are you baby”? she had a high girlish voice

“Can’t complain”

She led him to the living room

“You finally decide to come see me, after all these time”

“Mom, it’s been less than a month I last saw you”

“Less than a month, as long as a year to me. I can’t stand not seeing my son, you have to know that”

Nat laughed

“Neither can I stand not seeing you Mom”

“And the firm?” she asked firmly

“Running it the way dad willed it”

Her smile gently reduced to a slight grin.

“Your father must be really proud of you” she patted his shoulder. Her tone was one adopted when remembering the deceased.

He smiled knowingly

She changed the topic briskly.

“So…who’s the woman?”

“Woman?” he was surprised, caught off guard

“Boy! you mean to tell me you don’t have a girlfriend”

“Oh that!” he laughed this time.

“Momma! why you wanna know”

“You either tell me now or I find it myself”

“Well, if you must know. There’s no one. I’m as single as the day is long and as a lone sheep”

She had a disappointed look on her face.

“Nat, you need to make good of your good looks. I need a grandson. Besides, I have a wife for you” She stood up, excited.

He almost burst out laughing but he controlled himself.

“Wife?”

“Yes! Her name is Cassandra Miles. She’s the daughter of the ex-mayor of Georgia”.

“She’s not my wife. Nat replied non-hesitantly. I don’t even know her”

“Yes you will get to know her— smart, and beautiful and her family’s rich like ours”

“Mom!” he stood up now. You’re funny. I’m not ready for marriage”

“And I’d keep matching you up until you are”.  She poked his chest and laughed.

“If it pleases you Ma”

“Something’s bothering you Nat” she looked at him with worried concern.

“Nope”. He brushed off her suspicion. “Nothing is”.

“Don’t try to play coy with me. I noticed it since you walked in. Something’s a bit dampened about your mood.What’s wrong?” her eyes were searching his face for an explanation.

“I feel like I missed out on so much fun growing up. Dad died surprisingly and left me with such a huge responsibility as the company, and at a young age. Nothing would have prepared me for that”.

“Oh! baby! She hugged her son like he was a child.

“Your father left us without warning, she said But que sera sera ‘it is what it is’ and you played your part well. Filling up his place even at your young age. You should always be proud of yourself”

“Thank you”, he was genuinely appreciative of her warm reassurance.

“Why don’t you go on vacay, " she said. You could go on one this summer”

“I don’t know about that

“Go! with your lover. Keep hiding her from me, it doesn’t matter. Go have fun. You have all the money for that”

“I’d try mum”.

She was very relieved.

“Come!”, she said, leading him to the orchard garden from the back door of the house. Roses, lilies, creeping bougainvillea of the palest shades of violet, sunflower, Magpies, doves, the blue jay surrounded the garden. It smelt sweet and flowery, the breeze and the light chatter of birds, so therapeutic.

“I come here on some days, when nostalgia wraps itself around my body. I reminisce the moments I shared with your father, make them alive so that he never dies in my heart”.

Nat was almost teary. She held his hand.

“We’re never alone. You’re never alone. Okay?” she looked up at him, still smiling. She was indeed an angel.

“Yes mom! I love you”

They hugged again. Nat felt deeply comforted. He briefly thought about Zara. Perhaps he should tell his mom that at least there was someone. But he didn’t want to lure Zara into anything beyond friends even though he enjoyed her and her warmth. He was scared of the person he was, the wounds he still hadn’t healed from. He wondered if she’d ever survive him or get tangled in his complicated web. He looked at the cool sky overheard, the artful clouds and thought how fragile they were.