Book one: Chapter 3

Juliette stepped out of the building clutching her purse to her chest as if she had just been attacked. She was out of breath, because she had taken the stairs from the fifteenth floor rather than wait for the elevator. Outside, the cool breeze and warm sunshine helped her relax. It was a beautiful day, and part of her had to admit Louis had been an amazing lover. Just thinking about the feelings made her blush. She hurried towards her car. Of course she had gotten a ticket. She hadn’t put enough money in the meter. She’d only expected to drop off his lunch and ask a couple questions about groceries. Instead….

Instead, she’d had the orgasm of her life. Her skin still tingled and her heart started to pound with desire as she remembered the way he had touched her. She knew she couldn’t let him touch her again. He was her boss. But, she also didn’t know how she would be able to resist it. She glanced at the time and realized the afternoon was disappearing faster than she had expected. She wondered if she could call her best friend Mia or whether she would be busy getting her son from pre-school. It was so hard to keep track of that child’s schedule, what with school and music lessons, and swimming and other activities that seemed to come and go. Fortunately, she was seeing her mom this evening and the woman still had a knack for making her daughter feel bet-ter. Ever since, Juliette’s father had died of cancer when she was eight, it had been the two of them and they were as close as any mother and daughter could be. When her cell phone rang and it was her mother, Juliette wasn’t even surprised. They sort of had a psychic connection.

“Mom!” Juliette cried, “I am so glad that we are getting together tonight. It has been way too long!”

“Honey, I couldn’t agree more. You’ve been working so hard that you haven’t had a second for anything else.”

“So much has been happening…” Juliette started, but her mother interrupted.

“I know! So much has been happening. Martin and I went to Hawaii, you know…Remember that man I am dating?”

“Yes, yes, I remember.” Juliette wondered how her mother could possibly think she might have forgotten the one and only man her mother had ever dated. They’d met a few months ago, and Juliette could tell that he made her mother happy.

“We had such an amazing time and we want to tell you all about it. And it’s all happened so fast, and I want you to finally meet Martin. I can’t believe you haven’t yet. He’s so wonderful. I’ve in-vited him to join us tonight at 6, okay?”

Her mother was gushing. Juliette had never heard her mother gushing. She sounded so excited that Juliette couldn’t bring herself to say no. She had really been looking forward to this time alone, just the two of them, but this man was clearly important to her mother and Juliette wanted to be supportive.

“Sure, mom. Of course. I know you really like him. You had a great vacation together, I take it?” Juliette asked, forcing herself to sound happy.

“I’ll tell you tonight, but I can’t believe you haven’t met him. You know we met at that catering event you did for my law firm? He is a client of the company. But a completely different section, of course. You know I wouldn’t do anything like that!” Her mother took propriety very seriously. Juliette had never known her to tell a single lie. Not even a little white lie. She believed in truth and had raised her daughter to behave likewise. Of course, her mother wouldn’t do anything unethical. So, how had she raised a daughter who would sleep with her boss? Even if the boss was incredibly hot.

“I know, I know. You told me before. He sounds great.” She was happy that her mother had finally started dating and was enjoying her- self. Juliette knew that her mother had decided to focus on work and family when she was raising Juliette alone, but seeing her date had revealed how much her mother had chosen to set aside on Juliette’s behalf. “I’m really looking forward to it and am sorry it’s taken so long. Work has been good…” Juliette realized she couldn’t go on and lie to her mother.

Even if her mother couldn’t tell, Juliette couldn’t make a bad situation worse.

“What’s wrong, honey? Something’s wrong, I can tell in your voice. It’s all tight the way you get. Did something happen at work? Are you overtired? I know how independent you like to be, but it is okay to ask for help. You know I will try to help in any way I can.”

“Mom, mom. Enough. It’s okay. Yeah, I’m working hard. I probably didn’t sleep well last night.” Juliette shook her head that she was using that one again. She had in fact slept well the night before. She’d taken a long bath and gone to bed early. Louis had asked that she leave a dinner that he could just set out since he was having a few people over for drinks. Ugh.

That reminded her of his story about the girl the night before. She leaned her head back against the car seat and sighed. What had she been thinking?

“Juliette, you are not telling me the truth, and I’m your mother. I can tell.”

Why did no one think she was a good liar? She shook her head. That made no sense. Why wasn’t she a better liar?

“It’s okay, mom. We’ll catch up later.”

“We can. And, you can tell us both about work and what you’ve been doing. He was so impressed with your food. He mentioned that he might want you to cater an event for his summer office party, if you think you have the time. I know this private chef thing is a great opportunity, but don’t close doors yet.”

“I won’t, mom.” Juliette tried not to think about the fact that she might have ruined this job and possibly even her career. She might need a lot more than one summer office party if she wasn’t going to be working for Louis anymore. Her heart pulled at the thought. She liked being around him. She would miss him. She sighed.

“Well, I’m not trying to worry too much but clearly we have to have a proper catch up. Something is going on.” Her mother hesitated. “Do you want me to cancel the date with Martin?”

Even though the last thing Juliette wanted was to put on her best face to meet her mother’s new boyfriend, Juliette knew that her mother deserved this time to be excited about her own life. “Don’t even think about it, mom. If I don’t meet Martin now, who knows when I will!”

“Okay, well, be careful. We’ll have to have tea this weekend. Are you headed to the butcher now?”

“Yes, mom,” Juliette was exasperated. It was annoying that her mother knew her schedule. Next thing, her mother would tell her to look both ways.

“Don’t get annoyed with me. You’re the one who has always loved a routine. You are in a mood. Cheer up. Look both ways. When you’re distracted that’s when accidents happen.”

Juliette smiled. “And, you are so predictable. But I promise I will be careful. Love you!”

“Love you, too.”

Juliette looked at the phone in her hand and sighed. She really didn’t know what to think. Her mother was so happy and that was good news. But, her mother would be appalled at Juliette’s behavior. Sleeping with your boss or a man in any supervisory position was a big no-no for her mother. Juliette had been lectured on it as soon as she got her first job. At sixteen!

As if Juliette was going to sleep with Old Man Carrozzo who ran the Italian sandwich shop down the street from her high school, and whose wife personally made the mozzarella for the shop. But, the point remained and Juliette’s mother had instilled values that she had clean forgotten this morning. She leaned back against the head rest and sighed.

After a few moments she realized, she had to get moving. Looking at the time, she knew that she would be late to get her box of vegetables from the farmer’s market, and that was on the way to the butcher, who would undoubtedly be grumpy now because he would claim that she kept him waiting. She had once tried to point out that he wasn’t going anywhere, but she’d learned not to argue with him. Not if she wanted the best meat in town. She’d ordered lamb and she knew her packet would still be there for her, but he would definitely make a big fuss even though she was a regular and good customer. Why did it seem like this beautiful spring day had made everything more complicated? She had to hurry! Somehow she had to get everything done for Louis, get home, get showered and changed, and get to dinner by six. She put the key in the ignition and tried to focus on the task at hand.