“Fair enough. I have strong feelings for you as well and that’s as much as I’ll disclose at this time too. The young couple in question are being discreet and patient with their offer. They have not pressured me for an answer. The only time I contemplated taking them up on it was after our call when I felt that need for physical comfort and release,” she said and rubbed a finger over his chest, marveling at the different textures the scars had.
Ben ran his fingers through her thick hair, enjoying its softness. In the darkness her eyes looked black and mysterious.
“You really are breathtaking,” Ben sighed happily.
She smiled and kissed his chest. “Thank you. As comfortable as this is I’d like to get cleaned up and ready for bed.”
She got to her feet and glanced out the window. A slow smile spread across her lips as Ben climbed to his feet and picked up his clothes. “Ben.”
“Hmmm?”
“Look! Bobby and Tasha are out on their balcony,” she said holding her dress up to her chest.
Ben looked out the window and saw a bare chested young man leaning his arms against the railing on the balcony across the street. He had a glass of wine in his hands and he seemed to be watching the street below. From what Ben could see the man kept himself in shape. A tall slim woman with long blonde hair, wearing a sheer and partially open white gown was standing beside him enjoying her own wine. The woman seemed to be looking back in their direction.
Margaux saw Ben was holding his clothes in front of his privates unconsciously. She grinned mischievously and reached out to touch the lamp on the table next to her. The soft illumination painted them with a warm glow and they could see Tasha gesturing excitedly to her partner who stopped leaning on the railing to look across as well. They both waved and Margaux waved back. Ben reluctantly waved as well. Tasha froze then waved excitedly to him before hugging the young man and Ben saw she was at least four inches taller than her partner and had very pretty breasts. Her gown was more open than he first thought.
Giggling, Margaux waved again and touched the lamp taking them back into the darkness.
“You enjoyed that!” Ben said.
“Yes… yes I did. I enjoy showing you off. I’m a woman,” she smiled happily as she made her way towards the bedroom.
Ben sighed and followed.
They brushed their teeth and freshened up before bed. They slipped under the sheets and sighed as they cuddled together.
“Aside from teasing the neighbors, how do you intend to keep me entertained while I’m here?” Ben asked with a grin and she poked his chest for teasing her.
“On the topic of showing you off, my office is throwing a party tomorrow night for the staff, a harbour cruise with dinner, drinks and dancing. We’re growing rapidly but there’s only around twenty of us now. We’re celebrating our successful launch as we’ve officially been operational for about a month. All the legal and contractual obligations have been met so it’s time.”
“I thought you just got to Sydney last week? How have they been running for a month?” Ben asked in confusion.
“They did most of the ground work in advance but made a lot of mistakes. When the plan was seriously unravelling they brought me in to save the day. Obviously they made at least one good decision,” she said with a smile.
“Well… that’s great then! Does that mean you can go back to Europe?” Ben said with a smile. Europe was so much closer for him to visit.
“Unfortunately no. Head office wants me here for the first year to fully establish all of the local business relationships before handing it over to their choice of next in command, Rainor Hahn.”
Ben heard her opinion of that decision in her voice. “This is the fellow you were talking about earlier? The one who the women don’t like?”
She nodded.
“Do you have authority over him?” Ben asked.
“I do but if I act without solid evidence to back me up I’ll make a very dangerous enemy of his appointee from senior management which would seriously threaten my future advancement. It’s a delicate situation. If he makes a misstep that jeopardizes the business in any way, I can act. If he continues to fly under the radar as he has been doing, there is little I can do as he gradually poisons the environment.”
“That sucks!” Ben growled.
“And there are some really good people here! I want you to meet them. The person I would have chosen to run the office, Kayden Price, is a brilliant young man with lots of potential. I hired him the day after I got here. He’s been indispensable in helping me straighten out many of the corporate relationships that were initially set up. Plus the rest of the staff like him. Oh! And the Asset Management team are delightful! You’ll love them!”
“Ok, I’m sold! Sounds like a fun evening!” Ben grinned.
“I thought we’d spend the morning and afternoon walking around the city. There are lots of interesting things to see just in the downtown area. Then we have the party. I’m torn about what we should do on Saturday. I thought you might like to see the Blue Mountains which is a nature tour or we could go to Bondi beach to just soak up some rays and relax.” She looked at him hopefully.
“Both sound fun. What would you like to do?” he asked.
“I haven’t been to the beach yet. I’ve been working every waking moment since I arrived here and it might be nice to just relax on the beach. That said, I don’t want to deny you the chance to hand feed a kangaroo.”
He chuckled. “The beach it is!”
She smiled happily and cuddled in against his side.
Ben closed his eyes and felt himself relaxing. Just before he slipped under his unanswered question resurfaced to disturb his peace of mind.
Margaux was plagued by jealousy, he’d seen her struggle with it, and he’d faced its wrath. She said it was a self-destructive impulse. So… why had she asked him to share a sexual liaison with the young and beautiful woman?
He heard her gentle breathing indicating she’d already fallen asleep. He wanted an answer to his question but it would have to wait for the morning.
Ben and Margaux rushed back into the condo as they were running late. They’d spent the day wandering around the downtown area, poking into little shops, and seeing the sights but they’d lost track of the time. They’d had a wonderful day and discovered they were very compatible sightseers. Now they had to rush to get to the party boat.
He hadn’t had the opportunity to ask her about what her offer the night before had really been about but today she was back to her normal behavior so Ben let it go.
Margaux changed into a little black cocktail dress that accentuated her curves and hinted at the wonders just below the surface.
Ben was wearing a black dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his powerful forearms and collar open, charcoal grey slacks and black leather shoes. He carried a lightweight sports jacket over his arm in case it got cooler on the water at night.
They gave each other a hungry look then dashed out of the condo to grab a taxi down to the pier.
They just made it and it turned out they were the last guests to arrive. The crew immediately pushed off the moment they were on.
A cheer went up from a group of seven ladies waiting by the entrance. Margaux grinned at her team who rushed forward to get hugs.
“We were getting worried someone had done something nefarious to you to keep you from the boat! Now we see the real reason you were late!” a red haired woman in a tight shimmering red cocktail dress said with a coy smile as she looked Ben up and down.
“I know him! Oh my god, I know him!” a petite brunette with dark rimmed glasses squeaked as she gaped at Ben.
“Ladies! Listen up! This is my date, Ben Shepherd.” The brunette squeaked excitedly but the redhead slapped her shoulder to get her to calm down. “Some of you may have heard of him, read about him, or seen him on the news but tonight he is just my boyfriend so hands off and mind your manners.”
Giggles erupted and the women smiled at them.
“Are these delightful ladies the Asset Managers you were talking about?” Ben asked and more giggles ensued. Margaux smiled and nodded. She made the introductions and Ben tried to remember their names in the flurry of their excitement. The red haired woman reminded him a little of Trish and he felt a slight twinge of homesickness. Her name was Nancy, Nan for short and the bubbly brunette in the serious glasses was Diane, or Di as the others called her.
“Why does everyone use short forms of their names?” Ben asked Margaux curiously.
“I have no idea and I’ve forbidden anyone to call me ‘Marg’ or ‘Mar’. Perfectly good names going to waste,” she said with a frown.
They made their way further into the ship and Ben was introduced to more of her team. He saw she was right. This was a bright group of individuals. He saw how they all relaxed in her presence and how she glowed in their unspoken admiration. Even after just a week she’d bonded with her team and they reciprocated.
Ben caught a slight stiffening in her posture and turned to see a man approaching. He was tall. Perhaps an inch taller than Ben’s 6′ 3″. He had a swimmer’s body; strong, lean muscles, wide shoulders and a narrow waist. He was wearing grey slacks and a light grey sports jacket over a crisp white dress shirt which was open at the collar as Ben’s was. He had Hollywood leading man looks, pale blue eyes under fair brows, a roman nose, and a strong jaw with a dimple on his chin. His wavy blond hair was conservatively cut but perfectly styled, not a hair out of place. He smiled with perfect white teeth but Ben was reminded of a shark as the smile had little effect on his cold eyes.
“Hello Margaux. I’m so glad you made it to our little party,” the man said to her with just a trace of condescension in his voice.