Riding the Corporate Ladder (Indigo) (29 page)

“That may be true,” Deena warned, “but that’s no reason to fall in love with him. Give it more time. You’ve only been going out with him for two months.”

“That’s how you are,” Yesenia said. “But I’m not like that. It feels good to be in love, Deena. I’m very happy.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Save your pessimism,” Yesenia said. “I’m not afraid. If I get my heart broke, that’s fine. It’s still worth it to feel like this.”

Deena thought that was pure ignorance, but she wasn’t going to rain on her friend’s parade. “Well, I’m happy for you then.”

“Thanks,” Yesenia said. “I’m gonna go take a shower before he gets back.”

“He’s coming back?”

“Yeah. He just went to get some donuts.”

“Aw, sooky, sooky now.”

“Shut up, girl.”

* * *

David called for directions at eleven. He showed up at two-thirty wearing khaki Dockers pants with comfortable leather loafers. Up top he had on a white golf shirt with no designs other than the Nautica insignia on the left breast. His shirt was tucked in neatly, and his braided belt was cinched up tight. He was preppy as hell, but still sexy. His curly hair just begged for fingers to run through it. His eyes were soft and alluring. His chest looked even bigger outside of his sports coats, and his arms were also firmer than Deena imagined.

She stood in her doorway and marveled his beauty unabashedly. The guy had serious bicep bulges. His forearms were chiseled. His traps were two swollen knots. Deena couldn’t believe someone with his finances and responsibilities still had time to go to the gym, but the proof was right before her eyes.

“Man, you must have a personal trainer,” she mused.

He smiled. His teeth were perfect. His face was clean-shaven and smooth.

“Actually, I’m a personal trainer,” he said. “Well, I used to be. That’s how I paid for most of my school books back in the day, after my football injury.”

“Was it hard to give up football?”

He shook his head. “Actually, it wasn’t. My mom never wanted me to depend on sports to make it in the world. I stayed in pretty good shape anyway…”

“Yes, you did. Do you think you could help me out with my workout sometime?” Deena asked coyly.

David looked her up and down. Today Deena wore straight-legged Baby Phat jeans with a long-sleeved blue button-down. She had her sleeves rolled up and her shirt tucked in. Her belt was black and patent leather. A delicious smile spread across David’s face and he stated the obvious.

“You don’t look like you need a personal trainer.”

“Maybe not, but I like the intimacy,” Deena said. “The way they put their hands on your waist and bend you this way and that way. I need help with my stretching.”

“I could help you one day,” David offered.

That’s exactly what Deena wanted to hear, but this was still a game.

“Maybe,” she said. She grabbed her purse from the end table and stepped into the warm afternoon sun with her date. David turned and headed for his car, and Deena got a good look at his ass for the first time. It was nice and firm with two juicy cheeks. She watched it bounce for a good three seconds. She still couldn’t believe her good fortunes. In all her years as an attorney, Deena never met a lawyer who was as fine as Mr. Markham. Nobody even came close.

It didn’t make sense that he was so successful, stacked, single, and black, but Mr. Markham was full of surprises that day. Deena encountered the first one when she opened the door of his champagne-colored Navigator. She couldn’t immediately sit down because there was a huge bouquet of roses in the bucket seat. There were about two dozen in all, and they were all red. She picked them up and cradled them affectionately.

“I hope these are for me.”

David buckled his seatbelt and nodded. “Surprise. I’m sorry I couldn’t find any as beautiful as you.”

Deena smiled warmly. She would have preferred white petals, but the blood red exuded passion. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. It was then that she noticed her second surprise; it was sitting on the back seat.

“What’s that?” she asked, staring at a huge wicker basket.

“That’s for us,” he said with a grin. “I’ve got some food in there. Some wine. Some fresh fruits…”

“A picnic? Oh, no, you didn’t.”

“What girl doesn’t like a picnic?” he asked.

Deena couldn’t think of one. She climbed in and felt very comfortable in his plush leather interior. David started the car and the smooth bassline of R Kelly’s “Feeling on Your Booty” dripped from his speakers. Deena leaned back and looked over at him wistfully.

“I like this song,” she said.

“Do you?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I like it a lot.”

* * *

If someone asked her a week ago how she felt about picnics, Deena would have told them they were a fool’s venture. That kind of date was for sucker-for-love saps who wanted to hold hands, watch the clouds roll by, and make goo-goo eyes at each other all afternoon. She would have told them that if they ever saw her sitting on a blanket spread across the filthy ground, they’d better check her temperature to see if she was feeling well.

But being with Mr. Markham was not a regular date. It was a scheme, another day at the office, so Deena tolerated the outing. After a while she found herself enjoying more than tolerating, and she rolled with the feeling. She let go of her hang-ups and ended up having a really good time on that blanket, corniness and all.

Mr. Markham took her to a large park in Arlington that was not too crowded despite the nice weather. There was a huge duck pond in the center with a winding sidewalk encircling it. There were a couple of bikers getting their exercise and a few lovers walking hand in hand.

The pond had four elaborate fountains, and Deena saw a nice-sized playground nearby, but there weren’t a lot of kids running around. David walked her to a shady spot under a huge pecan tree, and Deena helped him spread out a beautiful, quilted blanket; it was soft and colorful, and it smelled like Downy.

For their meal David had a garden salad, boccaccini, roasted red peppers, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. He had a fresh loaf of French bread and a variety of deli meats like oven-roasted turkey, smoked ham, and roast beef. For dessert he brought fudge nut bars and sugar cookies. There was still room in the basket for grapes, watermelon slices, and a bottle of Pinot Noir.

He laid the items out one by one, like a master magician, and Deena stared at the spread in awe. “That looks great, but I can’t eat that much.”

“You always bring more than you need to a picnic,” he said. He sat down Indian style and gestured for her to sit across from him.

Deena did, and her mouth started to water right away. Everything looked and smelled great. “Where do we start?” she asked.

“Anywhere you like,” he said. “This is all for you.”

* * *

They went with the salad first, and that was almost a whole meal in itself; he had little cubes of ham in there and romano cheese sprinkled on top. When they got to the sandwiches, Deena only ate half of hers so she could save room for grapes and wine. David made no attempt to feed the fruit to her, but their time together was still nice. They talked a lot, and Deena couldn’t get enough of his intellect. David knew something about everything, it seemed. Deena couldn’t remember the last time she had such deep conversations with the opposite sex.

She went and sat next to him when the food was put away. He didn’t put his arm around her, but Deena felt good just leaning against him. She laid her head on his shoulder and pointed out two swans wrestling near the pond.

“What are they doing?”

David laughed. “Are you tryin’ to tell me something?”

“Of course I’m not,” Deena said, but of course she was.

* * *

They packed up the basket at five-thirty but didn’t leave for another hour and a half. Deena wanted to feed the waterfowl, and David gave up the rest of his French bread for the lark. At first it was fun tearing pieces from the loaf to toss at the ravenous ducks, but there’s always one bully in every crowd. From out of nowhere a big, ugly goose rushed Deena, squawking loudly and flapping his wings. She froze up and let out a high-pitched squeal, and David stepped forward and scared the bird away with just his mean countenance.

“My hero,” Deena quipped when she was out of harm’s way.

“You’re lucky he was medium-sized,” David kidded. “If that big one comes after you, you’re on your own!”

Deena saw the lurking goose he was talking about, and she decided not to press her luck.

They explored the park instead and found a weathered jogging trail that was a lot more secluded than the sidewalk. They followed the path all the way around the park even though it was overgrown in some places. At one turn the canopy of trees was so thick you couldn’t see through to the duck pond anymore. Deena told David she was a tad bit nervous, and he reached to hold her hand.

By the time they got back to the sidewalk, he had his arm around her waist. They kissed for the first time watching the sun set over the water. He didn’t slip her any tongue, but his large hands felt good on her sides. His lips were soft. His breath was warm and sweet. Deena wrapped her arms around him and loved the way his back fanned out like a deck of cards.

She laid her head on his massive chest and inhaled his scents. He smothered her in a big bear hug, and Deena couldn’t deny how good he made her feel. Her heart fluttered. She imagined making love to him, and the mere thought was enough to dampen her panties.

This didn’t even feel like work anymore, which made the job that much sweeter.

A few weeks passed like clouds in a moonless sky, and the cozy temperatures of spring began to give way to the sizzling heat of Texas summer. Deena had to use the air conditioner in her car for the first time all year when the calendar hit June, and she knew that was a trend that would continue well into October.

There were a lot of good things to be said about the Lone Star State, but come summertime, Deena was always hard-pressed to come up with one. In July they would have heat indexes of 105 degrees or more for days in a row, and August was like a fiery fart from Satan himself. The only thing Deena could say to console herself on these blistering days was, Well, at least I don’t live in Arizona, but that argument became weaker and weaker every year.

She went out with David a few more times after their picture-perfect picnic, but so far all of Deena’s well-rehearsed efforts to coerce Mr. Markham into the bedroom were yielding no fruit. She knew he was interested in her, and she didn’t think he was impotent, but whenever their kisses got close to heavy petting, he would bring an abrupt end to their make-out sessions.

Her simple seduction was turning into a full-blown love affair, but Deena was flexible. The junior partner position wasn’t coming up until October anyway, so she stayed the course and ignored her rising frustration levels.

She knew sex was crucial to the overall success of the operation, but by then Deena wanted to make love to Mr. Markham for other reasons, too. He was delectably fine, and sweet and charismatic. He treated her well and was always a gentleman. He was affectionate, and funny, and sensitive. She knew he would eventually yield to temptation and his will would be hers to control, but Deena would sleep with him even if the promotion wasn’t in the equation.

She encountered a lot of men in her lifetime, but never one who was more elusive, wise and worthy.

* * *

The twins came by one Friday evening to get buzzed on their way to a nightspot. They were going to a new place called Blue Mondays. Deena heard good things about the club, but she declined when they asked her to tag along.

“Why not?” Latasha asked. “How come you don’t be wanting to go with us no more?”

“She done let that trick turn into a boyfriend,” Natasha ventured.

The twins sat on the sofa and Deena lounged on her love seat. Watching them so close together, it was uncanny how identical and how beautiful they were. If you closed your eyes, you would never guess their words were coming from such angelic faces.

All three girls had Long Island iced teas Latasha made with Deena’s supplies. Deena took a sip of hers and grimaced with a bitter beer face.

“Girl, what is this, straight liquor? You gonna end up on dialysis if you keep drinking like this.”

“I don’t drink like this all the time.”

“And you know that’s not my boyfriend,” Deena said. “You always want to take it there.”

Natasha rolled her eyes.

“If it’s your boyfriend, just say it,” her sister said. “We ain’t gon’ say nothing. Everybody gotta settle down sometime. Y’all can get married, and you can pick up his dirty drawers and stuff.”

“Yeah, right,” Deena said with a chuckle. “You’ll do that crap before I will.”

“How long have you been going out with David?” Natasha asked.

“I’m working on a promotion—not going out. There’s a difference.”