The Arrangement (3 page)

‘How
is Natalie finding school life?’

Anne
shrugged her shoulders. ‘It is a bit touch and go really. At
the moment she is only doing half-days. It broke my heart when I had
to leave her there because all she did was cry, but she has been
going there for a week now. She has made a couple of friends and they
let her do lots of colouring.’

‘Ha.’
Scarlett laughed. ‘That will keep our little painter happy.’

‘She
does love that, but now and again she has a little cry when I leave
her.’

‘She
will get used to it.’

‘Hopefully,’
replied Anne.

A
waitress approached the table. ‘Can I take your order?’
she asked.

‘Do
you want the same as usual?’ asked Anne.

Scarlett
picked up the menu and gave it a quick scan of her eyes. It was a
futile gesture. She always ended up having the exact same thing every
time she came here. It was one large hot chocolate with chocolate
sprinkles and marsh mellows and the most gorgeous tuna salad crusty
roll she had ever eaten. Anne relayed all of this onto the waitress.

‘So,
how is your writing coming along?’ said Scarlett.

‘It
is going pretty good. I am working on the sequel for “The
Midnight Mistress”’ Anne said the title with extra
emphasis. ‘I have been meaning to go back to that book for
quite a while now and tell another story with the characters.’

‘Dad
is going to love that,’ giggled Scarlett.

‘Not
all of us in the family like fancy books,’ replied Anne. ‘I
like my books to increase your heart rate, tease your emotions, and
ruin your panties.’ This time it was her turn to giggle like a
school girl.

‘What
happens in this book?’

‘Well,
after the last one I decided to switch the location to a new city. I
mean the whole idea of the story is that this really quiet, shy
housewife has an alternative lifestyle when it comes to midnight, but
the next morning she has no memory of what she has done the night
before. So, taking that same theme I have basically made it so there
will be more embarrassing situations for the husbands, lots of hot
kinky sex, and plenty of ups and downs and then downs and up again.’

The
waitress brought over their drinks and placed them on the table.

‘How
goes your latest masterpiece?’ asked the older sister.

‘Not
so well,’ admitted Scarlett. ‘I can’t seem to get
much of a connection between the major characters. I have a very
small cast, with the sheriff and the hotel manager being bit part
characters, but having this strong sexual tension between them. I
have a really creepy ghost that a lot of the stories point of view is
told from; as it watches the main characters investigate the haunted
hotel. The other bit part characters have good chemistry, but it is
just the main two characters are constantly at each other’s
throats.’

‘Are
they meant to be?’

‘No.
It’s a love story. You see she is married to this man that
doesn’t really put much stock in the whole paranormal psychic
medium thing, but she idolises the man she works with because he has
a really amazing unique ability. The main character is a bit of a
recluse and dark. He has had a troubled life and I thought with the
affair angle, and a few naughty love scenes, here and there, I could
create great atmosphere between them, but it isn’t working.’

‘Why
do you think that is?’ asked Anne. ‘I find that my
writing reflects my life. When I am happy I tend to write romantic
novels with happy fairy tale endings, but if I am unhappy then people
have affairs and characters become darker and not very nice.’

‘You
might be onto something.’ Scarlett picked up her drink and took
a sip.

‘Is
he still not sleeping with you then?’

Scarlett
nearly choked on her drink. Nervously, she looked around at the
people sitting around them, but nobody was paying them the blindest
bit of attention. ‘Don’t say that so loud,’ she
scolded her sister.

‘Sorry,’
Anne giggled.

A
silence fell between them.

‘We
haven’t had sex in over a month,’ mumbled Scarlett in
reply.

‘Oh…’
was all that Anne could think to say.

‘I
don’t know what is wrong. I am practically throwing myself at
him. I even brought a really sexy nightgown and I can see from the
way he looks at me that he really wants to make love, but when ever
things start to get a little hot, he rushes off.’ She paused
for a moment, as she carefully searched her mind for the right words
to explain this next part. ‘I heard him in the shower this
morning.’

Anne
was a puzzled expression upon her face.

‘He
was touching himself,’ Scarlett spoke in a low whisper.

‘He
was jerking off?’ Anne said a little too loud.

The
people at the next table turned and glanced at them. Scarlett looked
as if she was about to die of embarrassment, but Anne just smiled. In
a way this situation summed up her sister pretty well. Anne had no
shame and no embarrassment. She was a hot sexy woman and she knew it.
She didn’t care how people looked at her or what they thought
about her.

‘He
had turned down making love with me and then done “that”
in the shower.’

‘Do
you think he is having an affair?’ Anne didn’t beat
around the bush.

‘No.’
The word cut like a knife through the air. ‘I can see from the
way that he looks at me that Lucas is madly in love with me, but
there is something going on that he is keeping from me.’

‘Hmm,
that is odd,’ conceded Anne. ‘I am not sure what to
suggest.’

‘Well…’
A blush appeared upon Scarlett’s cheeks. Anne’s smile
spread a little wider. She knew all too well that her sister was a
little bit shy when it came to conversations about the bedroom. She
could read her like a book and knew exactly what was coming. ‘I
was hoping you could give me some advice on being sexy.’

‘You
want to tempt him into having sex with you?’ she asked.

‘Spicing
things up in the bedroom is a good idea, right?’

‘It
is a great idea.’ Anne sat back in her chair and looked up and
away, as she worked her way through the archive of erotic techniques
within the depths of her mind. ‘I have some ideas that you
could use to catch his attention.’

Scarlett
leaned forward with ears wide open.

‘Here
is what I think you should try…’

***

Lucas
stood with his back against the elevator wall. Like some kind of
vulture, circling his prey, he eyed up the woman standing directly in
front of him. By all normal standards this was not the type of woman
he fancied. In truth, he shouldn’t have eyes for anyone, but
Scarlett. It was only natural to, sometimes, do a double take when a
truly beautiful person catches your eye, but this was different. The
woman standing in front of him was in her mid to late forties. Her
long brown hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore a simple
skirt and work blouse. This lady could not be considered slim. She
had curves. His eyes dropped towards her rather round ass and
something dangerous bubbled within the depths of his stomach. This
planetoid shaped wall of blubber was looking pretty hittable right
about now.

Thankfully,
the elevator door opened with a ping.

He
was saved by the bell.

The
woman exited the elevator and headed left. Lucas took a right and
power marched down the corridor and straight to Mr Mill’s
office. Rose, Mr Mill’s secretary, wasn’t sitting at her
desk, so he approached the door and knocked for himself.

‘Come
in,’ called Scarlett’s father.

Lucas
attempted to gauge his mood by the tone of his voice, but he always
sounded moody so you really couldn’t tell. He just hoped he was
having one of his good days because he needed to talk about the
arrangement, which was eating away at him from the inside out.

He
entered the large office.

Mr
Mills was standing by the glass windows, behind his desk, looking out
across the landscape of the city. ‘Mr Mills…?’ The
older man didn’t really look like either of his daughters. This
was something that Lucas was very grateful for. They had thankfully
taken their looks from their mother. Mr Mills stood at the grand
height of five foot nine inches tall and was probably wider if you
measured him horizontally. The man gave a new definition to the word
“Fat”. Lucas had never been fearful of a fat man before,
unless he accidentally got between one and the doughnut box, but Mr
Mills had an aura of power and control.

He
made you feel on edge.

‘Lucas.’
He greeted him with a welcoming smile. It was the type of smile a
great white shark gave you moments before having its lunch. ‘Come
in and sit down.’ He pointed to one of the two vacant leather
chairs. ‘How is my favourite employee doing today?’

‘I
am good, thank you, Sir.’ Lucas sat down in the leather chair.

‘How
is the search for the new secretary going?’ asked the older
man.

‘Craig
reckons he will have someone for me for tomorrow morning.’

‘That
is excellent news. How is the movie deal going?’ Lucas went to
speak, but Mr Mills quickly spoke over him. ‘This is a very
important deal for the company. The board wanted to put someone else
on the job, but I have faith that you can get the deal done.’

No
pressure then.

‘You
can get it done, can’t you?’ There was something
unnerving about the way his eyes narrowed, as he asked this question.

‘Yes,
of course, Sir,’ replied Lucas. ‘I had a meeting a little
earlier today and they seem very eager and excited about the project.
They want to meet with the author and have a talk about their
thoughts and ideas on the direction of the movie.’

‘Will
the author go along with the deal?’ He wore a mask of
seriousness.

‘She
does seem very happy about everything that has been said thus far.
She does have some reservations, but…’

‘Get
that sorted. We need this deal.’ It was strange how such a
short fat man could seem some tall and dominate when he wanted to. It
was almost like an eerie shadow crept across his face, as he leaned
across the table towards Lucas.

‘Yes,
Mr Mills. I am very confident everything will go through smoothly.’

‘If
push comes to shove we may fly you down there to hammer out the
details in person and get this signed and sealed. The last thing we
need is this dragging on for too long and people changing their
minds.’

‘Yes,
Mr Mills. That might be the best course of action,’ replied
Lucas.

Mr
Mills pulled back his leather chair and lowered his large girth down
into the seat. It was surprising that the chair didn’t crumple
up like a house of cards under his mighty weight.

‘So,
how are things going with my daughter?’

This
was what Lucas had wanted to talk about.

‘To
be honest with you, Sir, things are a little difficult,’
admitted Lucas.

‘And
why is that?’

‘I
think it is the arrangement. Scarlett is starting to get upset that I
am constantly turning down her.’ He picked his next word
carefully, ‘approaches.’

‘She
will understand.’

‘I
really don’t think…’

Mr
Mills spoke over him. ‘She WILL understand,’ he repeated.
‘Lucas, I have no problems with you marrying my youngest
daughter, but I don’t want her to go the way of her sister.’
He sat back in his chair and placed his fingertips together. ‘I
love Anne but she has four children from three different men. This is
because she couldn’t keep her knickers on.’

Lucas
tried to speak, but a wave of a hand silenced him.

‘I
know you and Scarlett have been together for a long time, but three
months is not a big deal. Once you are married you can do whatever
you want. You are both adult’s, but until then I don’t
want any accidents, and by that, I mean keep it in your pants.’

‘Sir,
it is very well you telling me this, but Scarlett needs to know.’

‘No.’
The way it was said left no gap for negotiation. ‘I am doing
this for Scarlett’s own good. Once the two of you are married,
and you uphold your end of the deal, I am sure I will find an opening
for you higher up in the company.’

‘Yes
sir, but…’ Lucas attempted to counter the argument.

‘If
that will be all, I have another meeting.’ Mr Mills got out of
his chair and returned his attention to the window overlooking the
city. For a long moment Lucas sat in the chair looking at his, soon
to be, father in laws back. There really was no dealing with this
man. So, the arrangement stayed in place. Lucas couldn’t have
sex with his fiancée until they are married and in return he
will get a promotion. Mr Mills never really explained what would
happen to him if he didn’t go through with the deal, but Lucas
was sure that it wouldn’t be very nice and he would be having a
very hard time of it for the next few years.

With
a sigh of defeat he got to his feet. ‘Thank you, Sir.’

***

Sitting
at his desk, Lucas surveyed the paperwork in front of him. It was so
disorganised that there was no possible way for him to find the
specific document that he needed. This couldn’t continue any
longer. Pushing back his chair he got to his feet and exited his
office. The floor was eerily silent. Most of the staff had gone home
for the night. A brief stroll down the corridor brought him to the
open door of Craig’s office.

He
tapped gently on the door frame

Craig
looked up from his desk. ‘Just the man I wanted to see.’

‘Did
you find me one?’ asked Lucas.

‘I
did.’ A big smug grin spread across Craig’s face. For
some reason it started alarm bells within Lucas’s mind.

‘What
have you done?’ he asked.

‘What
me?’ Craig pulled his best innocent looking face.