Chapter 6 Matthew
MATTHEW
“Put your money away,” I tell Crew when he tries to throw some cash on the table after our meal is eaten. He’s more than ready to get home. Meanwhile, the thought of leaving Letty here tears at my insides.
“What, is it not good enough for you?” Crew taunts with a smirk.
“You know exactly why.” I place my card with the receipt and wait for Letty to come back around.
It’s clear to me that I need to either make a pit stop at Jude’s place or give him a call.
I’ve worked with Ophelia before Letty started cleaning my penthouse.
She pays well, and I’m having a hard time understanding why Letty is working two jobs.
“She’s your woman. You’ll pay the bill because god forbid another man pay for it or even suggest paying for his own.
I’m sure the tip I’d leave would be just as much as yours, but whatever.
Go thump your chest like Tarzan.” Crew finishes his second beer, and I’m sure he’ll pick up drinking once he gets home.
All of us guys have settled down on being young and dumb.
Drinking and driving isn’t on our list of fun things to do.
Jude is the only one in our group who refuses to drink, and rightfully so.
He prefers candy and an occasional smoke as his vice.
“Except if I threw her over my shoulder, hell would rain down on me.” I’d have ordered a second beer, except I’ve got more at home, and the last thing I want to do is sit here only to drink.
“She’ll fit right in with our group, you know.” He’s speaking the truth. Letty’s a hard worker, driven, and has no problem standing her ground when it means something to her.
“Oh, I know.” She’s in my eyesight, as she’s been all night. This time, no other tables need her attention, so maybe I can convince her to take her break once Crew gets the message that he’s free to leave.
“Alright, thanks for dinner. Good luck with your woman. Make sure you’re free this Sunday.
Johnny is having everyone over at his place, not like you have a long commute.
” A few of us live in the same area, Crew included, as well as Johnny and Luke.
The rest of our group is pretty scattered, but we all get together when we can.
Which has been less and less lately. The guys and I get together, but the whole group?
It’s been too damn long since I’ve seen my nieces and nephews.
“I’ll be there. Thanks for meeting me for dinner, man.” Crew stands up and claps me on the back.
“Anytime. See you Sunday.” He walks through the bar, disappearing with the other patrons of Twisted Oak.
I’ve got more important matters to take care of, and she’s walking my way.
Earlier, when I had my hands on Letty and got to really look at her, I could see more than she usually lets me.
Her shield was down for the first time ever.
I also got to smell her sweet, delicious scent directly from the source.
I’ve come to realize it’s a combination of her shampoo as well as whatever she washes her body with, making my cock jump at the thought of imagining her in the shower.
Christ, the last thing I need to think about is Letty naked and wet, running her hands down her body, fingers swirling around her clit, and doing everything I want to do to her sweet little body.
I take a sip of the ice water, trying to calm my thoughts from going into an area I won’t be able to come back from.
My suit jacket is in my car, and besides pulling my dress shirt out of my slacks to look like an unkempt, overworked attorney, which I refuse to fucking do, looks like I’d be stuck where I am until my dick gets a clue and calms the hell down.
“All set?” Letty interrupts my thoughts when she stops in front of my table.
“Yeah. I couldn’t persuade you to take a break and sit with me?” I phrase it as a question. She sees right through my bullshit, does what I least expect, and sits down in Crew’s vacant spot.
“I can’t stay long. We technically don’t get breaks while we're working, especially on the weekends, when we’re never slow.” She looks around, and I track each movement, noticing that a lot of tables are sitting empty.
“I’ll take what I can get.” A flush dots her cheeks, and a shy smile is tossed my way.
“So, this is kind of awkward, sorry.” Letty looks down at the wooden table, swirling her finger in the condensation left over from our drinks. A curlicue here, a heart there, and what looks like a leaf.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I won’t keep you if you need to get back to work, or we can have a conversation.
” I’m tempted to reach out, cup her hand with mine, and entwine our fingers.
The more I’m around her, the more I’m learning about her.
While she’s usually quiet in the penthouse, in the public eye, she’s even more so.
“About what?” She licks her lips, rolling them in a way that she thinks is innocent, but when it comes to the bombshell in front of me, it’s anything but.
“You tell me. I’ve got nothing that’s off-limits.” I’d much rather she led and I’ll follow this time. Once I have her in my bed, that’s a whole other story entirely.
“Okay, I’ll go first. What’s your favorite meal?” Letty starts off with the easy questions, so I settle in and go with the flow.
“That’s easy. Anything you make. Whatever you cooked the other day, I could eat that three times a week.
Seriously. Steak, potatoes, and a salad work for me for dinner.
Lunch is whatever I can grab. Breakfast is coffee and a protein shake, though.
What about yours?” A look of shock crosses her face with my answer.
“Wow, my cooking, really?” I give a slight nod, and she continues, “Well, while you clearly like dinner-type meals. I’m definitely more of a sandwich type of person with either soup or a salad, depending on the time of year.
My mom, well, we didn’t have a lot for a long time, so she learned to stretch a lot of meals. ” She shrugs her shoulders.
“Make something you like next week, please,” I say in response. I’m not going to dig deep and question where her mom is now.
“I can do that. Alright, next question. Favorite color?” She goes with another easy one.
“Blue.” I nod for her to tell me her response as well.
“Red, but not the barn door red, like a deep red. It’s hard to explain, and I don’t see one similar anywhere. Dang.” I let out a chuckle.
“I’ll take a stab at this. You’ve mentioned before you’re saving up money for school.
What route are you going for?” I’d love nothing more than to ask her a million and one questions, especially about her past, but I know when to wait a person out.
While I might be a real estate attorney now, there was a time when I did a fuck of a lot more.
I could pull things out of the toughest of people.
With Letty, that’s the last thing I want to do.
I’d much rather have her willingly let her past out, to trust me, and to come to me when she needs me.
“Teaching. I’m actually halfway through with my credits.
Life happened, like it usually does for most people.
Then I had to move when my mom passed away, and I’ve been working to save money ever since.
” She lets out a shaky breath, almost as if she’s said too much, when in fact, she hasn’t said nearly enough.
“You’ll get there. Though, I gotta say, if you ever change your mind, you’d be a hell of a chef.” I’m rewarded with a tip of her lips, causing me to do the same, and when she relaxes enough, I get the real smile. And goddamn, does it light something up inside of me.
“Thank you. Working here helps. What about you? Did you always know being an attorney was in your cards?” Can’t blame her for asking me about myself when I’ve been doing the same to her.
“Yeah. Didn’t think I’d go the real estate way at first. I figured criminal law would be where I’d find myself.
Then I did a few internships, had second thoughts, which led to family law.
Talk about depressing. It was then I settled into real estate law about ten years ago.
I’ll dabble in other areas as needed, but on a day-to-day basis, that is what I do. ”
“I don’t think I could work in either of those.
Honestly, law of any kind doesn’t really appeal to me, which is wild because one day, when I become a teacher, I’m sure I’ll be doing nothing but wading through red tape mixed with some massive rules.
It’ll be worth it, though.” Letty continues to doodle while maintaining eye contact with me or looking around to see if any of her tables need anything.
“How’s that saying go, as long as you’re happy. I give you big kudos. Teaching is a labor of love, one that doesn’t get the recognition and praise it deserves, and it damn sure doesn’t pay enough.” She shrugs her shoulders, probably well aware of the financial aspect, like many others are.
“Money doesn’t buy happiness. It usually brings more problems than you’ve ever had before.” Well, fuck me running, she drops another morsel of information about herself inadvertently.
“You’re not wrong about that,” I reply, taking another sip of my water.
“My turn. Which is your favorite thing to do while winding down, watching television or reading? The reading can include audiobooks.” I chuckle at her audio part.
There have been countless times I’ve walked into the penthouse and heard voices coming through her phone or glanced down at her phone while she had headphones on, listening to a romance book.
“Reading, though usually, it’s contracts. On the rare occasion I’ll get to read for leisure, it’s not often, though. You?” I play dumb.
“Same, books or audiobooks, or a magazine. It depends on what I can get my hands on, either through the brick-and-mortar library or the apps on my phone.” This time, I’m not surprised.
I pretty much knew the answer to begin with.
Still, it’s nice to hear her talk in the soft tone of her voice, and when she becomes passionate about the subject, well, it shines through with each syllable.
Her hands also become animated, and now I don’t want to let her leave the table.
“Shit, I’m sorry I have to cut this short, but someone was just seated in my area.
” Letty goes to stand up, but my hand moves to hers instead, holding it for a moment while watching how she reacts to our skin touching.
“Thanks for sitting with me. What’s your number? Maybe we can keep this up when we both have time.” I pull my phone out with my unoccupied hand and slide it over to her. It’s already unlocked from facial recognition, and a few clicks brings up the call log.
“Oh, uh, sure. I guess that’s okay,” she stammers for a moment, then enters her phone number, hits the call button, and lets it ring a few times before ending the call.
“I’ll talk to you later.” It’s a promise, one I’ll keep. I watch as Letty takes the bill folder and moves to leave.
“I’ll be right back with this. Let me get my guests settled?
” I nod in response, and then she’s off.
My eyes linger on her, watching as she moves with a gracefulness most women could only hope to have.
I place my wallet on the table and go through the cash I have, keeping in mind that tips in the green variety are better than putting it on a receipt.
It means less of a cut that Twisted Oak can take.
This way, Letty can put more in her pocket.
She interacts with her four top, the party looks like it consists of two parents and two children.
Letty talks more with the kids than the parents, gathering their drink orders before slipping away.
I lose sight of her for a few minutes before she’s back again.
“Here you go. Thanks again, Matthew. It was really nice talking with you.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” She licks her red pouty lips at my response. Soon, I’ll have my mouth on hers and get a real taste of Letty Barnes.