Chapter 15 Nate
NATE
Three people from the Lakehouse Grill sit around the conference table.
Cal stands at the screen, clicking through slides as he presents concepts for their brand identity.
The brief was ambitious. Logo, illustrated wall art, full interior concept. Signage, website, the works. A complete rebrand for their restaurant chain.
With Nora and her team’s illustration skills, Evan’s graphics and vision, and my business sense, we’re the only local company who offer everything they want under one roof.
It’s taken years to build NEN Creative into this.
Long nights, tight margins, favours called in, but like every client, no matter how big or small, this pitch is important, especially as they plan to open more Lakehouse Grills across the country, with another already underway in the Lake District.
I meet Evan’s gaze from across the conference table.
He flicks his eyes back down to his notepad, absentmindedly rotating the glass of water in front of him.
It’s not the first time I’ve caught him staring at me today, though it’s more of a mindless stare, as if he can see straight through me and is looking out the office window at the trees blowing in the late summer breeze.
Cal wraps up with a confident smile. “That’s the direction we’d propose. Clean, modern, but still rooted in the local environment.” He gestures towards Evan. “I’ll hand you over to Evan, who’ll run through the timings for the project.”
All eyes turn to the head of the table.
Evan straightens in his chair, fingers lacing together, then unlacing again. He clears his throat. “Thank you, Cal…” He glances at the screen, then at our clients. “What Cal’s done here is—”
He takes a drink of his water, eyes darting to the notes in front of him as if he’s not been listening for the last half an hour. “It’s about… cohesion. Bringing everything together so the brand feels…” He rubs the back of his neck.
The room shifts. One of the Grill directors tilts her head.
I lean forward slightly, resting my forearms on the table.
“So the brand blends with its natural surroundings, bringing nature indoors.” I rise from my seat and take over the presentation.
“Not just something that looks good on a sign, but something more tangible throughout the interior, making your customers feel as if they’re still outdoors but without the temperamental British weather. ”
Evan exhales and resumes his previous position, leaning back in his chair.
I keep going, meeting the clients’ eyes. “From the moment someone walks through the door, to the way the website speaks to them. It’s about consistency. Trust. Making your spaces feel intentional.”
The clients nod along with a smile. One of them scribbles in their notebook.
Evan swallows, then adds, “Exactly that.” His voice is calmer, but he doesn’t try to reclaim the floor.
I finish the pitch, outlining timelines, costs, deliverables. All the stuff Evan planned to do.
“This is exactly what we were hoping for,” one director says. “We’ll discuss this back at the Grill and be in touch.” He rises from his seat and shakes my hand.
Several handshakes and polite goodbyes later, the door clicks shut behind them, and I let out a long breath, my brow furrowing as I glare at Evan.
Cal gathers his laptop. “Good save,” he says as he leaves the room.
Evan stays rooted in his chair, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Sorry. I don’t know what the fuck that was.”
I eyeball him. “You forgot your own pitch?”
He huffs a laugh. “Yeah. That’s… new.”
“No shit.” I tense my jaw. What the hell’s got into him? “We’ve worked on this project for months. This is your baby.”
“I…” He adjusts his glasses, eyes tired behind his black frames.
“Did you not sleep?” I take a few steps towards him, hoping I can read his eyes.
“What do you think? I’m more shocked that you did. Like, what the fuck, Nate. How could you sleep after…” He rises from his seat, the chair rolling back along the carpeted floor. “After what we did,” he whisper yells. He takes the last step, meeting me in the middle of the room.
My shoulders drop. Maybe this is all too much for him.
“I slept like a baby. So did Nora.” I rest my hand on his arm, gripping his hard biceps.
“You’re overthinking. Don’t worry. Everything is cool.
We’re cool. You need to pull yourself together.
We have another meeting at 3:00 p.m. about the spa rebrand. ”
He leans in to whisper. “I fucked your wife and you’re going about your day like it never happened.”
I press my lips together while I chew on his words. The poor bastard’s tormented. “I didn’t hear you complaining last night while you were balls deep inside her.”
“I was carried away in the moment. I just can’t bear the thought of losing you two.”
“Why would you lose us?” I furrow my brow, wishing he knew just how much Nora and I appreciate what he’s doing for us.
He’s more than a fucking sperm donor to us.
He’s everything. “You’re never getting rid of us.
You’re gonna get those thoughts out of your head.
And you’re gonna come over again tonight. ”
“You sure you want to do it again?”
“Yeah. And don’t tell me you don’t. When was the last time you came that hard? Fuck, I even came in my boxers.”
He paces the room, scratching the stubble on his jaw. “I don’t know if I can—”
“Evan,” I say through gritted teeth, my gut twisting with nausea. “Nora will be devastated.”
“I meant, I don’t think I can wait that long.”
My gaze drops to his crotch and I take in the erection beneath his zipper. My eyes widen.
He follows my line of sight. “Yeah. Another reason I couldn’t take the floor.” His mouth presses into a thin line as he clenches his fists at his sides. “I can’t stop thinking about last night and I’ve been hard as a rock since I woke up this morning.”
My lips curl up in the corner. “Mate, why didn’t you say something?” I push the button for reception on the conference table phone.
“Yes, Mr. Harrison.”
“Can you ask Nora to meet me in my office. And screen our calls for the next thirty minutes. We need a meeting.”
“No problem. I’ll let her know now.”
“Thank you, Louise.”
I open the door to the conference room with a grin on my face. “You coming?”
Evan shrugs out of his jacket and folds it over his arm, holding it in front of him as he stomps out of the room.
I follow behind him, my dick twitching at what I’m about to do.
Nora is at the far end of the graphics department talking to Louise, the receptionist. Our eyes lock, a smirk on my face.
Does she feel it too? This electrifying energy sizzling through my veins.
I may not be tormented like Evan, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about last night.
And I need to have a replay. Only this time, I don’t plan on just watching.
Evan isn’t the only one who needs to let off some steam.
Once in the office, I hold the door for Nora as she follows us in, a worried look on her face that I want to kiss away.
Evan hangs his jacket on the back of his chair and drops into the leather seat, wheeling himself behind his desk.
I close the door behind Nora and turn the lock.
She folds her arms over her chest and studies us. “What’s going on?”
“Evan has blue balls.” I press the button on the remote, controlling the blinds, blocking out the glass partition between us and the rest of the staff.
“Why, what happened?” Her eyes are full of concern.
I lift her chin and turn her pretty face back to me. “You happened, dimples. When you came all over his dick last night. Now he can’t stop thinking about it.” I press my lips to hers, capturing her gasp and sucking the air out of her as my thumb finds her stiffened nipple.
“Have you been thinking about it, too, Nora?” I dip my hand between her thighs, rubbing her plump pussy through the cotton fabric of her dress.
She whimpers against my lips, her hips rocking into my hand.
“Have you been thinking about his big cock all day, how he filled your pussy with his cum?”
“Holy shit, Nate.” Evan stands behind his desk, his thick cock outlined under his trousers. “You’re fucking killing me here.”
With my free hand, I turn Nora to face Evan. “You see what you're doing to him?”
She nods with another whimper, her body practically vibrating against me.
“Evan, take out your cock and show my wife how much you want her.” I massage between Nora’s thighs, her arousal seeping through the cotton, the aroma of her sex filling the space. It drives me feral. Can Evan smell her heat?
My dick digs into her hip, and with Evan in the room watching me rub off my wife, I’m ready to come in my pants again. I need to get things moving before that happens.
Evan unbuckles his belt, then slowly unzips his trousers.
Nora and I both gape at his cock as it springs free from his boxers.
He wraps his large hand around his shaft and gives it a few tugs, cursing under his breath. “Get her over here, Nate. Get her on the desk.”
“You heard him, dimples.” I pat her bottom, ushering her in his direction.
She wobbles in her small heels as she makes her way towards him, rounding the corner of his desk until she’s in front of him.
My heart beats wildly as I slide the monitor to the side. My eyes meet Evan’s, and it’s as if he knows what I’m thinking as he lifts Nora onto the desk.
Her legs wrap around his waist, her hands curling around his neck, and without hesitation, he crashes his mouth to hers.
My lips tingle, wanting in on the action, but for now, I’m content to watch as Evan brings my wife to a quivering mess of whimpers, his fingers digging into her thick thighs, his tongue slipping into her mouth, lapping up every moan with a slurp and groan of his own.
The sounds they make are urgent, primal, and downright pornographic as he ruts against her pussy despite too many layers of clothing between them.