22. From Now On
22
From Now On
Ben
A melia clings to me as we walk out of the Music Room. I knew I had to wear the tightest boxer briefs I have today: my cock is hard and throbbing, and I can't wait to get her alone. I should have booked a hotel room in Brighton rather than having to make the one-hour drive back home. But Furball is on his own and I think he would have planned my murder if I kept Amelia from him for a whole night.
I'll miss him when they eventually move back to Amelia's cottage. But not as much as I'll miss her. I swallow hard and try to not let the thought ruin my evening. Luckily for me, her landlady’s plumber is hopeless, so there’s no date yet for her boiler to be fixed. So far I have been able to convince her to stay, even though the temperature is warmer now.
"Ben!" a familiar voice calls from behind me. "Ben, my boy, that's a coincidence." Shit! My eyes land on the short, balding man heading our way. He has an arm around a woman at least fifteen years his junior.
"Neil, that's a surprise." It really is a surprise because I'm pretty sure he once told me he hates classical music.
"Oh, you know, sometimes you have to do something nice for the wifey so she does something nice for you, if you get my gist." He winks and then laughs about his own joke. I give him a smirk and it takes everything in me not to roll my eyes.
"Amelia, this is Neil Blackwater from Henderson Steel Works. Coop and I are considering a collaboration with them," I introduce him. “Neil, this is Amelia Foley, my partner." I slide my hand around her waist. Amelia looks at me with surprise when I call her my partner, but relaxes into my embrace.
"Oh, don't play hard to get Ben. You know Henderson Steel is the leading manufacturer of steel beams in the country and your only real option," he laughs. "Nice to meet you, Amelia. You’re not quite what I imagined Ben's girlfriend to look like," he laughs.
Arsehole! Amelia stiffens but I pull her closer to make it clear she’s with me.
"In a good way, of course," Neil adds and lifts Amelia's hand to his mouth to place a phony kiss on it. Amelia flinches but allows him to press his lips to the back of her hand. Neil is in his late fifties and from an era when it was still considered okay to grope your secretary or make lude jokes in boardrooms. He’s not a man I would choose to hang out with, were it not for the business deal.
"Did you like the concert, my dear?" Brenda, or Mrs Neil as her husband introduced her to us, asks Amelia.
"Oh, it was …. stimulating," she eventually replies with a cheeky smile. That little minx . I gently squeeze her side and she giggles.
Brenda clearly agrees with Amelia―albeit for completely different reason, I'm sure―as she gives us a short lecture about why Mozart is superior to all other composers. Amelia is squirming next to me probably because by now she is keen to take the vibrator out. I'm tempted to switch it on one more time. She was so beautiful coming apart earlier when she tried not to be obvious; it took everything in me not to whisk her away in the middle of the concert.
"Oh, you must," I suddenly hear Brenda say. Shit, what did I miss?
"If my little wifey says so, you can't possibly not, Ben. If we talk about the deal we can write off the dinner as a business expense," Neil chuckles. Fuck, no! That's the last thing I want now. Dinner with Neil and his wife.
"I—"
"Of course, we would love to join you for dinner," Amelia says. I give her a quick look and she just shrugs.
"Excellent," Neil slaps my back and I have to suppress the urge to slap him back.
"The restaurant is just across the street. The Duck and Orange. We'll meet you there." He gives us one last smirk and then drags his wife off after him.
"Amelia, why—"
"It sounded important, with the deal and everything." She looks at me nervously. "Should I not have accepted?"
"Honestly I’d much rather take you home and give you another orgasm than sit through a dinner with these people," I whisper and plant a kiss on her lips. Fuck, I think I'm addicted to her. "I also don't think Furball is going to forgive us."
"Oh my god, you do care about Smutty!" she exclaims with a big grin.
"I―well, it will be me he'll bite on the ankle again if we’re late," I argue, but we both know it’s a weak excuse. Yes, that little black shadow has grown on me.
"Sure,” she smirks. “Well we can use Omar waiting for us as an excuse to not stay too long," she shrugs. "But before we go, I'll have to nip to the ladies because this thing needs to come out." An older woman walking pass stares at us curiously causing Amelia to blush again. I wonder if she'll ever get used to her new sexy kitten side, but I sure hope not. I love her pink cheeks.
T his feels like the longest dinner ever when in reality only forty-five minutes have passed. Normally I would be all over business partners―anything to make the deal happen―but today I'm bored by the business talk and all I want to do is get Amelia home and bury myself in her.
Maybe Coop is right. Maybe we have done this all-work-and-no-fun thing long enough. It's time to enjoy life a little.
"Would you excuse me, I’ll just head to the bathroom," Amelia says and slides from her chair. She gives me a smile and disappears behind the screen separating our table from the next. It's a weird restaurant. They've got wooden partitions between each table, making it feel like you've got your own little bubble. The menu sounds posh but if you look closely it’s just overpriced chicken.
“Amelia’s nice,” Neil takes a sip of his whiskey, “but definitely not who I would have pictured you with.”
I hold his gaze. “And why’s that?”
“Oh, it’s just that you’re so successful... well, don’t listen to me. I’m an old man,” he chuckles. “My father was very strict and always made it clear we need to choose our partners carefully so they don’t hold us back.”
I glance at his wife, but she’s not listening and instead is clicking away on her phone with her acrylic nails.
"And you think Amelia’s holding me back?” My voice sounds dangerous.
“Oh, don’t listen to me. I just have the old-fashioned notion that a successful man needs to be supported by a beautiful woman. As I said, I’m just a relic from a different time."
He did not just say that to me! I try to calm my breathing before I reply.
"And what you’re saying is that Amelia isn’t beautiful?" My eyes are fixed on him and the mood around the table is shifting.
"Oh... I―” I don’t think he expected me to call him out on his shit. I need to get out of here before I do something wrong.
I drop my napkin on the table and slowly rise from my chair.
"Neil, unfortunately our company is no longer interested in a partnership with you." I pronounce each word clearly and display a calmness I don't feel on the inside.
"Let's not be hasty, Ben. I didn’t mean to offend and I apologise if I have." Neil tries to calm the waters.
"Amelia is a beautiful and amazing woman; she is smart, caring, and makes me happy. I tell you what she isn't: she is not a trophy I drag along with me. You might not have wanted to offend, Neil, but this conversation has shown me your values and they’re not values that match what Coop and I want for our company."
Neil’s face is turning crimson and his smile is slipping off his face. All that’s left now is resentment and anger. I know how desperate his company is for this deal, regardless of the stupid delaying games he’s been playing.
"Think, Ben. You’re giving up the chance of signing a contract with the market leader. We can help you maximise your profits, we can make this project a real success. Are you really throwing it all away over a fat wallflower with no style?" Our eyes are locked and neither of us moves. I have never felt fury quite like this.
"Fuck your company. And fuck your deal," I hiss. The anger burns in my guts like a wildfire and it takes every ounce of strength for me not to punch the shit out of this wanker. "There are many other companies around, and if we can't find a partner in the UK, we'll take our business elsewhere. But I won't be making deals with someone who's got the manners of a chauvinistic arsehole." I snatch Amelia's bag. "Excuse me." I give a nod to Brenda and stride off to find Amelia.
I sidestep the screen guarding our table and nearly collide with her. Her expression is blank, she seems to be frozen on the spot. I'm sure she heard what was said.
"Let's go, darling," I whisper and place a kiss on her lips. She takes the hand I hold out to her and we leave the restaurant without a backwards look.