30. 30
30
Will rang the doorbell, and Ava answered it, swinging open the door to reveal herself. His heart nearly stopped.
Ava wore a slinky dress. The red fabric hugged her curves. A low, plunging neckline showcased her cleavage. The slit up the side put her smooth,moisturized legson display.
“Wow.” It was all Will could think of to say. Beneath his jacket, he worea deep blue button-down and pressedslacks.
She beckoned playfully with a finger, and he followed her inside. He looked around, hanging his coat on the hook by the door.
The house had been cleaned. No clothing on the furniture, floors swept,surfaces dusted. It lookedlike a differenthome.
“Wow, again.” Will looked at the spot on the wall where her torn wedding photo used to hang, now replaced by a tasteful paint-by-number of a blossoming, pink Kwanzan cherry tree in a frame.
“Did you paint this?” He pointed to it.
“Sure did. I’m a regular Picasso.”
“Is it new? ”
“It is. I don’t know if you know this, but I recently lost my job and have a lot of free time on my hands as of late.”
He laughed and bobbed his head, looking around. “Something smells amazing.”
“I’m making ziti. Family’s recipe.”
Will took a sniff of the air and turned to Ava. “No. That’s not it.”
“No?” Ava asked.
Will walked closer, wrapping his armsaround her lower backand tugging her to him. “No, it’s…” He nuzzled her neck and groaned in her ear.“It’sdefinitely you .”
Ava felt petals of warmth unfurl in her belly as he pulled the red strap down the arch of her shoulder, following itwith his lips.Avalet out an involuntary gasp.
Will scooped ahand below her ear and pulled her lipsto his, kissing her with sensual abandon as the intoxicating smells of food filled the air.
Will led Avabackward onto the couch and laid her down, never taking his mouth from hers. He carefully laid her back against the leatherwith a moan. He nestled a leg between her thighs and kneeled, pressing hisbody down over hers. Her face grew red, and his hand found its way back to her jaw, tilting her head back as his lips moved down to her breasts. She gasped for air like a drowning woman as he tugged the fabric down and took her nipple softly into his eager mouth, sucking and swirling the sensitive flesh, teasing her as she gasped louder. Her body bucked up, and he nibbled and sucked, engulfing her perfect pink buds with his hot tongue.
His erection raged, fierce and angry like a lion attacking its cage, seeking freedom beyond the bars.
With his free hand, he hiked her skirt up as her back arched beneath him, responding to his every touch.
“ Please ,” she begged, breathy, almost without making a sound. “ Please …”
He felt her leg slide over the back of his, pulling him close, tightening like a boa constrictor. Her hands slid through his hair, mussing and tugging, pulling his face back to her breast for more.
“Please what ?” he asked between languid, teasing licks of her stiffened areolas.
He pushed her further into the arm of the couch, placing his other knee between her bunched skirt, spreading her wide, pressing the lump of his covered cock against her skimpy panties, feeling the heat there.
“Please, what ?” he repeated. “ I want to hear you say it. ”
“ Please fuck me, ” she breathed into the ether. She needed him in the worst way, or rather, the best way.
Hissssssss.
The sound came from the kitchen like a steam valve opening.
“Shit,” Ava panted, lurching bolt-upright on the leather. “The pasta’sboiling over!” Flustered, Avacrawled out from under himand disappeared into the kitchen.
Moments later, she popped her head out, cheeks red, hair tangled. A smile spread across her face. “How about we take a time out.”
Will nodded, praying the blood would rush back to his head soon.
“Ziti for dinner,” she winked, “and you for dessert.”
“I can get behind that.”
As dinner wound down and red wine relaxed her, Ava pushed her bowl aside and smiled. “I have something for you.”
“Is it lacy or see-through?” Will’s eyes locked on hers like a predator, ready to pounce.
“No.” She laughed. She rose from her seat and retrieved a thick orange packet from the hutch behind him. She placed it near the decanter and sat back down across from him. “It’s a present. I hope you like it. I worked really hard on this for you.”
He lifted it up and smiled. “Is it a paint-by-number?”
“No, it’s way cooler than that.”
Will tugged out a bound packet of paper and read the cover:
The Man MaidBusiness Plan.
He laughed, flipping through the fat stack of typed pages. “What…is this?”
“It’s a business proposal. I’ve been working on it for a while now.”
Will flipped to another page and nodded, not nearly as excited as shewas.“Uh…huh.”
Ava leanedacross the table and turned some pages to the projections section, which was full ofcolorful charts and graphs.“So look, this is a fully fleshed-out businessplan that willappeal to clients who have lots of disposable income in the Jackson Hole areaand even potential investors, but best of all, if you turn to the back, you can see how easy it would be for us to eventually branch out and make it a national or worldwide chain, sort of like Chippendales .Actually, I modeled some of it after them.”
“Us?” Will repeated, his face suddenly pale.
“Us. You.” She frowned, upset that he wasn’t getting excited over what she’d just given him. “Look. I’m a finance gal. Business-minded. You need someone to keep your tax documents in order and keep an eye on expenditures and profits. That’s where I come in. That way, you can focus on the actual cleaning and getting together a potential fleet . Then you can manage cleaners to make your money instead of doing the actual cleaning.”
Silence.
She continued, trying to sell him on the idea. “According to research for similar businesses in like income areas, your profitability, not just for gross profit, but net profit is very high. With no overhead, this could eventually be a cash cow, Will. You could be making so much more. We could hire new talentto give clients somevariety and not run you ragged.”
“Is this about Lena Putnam?”
“What?” She was appalled at the accusation.
“Is this because you don’t want me anywhere near clients because you don’t trust me?”
“What? No! This is about realizing the full potential of your business.” She pressed her hands into the table and tried to smile to de-escalate the situation. “I’ve already taken the liberty to set you up a website, got you a domain, optimized your SEO, and started your presence on the web.” She smiled with desperation. “I’ve done some of the heavy lifting for this. This is my gift to you.”
“But I didn’t ask for this gift. I didn’t want this gift. Ava, this is… this is a bit of an overstep.”
“An overstep?” Her feelings were genuinely hurt. “Will, all you have to do is sign and file the incorporation paperwork, and you are literally in business. Officially. Legally. With the ability to expand. You can start bringing on more cleaning staff, more costumes, and providing your own cleaning solvents. I canschedule clients for you. Eventually,we could expand to other wealthy areas and major cities. The sky is seriously the limit with this, Will.”
“This… this is too much.” Will leaned back in his chair and pushed the packet toward her like his body was rejecting it.
Ava’s heart sank.All the work and time she’d put into it…
She thought he would be thrilled .
Instead, he seemed genuinely pissed off.
“What about it is too much?”
“ All of it, ” Will muttered.
“I worked really hard on this.”
“I’m sorry, Ava. But nobody asked you to do this. We just started dating. We haven’t even slept together. Now you want to manage my business?This is my livelihood. ”
Ava furrowed her brows. “Yes! That’s my point exactly. It’s your livelihood. This time next year, you could be making ten times as much.”
“Life’s not all about money.”
Ava reeled back, recoiling like a snake ready to strike. “I know that.”
“I appreciate it, but… I wasn’t preparedfor this. Ithought tonight would go differently.”
“This is who I am, Will. I’m driven . I’m a go-getter . I don’t just sit around and let opportunities pass by. If I see a solid investment, I’m going to do everything I can to make it thrive.”
“I see that.”
Ava felt defeated.
All that time. All the research. All of the effort.
Wasted .
After sitting together in silence for a long moment, Ava finally found enough voice to speak. “I think it’s probably time for you to go.”
“Okay.” Will rose slowly, grabbed the packet, and headed for his coat. As he put it on, he spoke again, not making eye contact with her. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.”
Ava didn’t say a word. She sat at the table, stunned, as the door opened and closed quietly.