The Maid

Chapter 4

Alexa

I’ve sat at my office desk for too long just staring into space, fantasising about the tall, dark, and handsome, Maxwell Loudon.

I am so sexually frustrated that I’m as hot as Hades.

I can’t think straight. My head is fucked.

My thoughts keep landing me back to last night, the way that man made me feel, the way I behaved with a stranger.

Now my body is all tied up in knots and I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.

I’m going to be spending a lot of time in the hotel for a few weeks until all my staff are settled in, and I won’t mix business with pleasure.

It’s one rule I’ve followed since I started my business, and I can thank my dad for that, though I use that term loosely.

The day my dad walked out on his family, he told my mum that he’d been having an affair with his receptionist at work and that he loved her and wanted to be with her.

Blah-de-blah. It didn’t last long between them.

She was young and stupid, and he was even more brainless by throwing everything he had away for that moment of madness.

I witnessed first-hand the destruction that caused my family.

The financial burden that it put on my mum…

she never recovered from that. She still lives in hope that my dad will see sense and walk back into her life.

She’s delusional. If he didn’t have that excuse for infidelity, he would have only found something else much later.

He did us all a favour in the end, but that’s not the point.

My point is that nothing good ever comes from mixing business and pleasure. Someone will come off worse.

That doesn’t stop me from fantasising about Max.

I can window shop. I can look, but I can’t touch.

I throw my head back in irritation. My vibrator is going to need rechargeable batteries.

Either that or I’ll need part shares in a battery company.

Max is seriously going to mess with my head and test my very last nerve.

I don’t know how I’m going to survive the next few weeks.

I tug at the neckline of my dress; I feel restless.

A man has never got to me like this before.

I think it’s safe to say I’m royally fucked where Maxwell is concerned.

I just hope my warning today was enough to put him off making advances at me because I know he’ll wear me down with his words and subtle touches.

I’m kidding myself. He strikes me as the kind of man that will take my warning as a challenge just to see me sink at his feet and beg him to fuck me.

My phone rings, and I jump out of my skin. I grab it from my desk and see that it’s Mhairi calling me. “You’re alive,” I sigh down the line.

“Only just. How did you make it to work in one piece? I feel like shit.”

“Easy. I have bills to pay, doll.”

“What happened to you last night? You were there one minute, walking off with a guy the next, then dragging my arse out of that club quicker than lightning. You gave me whiplash.”

I was hoping that she had no recollection of what happened last night, but of course, that’s not the luck I have. She’s going to want all the sordid details and then some. She’s a walking, talking, breathing, clash bag.

“Are you still on my couch?”

“I am indeed. I have no intentions of moving any time soon.”

I look down at my watch and notice it’s gone four-thirty p.m. Our favourite takeaway will be open. “I’ll bring us dinner home. See you soon.”

I hang up before Mhairi can say anything else. I need some fresh air to cool off, and I need food and coffee to hopefully help this hangover that has lasted all day. A downside to getting older; the effects of alcohol seem to last longer.

***

“Honey, I’m home,” I call out as I kick the front door closed and pad into my kitchen with bags of Chinese takeaway.

Apart from a roll and square sausage and a can of Irn Bru to cure a hangover, Chinese is the next best thing.

I pull out plates from the cupboard and bang them down on the worktop just as Mhairi walks into the kitchen looking like death warmed up.

She’s still got on last night’s clothes, makeup is smeared all over her face, and her hair looks like she has been dragged through a hedge backwards.

I can’t help but laugh. At least I got up this morning and made it to work.

I look down at my watch and sigh. “How the other half live. I’d love to have slept the day away.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just dish up the food, sister. And stop banging about. I have a herd of elephants stomping about in my head.”

Mhairi sits down on a stool and holds her head in her hands. I don’t know why she does it. Alcohol never agrees with her, and she goes over the top every single time.

“Here, I’m not doing it all for you. I bought it. You can dish up your own.”

I pull out several dishes; chow mein, barbeque spare ribs, salt and pepper chicken, lemon chicken with no sauce, chips, prawn toast, and curry sauce. Oh, my. My mouth is watering. I’ve not been able to eat all day; I’m going to make up for it this afternoon.

“Did you leave anything in the shop?” asks Mhairi.

“Nope. I’m starving. I’ve been avoiding food all day. Coffee and water are the only two things to pass my lips today. What have you been up to apart from sleeping?”

Mhairi looks up as she pops a chip into her mouth. “Sleep is all I had to give today. We put away some alcohol last night. The thought of it is turning my stomach.”

“It’s the shots. They’re the devil’s drink. Never mix your drinks, yet we still do.” I shake my head at my own stupidity.

Every time, I say, I’m not having a shot, I’m not mixing my drinks, then I have one too many gin and lemonades and someone hands me a shot and I can’t say no.

I don’t even think that the word no is even in my vocabulary when I’m out on the town.

I need to buy a T-shirt that says, when I say yes, it means no, and when I say no, IT MEANS FUCKING NO!

I moan with delight as all the different tastes of my Chinese goodness hit the spot.

It’s better than sex… and that right there is lies, especially if it’s sex with Max.

Eurgh. I can’t even eat my favourite Chinese food and not think about Maxwell-Fucking-Loudon.

I need to bleach my brain and delete all memories of him.

“What were you thinking about? Your cheeks have gone bright red,” says Mhairi around a forkful of noodles she’s shoving in her mouth.

“You don’t want to know.”

“Eh, yes, I do. Spill.”

I close my eyes and cringe at the thought of what’s running through my head.

I’m like a sex-starved teenager. I can’t even say that because I was a geek as a teenager.

I liked studying, books, and more books.

I didn’t go to parties or hang out drinking in the park on a Friday or Saturday evening.

I was a level-headed kid. I studied. I watched crap television. I liked my own company.

“The man you saw me walk off with last night…” Mhairi’s eyes never leave mine. “Well, he turned out to be my new client.”

“And you didn’t know?”

I shake my head. “He told me his name was Max. I knew I was meeting a Maxwell today, but I never made the connection. Even if I wasn’t drunk, I still probably wouldn’t have thought they were the same person. I was expecting to meet a middle-aged silver fox this morning.”

“What am I missing? You met him last night, and…?”

I groan and sink onto the stool opposite my best friend. “That’s not all that happened last night. Fuck. He gave me the best orgasm of my life. Three times.” I fan myself with my hand.

“Well, I never. Way to go, Lexi. I’m so proud of you, girl. And you enjoyed it?”

I smile. “I fucking loved it. The excitement, the thrill of potentially being caught by someone walking in, the way he worked my body… Oh, my God. He was amazing, Mhairi. I’ve never enjoyed sex as much in my life.”

“I’m still not seeing the problem here. Handsome man, good sex, orgasms…”

“I don’t mix business with pleasure. It’s not professional.” I interrupt Mhairi from rhyming off all the pros about Max.

“And you’ve told him this?”

I nod. “Yes. I wanted to get us both on the same page, no blurred lines.”

Mhairi sighs, rips open the free prawn crackers, and stuffs one into her mouth in an unladylike way. “You’ve just said he gave you the best O of your life, right?”

“Right.”

“And you can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Right again.”

“Babe, when was the last time you had sex with a person.”

I blow out a large puff of air. “Nigel.”

Mhairi chokes on her food and laughs. “Good old Nige would have had more luck digging to China than flicking your bean and finding your G-Spot. You said so yourself.”

“Stop it,” I laugh.

Nigel was a great guy. He was a lawyer. He was loyal, friendly, and smart, but the sex was just mediocre. I thought the sex scenes I read about in books were purely fictional. I didn’t think they could happen in real life. Not even B.O.B gives me that kind of orgasm.

“Do you want my opinion?”

“Nope, but you’re going to give it anyway.” I laugh.

“True.” She stabs her plate ferociously. “Go get laid, baby girl. Men like Max don’t come along every day. Most men are selfish bastards when it comes to sex. They wouldn’t know one end of a woman’s body from the other even if they had a manual. This guy sounds like he knows a thing or two.”

I’m hot and bothered just thinking about Max and what he can do with his expert hands and thrusting groin.

How am I ever going to be able to work alongside him and not get flashbacks of last night?

I’m going to be a raging, burning mess every time he’s in proximity.

I’m going to be counting down the minutes every day until I can get home to relieve myself.

“I’ve told him there will not be a repeat performance of last night, and I meant it, Mhairi. I can’t do it.”

“I’m going to put a bet on how long it takes him to get in your knickers again.”

I throw a prawn cracker at her, and she catches it. “Stop it. You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side; it doesn’t mean I can’t tell you when you’re wrong.”

I sigh. “It isn’t just me this could affect. This job will set the business up for a long time. I won’t have to worry about finding more clients to keep us ticking over. Most of my staff are single parents and students. They need the money.”

“Who are you trying to convince with this bullshit, babe? Me or yourself?”

“I’m just telling you how it is. I’m teaching my brain that whatever happened with Max will not happen again.”

My phone pings from my bag and I reach over to grab it. The moment I see an email in my inbox from Max, my heart rate picks up. What am I saying? My heart rate has been on overdrive since I saw Max today.

“It’s an email from Max.”

“Open it.”

From: Maxwell

To: Alexa

Subject: Contract

Hi Alexa, it was lovely to meet you today… again. As discussed, I’ve attached a copy of the contract for you to look over and sign. If you have any further questions or need me at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Kind regards,

Maxwell

“Well,” says Mhairi.

I bang the phone down with more force than I anticipated. “It’s just the contract for me to look over.”

“And why is that a problem? What’s with the dramatic phone banging?”

I shrug. “It isn’t a problem. It’s just there aren’t any pleasantries. It’s all business.”

Mhairi chokes on her food. “You’ve just spent ten minutes telling me that’s what you want. You told him that’s what you wanted. He’s following your orders.”

“I know. I just…”

“You wanted him to chase after you, wear you down, and ravish your body.”

I splutter on my forkful of food. “I don’t know. Enough about Max. You now know everything there is to know. I’m being put off my dinner and I want a hot shower before I crash into bed.”

“You’ve got it bad, baby girl. I’ll put in earplugs tonight so I don’t hear anything coming from your room.”

Mhairi has no filter. She isn’t like me; she can talk sex without getting a red neck. With me, it looks like I’m having an allergic reaction to something from my chest to my forehead; I go beet red. “Are you staying tonight?”

“Only if you don’t mind.”

I shrug. “You know you’re welcome anytime.”

I get up and toss my plate in the sink. I’ll get to it later. Right now, I need to freshen myself up before I combust.

“I’m going for a shower. Speak later.”

I kiss my best friend’s cheek before leaving her sitting at my breakfast bar eating her weight in Chinese food. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite for food.

I walk into my bathroom, look at my phone, and reply to Max.

From: Alexa

To: Maxwell

Subject: re contract

Hi Maxwell,

Likewise, today. I’ll look over it in the morning and get it back to you as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

Alexa

I peel off my clothes and toss them on the floor. I turn on the shower and let it heat up to a temperature that’s going to scald my body and hopefully make me forget about the aches and pains I have from my night out. I don’t know what pulled more muscles, the dancing, the pole, or Max.

I step under the water and let it cascade down my breasts.

I knead the peaks of my nipples, squeezing, pulling, nipping, but nothing sets off sparks in my nether regions.

I run my hand down my sternum to my centre and caress my clit.

I close my eyes and allow Max to enter my thoughts.

Nothing. I can’t even get myself off now.

I wash myself, scrubbing at my skin with the sponge until I’m red raw.

Only when I’m satisfied that I’m clean do I leave the shower cubicle and wrap myself in a fluffy pink towel from my shelf.

I’ve got one more thing to try before I become defeated. My Rampant Rabbit.

I walk into my room and close the door, taking out my trusted friend from the drawer.

I’m conscious that my friend is in my apartment, but I need to do this.

I turn on the rabbit and it jerks to life.

A man’s dick is such an ugly thing, but when you have a dick like Maxwell’s, it creates such beautiful moments that the ugliness of the appendage is forgotten.

I run the vibrator through my folds, letting the rubber vibrate off my clit.

I arch my back and think of last night, but I want to scream out in frustration.

My body is coiled so tight I’m ready to snap.

I just want to release this tension that has built up inside me, but I’m fighting a losing battle.

I toss the vibrator on the bed, bang my hands down beside me, and grip the quilt so tightly that it could rip.

It is going to be a long fucking night.