Blades

Chapter 2.New Beginnings

Jackson went outside to pull up to the semi circle in front of the ER entrance as 2 nurses helped me into a wheel chair. God damn my body hurt worse than it ever felt in my life. “Thank you” I told both of them as they slowly lowered me down into the seat. “You’re very welcome Rory” I hear being said in the most seductive deep voice into my right ear, close enough to feel his breath on my neck. I look up as I see the same man who was in the ambulance and also happened to be in the OR during my surgery. He was grinning at me with his chizzled jaw and a deep dimple peering out from the left side of his perfect white teeth and plump lips. Wtf? He was a nurse? I was so confused by this man. He literally did everything in the freakin hospital. “I told you I would take care of you Rory, you were safe with me.” He lets the words fall into the minimal space in between my ear and that perfect bottom lip of his. His smirk is gone and he looks serious with his words.

It took me weeks to recover physically from my surgery. And mentally? Well lets just say that I still don’t think that a part of me ever healed. I felt pregnant for months after. I even got pregnant again after a few months…and that baby was lost too. The whole in my heart just kept growing.

Well now it’s exactly a year after my surgery and I’m also 20 weeks pregnant. The whole that was created is still there. It feels as if I am missing a shoe while I’m walking or like I walked out of the house without underwear. Something so obviously missing but I just can’t figure out how to get it back

It doesn’t help either that Jackson and my relationship just hasn’t been the same. I think I somehow resented him for brushing off my losses and traumatic experiences. He may have just been grieving in his own way, but when I look back at it it feels almost as though he just didn’t give a fuck. Like he didn’t care about our children that were never born, about my emotional or mental state.

With my new pregnancy their came complications. In and out of the ER and sonograms with heavy bleeding since I was only 6 weeks pregnant from a hematoma that continued to grown in size until it finally became dangerous to the baby and I. One day it kind of just disappeared. Since my sonogram a few weeks ago it’s now only a few centimeters and such relief has came over me.

It was a Monday afternoon and it was my first day back to work since being cleared off of bedrest for my bleeding. It had been a very long time since I had worked. It somehow just didn’t seem worth it considering the cost of childcare would come just a few hundred dollars short of how much I normally would have brought home a month. I finally found a well enough paying job to make it worth it. I would be working at the San Francisco Academy Of Sciences as a social media coordinator. The commute is a little far but I feel like that 2 hours to work is what I needed right now, that some personal time to myself and the time spent at work would fill the empty space I was still feeing.

I dropped off my kids at daycare and started my commute. My two hours of silence while I drank my double breve I made at home before I left felt golden. I felt so at peace and excited for my day to get away from my thoughts. I knew I would be doing mostly paperwork, a tour and go over some training and expectations but didn’t care.

I finally pulled up to the designated employee parking and raced inside 20 minutes early so that I could pee. I was wearing a black lace fitted blouse with a wide scoop neck that showed my jutted collar bones and a mid thigh black pencil skirt. I had on my favorite coartz necklace and winged liner with thick mascara. I was waiting in the employee lounge as designated to me in an email from the previous day when I heard the door swing open and the sound of large boots hitting the floor. Looking up to first see a man in in well fitting black slacks and a white short sleeve collared shirt with black skull cufflinks. I was shocked to see the man standing before me was the same man from the hospital.

“Hello Rory.” He said in a deep sultry voice ending it with a deep smirk showing off his incredible dimples and strong jaw. “My name is Blades, I’ll be doing your training and paperwork with you today. Feeling a little shocked as to why the surgeon? Medic? Man who saved my life? was standing in front of me I quickly realized how unprofessional I was being just sitting there gaping and shot up to raise my hand to his.

And so there I was. My first day at my new life changing job and I was utterly speechless. I was a ball of nerves as I shook the mans hand in front of me. This has to be some sort of prank. Or what if this was some intricate plan and this guy is really my stalker. That must be it. In a week tops I’ll be in his basement suspended from his sealing while he practices his Shibari technique on me before he murders me. He won’t be the type to kill me fast though of course. He will make tiny little cuts all over my body and slowly drain my blood to feed his under cover vampirism. I’ll be nothing but a corpse in 2 weeks time.

“How was your travels? I know you aren’t scheduled for another 15 minutes but I happened to get here a moment early and couldn’t help myself seeing you here ready and waiting so patiently for me.” Blades says in the most deep and seductive voice I’ve ever heard.

Holy shit is this guy hitting on me? It definitely brought me out of the dark murder plot I had just thought of but now I can’t help but feel…I don’t know…lustful? As I think this I realize I’m still shaking his hand. I quickly release and answer him trying to sound as cool and collective as possible. “Yes actually the drive was great, thank you. I also want to thank you as well for this opportunity to work here.”

“The pleasure is all mine Rory. After looking at your resume I was impressed with your previous Manager experience. I expect to see great things from you as we reopen from our previous COVID closure to help bring in more business. How about you go ahead and follow me and I’ll show you to your office” Blades says as he slowly releases my hand with the largest 1 dimple smirk he could possibly make.

Hot damn this guy is making me feel like I’m 17 again. My husband doesn’t even smile at me like that. As I follow him to my new office Blades gives me a Minnie tour of the place emphasizing the newest areas that will need to be pointed out in my first advertisements I do on TikTok. Last stop is my new office. It’s larger than expected. I take a look around as he let’s me go in first. No windows somehow so bright. White walls, white area rug on top of a black marble floor. A large black wooden desk in the center with a laptop, note pad and a floating stand up pen. One corner of the room had a large black cocoon like chair suspended from the ceiling and the other corner had a small black marble counter with a built-in drink fridge and burkey water filter on top. The room smelled like lavender. One of the walls had a small floating shelf with some essential oils and a diffuser going. I was so impressed. It felt so organized and at home.

“Wow this is amazing” I tell him with a seemingly shocked expression on my face. Holy hell. This office is spot on. The black notes and simplicity scream my name. Where the heck am I working? Google? I expected a cubicle with one of those little gold painted name placks hanging off the top. Close enough to anyone else I may be working with that I could smell there late-night seduction covered in cheap perfume and Abercrombie “business” outfit.

“Isn’t it?” he says so close to my ear it startles me bringing me back to earth. I can’t help but wonder if this guy remembers me. It most definitely is the same person. His deep rough but sensual voice. His bright hazel eyes. Chiseled jaw that pulls out his one deep dimple as he smiles drawing attention to his plump lips and perfect teeth. He is an absolute god if I ever saw one. Maybe he isn’t stalking me after all. Maybe it was just a chance of fate that he ended up changing jobs and becoming my boss. Oh god get a grip Rory. This guy is your boss. He is no way interested in your almost 21 week pregnant ass.

For the next hour we were in a meeting room with 3 other new employees. Blades went over all of the Academy of Sciences employee policies and expectations and gave us all information on our specific jobs we were hired for. There was John the new janitor. A middle-aged man with no wife or kids and dressed like a hipster. Karina the new head chef in The Academy Café and Terrace Restaurant. 23 and fresh out of culinary school. Tall, skinny with a huge ass and perfect skin, hair and nails. And last was Abdul. He was the head of the new aquarium exhibit to open soon. He looked to be in his 40's. His outfit stood out the most. Khaki pants with suspenders, blush pink button up slightly covered by a tan wool over coat. Finished off with a pastel blue tie with small exotic fish printed on it. Regardless how close in proximity I was with everyone else though I spent the whole hour listening and gawking at Blades. He had such a rigid but put together physique. I felt like he was only speaking to me the entire time. It was entrancing. The way he spoke with such intellectual authority. There’s probably not a single word in the dictionary he didn’t know. I felt like the synapses of his brain were reaching a cross the room connecting to mine like an ivy vine. Giving me hits of neurotransmitters, the biggest one being dopamine. It felt sensual, like we shouldn’t have been in a room with others.

This isn’t like me though. I’m married with 3 kids. My eyes have always only been for my husband. It must be the pregnancy hormones playing tricks on me. There was no way that this man, my freaking boss, was eye fucking me from across the room. Get a grip Rory jeez. What I need to do is just lay low. No way am I letting this man trigger my pregnancy hormones to tickle my sapiosexuality into ruining my relationship with my husband and breaking up our family. Nope, not today Satan.

I spent the rest of my shift in my office emailing Abdul, the head of the new aquarium exhibit, to devise my strategy on introducing it to the community. Of course, I have to put emphasis on how even though COVID was no longer a pandemic we were still requiring “protocols to keep the community safe". Finally, it was approaching lunch time and the end of my first day when Blades knocks and enters. His Dr Martens make their way to my desk. He stops right before me, leans over the front of my desk placing both his hands square on both sides of my note pad.

As he looks me square in the eye and out of his mouth comes the most basic yet sexy question I could ever be asked. “How was your day, Rory?” A dimple pulls from the corner of his mouth as he says my name. And just like that I melt into the floor like Olaf on a hot summer day.

As peppy as I could possibly sound, I tell him “It went well, thank you. I think you’ll be pleased with what I’ve come up with for our next Facebook Ad campaign. After the introduction to the aquarium, I’m planning next to discuss with Karina and John about having them work together so we can develop an ad about the cleaning and dining protocols. The goal will be for the community to feel more comfortable eating the food in the Café and Terrace now that COVID is over instead of bringing in outside food to eat in the east garden. It should help bring in more sales.” Jeez I was acting so fake my smile was literally hurting my jaw.

He one ups me by widening his grin as I speak. There’s a twinkle in his bold hazel eyes that is a cross between sincere and malevolence. “Sounds like you hit the nail with the hammer today. Well done, Rory. How about I take you to get some lunch. I know an amazing Italian place around the corner. You must be starved which means time to feed that baby in there.”

A little shocked I open my mouth to tell him politely I’m married and can’t go on a date with my boss. But at the same time my inner self is telling me to say fuck yea. Of course I’ll go with you to lunch. “Uh, um" is all I get out before I force myself to close my ever so plump lips together avoiding whatever mistake I was about to make.

He cuts me off before I can make a fool out of myself to say “A business lunch is a great way for you to tell me all about your new advertisement plans you’ve made.” He swiftly makes his way around the side of the desk and picks up my purse and throws it over his shoulder. Sticking out his hand for mine he quickly says “come on, I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, you deserve to celebrate your first day. I’ll buy you a mock tail.

And just like that I let him help me up. We met at a place called the Fiorella Sunset. The traffic combined with trouble finding parking I arrived around 1pm. Walking up to the door I notice something seemed a little off though. As I put my hand on the door I notice the hours say 5pm to 9:30pm. Is this guy pulling my leg? Did he really not know this place would be closed right now? Just then the door is pulled open out of my hand with Blades standing before me, arm out to the side gesturing me to come in. “Are we aloud in here? I think it’s closed?”

“Nonsence.” he states, leading me to a table in the right back corner. “I know the owner, she’s a good friend of mine. She always has a chef on stand by for occasions such as this.” He states proudly with that same confidence as when he told me to come to lunch with him. “Here have a seat Rory. I know it’s a late lunch so I had the food ready for your arrival. I hope you don’t mind, I just didn’t want you to have to wait any longer to eat.” He briskly pulls out the chair for me and as I sit I smell something incredible. “I got you an heirloom tomato salad, bucatini alla pomodoro and a virgin lime margharita. Buon appetito Rory, mangiare.”

The food was absolutely amazing. I finished both the heirloom tomato salad and pasta at record speed. I had no idea how starving I was until I started eating. Apparently, the baby was hungry too because it was enough food for 2. We spent lunch discussing work. The more I talked, the less intimidated I felt. He was finishing up a whiskey sour when the chef brought out chocolate mousse. I was incredibly full but who was I to deny such a decadent chocolate dessert. I took the first bite to savor the flavor. A small spoon half filled makes it’s way into my mouth upside down so the mousse is to hit my tongue first. Closing my lips around it the spoon comes out clean as I let out a little moan of approval “ugh”. Did I just moan out loud? Oh god apparently because he’s staring at me now.

Looking at my lips he says “That looks delicious.” Leaving his lips slightly parted he suddenly looks highly sensual. What happens next is unexpected. He leans over the table a mere foot away from my face, looks me dead in the eyes, and wraps his plump lips around my spoon I had prepared another bite of mousse on. Drawing away back into his seat slowly, he doesn’t break eye contact as he licks a run away sprinkle off of his bottom lip.

What. The. Fuck. Did he really just do that? Gaping at him I internally try to figure out what his game is. Was I right? Is this guy actually a stalker? Maybe this Was a fetish thing? Like in order for him to get off later he had to watch my pregnant ass eat my body weight in food. Or maybe this was a date for him and he gets off on married women having affairs with him. Of course this was a freaking date Rory. The guy obviously hella likes you or he wouldn’t have taken you to a private lunch in an Italian restaurant that doesn’t even open till dinner technically. Oh god, if my husband finds out I just spoon fed a grown ass man who also happens to be my boss he’s going to throw some hands.

Blades sat there unfazed by his bold move. The slightly malevolent twinkle in his eye I had seen before was gone. He now had a difficult to read expression. Almost confused? Was he mocking me? He opens his mouth to speak pausing for a moment as if he was trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to say. “Rory. You are undoubtedly the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on. You are temping me but, as your boss I would like to keep things professional between us. I look forward to seeing your proposal in action in the coming weeks. How about I walk you out so you can get back to your family in time.”

What was wrong with me. I actually was feeling a bit of defeat as he led me down the street to my car. The 2 hour drive ahead of me home I couldn’t help but replay the image of him looking into my soul as he wrapped his lips around my spoon over and over. I need to set some boundaries up. It helps that he already pointed out the forbidden fruit in the room but I wanted to make it clear to myself. This man will never be anything more than eye candy. I know my marriage isn’t great be we can work on it. I kind of wished I would have brought up my ectopic incident though…you know, just to thank him for helping save my life. It felt weird though. Like he obviously didn’t remember.

In the weeks to come it was like Blades had vanished. A figment of my imagination. He only existed through email with short daily approval messages regarding my work. I didn’t see him on my lunches, no surprise greetings in the break room and definitely no sensual leaning over my desk office visits. In a way I was glad. He seemed to be trying hard to keep our relationship professional and free from even a hint of dishonesty considering for the last 3 weeks he avoided me like the plague. At least it made it easy to stay true to my word and not lust after the guy. I kept to myself and did exceptional work with advertisement for the Academy. I offered free admission to the new aquarium on Mondays with the purchase of regular admission. I also felt seemingly back to normal for being 24 weeks pregnant now. We found out we were having another boy. Jackson and I also seemed to be lifting out of the fog we had been in. We had started becoming more intimate and he even watched a movie with me last week. The true meaning of Netflix and chill came into fruition if you know what I mean.