As they were making out passionately in bed, as the couple’s level of arousal gradually increased, and as the young woman was gently sliding her hands down her man’s back, the memories of what happened the day before resurfaced in Natacha’s memory – and that while Michael gave her delicious kisses on the neck. Because of this, he had not noticed the sudden change in his fiancée’s facial expression that had then gone from someone happy to be at her beloved’s side to someone full of sorrow and regret.
In order not to let anything appear, the young woman tried to temporarily forget what she had experienced and concentrated on what she was doing now. She did not want to be in a situation where she would have to explain to Michael what was wrong with her. If that were to happen, she would have no choice but to lie to him, which she did not appreciate.
The young man, who had finished playing with Natacha’s neck, came back to give her languorous kisses. However, as they kissed, he noticed something different. He did not know how to explain it to himself, but the way his fiancée was doing it had nothing to do with the way she was doing it moments before. It was as if the passion that inhabited her had suddenly evaporated. Michael put it down to his imagination, though.
The two lovebirds therefore continued to kiss. As Orzak took advantage of every inch of Natacha’s body, gently sliding his hand to her crotch, Natacha struggled against her brain. Indeed, the young woman had the impression that the more she tried to ignore the memories pf what had happened the day before, the more it focused on them. Hence, it became harder and harder for her to enjoy this intimate moment she was sharing with Michael. Unfortunately, that was just the start. Indeed, shortly after, and this while her fiancé and she finished kissing, the two exchanged a look. It was at this moment that the young woman’s mind played a hell of a trick on her, thus replacing Orzak’s face with that of her boss.
Eyes wide open as if she had just seen a ghost, Miss Barnes was extremely shocked by what she was seeing. Her face went livid as she was wondering what was going on. Why was Mr. Invictus on top of her? Yet she was certain that she was at Michael’s side, at least that was the case a few moments before. Natacha began to tell herself that she must surely be dreaming or rather having a horrible nightmare otherwise how to explain what she had in front of her.
“Is everything alright ?” Michael asked, noticing Natacha’s face.
The young woman did not answer her fiancé’s question, too disturbed by the situation. Seeing Herman Invictus on her asking if everything was okay was more than what her brain could handle. Natacha therefore closed her eyes while Michael continued to call her. Shortly after, when she opened them again, everything was back to normal. Her boss had finally disappeared to be replaced by a worried Orzak, wondering what was wrong with the woman he loved.
“Natacha, are you alright? Answer me please ?”
As he was about to get out of bed, determined to call an ambulance, the young woman suddenly grabbed his arm.
“I’m fine, Michael. I’m fine,” she said right after.
“Natacha, what the hell was that?! I was just calling you, but it was like you weren’t there?”
“I don’t know what happened to me. I think I had some kind of blockage when you were kissing me.”
“A blockage, you say?”
Miss Barnes went silent for a moment before Michael asked her again if she knew what could have caused the blockage.
“I don’t really know what to say to you. One moment I was thinking about work and the next moment nothing.”
Orzak had some difficulty believing what Natacha had just told him, especially since it was the first time that such things had happened to her.
“You know what, Natacha? If you didn’t want to sleep with me for fear of being late for work, you could’ve just told me. I would’ve understood. You didn’t have to invent this weird excuse.”
“I didn’t invent anything!”
Despite her words, the young man remained unmoved and ended up getting up shortly after. Natacha then asked him where he was going, to which he replied that he was going to take a shower.
“You’d better go get dressed if you don’t want to be late,” he continued before heading for the bathroom.
For Miss Barnes, it was clear that her man was angry with her and for good reason, he had the impression that she had lied to him. She had told him the truth, though she had omitted some crucial details. Unfortunately, it was impossible for her to reveal them. Knowing Michael’s behavior, it would have gotten them in a lot of trouble.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, the young woman took some time to get up. She blamed herself for what had happened, thinking of the delicious time she could have had with Michael if nothing had occurred. Unfortunately, that had not been the case and she now had to go to her place of work. Natacha took a deep breath before finally getting up and going to put on her clothes.
—–*—–
While she was in the kitchen making coffee to help her last through the day, Natacha saw Michael come into the room wiping his hair with a towel. The young man, who was shirtless at the moment, went to their fridge and grabbed a bottle of cold water. Discreetly spying on him like a teenager in front of her crush, she then wanted to talk to him, tell him that she had not lied to him about the blockage she had had, but the simple idea that he would not believe her prevented her from doing so. She told herself that the more she tried to justify herself, the more it would look like a lie. However, remaining silent also heightened her guilt over what had happened in their bedroom.
“What a dilemma,” she thought.
As she cursed her boss for putting her in this situation, Michael abruptly addressed her.
“Natacha…”
“Hmm!” the young woman reacted without giving him time to continue his sentence.
“… I thought about what happened earlier and I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I was frustrated and told you things I didn’t really mean. I am sincerely sorry for that.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Neither of us could’ve guessed what had happened. I myself would never have thought that I would experience such a thing.”
“Exactly, all this would never have occurred if I hadn’t insisted that we spend more time together. It’s all my fault.”
At that moment, Miss Barnes could not help but feel guilty. She knew very well that Michael had not been responsible for her condition, but rather the person she was working for. So, she tried to comfort him by hugging him and telling him he had nothing to reproach himself for.
“I still have to make amends. So, tell me what you want to eat tonight and I’ll make sure it’s on our table before you come home.”
For Natacha who loved his dishes very much, there was nothing more pleasant than hearing Michael say that he was in charge of the evening meal. Still, that did not change the fact that she thought it was wrong of her to make him feel guilty.
“You don’t have to do this for me. What happened was not your fault…”
“Natacha, please.”
At Orzak’s insistence, Miss Barnes had no choice but to accept his request and tell him what she wanted to eat when she would be back home. However, she made sure that the dish was not something that took too long to cook.
“OK ! You’ll find it on the table when you get home from work.”
“You’re an angel,” the young woman retorted before kissing him.
“If you continue like this, you might be late for work, unless you want to spend the day in bed with me.”
“Nice try, but now I have to go.”
The young woman, who had been in her man’s arms until now, turned around and went to pour coffee into her thermos. Shortly after, the latter said goodbye to Michael before grabbing her things and leaving their house. Outside, just as she got into her car, Miss Barnes shook off the fake smile she was displaying and adopted a much more morose expression. She was going to have to find the courage within herself to spend the whole day with this man, pretending that everything was fine when it was absolutely not the case. Anyway, she had no choice, the peaceful life of the people she cared about being at stake. Her resolution being taken, Natacha started her vehicle and headed for her workplace.
—–*—–
The silver-gray-haired woman arrived at her place of work about thirty minutes later. As she had just gotten out of her car, she momentarily stared at the two elevators and once again remembered what had happened the day before, including the pathetic way she had walked out of her boss’s office. It reminded her how much she now hated this man who had decided to make her life a living hell. After several breaths and a huge effort to put aside her bad memories and her hatred, Natacha grabbed her things and headed for her workstation.
When she arrived in front of her desk, Miss Barnes noticed her colleague’s things sitting on top of hers. She immediately understood that the latter had to be with their boss, bringing him his morning coffee. Moreover, when Natacha sat down in her seat, Tess suddenly appeared.
“Hello, Natacha!” she exclaimed when she saw her.
“Hello, Tess. I guess Mr. Invictus is enjoying his morning coffee,” she replied.
“As always. Besides, he asks to see you immediately.”
The moment she heard those words, a shiver ran through her entire body. Miss Barnes’s brain then began to imagine all sorts of scenarios, especially since she did not know if her boss wanted to see her in a professional setting or if he wanted to make an unusual request. If it were the first possibility, then Natacha had nothing to worry about, she would simply carry out the directives given to her. However, if Mr. Invictus were to ask her a favor like the day before, then she would not know how to react. It was the start of the working day, so the chances of getting caught in the act with her boss were high. What would happen to her if that were to happen? Would he consider this a violation of their agreement? Or would he let it go? It was very hard to guess as in both situations, people would definitively know about their affair. And since she had discovered the true face of this person, she no longer knew what to expect from him.
While Natacha was busy pondering all these possibilities, Tess, who was witnessing her colleague’s strange behavior, asked her if everything was okay.
“Sorry ! What were you saying?” Miss Barnes retorted.
“I was asking you if everything was alright. You don’t look like your normal self.”
“No, I’m fine. My mind was just elsewhere for a moment. I’ll go see Mr. Invictus right away.”
Natacha got up from her seat and went to knock on her boss’s door, all in front of Miss Harlock who was still wondering what was wrong with this person.
“Come in !” Herman said authoritatively.
Miss Barnes grabbed the doorknob and stepped into the room. Her heartbeat was quite rapid as she considered what he wanted to say to her. Standing in front of one of his office windows was the man she had once admired, the man who had betrayed her trust, the man who had abused her: Herman Invictus.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Miss Barnes! How are you doing this lovely morning?” the businessman retorted, turning to the young woman.
“I’m doing great,” she replied, avoiding eye contact.
“I expected no less of you. If I called on you, it is firstly to reaffirm the terms of the agreement we concluded yesterday. I therefore dare to hope that you will never have the idea of revealing the terms of said agreement to anyone.”
“No sir. I would never dare to do such a thing.”
“I hope so for you, Miss Barnes. You know what would happen if this were to get out. A lot of people would suffer the consequences,” he declared with a smirk.
Seeing him smile like that, the young woman had a hard time controlling her anger. It was abundantly clear to her that her boss greatly appreciated what he had done. However, Natacha did not intend to give in so easily. She was determined to overcome all the trials he had planned for her.
“Now that things have been cleared up on this point, we can move on to the second reason that led me to call on you. Miss Barnes, do you have any plans for this weekend?”
“Not really, sir,” the young woman answered, surprised by this sudden question.
“Perfect ! I am organizing a small event with some acquaintances of mine and I would like to invite you to it.”
“An event with acquaintances of yours?!”
“Yes, indeed. Let’s say it was more of a small tasting session, nothing extravagant. Either way, your presence is required. A car will be waiting for you Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the underground parking lot.”
Natacha Barnes was speechless. This invitation meant nothing worthwhile to her. Besides, the way her boss had phrased it made it clear to her that it was more of an order than just a polite request. This made her wonder about the true nature of this event.
“Miss Barnes, did you hear what I just told you?”
“Yes sir. Saturday morning at 9 o’clock in the underground parking lot,” she replied.
“Excellent. I do not need to remind you that this is to be kept confidential, right?”
“No sir. You do not need to.”
“Good. You can now dispose. Do not forget to forward the reports related to the development of our new products and also contact the head of the marketing department. Tell him to come to my office as soon as possible,” Herman ordered, taking a seat behind his desk.
“Is that all, sir?” the young woman asked.
“Yes, for the moment. The other activities will wait until the end of the day,” he replied, looking back at his computer screen.
The young woman, having obtained her new instructions, headed for the exit door, all under the supervision of her boss. Shortly after, she left his office.
To be continued!!!