Cake Love: All Things Payne (26 page)

Chapter 9 - THE Payneful Reminder ...

He is holding my lace panties in his hand staring at me in utter confusion. Mr. Payne doesn't remember a thing. Of course he doesn't he was wasted. While the shock of adrenaline has obviously sobered him up from the zipper incident (I seem to have a lot of sex related incidents in my life.) I feel it isn't enough to trigger his memory.

"Ms. Drake, answer me. What is this?"

"Looks like underwear to me, sir."

He rolls his eyes and points to the chair for me to sit. Mr. Payne walks to his door, shutting it and turns on a few more lights. Looking around the room at his clothing everywhere he has the same confused expression as he did while pulling my undies from his pocket.

I settle into the chair across from his desk, carefully removing his socks from the seat and handing them back to him as he walks by. He grabs them roughly and shoves them into his pocket. Suddenly he stops just before he turns the corner of his desk to get to his chair. His back is to me and I can't help but wonder what is he thinking.

After a few moments he moves again and comes to his chair. Placing the panties on the desk, he stares at them while addressing me.

"Ms. Drake, what happened tonight?" He asks in a low voice full of worry.

Do I tell him the truth? What if I explain things and he is so mortified he has me transferred to Accounting permanently or another department where I can't enter the Executive Development Program? The only way to enter is to have an Executive recommend me, so working directly with one is imperative. I really should have listened to my Brain this evening.

Maybe I should lie. Yeah, a little white lie can't hurt. He won't be embarrassed to be around me and we can continue as boss and assistant (if I ever get to be his actual assistant instead of floor hopping every week.).

"You came and got me in Accounting and told me you had to speak to me, Mr. Payne. By the time I got to your office you had taken off your clothes. I saw you were passed out on the couch, so I tried to rearrange your body so you were lying on your side in case you became sick. Your zipper got caught on my sleeve and well, I think you can guess what happened after that."

Wow, I'm good at thinking on my feet. Thank you Brain and a round of applause for you. I am sorry I didn't listen to you to begin with.

"Apology accepted, Morgana. Now, let's hope he buys the shit your selling."

Mr. Payne clears his throat, still not looking at me.

"Umm, was there anything else that happened, Ms. Drake?"

I shake my head. Not going to tell him. Nope! Not going to do it.

"I apologize for my behavior Ms. Drake. If you are worried I might become angry or your job is at stake if you tell me the truth then please understand nothing could be further from the truth. I normally don't drink, but this day is always a bad day for me and, well ... that's not important. What is important is for you to understand if I did anything that made you uncomfortable I need to know in order to rectify it."

I am sucking in my lips to prevent them from talking. He looks so scared and helpless right now. Like a little fawn lost in the woods. I just want to reach over and pet him, maybe take his shirt off too.

"Ms. Drake I need to explain something to you. About a year ago I had an assistant who ... umm ... tried her best to seduce me. I kept telling her no. Finally her actions, along with her need to constantly be on her cell phone, caused me to fire her. Normally I would never discuss a former or current employee's issues but I feel tonight warrants it. She felt the need to retaliate by filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against me. It never went anywhere because her accusations were unfounded. So, it's important to me to find out exactly what occurred tonight. Please understand when I say my behavior tonight was a mistake. I may have taken advantage of you in a way that is highly inappropriate. You have my sincerest apologies."

Well shit! Guess sex is definitely not on the menu with Mr. Payne. Crap, crap, double crap.

"You fingered me." I blurt out. So much for not telling him.

"Morgana, in order to tell a lie one must not tell the truth right after, it defeats the purpose."
My Brain explains to me.

"Shut up, Brain. I thought you drove off anyway."

I tell her. She shrugs her squiggly shoulders at me,
"Got stuck at a light and looked in the rear view mirror to witness the craptastic hole you have created."

I roll my eyes.

"Did I ... uh ... force you to do that, Ms. Drake?" Mr. Payne looks at his clasped hands and I can see the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"No." I shake my head and he lets out a very loud breath. We are quiet for a moment and I keep my eyes on my undies hoping I get them back. I wasn't kidding when I said they aren't cheap.

"So you wanted me to do that ... um ... never mind. I'm sorry that it occurred, Ms. Drake."

"I'm not." I mumble under my breath and look away. My heart has long since stopped beating rapidly and is now pained. I'm disappointed and pissed off right now. Disappointed that this won't happen again and angry he views it as a terrible mistake.

Despite all the horrible things people say about him I feel it's all in perspective. He's a ballbuster/vagina smasher; therefore he is a hard worker and expects those around him to work just as hard. As for not having a life, well, I don't have a life either. I put so much time into work and my career; I don't have time for a social life like a normal twenty-nine year old. If anything all the accusations about him being a terrible person makes me like him even more.

But as much as I like Henrik, I'm angry with him right now. Sure he's worrying about his job, so am I but that doesn't stop me from being human. Also, I'm horny. So there is that.

"What did you say, Ms. Drake?"

"Me too, Mr. Payne. I'm real sorry too." If you can't tell I am being sarcastic right there, though I doubt Mister Sorry Pants notices.

"Okay, well I think we have both had a long day, Ms. Drake. Let me take you home. I'll have my driver pull up the car."

Oooh! Chauffeured vehicle, yes please! This almost makes up for it. Almost. Only if there is a slice of cake waiting in the car will that appease everything.

He gets dressed and calls his driver to make arrangements. Once we are in the elevator the awkwardness begins. There is a silence between us that is claustrophobic. I want to crawl at his clothes and rip them away, but at the same time smack him in the face for being such an ass. I also want to hit myself upside the head with a baseball bat for fooling around with him in the first place. What was I thinking?

A black Lincoln Town Car pulls up to the curb and a man in a black suit hops out of the driver's seat. He races around to open the back passenger door and nods at Mr. Payne in acknowledgment while keeping his eyes fixated on the distance. The driver is well-built and has a brown beard sprinkled with gray.

Mr. Payne doesn't nod back but stands to the side as his hand slices the air informing me to go first.

Once we are inside I slide to the end of the seat and begin to buckle myself in. There is a comfort from the safety strap. Due to my mom's constant insistence growing up for me to always wear my safety belt, I now don't feel comfortable until me and everyone in the vehicle is strapped in.

Mr. Payne enters and settles into his seat beside me.

"Buckle up." I tell him and he glances at me in confusion before realizing what I am referring to. After he adjusts his seat belt we are off. After ten minutes of silence and a few times where he turns to me about to say something but doesn't, we arrive in front of my apartment building. It occurs to me I never told him my address, but I shrug it off as something he must have on file at work.

His door opens and I unbuckle my seat belt. As I proceed to crawl past him I feel his hand on my thigh for only a moment before I am out of the car. That slight graze of my skin sends electricity pulsing to my core. Just as I turn to look at him I see the driver shut the door.

After a few moments I watch from the sidewalk as the car pulls away from the curb. I stand there confused and cold. Finally I walk over to the steps that lead to the lobby of my building when I realize why I am so cold. Mr. Payne still has my panties.

Chapter 10 - THE New Year ...

Happy New Year! It has been a few weeks since the panty incident at the holiday party and I haven't seen Mr. Payne once. You might think this gives me great relief, but no it's only made things worse. Currently I am working with the sales team on the eighteenth floor. Everyone on this floor is loud and likes to joke around. So, basically it's like hanging out with a bunch of frat boys with some sorority chicks thrown in for equality sake. They have happy hour every day after work and everyone goes. Well, everyone but me.

This is the part where my life is worse. They give me the grunt work. All the files and paperwork that isn't finished by five o'clock, has to be done by me so they can go off and party. I usually don't get done until the earliest eight at night. Oh, and the best part is anytime something has to be hand delivered to Mr. Payne up on the twenty-eighth floor, I am expected to do it. I am his assistant after all.

I know what you are thinking,
You are his assistant, Morgana, why is it so terrible to drop off paperwork to him now and then?
Because he doesn't want to see me. That is exactly what he said ... well wrote on a pink sticky note and left it on my temporary office desk the day after Christmas. It said:

Ms. Drake it would be wise to contact me before coming up to my office. H. Payne.

Can you believe that! So he may not have literally wrote that he doesn't want to see me, but every time I call him to let him know I'm on my way up he is never in his office when I arrive. The man is hiding from me.

Fine, whatever, if he wishes to be cowardly that's his problem. But the Post-It Notes have got to stop! Every day I walk in and my desk is covered in them. All from him. Then when I return from lunch there are even more. It is causing me to take drastic measures. I don't want to have to do this but he left me no choice.

It's seven o'clock at night and I am sitting in the Sales department at my desk all alone. My head is humming as I take out my phone for a break and to finalize my Payne Plan: operation kick ass!

I call the only person I know that can help me in a time like this. The phone is ringing but then goes to voice mail. There is Janet Jackson playing in the background of the message: "You have reached Denise, Ms. Austin if you're nasty! So leave a message as I am busy seeing the world."

I hear the beep and start, "Hey Grandma, it's me, Morgana. I don't know why I feel the need to explain who I am to you since I am your only granddaughter, but anyway. I have a problem of the male variety so I need your help. Call me back. Where are you now? Montana or South Dakota?"

Ending the call I get up deciding to stretch my legs. Walking over to the wall of windows I look out over the glittering lights of the Chicago street scene below. Watching the snow fall, blanketing the street makes for a pretty scene. A noise wakes me from my thoughts and I turn to see some movement at my desk. Must be the cleaning woman. She always tries to clean my desk, rearrange everything and I can never find anything in the morning. I better go tell her to not touch my stuff.

I turn the corner of my cubical wall to see Mr. Payne hunched over my desk littering it with pink. Pink Post-It Notes to be precise. He looks up in surprise. I lean on the wall and cross my arms while smirking.

"Guess you didn't expect me to be here did you, Mr. Payne?"

He stands and appears nervous but only for a moment before clearing his throat while narrowing his eyes at me.

"Yes I thought you had left for the evening, Ms. Drake. I was just leaving you some notes for the morning."

I push off the wall and stride to my desk, brushing my arm against his as I pass. Immediately a rush of heat scatters throughout my body to my core as I feel my insides hum.
Shhh vagina! Stop making this into a thing. He's a jerk, remember?
My body doesn't want to listen to me as I feel my nipples harden. Crap!

Turning I hop on my desk to sit as my legs swing below. I try to look relaxed, sexy even confident but all I can feel is the pen digging in to my ass and I'm pretty sure I just broke my cell phone.

"Well I am still here. Anything you need to say to me you can tell me right now." I narrow my eyes to mimic him. He squints further and it becomes a squint-off. Each of us trying our best to narrow our eyes enough but still be able to see.

I end up leaning forward while finally closing my eyes and fall off the desk head first into my chair. At least no one was sitting in it this time.

"Ms. Drake you really must stop attacking chairs."

I feel his hand around my arm as he pulls me up. Wait, did he just make a joke? Before I can ponder this further I feel his hand on my ass.

"What are you doing?" My head snaps to watch his hand peel something off my clothes. He waves it in the air for me to see.

"You got my notes on your ass."

Well that is a new one, even for me. My face starts to burn red and I push up my glasses to play off my discomfort.

"Oh I see. Perhaps you shouldn't use so many pink pieces of paper to communicate with me, and then I wouldn't have things stuck to my butt."

Mr. Payne's head cocks to the side in confusion.

"Then how would I communicate to you, Ms. Drake?"

"With your mouth, Mr. Payne."

His eyes switch from glaring at my eyes to fixating on my mouth. My nerves get the better of me (and possibly my hormones) and I lick my lips. He inches closer to me and we are almost touching. My pussy is throbbing as my heart pounds in my ears. I really want him to kiss me.

So what if I think he's an asshole and coward who tries his best to avoid me, right now all I can ponder is how his five o'clock shadow would feel a little rough scraping against my inner thigh.

"Morgana! Do you really want a repeat of two weeks ago?"
My Brain is trying her best to call for my attention. I'll just shut the door to my head to give Mr. Payne and me a little more privacy.

"Morgana! Morga-"
The door is now shut and locked. That's better, now where was I, oh yes his mouth heading in my directions.

"The girlz must be crazy if they think they gonna beat me Honey Boo Boo child!" My phone on my desk lights up as the ring-tone calls to me.

"What the ..." Mr. Payne looks over at my phone in curiosity.

I sigh and see it's my grandma calling me back.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Payne but I have to get this." Grabbing the phone I answer.

"Hey, Grandma how are you?"

"Oh sweets I'm good. Now what's this I hear about a man causing you trouble? Are you sure this man isn't a woman? You know you can admit to me if you are a lesbian. I am very open about all that."

The palm of my hand rubs urgently at my forehead as I lean back on my desk.

"Grandma, we have been over this so many times. I am not a lesbian."

"I just don't want you to feel you need to be someone you are not just for me."

"No, Grandma, you are just in competition with your knitting group about who has the most diverse family. Why don't you question Daniel and ask if he's gay?"

"Oh sweets, I KNOW your brother isn't gay, don't be ridiculous. Fine if you won't admit to it then explain to me why this man is bothering you?" As my grandmother emphasizes the word man in the sentence I know she is rolling her eyes at me while speaking.

Ever since I became best friends with Aria in college and we moved in together after we graduated she assumes Aria and I are dating. It also doesn't help that I haven't had a boyfriend since my early twenties. Trevor the douche sort of ruined that for me. Which brings me to this point; there is visual evidence on YouTube of me with a man, yet my grandma still believes I am a closet lesbian. When I point this out to her she shakes her head and tells me that I was just experimenting with being straight.

"Well if you must know the man in question is right in front of me. Here I will let you talk to him!"

In my flustered state I push my cell phone at Mr. Payne as he takes it with wide eyes.

"Uh ... hello?"

There is silence as my grandmother responds.

"This is Mr. Payne your granddaughter's boss."

Mr. Payne is clearing his throat and loosening his tie as my grandmother, if I know her well, which I do, is most likely explaining how no one hurts her granddaughter. He walks away from my desk just nodding his head a few times and then shaking it. Mr. Payne tries to get a few words in but stops as I assume my grandma keeps cutting him off.

I watch him at the window and see his pained reflection.

"Yes, Ms. Drake. Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Austin. You are right. You have a very beautiful granddaughter and it is my duty to see she is well cared for. Thank you for pointing this out. I look forward to meeting you. Goodbye."

Several things just happened as he spoke, my sex clenches, my heart nearly bursts and my brain yells,
"What the fuck?"

He turns and stares at me for a moment. His eyes are growing dark. Mr. Payne starts to walk briskly toward me. He grabs my shoulders as I look up into his smoldering eyes.