Emily's Dilemma (3 page)

A man from one of the big pharma booths
caught a glimpse of Emily as she walked past. He stood transfixed,
staring at her. She looked familiar to someone he knew long ago.
Someone who looked very much like one who slipped his grasp. His
memory raced. Where have I seen her before? Was it in another
conference or in some business meeting? His mind churned trying to
recall. Then, it struck him like a thunderbolt.
Kimber
. No way, he told himself.

"Kimber?" he whispered to himself. Couldn't
be her, he thought. But his mind wouldn't let go. This time, he
called out.

"Kimber!" he yelled. The name exploded in
Emily's mind and caught her completely off-guard. She caught
herself as her head wanted to jerk toward the voice, responding to
a name she hadn't heard in fifteen years. She recovered as smoothly
as she could and kept on walking the floor of the conference. She
hoped whoever yelled that name didn't notice her or the fact that
her sudden head movement might have given her away. She took a few
more steps before the voice shouted again.

"Kimber!" yelled the man, who pulled on her
arm to stop her from walking away. She turned and their eyes met.
The man stared into her face, absorbing it all into his mind to
make sure it matched up with his long-ago memory. It was a
match.

Emily turned and looked him into his eyes.
Oh, God, she thought. I remember. But I can't let on. She could
never forget that face. She was petrified. She had to react quickly
and confidently.

"Excuse me?" she asked the man. She paused
without saying anything more, hoping he would realize his mistaking
her for someone else.

"You're Kimber, right? Aren't you Kimber?
Don't you remember me?" he said with fierce determination. He
continued staring at her blue eyes. The nightmare she had prayed to
avoid was about to begin.

"No, I'm not Kimber. You have me confused
with someone else. My name is Emily Chastain. I'm with NobleCor,"
she replied, hoping to confuse him and get him to back off. It did
confuse him. He let her go.

"Sorry. I must have confused you with someone
I knew a long time ago. Who did you say you were with? NobleCor?"
he asked.

"Yes, NobleCor," she answered. "I'm the VP of
Molecular Biochemistry." She added her title as a way of completely
confusing him. It worked. He rubbed his mouth in dismay. Also
complicating matters was that X-3850 was the drug that his company,
Millennium Pharma, wanted to buy. He waved an apologetic hand to
her as she departed.

"My name's Mitch Ashton, Jr. by the way.
Sorry!" he said as she made quick distance from him.

Emily was thunderstruck. All of a sudden, she
realized the perfect storm she was now in.

****

Robert woke alone from his nap. Groggy, he
made himself a cup of coffee and showered to help wake him up. He
got dressed, this time without a tie, and made his way down the
elevator to the floor of the conference. His thoughts were consumed
with Emily and their romantic encounter in his room. What a day, he
thought to himself. X-3850 might be purchased from a big pharma
company and I sleep with Emily. Well, he also thought, he didn't
actually complete their lovemaking, but he was on the delightful
receiving end of it. He felt bad for falling asleep after his
orgasm. He couldn't help it, he thought, having spent all night on
the presentation. With a smile he thought he would apologize to her
and try to make up for it. Wonder is she'll be interested, he asked
himself, knowing pretty sure what Emily's answer would be.

Mitch Ashton, Jr. spotted and ran up to
Robert with a curious look on his face. Shaking his hand far too
long, he complimented Robert again on the stellar clinical trial
results and how he presented them to the attendees. Mitch spoke of
the process, including having received permission from their board
to make such a large investment in his company. He said his
company's board of directors were especially "hands-on" and often
dictated actions and directions for Millennium Pharma. Both the
board as well as his father wanted to see this happen, Mitch said.
As an officer of the company, Mitch, Jr. assumed responsibility for
their intent to buy.

The two chatted while all the commotion of
the industry's foremost conference went on around them. Mitch Jr.
was a talkative type, Robert thought, and never ran out of things
to say or subjects to discuss. Robert thought Mitch had a strong
slimy element to him. Finally, after the obligatory pleasantries
were over, he got to his point.

"Hey, Robert, can I ask you a question?"
Mitch didn't wait for an answer. "Who was that woman you were with
last night at the bar? Looked like you guys were having a good
time. She looks very familiar to me. I think I've seen her before.
What was her name? Emily something?" His dark eyes looked deep into
the Robert's. Mitch paused for his answer. He got none. Robert
heard him but was already conveniently saying hello to another
attendee.

As Mitch let go of his conversation with
Robert to another, his mind worked. He moved back into his booth
where he inserted himself into someone else's conversation.

****

Emily was still in her room. She had taken a
hot shower to try and wash the chilling encounter with Mitch off
her. She composed herself, and convinced herself that Mitch
couldn't possibly put two and two together. The fright subsided.
She talked herself into feeling no longer scared of being
compromised. Be careful, she reasoned to herself. Her words to
herself had the desired effect. She calmed down. Feeling better,
she thought about Robert, and what, if anything, she wanted to do
next. Thinking that Robert was probably down in the large ballroom
where the conference booths were, she called his room, thinking
that she would just leave a message.

"Hello?" Said Robert. He was in his room when
she called. Surprised but quick to recover, she asked how the
"floor" was. He responded with the usual "walked around" and
"talked to some people" with no intention of bringing up the
encounter with Mitch. He returned the question asking what she did,
and she responded with much the same, not divulging the
conversation she had with the man from Millennium that unnerved her
so much. His voice relaxed her. The safety of her room and the hot
shower served to get her back to thinking about this handsome man
in the next room. She could almost smell him. The warm sensation
between her legs made her ask Robert if he'd like to come over "If
he wasn't too busy, that is." He joked about checking his schedule,
but then laughed and reminded her "Remember, I'm free the rest of
the show." Any formal commitment on his part was over.

Mitch, Jr. just returned from the front desk
and immediately went over to the hotel restaurant where he ordered
a bottle of champagne, iced, in a bucket, on a cart. His sly smile
never left his face.

Robert knocked on her door. He looked around
behind him, his eyes darting left and right. Nobody is watching.
Her door opened. There she was, still in her bathrobe. She
apologized weakly for her appearance, knowing she was wearing
exactly what he wanted. He laughed and said maybe he should be
wearing his so they could match. They embraced right away. They
kissed deeply and passionately. They both understood that
conversation could come later. Now, it was about making love. She
tugged at his belt buckle, loosening his buttoned pants as he
unbuttoned his dress shirt. His jacket was already on the floor. He
kicked his shoes off as his pants dropped to his ankles. Naked,
they fell on her bed and continued to kiss. She moaned softly,
saying, "I missed you." He responded, "I've couldn't get you off my
mind." He kissed her neck, making his way down to her firm breasts,
where he kissed, licked, and sucked them. Her moaning grew louder.
He made his way down to her navel, kissing and licking along the
way. Then down to her thighs, kissing each alternately, his tongue
finding its way up to her sweet spot. He found it with his tongue.
Emily's moaning was now pronounced. She could not tell how loud she
was. His tongue darted and licked and her moans continued. Her
athletic body writhed in pleasure. Robert looked up at her. Her
eyes were closed. She was in a world of ecstasy. Nobody had ever
tasted her like he did. He knew she was getting close. His arms
were around her legs, holding onto her hips. He held on tightly as
her hips rose in rhythm. She orgasmed quietly, holding all her
release in as she held her breath. She rocked from side to side,
trying to release all the pent up energy her orgasm provided. Her
thighs locked his head in place, and her hands held his head with a
firm grip.

Emily exhaled deeply. She extended her legs
fully to either side of him. She still cupped his head in her
hands, gradually pulling him up to her face where she kissed him
deeper than ever. She could taste her own taste. It was the first
time for that. She reached down to feel his penis. It was hard.
Pushing Robert over onto his back, she started to climb on top of
him. She started to slide onto him. She had just gotten the head of
his manhood in her when there was a knock on the door. What a bad
time for housekeeping, she thought. She looked at Robert with a
smile on his face. She will get rid of them, tell them to come back
later, and return to mounting him. Quickly putting on her bathrobe,
she went to the door and opened it.

"Room service!" exclaimed Mitch, Jr. with a
devilish smile on his face. He pushed the cart through the door
where he could see a man's feet on the bed. Emily stopped the cart
by pushing hard on the door. She had to use both hands to shut the
door, allowing her bathrobe to open, revealing her naked body to
Mitch.

"What are you doing!" she yelled. "Get
out!"

"I thought I'd celebrate with some champagne!
Just trying to be nice!" He said as he was gradually being pushed
back out the door. She slammed the door shut. Mitch smiled. He got
what he came for. Plus, a glimpse of her trim body. Robert
recognized that voice.

"Jesus Christ! What a prick!" she exclaimed.
She turned around to see Robert in her bed, sitting up, and his
once-erect penis now flaccid.

"
Mitch
Ashton!
" he said. "What the hell?"

****

The abrupt intrusion killed their mood. They
held each other as they talked on the bed. Robert wondered aloud
why Mitch would barge into Emily's room with champagne. Was he some
kind of wolf? Why would he do that to her? Why not invite them to a
private dinner? Why her room and not his? They decided to play it
cool with the incident. Maybe Mitch had the best intentions, but
got carried away, Robert thought aloud. Emily went silent on the
reasons why, but a chill went up her spine again. She was praying
that it wouldn't get any worse, but it could. Robert was totally
confused. Emily was realizing this could get ugly.

They agreed to participate in the
conference separately. A couple hours later, she emerged from her
room, dressed in her most conservative outfit. She went light on
her makeup. She made her way down to the smaller ballroom where the
retirement happy hour event was underway. The crowd of people there
would make it safer for her. She would be seen with other people,
too, and
not
Robert. A good
plan, she thought, but she did risk the possibility of running into
Mitch. She mingled and chatted, getting introduced to some
important people, and talked business.

Mitch whispered behind her ear, startling
her. "Hey there, want a drink?" He handed her a white wine. She
took it, thanking him politely, if not a bit coldly. She wanted to
know why he did what he did. She took pains to keep her voice low,
but the look on her face spoke reams.

"I went a little overboard. I'm sorry. I get
playful at times. I get pushy. I wanted to celebrate the upcoming
purchase of X-3850 with you with some champagne." he said, smiling
like he was enjoying himself.

"Robert is the CEO. Why didn't you celebrate
with him?" she asked tersely.

"Because I'd rather celebrate with
you,
Kimber
," he said firmly,
looking directly into her eyes. He held her gaze, reading her
reaction. "Fifteen years ago. You. Me. The pool house. I remember
like it was yesterday. You wouldn't expect me to forget a moment
like that, would you?"

Mitch continued, still staring at her,
"You've made something of yourself,
Kimber
. I'm impressed. You have to be smart to
get your PhD. Hats off to you. Now, the purchase of your drug just
got a bit more complicated. I'm sure you have shares in NobleCor,
so you will profit richly from this buy. Once again, you will be
making some serious money, only this time, probably in the
millions, not thousands."

Emily stared at him, wondering where he was
leading with all of this. "What are your plans with X-3850?" she
asked. In the back of her mind were her mom and her condition.
X-3850 would cure her condition. Soon, she could be cured and stop
paying for the Millennium drug.

"We're going to buy it and warehouse it.
We're not going to market it. Why would we? Our current drug is
much more of a moneymaker for Millennium and its shareholders. If
we bring yours to market, we lose money. Sure, yours is a cure, as
opposed to ours. Ours just alleviates the symptoms. But patients
take it for a lifetime. A lifetime is a long time. And it makes a
lot of money that way. I promised Robert we would market it in
order to get him to agree to sell it to us," Mitch said.