More Than A Four Letter Word (11 page)

"I hate to disappoint you, but Julian and I
didn't have sex last night. I fainted last night, and Julian let me
stay in his home. Therefore, you can stop the possessive woman
crap. I’m too tired to trade verbal barbs with you today." Clarissa
gets in bed and turns her back to Karen.

Karen looks down at Clarissa with loathing.
"You may think that this situation is cute, but you have no idea
whom you're dealing with. Do you think I didn't see that lovesick
expression on your face when you walked in on Julian kissing me
last night?"

Clarissa turned around to address Karen. "Now
that you mention it, you were kissing Julian and from what I could
tell he didn't seem enjoy the experience very much."

"Julian will never settle for a plain, homely
woman like you?" Karen stormed out of the room before Clarissa
could reply. Julian walked back into his bedroom as Karen makes her
grand departure.

"I didn't hear the doorbell ring. Why are you
here Karen?"

Karen giggled nervously; she hoped that he
didn't hear her conversation with Clarissa. "Ethel let me in; I
just thought we could have lunch together."

Julian clearly didn't feel like dealing with
Karen right now. "You better leave. Clarissa has the flu, and I
wouldn't want you to get sick."

Clarissa could hear the byplay between Karen
and Julian. Karen lied when she said that she mentioned having a
date with Julian today. What difference did it make Karen is old
news? Clarissa has to reevaluate her position regarding Julian. She
wants him, but she doesn't want to keep tripping over his lovers
while they were together. Maybe she needs to turn her focus to
safer ground like Randle. He didn't make her insides quiver, but he
could get the job done. Randle is so far removed from the man she
wants.

***

By the time Julian gets back to the bedroom,
he notices that Clarissa's mood has changed from that of a shy
woman to a stranger. "Hey, do you feel like playing cards or
watching television."

"I'm very tired Julian, I think I'll go back
to sleep."

Julian wondered what happen between Clarissa
and Karen. Karen seemed so sure of herself before leaving the
house. Did she tell Clarissa that she's his lover or something
equally distasteful? "Okay Clarissa I'm in the den if you need me,
the monitor is on so I can hear you."

Julian leaves the bedroom; he begins to think
about Karen and her poisonous tongue as he goes downstairs into his
den. Why in the world did he invite Karen to his party last night?
He had been giving her a tour of his house when she started talking
about taking up where they left off in Kansas City. The
relationship Karen wants to reestablish happened way before he met
and married Donna. Julian had sex with Karen a couple times; he
wouldn't even describe it as a relationship. He had to let Clarissa
know that Karen is not his lover.

Julian realized that he was rusty when it
came to courting he wanted Clarissa to take him seriously. Then a
slow smile appeared on his face; he had an ace in the hole he'd
never considered before. Clarissa was crazy about Micah, and he
would use that to his advantage. Micah didn't care for most people,
but he took an instant liking to Clarissa. Julian decided that the
possibilities were endless. "Watch out Clarissa Marks, your days
are numbered."

***

Nine o'clock on Sunday morning Clarissa comes
into the kitchen looking for Julian. She barely remembers what
happened on Saturday; she slept for most of the day. She did
remember Julian popping in occasionally to check on her. He's so
attentive and caring that Clarissa could believe he actually cares
about her. She finds Julian and Micah eating breakfast in the
kitchen.

"Good morning."

Julian turns around in time to see Clarissa
plop down into a chair beside Micah. "I'm making pancakes, do you
want me to make you some."

The thought of pancakes makes Clarissa's
stomach lurch. "No thanks Julian. By the way, I need my car keys so
I can go home."

"You have to eat something. How about a
boiled egg and some toast?"

Clarissa knows that Julian would fuss, so she
decides to let him have his way today. "Sure Julian, a boiled egg
and toast sounds fine." Clarissa turns her attention to Micah. She
watches as he finishes his breakfast. Clarissa feels a sudden
longing to have children. "Micah, we never did get a chance to play
a game of Beast Slayer, Friday night. What do you say we play a
game while your father makes my breakfast?"

Micah eyes lit up automatically. Out of all
his father's employees, he likes Clarissa the best. "Dad is it okay
if Clarissa and I play a game?"

"Yes, but only one game, then Clarissa needs
to eat something."

"Come on Rissa I’ll show you how to
play."

Clarissa smiles for the first time this
morning. "Okay partner, let's go kick some butt." Before she leaves
the kitchen, she turns around to face Julian. "Let me know when my
breakfast is ready, okay cookie.

"I've been demoted from your boss to a cook
all in one morning. Don't worry I'll let you know when it's ready."
Julian watches Micah and Clarissa leave the room together. He
couldn't believe how jealous he is of his own son.

Twenty minutes later, Julian finds Micah and
Clarissa studying the flat screen television intently. "Okay you
two, Clarissa's breakfast is ready."

"Already. Dad we just got to the good
part."

Clarissa turns around laughing at the
expression on Micah's face. "Yeah Dad we just got to the good
part."

"Micah you can keep playing, but Clarissa
needs her nourishment."

Clarissa follows Julian back to the kitchen.
Today Julian's wearing a snug pair of blue jeans that's doing
terrible things to her equilibrium. He has an ultra sexy walk. It
reminds her of the way Yule Brynner sashayed across the screen in
the 'Magnificent Seven.' Clarissa sits down at the kitchen table as
Julian places a plate in front of her. There were two pieces of
toast and two boil eggs on the plate. "Didn't you say that I only
have to eat one boiled egg and one piece of toast?"

Julian sits down across from Clarissa to
watch her eat. "You could use it, you didn't eat anything
yesterday. Are you sure that you're fit to drive home?" He touches
her forehead. She isn't hot to the touch, but she still feels a
little warm.

Just a touch and her erect nipples begin
pressing against her dress. Clarissa looks up to find Julian
staring at her, making her feel the heat of embarrassment in her
face. Julian has a way of making her feel utterly feminine. "Julian
I need to go home, I have a lot of things to do as well as finish
my initial findings on a case I'm working on for the EPA."

"First of all I want your promise that if I
allow you to go home that you will rest."

Clarissa arched her eyebrow. "What do you
mean if you allow me to go home?"

"You're forgetting that I have your car keys,
and you can't have them until I'm convinced that you're capable of
following my simple instructions."

"I'm a grown woman Julian, and I don't have
to convince you of anything. It has been lovely of you to take care
of me while I was ill, one of these days maybe I can return the
favor." Clarissa leaves the kitchen, walks back to the game room
and says good-bye to Micah. She retrieved her wrap and leaves
Julian's house.

Julian figured that he'd give Clarissa some
time to come to terms with his conditions. She would come to
realize that he only had her own best interests at heart.

"Hey Dad what did you say to Clarissa to make
her leave?"

"Micah, Clarissa can’t leave, I still have
her car keys in my pocket."

"If you say so Dad, but she got her coat out
of the closet and left the house."

Julian rushed to the front of the house
determine to stop her from leaving. The little baggage probably
keeps a spare set of keys in her coat. Julian gets to the door just
in time to see the black Charger speeding down the street.
“Brat!”

Micah walks up behind his
father and taps his arm. “I wanted Rissa to play another game with
me. Did you know that she created the
Li Wu
Chan: Beast Slayer
game?”

“
I know that the game is
made by Lariat, the company that Clarissa used to own. However, I
didn’t know that she created the game.”

“
You know Dad I’ve been
thinking.”

Julian sighs and gives Micah his full
attention. “Oh yeah, and what have you been thinking about?”

“
I think it’s time for you
to get married again.”

“
What gives you that
idea?”

“
Well, I’m not getting any
younger Dad, and I would like a couple of brothers and sisters
before I get too old to enjoy them.”

Julian couldn’t believe it his ten-year-old
son is telling him that he wants siblings before he got too old to
enjoy them. “Do you have someone in mind for the position or do you
think I should go rent a wife?”

“
I think that Clarissa would
make a perfect mother. She’s likeable, and she doesn’t treat me as
if I’m in the way. Most of all, it would be cool to have a mother
who creates video games.”

“
Oh, so you think I should
marry Clarissa because she’s good entertainment for you. What if
she doesn’t want to marry me?”

Micah didn't answer his father right away.
“She once told me that any woman would love to have a son like me.
Maybe she would like you too if were polite to her.”

“
You know what son; I will
seriously consider asking Clarissa to marry me. I want to keep this
a secret between you and me. Clarissa might get scared if she found
out too soon.”

“
Okay Dad, but try not to
mess this up.”

Julian couldn't contain his laughter as his
son walked away. He didn’t have the heart to tell Micah that he
already considered Clarissa the best candidate for the role as his
wife. The situation isn’t looking good; he didn't expect Clarissa
to run from him. It's as if she didn’t feel comfortable in his
presence. The only time a woman did that is when she’s fighting her
attraction for a man. Julian smiles to himself, his quarry is on
the run. Now the time has come for him to make every effort to
impress.

***

He made a call to his partner in D.C. This
whole situation pissed him off. Here, he was at some bullshit sales
job trying to find the computer investigator who may or may not be
on to their grand scheme. Two months ago, Lacey his fiancée
cornered him about some rumors she heard about his friend
Gaylan.

He had no way of knowing if Lacey notified
any of her superiors, but he rigged her car anyway, he made her
death appear like an accident. He was told by contacts that
Clarissa Marks was hired to be a special investigator for the
government. Gaylan needed time to cover their tracks at the EPA. If
Clarissa is the investigator hired by the government, she may
already be on to them. He wouldn't like it, but he'll make her have
an accident too if necessary.

"Well have you found out anything yet?"

For some reason, he didn't want to confirm to
Gaylan that Clarissa is indeed the tracker working for the
government. "I found Clarissa Marks, but I have no way of knowing
if she's the tracker."

"Well we've got to kill the buzz at the EPA
or our clients will be extremely upset. It will all be for nothing
if Miss Marks discovers our plans. I told you to eliminate Lacey
sooner, but you let sentiment get in the way. I haven't noticed any
fall out on my end, but you never know when these bastards are
investigating you. At least when everything was done in-house we
received ample warning. All traces on Lacey's hard drive have been
wiped. If they run diagnostics on the hard drive, I'm confident
that they won't find a thing. Hurry up and clean up your mess I
want to be sunning myself on some beach when the shit hits the
fan."

"Don't worry if Clarissa Marks is the
tracker, I'll handle the situation." He hung up the phone wondering
how things had gotten so far off the beaten track. When he met
Lacey, she was just another egghead with dreams of changing the
world. Unfortunately for her she came across something and wanted
to expose his clients. He couldn't allow that to happen, his
clients paid millions to him, and his partner to keep their
secrets.

She was a woman, and all women have their
weaknesses. His good looks got him into many secured places. Hell
he got close to Lacey in a matter of hours, after some intense sex
he had her offering every scrap of information she suspected
regarding his underground dealings. Unfortunately for him that she
was able to send out a warning before he could stop her. Now here
he was in Chicago doing fucking clean-up work.

His good looks and charm may not work on
Clarissa; she seemed to be caught up in a love thing with the boss
man Julian Ross. He would use whatever tools in his arsenal to gain
her trust, and throw her off track. Computer technicians weren't
the brightest people in the company; they were always looking to be
recognized for their intelligence.

The technician who configured his computer
couldn't keep his mouth shut about Clarissa's set-up in the
computer lab. It took him ten minutes to confirm that Clarissa was
indeed the tracker. Maybe the top dogs at the EPA haven't connected
Lacey's death to any wrongdoing. Virtual hard drives were all the
rage today; Lacey's files could be under investigation right now.
He didn't want to hurt Clarissa, but as Gaylan said, they couldn't
take that risk. A loose tie is a death sentence.

***

It was Tuesday morning; Clarissa was feeling
one hundred percent better. She took Julian's advice and stayed
home Monday, giving herself one more day of rest. Clarissa worked
in a secured computer lab several floors below Julian's office.
There was no doubt that Julian would become her lover. When he
touched her to check for a fever, she almost threw herself at him.
Never in her life had she hungered for a man's touch.