Chapter 11 Temptation
"I'm not sure I want to ask," I began.
"I'm not sure I'm up to telling you the whole story right now, either. I just need to change my outfit, and we need to get downstairs for lunch. Lisa said it's just about ready.
Stephanie's outfit for the walk was fairly conservative by her standards, but she had no inhibitions for the rest of the day. She slipped on a tight backless minidress that once again showed off her perfect figure. She added a pair of flats, combed her hair, touched up her makeup and declared herself ready.
I could see in her eyes that something was wrong, and it became even more clear when we joined the others on the deck. Stephanie and Peter could barely look at each other in the eye, and Peter and Cassandra didn't appear to be speaking at all. What had this asshole done?
Tyler was finally up, and nursing his first coffee of the day. "Clearly you guys are better at holding your liquor than I am, so pick your poison."
Except for the Barolo with the steak the night before, none of us had had much red wine over the weekend, so I asked Tyler for some Pinot Noir. He pulled a couple of bottles from the back of his cellar and opened them. "I've been saving these for a special occasion. I think this weekend constitutes a special occasion. We had some great times, enjoyed some new experiences, and the prodigal daughter has returned."
Erin had just joined the party. She was wearing the same crop top as this morning, and as she caught my eye, she lifted it up slightly to show me her boob.
"I'm not so sure that top is appropriate for mixed company," Tyler said to her. "Who's the slut who taught you to dress like that?"
"That would be me, dear," Lisa said, and everyone laughed. Mother and daughter shared a smile that only I was able to decypher.
We gathered around the big table on the patio after loading up on salads and charcuterie over on the bar. There were seven of us, so the ongoing silence between Cassandra and Peter was less awkward. For her part, Stephanie was extra affectionate with me.
"How was the craft shop, ladies?" I asked innocently.
"Would you believe it was closed?" Cassandra replied, happy to talk about something other than her relationship. "They only open at 1 p.m. on Sunday. On a weekend in the summer! Good luck to them, because we'll be on the road home by that time."
"How was your walk?" Lisa inquired of Peter and Stephanie.
Neither one spoke up immediately. Finally Stephanie responded. "We threw around some ideas. I'm not sure we're on the same page yet, but we'll see how it goes."
I knew that was code for "We're not going to be working together, please stop asking." I'd get the details after lunch. Stephanie squeezed my hand and stroked my cock when she realized I'd understood her message.
Everyone but Peter, who'd be driving, downed three or four glasses of wine after undoubtedly swearing on their mothers' graves that morning that they'd never drink again. At one point, Stephanie's boobs fell out of her dress and quickly apologized, primarily to Erin.
"Nothing I haven't seen plenty of times before," the younger woman said.
Peter had already loaded Cassandra's multiple suitcases and his small bag in the back of his Range Rover, along with all the dishes and containers from last night's dinner, and the two of them bid us all farewell.
"Hang on to Michael," Cassandra declared to Stephanie as she gave her a big hug. "He's a good guy."
"I wish everyone would stop saying that," I blurted out. "One of these days, I'm going to believe it."
Peter gave me a pat on the back, but he didn't seem to want to look me in the eye.
As they drove off, it was just the five of us. "So what are your plans for the afternoon, you guys?" Erin was looking at Stephanie and me.
"Erin! That's not polite. It sounds like you're pushing them out the door!"
Erin apologized. "That's not what I meant. It's just that the sun is coming out, and I thought you might want to spend some time down on the dock."
Stephanie responded. "We'll see. I have to pack up and I want to change the sheets on our bed to save you the trouble, Lisa."
"No need," Lisa said. "Your very thoughtful husband told me he'd already done that, because he knew you'd insist on doing it."
"Michael and I also need to have a little talk, but we'll see how it goes. We want to be on the road by 4 so we can be back in the city by dinnertime. And sadly, I have some work to do tonight."
"Leave the cleanup to Erin and me," Lisa said. Go get yourselves organized and I hope we'll see you down on the dock soon. But first, come up to my room and I'll give you that purse I was telling you about."
I went back to our suite, and Stephanie went up with Lisa to the master suite to pick up the purse. As soon as Stephanie came in and the door was closed, she held me close and told me she loved me.
"What the hell happened out there between you and Peter?" I had to know.
Stephanie's eyes started to well up. "At first, it was fine. I asked him why he thought he needed a new ad campaign. Apparently there's a new hotshot chef in town who's opened a couple of trendy restaurants, and all of a sudden they're the places everyone's going for special occasions. Peter's business is way down. He's a long way from being unprofitable, but he's not making the money he's used to."
"So I know it's difficult when you're out in the woods instead of sitting in a boardroom looking at spreadsheets and creatives, but did you offer him anything?"
"I've always found that no matter what you're selling, people sometimes need to be reminded of the special memories in their lives. We've celebrated lots of birthdays and anniversaries at Peter's establishments. I suggested a campaign like that is what he needed."
"And what did he say to that?"