I awoke late the next day to delicious smells coming from my kitchen. As eager as I was to get food, my body was not so forgiving. I moved slowly as I got out of bed and gingerly dressed for the day, putting on a comfortable pair of torn, light blue jeans and a navy blue halter top. I brushed my hair, a daunting task given the bruises on my wrist. I loosely tied it back and gradually moved out to the living room.
Blake was in the kitchen, cooking a late breakfast. He was arguing with Desiree, whose face was planted on the counter top, her hands rubbing her temples. I snuck in quietly.
"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Desiree groaned.
"Do you not get it, Desiree? Sorry doesn't keep my job. Sorry doesn't ensure my future at the company," Blake retorted, his hands on the counter.
"Oh my God! Why are you so worried? Daddy will just fix it."
"Contrary to what you believe, he can't. Your father doesn't get to choose Arthur's successor. He can rally all he wants, but at the end of the day, it's Arthur's choice. And if the other board members don't want me around, he won't hesitate to ax me to keep the stock price up."
Desiree threw her hands up in defeat. She wasn't used to not getting her way. She just sat there pouting like a child, waiting for Blake to tell her what she wanted to hear. What a bitch!
I was feet from the kitchen counter before Blake saw me. His gaze softened when I approached and he relaxed.
"Good morning, Kaitlin," he said with a smile. My heart leapt and I almost melted. How could any man do this to me just from a smile?
"Morning," I smiled back, moving into the other seat at the counter. Desiree had returned her head to the counter top, her arms obscuring her face. I couldn't help but chuckle at her condition.
"Hey, Desiree. How are you feeling this morning?" I asked in a raised voice. She gave no audible response, just mumbled into the counter.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you." I looked over a Blake, who was finding just as much enjoyment in my torment of Desiree as I was.
"Fuck off!" she grumbled, before concealing her face again. I tried to stifle my laughter, but it was incredibly difficult. Karma was definitely dishing it out to her and I was finding it exceedingly enjoyable.
Blake was busy about the kitchen, making breakfast. I had never known many men in my life who were able to cook, let alone produce the delicious smells that were arising.
"Want any breakfast?" he asked.
"Sure, what are you making?"
"Let's see...I've got bacon, toast, eggs. I can make you some pancakes if you want. Um-"
He was abruptly cut off as Desiree ran towards the bathroom, covering her mouth. I watched her speed by with glee. It may seem mean, but after the years of hell she put me through, it was nice every once and a while to see her suffer on this scale. It made it feel like there was some kind of justice in the world, even if that was served from the bottom of a vodka bottle.
"Shouldn't you be holding her hair back?" I asked, although I hoped he wouldn't. I wanted this momentary alone time with him.
"I tried to this morning, but she didn't like that I was berating her. So after the second time, she asked me to leave her alone." He was focused on the food as he spoke. "This is her fifth trip already. Besides, after her behavior last night, she's getting off way too easy."
I was reminded of our discussion in the bathroom the night before. Blake had told me of Desiree's lewd behavior and was worried what would happen to his career as a result. After the conversation I walked in on this morning, I was equally concerned.
"Any word yet on the potential fallout?" I asked, as he finished making my plate.
He looked towards the bathroom door before moving in close to me.
"Arthur called this morning and told me not to worry. I'll be fine."
"Then what was all that?" referring to his argument with Desiree.
He lowered his voice.
"Last night, I realized it wasn't fair to either of us for me to continue a physical relationship with Desiree. To escape it, I'm over blowing the impact her behavior last night will have on my career. She's being punish-"
Desiree walked back in, ending our conversation. I wondered what sort of punishment he was dishing out to her and why she was being relatively calm, at least by Desiree standards. How would punishing Desiree benefit either of us?
"Feeling any better?" Blake asked, condescendingly.
Desiree just glared before returning to her position at the counter. Blake smirked as he placed a plate of egg whites, bacon, and wheat toast in front of me and plain toast in front of Desiree. I was starved.
"So, Katie, how was your night?" Desiree asked.
Oh no. This was the topic I wanted to avoid. Although Blake and I had reconciled the night before, I didn't want to tear open healing wounds. But leave it to Desiree to find a way to do so.
"It was okay." I didn't want to delve into detail, but she wasn't satisfied with my response.
"Just okay? I saw you leave with that asshole Vance. Come on, something had to have happened. Spill it!"
"We had sex." I was curt, and quickly returned to my meal. Couldn't she tell that I wanted her to drop it? Oh, wait! This was Dumbass Desiree. A stack of rocks had more sense than she did.
Blake dropped a lid on the floor, causing a loud clang.
"Ow!" Desiree cried. "Be more careful! Some of us are still suffering from a hangover."
"Sorry," he responded, a look of disgust falling his face. I could assume it was no accident. Blake had less of a desire to relive last night than I did. Hearing details of my exploits would only make matters worse.
Desiree returned to her interrogation.
"You've gotta give me more than that, Katie. I want details. Details!"
"AH!" Desiree had grabbed my wrist. She jumped back at my shriek, but only for a moment. Her curiosity finally won out as she took my wrist into her hand and turned it over, revealing the deep purple bruise buried in my flesh. Her mouth dropped and her eyes lit up.
"He likes things KINKY!!" she smiled, eyeing me for more details.
Another series of clangs came from over the counter. Blake threw a bunch of pans and lids into the sink. His face showed nothing but rage and disgust, the same things I feared he would have towards me for what I had done.
"What the hell is your problem?"
"Nothing. That was an accident." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Now that you mention it, kindly wait to have this discussion until I am gone. I don't want to hear the details of my assistant banging my co-worker. Unlike you, Des, I still have to work with these people almost every day."
"Fine," she relented throwing her hands in the air. "But I want every hard hitting detail later, Katie. Don't hold out on me."
