Jeff Thousandaire

***

-- CHAPTER 2: Architectural Connections --

***

*MONDAY*

"Good morning, boss."

I looked up from my computer. "Good morning, Melody," I answered easily. My eyes flitted to the clock. She was right on time for a Monday morning.

"Coffee? Your usual?"

"Thanks, that would be great." I relaxed into my chair as the pretty blonde nodded and headed out. Maybe everything would be alright, despite the animosity she'd been showing last Friday. Maybe we would be back to normal.

A few minutes later, I heard the hollow knocking on glass as Melody returned with my coffee. I watched her legs in the tight skirt as she circled around the desk, setting the mug down next to the keyboard and then leaning back against the desk. "So? Did you sleep with her?"

"Huh?" My hand stopped halfway to the coffee mug and I turned in surprise. I hadn't been expecting that question.

"Did you?"

My eyes answered before I could verbalize anything. Taylor Brynn had sex with me... ME. Taylor-fucking-Brynn, international supermodel, billionaire socialite, and all around gorgeous sexpot, had fucked me, and even brought her beautiful assistant into our bed. I could already feel my chest swelling with obscene pride. Even if it never happened again, I would always have that memory. I started drawling, "Well..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Melody's hand whipped out lightning quick and then I felt my head rotate to the side with the impact.

I winced in pain but managed not to yell, instead holding my own hand to my quickly reddening cheek as I faced her with a look of disbelief. "What the hell was THAT for?"

"Can you honestly tell me you DON'T think you deserved that?"

"What?"

She slapped me again, this time on my other, unprotected, cheek.

This time I squalled, "Oww!!!"

Melody just got up in a huff, muttering, "MotherFUCKer..." And with that, she left my office and plunked herself heavily into her own chair.

So much for back to normal.

***

At five o'clock, the hollow rapping on the glass stirred me from my stupor. Gradually, my head pulled out of the virtual design world and I managed to focus across my desk to the door.

Melody was still standing outside, but with her head through the open doorway. "Come on, we're going to O'Brien's."

"But I-" I gestured to my computer.

"*NOW*," Melody growled, and then pulled her head back and closed the door. Through the clear glass, I could see her turn away and start packing up her purse.

Melody was not my girlfriend. She was my subordinate. She worked for me. She had no right to be giving me orders and then walk away expecting my compliance. I WAS THE FUCKING BOSS HERE.

And yet I rose from my seat, grabbed my jacket, and went out the door to join her. As I came through the door, she turned to walk in front of me and led the way to the elevators, never looking back. She always did have me wrapped around her little finger.

We were silent through the whole ride down and the short walk to the pub, and a sense of foreboding started to creep down my spine. Melody's demeanor was all ice queen, standing aloof from me, not looking in my direction and generally radiating get-the-fuck-away-from-me signals. If we didn't resolve this... whatever... and soon... it was going to make our worklife unbearable.

Melody's attitude completely changed the moment we got to the pub. We caught sight of our friends, who had already snagged a booth, and with a bubbly smile Melody scampered over. "Hey guys!"

"Gawd, I hate Mondays..." Frank, the draftsman, sighed immediately as he nursed his beer and sank lower into his seat.

"You say that every week," Erica, the admin, scoffed.

"Enjoy these Mondays while you can, Frank," Melody warned. "Once this Kwong project gets rolling you're going to have more work than you know what to do with."

"Aww, Mel. You know JUST how to cheer a guy up," George complained before chugging the rest of his beer and then burping loudly. "Now I'm going to need another one of these."

Our other two coworkers just grinned and we all settled down. It took me a minute, but once I got comfortable everything started to flow and I settled in for a relaxing afternoon. I was especially relieved when midway through our evening, Melody slipped her hand onto my thigh beneath the table. Again, I started to believe that despite our awkwardness, Melody and I would be alright in the long run.

When it was time to leave, I briefly toyed with the idea of going back upstairs to work. But just when I was about to make that announcement and leave the group, Melody slipped her hand into mine and leaned over to say, "We're going back to your place." It was not a request.

I glanced down, seeing her baby brown eyes hard-edged... not with desire, but with determination. I nodded in agreement. We did nothing to hide that we were getting a cab together. This group of friends had figured out months ago that we were banging each other.

Still, most of the times Melody and I had shared a cab, she had her hands all over me as if she couldn't wait to strip me naked. This night, she simply gripped my hand as if holding me on a leash lest I try to get away.

She held onto me all the way to my apartment. Once we got inside, I found myself at a slight loss over what to do. We were fuck-buddies. Every time we got into an apartment alone together, we were usually sucking each other's faces, hurriedly getting to the main event so we could be on our way within thirty minutes or so.

But the urgent lust wasn't there this time, and since I wasn't sure what to do, I simply went through my usual routine of depositing my keys and hanging up my jacket.

I turned back to Melody, and then that stinging pain was once again on my face and my whole body had been twisted to the side with the force of impact. "Oww!!!"

I was holding my cheek and if her hand wasn't already rocking me back on my heels, Melody's mood swings would be enough to give me whiplash. "What???" I cried.

"How could you sleep with her?!" Melody was already on the verge of tears. "You said nothing was going to happen."

"I didn't think anything was going to happen!"

"But something DID. You fucked her!"

"I never promised I wouldn't!" I rubbed my sore jaw and righteous annoyance flared inside me. "Am I missing something? Did we agree to be exclusive and I just forgot?"

She didn't answer my question. Instead she just yelled, "Why? Why'd you do it?"

My eyes were wild and my volume went up to match hers. "Because! She wanted to! I wanted to! It just happened!" Melody had laid out the rules a long time ago. I didn't own her and she didn't own me.

She sputtered a little more and paced my room, waving her hands in frustration. But at least she wasn't hitting me anymore. She growled through her teeth and once she finally turned to face me, her eyes were aflame and she exclaimed, "You fucking CHEATED on me!"

"*I* cheated?" I couldn't believe what was happening. Not two weeks ago, the night we'd won the design contract, I'd broached the idea of stepping up our intimacy. I'd been willing to move in the direction of a real relationship with Melody and she'd shot me down cold. But now? Now that *I* might *dare* to sleep with another woman she wanted to play the scorned girlfriend? This was just unfair and I was getting pissed. "What do you call that kid in the mail room? And don't tell me you didn't boink Sanderson after the Christmas party."

She tossed her hands aside. "You keep bringing up the mail room intern! Those were one-time hookups. Those don't count!"

"Then what do you call this? How many times did I hook up with Taylor? One time!!!" I shook my index finger in her face. And then frustrated, I took two steps away. "Don't you get it? You don't OWN me, Mel. We-" I waved my hands back and forth between us. "-don't get to tell each other who we can and cannot fuck."

The pretty blonde's eyes went wide and her jaw clenched as she got right up in my face. "Get this. You fuck Taylor one more time and you're never touching me AGAIN." And with that, she gave me a healthy shove to the chest. "You got that?" she raged.

"Melody..." I sagged. I didn't want to give Melody up but the thought of being with my goddess again was just too enticing. "Be reasonable..."

"You're such a fucking MAN," she spat. "Words or not, titles or not, didn't you think I was special? I thought I meant more to you than just that." She paused and started pacing away fro me. "FUCK, Jeff! We've been fucking for six months! I've swallowed your cum more times than I can remember! Doesn't that count for something? You can't just screw me every other day for six months and think it's not going to MEAN something!"

I sighed. "Isn't this EXACTLY what we didn't want? All the hassles and expectations and obligations of a relationship?"

At her wit's end, Melody moaned and turned away from me, her back bending like a willow in the wind. She clamped her hands onto her head and spun around, finally staggering over to the couch and sitting down heavily. Half of the tension in the room evaporated as she sat down.

I took a deep breath, calming myself as blissful silence reigned for just a brief while. When I felt like I could speak without yelling, I went to her. "Mel... What's going on? I never thought you'd react like this."

She wore a haunted expression I'd only seen once before: the morning after we'd spent the night together. It was a look of desire and fear and utter confusion all at the same time. "I don't know. I wasn't expecting to feel like this. We were good. We were friends. We had our benefits. I guess... I guess I just got used to having you all to myself."

"I don't belong to you, Mel," I said softly, laying my hand on hers and ever alert in case she tried to hit me again.

"Don't you?" she asked, her voice cracking.

I sighed. "I'm not supposed to."

"I know," she sniffled again. "But I can't help how I feel. I'm fucking jealous of her."

"Why? You didn't seem to have a problem when Mary down in accounting was flirting with me last week. And after that kid in the mail room, you flat out told me you wouldn't begrudge me a hookup of my own."

"But you never DID. In six months, I was your only one. And then Miss fucking- gorgeous-supermodel had to go and show up. You think I don't see the big fucking poster of her in your bedroom? And that gorgeous sketch? Why do you think I wanted you to sketch ME so badly? You made me look so incredibly beautiful! That PROVED something, didn't it?"

"YES! Alright, dammit. YES! I care about you! You are a dear friend to me, Mel, and like it or not, what we have shared together has changed us!" My emotions burst out. "I want to see you happy, but Melody..." I hung my head and sighed. "Do you want to start dating? Do you want to be my girlfriend? Do you want that kind of commitment?"

"NO!" Melody cried. "I just want things to be the way they always were..."

"Meaning what? We're just fuck-buddies with no ownership of each other? You can do what you want and I can do whoever I want and we can just come together for a good time every once in a while?"

"NO! I want...!" She started shaking. "I want... I want my freedom but I want you to only be mine! Okay! There! I said it!"

I exhaled loudly, my shoulders sagging as I finally came to a realization. If we couldn't make a commitment to each other, mutually, and if we couldn't continue the way things were with freedom on both sides, then Melody and I were just a disaster waiting to happen. If she really just wanted to have her cake and eat it to, I would only end up resenting her for it. "I'm not your beck and call, Mel," I said coldly but quietly.

She didn't answer. Instead, she just stared at some point away from me and trembled.

I sighed and pinched my forehead, feeling a massive migraine coming on. "Maybe it's best that we stop now. Mel, I can't give you what you want, and I don't want to hurt you. It was great while it lasted, but-"

"FUCK YOU!" Before I could react, Melody had slapped me again, my jaw still sore from the last times she'd smacked me. The pretty blonde before me choked, her eyes trembling. She looked stricken, as if I had just run over her beloved cat or something. The tears tumbled forth, and this time, she got up, grabbed her jacket, and fled out my door, sobbing the entire way.

I gripped the coffee table beneath me and hung my head. This was baaaad.

***

*TUESDAY*

The next day, Melody never came to her desk.

She didn't call in sick or send me a text message. She simply didn't show up. I figured she was mad at me or otherwise unable to face me in the office. So I got my own coffee and went to work; there was simply too much to do. Besides, this was for Taylor, and there was no way I could disappoint Taylor.

But by lunchtime, I started to worry. I called Melody's cell, just to make sure she wasn't dead in an alley somewhere, but after a few rings the call went to her voicemail. Mildly starting to panic as my brain dreamt up further worst-case scenarios, I called Erica, one of Melody's best friends and another admin with the firm.

Erica quickly reassured me. "She's here, Jeff. Just... well, it's complicated. Sit tight, okay? But she's alright and she's in the building. I'm sure she'll be talking to you later this afternoon."

And so I relaxed. I wanted to puzzle over Melody's little mystery, but Jonathan Kwong wanted stables on the property, something about how Cassandra Cooper always loved horses, and I had to make the new building.

I actually left for lunch since I didn't have an admin to pick up a sandwich for me. And I had just returned and was settling back into my work when a hollow knock sounded off by the door.

I looked up and Sheldon was walking into my office, followed by both Melody and Erica.

The balding man stood up to his full height and glared down at me. "Jeffrey, I'll get to the point. I don't pretend to know EVERYTHING that's going on but I understand that you and Melody are having... well... a relationship that is inappropriate for your positions." Sheldon's diction was clipped and formal, and from his posture he seemed to be speaking on behalf of the company's laws, and not from his own personal opinion.

I waited for the inevitable bad news, something perhaps along the lines of "You're fired." But fortunately it didn't turn out that way.

"As such, it is the board's decision that the two of you be separated from your current working relationship. Neither of you will be disciplined, and should you choose to pursue this relationship, you will be able to do so without violating any further rules governing interpersonal behavior." He arched an eyebrow at me with a little grin. "Please keep your frolicking OUTSIDE of the building."

I realized then that Sheldon was under the impression I was going to start dating Melody. She was standing behind and to the right of him, nodding in agreement with everything he said. Just what had Melody told him?

"Now, obviously the Kwong project is an extremely high priority to the firm, and we can't leave you without a replacement admin. I assume you already know Erica?"

Yeah, I just had a beer with her last night at O'Brien's. "Uh, yes we are acquainted, sir."

"Splendid! Erica is being assigned as your new admin, effective immediately."

I glanced over at the pleasant-looking brunette. Erica shrugged, the look in her eyes clearly saying 'I don't know any more about this than you do.' I figured it was just a coincidence that out of all the other admins in the firm, they were pairing me with someone I knew.

Sheldon continued. "Also, Melody will not be assigned new responsibilities until we are sure that the handover is running smoothly. She will be training Erica until you deem it no longer necessary, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's that. Carry on." Sheldon spun on his heel and left.

I looked back and forth between the pretty blonde and the more comely brunette. Melody turned and smiled at her friend. "Wow, this was unexpected, but quite cool. This is a good move for you, Erica. This project is VERY high-profile."

"What am I getting myself into?" the brunette asked.

"Don't worry, I'll train you on EVERYTHING. Piece of cake." Melody looked over the both of us. "Everything will be EXACTLY the same as when I was running things."

"One thing will certainly be different," Erica declared.

"What's that?"

Erica turned and smiled at me. "Jeff, I will NEVER give you a blowjob in this office." She grinned and Melody blushed.

I just raised an eyebrow, a smart-assed remark already on my lips. "What about outside this office?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "You really want to go down the sexual harassment road?"

Instantly, I was defensive. "Hey! You started it!"

Erica smiled and waved me off. "It certainly will be interesting. Anyways, I'm going to head back to my cube. I've got to start packing." And with that, my new admin left the room.

This left Melody and me together and alone for the first time since last night's implosion. I let my amused grin disappear as I looked at her intensely. "Mel, what's going on? You told Sheldon we're dating?"

She pinched her lips together and shrugged. "I can't help how I feel, Jeffie. And I thought about it a lot last night... about us. Don't you see? This is how it has to be. We can't be employer/admin anymore. I can't just fetch your coffee or sandwich and take orders from you. Not after last night."

"So... what, that whole thing with Sheldon was just a ruse to get yourself reassigned away from me? You don't really want to start dating?"

"It's... it's complicated." Melody looked at the floor, clearly looking like she'd rather be anywhere but in my office at that moment. She sniffled just once and then composed herself. "I'd better start clearing out my desk."

With a little frown, the pretty blonde turned away and went to the door. She stopped just before grabbing the handle and said, "Look. We'll talk later, alright?"

And before I could say anything else, she left the room.

***

The feminine ass in my hands was absolutely perfect. The hips flared prettily around perfectly-shaped tight globes. The skin was milky white and unblemished save for the red blush where my hand had been spanking her.

"God, Taylor, you are so fucking hot..." I groaned as my cock pistoned in and out of her body. I could stare at this sight all day.

"I know..." she answered confidently, then moaned once again. "Spank me again..."

Immediately, I let fly with my left hand, leaving a faint red imprint on her buttcheek that quickly disappeared. I absolutely adored that this gorgeous supermodel would let me spank her. It was kind of a fetish of mine. There was no heat in my slaps, but the jarring sensation certainly spurred Taylor on even further. We were back in her guest bedroom, just the two of us this time, and as I felt her wondrous pussy walls clasping at my naked rod, I felt like I was in heaven.

It had been 1pm when Taylor called my cell phone and demanded I come over to their apartment and fuck her. I'd thought her fiancé was back in town, but she assured me he was in LA for business.

I'd barely gotten any work done the whole day. I was lost in my thoughts, staring through the plate glass to watch Melody as she puttered around showing Erica where everything was. Had we made the right decision to cut things off? Should I have probed to find the real depths of her feelings for me? Should I have pressed her harder for a relationship? Did I even WANT a relationship with her anymore?

Taylor's call had been like a burst of cold wind that blew aside all the clutter in my mind. The thick haze in my brain cleared out and all that was left was the burning desire for my raven-haired goddess, rooted deep inside me from the time I was fifteen. Between my flaming lust and Taylor's husky pleas, I readily agreed to meet her.