I: Special Delivery
I never understood kinky until I began to
work for Michael Oliver. A man's passions run deep and wild, or so
I'd heard.
But to me, it was all just hearsay. My
girlfriends never tittered about anything more taboo than pleasing
their dates with their hands and mouths. And it wasn't like I had
any first hand experience to set me straight...
I graduated High School without so much as
kissing a boy. My Mom, a trading analyst at Oliver Holdings, taught
me that a girl should stay busy and keep her passions under wraps
if she wants to succeed in this world.
I should've applied her advice. My first
summer out of school as an adult, and I had no prospects, romantic
or job wise. If there really were benefits to saving my energy for
better things, I hadn't seen any yet.
“ Now, I know you want to
lounge around and enjoy your last summer as a girl, Lori. But the
sooner you start work, the better.”
“ Does it really have to be
with him?” I asked, sitting on the sofa and nervously wringing my
hands.
Really, asking the question was nothing but
a formality. She had free reign over my life – as usual.
I'd never known a father. The subject hadn't
come up since I was a young teen, when Mom implied she'd mated like
an animal with an anonymous man, a business-like tryst as efficient
and uncomplicated as the rest of her life.
I didn't ask about it again. Even so, going
through life without an older man to look up to only made me fear
them. And Mr. Oliver's complimented fear like peanut butter did
chocolate.
I'd met him at the company Christmas parties
she dragged me to as soon as I turned twelve. The owner towered
above all the other men, cut like a Titan, eyes of cold command
never stopping to blink during the holiday cheer.
“ Oh, come now. Don't tell
me you're afraid of him? We all keep our distance from Mr. Oliver
because he prefers it that way. He's really quite nice to his
closest employees. And he's such a busy man – you probably won't
see much of him at all.”
“ But Mom...living in a
stranger's house?”
She turned, tapping her sleek black heel in
irritation. “Didn't your teachers ever tell you to get outside your
comfort zone, Lori? I know I have. And besides, Mr. Oliver is no
stranger. He's seen you every year at the Christmas party, plus
those times you showed up at the office on your bike.”
She took a step closer. “He trusts me enough
to tell me about his son. No one else knows. And he's placing
enough faith in you to take care of him. You should be flattered,
just as I am.”
I looked at the floor. A long time ago, I
always hoped my cowardice would fade with age. But it hadn't.
There I was, eighteen and just as afraid of
upsetting my environment as ever. Mom's dark eyes shined on me like
dim suns, forceful and interrogating.
“ Okay,” I said, lifting my
face. “For you, I'll do it.”
A faint smile lined her thin lips. “Don't do
this for me, honey. Do it for yourself. Use my networking to build
some good experience and make some money. You've got youth and time
on your side. That's a lot more than the rest of us have.”
I watched her walk down the long corridor to
her bedroom. She'd just survived another maddening day crunching
numbers and riding graphs.
Debate wouldn't be tolerated. Not when she
wanted nothing more than to lay down with a glass of wine, kick off
her high end heels, and pass out until morning, when everything
started all over again.
At least I've always been good with
children. Maybe I'll adjust, forget he's even there keeping watch
over me, and just do my job.
Mom always said to forge on, without letting
the little details and emotions get in the way.
I smoothed my dress, feeling goosebumps
creep up my flesh. Most of my friends were preparing to head off to
college since we'd left High School.
They'd make new friends in dorms and have
crazy adventures. I wondered what had happened to make me so
different.
Why was I so broken? And for no