Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (35 page)

Rachel was mumbling in her sleep
something that sounded like “Luc……baby blues……hmm.” She squirmed slightly in
the soft leather seat and Joe wondered what she was dreaming about.

“In 50 yards you have reached your
destination.” The sat nav announced his arrival at Rachel’s home. It was a nice
place in a beautiful neighbourhood. Nate had obviously cherished his family to
work hard enough to be able to afford a great house in lovely area. Joe’s own
home in New York was a penthouse in Manhattan but his kids lived with their
mother in the Hamptons in a palatial residence three times the size of Rachel’s
house. He could tell there was a lot of love here though and it made his heart
ache for his kids; both of whom he missed desperately. The one bad thing about
moving to the UK was that he wouldn’t be seeing as much of them, but he planned
to bring them over for holidays.

“Rachel wake up.” Joe nudged her
gently and undid her seat belt. Rachel stirred but didn’t open her eyes. Joe
watched her for a moment appreciating the beauty of the woman now relaxed in
slumber. They had gotten off to a really bad start; he had indeed behaved like
an arrogant arsehole and now he felt guilty for playing with her emotions.
Angela had admonished him for it but he hadn’t really paid attention, and now
he had probably ruined his chances. It had been so long since he had
contemplated a relationship with a woman rather than having a casual fling with
no meaningful interaction, that he had forgotten the manners his mother had
taught him. If Rachel let him, he resolved to try and win her over.

But first, he had to get her in
the house. He noticed there was a Mini parked in the driveway and hoped someone
was in. Ringing the doorbell he waited patiently until a young woman’s voice
enquired, “Who is it?”

“Er, this is Joe Mason. I have
Rachel Renton in the car. She’s asleep.”

“Oh ok, shit, hold on a minute.
Jesssssssssssss!” Joe heard someone else approach the other side of the door
and some frantic whispering going on. The door opened to reveal two identical
twin girls that resembled Rachel enough to assume they were her daughters. Both
of them were exquisite just like their Mum. They gaped at him, eyes wide before
the one on the left found her voice.

“Mr Mason, can I ask why my mother
is in your car?”

“She, um, drunk a little too
much.” The girls both breathed in and looked at each other in shock.

“Is she ok? She didn’t…” the one
on the right was craning her neck trying to see into his car.

“She definitely did. Then she
passed out and I can’t wake her.”

The twins looked at him in horror
for some reason checking out his clothes. Then they both creased up laughing.
“Oh my god, we are so sorry. Jess, wait until we tell Luc – he’s gonna
die!” Joe stiffened at the mention of the name Luc – there it was again
and his curiosity was definitely piqued. “Luc?” he enquired.

“Oh, just a friend of ours.” The
one called Jess punched the one called Lucy on the arm and they stopped
laughing in front of their mother’s boss who had driven her unconscious arse
all the way home.

“Can you bring her in to the den?
Just pop her on the settee.” Joe frowned not understanding half of what Jess
had just said but went and got Rachel out of his car. He smiled as soon as his
back was turned as he heard the twins making appreciative noises about him;
he’d long ago given up trying to be modest about his appearance.

Opening the passenger door Rachel
slid into his arms. He relished the warmth of her body against his and tried
not to react as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and squashed
her breasts against his chest.
 
He
carried her easily through the door of her home and into a room indicated by
one of her daughters. The other one was removing cushions from the couch in
order to make room for her as Joe gently laid her down disconnecting her head
from his shoulder and her body from his, leaving him distinctly lonely. He
propped her head up with one of the cushions and grabbed the throw from off the
arm and covered her body with it, then he bent his knees and squatted down to remove
her shoes. Running a loose tendril of Rachel’s hair through his fingers he
tucked it behind her ear so he could take a last look at her beautiful face
before leaving. The urge to brush his lips over her mouth was so strong that
only the twins being in the room stopped him.

Realising he had been acting way
too personal for a boss and not a boyfriend, Joe jerked to his feet and hastily
exited the den making some excuse about getting back to the party before it
finished. The twins stood on the doorstep thanking him profusely and
apologising for their mother’s behaviour.

“It’s fine; no trouble.” Joe told
them with a tight smile that didn’t reach his alarmingly dark grey eyes, and
then he climbed back into his Range Rover and sped off into the night.

**********

Sunday morning, around 8am, Rachel
woke with a crick in her neck completely dis-orientated. It took her a minute
to realise where she was and then for the pain in her head to rudely remind her
how she got there. She supposed Joe had brought her home after all. She
remembered being sick then not much else after that.

“I am so royally fucked,” she
admitted to herself. No way was she ever going to get the respect of her boss
now after another diabolical exit on her behalf. First she nearly disabled him
in the gym; then she ran from the steam room after leading him on in the worst
possible way, and now last night’s spectacular vomit fest. She truly knew how
to make a lasting impression on someone.

Gingerly making her way to the
kitchen to get some paracetamol and strong black coffee, Rachel mentally
declared her battle over. Joe had won after all – she really was out of
her league; both with him and with Genesis. She planned to try this one case
that she had prepared for, and then resign. It was best for all concerned and
she could be proud of herself for attempting to get Nate’s project off the
ground in the first place. Maybe she would find something part-time locally
that was a little more within her skill set. She would tell Joe personally
first thing Monday morning before she set off for her trial which would
hopefully manage his expectations of her in advance of her failing that too.

After recovering sufficiently from
her hang over, Rachel showered and changed and settled in for a day of pre-trial
prep. The twins woke up around lunchtime and they all sat in the kitchen
together over bagels and salmon and lots of delicious deli food. Karen had
introduced Rachel to the delights of Jewish comfort food and it had become a
Sunday favourite in their house for many years.

Munching on a pickled cucumber,
Lucy casually asked Rachel what she recalled about her journey home.

“Not much, thank goodness. I’m
sure Joe took every opportunity to regale you with horrendous tales of my
inappropriate behaviour.”

“Not quite Mum. Actually, he was
lovely.”

Rachel choked on her mouthful of
food. “Lovely? Joe? Are you nuts? Lovely is not a description I would ever
associate with that pig of a man. He’s a bully and a beast.”

Jess laughed. “Beast is very apt I
have to say. Oh my god he’s absolutely devastating. Swoon worthy Mum.”

“And bloody enormous!” Lucy added.

“Yeah, and strong – he
picked you up like you weighed nothing.”

“Pppicked me up….” Rachel choked
on her bagel for the second time, and grabbed for her diet coke. Taking a huge
swallow she then burped very loudly causing the twins to burst out laughing.

“Oh that’s classy mother!”

Rachel cringed as the words jolted
her into remembering Joe saying something similar, but she wasn’t quite sure
where or when.

“Don’t change the subject,” she
chided them, “tell me about Joe.” The twins grinned nudging each other as
Rachel rolled her eyes at them, then proceeded to tell her in great detail how
he carefully arranged her on the sofa, gently settling her in.

“He seemed hesitant to leave,
Mum,” observed Lucy. Rachel was gobsmacked and disappointed to have missed this
side of Joe. Then she supposed he was just feeling guilty for being the reason
she had gotten drunk in the first place.

“Yes well. I must remember to thank
him tomorrow. Can you clear up please, I have to get back to work.” Watching
their mother hurry out the kitchen towards the study, the twins couldn’t help
noticing how red in the face she had turned at the mention of Joe Mason.

“Jess, my love, what’s that saying
about the lady who doth protest too much?”

“Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Lucy. His
mum said it, and now it’s used when one
"insists so passionately about something not being true that
people suspect the opposite of what one is saying.
” I reckon that’s our Mum eh?”

“I knew having an English Lit
freak for a sister would pay off one day! Oh well. I can’t wait to see how this
little drama unfolds.” Lucy sighed at her sister as they both set about
clearing the table deep in their own thoughts.

**********

Across the City, Joe was returning
from a run. He chose not to visit the gym but rather take advantage of a
beautifully sunny day and run around Regent’s Park. His apartment was situated
in a block overlooking the zoo and he had little opportunity so far to
appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Stepping into his shower, Joe was still
thinking about Rachel. She had filled his dreams and wormed her way into his
thoughts during his run and now he was helpless to prevent memories of last
night and how she had felt so good in his arms.

Joe was angry for allowing himself
to become derailed by a woman, let alone one his own age who was the widow of
his predecessor at work. It was all wrong; not at all his usual m o. During the
past few weeks he had spent an inordinate amount of time trying to discover
what it was about her that unravelled him. Joe had vowed never to get into a
relationship after his sham of a marriage had him at the mercy of his ex-wife
while his kids were still young enough to live at home with her. He wouldn’t do
anything to jeopardise his custody over the years and so found himself
consenting to her appalling financial demands, using their kids as ransom to
make him concede. His parents had engineered a wedding to the daughter of their
best friends. Both families had thrown Joe and Leighton together as kids and it
was expected they would be the conduit bringing together two of the most
aristocratic New York families ensuring the bloodline for the future.

Joe had lasted ten years in a
loveless marriage. Leighton had turned into a frigid bitch and made his life a
misery, taking every opportunity to belittle him in front of both their
families. He’d turned to the gym in the hopes of venting his physical
frustrations hence his incredible physique, but there was only so long a
red-blooded male could go without sex, and so the flings began heralding the
demise of his marriage.

The divorce was messy even though
he granted Leighton everything she asked for apart from sole custody. He fought
for the rights to see his kids every week and won and thank god they had an
amazing relationship. His daughter, Olivia was the light of his life and his
son, Ethan, was hardworking and a boy to be proud of. He made sure to tell him
them all the time how much he loved them, unlike his own father who was cold
and unaffectionate.

The hot water beat down on Joe’s
back. He squeezed shower gel into his hands and lathered up starting with his
hair and then his body. His cock hardened as Joe imagined Rachel’s hands on his
chest rubbing the soap across his pecs and down his stomach. His erection
swelled in his hands as the soap glided over the silky smooth rock hard skin.
He tugged at his balls and sighed leaning against the shower wall for support.
Pumping his closed fist up and down his shaft, picturing Rachel naked in the
steam room, it wasn’t long before his body stiffened as he came hard and fast.
Watching his come disappearing down the plug hole along with the soap suds, Joe
moaned in despair at his pathetic attempts to convince himself Rachel was just
a high end piece of tail he’d get over once he’d fucked her.

Joe Mason was falling for Rachel
Renton and there was nothing he could do about it.

**********