DORIS It was my first full week at Heritage Properties. They assigned me a mentor named Kate. That's more than Andrea's firm ever did for me. Kate was a great teacher. She let me follow her around all week. Because Heritage Properties mostly covered a different section of Manhattan and properties in a much higher price range, the commissions were bigger. It also meant I needed a newer and more upscale wardrobe. I called Nina and asked her to go shopping with me. Of course, the first words out of Nina’s mouth were, “How many times have you had sex with Mystery Man since I’ve seen you last? Is he as good in bed since the one time you paid him?” She frowned. “You’re not still paying him, are you?” I gave her a light, playful slap on the arm as we entered the clothing store Nina picked. “Keep your voice down.” “One,” I answered her, “Zero times.” I held up my fingers for each question I
ARTHURI watched as Doris sat on the edge of Mia’s bed, reading to my precious daughter.“Goodnight moon, goodnight spoon,” Doris said.“Goodnight moon, goodnight spoon,” Mia repeated.“Goodnight goon, goodnight monsoon,” Doris said.“It doesn’t say that!” Mia exclaimed and giggled.“How do you know?” Doris asked, holding the book playfully away from Mia. “Are you reading? You don’t even know how to read. You’re only three years old.”“Mommy,” Mia said and rolled her eyes. “I’m seven! And you know I can read.” Mia pointed toward the book. That does not say ‘monsoon.’“So what does it say?” Doris asked.I stepped away from the doorway, content. I had hoped that Doris would be a good mother figure to Mia, but this was so much more. It warmed my heart.I opened my computer to look over some financials from one of AmeriCapital’s foreign invest
DORISThe next day came, and Mia started nagging us again.“Mommy! I want to see you perform at the club. I want to see you sing,” she said.She said it over and over. She was relentless.Even when she wasn’t asking, the request floated in the air. There was no way I could bring her to The Strip that late at night.Still, she wanted it so much I wanted to fulfill her request."Hey, sweet girl. I have an idea."I had a solution after considering several options.I walked into the living room and said, "Mia," as she was absorbed in a coloring book. I've come up with a way you can see me sing.”She looked at me with wide eyes. "Seriously, Mommy? How?""We can set up a live video feed from the club to our penthouse," I said. "You can watch me sing, but just for the first song. It will be like you're right there with me."Mia's cheeks glowed with happ
DORIS I found myself standing in a rehearsal studio. The bandmates I hadn't seen in years came in, one after another. The reunion was surreal and emotional. We were all out of practice, but ready to make music once more.I looked at Arthur, who I knew had to leave in a few minutes. I still had one last second where I couldn’t believe he had worked so hard to contact my old bandmates and rent this nice music studio.I looked at Arthur. My heart was full of gratitude. "You did all this?" I asked again. "For me?"A playful smile tugged at his lips. "For us, Doris. I want to see you shine, to witness the joy on your face as you reclaim your passion."Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to overflow. It was as if Arthur had unearthed a part of me that I had buried deep within, the part that craved the stage, the lights, and the music that had once defined me.Overwhelmed with emotions, I embraced
DORIS We were stranded, but of all the places to be stranded, this serene place on the side of the road that was completely surrounded by greenery that looked like an enchanted forest wasn't a bad place to be.Arthur looked at me. This was the soft and caring Arthur. "Let's use this time to get to know more about each other," Arthur said. "We really haven't had a chance to talk about things of substance. Perhaps you'll go first?"“What do you want to know?” I asked.“Everything,” he said.“Well," I said, "you already know that my mother died when I was 13,” I said. “Then I was adopted by a man named Noah, who turned out to be a great dad. That was wonderful for me because I never knew my dad. He left before I was born.” “On my mother's side, I had a great aunt, and she had a cottage up in the woods by Buffalo. My mother and I visited a few times. She was a really nice lady.”“I probably would have gone to stay with her after my mother died, but she was old and frail, and didn't thin
ARTHURAh...this woman.This kiss exploded, our passion and chemistry even more electric than I thought possible. The small confines of the car just amplified everything I felt. It was so electric after a few minutes, I had to pull back to catch my breath.In the narrow beam of the moonlight, I watched Doris’ breasts rise and fall. She was still pressed against me, breathing heavily.Her eyes were already blown wide with lust and wonder. Doris stumbled over her words. "Th-that was amazing.” "You’re amazing," I said, and I kissed her again, harder this time. Passion built like a hurricane in a bottle, fast and furious. The Porsche became a maelstrom. There was a lot of passion between us. I ached for her, burned for her. I wanted her so bad. Every cell of mine wanted her. My skin, my chest, my thighs, and my hands.I’d wanted her for so long. It had all been building to this. I slid my fingertips over a stray lock of her shiny hair that had fallen across her forehead and tucked it
DORISI didn’t know whether or not to be embarrassed that I just came all over Arthur’s fingers. I decided not to be. He was a master.I leaned against his chest. Boneless.“So, you like that,” Arthur asked, smug pride in his voice.“Meh,” I joked. “Not sure. Maybe we need to try again so I can really be sure.”"Oh, we're going to try again, alright," he said, his voice dark with commanding promise.I shivered.He gripped my ass firmly.Then everything was a blur when he pulled his pants down, and carefully lowered me onto his hardness. I was so full with pleasure. He waited, teeth grinding together firmly with his barely held back patience as I took a moment to adjust.Arthur moved, just the tiniest bit.It was like slipping into an alternate reality of stars and rain and magic.“Ride me, Doris. Doris. Ride me like there’s no tomorrow.”So I did. Arthur took control, his strong hands on my hips, setting the pace to a rhythm only he could hear.Arthur thrust up into me, harder and har
DORISThe next morning early, I went to the New York City government land building department. I talked to one clerk after another and finally asked to talk to the manager. The manager was a bored man with thin brown hair on the sides of his head. He had a few oily strands pulled over the top of his head in a bad comb-over that almost covered his bald spot. I explained the situation again, and I gave him a piece of paper on which I had written the number for the tract of land. The manager talked in circles, explaining without saying anything, why the NYC government had to seize this particular piece of land and why his hands were tied.He put his hands out to his sides in a helpless gesture. "What can I do? I’m only a manager. There’s nothing you can do. I’m so sorry for your client's financial loss, and I understand you’re going to lose the commission. I understand if you’re angry."I squinted my eyes at him. His whole speech sounded rehearsed and insincere."But believe me when I
ARTHURThe next morning, I went to my mother's real estate office. I walked right past the busy ladies at the desks. I gave it a chin nod to Bob, not even bothering to say hello.I opened the door to my mother’s office in the back without knocking."Hello, Mother," I said formally."Oh, Arthur. Hello."I sat down without an invitation to do so."Mother, track 42345 in Brooklyn that the government is seizing to turn into a cemetery. Did you have anything to do with that?"She opened her eyes extra wide with exaggerated innocence, "Who me?" She asked."Mother," I said with a warning growl. She didn’t say anything."Andrea," I said. "I find it very suspect that a piece of land that Doris sold all of a sudden is so important to the US government."My mother still didn’t say anything. "I also find it kind of suspect that she was going to be hired by Cushman and Wakeman, and then suddenly wasn't. Did you have anything to do with that?"My mother didn't answer, but instead went on the atta