Chapter 3

My dark thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the elevator. Pru came walking out and headed for the "employees only" door. When she spotted me she changed course and her smile seemed to light up the room. She was beautiful and the way she filled out that green wool dress would make any man's heart beat faster. She was probably in her early twenties, perhaps just out of college, about five seven, but much taller in heels.

"Hi Marine ... Nice to see you again so soon."

She sat on the arm of my chair, the hem of the dress riding up. Things got more interesting when she crossed her legs and put her feet next to my thigh on the cushion of the chair. I made sure to admire her legs from the tips of her dark high heeled shoes up the stretched dark nylon to the display of most of her very firm looking thighs. I let my eyes drink her in including a long stop to admire her breasts before I looked at her face again.

I knew that the visual appraisal was what she was looking for and I did my best to comply.

"See anything you like?"

"No." I said noncommittally.

"No?" she said her eyes wide with mock seriousness.

She did know how to flirt.

"No ... I see everything I like ... every bit of you."

Even though we were just playing she blushed ever so slightly. Maybe she had caught just a slight note of seriousness in my voice.

I wanted so badly to run my hand up the inside of her leg and just keep going until I touched her in her most intimate place. I caught the look in her dark green eyes that she might want the same thing.

She squirmed a bit, giving me another inch or so of thigh. Damn ... her legs just keep getting better and better.

I could smell her perfume and the perhaps the scent of her arousal.

"No wonder the boss lady thinks so much of you."

I was surprised. Had Jessica ever mentioned me to anyone?

"Oh ... how do you know that?"

"Are you kidding? Just the way she looked at you downstairs was the stuff of romantic movies."

"Oh ... I..."

"Matt ... I figured it out ... you have to be the one."

"The one what?"

"Listen ... I've worked for Jessica for over a year. I know she doesn't date much, but occasionally she does, and I've seen the guys when they come here ... or maybe when I run into her at a restaurant in town...

She dates vacuous rich pretty boys. You don't fit the description."

I smiled up at her.

"Well I'm certainly not rich ... and definitely not pretty."

"I think you're gorgeous ... but let's not go there."

It was my turn to blush because at that point she ran her cool fingers along the scar on my forehead.

She leaned in close.

"My older brother graduated from UC the same year as Jessica. He was also in marketing and communications and he had a crush on her. He told me that during her last year at school ... to his dismay ... she was engaged to some engineering geek and then at the graduation party they broke up ... something about a fight that left her fiancé bleeding from a head wound and a football player in the hospital. The now ex fiancé joined the Marines and was never seen again."

Her green eyes bored into mine. She was certainly within kissing distance as she leaned closer, one arm resting on my shoulder.

"Any of this sound familiar?" she almost whispered.

"Vaguely ... but that was a long time ago."

"She was a fool ... if I was engaged to you ... I'd never let you out of my sight."

I thought the kiss was inevitable, but slowly she pulled back exercising control for both of us as she looked to the door. I was disappointed.

Her fingers traced the three-inch scar along my left jaw. It was still red and punctuated by the marks the stitches made.

"Is this how you got your Purple Heart?"

She leaned in again to examine it. This time I knew the kiss was coming.

The door to the employees lounge opened and Jessica came out.

"Matt ... sorry to have..."

She stood there looking like a December fashion cover in a short red fox jacket and matching hat and with black knee-high high-heeled boots on.

The look on her face was much different though.

"Pru ... what are you doing?"

I almost smiled remembering almost the same words I had directed at Jessica five and a half years before.

Pru, looked from Jessica to me and smiled sadly and slowly stood, pulling the hem of her dress down.

"I was just watching over your Marine and keeping him entertained ... you wouldn't want him to get bored or kidnapped by some unscrupulous woman who might use him and abuse him would you?"

Jessica just stared. I knew those words had hit the mark.

"Anyway Ms. Hawthorne ... I came up to find you ... heard you were looking for me."

Jessica recovered quickly.

"Pru ... I'm off for the night and I won't be in until tomorrow noon. I want all the items on your list taken care of before I come in tomorrow. Understand?"

"Yes ... Ms. Hawthorne."

I was sure Jessica did not require her employees to call her "Ms. Hawthorne". Pru was just giving her a hard time.

Jessica turned to me. I could see the anger in her eyes.

"Sorry I took so long Matt. Are you ready?"

"Let's go."

I gathered my overcoat and several shopping bags and followed Jessica into the elevator. As I looked back, Pru pantomimed a kiss and I winked at her.

"Oh Ms. Hawthorne..."

Jessica turned.

"If you ever get tired of him..." I thought she was going to say "again". "Please let me know."

"Good night Pru!" Jessica said in an exasperated tone. She was not amused.

She hit the elevator button for the garage level and turned to me. There was fire in her eyes. I had seen that look before.

"What the hell was all that about? I leave you for a few minutes and come out and that ... that ... Pru was all over you ... and you were loving it."

I stepped close to her and looked at her angry face, jealously written all over it.

"Stop it!"

I didn't yell but my voice was forceful enough to get her attention. She looked at me - shocked. I had never raised my voice to her when we were together before.

"Jessica ... don't even try the indignant jealous woman bull shit on me. I'm a grownup now. More importantly you have no hold on me."

Her faced paled.

"The last time we were together you slapped me and threw your engagement ring in my face, making it very clear we were through ... to say nothing of the fact you were leaning against a garage wall being finger-fucked by some football player while your tits were on public display. No Jessica ... don't even start being possessive with me ... I won't have it ... I'm not some kid to be led around by the cock and then thrown aside at your whim!"

"Maybe we should just call this evening off ... I'll just go on my way and we can forget we ever ran into each other..."

Tears flowing, she flung herself at me, arms tight around my waist.

"No ... no ... no ... please Matt..." she sobbed into my shoulder. "Please ... I'm sorry ... sorry."

Finally she looked at me.

"It's just that I've been so stupid ... and ... and ... I love you so. God ... I'm so sorry I hurt you. I was jealous and immature and Amber and Jennifer ... they..."

"They said I was having an affair with Allison?"

She nodded, tears streaking her cheeks.

"And they kept telling you that you could do better."

She nodded again.

"What did you think?"

"I was so confused ... and then when I saw you leave with her that night ... I was convinced they were right ... but sometime later I realized ... remembering the look on your face when you ... that night when you ... when I ... when I betrayed and hurt you ... that there was no other woman."

"God I am such a fool. I couldn't bear it ... to lose you again ... not now ... not after finding you again. I love you so much Matt. I've never stopped loving you."

She sobbed into my shoulder the rest of the trip down to the garage.

The cold air of the garage swept over us as we left the elevator.

She gripped my arm as we walked into the garage. She stopped and looked at me - arms around my waist, afraid of letting go.

"Matt ... I thought once you got my letter ... once you ... I thought you would realize how sorry I was and that I still loved you and always would."

I paused, collecting my thoughts.

"Jessica, I want to tell you about when I got your letter.

She looked at me, waiting.

"I was on a windswept godforsaken ridge in Afghanistan when I first read your letter. I was exhausted and probably in the early stages of pneumonia."

I paused seeing I had her attention.

"Just a few days before that I had come back to my base camp after trekking around Afghanistan for a month. I picked up my mail, got a shower and some chow and cleaned my weapons and fell onto my cot about midnight with the intention of sleeping for a couple of days. At 4 a.m. the duty NCO came in and woke me up. Some Navy Seals had come in and were headed out for a mission and one of their snipers tripped over a damn tent peg and broke his ankle ... so I got elected to take his place. I knew it was useless to argue ... you take the king's coin ... you do the king's bidding."

Suddenly I was back there ... that crappy morning, exhausted and pissed off.