Betsy and The Beast

Six (Anthony)

I'd almost kissed her. I'd known going over to her place had been a bad idea and then I'd almost fucked up. I couldn't kiss her. I shouldn't kiss her. I really wanted to kiss her. I wanted to do a whole lot more than that to her.  I'd wanted to strip her naked and worship every inch of her body.  I'd wanted to see what kind of noises I could summon through her perfect lips.

Instead, I'd left. I'd gone home, seriously contemplating calling my Lindsey Taylor. I didn't do it though. Lindsey and our arrangement no longer appealed to me. The only person I wanted was Betsy Solomon and I couldn't have her. Well, that wasn't true. I could have her. The invitation had been clear in her eyes. I shouldn't have her though.

So, I'd done what I'd originally planned on doing when I got home. I poured myself a stiff drink, took a cold shower, and then I went to bed. Or I'd tried to. I hadn't slept a wink and now I was even more grouchy than usual.

The knock on my office door came at five minutes until eight. She was prompt. I'd give her that.  I tried to stow my moodiness, as I instructed, "Come in."

Betsy entered my office, quietly, and shut the door. Then she came over and took a seat across from me. Today she'd worn a t-shirt and leggings, obviously expecting more grunt work. I'd have to take her shopping before our meeting. She didn't know it yet, but she was going to accompany me. I'd been having trouble cracking an older couple who owned a small coffee shop in a desirable part of town. I wanted the property, and I was going to use Betsy to charm them into selling it to me.

"We have a meeting in an hour. Henry and Paulette will love you, but we'll need to get you some different clothes first."

"I can run home to change, if you'd like. I assumed based on my duties yesterday..."

I waved my hand, impatiently, "I'll take you downtown. Get you fitted with a couple outfits. It's the least I can do if I expect you to attend meetings with me."

"Ok." She said meekly and I hated it. Where was her usual sass?  It was weird.  I'd never been attracted to women who spoke their mind as freely as Betsy did.  I usually preferred more submissive women.  However, I hated seeing Betsy so subdued.

I gritted my teeth, "Let's go then."

We didn't speak on the way to clothing shop. Betsy didn't speak as I instructed the salespeople of what we were needing. She only smiled politely when they brought clothes to her to try on and then she disappeared into a dressing room. When she finally emerged, she only had one pant suit that she said fit her worth a darn, so I bought one in every color they had. Six suits total. Black, gray, navy, white, burgundy, and cream. I then instructed her to try on shoes and pick out a pair to match each suit. She did and the whole while she was too quiet, too polite, and too...Stepford.

When we got back into my car, Betsy in her new navy suit, she finally turned to face me. "Are you freaking out of your mind?"

"Excuse me?" I turned in my seat to face her better.

"You just spent...I don't even know how much money but hundreds at least."

"Thousands, actually." I interjected with a smile.  Thousands was peanuts to me. I was just glad to see the fire back in her eyes.

She snapped her mouth shut and her eyes got huge. She opened her mouth but shut it again. Finally, she seemed to find her voice again. She threw up her hands, "That's it, I'm having you committed. You're insane! You just spent thousands of dollars on clothing for your...hell, I don't even know what my job title is now!"

"Assistant?" I voiced it more as a question because I hadn't really thought about her title. I just knew I didn't want her on her hands and knees in front of toilets anymore.

"You really are insane. Have you ever seen a shrink? I think you need to call one and make an appointment as soon as possible."

"Are you done? Our meeting starts in ten minutes and I need to spend the drive there explaining what I expect of you."

Betsy sighed, "Fine."

I started my car and got us on the road before I said, "I just need you to be nice and charm the old couple we're meeting with."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Well, that didn't take ten minutes." She muttered.

"I know. I was just getting tired of your ranting, although it was far better than your agreeable behavior before. What was that?" I asked, darting a look at her before my eyes settled back on the road.

"I don't know how to act around you after last night. I behaved inappropriately and I'm embarrassed."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about." I say almost absentmindedly, as I park right in front of the coffee shop. The building had seen better days and it would, once I owned it.  My mind had jumped ahead to our meeting.

I cut the engine and exited, rounding the car to open Betsy's door. I motioned for her to precede me and then placed my hand on her lower-back, propelling her inside. The moment we entered I knew the meeting was not going to go as planned. Paulette smiled at us and introduced us to her grandson, "Mr. Chapman, this is my grandson, Riley."

"Riley Henderson." The tall, well-dressed man said, extending his hand to me first.  His eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger.

"Anthony Chapman. This is my assistant, Betsy Solomon."  I said pleasantly, while silently hoping I was wrong and all wasn't lost.

"Betsy." Riley smiled down at Betsy and held her hand longer than necessary. I clenched my jaw to keep from losing control of my sudden anger. What the hell was that? Jealousy.  I'd never been jealous before I didn't think I liked the feeling.

"We asked Riley to look at the contract you proposed. He's an attorney after all." Henry stated, proudly.

Riley nodded, "Yes, there are a few things we need to discuss. Grandma, would you mind getting us some cups of coffee and Grandpa, I left the contract in your office by accident." 

Henry hopped up. Well, as fast as an eighty year old could anyway. As soon as the older couple was out of earshot, Riley lost his easy-going grin. He glared, "You two should be ashamed of yourselves. Trying to take advantage of that sweet older couple.  My grandparents signed their shop over to me this morning and you'll never get your greedy hands on it. They'll continue to run this shop for as long as they both want to and when they're done, I'll help them sell it for a fair price. Now, get the hell out of my shop."

I met Riley's stare. I wasn't intimidated by him; however, I knew when to cut my losses. I grabbed Betsy by the elbow and we left. As stiff as she was, I knew she'd have questions. Damn it. The day had not gone how I expected. Kind of a reoccurring theme since I officially met Betsy Solomon. Although, none of it was her fault. I only had myself to blame.  My head hadn't been in the game.  I should have been expecting and prepared for a relative to step in, taking over for Henry and Paulette, but it hadn't even crossed my mind.  I was slipping and I didn't like it one bit.