Her Secret Affair

Chapter 4

"Damn, he is fine," she thought as she stared at the movement of his hands as he spoke. Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone and checked her messages to distract herself.

J: Hope you have a good day today. Nicky and I miss you here with us.
B: I miss you guys too. Guess who is giving a talk at the conference this week? Frankie Sims.
J: Really? It's been a while since I've seen him. Pass my regards, will you? I've got to go, have a meeting at the office.

Throughout the day, she could feel his eyes on her. More than once, his eyes caught hers, making her breath catch in her throat.

That night, as she prepared herself to meet Frankie, she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She tied her long curly hair up, then shook it out, settling for keeping it loose around her shoulders. She remembered that Frankie once told her it made her look like a goddess. 

"Get a grip on yourself, it's only a drink to catch up," she said as she smoothed her little back dress, grabbed her clutch and walked out of her room.

**********

He sensed her before he saw her, turning slowly to see her walk into the bar. Her black dress fell lightly around her body, accentuating the smooth curve of her hips. "Damn," he thought, "I really am going to be in trouble again with this one." No matter what he told himself these past ten years, Frankie never got Brianna out of his mind. No other women, and he has had his fair share of them, ever measured up to her. The memories of their time together, especially that one drunken night, plagued his dreams.

For him, Brianna was the one he always wanted. Back then, she was either with Joseph or getting over him. So the time was never right to tell her how he felt. Ever since he found out they got back together, he has made sure to stay away from her. And now she has a child with him.

"Get yourself together," he said giving himself a mental shake. Seeing her today wasn't something he could have avoided. Whenever life presented a situation in which he knew there was a slight possibility of seeing her, he changed his schedule. Oh yes, he has been keeping track of her. Always coming up with an excuse to make sure that no work or social commitments would see them brought together. Being the CEO and owner of the software company which serviced 80% of businesses in the city, he had the liberty to do that.

This week however, he was blindsighted. He was expected to give an aspiring talk about how he made employee empowerment one of the driver of his business' success. He has tried to pass it on to one of his employees, but the organiser was adamant that he was the one who came. Sure, he could have declined should he really have wanted to, but a small part of him wanted to see her.

He hadn't planned on inviting her for drinks. His plan was to stay as far away from her as possible, watch her from a distance. He didn't trust himself with her. But when he saw that slight hesitation earlier, the words just fell out of his mouth.

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hey," he said as he got up, kissing her cheeks in greeting. "I got us a table in the back, it's quieter. I thought it would be easier for us to catch up without much disturbance."

They found their table and took their seats. A waiter appeared and placed a glass of martini in front of her, and gin for him.

"I hope you don't mind I had already ordered the first drinks. We can change it you like."

"No, it's fine. I see you still remember my preference."

"There are a lot of things I still remember" he smiled, staring at her cheeks turning pink beneath the warm glow of the lights.

After a few seconds of silence, "So, tell me, what have you been up to for the past ten years?" he asked like he didn't already know.

"Well, I've been working in the HR & Policy Division of this marketing firm ever since I finished university. I actually started out as a Personal Assistant to one of the Managers, but after I assisted him with an internal policy review in my first year, they moved me to HR & Policy. I'm currently heading the department."

"That's great. Was it difficult for you to implement new policies? I mean, some work places are so used to their old ways."

"Not at all. They were a young group. So it wasn't that hard honestly. Like you said earlier today, employees need to be empowered, and that is what we try to promote."

"Apart from work? You're still into your crafts and DIYs?"

"Not really, I don't have much time these days. You know, with working and then coming home to take care of Nicholas and the house. It doesn't leave much time for me to do much else. Sometimes I try on the weekends, but Nicky is a very active child."

"Don't laugh, but remember that keychain you made for me?" he said as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"No way!! You kept that?" she laughed, looking at the once dark blue macrame chain she made him years old, the chords pale and frayed.

"You're damn right I did. This baby is a good luck charm. I carry it everywhere I go. Once I left it home, and man did I have a rough day. I stepped into this dog shit the moment I got out the door, car broke down on my way to lunch making me miss all my afternoon meetings, and this baby in the supermarket threw up all over my back! Never made that mistake again!"

She was laughing so hard at his theatrics that tears were coming out of her eyes. "You have a thing with dog shit. Remember that time we went to the fair and you walked in a pile as soon as we got there? That smell stayed with you the whole morning."

"Yes, and I had to buy this crappy-looking shoes just to get rid of it."

The conversation, and the drinks, just flowed. By the time they realised it, they were the only ones left. "It's getting late," Brianna said checking her watch to see it was almost one in the morning.

"I really had a great time tonight. It's been a while since I laughed this hard" she said, her face and her eyes glowing.

"Same here Brie. It was really good to see you again. If you're not busy tomorrow night..." he trailed off.

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Let me walk you to your room." Together, still talking about old times, they took the lift to her floor. As life would have it, he was on the same floor as her.

"That's pretty coincidental. After so long, we end up on the same floor," he said leaning against the wall as she fumbled for her keycard.

"Goodnight Brie, I'll see you tomorrow," leaning down, placing a soft kiss on her cheeks. He lingered a second longer than he should, her scent infiltrating his nose. He could feel his body reacting to her, the hardening in his jeans. It took all his willpower to straighten up and walk away.

"Goodnight Frankie" he heard her say softly.