The Shadow Man

Chapter One: Hello Vivi

First Choice Agencies was the most renowned travel agency by far, in the entire country, and Viola Vyolette was the CEO. She had built the agency from the ground up, and her consistency and clever marketing strategies, as well as an envious customer relations team, saw her rise almost overnight to the top of the food chain. She was the boss lady, and every single one of her associates and employees knew it. Her secret to success was her relationship with her employees. Everyone knew what she wanted and what she expected them to do and this was always the incentive that the employees needed because failure to be at par with the company’s objectives, resulted in immediate termination.

Viola was in her office handling some documents on her clients when she heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” she answered. Morris opened the door and emerged into the office. “Boss, you wanted to see me?”
“Yes, lock the door behind you.”
He did.
“Sit down.”
He obliged.

She sat back in her chair, pen in hand and directed her gaze towards Morris.
“Do you know why I’ve called you here?”
“No ma’am.”
“ Now, if my memory serves me right, you are in charge of planning the Gilbert's vacation, am I right?”
“Yes boss.”
“I take it you are also aware of this company’s guidelines and objectives.”
“Yes, I am fully aware.”
“Then how come I just received a complaint from the Gilberts, claiming that their vacation starts in a week’s time yet they have not received a brochure with the details of their trip?”
“My apologies boss, I …”
“Let me stop you right there,” she interrupted him, “I don’t want to hear any excuses, what I need from you is to rectify this mess and get the job done. Am I clear?”
“Crystal. I’ll make it up to you boss.”
“Just get it done.”
“Anything else boss?”
“Yes.”

She got up from her seat and sashayed gently while steadily maintaining eye contact with him until she got to the front of  her desk and leaned on it with her posterior. Her legs were outstretched and crossed whilst pointing towards him. Morris on the other hand, was seated with his legs open and his hands on his thighs. He slowly raised his eyes and caressed every inch of her body that was put on display. He started with her feet, made his way gently to her calves, then a small portion of her thighs that was deliberately revealed, her bosom and lastly her eyes. His gaze meet hers. He held it.

“You wanted to make it up to me?” She teased.
He swallowed.
“Yes,” he nodded.

The atmosphere changed abruptly. He hadn’t the faintest idea what she was up to but he was willing to play along. He could not stop looking at her legs. God, they were exquisite legs. The texture of her skin was flawless. Her calves were perfect and the little bit of thigh skin that was visible, boy, would he give anything to lick it clean.

“Well, show me,” she pouted.

She then bit her index finger and signalled him to go towards her, come-hither style. He got up and made a step towards her. He went on further until their noses were almost touching. Her cologne filled his lungs and he couldn’t have enough of it. All the while she looked him straight in the eyes and nodded. He gently lifted his right hand and held the nape of her neck. He fingered her gently as he drew her closer to him, aiming on sinking his mouth into hers.

She leaned forward until her bosom was resting on his chest. He felt the fullness and instinctively, he reciprocated with stiffness. She felt him throbbing against her pelvis and she smiled. He went in for a kiss but she put her index finger between their lips. She then took a step backwards and hopped onto the desk. He was in awe, not sure what to do next. That was until she looked at him then the floor. He understood what she wanted now. He pushed the chair he had been sitting on and it rolled out of the way.

She spread her legs, forcing her skirt to roll up revealing her lingerie. He went down on all fours, and slowly he started crawling towards her. When he was a few centimetre away from her desk, she lifted her right foot so that it touched his chin. Slowly, she tilted his head upwards so that he was facing her. He started by taking off her shoes. He then massaged her feet all the while showering them with kisses. His hands made their way onto her thighs, fondling them with a back and forth movement from her calves and up to her thighs again. He buried his face in between her thighs and sucked in her musk, he needed more.

He got to his feet and dexterously eased her off her lingerie then went down on her. Her heartbeat was now racing. She sucked in air and clutched at his hair then looked up to the ceiling while she received cunnilingus. ‘It’s good to be boss!” It was a battle between not moaning and enjoying herself. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to conceal her groans but it was too much to bear, she couldn't. He leaned in and covered her mouth as she writhed and gasped for air.

He then stood up and bore into her eyes, she was weak from all the shaking and all she could do was lie on her back. He unbuttoned her blouse and cupped her breasts. He proceeded and slipped off her brassiere revealing her perky nipples. He sucked on them fondly, making her quiver even more. He then unzipped his pants and let them fall onto the floor. Deliberately, he got in between her pelvis, groped her breasts and caressed them sensually and slowly lowered himself, then tongued her then thrust himself inside her, making her gasp and moan rhythmically.


“How was work today, hun?” Tony asked Viola during dinner.

“It was not so bad,” she replied, “there was an issue with one of our clients but it will be sorted out before tomorrow. How about you babe, how was your day?”

“Today was huge, you remember that deal I’ve been working so hard for?”

“The mining project?”

“That’s the one, I finally got it.”

“Wow! That’s huge love, congratulations! You deserve it, you’ve really worked for it.”

“Thank you V, it means a lot.”

“Of course, I’m so proud of you.”

“How about my favourite kids in the whole wide world, how was school?”

Billy and Jane started telling their father how their day was while their mother listened on and smiled. Amidst the hubbub of laughter and storytelling, Viola’s phone popped up a notification on WhatsApp. She looked at the sender’s info but it was an unknown number. She opened the message and it was a video. A video recording of her and Morris during their little tryst in her office. ‘Crap!’ She could not believe her eyes. This was bad. Everything went silence at once and suddenly it felt like she was the only one in the room, just her and her thoughts, or regrets? She looked at her husband, his mouth was moving but the word were inaudible. Her kids were laughing but it felt as if they were miming. She looked at her phone again, hoping that the video would not be there because this was merely her brain playing tricks on her, and just so it knew, it wasn’t funny. It was still there. Accurate and detailed just like the real thing.

“V? V? Hey V!”

“Yes!” She jerked on her seat, petrified written all over her face.

“Are you okay? You look terrified”

“Yeah...do I?”

“Yes mommy, you look really scared,” Billy jumped in.

“Mommy looks like she’s seen  the bogeyman,” Jane added and they laughed.

“See, even the kids can see it,”

“It’s fine it’s just work stuff, nothing I can’t handle, I’ll be fine,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, absolutely don’t worry about it.”

After dinner, all she wanted was to get into bed as quickly as possible, cover herself up and curl up in a fetal position and wallow in self pity. Tony joined her in the lavatory once the kids were asleep because he was not totally convinced that she was okay.

“I appreciate your concern, really I do, but I just need some time by myself if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course.” He agreed to give her some time alone. Figured it was the best thing to do.

When she got to bed, Tony was already asleep. ‘Thank God!’ She thought to herself. She was glad he was asleep because she was not sure how she was going to handle his questions. He meant well, obviously, but she did not know what to say when the truth would undoubtedly destroy everything she had worked so hard for. She sat on her side of the bed, contemplating her next move. 

“Ding!”

She quickly picked up her phone and opened the notification. She received four pictures; one showing their sitting room, another depicting the master bedroom, one showing their kids’ bedroom as well and lastly, a portrait of the family. And for the icing on the cake, she received a text.

“Goodnight Vivi.”

Vivi? That was her nickname, how did they know her nickname. Heck, how did they get any of those pictures or that video. She was beginning to hyperventilate, she was experiencing a myriad of emotions all at once, each one more powerful than the last. However, the predominant one was fear. It consumed her all the way down to her core. Crippling her in a way she had never experienced before. Tears started welling in her eyes as she grasped the actual depth and implications of the situation. Then suddenly, it dawned on her. Whoever was behind this, had to have been someone that knew her well enough for them to have access to her home as well as her office. Consequently, this had to be someone she knew as well. Who was it then? An employee? Was it Morris? That sneaky bastard! Highly unlikely. Then who the fuck was it!

‘That’s it!’ She had an idea.

“Listen you perv, I don’t know what you are playing at but this is not cool.”
She wrote him a message.
‘There. Let’s wait and see what they have to say for themselves.
One hour later and still no response. She was loosing her cool. She started panicking. Her plan didn’t exactly go according to plan. She was hoping to provoke a response but they didn’t take the bait.

“What do you want? Is it money? If it is, all you have to do is ask and I can arrange that.”

“Hello, why are you still quiet.”

“What the hell do you want?”

“Why don’t you just tell me?”

“Are you still there? Huh?”

The alarm went off at six. Viola jolted from her sleep and quickly picked her phone. She had fallen asleep while waiting for a response and she was only realizing it now. She checked her inbox, nothing. “Fuck me!”

When she got to work, she was on edge and vigilant; as far as she was concerned, the perv could have been any one of her employees. Then she meet eyes with Morris and instantly her guard was up. He flashed her a quick smile. ‘Ah! Why the fuck is he smiling?’ ‘Calm down V, you can’t accuse everyone who smiles at you.’ She ignored him and went straight to her office and locked it. She then remembered that there was a hidden surveillance camera in her office.

“Fuck!” She slammed her desk. She was about to breakdown when the landline rang. Apprehension took over and every inch of her body was whispering to her, confirming that in deed it was the closure she was desperately waiting for. She was paralyzed with fright as she schlepped over to pick the call.

“Hello?” She a answered trembling internally.

“Hello Viola, you sound terrified. Is it because of me?”

“What do you want from me.”

“You want to jump right at it? I assumed that you were into foreplay after the all… you know. Let’s have it your way then. You must forgive my antics really, it was all just a ploy to get your attention Vivi.”

“How do you know that , I haven’t told that name to anyone.”

“You mean everyone except Lisa, your best friend, or was she Vivi?”

No way, he knew that too. Who the fuck was this guy and most importantly, what the hell did he want with her? This was deeper than she thought. This guy, whoever it was, knew way too much.

“Who are you, and how do you know so much about me.”

“Looks like someone has not been following the news lately. Because Viola, I know everything about you, sadly, I can’t say the same about you. What do I want? I want you to get your just desserts for what you did.”

This was not happening. It had been nearly ten years and she still recalls what happened with a heavy heart.

“I’m so sorry,” she began sobbing, “it wasn’t my plan I swear. I promise I didn’t intend to.”

“It’s a little too late for apologies Viola. However, there’s a little thing I want you to do for me and we can call it even.”

That was easy. “What?”

“I want you to step down as the CEO and abjudicate all legal entitlement to this company.”

Or was it.

He couldn’t be serious. Her own company? Just quit and move on like it was that easy? No, there had to be something else she could do.

“Please don’t, I’ll have nothing left.”

“I know. That’s why I want you to do it.”

What a psychopath. A sadistic and cruel maniac.

“No, I won’t do it.”

There it was, that fiery boss lady attitude that helped her so many times before. Was it going to work this time, or was it simply going to be nothing more than an insipid bluff.

“Fair. Well, I gave you the chance to end this gracefully with your reputation intact and nobody would ever find out about you and Morris but it seems like you want to do this the hard way. You see, I find myself in a bit of a conundrum where I can’t decide who to send the video to first. Does your husband get to be the lucky candidate, or does the board of directors get the honours. Perhaps, you could help me decide.”

She was between Scylla and Charybdis. No matter what decision she made, she was going to lose her company either way. The silver lining, however minuscule, was that at least one option kept her good name unsoiled and she got to keep her family. This should not have been a decision at all, she knew which option she was now going to pick. It was a straightforward answer. Then, why didn’t it feel that way? Why did she find it hard to pick the obvious answer, the right answer and save her family.

“What’s it going to be Viola?”

“Well…”

Before she could answer, she heard a knock on the door. She put the line on hold and went to get it.

Morris.


To be continued...