To Love Again

The Lion's Den

Once again, this is a work of fiction. I have no freakin idea how condos and penthouses in Manila look like so I plucked all the description from my imagination. Enjoy.

Strong, suggestive and some sexual language used.

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The ride from Bulacan to Makati was spent mostly in silence except for the sound of the car stereo playing in the background. Richard tried to make small conversations but all he got from Maine were one word responses. He attributed Maine's quietness to nervousness and probably surprise from seeing him pick her up. He finally gave up asking questions when she turned her head and stared at the passing scenery outside her window. It was the longest 1 hour and 30 minutes of his life.

When he finally pulled into the underground parking lot of his condo building, he turned to Maine and was quite surprised to see that she was sound asleep. Her head leaning to the side. Her face relaxed which in turn made her look younger than her supposed 29 years of age. Her mouth slightly open with her lips invitingly vulnerable. Richard sat there, immobile for a short time, amazingly aroused from just seeing a sleeping Maine. How the hell did that happen?

Richard had always been a very tactile person. He needs the mere contact of skin to get his libido going but, BUT, what the hell? He had to adjust his hips on his seat to make some room for his growing arousal. For a minute, he found himself leaning forward to get closer to Maine with the unconscious intent of kissing her but his phone buzzing from the console in between the seats brought him back to reality. He pulled back and blinked a few times to reorient himself. She's your employee for fucks sake! Sexual harassment, hello. Dammit! I have been celibate for far too long.

He pressed ignore on his phone before the damn thing wakes the sleeping Maine beside him. Since the first day he laid eyes on her, he was mesmerized. There's just something about the way she carries herself. All confidence and her 'gives no shit' aura turned him on like a switch. To him, she is a woman full of mystery and intrigue, waiting to be explored and discovered. That's most likely why he panicked a little when he thought she might have taken a different job when he couldn't get a hold of her after receiving her message on his voicemail. And the excuse about his driver's wife being sick, that's utter bullshit! In actuality, he gave his driver the day off (with pay, I might add).

Richard had to pretend to be busy on his phone when he saw Maine start to stir. She stretched her body first before she opened her eyes. And when she did, reality hit her in between the eyes. She bolted upright in her seat and looked to where Richard was to see him busy on his phone.That mere stretching made her look like a seductress. How the fuck am I going to survive this? Here's to the beginning of many blue balls and cold showers!

"Uhm, how long have we been sitting here" she asked huskily. The sound of her voice is not helping my hard on, at all.

"Oh, I just pulled in. Sorry, I had to answer some text messages that's why I didn't wake you" Richard answered without looking up from his phone. "But we're here" he added. May the lightning hit me twice for that lie!

"Oh okay. Sorry I fell asleep. I didn't sleep much last night" Maine candidly stated.

"It's ok. Alright, you ready to head up" he countered.

"Yes of course."

Richard stepped out first and before Maine could open her door, he was there holding the door open for her. Seriously, how does this guy move so fast? After he made sure she was out of the car, he proceeded to gather her belongings and off they headed to the elevator. Maine wasn't really paying attention to what floor he pressed until the elevator doors opened to the most gorgeous, spacious, with a to die for view, penthouse.

"Holy shit! This is your place? What are you, the prince of Persia?" Maine blurted.

"Welcome to my humble abode" Richard responded with a deep chuckle. Yeah right! humble my ass!

Out of the blue, an elderly lady came out from somewhere and greeted them with an over enthusiastic hug.

"Alden! Oh and you must be Miss Mendoza?" she asked.

"Nanay Josie, this is Miss Mendoza. Miss Mendoza, my housekeeper, Nanay Josie" introduced Richard. The other two didn't notice the stillness that came over Maine when the name 'Alden' was mentioned. If there was one thing that would bring her back to reality, it is the mere mention of that name. She distinctly remember her sister mentioning that name in her last letter. Her letter of goodbye. It took Maine a few minutes to to refocus on the here and now. To pretend that she was as excited as Nanay Josie. Best actress right here!

"I'm so happy you are here. That means, Bella will finally be coming home" Nanay Josie stated with a smile while grabbing Maine's hands.Maine turned to Richard with the unspoken question.

"Bella. My daughter. Short for Isabella" Richard answered while walking further into his home, dragging her belongings with him. "Nay, can we please have some breakfast. I don't think Miss Mendoza had any yet and god knows I'm starving" he requested.

"OH, of course. I will have it ready in 30 minutes" Nanay Josie remarked as she headed to the left.

"Miss Mendoza, if you would follow me, I will show you to your room and give you a tour of the place" Richard stated.

Maine followed Richard into his territory. His home which screams of money. The place boasts of 3500 square feet of pure elegance. They passed the spacious living room, with top of the line furniture and entertainment system. There were 5 bedrooms in total. Maine's room is located at the far end of the hallway, opposite Richard's and right in the middle is Bella's. When Maine stepped inside her bedroom, she couldn't help but gasp in awe as she saw the view facing her bed. She stepped closer to the floor to ceiling tempered glass window and felt like she was floating among the clouds. She was never scared of heights so the view was perfect. Her room has it's own bathroom, with a very spacious, very transparent glass shower stall as well as a clawfoot tub on the side. And again with a killer view.

"Damn, Mr. Faulkerson! I'm speechless" Maine murmured with a smile.

"I'm glad you like it. I specifically chose this room for you because it is closest to Bella's. I know we agreed that your hours are from 8-5 but as mentioned, there maybe times that I won't make it home in time, so you might have to put overtime hours" Richard explained.

"No this is perfect. Thank you" Maine responded. If she was being honest with herself, she actually feels a little overwhelmed. She will be staying here for free, even if it will be for a short time.

After Richard showed her her room, he moved on to his daughter's room. The room in itself was a childhood haven. The walls were painted lavender and baby blue. One corner holds an oak colored crib with a white tulle cascading from the ceiling. The other corner sits a matching rocker and ottoman. The opposite wall has a day bed surrounded by stuffed toys of different shapes and sizes. The room is a true labour of love.

"I designed and arranged everything myself" Richard softly murmured from the doorway.

"She will love it" Maine responded.

Richard then showed her the rest of the place. The other side of the living room is a very spacious kitchen, again with state of the art appliances, with Nanay Josie busy cooking. On one side of the kitchen is the dining area. On the other side is a hallway that leads to the back part of the unit which boasts a gym! A freakin gym! Not just a threadmill and weights, but a total complete gym! WOW! Then Maine noticed a spiral staircase in the corner leading upstairs. Before she could ask where it leads, Richard spoke.

"That staircase leads to an outdoor pool. We could go look at it now, if you want" Richard asked.

"No, it's okay. Some other time. I hate to say this, but I think I'm actually hungry and the smell from the kitchen is not helping" Maine stated with a laugh.

They both headed to the kitchen to find Nanay Josie putting the finishing touches to the dining table. She looked up when the two approached.

"Sit and eat, you two. Sit and eat" she instructed.

In the middle of them eating breakfast, a thought suddenly passed Maine's head. So, I truly am committed now. No backing out. I chose this. I went into it with eyes wide open. I have entered the lion's den.