Scattered Seeds

Chapter Forty-Six

“Mary, I just emailed the files to you,” Jess said from behind her desk, shuffling through a stack of reports on Monday morning. “See if you can put them into a digital presentation for me. I need the final edit by the end of the week for the meeting next Thursday.”

With her eyes down in search of a particular quarterly update from Louise’s  UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa team, Jess did not see the worry that blanched Mary’s face.

“I, I um,” Mary fumbled, shifting heavy stacks of manila folders from one arm to the other. “But….”

Ben walked into the office and deposited a white box stuffed with more reports, files, and ledgers right in the middle of Jess’s desk.

The look she gave him made the slight man wither as he pushed his glasses up.

“Ben,” Jess clipped, wheeling around to open a metal filing cabinet. “Help Mary.”

Benjamin knew better than to cross his boss when she was on what he titled behind Jess’s back as her ‘work-mode warpath.’ He glanced over at the petite woman to his right.

Mary Scott was pale and frail looking. Her big, round blue eyes always bore a stain of caution, as if the frightened little thing was ready for a predator to pounce on her at any moment. Jess told Ben that Mary reminded her of a mouse, but the more the young man studied her, the more he saw a bunny – or better yet, a tiny bird. Yes, that was it. Mary Scott was an itty-bitty swallow that flitted about in nervous spurts, trying to help in any way she could.

Mary was no dummy, Ben was well aware of this. She already earned an undergraduate degree, and was currently working on a Global MBA in Financial Management from London School of Business and Finance. She was a much more qualified assistant to Jess compared to Ben, who possessed not a single shred of higher education but was a self-taught prodigy when it came to technology.

Mary looked up at Ben but did not speak. She was too shy, and feared her secret crush on the lanky genius with floppy black hair and soft, kind eyes would be written all over her face.

Ben smiled at her as he offered to take the cumbersome files from Mary’s arms.

“Sure,” he said, holding her stare. “Anything you say.”

Jess watched the pair walk out, and a smirk tweaked her lips upward. The unaddressed chemistry between those two was bound to reveal itself at some point, and Jess was happy that Mary finally found a man that would appreciate and treat her right.

“Good morning, Dear,” Samuel greeted. He looked back at Mary and Ben walking down the hall, and then tossed a thumb back at them, raising an eyebrow. “Hmm, those two, eh?”

Jess chuckled as she stood up and Samuel came around the desk. She glanced out the door to check that no one was watching, and then lifted her face to Samuel’s for a kiss.  What started off as a quick peck began to develop into much more when Samuel’s tongue grazed her mouth. It pressed at Jess’s lips, urging them to allow him a taste of her. When his hands smoothed over the grey fitted skirt covering her backside, Jess let out a low giggle and pulled away.

“Uh-uh,” she warned, wagging a naughty finger. “Not here.”

Samuel’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Jess a hungry grin. “Later then?” he husked as the manly want flowing to his groin caused a physical reaction in his trousers.

“I’m taking Tommy out this evening,” Jess reminded, reaching for the ringing telephone on her desk. “Maybe after that….”

Samuel clasped his hands in front of himself, gave her half a bow and a click of his heels, and then turned to leave Jess to her work. There were medical reviews and new drug case studies downstairs that could use his attention.