Stuff It

Chapter 22

Nina woke up to the piercing sound of her mobile alarm clock. Monday, the work day loomed ahead. Just thinking about it sent the pounding in her head thundering to a new tempo. A tempo that fluttered and flickered with memories of the night past raining down on her.

Dash had gone. Left only hours earlier. It was a full days work for him too. Sighing heavily, Nina raised her head off the pillows with two hands and sat there for a full minute before noticing the two panadol tablets and the glass of water sitting on the side table. Reaching out she downed it without further thought and then stemmed all thoughts altogether to complete her morning rituals in preparing for the day ahead.

It was only after a dried toast breakfast and a stop over for her usual dose of coffee to go, that she managed to catch up with the usual Monday morning traffic jam, that she allowed herself to spare a thought to Dash's atrocious behavior the night before. Sexy, sensual and pleasurable actions but atrocious nontheless. Especially so when he had neither her yay or nay before doing so. Seduction was not a weapon that should be wielded willy nilly and yet thatcwas what he did.

It was obvious he would stoop to everything in getting his way. The question was, what was he after? That confused Nina like nothing else could. If it was merely a warm body he required in bed, there were plenty willing to take her spot.

She shouldn't be made to suffer the indignaty of his seductions. But ohhh was she glad she did. It had certainly been the highlight of her existence. The man had a mouth on him that could take her places. And that was not all he had.

Nina lost herself in reliving the feelings of his muscular frame moving against her softness, of her hands revelling in the texture of his skin and of her own greedy hands clawing over his back demandingly for more.

It took the persistent honking behind her to jolt her out of her passion fogged thoughts to face forward. Even so, she remained unseeing for most of the start stop journey to work and was thankful for her over familiarity of the route that got her mindlessly there on time. She only hoped her familiarity with the work was enough to carry her through stack of files on her desk as thoughtlessly as well.

An idea that was proven wrong shortly later when she was called into the boss's office after lunch to be repremanded for a shoddy mornings work.

"Ah Nina," said Mr Simmons," just the person I wanted to see." Ted Simmons was a dear old man, who had founded the small little accounting firm she worked in ages ago. But despite its quaint appearance, Ted Simmons catered to the rich and powerful. And as such fussy clientele.

Nina sat her bottom uninvited into the comfy leather seat accross his desk. Placing her trusty diary and pen on the desk before her, she turned on her professional smile and faced her boss expectantly.

He didn't beat around the bush.

"You have been doing some marvelous work of late. That was a great find with that Kensington account. I think its time we notched up the challenge of your workload. Robert, as you know will be the lead on the job and you will report to him. Have a look at this file and let me know."

The last was said without the actual expectation of a response so Nina merely lifted the folder of her new assignment and left to return to her desk and peruse it. Reporting to Robert Simmons was nothing new. But she hated Robert and had a hard time not showing it. Then again Samantha Simmons was an option no better. She was the spoilt daughter of Mr Simmons and it showed in her management skills.

That was the problem of working with a close knit family run firm. But it paid the bills and alleviate her guilt on being the only under performing siblings of the three.

She had the least paying job, the least amount of friends and drew the least interest from the opposite sex.

Discounting Dash's sudden inexplicable interest in her, Nina  realised she could count the number of interest from the opposite sex in all of two fingers. The first being a boy from the orphanage of equally tender years and so didn't count and the second was her own brother and his affection was brotherly, so didn't count either.

Dash's interest in her confused her. She couldn't quite pin point its purpose and if she knew Dash at all, there had to be a purpose to his actions. Did he have a jealous girlfriend he wanted to throw over? And was using her as a means? It would not be the first time he'd tried that but the most he taken advantage of at that time was to solicit impromptu hugs without so much as a by your leave from Nina.

And all that had been long ago, before he came into his own fortunes and then got too busy for her, that they only saw each other sporadically.

The time had drifted slowly far between those few visits. Visits he'd initiated either by his usual kidnapping means or matter of fact summons. Those meetings had been almost illicit and they had done not much but merely hang out.

He would relate the latest that had his panties in a bunch and she would do the same. Then they would hug and part ways. Till the next time and then the next.

So Dash's leap into her bed made no absolute sense. And Nina was nothing if not a rational creature, those few moments of lapse of judgment in his arms not withstanding. She didn't not like not having all the fact and knew Dash would never reveal his hand unless he absolutely had to.

So after giving the matter the logical deliberation it deserved, Nina decided it was time she took matters into her own hands. But first she needed to see how far he was going to take it.

And the only measure of that was for Nina, herself to disappear.

Still moving in with the horrible Robert was not ideal. But he had the space and Dash would never think to find her there. It would give her the edge.

She just needed to put her request across to Robert in a way that would not be misconstrued.

And that left the matter decided and Nina changed her focus on the means to best see her plan through.

She knew from plenty of experience trying to outwit Dash took a lot of diabolical thinking and she also knew she'd have to go to the extremes to ultimately discover his plan. Usually she gave in too quickly, never willing to take that extra leap in the dark. But this time the stakes were high. Her very sanity was on the line. She knew she was lost to all reason at there merest brush of his skin against hers. Heck even a smile or an evil glint in his eyes did that. That evil evil boy was now a very much more evil man. It was time she left the past ran with the times. The ever changing fast evolving times.

Deciding pondering over it was getting her no where, Nina decided to throw the pity party aside and immerse herself in work.