The Sympathy Screw | 18+

Chapter 9 - Death and Taxes

"I beg your pardon, Marie, but -" Just then, Marie's desk phone rang.

"One second, Violet.  I'm terribly sorry," Marie said.

"Michael," Marie said into the phone, not bothering with formalities of a greeting or waiting for the other person before continuing, "If you're not going to help, then stay out of it! You'll just make things much, much worse... Maybe you should just come in here... Fine... Fine... Give me five minutes to get through this paperwork with Violet and then you can stop in."

Marie hung up her phone without so much as a 'goodbye' and looked at me. "Sorry about that, Violet. I didn't mean to be so ... abrupt. I've had a lot on my mind the past few days. I've been there for the end. It's not pretty. Why don't we have you sign these papers and then we can just talk for a little while? I have a ... colleague - of sorts - who will be stopping in to see you in a few minutes when you're done, too."

She handed me the stack of papers with little flags pointing to where I needed to sign and a pen. I immediately began signing.

"A colleague?" I asked, "Like another accountant?"

Marie's eyes shifted uneasily. "Actually, nothing like that. Michael is ... well - Michael is difficult to describe."

"Difficult to describe?" I asked.

A deeply accented voice from the doorway behind me laughed out, "You could say that I defy explanation, Marie."

Marie corrected, as I continued to sign, looking down, "This is Michael, Violet.  I've known Michael since we were both in high school. He's unusually perceptive, so I asked him to come today and help me while you're here so that I'm sure to be sensitive to all of your feelings."

I signed the last signature line and looked up at Michael for the first time as I handed the papers over to Marie. He was incredibly attractive, but not at all the sort of man you'd see in an accountant's office, and definitely didn't look like the sort of man I would think of if I were looking for 'sensitive'. Michael was dressed oddly, in an AC/DC concert t-shirt, ripped jeans, a grey trench coat, and a backwards baseball cap, his dark hair sticking out from the opening where the hat fastened. I could see the ridges of thick muscles and the faint outline of a tattoo on his chest through the white shirt. He smelled of hints of cherries and spice - a hint that he might have been a cigar smoker, maybe? His eyes were green, like Marie's, but a deeper shade. As I looked at him, I got an odd sense of familiarity, like I had seen him before, but I couldn't place him. He also looked oddly young; much closer to my age of thirty than Marie's age, which I knew to be almost fifty.

I raised my brows and asked, "Since you were both in high school? At the same time?"

Michael leaned in close and put a hand to the side of his face, whispering conspiratorially in that same accent, "I'm actually a year older than Marie. I don't look my age. I'd say it was clean living, but that is anything but true, beautiful." He winked at me and laughed again. "Maybe I've had some work done?"

"Huh!  Michael, you have a lovely accent," I told him, "Where are you from?"

"Italy, originally. Near Milan. My father still lives there. But I've been living in Maine since my parents divorced when I was young. My mother was born and raised in Caribou, like Marie and your friend Todd were."

At the word 'Milan', I instantly recognized why he looked so familiar. Michael looked so similar to Antonio Bianchi that they could have been brothers, except for their eye color and Michael's slightly larger muscular build.

Just thinking of Antonio set off a pang in my chest, remembering Andrew's ridiculous 'Sympathy Fuck' list idea. I couldn't be with another man now. Not like this.

Michael arched an eyebrow of his own at me. "You seem to recognize me, Violet. Perhaps you've met someone from my Italian side of the family? I have a younger cousin named Antonio who visits the New York area with some regularity."

"Antonio Bianchi?" I asked, reflecting on that day I had first met Antonio and his salacious offers to join Andrew and I in bed.

Michael's eyes sparked and he replied, "Yes, Antonio and I have personalities that are a lot alike, in some ways."

I didn't see it in the way he dressed or his casual unprofessional manner, but perhaps this is how he behaved on his days off.

"Do me a favor, would you, Violet?" Michael asked, "Picture yourself naked for me."

I laughed at his words, but oddly found myself doing just as he said, without really understanding why my mind would flit to such a thing. And I suddenly thought I might have a much better idea of what Michael and Antonio had in common.

"You certainly are more breathtaking than I expected!" Michael breathed with his eyes closed, as Marie interrupted with, "I think we've had enough of this line of conversation. Violet, Andrew asked to have you here today for a reason. I thought Michael could help. But first ..."

Marie picked up her desk phone and handed it to me. "You're going to want to call Andrew. Right now."

"Just one quick question first," Michael butted in again, his hand on the phone receiver, "What's a 'Sympathy Fuck' list?"

Had Andrew mentioned that to everyone? Was I expected to bang this random Italian guy when he died, along with my list guys, too, now? Just how unusually perceptive was this guy?

Michael's eyes went wide at me as if I had answered his question and said simply, "Oh!"

"Marie, why am I calling Andrew now," I asked, "and why wouldn't I use a video call?"

Silence.

Marie and I stared at each other for a few moments.

"Why, Marie?" I asked again.

"Because he's about to die. You need to say your goodbyes.  And neither of you will want to do it while you're looking at each other."

~-~

Author's Notes:

Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger, but I'm off of work for the holiday season for the next two and a half weeks, so I should be able to get the update out soon.

Have you ever met someone in real life who seemed to know more about you than you were telling them?

Or how about someone who you found out was connected to you in an unexpected way, like Michael being Antonio's cousin?

I'm posting this before I overthink it, because that's a very Addie thing to do.  Love you guys❤!  And as always, I love comments (💬) or votes(⭐)!