An Appetite for Love Page 2

  Chapter III

  Angelle

  John and I were in a passionate clench inside my office closet. We kissed passionately, and tore fervently at one another’s clothing. He pressed me against the wall, and began to raise my blouse, fomenting the kind of arousal so difficult to resist. There is no doubt the situation would have escalated to the point of consummation, except that someone had entered my office. Still wrapped in each other’s arms, we stood still, covering our mouths in order to stifle our laughter. Soon, there was silence; whomever had been there must have gone.

  “John, let me go out alone, and if nobody’s there, I’ll let you know, and then you can come out.” I disengaged from him, pulled down my blouse, and exited the closet, which thankfully was not in view of anyone who would have entered the office. Nobody was there.

  I returned to the closet and opened the door; John stepped out, a smile on his handsome square face. “To be continued,” he said, and giving me a brief, but feverish kiss, left the office.

  “God, I’m still in heat,” I uttered. John was an amazing lover. And now, Blake, stood over my desk – looking incredibly sexy with his dark, dark skin, and with that swagger that is unique to him alone. His bold stare implied that he could simply devour me, and I so wished that we were not here at the office. What’s so amazing is that I have two lovers, working in the same office and neither suspects my deep involvement with the other, or perhaps they were choosing to ignore what was so obvious to many. One day soon, I will be forced to choose, but in actuality – I want them both. Ultimately, one will become exclusive, and the other . . . will never stop yearning for me. Of that, I can be sure.

  “What are you thinking,” asked Blake.

  “What do you think I’m thinking?”

  “Hopefully, you’re thinking what I’m thinking, and that is that I want you – right now.”

  “Yes, I feel the same, but there is work to do.”

  “And there is tonight,” Blake added.

  “Perhaps.”

  This would be a night for strange and mysterious events. John was at my condo so that we could go over new business, and the success of his outreach to foreign actors and models.

  He offered me a file. “This campaign will take place in the Caribbean – with the help of a green screen, of course.”

  We laughed. “How incredible it was to meet you and Blake in Antigua, and dream that you would fit in so well at Galaxy Entertainment, and you’re both here – doing a phenomenal job.”

  John smiled thoughtfully. “Yes, Paul was ever so happy to get his greedy hands on Island Bistro. And yet, we’re lucky he was there to take over; otherwise, we would not be here.”

  “So you haven’t sold the restaurant?”

  “God lord no! He bought in; now the profits are split three ways.”

  We were interrupted when the doorbell rang. I hopped up. “It must be Violet. She’s the only one who would just show up without notice.”

  I went to the door and drew it open. Blake stood there. Then I remembered our parting words at the office. He had suggested that we might get together tonight, but I had not agreed, I had just said ‘perhaps.’

  But here was Blake, entering the living room, and before I could say anything, he snatched me into his arms and kissed me almost violently. Suddenly, there was an angry growl behind me. Blake’s deadly eyes, black as coal, were focused on something; I followed his gaze. To my utter astonishment – a large silver wolf stood where John had been, eyes flaming red, teeth bared, poised to pounce.

  What had I become involved in? Terrified, I remembered something from a horror movie I’d seen, which indicated that you can control the evil intent of an alien being by calling them by name.

  “John! It’s alright . . . it’s alright.” Before my eyes, the creature slowly melted back into the gentile man I thought I knew so well. And yet, he now stood completely still, staring at Blake, who’s right hand was outstretched, his eyes blazing. “You will follow my commands, John,” he said. “Come.”

  As if in a trance, John advanced until he stood before us.

  Blake smiled. “We are as brothers, and we have always shared everything. And just for tonight, Angelle will become our appetizer, main course, and dessert. Our smorgasbord, if you will.”

  I stood between them, trembling with fear and excitement, as Blake unzipped my dress and let it float to the carpet, and unhooked my bra, baring my breasts to John’s utter excitement. Gripping both my elbows, Blake offered me to John, who – without hesitation -- pulled me into his arms and kissed me, his teeth biting my lips in painful possession. While John and I were engaged, Blake rendered me completely naked. His hands roved all over my quaking form, awakening long dormant senses, fulfilling my wildest dream to make love to both men at once.

  They carried me into the bedroom, where they lowered me to the plush pillow-topped mattress. Now they were on either side of me; Blake ran his hands through my hair, and bent down to kiss me, at first gently; his tongue explored the corners of my mouth, then parted my lips and agile as a snake -- slipped inside. Meanwhile, John fondled and teased my breasts until the nipples crested. I drew their heads toward me, and they suckled greedily, squeezing, biting and chewing, as I purred and writhed in glorious ecstasy.

  I closed my eyes as Blake straddled and then eagerly pierced me – masterfully massaging my insides, and igniting sparks of fulfillment I had never before experienced. John and Blake had their own method of love-making, and were equal in their ability to arouse and make me want more. They soon switched positions, and my body knew a new and different gratification. At no time did I feel used or abused, because it was what I wanted – more than anything. That the two men I loved most in the world, could come together to pleasure me in this way was more than a dream realized. Would I ever be able to give up either of them? I did not know, but what I could give up was myself – to them – for this single moment of unrivaled passion. And yet, I kept remembering Violet

  I vaguely recall Blake saying to his partners in lust. “Neither of you will remember this night – it never happened.”

  My climax was tumultuous and elongated; they continued to pleasure me throughout, not ceasing until I lay quiet, panting, fully sated, and totally spent. It was as though I had been dreaming. Blake was gone. Had he ever been there? I could not be sure. John, however, had fallen into a sleep of exhaustion, his arms still about me.

  Violet was clearly developing feelings for John Whitfield, and I did not like it, because I too had very deep feelings for him. But then, I harbored like sentiments for Blake Sinclaire. Sometimes, when Violet came into my office and found either of the men there, she would linger after they left, as though she wished to say something, but seemed to think better of it and discuss something else, or leave. The situation was beginning to bother me a bit, as I loved Violet as my best friend and business partner; our relationship had begun in college when we were both film majors, and continued to this day.

  While I was thinking about Violet, she entered my office.

  Raring back in my chair, I smiled at my sweet, lovelorn friend. “Hello Violet. How are things going with John – from your standpoint? He certainly seems to be thriving under your tutelage.”

  “He’s an intelligent man,” Violet responded.

  “Yes, it was what I recognized about John and Blake, the reason I hired them.”

  Violet gazed outside the window.

  “Have you something more to say, Violet. We are friends before we are business partners. Share your thoughts. I promise not to be your boss – we have too long a history to stand on ceremony. Sit down – I won’t interrupt. I’ll even let my calls go to voicemail. Talk to me. I know you had something pretty important to say at lunch the other day before Blake showed up. So, go ahead, say it.”

  Violet walked slowly to the burgundy and wrought iron chair in front of my desk, and dropped into it. I waited for her to speak. Suddenly, tears poured down her cheeks. I so wanted to cons
ole her, but decided not to. Finally, she looked at me.

  “Angelle, ever since you brought John and Blake here to work, strange things have happened that may have a connection with their appearance; nothing remotely happened until they came. Also, my relationship with you has suffered; you seem removed. I want to know why, because a couple of employees have disappeared. The Angelle I know would have been on top of that.”

  I leaned forward, surprised by her revelations.

  “What has distracted you, Angelle? You are not yourself. Frankly, I believe it has something to do with these men.” Her expression was one of incredulity and expectancy. “You were never this way.”

  As uncomfortable as her comments made me, I knew I had to respond, but only after I could make since of the whole affair. Something she said about Blake and John rang true; I simply did not know how to tie her misgivings to actual events. “Violet, before I discuss Blake or John, tell me -- who has disappeared? Nobody made me aware of this. Which employees do you mean, and where did they work?”

  “Helen Faraday worked in the film library, and Cora Finley worked in the dining room,” she explained.

  I was totally shocked. “How long have they been missing?”

  “For at least a month.”

  I stood up, and began pacing. “Have their relatives contacted us?”

  “I haven’t heard that they have.”

  “It’s doubtful that they’re both sick, but it’s possible. So . . . has anyone visited their homes to see what’s going on?”

  “From what I understand, neither of them had close friendships with each other or with their immediate coworkers. They largely came in, did their jobs, and left in the late afternoon.”

  “Were the police contacted?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What a mess! I cannot believe it. This is something the police department should know about, and nobody in HR has contacted me about these mysterious disappearances – at all.” I felt a migraine coming on. “Heads are going to roll over this.”

  “Angelle, before you fire anybody,” Violet cautioned, “Perhaps you should consider that the HR director has become wary of you. When you consider that you literally hired two people without consulting HR, they probably felt that you were exercising your authority, and they did not want to challenge you. Who knows? Maybe your actions scared them, and they thought you were unhappy with their work product. And so, when Cora and Helen went missing, they decided to handle it internally, hoping to resolve it before it reached your ears.”

  Violet was often on point in her assessments of issues. And she was correct about Blake and John, too – that I had allowed them to distract me in ways few could fathom. The specter of that strange night emerged, but I could not fully recall what had happened. Somewhere – in a dream maybe -- I gave way to my fantasies and became a pawn in the game of two men’s quest for power, supremacy and possession of me. But when I awakened, only John was there? Prior to then, we were in the living room discussing a new ad campaign, and the next thing I knew, John was sleeping beside me. It made no sense. Blake figured into this episode, but I could not remember how.

  “It’s true, isn’t it, Angelle?”

  “That I’ve been distracted? Yes, you’re right. But it ends today. I’m going down to HR to find out what has happened to Cora and Helen.”

  Grace Margolis, short, blond, and wearing a classic dark blue suit, and a stark white blouse, had a commanding presence; she was immediately defensive. “We have done the best we could to find Helen and Cora. We did contact the police, and we kept the investigation low key as to avoid a company-wide uproar. When Cora did not come to work for three days, nor did she call, I personally went to her apartment, but she was not there. We alerted the police as to her disappearance, and they too visited her apartment, and nothing out of place; they felt she might simply have gone on vacation – or something, and the same with Helen.”

  “That is hardly likely, Grace.”

  “Well, that’s what the police think, and . . . there was no sign of foul play.”

  “It’s unlikely that two women, who were not close, working for the same company, decided to disappear around the same time, resulting in the exact outcome. Did they have a history of not coming to work, and not calling to say that they weren’t coming to work?” I quizzed.

  “Well . . . no, but . . .”

  “Have their relatives contacted us to see if we know their whereabouts?”

  “So far, we’ve not been contacted by anyone.”

  “I want answers as to why I was not informed. It makes me look out of touch with what’s going on in my own company and more importantly, with my employees.”

  “I suppose you seemed distracted, and extremely busy,” Grace explained. “In fact, I tried to get your attention as you were coming out of the board room to discuss everything, but you brushed past me, so I decided to handle everything myself, and get back to you when I had something concrete to report.”

  Again, Violet was right. I sank into one of two chairs positioned in front of her desk. “Did the police come here to this office?”

  Grace hesitated.

  “Did they?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my God! Whom did they talk to, you?”

  “Well, apart from me, they asked to interview Cora’s and Grace’s immediate coworkers.”

  “What? So, some employees are privy to what you decided to conceal from me.”

  “It was not my intent to hide anything, Angelle. I apprised the police of the sensitivity of the matter, and they followed a very quiet and strict protocol to get this handled. And inasmuch as they found nothing, they decided to continue investigating, and keep the press out of it. I also had those employees who spoke to the police sign confidentiality agreements to the effect that if any of this information gets out, they might face disciplinary action.”

  “Well, the information got back to me, anyway.”

  Tears welled up in Grace’s eyes, a most uncharacteristic occurrence. “You forget, I’m just an employee, too, trying to do my job, but you seem to be blaming me for Cora and Helen’s disappearances, when I had absolutely nothing to do with it. In my opinion, we have behaved professionally and discretely.”

  I stood up, and gripped the doorknob. “Our employees are our greatest commodity, Grace – we say that all the time, and we mean it. It’s our mantra. Galaxy Entertainment is well-respected in this industry and in Atlanta, and if its reputation is damaged in any way by your haphazard management of this situation, I promise more than disciplinary action. Trust me!”

  Despite Violet’s suspicions and seeming opposition to my involvements with John and Blake, I could not tear myself away from them. They continued to enthrall me in all ways, but most of all they fed my ravenous sexual appetite – which matched theirs for intensity. Personality-wise, John was gentle, kind and passionate, while Blake was demanding, imposing and fiery in his love-making. I yearned for their individual ways of pleasing me, but at the same time I had to wonder what they had that caused me to trash my own principles. Prior to meeting them, my employees could count on my consistency in all things; they knew what I stood for. Not even I knew what I stood for, now. Recently, many important matters at the office went unnoticed and unaddressed, and I felt ashamed. Violet was right – I was out of touch with everything, and I needed to correct the situation before it reached a point of no return.

  It was only now that I noticed Violet’s lavender sticky on my computer keyboard. It read “Can we have lunch today – outside the office? I really need to talk to you.”

  Picking up the phone, I punched in her number. “Yes, Violet. Let’s go to Jimmy’s – 1:30. Order Chicken Alfredo for me, please? I’ll meet you there.” I hung up. “What does she want?”

  The restaurant was populated by patrons from surrounding businesses; several Galaxy employees were sprinkled among them. Did their decision to dine outside the company, where Blake served as Chef, mean that the
y disliked him so much that the taste of his food was of little importance, or was I reading too much into their being here? A couple of my employees turned in my direction, and regarded me very strangely, smiling uncomfortably. I, who was accustomed to receiving expressions of respect, now received looks I could not read. People are whispering. How long will it be before the truth about Cora and Helen goes company-wide, or has it already? After that it will spread outside the office, then what?”

  I saw Violet in the distance – waving to me, and I made my way in her direction. When we were seated across from one another, Violet spoke first. “I’m not sure that I want to work at Galaxy Entertainment any more. It’s changed so drastically, and in such a short period of time, it makes my head swim.”

  Carlos, our favorite waiter appeared, carrying a steaming pot of coffee. “Coffee, Miss Angelle, Miss Violet?”

  Violet nodded.

  “Hello Carlos,” I said. “How is that handsome little boy of yours?”

  Carlos grinned broadly, while expertly pouring out the piping hot coffee in a long dark stream. “He’s good – good – he’s in school now.”

  “Oh, that must be fun . . . does he like it.”

  “Loves it!”

  “That’s wonderful. Is he going to have a little brother or sister soon?”

  Shaking his head vigorously, Carlos, said, “Your meal will be right out.”

  “Thank you,” Violet and I said concurrently.

  When Carlos was gone, the smile died off Violet’s face, and I continued the train of conversation we had begun before Carlos appeared.

  “So you can actually anticipate leaving the company in light of the disappearances of Cora and Helen, as well as your annoyance over the new hires? You are my assistant – and need I mention – friend, and we pledged from the beginning to work through everything, no matter how awful -- together.”