DORISThe next day came, and Mia started nagging us again.“Mommy! I want to see you perform at the club. I want to see you sing,” she said.She said it over and over. She was relentless.Even when she wasn’t asking, the request floated in the air. There was no way I could bring her to The Strip that late at night.Still, she wanted it so much I wanted to fulfill her request."Hey, sweet girl. I have an idea."I had a solution after considering several options.I walked into the living room and said, "Mia," as she was absorbed in a coloring book. I've come up with a way you can see me sing.”She looked at me with wide eyes. "Seriously, Mommy? How?""We can set up a live video feed from the club to our penthouse," I said. "You can watch me sing, but just for the first song. It will be like you're right there with me."Mia's cheeks glowed with happ
DORIS I found myself standing in a rehearsal studio. The bandmates I hadn't seen in years came in, one after another. The reunion was surreal and emotional. We were all out of practice, but ready to make music once more.I looked at Arthur, who I knew had to leave in a few minutes. I still had one last second where I couldn’t believe he had worked so hard to contact my old bandmates and rent this nice music studio.I looked at Arthur. My heart was full of gratitude. "You did all this?" I asked again. "For me?"A playful smile tugged at his lips. "For us, Doris. I want to see you shine, to witness the joy on your face as you reclaim your passion."Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to overflow. It was as if Arthur had unearthed a part of me that I had buried deep within, the part that craved the stage, the lights, and the music that had once defined me.Overwhelmed with emotions, I embraced
DORIS We were stranded, but of all the places to be stranded, this serene place on the side of the road that was completely surrounded by greenery that looked like an enchanted forest wasn't a bad place to be.Arthur looked at me. This was the soft and caring Arthur. "Let's use this time to get to know more about each other," Arthur said. "We really haven't had a chance to talk about things of substance. Perhaps you'll go first?"“What do you want to know?” I asked.“Everything,” he said.“Well," I said, "you already know that my mother died when I was 13,” I said. “Then I was adopted by a man named Noah, who turned out to be a great dad. That was wonderful for me because I never knew my dad. He left before I was born.” “On my mother's side, I had a great aunt, and she had a cottage up in the woods by Buffalo. My mother and I visited a few times. She was a really nice lady.”“I probably would have gone to stay with her after my mother died, but she was old and frail, and didn't thin
ARTHURAh...this woman.This kiss exploded, our passion and chemistry even more electric than I thought possible. The small confines of the car just amplified everything I felt. It was so electric after a few minutes, I had to pull back to catch my breath.In the narrow beam of the moonlight, I watched Doris’ breasts rise and fall. She was still pressed against me, breathing heavily.Her eyes were already blown wide with lust and wonder. Doris stumbled over her words. "Th-that was amazing.” "You’re amazing," I said, and I kissed her again, harder this time. Passion built like a hurricane in a bottle, fast and furious. The Porsche became a maelstrom. There was a lot of passion between us. I ached for her, burned for her. I wanted her so bad. Every cell of mine wanted her. My skin, my chest, my thighs, and my hands.I’d wanted her for so long. It had all been building to this. I slid my fingertips over a stray lock of her shiny hair that had fallen across her forehead and tucked it
DORISI didn’t know whether or not to be embarrassed that I just came all over Arthur’s fingers. I decided not to be. He was a master.I leaned against his chest. Boneless.“So, you like that,” Arthur asked, smug pride in his voice.“Meh,” I joked. “Not sure. Maybe we need to try again so I can really be sure.”"Oh, we're going to try again, alright," he said, his voice dark with commanding promise.I shivered.He gripped my ass firmly.Then everything was a blur when he pulled his pants down, and carefully lowered me onto his hardness. I was so full with pleasure. He waited, teeth grinding together firmly with his barely held back patience as I took a moment to adjust.Arthur moved, just the tiniest bit.It was like slipping into an alternate reality of stars and rain and magic.“Ride me, Doris. Doris. Ride me like there’s no tomorrow.”So I did. Arthur took control, his strong hands on my hips, setting the pace to a rhythm only he could hear.Arthur thrust up into me, harder and har
DORISThe next morning early, I went to the New York City government land building department. I talked to one clerk after another and finally asked to talk to the manager. The manager was a bored man with thin brown hair on the sides of his head. He had a few oily strands pulled over the top of his head in a bad comb-over that almost covered his bald spot. I explained the situation again, and I gave him a piece of paper on which I had written the number for the tract of land. The manager talked in circles, explaining without saying anything, why the NYC government had to seize this particular piece of land and why his hands were tied.He put his hands out to his sides in a helpless gesture. "What can I do? I’m only a manager. There’s nothing you can do. I’m so sorry for your client's financial loss, and I understand you’re going to lose the commission. I understand if you’re angry."I squinted my eyes at him. His whole speech sounded rehearsed and insincere."But believe me when I
ARTHURThe next morning, I went to my mother's real estate office. I walked right past the busy ladies at the desks. I gave it a chin nod to Bob, not even bothering to say hello.I opened the door to my mother’s office in the back without knocking."Hello, Mother," I said formally."Oh, Arthur. Hello."I sat down without an invitation to do so."Mother, track 42345 in Brooklyn that the government is seizing to turn into a cemetery. Did you have anything to do with that?"She opened her eyes extra wide with exaggerated innocence, "Who me?" She asked."Mother," I said with a warning growl. She didn’t say anything."Andrea," I said. "I find it very suspect that a piece of land that Doris sold all of a sudden is so important to the US government."My mother still didn’t say anything. "I also find it kind of suspect that she was going to be hired by Cushman and Wakeman, and then suddenly wasn't. Did you have anything to do with that?"My mother didn't answer, but instead went on the atta
DORISIt was another long day. When the elevator doors closed, taking me up to my apartment, I let my body slump. I leaned my shoulder against the side of the elevator wall.Yesterday I couldn’t believe it when Mia asked why I didn’t live in the penthouse.Then this morning, I was surprised when I didn’t get any of the contracts back for the three apartments that I showed earlier in the week. I was so sure the couples were going to get back to me. I left phone calls for each of the clients, but I hadn’t heard back yet.I spent lunchtime brainstorming with Nina, trying to think of some ways to get that tract of land in Brooklyn back to the old man who bought it and out of the hands of the government. With Nina's help, I came up with some possible ideas. I would need Arthur‘s help and connections to pull off some of them. I refused to give up. I made myself feel optimistic.Nina still felt Andrea might be behind at all. I wasn’t sure.I hadn’t made any other significant progress this w
DORISI sang, and every song felt effortless.I went to the ladies' room at the break right before the last set, and when I came back out, there were 400 red roses all throughout the performance area. I knew this was Arthur’s doing. How did he get so many vases of roses into the Salton room in such a short time?The entire room smelled like a florist shop and looked like Valentine’s Day had come to the performance.I smiled at Arthur from up on stage and sang every romantic song I could think of.When we finished the last song, it seemed like the applause from the audience was louder than ever. Maybe all the roses put everybody in a good mood.Just as I was about to walk off the stage, Arthur came up and stopped me.“He stood in front of me at the bottom of the stage “This woman is the most amazing woman I have ever seen.”Then he walked up on stage and stood by my side. “Doris, from the first moment I met you, I knew you were special. You captured my heart and became part of my famil
DORISArthur and I exited the elevator of the penthouse and walked across the lobby, arm and arm. We had decided to work from home that morning, and I was happy that we had gotten so much work done.We were almost to the doors of the lobby when Andrea walked in. She was wearing a big cloak that covered her whole body.She opens her cloak to reveal a little baby in a sling strapped to her chest. The boy was swaddled in a light blue blanket. He was adorable.With all that had been going on in our life, I had forgotten that Andrea had probably had her baby by now.“Congratulations," Arthur said stiffly.Andrea beamed.“What are you doing here?“ Arthur asked.“The baby looks so much like you when you were a baby," Andrea said. "It made me nostalgic for when you were a child. All those times before…“ She let the sentence trail off, and I remembered how Arthur’s father died.Arthur must’ve been thinking of the same thing because he grimaced."It was a magical time,“ Andrea said. "And I want
DORISThe good news continued to roll in the next day. Mr. Owens' assistant called and said one of the hottest new songwriting teams had two songs available for me and the band to record. We set up a time to listen to them and decided we liked the first one better.Mr. Owens had an amazing recording studio and sound engineer professional lined up for us to use. I asked if Arthur and Mia would be allowed to come, and the record executives, the sound engineer, and the rest of the band hall said of course. Arthur cleared his schedule.It was an amazing week.We recorded the song. Even though it was hard work, it still went well. I was happy with the initial results, and I was sure it would be a hit.For a moment, it was all I could think about.Arthur and I were lying in bed that night. When I looked at his face, I could tell something was still bothering him.“Arthur, what’s on your mind?”“It’s Cathy. Not only don’t I understand why she did what she did, I can’t let her get away with i
DORISThe liquor store next to the Italian restaurant had a narrow fake hallway between the two stores. Interestingly enough, there were peek holes in the wall that allowed us to see from the liquor store into the restaurant.This worked out well for us because Nathan, Arthur, and I all got to peek out and look at Nina while she had dinner with Dr. John and Jeff.Nina looked absolutely gorgeous, and Dr. John and Jeff were entranced.We could see Dr. John and Jeff's faces completely and see Nina face in profile. We could hear them clearly thanks to the wire that Nina had stuffed down her bra.She had plied Dr. John and Jeff with liquor and flirtatious comments throughout dinner, staying clear from any serious topics.I perked up when she got to the good stuff."I can get a job with Arthur's pharmaceutical company as they rebuild," Nina said, "and I bet I could find out any secrets and new formulas they have." She let that offer hang in the air. The implications were like a tempting fru
ARTHURMonday morning, I got up while Doris was still sleeping. Despite a wonderful weekend with Doris and Mia, I hadn’t slept well.It had been a month since the fire, and I hadn’t made any progress in finding out who did it.I had my driver take me out to the pharmaceutical company. I stood in front of the charred remains of the original office building, lab, and factory.I had chosen to rebuild on another part of the property, leaving the destroyed buildings as they were as a show of what could happen when I let my defenses down.The sight of the blackened buildings filled me with grief and also a vile rage. The anger was almost too violent to control. My stomach felt like a volcano had taken up residence there and was churning, ready to explode.I had worked so hard on this pharmaceutical business. It wasn’t just the money that I lost having to rebuild that angered me. It was all the people who would have to wait longer before they could get treatment.It was the fact that formula
DORISArthur got me and an assistant for Heritage Properties, who had just gotten her real estate license. She was efficient and eager, and she took over all the real estate deals I thought would close soon.Arthur recommended an entertainment lawyer, and she went over my music contract and said it was very good, so I signed it.
DORISArthur hauled me against him. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and plastered myself against him."I need you in our bed," Arthur growled. "Right now."He carried me. I was too busy enjoying the feel of his body against mine— a sensation I wasn't sure I'd ever feel again— to pay attention to the elevator ride.I was too busy kissing Arthur’s neck to focus on him unlocking the penthouse, carrying me over the threshold, and kicking the door shut with his foot.Arthur kissed me like I'd been gone for months, not just a day.Arthur spun us, and my back slammed up against the drywall in the entry hall with a force that made me wonder if we left a dent.Arthur pinned me against the wall with his hips. He pulled up my shirt and stared like he couldn't believe I was here with him.His growl made my blood simmer and my breath catch. For the rest of my life, I'd never forget that animalistic sound of want and approval.My nipples hardened. Need roared through me like a
ARTHUREven though I could sense that Doris wasn’t in the apartment, I immediately began to search, going from room to room.I saw two of her suitcases in the smaller bedroom, and I immediately relaxed.I whirled around and
DORISI slept better than I thought I would. I didn’t know what my next step should be. Should I quit Heritage Properties and look for another real estate job?I was jolted out of my reverie when my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize. My first thought was that perhaps it was Arthur trying to trick me, calling from a different number.