DORIS The limo stopped, and the chauffeur opened my door. I got out and looked around. We were in front of the Baccarat Hotel, the most expensive, luxurious, and nicest hotel in all of New York City. "We’re going to dinner here?" I asked. "We are, and I rented the Executive Suite for the night. Nathan is babysitting Mia, and I am going to give you a night you’ll remember." I reached out and held Arthur’s hand. "Every night with you is a night I’ll always remember." Arthur's smile was tender and sweet, and so was the kiss he gave me. "I feel the same way, little dove. Come, let’s start our date and have a wonderful meal." Just like every moment with Arthur, the date was magical. He fed me dessert and then showed me again he was a creative and attentive lover. He held me in his arms until sunrise. * Friday at lunchtime, a big bouquet of red roses arrived for me. Kate, my mentor, came
DORISSaturday, we went to the Lego Superstore/Museum. How many cities have an entire world devoted to Lego?If Mia wasn't the biggest Lego fan before, Saturday certainly converted her when she found out you could build a Lego castle fit for a princess. Of course, Arthur bought it for her, which made me wonder if she wasn’t beginning to get a little spoiled.But when he promised the three of us would build it together, I had to admit it wasn’t a terrible idea.At dinner, Mia asked me again when I was moving in with them; this time, Arthur looked at me over Mia's head. I didn’t know what to say.I’d never felt so torn. I was vulnerable. I guess I wasn’t as over Bob‘s cheating as I thought.I reminded myself that not all men were like Bob.I also remembered a proverb. I couldn’t remember which country originated from. 'The road that goes east can also go west.' I was never re
DORISSaturday morning, I was smiling when I got to the penthouse. I still hadn’t made many deals at Heritage Properties, but I was so glad to see Mia that my happiness overflowed.“I’m so glad you live here now,” Mia said, taking my hand. “Well, here in New York, it would be better if you lived here…” Mia said, letting go of my hand to point at the floor, “…at home.”“Mia…” Arthur growled a reprimand at her.“I know. Six weeks.” Mia looked at me. “Has it been six weeks yet?”I bent down so I was at her level. “Not yet, sweetheart.”“But you are going to move in then, right?”My heart lurched. I looked at Arthur over the top of Mia’s head. His eyes were pleading.I looked back to Mia. “We’ll see.”I stood up.Arthur, Mia, and I began our day. The streets were teeming with energy. We stopped at a bakery to get croissants and ate them as we walked
ARTHURAs I sat on the edge of the bed, still basking in the afterglow of our passionate connection, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call. It was Andrea, and a sinking feeling settled in my stomach. I reluctantly answered, the image of her stern face appearing on the screen.Luckily Doris was in the shower, and I fully intended to keep Doris out of video range. But I obviously looked like I’d just had an amazing night, because I had.“You are not still with that trash,” Andrea said instead of hello.I flinched. Be calm, I told myself."Andrea, can't you see that this obsession you have with Doris is wrong?"She scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. "Arthur, you've always been weak-willed.”“What?”“It's time you learn your place and listen to your mother's advice. Fire Doris immediately."I couldn't believe the audacity of her demands.
DORISI stepped out of the subway station, inhaling the myriad of smells in the morning air. I walked quickly to where I had agreed to meet my biological father, Joe, outside a busy café. We had planned to spend some quality time together.I decided I would let myself get to know him without resenting that is missed out on him my whole life.“Hi, Doris. Long week?”“Long but mostly good.”“Tell me about it.”As we settled into our seats, a comfortable silence hung between us for a moment. Then, my father's eyes twinkled with mischief as he leaned forward, breaking the silence. "Okay, what’s up? How's life treating you these days?"I chuckled, appreciating his casual approach. “Life has its ups and downs, but I can't complain. Noah woke up for a brief moment." I didn't think I'd ever mentioned Noah to Joe before, so I told Joe all about how Noah had saved me, and I brought
ARTHURI brought Doris back to the apartment and paused, awed by what an amazing woman I had. I cradled Doris's cheeks in my hands and kissed her gently. "We'll experiment together tonight."I kissed Doris again. "Sweet Dove, how do you manage to taste like pleasure, home, summer, and sunshine?"Doris nipped my bottom lip, a quick bite as she rocked her hips against mine.I hissed out an animalistic sound because what Doris felt so freaking good.Doris ran her lips over my jaw, brushing against my chin's scruffy stubble.Like everything Doris did, the motion of her caressing lips against my skin was extraordinary.I snagged my hand through her hair, using it to bring her mouth back to mine for a searing kiss.“You, Doris," was all I managed to get out when I came up for air. “You.”I carried her to my bedroom.I sat down on my
DORISI called my client early the next morning. Hearing the ecstatic happiness in my client's voice when he heard that I got the Brooklyn land track of his historic family land that he bought returned to him made all the trouble I had to go through with it.The fact that I got to take away Andrea's plans from one of the first business deals she tried to sabotage against me was a bonus.Arthur took me out to a fancy restaurant uptown to celebrate."I don't think anyone else would've been able to pull it off," Arthur said. "I admire you.""I guess I deserve a raise," I joked."I guess you do.""I was only kidding.""A raise in a promotion," Arthur said. "With the kind of determination you showed, I think you should lead a team."For a moment, I was speechless.Maybe he was right. I had been working in this industry for years. Kate sho
DORISI was walking down the street Tuesday afternoon and saw Andrea walking towards me. My first thought was to cross the street and avoid her. Before I could, she spotted me.Why should I close the street? I hadn't done anything wrong.I noticed her pregnancy belly was showing. It was the first time I could see it."Hello, Andrea," I said.She gave me a nod and a little bit of a sneer.I was worried that her seeing me again would reignite her desire to make my life miserable, and I wanted to say something nice to her. At first, I couldn't think of anything to say."Pregnancy agrees with you. You're glowing."Andrea smiled at the compliment.Then her face transformed into an expression of complete rage.What? I thought we were over this.Before I could say anything, she pushed me out of the way violently, and I fell int