Zachary & Ciara Ch. 06

"Really?" Zach said.

"Yes," Ciara replied. I felt that he should know."

"Why?" Zach asked.

"He's helping to take care of Emilee," Ciara said, "and I wanted him to know that if she suddenly told him to do something or that something was about to happen that he should listen to her.

"How did he react?"

"Like he wanted to get back on the plane and return home to London," Ciara said laughing when she remembered the look on Jonas' face when she told him about Emilee's ability. "I think he thought he was traveling with a crazy woman."

"Thought?" Zach said.

"Yes, thought," Ciara replied. "He began to believe me when Emilee told him that he should call his girlfriend Marilyn because she wanted to talk to him to apologize for the fight they had before he left London."

"Did he believe you then?"

"I think he began to believe me," Ciara replied. "But I think he turned the corner when Emilee described and started talking about his German Shepherd-Doberman Pinscher mixed puppy named Bundles. He finally rounded the bin when Emilee asked him why he didn't call the dog Star after the brown star on the front of the dog's chest."

"Did he explain why he lied about his sexual orientation?"

"You were right," Ciara said. "He thought you were turning all the other applicants away because you saw them as a threat to our relationship and the thought that pretending to be gay would help him get the job."

"Did you tell him, we knew he was lying after we ran a security check on him?" Zach asked.

"Yes," Ciara replied. "He asked why we still hired him after finding out he lied to us. I told him because Emilee liked him and felt that he was the man to help me take care of her."

"Did you tell him about our marriage?" Zach asked.

"No," Ciara replied a yawn breaking free as she spoke. "That is between you, me and Emilee. Jonas doesn't need to know that our marriage is one of convince."

"You sound as if sleep has caught up with you and wants to take over," Zach remarked after hearing Ciara yawn.

"It's the fault of this comfortable bed," Ciara told him, her voice becoming softer as she snuggled against the pillows she was lying on.

"Goodnight Ciara," Zach said letting the sound of her voice wash over him.

"Goodnight Zach," Ciara replied noticing that his voice had become husky and soft.

Zach smiled has he turned off his mobile phone placing it on his nightstand. He was enjoying the comfortable feeling moving through his body as he spoke with his wife and amazed that it wasn't scaring the hell out of him. He couldn't wait for the two weeks until he saw Ciara and Emilee again to pass because he truly did miss them, especially Ciara. (((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))

"Hey babe," Carl said from his easy chair parked in front of the television as Brie walked into their apartment. "I'm glad you're home. I'm starving."

"Why haven't you cooked something or had something delivered?" Brie asked as she made her way to their bedroom to take a shower and change her clothes.

"I want you to cook dinner for me," Carl said lifting his six foot, dark skin frame from the easy chair, Brie in their bedroom. "You're my woman aren't you? Don't you want to cook for your man? I've worked hard today and having you cook me a good meal is the cherry that tops my day."

"I've worked hard today too," Brie pointed out to him. "I'm tired and I don't feel like cooking today."

"How are you going to be tired?" Carl asked. "You sit behind a desk all day and order other people around. You don't stand on your feet all day."

"Neither do you," Brie said. "And you know how to cook. There's no reason for you to wait around for me to do the cooking."

"My mother worked, but she still had a hot meal sitting on the table for my father, me and my brothers. Woman today are too pampered and lazy. They don't want to do anything for their man and if we ask you to do anything for us you try to turn it around and make us look like male chauvinists. What good is it to be in a relationship if I can't expect you do the normal things a woman does for her man?"

Tired and not wanting to hear Carl go on once again about the things his mother did for his father Brie tried to ignore Carl. She just continue to go around the room collecting her night clothes so that she could go take a shower, crawl into bed and relax.

"Brie, are you going to cook me something to eat?" Carl whined.

"I'll put one of the frozen meals in the oven after I take my shower," Brie told him.

"I don't want a frozen meal," Carl said. "I could've done that myself if that was what I wanted. I took out the pork chops. I figured you could barbeque those, prepare some mashed potatoes and make some cornbread."

"Do you know how long it would take me to cook all of that?" Brie asked surprised that Carl actually expected her to cook such a meal this late in the evening after putting in a twelve hour day at work.

"You can have it done within an hour, two hours at the max," Carl said. "The pork chops can be cooking while you're taking your shower. You can also peel the potatoes and put them on the stove so that they can be cooking too while you take your shower. By the time, you get out of the shower you'll only have to put everything together, and then we can sit down and enjoy a meal just the two of us."

Tempted to say no, but not wanting to continue arguing with Carl, Brie agreed to cook him the dinner he wanted.

"You're the best," Carl said going over and giving her a peck on the lips. "I'm going back into the living to finish watching my show. I'll see you when you're out of the shower and calling me into dinner."

'If he wasn't so good-looking and so good in bed, I would throw him and his old-fashioned ideas out of here in a New York minute,' Brie thought to herself making her way into the kitchen.

"Honey would you bring me a beer?" Carl said from the living room. "Since, you're in the kitchen anyway."

Brie opened the door to the fridge took out the pork chops and put them on the counter, and then she reached in got a beer and took it to Carl.

"You're the best," Carl said taking the beer from her hand then taking hold of it, turning it over and kissing the back.

Brie gave him a quick smile, turned and made her way back into the kitchen wiping her hand on her pant leg as she left.