Bittersweet

"Yeah. You too?"

He nodded in reply.

"Any idea what it's about?" She asked.

"Nope." He shook his head.

Coco shook her head and held the door for James when they arrived. Most of the Board was present. As she scanned the room, it looked like only Robert and Pamela Kristoff, the C.E.O. were missing.

"What now?" James asked.

She could see most people either sitting and chatting as they ate. Or they were waiting to get their plates as lunch had been catered.

"Get food?" She shrugged.

He nodded a shrug and followed her to the sideboard of lunch. The C.F.O. Markus Lewis motioned for her and James to sit next to him. But it was odd that he insisted James be the one right next to him. Coco sat down with some suspicion. There was only one vacant seat to her right. And then it was just the C.E.O.'s seat at the head of the table after that.

"Where's Bob and Pam?" She leaned out around James to ask Markus.

"Probably finishing up some last minute details." He shrugged.

"Details about what?"

"You'll see." He smiled.

James looked at her with a mouthful of food and shrugged.

"Damned infuriating people." She thought as she began eating.

About five minutes later Bob and Pam entered the room and went straight for the food. They were laughing so it must have been good news. That was promising at least. Robert sat in the seat to her right and Pamela of course took her seat. But the casual conversation continued for most of the lunch hour.

And anytime Coco tried to ask, "why, what, you kiss your Mother with that mouth?" All she got was "you'll see" or "soon."

With 15 minutes left in the lunch hour, Pamela asked the room, "Are we ready?" When she saw nods from everyone, especially Coco and James, She nodded and Looked at Bob. "Robert? You want the lead on this?"

He smiled and nodded in reply. "Yes, please." He answered in a cheesy tone. Then he looked at Coco. "Coco!"

"What!?" She yelled back with a smile.

Which got her a few laughs from the room.

Robert nodded with a laugh of his own. "When you went on leave, we all had a few concerns. Motherhood changes things for people." She nodded. "And I wanted to give you a few months once you were back to see which way you wanted to go."

"OK." She replied with a touch of confusion.

"And to be honest, your performance since you got back has been exemplary."

"Oh." She gave a happy, surprised smile.

"Except for your constantly shoving pictures of Sophie into people's faces..."

"Excuse me?!"

"This is an intervention. You have a problem." He stated as he compassionately rested his hand on hers.

She looked down at his hand and back at him. "...You are so full of shit."

Which got her more laughter.

He smiled. "The truth is, you did a great job with James. You mentored him. Trained him. And when the time came that he needed to fill your shoes? He was perfect... He had a few days of nervousness. But soon he was running that department like a pro. Thank you for that."

Coco blushed a bit. She wasn't really good with praise.

"Now that you're back. It's time for you to move on to the next step."

She was shocked. "...You're firing me?!"

He laughed. "No." He shook his head. "I'm firing me."

"What?!" Both Coco and James blurted.

Pamela asked, "Coco? Do - you - want - to be the C.O.O. for Folsom Dynamics?"

She was stunned. And it was obvious. Because only little guttural noises and squeaks were being emitted from her mouth. While she couldn't get her head to decide if it should look at Robert or Pamela.

"Remember, James's promotion is dependent upon you saying yes." Pamela smiled.

"Say, "yes." Say, "yes." James urged.

"YES!" She yelled at Pam before quickly looking at Robert. "You're leaving?"

He smiled and patted her hand. "I've been with this company for twenty years. Eight of those as head of Operations. I've fought my wars. It's time for me to go."

"Bu..." He was her mentor. Her friend. He was practically a fixture of the place. "But what about me? What about all of us?"

"You don't need me anymore. And everyone else?" He shrugged. "...Have you."

Pamela gave her a few minutes for her "New Normal" to sink in. "We still have Bob around for another month." Coco had been staring at her lap. She looked up to nod at Pam. "We're all going to miss him..."

"I won't."

Without taking her eyes from Coco, Pam commented. "Except Dave."

Coco laughed.

2 Years later

"Are you sure about this?" Coco asked.

"In this economy, we have to find ways to grow our money." Markus replied.

Markus Lewis, C.E.O. of Folsom Dynamics, and former C.F.O. was adamant about his new schemes for increasing their profits. He'd spent the first six months of his tenure getting his feet under him in the new job. But now what he was suggesting was... Unheard of? Unprecedented? Just plain "uncomfortable" was probably the most accurate.

Coco chewed her lip in thought.

"Look, we are a corporation." He stated. She nodded. "Agree or disagree, the reality is we are in business to make money." She nodded again. "So, we can screw our people, like most companies. Screw our customers, like many companies. OR, we can make those pricks in Legal file more paperwork with the I.R.S. So we can conduct business in other industries. While being profitable and legal."

"But real estate?"

He frowned at her. "Land has always been profitable... within reason, I mean."

"........Alright." She caved.

The truth was it scared her because the company had never done it. But if they were going to branch out? Well, it wasn't like they were banking on Beanie Babie futures.

"Good. Now. I want you to head it up." She gave a body sagging nod of exasperation. Markus ignored it. "Get with Chris in finance. Find out what we're looking at and then get your people started on recruiting." She gave another nod. "Get back to the board in a month so we have an idea of how feasible this is."

She nodded again. "I hate you."

"Get in line." He smiled.

2 Months later

She found herself dreading the next interview. They had scheduled three for today. This one would be the second but that last guy? He spent all of his time drooling over her. Which wouldn't be a problem if he was in the Mailroom. Where she'd never see him. But this was a Director's position directly beneath her.

"Well, he REALLY wants the job." James announced to the room.

There was a lot of laughter, at Coco's expense.

"Oh, shut up!" She laughed.

The room was filled with her other Directors.

"How long do we have before the next one?" She asked.

"About an hour. We got rid of that last guy pretty fast." Emily Costas, Director of European Operations replied.

"Good." She replied as she stood and stretched.

That last man had made her tense. She walked to a mirror and looked at herself. Black skirt, black 4 inch heels, Royal blue satin collared blouse showing just a hint of cleavage and her hair was up in a bun. She looked attractive but she was hardly the image of sex that the last guy seemed to think she was.

She shook her head.

"You OK?" James asked.

"Yeah." She sighed before turning to him. "How does that guy get a job if he can't work for a woman?"

"Maybe you remind him of his Mother." Dwayne Filman, Director of South American Operations, suggested.

Coco turned to him. "You sayin I look like a Mother?"

"You ARE a Mother." James stated.

"But he said I look like one." She said to James while pointing at Dwayne.

Dwayne held up a finger. "Technically I said you look like HIS Mother."

"Wait. So you think that guy salivates over his own mom?" Emily asked.

"Is H.R. in here?" James asked as he looked around the room. "No?.. No?.. Good." He ended with a few nods.

Coco laughed and walked to the door. "I'm going to order us lunch. How do we feel about Jason's Deli?"

A little over an hour later, they were finishing their lunches when Hanah knocked on the door and poked her head in. "Mrs. Williams, Your one O'clock is here."

"Well, he's early." James commented.

Coco nodded. "Give us a few minutes to get cleaned up here."

Hanah nodded and left. While they put their food away and made sure they were presentable.

"What do we know about this guy?" She asked.

Dwyane opened his tablet. "I'm gonna start by saying he looks good on paper and HOPE no one remembers that's what I said about the last guy."

"What else?" Coco laughed.

"Uhhhh... Graduated UCLA, immediately went to work for Hutchins Ltd. Was there 6 months before leaving..."

"Why?" James asked.

Dwayne shrugged. "Not sure. But they were dissolved two months later. So either he got caught up in the layoffs or he saw the writing on the wall. Uhhh... Went to work for Sunset investments for two years. Got a job offer from YuriMori here in New York and has been with them ever since."

"Why's he leaving now?" Coco asked.

"Best guess is the new management over there. Friend of a friend knows this guy and says he's solid. But management changed last year and these new people seem to be a little lost. He thinks our boy is tired of it."

"OK." Coco nodded. "So, frustrated. We can work with that." She looked at her people. "Are we ready?"

When they all nodded she called Hanah and had her escort Mr. Silas Miller into the office. They left their chairs and walked in front of the long interview table. To be ready to greet him when he entered.

A few minutes later the door opened and Hanah escorted Mr. Miller inside. He wore a grey suit with black shoes and black tie. Hanah started the introductions. Coco's throat went dry. Her heart dropped to her stomach. And Mr. Miller ran his eyes quickly down her body and back up to her eyes.

Just as he had when she was storing her carryon bag in the overhead compartment on the plane.

"And this is Mrs. Coco Williams, our C.O.O." Hanah stated with a smile as she motioned to their boss.

That snapped her out of her fear filled daydream. She smiled and shook his hand.

"Coco is an interesting name." He smiled. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Silas is rather unusual too." She over smiled.

He nodded.

Things were quiet a moment too long for her. "My Mother is a fan of Coco Chanel." She smiled.

"Ah." He nodded. "I'm told my Mother was simply a fan of the name, Silas."

"Ah." She smiled.

After what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence. Coco heard James say, "Well, why don't we get started?"

45 minutes later, Silas made his goodbyes. Even Coco had to admit it had been a good interview. The bastard was personable.

"Ohhhh kay." Emily commented before looking at Coco. "You want to tell us what that was all about?"

"Huh?" Coco looked at her with deer in the headlight eyes. But Emily just moved her head to insinuate the door. Coco shook her head. "I can't... I..." She cleared her throat and composed herself. "We'll have to hope the third candidate is a better fit for the company."

"Boss?" James asked.

"I can't, James!" She snapped. After a moment she took a breath and let it out. "I am sorry everyone. But he simply is not who we're looking for... How long before the next interview?" She ended by looking at Dwayne.

"A little more than an hour."

"If you all will excuse me? I need to get some air."

Her team nodded as she stood and left the room. She went to her office and closed the door. She'd been on the verge of hyperventilating for the last 45 minutes. And right now, she really needed to breathe.

Her office phone rang.

"Of course." She thought.

She glanced at the caller ID screen then picked it up. "Yes, Hanah."

"Mr. Miller is here. He said he had a few last minute questions for you. Should I send him away?"

Coco hung her head in despair. "...No, that's fine. Send him in."

She hung up the phone and turned around. A moment later Silas opened the door and closed it behind him. She watched as he walked toward her. When he closed the distance to within a foot of her, she held up her hands to press him back.

"Silas, please." She whined.

"I haven't done anything."

She replied with a cynical laugh and a shake of her head. It took her a moment to make eye contact with him. "Please don't make me do this. You know I don't have the strength to say "no."

Silas pressed into her, forcing her hands back. "Maybe, the question you should be asking yourself is, "why do you have to?"

He pulled her tight against him and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tight. Then forced him back enough to say,

"The door!"

"I locked it."

They each pulled and held the other tight. She could feel him hiking her skirt up to her hips. She wanted to complain but his mouth wouldn't let her go free. When she heard him fumbling with his trousers, she pulled the crotch of her panties to the side.

She was so wet that he slid all the way in. They moaned into each other's mouths before he picked her up by her ass and pressed her against the window. Her moans got louder as his thrust became harder. She broke away enough to yell a loud moan as she came so hard she squirted.

"Oh fuck. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry."

She managed to bury her face in his neck to muffle the next one. But she could feel his cock pulse and shoot several large doses of semen into her. While he growled into her ear.

When she felt him lower his head to her, she raised her face to meet his kiss. He was still gently pumping into her while they came down from their high.

"We have to stop."

He nodded. "...I need to see you."

"NO. God, no. Please, Silas. I'm begging you."

He shook his head and looked pissed.

"Fuck me again if you have to but please don't destroy my family over this."

"Coco..." He looked into her eyes but shook his head once more. "Alright." He sighed.

With that, he kissed her and eased out of her. It only took them a few minutes to get themselves together. He pulled her close and kissed her again. Then she walked him to her door. She didn't speak to him as he left and she didn't look at Hanah. She closed the door and sat behind her desk.

A moment later there was a quiet knock on her door as Hanah came in. "Are you alright?"

Coco broke down and cried. Hanah rushed to her and squatted down to hug her close.

"Did he hurt you?!"

"No!" She laughed as she pulled away to grab some tissues. "God, no. Not like that."

"Who was that guy?"

Coco sighed. "...Um, he was a mistake I thought I had put behind me." Hanah nodded her understanding. "I really need you to keep this between us. Will you do that for me?"

"Yeah... Yeah of course... I'm just worried about you."

"Thank you." Coco said as Hanah pulled her into another hug.

She spent the rest of the week focusing on work. She used every bit of what little self control she had to force any and all thoughts of Silas out of her head. But come Saturday?

Sophie was playing in the Living room. The Wiggles were doing the stomping Bear song on the T.V. The Housekeeper and the Nanny were off for the weekend. And Silas had his hand on her stomach pressing her ass firmly against his pelvis. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and had a sip of tea.

{"Maybe, the question you should be asking yourself is, "why do you have to?"}

She took a deep breath and bent down to kiss Sophie on the forehead. "Did you want anything?" She asked Arthur as she stood up to go to the kitchen.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he broke his focus from his laptop to look at her. "No, baby. I'm fine."

She walked into the kitchen and set her drink down. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She thought.

She went to the back window to look at the alley behind them. "What are you fighting for?" She shook her head. "He never said that." She thought. But after a moment she looked back at the Living room. "When was the last time Arthur and I had sex?" She thought.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she never saw Arthur approach. He was suddenly in front of her.

"You OK, baby?"

"Yeah." She smiled.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just daydreaming."

"OK." He smiled back. "I just got word that the Limmerman paperwork came in for that property in Manhattan. I need to go into the office for a bit and get it setup. Can you manage Sophie without me?"

"Absolutely. We'll be fine. You be safe."

"I will." He smiled and bent down to give her a quick peck on the lips.

She watched as he grabbed his keys. Walked into the Living room before bending down to kiss Sophie goodbye and then went to the door. He gave her a final waive and then closed and locked the door.

When was the last time? Sex was great after the trip to L.A... For a while anyway. What happened? We were going at it four or five times a week for a while there.

What was it like before the trip to L.A.?

.........Where - the - FUCK - is - he - getting his sex now?!

She picked up her phone and called her neighbor. "Hey Margie? Arthur's out and something just came up at work. Is there any chance you can watch Sophie for an hour?"

She parked a few blocks down from his office building and walked to it. The well paid guard didn't even look up as she crossed the lobby to the elevators. She got off on his floor and found the office door open. She could hear them the moment she cracked the door. She swung it open and stared murder at them.

That redheaded slut, Weston Carmichael, had her head down while Arthur slammed into her from behind!

"That's it baby! Fuck me! Fuck me... You're tearin my ass up!"

Coco's thoughts raged. "That motherfu..." But before she screamed and assaulted the traitorous bastard? Her thoughts cooled and she eased the door shut.

"What am I doing?" She said to herself.

She could still hear them but she decided to go home and leave them in peace. A few hours later, Arthur returned home to a sleeping Sophie and a wife on her third glass of wine. The Bottle of Johnny Walker Black was on the table with an empty glass.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yup. Have a seat and I'll get you a Coke to chase that with." She said as she stood and went to the refrigerator. She set the can in front of him and retook her seat. "Go ahead and pour yourself a shot. You're gonna need it."

Arthur poured himself a double and recapped the bottle. He took a gulp and looked at her. "What's going on?"

"Not long after you went to work. I dropped Sophie off with Margie and followed you."

His eyebrows rose as his eyes became very large. Coco laughed as she stuck her free hand palm out towards him.

"Stop." She laughed. "You're fine." She pointed at herself with her hand. "I'm the bad guy." He looked confused so she went on. "I'm the two timing slut."

Now he looked a little sad. "Oh."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Arthur."

"For how long?" He asked as he emptied his glass of Johnny.

"That part's a little weird." She cringed. "The first time was on the plane back from L.A..."

"THREE FUCKING YEARS?!"

"NO!.." That calmed him down. "Jesus."

"The second, and last, time was earlier this week."

"Oh... Well, shit. Now, I feel bad."

"Why?" She laughed.

He shrugged. "We've gotten together for about the last two months." She nodded in reply as she took a sip of wine. "So, what now?"

It was her turn to shrug. "We work very hard to stay friends." He nodded in reply. "For Sophie's sake if not for our own peace of mind."

"Yeah." He nodded and laughed.

Almost 1 Week later ... Friday

"Ping!" His email alert popped up on his screen. Silas glanced at it. "Mr. Miller, a Miss Coco Williams is waiting in the lobby for you."

"I'll be right there." He sent back before he rushed to the elevators.

It was a struggle not to run when the doors opened onto the Ground floor. It took him a moment to find her. She was dressed much like she had been for his interview. Except the blouse was a red satin instead of blue. Coco gave a small smile when she saw him. He looked rather dashing in his Navy blue suit with dark paisley tie.