Carpe Diem Ch. 04

Yet, that wasn't what hurt the most. It was Amanda's betrayal. That was the kick in the gut.

He sat on a piece of drift wood and stared at the ocean. What a fucked-up world this is, he thought.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was Amanda.

It was the third time she'd texted him that morning.

Josh pls call me -- its important

This time, he texted her back.

what

A few moments later, she texted back.

we need to talk I learned something

Josh scoffed. He replied.

good for you

After a minute, she replied.

I know you're angry but I can explain - please

Josh stood up in frustration. His fingers jabbed at his phone.

I don't give a shit!!!

A few seconds later, his phone rang. It was Amanda calling him.

In his frustration, he answered.

"I don't have anything to say to you," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Don't hang up," she pleaded. "You don't need to say anything, just listen to me. Give me thirty seconds."

He heaved a sigh.

"I'm listening."

Amanda started talking a mile a minute.

"I've been trying to piece together what happened. I think I know who's behind this. I can't prove it yet but I'm next to positive it's Chip. He set us up. I think he's trying to keep you from getting the CEO job."

"Chip?" Josh muttered.

"He's been using Marie. He got a hold of her phone. I think he may have copied our texts. I'm next to positive he's the one who filed the whistleblower report."

Josh's eyes showed he was processing this.

"Frank hinted Chip was the other frontrunner to replace him as CEO," he said.

"Don't you see? He's orchestrated the whole thing. We just have to expose him."

Josh shook his head.

"Don't you see, he'll just deny it. It'll be our word against his. And the fact is, I did have sex with a subordinate on a business trip. I did insist she stay in my suite. They can't make me CEO. They can't afford the scandal. Not right before they go public."

"Josh, listen to me," she pleaded. "Don't give up. Do you hear me? I'm with you on this. I'm in the foxhole with you."

Looking out at the ocean, Josh's eyes welled with tears.

"Please," she said softly. "Come to my place. There's something I want to show you."

Two hours later, Josh arrived at Amanda's apartment. He had gone home to get cleaned up and change clothes. He changed his mind three times about going over to see her. When you've been hurt so deeply, your body reacts viscerally.

He stood outside her front door for a good minute before pushing the buzzer.

When she opened her front door, there was a distance in his expression that stung her.

"Come in," she said.

There were no kisses, no hugs. Not even a soft touch on the shoulder. It killed her inside.

"Can I get you something? A beer?"

He shook his head.

"Some water?" he said in a quiet voice.

He seemed wounded, almost childlike. She filled a glass while fighting back tears.

She brought him the glass. He was standing in the living room, looking at pictures of her family on her bookshelf.

"Thanks," he said, softly.

"Can we talk?" she asked, gesturing to the sofa.

He nodded and moved slowly to the couch.

She sat on the edge, leaning towards him. Her words came pouring out.

"Josh, I am so very sorry. I did a stupid thing. A really stupid thing. I was just so happy and excited I felt like I had to share it with someone. And I know I shouldn't have and I take responsibility for that. But I want you to know I never wanted to hurt you. I swear to God. You're the last person on Earth I would ever want to hurt."

A tear streamed down her cheek. Josh eyed her, warily.

"I opened up to you," he said, haltingly. "I made myself vulnerable. And what do I get? A knife in the back."

"I didn't mean to. I was reckless. And stupid. And now someone is taking advantage of my stupidity to hurt you. But I didn't want to hurt you."

Josh looked around the room.

"It doesn't matter. It's done now. I took a big risk and now I have to face the consequences."

"But it's not done. We can fight this. I've been working on a plan."

He gave her a look of resignation.

"There are some things you can't undo. I screwed up. They have more than enough evidence to hang me."

"But they don't know the whole story. When they do, they'll see it differently. Come. I want to show you something."

She led him to her office. One wall was covered with index cards filled with her writing scribbled on them.

"What is all this?" he muttered.

"I've been putting the pieces together. Or trying to. I think there's a counter narrative we can tell."

"A counter narrative?" he asked.

"Yes. And it starts with me making a formal statement that you never coerced me. You never harassed me. And that this whistleblower complaint was made under false pretenses. And by someone with ulterior motives."

"They have the texts that you wrote. They have the pictures. They have the fact you shared my suite for three days."

"But I can put them in context. I can explain them."

"Don't be naïve, Amanda. This is hardball. This is the way the game is played. And I just came up on the losing end, that's all."

Amanda sighed, her hands on her hips.

"I didn't take you for a quitter."

"What?" Josh spat.

"The first real conversation we ever had, on the plane, do you remember what you told me? You've got to seize your opportunity. Carpe Diem, you said. Well, dammit, this is one of those times. Yes there are two outs and it's the bottom of the ninth. And yes we're down to our last strike. But the bat's in our hand! And we're damn well going to take a swing. I'm not willing to go down without a fight. And you shouldn't be either!"

She stared at him with piercing eyes.

Josh looked at her for a moment.

"Helluva speech," Josh said, his eyebrows raised.

"Did I get the sports metaphor right?"

"No, it was perfect. Spot on."

"I wasn't sure about the whole strikes thing."

"No, we're definitely down to our last strike."

"But I mean it, Josh. You've put so much of your life into that company. You can't give up. You can't walk away without putting up a fight."

Josh looked at the wall of cards.

"All this," he said waving to the cards, "this is great. Impressive. But ... this isn't your fight. I don't want to drag you down with me."

Amanda let out a sigh.

"Well, first, it's my fight too. OK? Nobody steals my private messages and uses them to hurt someone I love. And if it means I lose my job, I don't give a shit. I don't want to work at a company where this kind of behavior gets rewarded. So, you better believe this is my fight too."

Josh looked at her, impressed.

"Someone you love?"

"It just came out," she shrugged. "The emotion must have affected my brain."

He smiled warmly. And that smile removed an enormous weight from Amanda's shoulders.

Then, the two colleagues, and erstwhile lovers, got to work.

Being the methodical and analytical people they were, Josh and Amanda first took a step back and assessed the big picture. Amanda had made amazing progress, but there were other aspects that needed to be considered.

First, there was the matter of refuting the lawyers' case. They needed to address the specific evidence the lawyers had amassed point by point.

And they had to be ready to rebut any new evidence they might present.

Second, they needed to develop a counter narrative. The lawyers were preparing an argument that the Zürich trip was one long bacchanalian orgy, with Josh playing the role of predator in chief.

But there was another story to tell. They'd accomplished a lot during those four days. Between the successful summit and the Armani deal, the trip had been a huge success.

Lastly, they needed to somehow make the case against Chip. Right now, they had a lot of speculation and circumstantial evidence. It was their word against his. Amanda had collected some damning information over lunch but she wasn't sure how useful it would be.

They decided to divide the work between them so they could work in parallel. Just like they did in Zürich.

Amanda worked on refuting the lawyer's case. Much of it relied on her own texts and photos. She was in the best position to come up with a rebuttal.

Josh would focus on telling a different, more positive story of their trip. How the work he and Amanda there would create a flywheel effect for the company, both for this year and for years to come.

Over the next few hours, they'd filled a whole second wall with cards. Josh wanted to be able to quantify the success of the launch event. He did this by creating a survey to assess the perceptions and attitudes of all the attendees.

He included some open-ended questions to get some quotes for color.

He sent an email to Lorenzo Mancini, the Armani exec with whom they'd met in Zürich. Amanda also sent a heartfelt message thanking him for his time, saying how inspired she was by his vision, and how excited she was about their partnership going forward. They hoped to get an equally effusive response in return.

And they worked the phones.

Josh talked to Hans, the manager at the B2 Hotel + Spa. He had known Hans for years and had a good relationship with him. He told him that there had been a bit of a dust-up over the fact Amanda had shared his suite after the room she'd reserved became unavailable. If anyone contacted him for more information about their stay, it would be great if he could be discreet.

"We are currently much too busy to handle idle requests for information about our guests," Hans assured him.

Meanwhile, Amanda called Carlo and Guido, the ReSale managers in Spain and Italy. She enlisted their help in collecting feedback from the attendees of the launch event. And she encouraged them to sing Josh's praises in the survey.

At around midnight, Josh and Amanda were slumping in the chairs in her kitchen. They were snacking on some fruit and toast.

"How're you holding up?" Josh asked.

"Definitely feeling the jet lag," she said. "How 'bout you?"

"Same. I think I should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah, we can pick this up again tomorrow," she said.

She held his gaze. Trying to read his mind.

"So, I'll meet you back here tomorrow morning?" he asked.

"We could do that."

"Or?"

"You could stay here," she said. "Save travel time."

He gave her a half smile.

"It would be more efficient."

"We could get right to it in the morning."

"I'd like to get right to it," he said softly, "right now."

She reached out her hand to his. He stood up and took it in his.

He pulled her up from her chair. Her eyes were fixed on his.

Without words, she led him out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into her bedroom.

A king-sized bed with a floral duvet dominated the room.

She turned to him and slowly began to unbutton his shirt.

His brawny chest was covered in dark brown hair.

She pulled the shirt off his body and lay in on the bureau.

She unbuckled his belt and pants, sliding them slowly down his muscular legs.

He was standing in his boxer shorts, watching her.

She pulled down his shorts, revealing his long and thick cock.

He stepped out of his shorts, standing before her totally naked.

His sinewy, well-proportioned body took her breath away.

He started to take off her clothes, but she stopped him.

"I want to wear something special for you," she said.

He nodded and lay down on the bed, on his back, his head propped on some pillows.

His body looked even longer stretched out that way. So did his cock.

Amanda reached into her closet and gathered some clothes, then stepped into the bathroom. In a few minutes, she emerged looking as sexy as Josh had ever seen her.

She was wearing a sheer black lace teddy with spaghetti straps and eyelash lace. Her legs looked incredible in black, fishnet stockings.

Her auburn hair was full, like a lion's mane.

She walked to the foot of the bed and slowly cocked her hip to the side. Josh's cock immediately flopped onto his stomach, growing before her eyes.

It excited her to affect him like that. She had never worn this outfit for anyone. It made her feel beyond sexy.

Josh could see her luscious breasts right through the sheer lace. She turned and showed him her ass.

"You like?" she asked.

"I like," he answered.

She spread her legs and bent over, giving him a view of her backside. The bottoms were crotchless and her pussy was already glistening.

She raised back up, flinging her auburn hair. It was full now, like a mane.

His cock grew bigger. Harder.

She climbed up on the bed and slowly crawled to him on all fours.

Like a cat, she moved in next to him and wrapped her sexy body around his torso.

He could feel her warm wetness pressed against his thigh.

She looked up at him, wanting to kiss him so badly. But she didn't want to move too fast. Just hours before, he wouldn't even speak to her.

"Do you want to make love?" she asked.

"What do you think?"

She looked down at his cock. It was completely hard, laying on his washboard stomach, and pointed straight at his chin.

"You look like you do," she said. "I was afraid you'd never want to again."

He gently brushed the hair from her forehead.

"I was hurt," Josh said, quietly. "Really hurt."

"I know," she said, running her fingers over his chest. "I'm sorry."

"But now I see it was an accident. None of it was intentional. You cared for me all along."

"I did," she whispered. "I do."

"I think the reason I felt so hurt is because ... well ... I feel like I opened myself up to you. Let you inside. And I feel like you got me. You know? You really understood me. And you appreciated me ... for who I am."

He turned her over onto her back, his face just inches from hers.

"And I felt like I'd gotten to know you too. Really know you. And I loved what I saw in you. Your brilliance. Your creativity. Your goofiness. Your unbelievable sexiness. To the point where I couldn't imagine not being with you."

"That's how I felt too," she said, gazing in his eyes. "Even though it was just a week, our lived experience was so intense, so intimate, it was like we were together for much longer. I feel like we touched souls, Josh. Can we get that back?"

He took her face in his hands.

"To be honest," he said, sincerely. "I don't know. I've never experienced that kind of closeness so quickly before. That level of intimacy. To have it suddenly turn bad. I don't feel totally open right now. I feel part of me is keeping you at a distance."

"Do you think we can get it back? The trust?"

He looked at her -- her eyes, her mouth. She was the most extraordinary woman he'd ever known. No doubt. But could he count on her? Would she be there for him when it counted?

"We can try," he said, finally.

She pulled him close and held him tightly. She wanted that more than anything in her life.

Her lips were next to his ear.

"Come inside me," she whispered. "Please."

He lifted his head and regarded her, feeling like a kid standing on the edge of a precipice. Being dared to jump off.

So we're doing this, he thought.

He slowly let his hand drift to the space between her legs. His fingers found her folds, dipping inside to feel her wetness.

He let his index finger slowly penetrate her, their eyes fixed on each other's.

She was already dripping wet.

She spread her legs and wrapped them around him. She held his face in her hands, her arms pressing her full breasts together.

She'd never looked lovelier in his eyes.

The head of his cock pressed against her folds. She longed to feel him inside her. She raised her hips to him and he entered her. Slowly. Gently.

She was a like a flower opening herself to him.

He buried his face in her full, firm breasts. He felt her hardening nipples against his face.

She arched her back, guiding her nipples to his lips. He began to suck them, tenderly.

Her breath became more ragged. She took his face in her hands, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Go deep," she whispered. "I want you to feel you deep inside me."

Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, he slowly pushed himself into her pussy.

Her eyes widened. She felt a mixture of pain and intense pleasure and desire.

Slowly, he slid his cock into her velvety folds. He was spreading her. Filling her.

She began to whimper. Her grip on him tightening. He kept his slow, steady advance.

When he approached bottoming out, when his thick base was spreading her pussy, she let out a shriek, her body convulsing.

He stopped, not wanting to hurt her.

"No, don't stop," she cried, desperately. "I want you completely inside me. I want to be as close as we can be."

Her arms circled his torso and pulled him tightly. As if to pull his entire body inside of her.

He slowly pressed his pelvis forward until he bottomed out.

Her body shook from sheer pleasure.

He slowly rocked his pelvis, pulling out slightly, and the pressed inside her again.

She moaned with pleasure, her eyelids half-closed, her eyes rolling back in her head.

He started a slow rhythm in and out, spreading her, filling her.

She arched her back as her body shook.

"Mi stai facendo venire," she moaned ("You're gonna make me cum!")

He loved it when she talked dirty in Italian. It made him want to fuck her hard.

He kept the rocking motion going, letting her ride the wave of her approaching orgasm.

"Sto venendo!" she cried. "Sto venendo!" ("I'm coming!")

Her body bucked and flailed. Her nipples stood out like ripe grapes.

"Suck my nipples!" she begged. "Suck my nipples while I cum!"

He knew how sensitive her nipples were. Latching on with his fleshy lips would send her over the top.

He thrust himself deep inside her as his lips found her nipple. He sucked one nipple while his fingers tweaked the other.

Her cries built and lasted throughout her orgasm. He could feel her pussy clenching, squeezing his cock.

Between her nipples, firm and extended, and her pussy, squeezing his cock like a vise, he couldn't last much longer.

He began to piston his pelvis, driving himself into her. Each thrust shook her body, causing her breasts to bounce and her moans to intensify.

By the time he was ready to explode inside her, she had already started to cum a second time. They came together, with a cacophony of groans and shrieks.

He lay atop her, breathing hard. She gently touched his back and butt with her fingertips.

"Cazzo è stato incredibile," she cooed. ("That was fucking amazing")

After several minutes, he turned over and lay next to her. They were face to face.

"I don't think you've ever gone so deep before," she said. "I felt like we were one."

"Yeah, I felt that too," he said. "That's a good sign."

On Monday morning, the ReSale offices were bustling with activity. Not only was the Europe launch imminent, this was a Board Meeting day.

Every quarter, the Board of Directors would convene in the big conference room. There was always a lot of preparation to do -- from readying presentations to laying out food and drink for the meeting.

Amanda and Josh had a singular focus, however. This was their best and last chance to affect the outcome of the investigation and, by extension, the Board's decision on who would be the next CEO.

Foremost on the agenda was the interim report from Addison Cromwell, the law firm tasked with investigating the misconduct allegations. The investigation would take weeks to complete but this was the first official readout of their initial findings to the board.

And coming just days before the Board was due to vote on the new CEO, it was a critical meeting.