Marcie and Leo Ch. 073

She has been called "The One Who Tamed the Lion" by many in the building. It was not known who originally coined the phrase nor would anyone cop to it if asked. I had heard it in reference to her a few times, but never thought about it. Maybe it was because I believed it more than I had cared to admit. I mean, sure I understand the intent behind it. Before Marcie became a huge part of my life, I was a strong proponent of keeping my personal and professional lives separate. And as much as Missy, my late wife, had sort of control, she stayed out of work stuff as well. It was the time I spent working from home that did it. Initially staying home because Matt thought it was a good idea, it led to Marcie being closer before we had our first moment.

We never intended to push our late spouses away. Hell, we still visit their graves to talk to them and spend time with them. It was just we came together out of whatever. Marcie was and is a gorgeous woman who could have had any man she wanted if she wanted to. She chose me though. That thought alone gives me the feeling of being blessed. It was moments like today that reminded me how lucky I truly was.

We made it to the office. We took the private entrance before we had to sign Marcie in. I was a bit taken aback to believe it. It was only then that thanks to Aubrey's ex, the security detail started double checking our ID cards. Since Marcie was not an employee, she had to sign up for a visitor's pass. The bustle was just beginning for the day when we slipped into the elevator to head to my floor. It was when we reached it that the situation was revealed.

There were three lines on hold to start. I went to Aubrey's desk and hit the first button. It was a customer with questions regarding something I had no clue about. I went ahead and took down their information before hitting the second. That one was trying to schedule a sales call with Matt. I took down their information before reaching the third. Feeling myself begin to want to yell at them as they yelled at me, it was Marcie's reassuring hand that soothed me before I was able to deescalate the situation. That call turned out to be someone attempting to convince us to take their sales call as well. I looked at Marcie and smiled.

"I didn't think Aubrey had to handle this first thing on a Monday."

"You starting to think that Aubrey is Wonder Woman, huh?"

I looked at my bride as she sat in the chair smiling at me wearing her flowery top and her white-washed jeans. A part of me just wanted to slip into my office with her and hold her on my couch and forget about everything else. Unfortunately, the practical side of me won out as I started to check her computer for emails. Marcie pulled out her tablet and started to work on her game at that time. It was an hour or so later that Matt arrived at my floor with Shannon and Junior in tow. As the girls hugged, Matt saw my face.

"What happened?" he asked.

I showed him the messages. He looked at them before he shook his head.

"I swear, it was almost like they knew Aubrey would be out. This call is someone trying to get our stuff to do something it's not designed to do. My assistant already told them. I wonder why they thought you'd be different."

We discussed it for about ten minutes before Matt went up to his office. Shannon elected to stay with us on our floor just so she could spend time with Marcie. I started to go through reports while they talked. It was then that Marcie spoke up.

"Leo, can I have Nikki visit? I wanted her to meet Shannon."

I thought about it and smiled.

"Go ahead. I'll call security."

She called her on her phone while I paged security to tell them. They admonished me that I would have to escort her up. That's when Marcie told me she'd be around in an hour or so. I told the guys I'd be down when she arrived. I then went back to my reports.

It was a little bit before Security paged me. I looked at Marcie and saw she was holding Junior. I snuck into the elevator and took it down to the ground floor. There stood the brown-haired heartbreaker named Nikki. For those unfamiliar, Nikki was one of the fitness trainers at the gym Marcie went to. She was also the only woman besides Marcie who gave me a lap dance. This happened while Marcie and I were dating. Still, she is a knockout. Nikki stood there at security waiting patiently. Her smile flashed when I walked forward.

"Wait, this is where you work?" she asked.

"Yeah. You didn't know?"

"Marcie and I never discussed your work to be honest. When she told me this building, I thought it was weird she'd be here."

As we walked to the elevator, I could feel the stares. As much as I tried to ignore them, it was difficult. Nikki, for those who don't know, is a beautiful woman. And it wasn't until I hit the elevator that I felt more alert. Luckily, there were two others in the elevator. Nikki and I exchanged small talk as we headed towards my floor.

"So, what do you do here, Leo?" she asked.

"A little bit of everything," I said.

I thought I heard one of the technicians snicker when I said that. I looked at him and hoped he got the message. Unfortunately, they slipped off two floors below mine. As we stood in the elevator alone, I felt even more scared.

"So, where's Marcie?" she asked.

"She's a few floors up. The boss' wife brought her son in."

"That's sweet he did that. I thought Marcie would have come down with you."

That's when the elevator opened, and she saw my floor. There sat Marcie and Shannon while Junior slept in his car seat. Marcie stood and walked over before they hugged. It was as they were chatting that I snuck into my office. It was then I felt like I dodged a bullet. I'll be honest. Marcie is my world. It's just Nikki is Nikki. And being in that elevator would have been difficult for any guy to resist. Luckily, she is Marcie's friend. As the girls talked outside, I kept looking at reports.

It was about fifteen minutes when the girls walked into my office. I felt busted, not because I did anything wrong. It was just that I didn't publicize my role too much. Only people in the industry knew what position I held in our company. With the public, I just told them I was in IT. I did this partly to avoid folks begging for money or trying to sell me stuff. I liked remaining a private person. I felt like revealing this to Nikki was a bit out of my comfort zone.

"This is a huge office," Nikki said.

"My husband's is up the next floor," Shannon answered.

Nikki paused.

"Wait, your husband is the big guy?"

"Yes. He's the CEO."

Nikki looked at me.

"How did Leo score this office?"

I started blushing.

"He's the CFO," Marcie answered.

Nikki smiled.

"A little bit of everything, huh?" she asked with sarcasm in her voice.

I was tongue-tied.

"He does. Leo has been hands on everything since he and my husband started this a long time ago. They built this business from the ground up," Shannon responded. "They were putting together systems way before this."

Nikki was floored. I felt like I wanted the floor to swallow me. Marcie walked to me and hugged me tightly.

"Leo doesn't like to flaunt it. He's always been a behind-the-scenes kind of guy."

I felt better at that moment. Nikki's smile changed from sarcastic to warmer.

"That makes sense. There was this guy who used to work here, I think. He's been in jail for a while though because he was arrested for assault. Something about a party or something. Luckily, I broke up with him way before that happened. But still. I bet Leo kept him in line."

I smiled. Only because I thought I knew who he was.

The girls went out of my office to chat more while I kept working on reports. This first day working without Aubrey turned out a bit weird. Part of me wanted to leave early, but that wasn't my style. Still, having Marcie close by made me feel better.