Promotion Comes With Strings Attached

We finished our drinks, and I got us another.

She started again. "At first, I thought it was going to be horrible. I expected it to be awkward between Wyatt and me. But it wasn't like that, he was so easy going and made the whole thing seem so normal. At work, he had always been amazing, he has a way about him. It's why he's so successful."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, lucky you." I muttered indignantly.

She nodded. "Then when we got to the sex part, I was expecting it to be cold, business like. In my head I built up this image of it being wham-bam, and then back to my own bed. I know it's hard for you to hear, but the truth of it is, it was enjoyable. I wasn't expecting that, it took me by surprise."

"As I said, lucky you."

"I'm just trying to be honest, Darren. He was a good lover, generous and experienced. It was nice, and we formed a connection. I'm sorry, we became lovers, you were right, he made it romantic and took away the clumsiness."

"Good for you, bad for me. You think I didn't see all that? It was obvious right from the very first time."

"I know, babe. I saw how it was affecting you, and that hurt. I wanted it to be fun for all of us. I was so happy that the sex wasn't a terrible ordeal. I built up a fantasy in my head. All I had to do was find a way to make it pleasurable for you. I figured I would just fuck your brains out and make you forget."

She caught her breath before adding. "It hurt that no matter what I did, you just got angrier. In the end, I dreaded coming home. You were so bitter and nasty. I mean, some of the spiteful horrible insults."

"Jesus, Coby, what sort of person do you think I am?"

"No, I don't mean like that, Darren. I just meant... I thought if I could get you and Wyatt to be friends, then it would make it easier. I sort of hoped you would be happy that I was able to enjoy it. That it wasn't going to be eighteen months of hell for me."

Sucking in a deep breath, I muttered. "You thought I was going to enjoy hearing about you and him?"

"I don't know, babe. I just wanted to find a way to make it work."

"While we're talking about this. I better warn you." I sucked in a deep breath, before giving her a taste of what it felt like to hear your partner was sleeping with somebody else.

"Coby, I have been seeing somebody myself. I met a girl."

Her face dropped, her eyes bulged, and she just glared at me. "You've been with somebody?"

"Yes."

"Do you mean like you were sleeping together..." she gasped.

I nodded. "I don't know what you expected of me, Coby. I wasn't going to let you go have your romance with him while I sat at home doing nothing. I mean, we're separated anyway."

She wiped away a little tear, as she sipped her vodka. "Christ, what a fuck up. Was it a one time thing, or are you still seeing her?"

"No, we're not seeing each other. We stay in touch, but she's off doing her thing."

I could see her trying to process the news. She was clearly trying to get some traction, her mouth moved, but she couldn't speak.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" I hissed.

She nodded, and I added. "Would it be fun to hear some details? I could tell you about how sweet her pussy tasted, now good her blowjobs were. I'm not that good at the flirty tease thing, but I could try to make it fun for you."

She shook her head purposefully. "No." She snapped before I could say anything else. "I get it, okay? I'm sorry, Darren."

"Yes, me too. I guess all that's left is for us to decide where we go from here."

"Darren, I won't pretend that didn't hurt, but I don't care about what happened, I want our life together back. I want to try and make our marriage work. I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

She knew what I was going to say. "Darren, I committed to that contract, and I want that job. I don't want to lose it after everything we've been through."

"Then there's no way back for us. I'm not going to live like that."

She finished her drink and held out her hand for my empty glass. "I'll get us another drink."

When she returned, she swallowed a large gulp of her Vodka, before asking. "Can I ask, are you still prepared to support me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When we signed the contract, you made me a promise that you would stand beside me, support me, accompany me to events, always be there for me."

Stunned, I spluttered. "You expect me to be your sidekick?"

"No, I want more than that, but I'll take what I can get."

"I did make that promise, but that was under the premise we were still living together. This is a bit different. Why now, what's the big deal?"

She exhaled loudly. "Recently, there have been a lot of rumors circulating at work about me. Mostly because we've had a few functions and you haven't been to any of them. That's created an opportunity for some rumor mongering. Some of the disgruntled managers have used your absence to undermine me. I need you, babe."

"Ah, I see it all. Your ass is in the firing line, and you need me. All the other stuff was just smoke. You don't want me, you need me so you can keep your fucking job."

"No!" she yelped, her eyes tearing up again. "Everything I said was true. I love you, I miss you and I'm sorry for the way things are at the moment. I do want you back, but yes. I do need your help."

"A favor huh? I have to say, I'm dubious about your motives, but yeah. I did make you that promise,"

"Thanks, Darren, my motives are real. I have missed you like crazy, and I have been dying to see you. I miss you horribly, my bed is empty and cold without you. I guess that hasn't been a problem for you though."

"I sleep alone, Coby. Shana was nice, but it's over."

She went and got us more drinks, and when she came back, she asked where I was living and if I had done anything about the recording business. I guess I was feeling unsure of her motives, so I took the easy option and lied. "I don't want to talk about where I'm staying. It's not important."

Obviously irked by my short answer, she moved on to other topics."What about the studio, the label?"

"Still getting my shit together."

"Darren," she sighed. "C'mon, babe, you're obviously struggling. let me help you."

"Nope, it's my project. I'll do it my way."

"Have you at least found a premises?"

"I'm working on a few things." Changing the subject, I asked. "What about you, still living at home?"

She shook her head. "No, I have just moved into an apartment closer to work. Which is where you supporting me comes in. I was hoping you would be at my housewarming party Saturday night. Everybody from work is going to be there. With you there by my side, it will crush all the rumors"

"Do I assume they still think we are married?"

"We are married babe. But yes, they think we still live together.

"What are you doing for the party, is it going to be catered?"

"Yes, it's all organized."

"Disappointing, Wouldn't it be nice to do something outside the norm?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"How many people are you expecting?"

"Maybe thirty."

"This apartment, has it got a balcony?"

She giggled, "Has it ever, god babe, it's huge."

"Well, what say we do a big old fashioned cookout? I'll rent a big grill, get some food in and do it."

She shook her head in dismay. "You're going to do the cooking?"

"You want to sell them this fantasy story about our happy marriage. Some of the people going know me now. They know what I'm like. If we were still living together, then that's what I would want to do."

She sighed, unconvinced. "Babe, it'll be a lot of work..."

"I don't care, if you want to make an impression and do something different, then let's do it."

She looked unconvinced, but partly I think to appease me, she conceded. "Okay, you talked me into it."

We sat nursing our drinks for a while, and a comfortable silence fell.

"What was she like?" Coby asked from nowhere.

"Who are we talking about?"

She smirked. "Don't play games, Darren. You know who."

"Shenandoah was nice, good fun, liked a drink. We shared a lot in common."

"Pretty?"

"Attractive, I wouldn't say pretty was the right word, but she has an aura or something.."

I could see it was important to her, and she kept fishing. "What happened, I mean how did you meet?"

"I saw her busking out on the street. I put some money in her case and we ended up having dinner. She was living out of her car, so I invited her home."

"Living out of her car?" She gasped.

"As I said, she's a musician, still young and trying to find her way."

"How old?"

"Twenty."

Her grimace made me smile. "God, I don't understand it, why?"

"Coby, we were split up. I had no idea what was happening with our relationship. You were off fucking loverboy, having your wonderful romance."

"It's wasn't a romance," she hissed sarcastically. "I frigging tried to talk to you. Every day I at least send you a message. I wanted to make things right between us. I wanted us to be together."

"Make things right... fucking hell. You disrespected me in front of your boyfriend and expected me to just hang around waiting for you to come home."

"He's not my fucking boyfriend," she snarled venomously. "Christ, Darren, I've said sorry. I can't keep saying it. I am sorry, I know it was wrong."

"Coby, saying sorry is appreciated, but it means shit when you keep doing the thing you apologized for."

"I'm trapped, Darren. If I could get out of it, I would. But shit, babe, we've both invested so much in this. It doesn't make sense to walk away now. If you can give me a chance, we could find a way to make it work."

"Not in the current format we can't. I don't know what the future holds, but I will help you. I did make that promise."

"Thank you." She sighed.

"How long have you been in the apartment?"

"Three weeks."

"How did you find it?"

"A friend of Wyatt's found it for me."

I had a sneaky feeling that was the case, the question that had been forming in my head popped out. "Have you slept with him there?"

She choked on a mouthful of her drink. "No, I haven't. Why would you ask that?"

"I guess I know enough about him to know it's something he will want."

"Darren, whether you believe me or not, we haven't slept together much lately. The trips away have been busy. We have been focusing on a merger, and it's not just Wyatt and me traveling anymore."

"More the reason for a little love pad, I guess."

"I promise, I would never do anything with him there. I still hope it will be our place one day.."

I snickered slyly. "Poor girl, stuck with him."

"Darren, he isn't like you think."

"Yeah, I believe you..." I snapped sarcastically.

She looked at me with a sad pout. I knew she wanted to say more, but didn't want to push her luck. After a brief pause, she asked, "Do you have a picture?"

"What of?"

"Your busker friend."

"Shana, yeah, I have a few."

"Any I can see?"

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through to the ones I had taken for her album cover. I handed it over, and she gasped. "God, she's fucking gorgeous. You said she was like average or something. She's stunning."

She scrolled through the photos until she found one of Shana and me from the night we went to see AFU. We had been dancing and were all sweaty and exhausted. She looked amazing that night, and I took a selfie of us as we walked off the dance floor.

I loved the photo; it was one of those ones when you pull the trigger at just the right moment. She had just leaned in for a kiss, and she was looking into my eyes to see my reaction. It looked like she was in love, the way her eyes were fixed on me and her head tilted.

Coby passed the phone back quickly. "Fuck, now I'm jealous... That girl is gorgeous."

She changed the subject. "How much of the one-fifty grand do you have left?"

I shrugged. "Not sure exactly, why?"

"I don't know, Darren. When we talked about it, you seemed so into making it happen. I thought by now you would at least have something to show for it. After seeing all your designs and sketches, I thought you would throw yourself into it. I hoped it would give you some pleasure."

"I'll get there eventually."

*****

In life, things can go well, or you get a run of things that throw your world into disarray. Yep, that's what happened.

The guys from All Fueled Up phoned and they wanted to record. I was busy trying to organize Coby's party, and work was off the wall crazy.

The party sounded like a good idea when I suggested it, but it took a lot of phone calls.

Getting the studio ready for recording was creating late nights and a lot of stress.

"Hey, babe," Coby greeted me as I carried in a large cooler full of fresh meat. It took me ten trips to get all the food up to her apartment. The rental company turned up with the grill as Coby showed me around the apartment. I brought a lot of personal items over, a guitar, some old clothes and stuff for the bathroom.

"Jeez, girl. How the fuck can you afford this place?"

She giggled. "The joys of working hard and getting to the top."

As she showed me around, she asked, "Do you like it?"

I shrugged offhandedly. "It's nice, I suppose, but it so sterile. It doesn't feel like you."

"Cut me some slack," she sighed. "I've only been in here less than a month."

"Yeah, but there's nothing that screams you... The artwork, where the hell did you get that from?"

"A gallery up the road. They sold me a bulk lot."

"What happened to the dream? The house, family?"

She slid her arm through mine and looked up into my eyes. "That's still my dream. I just needed somewhere that sort of reflected the position. There are expectations for a VP." She looked nervous. "Could you see yourself living here?"

I could see how much that question meant to her, and I could have burst her bubble, but decided to keep it friendly. "I don't know. It sure is ritzy."

"Darren, I want you back. I want you in my life."

"Let's not go there, not yet."

The disappointment was evident as she scrunched up her face.

I helped the rental guys set up the grill, and I started to prepare the food. At least being a casual cookout, it was jeans and a T-shirt.

I was well into the cooking when she walked out with beers. We clinked bottles. "Damn, babe, I forgot what a good cook you are. This smells delicious."

We sat back in the patio chairs to relax and sip our beers.

It was nice, just relaxing, and even after all the things that went wrong with our marriage, I still felt a deep connection with her. From our first meeting, there had always been an attraction. It stretched way beyond the obvious. We could, and did, finish each others sentences, we didn't have to explain jokes, we got them. We didn't need to talk, we were comfortable in each other's company. Until this thing with Wyatt blew up, silence was always comfortable. We could just sit together, words weren't necessary.

She kept the beers flowing, and we had a pleasant afternoon. By the time the crowd turned up about five, we were feeling no pain. As they came in, Coby ushered them through to the balcony. Of course everybody wanted the grand tour, which she hosted.

The rest streamed back out onto the balcony. There were plenty of hand shakes and cheek kisses from wives.

Coby rushed out a little later. "Put some music on, please, babe."

I found her sound system and used my phone's play list. The music started, and it lightened the mood. It was all quite pleasant. That was, at least until Wyatt turned up. Playing the big shot, he strode right up to me and stuck his hand out. "Hello, Darren, nice to see you again." I did notice there were eyes watching. This must be the rumor mill thing Coby mentioned.

I accepted his handshake, and although it irked me, I replied. "Nice to see you, as well." He gave me a pat on the back. "Damn, that smells good." He wandered off to talk to his exec buddies, and I was left to finish the food.

Coby carried out a large tray of appetizers and finger foods. That's when Kailami walked out. She walked up to me with a haughty disregard. "Hello, Darren," she muttered derisively.

"Hi, you're Wyatt's friend, aren't you?"."

She gave me an evil sneer and walked huffily back inside.

She was smoking hot. I had never met a woman who could make a simple pair of jeans look so danged sexy. They fit her like a second skin, and with legs as long as hers, they just seemed to go on forever.

Her top fit as if it had been sewn around her body. Her tits stuck out, perfectly proportioned, they swelled softly under her half bra, which was clearly visible under her top.

Wherever she moved, eyes followed, and I was no different. Yeah, her disdainful patronizing attitude rubbed me the wrong way, but with beauty like hers, she could get away with it. I couldn't help but wonder why she hung around with dip stick. Money, I guess.

Between her and Wyatt, they held court, the others fawning around after them. The women adored her, either that or they didn't trust her with their husbands.

Wyatt seemed to have the whole crowd eating out of his hand. They laughed and hung off every word. Coby did her best to help me, but Wyatt kept calling her into their group. Coby kept bringing me beers, and a few of the team I had met and formed the beginnings of a friendship with hung around to chat with me. Mostly it was music.

I was focused on serving up the food onto the long table, and calling out, "Food's up," when Kailami rushed excitedly over to me.

"Who is that?"

"Who is what?" I spluttered confused.

She gasped, frustrated. "That song that's playing, who is singing that song? Coby said you selected the music."

Just then, Coby appeared by my shoulder to put out some salads. "Yes, it's a fabulous song, babe. Who is it?"

They both stared at me expectantly. I hadn't thought about my playlist when I hit play.

"That's a young singer/songwriter named Shenandoah."

Coby's face paled as she closed her eyes, unable to hold my gaze. I saw her bite back something she wanted to say, but instead, nodded. "It's a beautiful song."

"Yep, she's talented."

"Do you know the name of the song, or the album?" Kailami asked.

"Yeah, the album's called "New Beginnings," and that particular song is titled "Man of My Dreams"."

Coby had to turn away. The pain she felt, I knew it, I could feel it. The crowd filtered out and found seats preparing for dinner.

Coby found us seats together.

Kailami asked above everyone's chatter, "Could you play the whole album, please?"

Poor Coby, she had to listen to the whole thing. It got worse, as almost everyone commented, lavishing praise on the songs.

I got a bit of a laugh when, Kailami, scolded Wyatt. "Remember your diet. No pigging out today."

"To hell with the diet, this is too good to waste."

If he was dieting, it wasn't showing, at least there were no visible signs of lost weight.

The dinner was a huge success; everybody had a blast. Coby got her share of praise, as well. Everybody congratulated her on breaking the mold. Wyatt, especially, came over to thank us. "That was a fantastic idea, Coby. The informal nature of it relaxed everyone. Well done, thank you both."

It was a little later, and I was feeling the effects of the beers Coby had been filling me with. I was enjoying a quiet moment alone in the corner. I leaned on the balcony railing and enjoyed the city-scape. A little hazy, but still beautiful in its own way.

I was lost in my own world when I was dragged back to earth. "Why don't you like me?"

Turning, it was Kailami with her champagne, staring at me.

"Haven't we discussed this already?" I muttered.

"No not really." Even when she was trying to be pleasant, she couldn't get rid of her supercilious superiority.

"Kailami, we are from different worlds. I don't like yours; it's full of plastic beautiful people. It's more about what you look like and have than who you are as a person."