Chapter 3 – Cassie

Life couldn’t get much better than this! Every morning when I left for work, Kumiko would wave good-bye to me, and every night, she would greet me the same way. We would have a nice quiet dinner, maybe watch a movie or even just sit and talk, and then we would go to the master bedroom and make love before falling asleep in each others’ arms.

Even my manager noticed a change in me. One day, about a month after making love to Kumiko for the first time, he called me into his office and said, “Nelson, how’s life treating you?” He was indulging in his usual habit of flipping his gold plated pen back and forth, back and forth around his thumb. The pen was one of his prized possessions. It even had his name engraved on it.

I didn’t know how to respond to that. I couldn’t tell him what was happening at home! “It’s fine Chad.”

Chad leaned back in his leather chair and smiled at me. “I can see that. You seem much happier these days. I’ve known you for several years now, and I’ve never seen you this happy.” The pen flipped around his thumb clockwise.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Things have been good at home lately, that’s all.”

He raised an eyebrow and said, “New girlfriend?” The pen flipped around counter-clockwise.

“No, not really.” Chad had known me since my days at DIDO, so he knew that my parents were dead and that I had no living relatives. I had to be careful with what I said from now on. I didn’t want Chad prying into my business.

“Well,” said Chad with a long drawl. “As long as it doesn’t affect your work, which I might add, has always been top notch.” Flip…The pen flipped back. I tried not to follow the movement.

So that was it! The bastard was afraid that my new happier outlook was going to affect my work performance. He had been taking credit for my work for years and now he was afraid that the standard of my work will slip. He would probably be happy if I remained sad and lonely for the rest of my life just so long as I kept turning out products that earned him his yearly bonus. What an asshole!

Of course, I didn’t articulate any of what I was thinking. Instead, I said, “No need to worry about that. Work always comes first.”

Chad nodded his head approvingly. “Good to hear that!” He passed a thick folder to me and said, “Here’s your next project. Give me a rough time and budget estimate before the end of the day, ok? I’m meeting with the client tomorrow so I need to prepare.” Chad finally missed a catch and the pen dropped to the table.

I took the folder and walked out of Chad’s office. I sat down at my cubicle and stared at my computer screen. I was trying to get a hold of my angry emotions. What was wrong with me? I never cared in the past whenever Chad got credit for my work. It was the way I wanted it, right? Somehow, I wasn’t so sure that it was how I wanted it anymore.

“I saw you in the boss’s office Nelson. What bee got stuck in his bonnet today?”

I looked up at the sound of the voice and saw Cassie Brown smiling down at me from behind my cubicles short partition. Cassie was on my team and we had worked on several projects together over the last couple of years. I had never really noticed her appearance before, but now I realized that she was rather pretty, in a fresh breezy sort of way. She was a couple of years younger than me and had never failed to voice her appreciation whenever I helped her out on our projects.

“Who knows?” I said with a shrug. “You know how it is.”

“Yeah, he loves to crack the whip and then reap the rewards.”

That surprised me. I hadn’t realized that anyone else had noticed how Chad operated.

“Don’t look so surprised,” said Cassie. “Don’t think that no one has noticed how he exploits your skills. We all know who does most of the work around here and who gets the actual credit and eventual bonus.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that so I just shrugged and said, “That’s how it is, right?”

Cassie narrowed her eyes and said, “That’s how it is now, but that doesn’t mean that’s how it should be. I’ve spoken a lot with the rest of the team and they’re all very impressed with the work you did on the Honeywell account.”

“Really? That was no big deal.”

“Yes it is!” said Cassie vehemently. “You managed to compress six weeks of hard work and finished the bulk of the programming in less than a month. Everyone knows that you carried the team on that one.”

I smiled blandly and said, “Just trying to help.”

Cassie brushed off that comment with a small wave of her hand. “Anyway, we’re headed out tonight after work for some drinks. We’d love it if you could join us.”

Today was a Friday, and I knew that my team often went out for drinks after work on Fridays as a way to unwind and relax. They hadn’t done so for several weeks because as Cassie and pointed out, our last project had everyone working extra hours. Now that it was complete, they could afford the time today to go out. This was not the first time that they had asked me to join them. In the past, I had always politely refused and hinted at issues at home. I was about to refuse again when something in Cassie’s expression made me hesitate. I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw a hint of pleading on her face. That was when I realized that she really wanted me there!

“I’ll be there,” I said simply.

Cassie broke into a dazzling smile and said, “That’s great! We’ll leave the office at 5:00pm, ok?” She turned to walk away but then said, “By the way, have you been working out or something? You look great!” Her cheeks showed a dash of red before she rushed off.

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It was after 9:00pm when Cassie pulled into my driveway. She was driving my car while I was in an alcohol induced stupor in the passenger seat. I’m not used to alcohol, and the drinks had been flowing somewhat freely tonight. I glanced up at my house and instantly wished that I hadn’t. The house seemed to spin around in my vision.

The next thing I knew, Cassie had opened the passenger door and helped me out of the car.

“I’m sorry for buying you so many drinks tonight Nelson,” said Cassie apologetically. “I didn’t realize that you weren’t used to drinking.”

“Thash ok…” I stumbled a bit and Cassie slipped her arm around me to help me up my porch steps. We paused at my front door as I fumbled for my keys. Suddenly, my foggy brain remembered who was waiting for me inside of my house. Somehow, I knew that I couldn’t let Cassie see Kumiko and vice versa. I fumbled for my keys some more and then dropped them onto the ground.

“Here, let me get it.” Cassie bent down to retrieve my keys and that was when I heard the sound of an approaching car.

I turned to look and swayed unsteadily on my feet as a taxi pulled into my driveway. Cassie noticed it too and said, “Oh, my ride’s here. Good!” She stood up and handed my keys back to me. “I called for a cab while I was driving. Let’s get you inside before I leave, ok?”

I started to panic and then said as steadily as I could, “No, that’s ok Cassie. You’ve done a lot for me already. Thank you. I can take it from here. It’s getting late and you should be getting home yourself.”

Cassie frowned but didn’t argue. “Are you sure? Maybe I should make sure you get in alright.”

I waved her off and said, “No, I’m fine, really. Thank you for getting me home when I was obviously in no condition to drive.”

Cassie grinned impishly. “No problem Nelson.” She made a show of looking at the face of my house. “This is a really nice looking house. Maybe one day, you can show me how it looks inside.”

“Maybe. Here, let me give you some money for the taxi.” I tried reaching for my wallet but I couldn’t seem to pull it out of my back pocket.

“You’re sweet! But that’s fine. I don’t live all that far away anyway. Besides, it was worth it just to see you finally loosen up a bit!”

Cassie surprised me by giving me a kiss on my cheek. It was more of a peck really, but her lips left a warm impression on my cheek.

“See you Monday!” said Cassie as she ran for the taxi.

I waved bye to her and stayed on my porch until the taxi pulled out of sight. I unlocked my front door and stumbled into my house. Kumiko was sitting in her usual spot but with my bleary vision, I couldn’t tell if she was smiling at me or not. I stumbled into the living room and abruptly tripped. My head hit the hardwood and I think I blacked out for an instant. When I looked up at Kumiko, my breath caught in my throat.

She had a disapproving look on her face and both of her hands were folded in her lap. I always left her right hand in a waving position so that it always appeared that she was greeting me whenever I came home.

“What’s wrong Kumiko?”

Kumiko didn’t answer. She just looked at me with those crystal blue eyes. I staggered to my knees and touched her hands. Her skin was cold to my touch. “I’m sorry Kumiko. I was invited out for drinks with some co-workers. I know I should have called to let you know that I would be late but I forgot. Please forgive me?”

Kumiko didn’t answer and she didn’t blink. I managed to get to my feet but a broiling sick feeling in my stomach made me run for the powder room in the hall. I threw up violently into the toilet. I wiped my face with a wet towel and flushed the toilet.

When I felt more or less human again, I went back out to the living room. Kumiko was still sitting on the couch with her hands folded demurely in her lap. Apparently, she was still mad at me. I sighed and carefully carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed. I debated on whether or not I should sleep in the other bedroom tonight but then decided that whatever issue we were having right now, Kumiko and I had to work through it together.

I got ready for bed and turned off the light and slipped under the covers. I fell asleep almost instantly. Some time in the middle of the night, I was startled out of my sleep. There seemed to be a pressure of some sort on my right hand. My sleepy mind sudden surged awake when I realized that it was Kumiko’s hand on mine. She wasn’t mad anymore!

I reached over and pulled her to me. After our first night as lovers, we had started to sleep in the nude. It was easier than having to take off and put on clothes all the time. Her body slipped on top of mine like a glove. Her legs spread to either side of my body and my sudden erection slipped into her moist slippery warmth. Her eyes popped open and I could see that Kumiko was asking forgiveness for her temper tantrum. I kissed her on her lips and forgave her and she forgave me for my drunkenness at the same time.

We made love slow leisurely love and when we finished, we stayed coupled and fell asleep.