" I need to get screwed." Tanyi Rokir twirled her pencil in her mouth, clutching the phone to her ear. Her friend Liz giggled at that on the other side of the phone. " I'm serious Liz! It's been so long I've started to have erotic dreams of Mr. D."
"Well. He has been a faithful companion to you, Tanyi. He has earned the right to star in a dream or two."
"True!" Tanyi acknowledged "He has kept me rather warm during those empty nights. And don't shoot the D as an erotic dream. He's much better in satisfying a woman than many men I know. 100% staying power and all he cares about is your pleasure."
"Mmmh. Now if only he had all the other parts."
" Indeed. Mr. D would need those."
" Whose Mr.D?" a voice interrupted. It was her boss, Michael 'Saint' Hartley.
"Yeah...gotta go" she hurriedly hang up the phone. "...just a good friend of mine." She answered. If her cocoa skin had been lighter he would have noticed a fierce blush on her face. Really... How was she supposed to explain that Mr. D was a vibrator she'd bought over a year ago after breaking up with William, her boyfriend of five years.
Initially she'd thought the battery operated genius was just to tide her over, probably for not more than three months. Three had turned to four, four had turned to six and eventually she'd had to name the gadget. D for Drought. Thirteen months along and Mr. D was still the only 'any' she was getting.
The thirteen months probably had something to do with the hunk of a man standing before her right now, looking at her with suspicious eyes. It was thirteen months ago that she'd decided to leave Detroit and come to Atlanta to look for a change. The change had led her to Hartley Eng., the leading road construction company in the city and to the desk of Saint, the owner.
"If he's smelling after you, I'm going to him."
"Down Boy." She stood up from her desk, picking up a file and handing it to Saint. "He's not that kind of friend. These are from the Public Works office." Usually Tanyi didn't find white guys hot but Saint was in a class of his own.
The sound of his deep voice playing on the nerves like a harp. The cute way he smiled; laugh lines around his blue eyes and the dimple on his left cheek coming out to play. His black hair, tussled as if he kept on running his thick fingers through it. The way he walked; strolling into her world as if he owned it. Body like a tennis player with just enough muscle to make her wet her lips. And his shoe size...well let's just say that he and Mr. D were currently competing for first place in Tanyi's dreams.
At first Saint had treated her with the calm detachment of an employer till his motorcycle accident four months ago. He hadn't wanted any of his siblings to know or worry, so she'd ended up being the one taking care of him for three quarters of the five weeks it had taken his broken ankle to heal. He hadn't actually asked her to, but after seeing him hobbling to work (the buffoon apparently believed that rest was a Polish word he didn't need to know), and unsuccessfully begging him to call one of his four brothers to help him out, she'd decided to take matters in her own hands.
If you drove a man home every day, cooked at least two meals a day for him, helped him into bed, sometimes kept him company before he went to bed, picked him in the morning, juggled his meetings around so that, he only worked when he wasn't in pain and the clients never had a clue, you had to get close to him. They were as close to best friends as a man and woman could get.
She'd been released from duty when his twin, Leone, learnt of the accident from a fellow doctor. But ever since then he'd become really protective of her. Maybe it was appreciation. He'd taken to driving her to and from work. When she protested, he claimed that it made no sense for her to waste money and time taking the bus, when her house was on his way to work.
Tanyi kept mum but she knew Saint was doing it because he was under the impression that her neighborhood was a den for rapists and thieves. He didn't want her walking at night and always made sure that she entered her house before he left. At times when they left too late from the office, she would sleep over at his place in his guest room.
"How's the Cage Avenue contract coming along?" He flipped open the file quickly perusing over it.
"The guy from Public Works needs you to meet him on Thursday at 10.00 to renegotiate further. But we should get the contract by tomorrow."
"Okay! Ask his P.A to run his current figures through us so that we know what we're working with before the meeting."
" Sure Boss." She said already clicking on her computer to send an e-mail requesting the contract information to Liz.
"So for real, Tanyi. Who the hell is Mr. D? and don't think I didn't hear you talking about the erotic dream thing."
"Go bully someone else Saint." She said not even looking up. Just then a strong perfume wafted in. They both knew who it was,
"Cover for me." Saint said before he ducked into his office. Claire Atkins drifted into the office, wrapped in cashmere, high heels tapping on the floor like mini-terror drums. Children made up imaginary friends, Claire made up imaginary fiancées. The only problem was this time the fiancé was not that imaginary. This time she'd picked a real flesh blooded man.
