Author notes:
This is a one-off story exploring what happened with Natalia, mentioned in part four of the previous series "Keeping Her Job." It was never meant to be part of Samantha's narrative so it wasn't included there, but I was asked about her so I decided to write it. Offered to you now as a separate, hopefully stand-alone piece that you can enjoy by itself.
I thank you for reading. I appreciate all feedback and look forward to reading your thoughts.
*****
KHJ - Natalia
I found Natalia at the hotel bar as we had agreed on. I had run into her earlier that day at a vendor expo and after some compulsory banter, had agreed to meet later for drinks. I don't think either one of us had actually expected the other to make good on that. It was one of those things that you say, and while you may actually mean it at the moment it is said, it gets filed away just as quickly. However, Natalia and I had some history, and while I hadn't seen her in years, that history was colorful enough to at least make me curious.
Natalia was wearing the same clothes from earlier, a red silk blouse and a black pencil skirt with a high slit that showed off long stretches of her caramel colored thighs in confident fashion. Her hair was a slightly deflated version of the mane I had seen earlier but no less luxurious in its dark glossy tresses. Natalia's legs were crossed and a high-heeled pump dangled off what surely were immaculately manicured toes. Natalia seemed lost in her thoughts and didn't notice me as I approached. As I neared I noticed her earrings on a napkin next to her drink.
"Oh. Earrings on the table, if that is not the signal that "the day is done" I don't know what is..."
Natalia whipped her face to me, then down to her earrings then back to me breaking out into laughter. She playfully slapped at my chest as she leaned in to kiss my cheek in greeting. The heady scent of her perfume wafted up my nostrils and swirled in my brain with precision. Natalia was all predator, a veteran at playing the game.
"You know how it is," she said with a breathy laugh reaching for her drink.
"I do," I deadpanned, "I take mine off the second I finish too."
This made Natalia laugh into her drink and she again mock slapped at me while grabbing at a napkin to dab at her lips. I had known Natalia for several years, she had been part of the company that had recruited me for many years prior to my joining and had entertained illusions of taking over ownership of the company when the then current owners decided to retire and move on. Natalia saw my coming on board as direct competition to her goals and rightly so as I maneuvered myself into a business partnership well before my first year was up. For my end, I saw tremendous talent in Natalia and had hoped to slide her into an eventual co-ownership along with me, but for her it was all or nothing and ultimately she decided to break away from the company she had helped mold and venture out on her own. A few years after she left I took on full ownership of the small company and grew it into a comfortably sized organization that while it didn't make any one person rich, it kept a handful families clothed and fed and happy on most days.
I slid onto the stool next to Natalia, feeling the heat her body gave off. Natalia made a motion to the bartender well across the bar and he nodded right away.
"You know if anyone else tried to get a bartender's attention from across the room like that they'd never get served." I said impressed.
Natalia smiled at me and batted her eyelashes. My groin tightened and I remembered why her leaving had turned out to be a good thing for my professional career. It had been near impossible to think straight for long whenever she was around and she turned it on like that.
"How is the gang? Are they all still there?" She asked with a small smile.
"Most of them," I waited a second to bait her,
"Do you want to come back?"
Natalia smiled. Damn she had a sexy smile,
"You wouldn't take me back if I crawled back on my hands and knees."
"Damn right I wouldn't... though I wouldn't mind seeing you crawling." I said straight faced and made Natalia half choke on her drink again in laughter. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. The bartender came over with two drinks in hand, a martini for Natalia, and a whiskey highball for me.
"You remembered what I drink?" I raised an eyebrow.
"How could I forget, you're the only guy I know that has never tried to be all macho with me and try to impress me with
whiskey, on the rocks.
"
"I
can
be macho," I deepened my voice and Natalia put down her drink before breaking out in laughter again,
"Stop! You're going to make me spill and ruin my shirt!"
"God forbid," I rolled my eyes at her playfully, "Don't ruin the red one. You'll only have the scarlet, the crimson and vermillion left."
That made her laugh even harder. People across the room turned to look at us. Natalia dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. As long as I had known her, Natalia had always been guarded and self conscious about her laugh so she didn't use it very often. I think that as a woman trying to make it in a man's world, she saw the outburst of joyful emotion as a sign of weakness, and so she often suppressed it around others. With me however, for some reason, she laughed, and when she did it often caught her by surprise and she laughed with her whole body. I smiled remembering that about her.
"Oh my god, I forgot what it was like with you,"
"I should spank you for that" I took a drink. Natalia's eyes sparkled in response.
"Oh yes please... I'll hold you to that," she said with a wicked smile. I smiled, filing that away for later.
"How is Nat?" I asked leaving out the "junior."
"Ugh!" she scowled, surprising me, "She is driving me up the wall. She spent the summer with her father and has been impossible ever since."
I chuckled softly. Mention of her ex was rare when we worked together. I had no reason to take the conversation there so I redirected,
"Is she driving yet?"
"Yes" Natalia pouted, "Thanks for making me feel old!"
"You
are
old" I said without missing a beat. Natalia put down her drink before raising her hand to swat at me wide eyed. Her face was bright with laughter though.
"You ass!"
I winked at her and took a sip of my drink.
"What kind of car are you getting her?"
Natalia rolled her eyes, "She wants a Tesla. Like I'm going to get her one, yeah right?!"
I smiled at the familiar expression. She looked at me with an expression that probably mirrored my own, the banter felt so natural.
"Do you remember what your first car was?"
"Sure. A restored sixty-seven Volkswagen bus, you know, the one with little cloth curtains in the windows?"
"Oh my God," Natalia covered her mouth in pleased surprise, like she was discovering something she could tease me about later, "You were a hippie?!"
"Nah, but I got it from one for a good price my junior year of highschool. It even had an old surfboard attached to the roof that never got used," I grinned, "There were no seats in the back, just some pillows on a mattress topper that I cut to fit. It was a real chick magnet."
"Okay... that was pretty smooth," Nat's eyes sparkled, "I'll give you that one."
I chuckled, "What did you drive?"
Natalia blushed and pouted, "I don't wanna say now."
I laughed at that and she grinned with no pretense of a guard. God she looked beautiful like that.
"So are you getting the Tesla and giving her the Volvo?"
Natalia's eyes brightened, "You remembered the Volvo? That was already old when we met! No, I drive an Audi now."
I cocked my eyebrows, "Nice."
"It's a real bear magnet," Nat winked and then laughed at her own joke.
"Smooth..." I tipped the rest of my drink back, "..ish... That was smoothish..."
Nat giggled.
"Speaking of smooth," she motioned for the check while still giggling at our ridiculousness, "You were supposed to be here earlier so should we finish this in your room or mine?"
"Now
that
was smooth. I've already seen the view from my room..." I volleyed and the corners of her lips curled upwards,
"I was hoping you'd say that. I could use a shower."
"Should I give you a few minutes? I could hang back and have one more." I said signing the bill to put everything on my room tab when it was brought over.
"Nonsense," she said, sliding off the stool gracefully while flashing a delicious amount of leg, "Nothing there you haven't seen before..."
"Look who is getting smoother by the minute," I said and she almost stumbled, pressing her lips together to keep from laughing. I let her lead the way. Once she regained her footing, she had the gait of a cat, languid yet predatory. Eyes followed us out, or I should say followed
her
out.
"Did you see how that guy was looking?" Natalia leaned into me to gossip as we waited for the elevator together.
"You're going to have to be more specific there babygirl. There were
