The Scorned Young Woman

Author's note: This part rejoins the separate timelines from parts 6 & 7 and returns to Jason's point of view.

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The next morning I opened my eyes to a fully lit bedroom; the sun was up, the birds were singing outside my window, and the house was silent. I rolled over and picked up my phone to check the time, nearly ten. There was a missed call notification from five minutes ago, it was from Cassandra, probably what stirred me from sleep. I tapped it and called her back.

"Hey sleepyhead," she answered.

"Hey yourself, how are you this morning?"

"I feel so alive! Like I've seen the abyss and now I'm reborn," she laughed.

"So you're saying that last night was a religious experience?"

She laughed. "No, silly man, I'm screwing with you. I ache all over, and my mind is slow. I slept so deeply last night that it took me fifteen minutes just to roll over and check the time. So did you just wake up?"

"Yeah, I slept pretty hard myself. Do you need me to come over and get your blood pumping?"

"Oh, fuck no, I can't take any more of you for a while. You stay away from me with that pile-driving prick of yours!"

It was my turn to laugh. "Okay, you have a good weekend, my dear."

"Jason?" she interrupted, "Thank you, for seeing that I got home safe. I care for you more than you know."

"I think I do know how much you care because I care just as much for you, and you're welcome, but I think we should reconsider engaging in a scene when you can't overnight with me. It's not that I mind getting you home, but I would have preferred to fall asleep with you in my arms, wake up next to you this morning, and know that you were safe."

"Have a good day, Sir."

"Have a good day, my darling."

We ended the call and I just lay there for a while thinking about what had happened yesterday and wondering how Chelsea was when my phone buzzed again. It was Antwon.

"Hey, neighbor, did you enjoy the gift I sent yesterday?"

"Oooohh, man! Did I ever! That is one beautiful, sexy woman. She's in the shower now so I thought I'd call and fill you in on a couple of things. I guess she saw you and Cassandra doing your thing and that upset her. She vomited on my lawn."

"Vomited, I was afraid we had upset her. I should have locked the bedroom door."

"It scared her, she didn't see how she could continue to live with you if you were violent."

"Great," I said, rolling my eyes, "I hope you helped explain to her that Cassandra and I have a different relationship. I'm sure she's never been aware of BDSM, she's about as naive as they come."

"Yeah, I explained it to her as best as I can. I don't fully understand you and Cassandra myself."

"Thanks for the call. Send her home and I'll do my best to fix this."

"One more thing, we had a good talk over dinner and I found out that she was bullied over her weight when she was young, she couldn't even get comfort at home. Maybe that's why she is so insecure about the way she looks."

"Thanks for the detective work my friend."

We ended the call.

I was in the kitchen having a cup of coffee and a sandwich when she came to the sliding patio door. She pecked on the glass and I waved her in. It was nearly noon. She was dressed to impress, short skirt, button-down blouse, and flats. Her hair was braided into long ponytails.

"Good morning, Handsome," she said with a timid smile, "Is it safe to come in?"

"Good morning, my Morsel. Yes, Cassandra is gone. Please come in and sit. Late night? Or was it early morning?" I said with a wry grin.

"Yes," she blushed.

"Well, he must have enjoyed himself."

She came over to the table and sat across from me. "I enjoyed MYself, I couldn't get enough of The Monster."

"I figured as much, it's a pussy-pleaser."

"Pussy, mouth, ass, it's a handful. By the way, I won our bet. Has she been gone long?"

"Yeah, left last night, her son had something early this morning. You swallowed The Monster?"

"I did, ask him. The first time you've slept alone in a while."

"Yeah, it was like old times."

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No, I'm mad at myself. I apologize for what happened yesterday, that was not your fault. I should have been more careful; you shouldn't have been exposed to what we were doing. I'm sorry to upset you, please accept my apology."

"You didn't upset me."

"So you just randomly vomit?"

"How did you --"

"Antwon called and gave me a heads up. I'm surprised you're here."

"Okay, what I saw upset me, it scared me, it made me wonder what kind of beast I'm sleeping with! I was really scared when I left here and wasn't sure I could ever come back."

"So why are you here now? Why come back?"

She sighed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Since that fateful Friday, nothing had caused me more heartache than seeing her cry.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe because I have nowhere else to go, maybe because Antwon tried to convince me that the Jason that I saw yesterday was just a character in a play, that the Jason I've come to know is the real Jason."

"He's right. Chelsea, you can trust that I will never hurt you, never raise a hand, or even my voice, in anger at you. You have my word."

"Thank you, Jason. I want to believe you but what I saw...", tears ran down her cheeks. Dammit.

"Was just what Antwon said, a play of sorts. I have never, and will never, strike Cassandra in anger. It's just how we are with each other. We have a contract of sorts, lots of rules, do's, and don'ts. I don't expect you to understand, but know this, I will never strike any woman in anger, never. It is not within me."

"I don't understand what I saw. I guess that I don't need to. It's between the two of you."

"That's very mature of you."

She sat there wiping away tears and then looking down at her hands again for a while

"Those restraints, have they been there this whole time?"

"In my dresser, not attached to the bed, but they are still there now."

"Will you remove them?"

"Yes, I will but I told you you're safe here. If you're afraid that you'll wake up one morning tied to my bed then don't be. As I said, Cassandra and I have a contract of sorts that defines what we do together. I would never use the restraints on anyone without their permission, let alone someone I care about."

"Care about?" she asked, those teary blue eyes looked at me with hope.

"Yes, I care about you. I can't help it. Maybe it's the dad in me, maybe it's the lover, maybe it's just that I'm a big softie. Whatever it is, I care about you and I want to see you do well. You've been through some shit and my daughter asked me to help. I've already disappointed her by sleeping with you; I can't fail at helping you, seeing that you get back on your feet."

She smiled at me as more tears trickled down her cheeks. "Thank you, for caring," she said, then looked down at her hands and paused before speaking again. "If I ask you a couple of questions will you swear to be honest with me?"

"I swear."

"Did Antwon tell you about our dinner conversation? About my childhood?"

"Yes, he did, briefly. I'm sorry for what you've gone through, children can be so mean, but to be treated that way by your parents is beyond the pale."

"Do you think I'm beautiful? Remember, you swore."

"Have I not told you that you are gorgeous?"

"Yes, but that's not the same as beautiful."

I chuckled, "Look it up."

"Look up gorgeous?"

"Yes, look it up."

She took out her phone and tapped on the screen, her eyes scrolling as she read, filling with tears as they went.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Dazzlingly beautiful or magnificent," she said with a sob.

"I think you are beyond beautiful, Chelsea. And it pains me that you haven't been made to feel that you are. Brady should have worshiped you; he wasn't worthy, and your parents, well, don't get me started on them."

"Some days I feel so ugly, it's like I have this little demon whispering in my ear, telling me I don't deserve to be adored, that I'm fat and unattractive."

"Don't," I told her as I reached across the table and took her hand, "Why did you ask?" I handed her my napkin.

"Antwon kept telling me that I'm beautiful, and I'm starting to believe a little. But you hadn't told me, and stupid me didn't understand what you were saying," she said, laughing through her tears.

"Silly woman."

"That's what Antwon said when I scolded him for talking about my eyes and my lips."

"He's a smooth talker, that Antwon."

"Yes, he is."

"You're gorgeous, Chelsea, and I apologize on behalf of everyone who ever made you feel otherwise. I promise to tell you more often."

"Cassandra is gorgeous," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Yes, I agree."

"I don't look anything like her."

"No, you don't, but she doesn't have a lock on gorgeous. Other women can be gorgeous and that doesn't take away from Cassandra, and her being gorgeous doesn't take away from other women. I've met gorgeous women all over the world."

"Is that why you want to have sex with me? Because I'm gorgeous?"

I laughed. "I seem to remember that you were the one that threw yourself at me on that Friday night. Regardless, I have been attracted to you for years because of your looks, but that's not why I continue to enjoy your body. I want you because you showed me that you are an incredible lover, you always satisfy me, particularly with your lips. That's another thing that Brady was too stupid to realize."

She looked down again, more tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so naive."

"I agree, but I find that somewhat attractive as well. There's nothing less attractive than a beautiful woman who knows she's beautiful but treats others as if they are less than her."

"Well that's not me," she laughed a little.

"No, that's not you."

She smiled again, no tears this time.

"Thank you, Jason, you treat me so kindly. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"You can, and you should. You deserve a life that's so much better than you've had so far."

She stood and came around the table to hug me, then planted a passionate kiss on my lips, and turned toward the hallway.

"Chelsea, I think that you need to move into Crissie's room," I said to her back.

"Why?" She stopped and turned toward me.

"Because I want you to feel comfortable here, to feel safe, I want you to trust me. Also, you and I are out of control. We've been having sex ever since you arrived, and I don't think it is helpful to your mental health, hell, I don't think it's good for my mental health. That changes today. I was supposed to help you through this rough patch and instead, I'm fucking your brains out."

"So you're cutting me off? No more sex?"

"I'm just saying we need to slow down, and I think that sleeping separately will help with that. Let's try it for one month. If you need more sex you have Antwon, and if the two of us aren't enough, I can arrange other men for you."

"You're a pimp?"

"No, but I have friends who, like Antwon, would enjoy your company."

"You disgust me," she sighed in exasperation.

She stomped towards the hallway, I heard a door slam. I finished my sandwich and coffee and then went grocery shopping. When I returned, Chelsea was in the living room watching TV. She followed me into the kitchen and helped put the groceries away.

"You're not wrong," she said.

"I know I'm not, but what specifically are you referring to?"

"Us being out of control, you ass. You fucking engineers think that you're always right."

"Generally we have already thought through multiple scenarios and decided before we even open our mouths, so yes, we do think we're right. I don't think the current situation is good for either of us."

"Well, Mr. Asshole Engineer, I agree that we need to ratchet back on the sex, but I have one request."

"What's that?"

"Let me sleep in your bed. You don't understand how comforting it is to fall asleep in your arms, but I need you to remove the restraints."

We continued putting groceries in the pantry and I didn't respond right away. She was right, it did feel good to have her fall asleep in my arms. The physical touch of another person was what I missed most after the divorce, and having her in my bed brought me comfort.

"So you trust that I won't harm you?"

"I want to; I'll try to."

"All right, you can sleep in my bed, but I think we should stop sleeping in the nude. I'm going to start wearing pajamas," I said with a slight cringe. I gave up night clothes years ago and going back would be a shock to my system.

"So will I," she grinned, "Why don't we order some matching ones?"

"We don't need matching pajamas, Chelsea," I said as I rolled my eyes again.

"Party pooper. What about the restraints?"

"I will remove them and put them back in the dresser. They are not a threat to you, nor am I. You need to trust me if we're going to continue living together.."

We finished putting my purchases away in silence.

"Sit here at the table, would you like a soda?" I asked.

"That would be nice."

I opened two sodas, sat them on the table, and then retrieved a paper from the top of the refrigerator.

"Since Cassandra didn't stay the night," I said, taking a seat a the table, "I had the opportunity to do some thinking this morning." I slid the paper in front of her.

"What's this?"

"I made a list of your positive and negative traits, strictly from my limited viewpoint since I've only observed you as an adult for the short time you've lived here."

Chelsea read the list I'd made, and as she did I could tell she was a bit surprised.

"Leader?" she asked. It was the first item under the positives.

"You lead a team at work, right? That makes you a leader, and you need to think of yourself as one. You have to understand that your boss has delegated some of his responsibility to you and he depends on you now more than ever. You're no longer responsible for just your work; you're responsible for the work of others and he trusts you to get things done right. You told me that he said you were doing a good job. " As I said this I pointed to the next words on the list, dependable, responsible, trustworthy.

"You get all that from my promotion?"

"I'm a businessman, I wouldn't promote a person to a job like yours unless I knew they possessed those traits. You're no longer a simple employee, you're part of the leadership team, and doing a good job according to your boss. I can help you do even better but first, you need to realize that these words describe you."

"I've never thought of myself that way."

"From what I've observed, I'd also say you possess the next three traits."

"Empathy, respect, and gratitude?"

"Yes, you care about others, you're respectful of others, and you appreciate it when someone does something for you. All are good leadership traits."

"No one has ever said any of these things about me before, I didn't even think about stuff like this."

"That's why you need to work on the things in the other column."

At the top of the list of negatives, I had written "lacks self-awareness" and "lacks self-confidence."

"You got those right."

"You need to recognize those positive qualities in yourself, and once you do, once you internalize them, these two can move to the positives column. You can develop self-confidence and self-awareness. They're also critical to your success at work... and in relationships. So are the next three, delegation, temper, and effective communication. I put delegation on the negative side just because I've not had the chance to see it but it's another crucial trait of a successful leader, and I underlined the word effective because, while you don't lack communication skills, your manner makes you less effective."

"I tend to yell."

"Yes, and you have a temper, but you did just demonstrate self-awareness."

"You're always so calm; when you speak, people listen."

"I never would have been as successful as I am without being calm and communicative when others around me are stressed. I call it listen first, speak last, you can learn it."

"Let's talk about the other side; this side sounds like a lot of work."

I softly laughed. "There's only one more on the negative side, quick to judge. You need to think and listen before you jump to conclusions about people's motives, or the challenges you face."

"Yeah, again, you got that right."

"So back to the positives. Honest, dependable, loyal, supportive, funny, and fun. I know that Crissie wouldn't be so close to you if you weren't these things, and I've seen all these in your behavior these past weeks."

"Mr. B, no one has ever had a discussion like this with me before," her voice cracked and she teared up, "I don't know how to thank you."

"Save your thanks for a month from now when we have moved a few of the negatives over to the positive. All of these will help you at work and in life. You'll be a better leader, a better friend, and a better partner when you find one."

"How do we do that?"

"If you will let me, I will be your mentor."

"What's that?"

"It's someone who uses their knowledge and experience to guide and support someone else."

"You'd do that for me? You're this big fancy entrepreneur business owner retiree."

"Well, I have plenty of time now that I'm retired, and I've done plenty of mentoring of my employees. It's a skill you'll want to develop. Why don't we start with a brief check-in each day when you get home? It can be quick or it can take some time, it depends on what happened that day."

"I'd like that Mr. B. I can't believe that you're willing to do this for me."

"For you and me, I need to redeem myself to my daughter. But there's one more thing that I did not put on the list, something that comes with time and experience, and that's naiveté."

"Yeah, I've had my eyes opened since I moved in with you."

"We're going to work on life experience. Can you take some time off work?"

"Well, Independence Day is coming up so that's a three-day weekend, maybe I can get a couple more days off."

"Good, before you ask your boss for time off you need to think about who will fill in for you. You need to delegate your responsibilities to someone while you're gone. Take this list and evaluate each of your team members, then when you go to your boss tell him you think that person should be in charge while you're gone. He may not want you to delegate all of your responsibilities, in which case he'll have to assume them. Either way, you then need to sit down with that employee and explain what they're going to be responsible for while you're gone."

"Okay, I never would have thought of that but you're right, the business of my team needs to go smoothly, even if I'm not there."

"Good, ask him for the rest of that week off, but accept it if he says no, or only gives you a day or two."

The rest of the day we spent around the house, and Chelsea called Crissie. She put her on speakerphone so we could both talk to her. Crissie was pleased to hear that we were taking a break from having so much sex. We had a nice chat then I left the two women to talk privately.

"So when are you moving out?" Crissie asked once Chelsea was in Crissie's old bedroom and had taken her off speakerphone.

"I don't know, I'm still pretty messed up. The reason that your dad and I are giving up sex is that we have realized that it might be hindering my recovery."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right, that's why I was so upset."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that earlier today we had a great talk and he shared his impressions of what good and bad traits I have. It was eye-opening for me. He's so insightful. He even gave me advice on how to behave at work."

"That's what I wanted him to do all along, not to go sticking his cock in you all the time! You two never should have slept in the same bed. I regret asking him to take you in!"