Chapter 13: Anna Seduces Elin
The next day in the office Emelie and I acted as if there was nothing going on between us, not so much that we were uncomfortable with what had happened, but more the effort to keep it a secret with our colleagues. I did kind of enjoy the thrill of it, though.
About mid-morning I got a text from Olivia:
Hi Anna, Hope you are doing well. Just wanted to say "Hello" and hope I didn't wreck anything between you and David. Call me when you get a chance....
I responded with:
Hi Olivia, Doing fine, thanks. Things have been awkward between me and David but I think we'll get through it. Will try to call you later (smiley). Thanks for reaching out!
She responded with a line of smileys.
Nelly wanted to do lunch together, which I also wanted, but I had to eat real quick then hustle over to Nyborg's. I was excited about finally getting the contract settled, and looking forward to seeing Elin again.
When I arrived at Nyborg's she was standing behind the reception desk dressed in the same blue pants she wore the first time we met. She greeted me with a big smile.
"Hi Anna." Her big blue eyes sparkled between heavily mascaraed eye lashes.
"Hello, nice to see you again," I replied. My eyes met hers then involuntarily fixated on her bosom. Tan, wrinkled skin showed itself above a silky white scoop blouse. I had made her appear younger in my fantasies, but I was still attracted to her.
Fresh, red lipstick covered her lips indicating she must have touched them up after lunch. Thank God there was no coffee cup in sight with red smudges around the edge. That would have turned me off immediately.
"Yes, me too."
The only potential turn-off was the texture of her hair. Kind of brittle-looking and overwrought, like the life had been brushed out of it. It lacked the healthy sheen that you saw with women half her age.
She continued, "So yes, Henrik asked me to bring you back in so we could go over the details."
Bring me back in, huh? Well, I suppose he's in charge here.
All of a sudden, the image of Olivia seductively applying deep red lipstick before blowing David popped into my head. I imagined Miss Elin sucking David's dick the same way with those red MILF lips.
"Okay for me," I replied.
"Great, let's go to a conference room and I'll fetch Henrik."
"Sure. To the fishbowl?"
"Ah, you remember."
"Of course," I replied.
I jilled off to you right after our last meeting. But you have no freakin' clue, do you?
As we walked through the office towards the "fishbowl", I saw that the office was filled with people sitting in their offices giving it some life, much different that the Friday I was here last when the place was dead.
"So, do you still want to grab a coffee afterwards?" she asked as she turned to me with a smile.
"Sure," I replied. "As long as you can get away."
"No problem for me. They're really relaxed about that kind of stuff here. Grabbing a coffee with our partners is good for collaboration and relationship building," she continued, half-sarcastically, poking fun of corporate-speak.
I laughed, impressed with her use of sarcasm.
Henrik entered the conference room shortly after we sat down. Elin and I sat opposite each other in the same places as in our last meeting. After shaking hands with me, Henrik took a seat to her right.
He was a pleasant guy, early 40's I would guess, slim with an athletic build and graying brown hair. He possessed the quiet, austere demeanor characteristic of most people who worked in the real estate and finance sector.
"So how have you been, Anna?" he asked, starting the conversation.
"Just fine and you?"
"Very well, thanks. Been busy here, but I'm guessing for you as well?"
"Oh yes, they keep me hopping for sure."
"Keeps us in our jobs, right?" he remarked with a wink.
"I suppose so," I answered with a little laugh.
I wondered if he was fucking Elin.
"Okay so, we love the material and the campaign you created for us. Great stuff."
"Glad you liked it." I replied.
He gave a little smile then continued, "So now let's talk a little black and white..." he then opened up a file on his desk and took out a packet of documents. He turned it around so I could read it then proceeded to highlight the different sections. Every now and then he would make a comment to Elin about what should be added to it as we reviewed it. Elin nodded her head and made short scribbles into a black notebook.
This went on for about forty minutes then he closed the document and put it back into the folder. There were some things I didn't have the mandate to decide on, so I told him I'd need to check with Maria. We made another appointment for next week then we all stood up. Henrik and I shook hands, said our goodbyes, then left.
When he was gone, Elin looked at me through a smile then said, "Now time for that coffee."
"Indeed," I replied.
We decided to go to Expesso House just down the street. It was conveniently located close by and fortunately not very crowded. Elin ordered a cappuccino, and I ordered a coffee caramel latte. We took a seat at a table by the window and watched the life outside pass by. There was a moment of pause as we both studied the people bundled up against the cold February afternoon walk briskly down the sidewalk. I was warm and comfortable, fortified by the rich, sweetness of my latte.
"This contract stuff makes my head spin," I said, breaking the silence after taking my first sip.
Elin laughed. "Yeah, I know, but it's a necessary part of the process, I suppose."
"I suppose so, but I really enjoy the people part of my job, listening to the client's needs and coming up with solutions. That's very rewarding to me."
She followed my words with a sincere interest, but also realized that she was probably at a point in her life where she had given up on analyzing what she liked and didn't like; it didn't matter at her age, a job was a job and not something that allowed her to achieve self-actualization. I was slowly starting to understand that.
I changed the subject, "How long have you been at Nyborg's?"
"Oh jeez, ever since I was eighteen years old. I came in for a summer job when I was in school and never left."
We both laughed.
Then a moment of silence. I looked out the window and watched a mother stop and adjust a blanket over her baby laying in a stroller.
"So do you have kids?" I asked.
"Yes..." she replied after swallowing a sip of her cappuccino then setting her cup down. The question had come right as she was drinking. "A son who is studying now in Linköping and a daughter living in Stockholm."
"Oh wow, so you're an empty nester now?
"Yeah, you can say that."
Shit, her kids were probably the same age as me.
"And your husband?"
"I'm divorced. My kids are from that marriage."
"Oh, I see. Do you see them often?"
"A few times a year. Holidays, birthdays..."
I smiled. I didn't dare ask her how old they were.
After that we talked a little bit about our personal lives. I told her about David, she talked about her ex-husband, a guy named Donald whom she met at Nyborg's. He was one of the account executives and it seemed like a typical office romance where a manager seduces one of the admins then it turns into a serious relationship. Most likely as they grew older, their differences became more apparent, more irreconcilable.
I could tell she was a bit of a sex pot when she was younger, probably good in bed, and most likely had no problem getting the attention of men. As I looked at her as she spoke, I tried to stop myself from feeling sorry for her. As with most sexpots, she had most likely been taken advantage of; attracted the wrong kinds of guys then used and thrown away.
When she was done talking, she sat in silent contemplation looking down at her almost-empty mug. I wondered about how true my assumption was about how the guys in the office talked about her in those early days; how many of them fucked her or jacked off to her.
"Elin," I said breaking the silence.
"Yes?" she replied, looking up at me as I snapped her out of her trance.
"You're very pretty."
"Oh, thank you," she replied, her face blushing. "But not as pretty as you," she continued.
"Come on, I mean it. But thank you for the compliment."
"Appreciate what you have now, youth doesn't last forever." She continued looking at me, but with eyes that seemed to be looking through me fixed upon something that only she could see.
I reached across the table and held her hand. She interlaced her fingers with mine. Her hands defied her age - she had nicely-shaped fingers with beautifully painted nails. Our eyes met and we smiled.
"Let's go somewhere private," I offered softly.
"We can go to my apartment."
"Where is it?"
"Molndal."
"Can you get away for that long?" I asked.
She shrugged.
"Let's go."
We hopped on a tram and arrived at her apartment, a cozy one-bedroom flat on the third floor of a brown multi-tenant building situated on the main artery running alongside the tram tracks that connected to Korsvägen.
"Doesn't the noise from the street bother you?" I asked looking down at traffic below.
"Not really, you get used to it."
"Nice place." I commented as I looked around at her immaculate apartment. It had an order and cleanliness that I assumed came with being at a certain stage in life: kids grown up, a divorce behind her, not much in the way of career advancement ahead of her; the only thing left was the careful ordering of things within the range of what she could control. And that is what accounted for the gleaming gray granite countertop in the kitchen. The carefully placed pillows on the white fabric sofa, and the understated style of the décor. Black and white photos of sail boats and other nautical themes hung on the walls. There was only one small photograph of her family, a color photo of when they were young standing on a boat deck wearing life jackets.
"Are you into sailing?" I asked.
"Used to be. Me and Donald sailed quite a bit when the kids were young."
