"TEMPTATIONS"
EDITED BY:
Miriam Belle
CREATIVE CONSULTANT:
Simply_Cyn
Author's Note:
"Many people have asked about a secondary character in this story, Sheila Crane-Messing from "The Finer Points of Sheila." This story takes place in the time frame of chapters 4 and 5 during her pregnancy. Thanks!"
***
It had been three weeks since Ellen Gordian returned to her job at Clarkson Real Estate. As Sheila had predicted, Mr. Clarkson was only too happy to get Ellen back on the payroll. She quietly assumed her old role and even got her old desk back. It felt good to be wearing her business suits again. She felt like she was in control, like she had finally found a foothold against the craziness of her life. A lot of old feelings came back for her with her new employment, but absent from this reunion with purpose was guilt.
Her daughter, Maddie, was in the care of one of the most professional and down to earth women she had ever met. The day Shannon Merele (pronounced Mer-ul-lee) showed up at the Gordian house was the day Ellen knew she had made the right choice. Shannon was forty-five with the deepest auburn colored hair Ellen had ever seen. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of emerald clover and her skin was alabaster. Ellen was impressed by her professional appearance and clean-cut attire of slacks and white blouses. But it was her easy going charm and relaxed confidence that allowed Maddie to fall in love with her.
But Ellen had been acutely aware of her husband's roaming eyes. Mark had spent the entire interview looking her over in his pathetically subtle way. Ellen had to admit she was an attractive woman. Her figure was full and her breasts seemed to be a little too large for her smaller frame. The woman stood about five-seven with breasts ballooned out subtly enough to lead Ellen to believe they were real. When she played with Maddie on the floor, they jiggled and teased under her shirt. Mark was only too happy to watch.
Aside from her husbands blatant gawking, she had no reserves about Shannon. The agency she came from highly recommended her and her list of references was impressive, reading like a who's who list of local movers and shakers. Her price had been right for them and aside from Mark's indiscretion, she was perfect. So Shannon Merele became the new addition to the Gordian household, working from five in the morning until either she or Mark got home.
On the morning of June 30th, Ellen woke up to find the temperature already soaring past seventy-five degrees at just a little after eight. It had been just over a month since she slapped Mark across the face. If his attitude towards her had been cold before, it was positively frigid now. In fact, his regard for her was the only cold thing in the entire house for the most part. The rising temperatures and humidity had only served to further irritate their festering marriage.
Many things had changed since that night, and she was beginning to realize that her marriage was going to end. The fact that Henry hadn't called her back after he had checked up on Mark was puzzling, but even more so in that her friend didn't make an effort to even contact her at all. Semester had ended, and Henry was on vacation as was most of the faculty at the college.
Well, everyone except Mark.
He had been working late hours and was constantly holed up in his office "preparing the syllabus for next semester." A month ago, Ellen might have believed that. His infidelity was all but a spoken fact between them now. Their sex life had been dead prior to her suspicions, but when she had found the lavender scented perfume on his shirt that night (the "Night of the Slap" as she had come to think of it), it had been buried. Considering his appetite for sex and his consistently good mood to the contrary, to think he wasn't getting laid was the height of ignorance.
Ellen showered and dressed in typical business attire, a smart looking suit-and-skirt with a wide lapelled blouse. Once downstairs, she found Shannon cooking breakfast for her family. The smell of bacon and eggs was thick and appetizing, making her stomach growl. Mark was sitting at the bar and chatting with Shannon, his charm as thick and obvious as the butter spread. Maddie was happily humming to herself as she scooped up a handful of scrambled eggs and shoved them into her mouth. The small child was thankfully oblivious to the turmoil in the house.
"Good morning everyone," Ellen walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning," Shannon greeted her with one of her trademark smiles. She was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that hugged her figure in a flattering form. Sometimes, Ellen felt jealous of her. The way her husband ogled the woman was blatant and rude, but Ellen couldn't say that she blamed him. On the other side of it, Shannon seemed oblivious to his leering. And that was fine with her.
"Morning," Mark said indifferently. If Shannon had noticed his attitude, she did not let on. Ellen thought maybe she chose to ignore it. Better not to become involved in family politics. And, again, this was fine with Ellen.
"You have to work again today?" Shannon asked her, "It's Sunday."
"Yeah," she nodded and filled her mug with hot coffee, "Sheila and I are going to be viewing a few houses today that another firm is letting go."
"And when will you be home?" the nanny asked.
"Most likely around eight," she replied and noticed Mark's gaze resting casually on Shannon's jiggling breasts as she stirred the frying bacon, "But it could be later than that. One of the houses is on the southern end of the city."
"Well, I'll keep a plate warm for you," Shannon told her and pulled the pan full of crispy bacon off the burner.
"What about you Mark?" Ellen asked, already knowing his answer, "You working today?"
"Yes," he said, "I'll be late as well."
"Of course."
"Implying something, Ellen?" he asked as he flipped through the morning paper. The search was still on for the killer of Alicia Keel. She had been murdered the morning he phone fucked her with Marlene in his office. His heart had almost stopped when he found out she was dead. Much to his chagrin, the cops had checked her phone records and found the call placed from his office to her on the morning in question. He had lied through his teeth, telling them that she had been interested in attending the college. As he was a regular at the café where she worked they had a "mild friendship" and she had turned to him for more information. His calling her was purely professional.
Since they had no other reason to suspect otherwise, they had left it at that. But Mark had been badly shaken by the experience. Even now, he worried that they might implicate him and expose him. The truth about his multiple affairs was enough to destroy his plans for the future, but he had also been planning to murder Ellen. He had even made a few phone calls (numbers for which he had paid a small fortune) to get some quotes from the bookies that represented professional killers.
The situation was hot, as hot as the weather outside. He wasn't so much concerned with Alicia dying as he was with his own ass. He was the one who had everything to lose. As a result, he had become much more cautious in his double life. He had wanted to fuck Shannon badly, so badly that his want for her was worse than his lust for Marlene. And while he maintained his relationship with Emily and Marlene, he kept as much distance between he and Shannon as he could, which really wasn't much.
"Excuse me," Mark folded up the paper, "Bathroom break."
Ellen looked to Shannon as Mark left the kitchen and hurried upstairs, "Will you be fine working today?"
"Mrs. Gordian," she smiled and scraped the bacon on a plate, "It's why I get paid the big bucks."
Ellen grinned and gave Shannon a side hug, "Thanks."
"Mrs. Gordian?"
"Ellen," she corrected her, "Please call me Ellen."
"Ellen," Shannon said, her eyes hesitantly looking away, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
Shannon glanced up at the ceiling and then to Ellen, "Why does Mr. Gordian treat you so badly?"
Ellen swallowed her coffee and leaned against the counter top. She looked at the nanny and tried to decide how to respond. It was a bold question to be sure. After a long pause, Ellen said, "I don't know."
"I don't like how he talks to you," she whispered as put the hot pan in the sink, "I know I'm out of line here, but he's so mean."
"Don't worry about it, Shannon," Ellen said quietly, "I don't anymore."
