Author's note: This is a slow burn lesbian romance series. Please be patient, because some of the chapters are less erotic than others.
Chapter 7
My leg bounced relentlessly as I drove to work the next day. For once, I was following the speed limit, and there was no music playing in my car. I was too consumed with my own anxious thoughts after learning that my employee had witnessed Juri at my house in a sexy maid outfit.
How would this go? I was hopeful that Paula wouldn't mention it to anyone, but how could I expect her to keep her mouth shut after what she saw? It would be the biggest thing on my mind if I were the one in her shoes.
I was just as worried about the way the other women in my office would take it. Would they see me as some sort of closet lesbian, hiding my perverted ways by trapping this Japanese woman in my condo? I could only imagine the rumors that were forming. And unfortunately, I wasn't ready to handle these rumors, considering I hadn't really worked out my own feelings.
It's going to be okay...
I told myself, trying everything to calm my nerves.
Even if rumors do swirl, I'm sure I'll come up with a good excuse to explain my situation.
Unfortunately, the alibi never came, and I couldn't even explain the situation to myself, no less, could I explain it to them. The more I thought about it, my relationship with Juri had just gotten out of control. And it all started out with my stupid mistake; one that I definitely couldn't admit to the others.
When I got to the office, the others weren't there yet, with the exception of Alana. My intern had gotten into the habit of arriving early to bring me coffee.
My order was actually messed up, something I normally would have gotten onto her about since she didn't check it thoroughly. But with everything going on, mentioning her little mistake was the last thing on my mind.
Alana seemed to be clueless about the situation. I hoped this was a sign that the whole thing would go unnoticed. Deep down inside though, I knew that she didn't really talk to the others, so if there were rumors going around, she'd probably be the last to know anyway.
As the other girls began trickling in, I couldn't help but stare at them from a distance, searching for any clues. It was kind of difficult to get a grasp of anything though, because they always came in late, at different times, since I had never been too strict with their punctuality. And Paula, the main source of my insecurity, was usually one of the tardiest.
More time passed, and I started to wonder if Paula was coming in at all. Then, my office phone rang, and I realized I had been too distracted to even notice what time it was. I had a phone call scheduled with a vendor for a different department. And as much as I normally hated those calls, it at least relieved my anxious mind for the time being.
The phone meeting ended up being such a great distraction that I completely forgot about the impending situation I had been fearing. However, when I looked outside of my office door, I noticed all of my employees were there, including Paula, and they seemed much more chatty than normal.
Oh, shit...
I whispered to myself, as I could only imagine what they were talking about. The girls were giggling and showing each other their phones. It made me insecure that Paula had taken a picture of Juri, and was now showing it to the others!
I had no idea what to do! I couldn't just walk up to Paula and ask, "Have you told anyone about the Asian girl in my condo wearing a sexy made outfit?" However, I needed to talk to her, and at least get a feel for her attitude that day. I was just scared... so I remained in my office, waiting for the right opportunity.
After standing at my door for much too long, I finally built up the courage to walk out and face my employees. They were all staring at me, some with big smiles on their faces. I could only hope that they were just happy to see me, but that wasn't normally the case.
Perhaps it's just my imagination,
I told myself as I walked amongst the awkward silence of my employees.
This is probably how they always act... Maybe I'm just overreacting...
Finally, I found myself right in front of Paula, who at first pretended she didn't notice my presence. As she looked up at me, a large smile came to her face. "Yes, Karina?"
Though my heart was rushing, I tried to play it cool, like there was nothing anxiously pressing on my mind. "Thanks for bringing that document to me yesterday."
"Oh, did you get it?" she asked, almost with a twinkle in her eye.
"Yes... I thought by bringing it to me, you were going to bring it to the office. I wasn't expecting to see it at my condo."
"Oh, sorry about that. It's just that your place was way closer to me than the office," she started, as her sly smile only grew larger. "I've had your address for a long time, but I wasn't sure if I went to the right place. I think I might have knocked on one of your neighbor's doors..."
My face grew red as we were finally exploring the details of her encounter with Juri. "Oh, really? Why do you say that?"
"Some other woman that I've never seen answered the door. She didn't speak English, but she seemed to know who you were. I figured she could get you the documents, at least."
"Oh, yeah... She got me the documents, all right... Thanks, once again, for bringing them..."
"By the way... who was that? Was she your neighbor or something?"
"Yeah... my neighbor!" I answered, getting excited that Paula might actually believe that she went to the wrong unit. "But she got me the documents, so we're all good!"
Just when I thought I might be in the clear, Paula then made a statement that caught my attention. "Well, I'm sorry I wasn't here yesterday, but I'm glad the documents MADE it to you, at least."
My head shot back at the way she emphasized the word "Made."
Was that in reference to Juri wearing a MAID outfit?
I wondered.
Assuming I was just being self-conscious, I tried to continue with the conversation like it didn't bother me. For all I knew, my employee could have just been testing me, and hadn't come to any definite conclusions yet.
"Yes, I'm glad the documents made it to me... How are you feeling, by the way? Did you get over whatever came over you?"
"I'm feeling much better today," she answered with a little wink, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "I was actually better last night. It was just in the morning I felt pretty rough. I live alone though, so it was too bad that I didn't have anyone to take care of me and my apartment while I was sick."
Yet another off-handed comment that seemed directed at me somehow.
Could that be another reference to Juri's outfit?
I asked myself as I stood there, trying my best not to appear frantic.
Maybe I'm being self-conscious... but why the fuck did she wink at me?!
I left the conversation as quickly as I could and went back to my office. When I closed the door behind me, I let out a loud gasp as I began breathing heavily. I could still hear laughing behind me, making me even more worried that my reactions had proven something inappropriate was going on at my home.
Suddenly, my cell phone vibrated, and when I checked it, a jolt of excitement went through me when I realized it was a message from Juri. For a very brief moment, I almost forgot about the mess I had gotten myself into at the office. However, the constant giggling reminded me of how serious the situation was, making me not want to respond to my sweet friend for some reason.
I could see it all... I could see it all crumbling before me. Everything I had dreamed of, everything I had worked for, crumbling before me. It was all because of a stupid mistake I made. And the proof of it was right there in my condo, wearing a maid outfit.
The vision of that future was the only thing I saw. The future of me losing everything I had achieved. Perhaps that was the reason I couldn't see the light that Juri shined in my life. And perhaps that was the reason I didn't respond to her text message.
My heart raced as I sat on the ground with my back pressed against the door. The sound of their giggling no longer rang in my ears. The noise was being drowned by the loud beating of my heart.
In that moment, not only could I not respond to Juri; I couldn't even eat the food she packed me. I was in a panic as judgment day had seemingly come upon me. And as much as I had enjoyed having fun with her, she was the proof of the sins I had committed in my past.
Take a deep breath, Karina,
I told myself, placing my hand over my chest. Then, after taking a moment to clear my mind, I expressed silently,
I'll find a way out of this...
It was like I had always told myself from the very beginning; I was just hosting Juri to make up for what I did to her. She would soon be leaving, back to her country, and I could wash my hands of my sins. I just needed to come up with an excuse until she left. Then, it would be as if I had never met her, and I would be free from my past.
The only problem was I still didn't know when she was going back to Japan. There seemed to be a communication error whenever I brought that subject up. And up until this day, I had been caught in a false fairy tale, not even worried about the consequences of her continued presence.
