Continued from The Deal Part 5:
"Another day then, I love you, Erik."
She turned and walked back to her office. Bev stuck her head inside the door. "What on earth happened now?"
* Chapter 15 *
Then it was November. I spent more time in Chicago than Springfield. There was much work to be done on Elza's franchising project and I was starting to think that renting a small furnished condo would be more cost-effective than spending money on hotels.
I mentioned it to Elza while we were re-working the Franchise Dissolution Clause for the sixth time in her downtown offices and she said why don't I move into her Condo. It was on Lakeshore Drive, on the Northern side of the Loop. It was large, two equal bedrooms, both with their own on-suite bathrooms. The rest was a large open plan space incorporating a lounge, dining area and gourmet kitchen. She convinced me to use it, most of the time she wouldn't even be there she said, and gave me a set of keys. She also took me down to show me the underground parking.
She had two bays. The one had a Jeep Sahara and the other an Audi R10 Spider. We went to supper in the Jeep. She said unless she was using one of them I was free to use either except in Chicago no-one drives a sports car in Winter and the forecast was for early snow.
We soon found ourselves cohabitating. It was the easiest thing in the world. We mostly used her dining room table as an after-hours office, working together on the franchise project or separately on our other work.
We spoke daily and If we weren't working out of the same office we called each other at lunch-time and confirmed if we would be home or not. It also gave us the opportunity to discuss supper on the occasions we didn't have other engagements -- more her than me.
We sometimes went to supper together but the plummeting temperatures left us ordering in, more often than not.
Other times we cooked. I had a repertoire of meals I could cook well and so did she. The first meal I ever made her was a Porcini, Shitake, Portobello Chanterelles and Oyster mushroom Risotto. For the wine I used half a bottle of a Californian unwooded Chardonnay. I added thinly sliced Canadian ham and mountains of aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. The rest of the ingredients including the Italian Arborio rice I sourced from a local supermarket. We killed the rest of the wine during the cooking and opened a second bottle over the meal.
We finished with an Italian deli bought Tiramisu and snifters of a Calvados Apple Brandy that I found in her liquor cabinet. What can I say, the woman had great taste in almost everything. She played Swing and Latin American music over her sound system and we danced around the apartment with abandon and - in my case, little ability. We fell about laughing and called for more Calvados. Eventually we passed out on her couch. I woke up much later uncomfortable to discover Elza's weight on top of me. We were both fully dressed and I realised as uncomfortable as hell. I managed to slide out from under her without waking her. I carried her to her bed and laid her down. She had kicked off her shoes earlier so I pulled the duvet over her but before I could leave, she grabbed my hand.
"Don't go" she mumbled and pulled me on the bed next to her. I managed to kick off my shoes and passed out within minutes my hand still clasped firmly in hers. I woke up at some indeterminate time, cold and shivering and pulled some of the duvet over me. I woke up one more time with Elza shaking me. "Erik, you're snoring," I was lying on my back so no surprises there. She rolled me onto my side and spooned into me.
When I awoke the next morning, she was pushing her ass against my morning glory. My arm was wrapped around her holding her close. I stretched and she woke slowly, turning to face me. She opened her eyes.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked, smiling back.
I smiled wider. "You just look soo uncomfortable sleeping in your clothes."
"You too she laughed." Then she looked at me shrewdly, "were you holding on to my boobs and pushing your wood into my backside?"
"A little." I admitted somewhat shame-faced. "A good friend once told me that 'you always take advantage of a woman in bed with you." I laughed.
"Well, you didn't take much advantage" she ribbed me good naturedly.
"I can't really take advantage of people who aren't awake or sober," I confessed. "But it has been some time since I've woken up with a woman in my arms. Even if she's fully dressed, so thank you for that."
"No, Thank you." She said, laughing. "It's been a while for me, too."
"Well," I wasn't sure whether I should say more, whether I was reading the signals right. "You know what they say? All work and no play..."
"As you know, this Saturday night is the company franchise launch and I'd like you to come as my date." She cut to the chase arching her eyebrows for a response. "Not my lawyer. My date." -- Ok, I got that.
Later that morning a representative from 'The Black Tux' arrived and measured me up for a tailored Tuxedo and everything else, promising delivery on Saturday morning.
While I was busy on the one side, Elza was busy on the other with two Dolce Gabbana VIP specialists for an evening gown. It looked like we were going all out.
* * *
The rest of the week flew by in a flurry of organising, planning and rehearsing for Elza and a final relook and approval of the company prospectus and contracts from me.
Finally, it was Saturday night and we were at the Chicago Hilton, overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan. There were over 200 attendees in the conference room. Some were current owners and some were potential, future franchisees for the 'Suburban Goddess -- Health & Beauty Spa'.
The evening consisted of a number of presentations promoting the franchise. Finance presented projected turnover for new franchises vs. start-up cost and so it continued until it all finished with a Marketing presentation which was headlined by TV, Radio, Outdoor and Social Media campaigns including the use of a number of relevant influencers. After the presentations and a brief Q&A session, Elza worked the room, sometimes with me in tow sometimes not.
Her auburn hair matched the deep Burgundy gown which started in a boat cut above her collarbones and ran down, form fitting to the floor with a long slit up each side both reaching to midway up her thighs. It clung to her like a second skin until she turned around where it was backless from her shoulders down to just before the crack of her delightful ass. She arrived wearing a pale grey silk shawl which she discarded and revealed her bare back to all. To say that I was shocked would be the understatement of the century. She had a Dragon tattoo coiled around her spine from her shoulder blades down to her crack. It was done in classic American style with strong black outlines and filled in reds, blues and greens. It was so big and bold and totally in keeping with her well muscled back. Not a body builders back but more of an athlete's back. She turned and her hazel eyes searched my face for my reaction.
"So, what do you think Erik?"
I was shocked, surprized, stunned, mesmerised. I told her I wanted to touch it and run my tongue over it. She laughed and said I would get to do all that and rub it with tattoo oil later. She wriggled her back in a sensuous undulation and it looked like the dragon came to life. The contrast between her skin and the Dragon was so sexy that I found myself touching her at every opportunity I had. I must admit that I wasn't into tattoos but the huge dragon on her back suited her perfectly. It was Elza personified.
There was a buzz washing across the room in a wave as people saw Ms Du Preez secret, exposed for what I expected was the first time I public. It felt like the rug had been collectively swept out from under our feet. She continued like there was nothing untoward, but I had been with her long enough to recognise that she was exhibiting a quiet satisfaction at the stir she had caused.