Chapter 12: A Moment of Weakness

Fact: The Wells and the Eve family were once great allies.

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Beatrice sat in her chair by the fire in her home drinking wine. James had canceled on her for the third time in the last week. She held her glass out and Mason stepped in, refilling it swiftly. She took another swig and huffed.

“Mason?” she sighed.

“Yes, Miss Wells?” he tightened his grip on his bottle. Normally when she drank like this, her gang suffered casualties.

“Am I not desirable?”

“Preposterous! You’re as gorgeous as ever Miss Wells,” he scoffed.

“Then why am I talking to you, a man who signed his life away to serve me, instead of the man, who gives me satisfaction at every turn?”

Mason stayed quiet. If he spoke, someone was dead. If he didn't, someone was still dead.

“Because,” he faltered.

“Because?” her hand tightened around the glass.

“Mr. Brooks is… working on his product for the competition?” he cleared his throat. She stayed silent for a moment and took another swig.

“Right. That’s what he’s doing,” she answered plainly. “He’s working on his product for the competition. He’s not thinking of a dark-eyed little whore who would be six feet under if she didn’t break down my impending empire,” the glass broke in her hand, spilling the remaining wine onto the floor. Mason cleaned it immediately and she snapped her fingers for another glass and it was brought to her with haste by another servant.

“Hold on.” she stopped the server. The server’s heart leaped in his throat as he stalked back towards her. “Name?” she asked.

“Emmanuel,” he answered nervously.

“Emmanuel. I hope you like sharp things Emmanuel because I want you to fill the candy apples with razor blades and give them out to dark-eyed women and children. Am I clear, Emmanuel?” she gave him a sweet grin.

“Yes, Miss Well. I’ll do that right away,” he left before she gave him anything else to do and Mason poured her another glass of wine.

“Mason, I still have that skirt my mother wanted me to throw away right?”

“Yes, Miss Wells.”

“Fetch it for me. My special appointment is tomorrow,” she said, downing her last glass of wine for the night.

***

James was putting on his coat when there was a light knock on the door. Tommy answered it and tried not to jump out of his skin.

"Miss Wells,” Tommy answered above-normal volume, “To what do I owe the pleasure,"

James cursed under his breath and checked his watch. He was meeting Penelope for tea in less than an hour.

Beatrice gave a sly smile, "I just thought I'd visit my hard-working man. Is there a problem?"

Tommy’s eyes shifted from Beatrice to James who was quickly shaking his head.

“I’m afraid Mr. Brooks has an important meeting to get to. Can I schedule another time?”

“You can step outside while I talk to Mr. Brooks.” Beatrice gestured him out.

“I understand the frustration, but Mr. Brooks-”

“Is going to hear me shouting outside of his office very soon unless you open. The damn. Door.” her voice was stern.

“And I told you, Mr, Brooks has a meeting. If you’d like to come back another time, I would be happy to set a meeting.” Tommy retorted.

“Tommy let her in,” James ordered. Tommy begrudgingly opened the door and he took his place outside.

“The next time I tell you to let me in, you do as I say pest.” she hissed. Tommy shut the door rather hard and she and James were now left alone.

“I’m sorry but you’ll need to make this quick, I have to go-” he stopped when his eyes caught the length of her skirt, inches away from her knees. She pressed her lips to his, catching him off guard. He tried to gently push her off, but her arms were wrapped around his neck and her body was pressing into him the longer she kissed him.

“What’s gotten into you today?” he gasped.

“You’ve seemed stressed so I thought I’d give you a treat,” she answered seductively. She kissed him again and the resistance in his grasp was beginning to fall. She put a hand on his chest and pressed him into his chair with ease.

“Really, I need to go,” he tried to push himself up, but she perched on top of him, kissing him more. Now, he was pinned against the chair with no way out. His hands ran up from her smooth legs to her shapely behind, to her lower back, making her nails dig into his shirt.

“For someone who needs to go, you seem busy right now,” her voice fluttered.

“Can’t go anywhere with you on top of me. Which you need to get off of me.”

“Why? You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” her hand ran down his chest to his trousers, gripping him. He tried to suppress a moan, but she could still hear it and smiled with satisfaction, “Besides, I’m sure you can afford to be a little late,” she whispered in his ear. She began unbuttoning her shirt and he felt his hands assist.

“Sure…” he answered, mesmerized. “I can be a little late…”

He felt her undo his belt and was soon slipping into her letting his mind go blank.

Outside, Tommy was watching the minutes tick by. When he leaned his back against the door, he was met with the sounds of groaning and giggling on the other side.

“Miss Eve is going to be more than unhappy about this one,” he thought.

***

James laid back still gasping in his chair after fulfilling his release. Both of them were sweaty and smelling of sex when Beatrice was redressing herself.

“Someone missed me a lot with how much you let out,” she playfully teased. James slipped his clothes back on and looked at the time. He was over an hour late making him curse under his breath.

“This was nice, but I have to go now, I’ll call you later,” he said, guiding Beatrice towards the door. She turned around and gave him a pouted look.

“I don’t get a kiss for the road?”

James gave her a peck on the cheek before opening the door. When Beatrice left James looked out the door to see Penelope, and she was on the brink of tears.