Mafia Desire (Erotica)

Kyle gave her a skeptical look and she raised a hand. “Monique is the one guilty of abusing a trust, not you. Her anger with you has nothing to do with your treatment of her. She got caught in a lie and, if there’s any justice in this world, it’ll cost her the marriage she abused. That’s entirely on her.” She gave Kyle a compassionate look. “You’re not to blame for any of that.”

He held her eyes but she refused to give him an inch. He finally dipped his eyes in acceptance, conceding the point to her.

“Is there anything else you feel your mother wouldn’t be proud of?” Phoebe asked gently.

He looked at his hands and flexed the one not holding the mug. He smirked. “The navel gazing. She’d tell me to stop moping and get moving!” He sighed. “The problem being, I don’t know what direction I need to move in.”

Phoebe tilted her head at him again. “I think you can give yourself a little time. You’ll get moving in time. Once you assess what you need to be happy.”

He suddenly yawned and triggered one in Phoebe. She grinned at him. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day. Why don’t you head off to bed and I’ll join you after I take care of my own laundry.”

He nodded as he really was feeling the strain of the day catching up to him. “Thanks for the tea, cookies, and especially the talk. I really needed that. It has been a rough day.” She smiled at him with a nod. “And thanks for letting me crash at your place tonight. I appreciate it!”

“It’s nice to have company. Aisha isn’t a very scintillating conversationalist,” Phoebe sighed. The cat in question wandered through the living room and gave them both a critical stare before moving on.

Kyle and Phoebe stood and he surprised her by giving her a warm hug. She leaned into it and then pulled back with a happy grin. She took the mugs and the plate back into the kitchen after he snagged one more biscuit. He popped it into his mouth and munched as he walked to the bedroom. He undressed, leaving only his boxers on and grabbed his toiletry kit. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth then returned to the bedroom and turned back to the door.

“Which side of the bed do you want?” he called out.

“The side closest to the door,” her reply came back.

He turned on the lamp on her side table then turned off the overhead light and slipped under the covers. It felt a little odd being this close to the floor but the mattress was comfortable at least. His head hit the pillow and he felt his body relaxing already.Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

Soon the day was fading from his mind and he let sleep carry him away.

Sometime later he resurfaced as the light clicked off and he felt Phoebe climb into bed. She moved a little closer to him and sighed happily as he moved his arm around her and tucked her in against his side.

With a smile on his face he slipped into oblivion once more.

Kyle discovered it was difficult to do push ups when there’s a cat in the room who wants attention. Aisha had made herself comfortable on his back as he pushed himself up from the floor and remained there through his efforts to the count of thirty. He heard a burst of laughter from the doorway as Phoebe, wrapped in her dressing gown, joined them.

She walked over and scooped the cat from his back. “Oh you silly kitty! Let the man finish his routine.” She took a seat on the couch with the cat on her lap and ran her fingers over its fur until the animal was purring contentedly.

Kyle smiled at her gratefully and moved on to do his crunches. Now he had an audience of two who sat on the couch watching him work his muscles until they burned. He wasn’t sure which one was purring louder.

“Nothing on TV this morning?” he panted.

“Nothing as entertaining as this,” she replied with a pleased grin.

He shook his head with a smirk and finished his morning routine as his watchers followed his movements with their eyes.

“What’s the plan today?” he asked as he did his cool down stretches.

“Oh! Let me check my email!” Phoebe exclaimed, dropping the cat on the cushions as she popped up to her feet to go pick up her phone from where it was charging. She scanned through her email and opened the one from Fiona. Kyle watched her smile fade into a look of concern. She looked over at Kyle when she was done. “It didn’t go so well with her parents last night. They informed her they’re retiring and want her to take over the operations of their chain.”

Kyle blinked. “That’s good news, right?”

Phoebe nodded but still didn’t look happy. “She’s been expecting this news. They’ve been grooming her for years. Apparently, last night they told her she needs to move to Paris to ensure the new hotel opens on time and on budget. She’ll have to be there for at least a year, maybe two.”

“Ah. That’s rotten timing. They can’t put off their retirement until Cameron’s out of the hospital and the charges against him are settled?” he asked.

“That’s the second condition. They don’t want her involved with the scandal as it’ll reflect poorly on the business. They want her to fly to Paris tonight,” Phoebe sighed.

“Not involved?!? She was there!” Kyle exclaimed.

Phoebe looked at Kyle with sad eyes and gestured to her phone. “She said she’s going. It was either that or be cut out of her parent’s business, their will, and their lives.”

Kyle gaped back at her in surprise. “Oh. Damn.” He absorbed the impact of that ultimatum. Personally, he’d have told Fiona to tell them to shove it up their ancient puckered orifices but he hadn’t grown up surrounded by affluence. His dreams weren’t on the line.

“She’d like to have dinner with all of us tonight at the seafood restaurant we went to when you first arrived,” Phoebe said. Her expression turned nervous. “Monique was included in the invite.”

Kyle saw he was trapped between supporting Fiona and facing the woman he’d vowed to avoid. “Shit.” He couldn’t decide what to do. “I’m going to take a quick shower,” he finally said.

He purposefully kept his mind on the actions of showering and shaving and forced himself to ignore all distractions so he could approach this issue with a fresh mind. Once he was clean and dressed in his comfy grey jeans and a white t-shirt, he returned to the living room and Phoebe took her turn in the washroom. He sat on the couch and kept Aisha entertained until Phoebe returned. This was a good distraction as well.

When she walked into the living room she gave him a questioning look.

He sighed. “I’ll be there for Fiona. I’ll avoid Monique as much as I can. If she tries to speak to me, to justify what she did, I’m gone.”

Phoebe smiled in relief and nodded to him. “I’m sorry I can’t take the day off as I have to go to work but there’s a spare set of keys on the hook in the kitchen.” She pointed them out and he nodded. “I’ll be home at 5:30PM and we can go over to the restaurant together.”

“Hey! I completely understand. I was a working stiff as well. Still am to an extent,” he said. “I want to start researching an investment to replace the one Cam’s father voided. That’ll take me a number of hours. Do you want to meet for lunch? My treat.”

She grinned and nodded then handed him a business card from the kitchen counter. It had the name and address of the yoga studio. “My lunch hour is from 1PM to 2PM. I know a place next door to the studio. Fast, good, and cheap! A rarity in this town.”

He walked her to the door and surprised her with a hug. She beamed him a happy smile as she headed out.

Kyle spent the morning on his tablet looking for stories of interest in the business world. He saw a few mildly interesting companies but nothing with the growth potential that truly captured his eye.

He rode his Harley over to the studio and entered the front door at promptly 1PM. Phoebe was standing by the receptionist’s desk with three other women who were all older than Phoebe but equally slim and fit. The receptionist couldn’t have been more than twenty and had a look of innocent excitement to be among them.

“Right on time, Kyle!” Phoebe said with a grin. “Let me introduce you to my fellow teachers. This is Amelia, Franca, and Jasmine. And Ginny, who just started as our receptionist last week.”

Kyle placed his palms together and bowed slightly as he smiled at the group. “Namaste,” he said and received delighted smiles in return. Ginny was gaping at him with wide eyes.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” Phoebe said to the others then shared looks with the other teachers. She took Kyle’s arm and walked with him outside and to the restaurant next door. They had a reserved table which was good as the place was very busy. “Louis gets free Yoga lessons as long as he ensures we can reserve a table from time to time. We’re the only ones who get this service.”

Kyle ordered a sweet chili chicken bowl with chicken tenders, rice, and stir fried veggies. Phoebe ordered a fresh chopped salad with avocado, pecans, fresh greens and a honey lime vinaigrette.

Kyle observed the calmness in Phoebe and smiled. “You love your job, don’t you.”

She nodded. “Very much. I bring people peace and tranquility for their minds and their bodies. It’s very fulfilling for me.”

Kyle smiled wistfully. “When I finally figure out what I want to do with my life, I hope I can find that feeling of fulfillment. The acquisition of financial wealth is certainly not it.

“You have any other marketable skills?” she asked.

Kyle pondered that. He frowned as his mind took him to one he’d learned at his father’s side. “I have some skill as a mechanic. I could take some courses to brush up on them but that doesn’t appeal as it puts me on the same path as my father.” At her curious look, he continued. “I didn’t have a great relationship with the man. I’m doing my best to not become him.” He left it at that as he didn’t really want to dredge up those feelings and spoil their lunch.

The food arrived and, as promised, it was delicious! They enjoyed their meals and the conversation naturally turned to Fiona and her parents.

“I grew up in a very different world. She’s been surrounded by her parent’s wealth and privilege all her life. This ultimatum seems shockingly harsh to me,” Kyle said quietly.

Phoebe nodded. “My family was pretty much the middle class standard. House in the suburbs and amazing parents who both took decent jobs to provide for their three kids. Fiona’s desire to include me in her circle of friends was a surprise to me but we just clicked. I’ve had some time to assess her relationship with her parents. The severity of their demands doesn’t really surprise me. From what I’ve seen, they put their business first. They value their daughter but they’ve groomed her to be the heir and owner of their hotel chain. This is their legacy. They’re exceedingly protective of it.” She gave him an unhappy look. “At, potentially, the cost of her happiness.”

He shook his head. “So… what’s the play? Try to make her face reality and take control of her life or just be a shoulder to cry on?”