BWWM Interracial Romance 1: Professional Relations (9 page)

After thinking about the dilemma she faced for several days, Regina realized that the only person she could conceivably talk to about her problem and how to solve it was Bradley. The thought of it made her incredibly nervous; she had, after all, rejected him, and she couldn’t blame him if he had bad feelings towards her after the way she broke things off and how she conducted herself afterward. She debated with herself how best to approach him. As she thought about it, Regina’s mind turned more and more to the good times they had had in their relationship. Even if she hadn’t tried to let herself get too attached, she realized that the difference between Bradley and her husband—and between him and any other man she’d ever been with—were night and day. She had to hope that he still had some good feelings towards her.

She decided to send him a text message asking him to meet her after work.

I know I’ve been awkward and downright disrespectful about our relationship, but I really need your help on something, and I can’t talk about it at work. You’re the only person I can talk to about this, and I hope you’re a kind enough person to at least hear me out.

Regina sighed as she sent the message, a lonely lifeline in the maelstrom of her life. She didn’t expect to receive an answer at all. She told herself that she would deal with things herself if she didn’t hear from Bradley. She wasn’t sure if she was more anxious that she would get no response at all, or at the very real risk that Bradley would reject her outright.

When her phone pinged announcing a message, Regina jumped. She picked up the phone in fumbling hands and opened the new text.

You sound like you need a drink. McNulty’s?

Regina smiled to herself at the brusque but friendly reply. She texted back her agreement, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders already. She told herself not to hope too hard—Bradley was a decent human being, and kind man under his veneer of competitiveness and arrogance, but she didn’t know if he would believe her.

Regina left work exactly on time for the first time in weeks, driving to the pub with a pounding heart full of wishes. She hoped that Bradley would believe her; she hoped that he would understand, and that he would possibly want to renew their relationship. Regina gradually realized that what enraged her most about the trick her petty husband had pulled, even more than the death of her career, was that it had deprived her of the man she loved.

Bradley arrived a few moments after her, walking in and looking around until he spotted her. Regina felt herself blushing as he smiled, crossing the room to come to the table she had taken. She had ordered for him—a seven and seven, which she remembered as one of his favorite drinks, with a sangria for herself.

“So,” Bradley said, sitting down and taking his drink in hand. “It’s good to see you again, although I can tell by your face that you’re in some kind of deep trouble. Tell me about it.”

Regina took a deep breath and a sip of her drink and began to slowly and falteringly explain. She told Bradley about her abusive ex-husband; she had refused to mention Richard the entire time they had been together—the whole two months—in part because she had been raised that mentioning previous lovers was in bad taste and in part because she hadn’t wanted to see pity in his eyes when she told him what kind of husband she had had, or contempt when she said how long she had stayed with him. Instead of either, she saw understanding in the bright blue gaze that stayed riveted on her face. She explained that she left Richard, foregoing alimony or any kind of benefit in favor of a fast divorce and the prospect of a new life.

Finally, she came to the real trouble. Looking down at the table in shame, she explained why she had broken things off with Bradley. “I hate myself for thinking it now, but I didn’t have any idea that Richard was behind all the slander being said about me and, well… I haven’t been given a lot of reasons to trust men I sleep with in the past several years.”

Bradley’s hands entered her field of vision, and Regina almost startled as his pale, milky skin came against hers, his hands gripping both of hers tightly for a long moment until she looked up.

“I didn’t guess at any of the specifics,” he said quietly, a faint, sympathetic smile curving at his lips, “But I did notice that you never mentioned any previous relationships at all, and that you seemed absolutely terrified when I brought it up. And the time you had to use the safe word, I figured there was more to it than just the moment. And of course, when you broke up with me…” He took a deep breath. “I knew there had to be more to it. I don’t blame you at all for suspecting me, Reggie.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. “I have to admit that all this time I’ve been holding out the hope that you’d get comfortable with the idea of us dating again. Is there any chance of that? I’ll help you no matter what you decide.”

Regina smiled. “I’ve been bawling my eyes out over losing you for months! Of course there’s a chance of us dating again.”

Regina barely noticed the dinner they ate at the pub; she was so happy, so relieved by Bradley’s presence, that she would have happily eaten anything. When he would have said good night, she kissed him hungrily, touching him all over to let him know that she didn’t want the evening to end just yet—that she needed his comfort in more than just words.

Bradley followed Regina into her apartment eagerly, his hands catching at her hips and drawing her close as the door closed behind them. Regina ran her hands over his body, full of the desire to memorize the planes and ridges of his body all over again. She moaned against his lips as Bradley began to caress her everywhere, seeking the zipper on her dress. “God, Reggie,” Bradley said lowly, breaking away from her lips to kiss along the column of her throat. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this.” He found her zipper by touch, pulling it down along her skin.

Regina was already slick with desire, her heart pounding and her body on fire with the need that Bradley incited in her. She fumbled at his jacket as Bradley began to lead her backwards through her foyer and into the living room. “Are we even going to make it to the bed?” she asked him playfully, running her fingers through her hair. Regina couldn’t believe how much she had missed the contact of his body and hers, the feeling of his hair against her fingers, the sight of his pale skin alongside her darker tones.

Bradley chuckled, lifting her up and holding her body tightly against his as he carried her. “Nope. I’m not patient enough for the bedroom. I’m going to have you right—here.” He deposited her carefully on the couch, climbing on top of her and letting his hands wander over her body slowly and teasingly.

Regina squirmed, wanting more contact, wanting to feel the press of his skin against hers. She managed to get his jacket off, tossing it aside and moving immediately for the buttons on the front of his dress shirt. She was distracted by Bradley’s greater success in pulling her dress off of her, casting it aside and taking the opportunity to kiss the tops of her full breasts. His hot breath against her skin tickled, and Regina’s arousal intensified, her inner walls tightening as she became wetter and wetter under the onslaught of his attentions.

She finally managed to finish unbuttoning his shirt, and began to tug it away from his body, writhing and squirming as Bradley’s fingers danced along the curves of her body, lingering at her breasts and then her hips. In a matter of moments he had her fully naked underneath him; Bradley pulled back, looking down with unmistakable lust in his eyes. “You are so fucking gorgeous,” he murmured, glancing from her naked curves to her face with a delighted smile.

Regina moaned out as his fingers spread her labia, finding her clit and immediately moving to play against it. Thrills of pleasure shot through her body, and Regina’s hips began to move without thought, her mind fogged over from how turned on she was.

Somehow—Regina could never remember how—she managed to finish undressing Bradley in spite of the way that his attentions distracted her. She felt the heft and heat of his hard cock pressing against her thigh, and Regina was consumed with the need to feel it inside of her, with the desire to have it between her lips. She had never enjoyed going down on her husband; but the few times she had sucked Bradley off, it had been an intensely erotic experience that lingered in her mind for days afterward. Bradley’s fingers pressed against her clit, stroking and rubbing, teasing her—one moment firmly touching the bead of nerves, the next moment retreating to the well of her pussy.

Bradley rocked his hips against hers, his cock sliding between the slick folds of her sex as they moved together. Regina moaned and cried out as Bradley’s fingers teased her nipples into firm little nubs, as his lips trailed along her throat and to her collar bones, back up to her mouth to kiss her hungrily. She was already close to the point of orgasm when Bradley thrust into her slowly, letting her feel every inch of his hard cock pushing deeper and deeper inside of her. Regina’s muscles flexed around him, her body unwilling to let go of him even as he began to move slowly, brushing along her inner walls. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, enjoying the contrast of her dark skin sweeping across his creamy-pale skin as their bodies moved together.

Regina moaned out Bradley’s name over and over again, twisting and pushing her hips down into his as her nerves lit up with electric pleasure. She dug her fingernails into his skin and cried out as Bradley’s fingertips once more found her clit, stroking and rubbing it as he thrust into her hard and fast, both of them getting closer and closer to climax by the minute. Before she knew what was happening, Regina felt the tension growing unbearable inside of her, and she clutched Bradley’s body against hers tightly as wave after wave of pleasure broke through her, sending jolts and spasms of sensation up and down her arms and legs. She was barely aware of the feeling of Bradley’s cock twitching inside of her, of the sticky-slick sensation of his climax rushing into her as he moaned her name long and low. They rode through their orgasms until they finally collapsed, exhausted.

They somehow managed to make it into Regina’s bed, spending another few hours kissing and touching each other, Bradley teasing Regina to another potent orgasm with just his fingers as he held her body against his. They fell into an exhausted sleep, wrapped up in each other’s arms, and Regina felt relaxed, satisfied; at peace for the first time since she had broken up with Bradley.

The next morning, Bradley woke her with kisses, his hand slipping down between her legs as she murmured, waking up. “I want to take you to breakfast,” he murmured as she writhed against him. He nipped at the side of her throat.

Regina moaned, smiling in an erotic reverie. “Breakfast sounds good,” she said, pushing her hips down to get better contact with his fingers.

“I want you to meet Denise… and my parents.” Bradley kissed her on the lips hungrily, turning her onto her back and pinning her against the bed.

“O-okay,” Regina said, filled with lust and willing to agree to anything. Bradley thrust into her hard and fast, and Regina wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as they moved together in a slow but steady progression to yet another orgasm.

Regina felt nervous at the prospect of meeting Bradley’s daughter. She got dressed as quickly as she could, even though she would have preferred to change her outfit two more times. Bradley chuckled at her nervousness, kissing her sweetly and promising her that his daughter would love her—and his parents would as well. She settled on a pair of jeans and a nice blouse, pulling her hair into a messy bun and putting on a little makeup.

They arrived at the restaurant that Bradley’s parents had agreed to meet them at, and Regina’s anxiety intensified. She wondered what Bradley had told his daughter about her; she wondered what he had said to his parents. Bradley held her hand as they approached the restaurant, stepping through the doors. “You’ll be fine,” he murmured.

Bradley led her to a table, waving to an older couple, who were seated at a table with a young girl who looked like the picture that Bradley had showed her. Regina smiled nervously, restraining her nervous whimper.

“Mom, Dad, Neesie, this is my very good friend Regina.” Bradley reached out and picked up his daughter, lifting her up and hugging her tightly.

Denise peeked at Regina with a shy smile. “You’re the nice lady that Daddy likes,” Denise said, leaning over her father’s shoulder to look at Regina more closely. “You’re so pretty! I wish I had nice hair like yours.”

Regina blushed, smiling as Denise extended a hand to her. She shook the tiny hand, and Bradley set his daughter back down in her chair. His father stood to shake her hand, and his mother came around the table to give her a quick, tight hug.

The breakfast went better than Regina would have ever expected; she told Denise about how her sister called her ‘little girl,’ and Bradley’s parents were intelligent conversationalists, genuinely interested in their son’s new love interest. By the end of the meal, Regina had accepted an invitation to Sunday dinner the next week, and found herself promising Denise that she would show her how to draw her favorite animated characters when she came over. Bradley took her back to her apartment, and in spite of the trouble she knew she still faced, Regina was contented. She knew that whatever else happened, she had the prospect of a healthy and loving relationship.

Regina and Bradley went to work almost immediately on the problem of her reputation. The contract with Alistair-Pole-Richards was set to expire in a matter of weeks, and Regina was shocked to realize that she had been in her position for just over a year—so much had happened, she hadn’t noticed the passage of time. She considered carefully how she could best go about implicating the manager who was the source of the slander against her; she and Bradley discussed and debated it at night in each other’s arms, either at his home or hers. Bradley thought that based on what Regina had overheard, they could get the other man to implicate him—after all, more than one person had to have been privy to the fact that he was friends with Regina’s ex.

In the meantime, while the contract was winding down, the two of them carefully prepared for the impending performance review. As they went through Regina’s time logs and emails in carefully secluded after-hours meetings, Bradley noticed a trend in the client communications. “You do realize, don’t you,” he told her over coffee, pointing to a long thread of messages between her and the client representatives, “That most of the ideas that they liked the most were the ones you developed.”

Regina looked over the emails, gradually realizing that Bradley was right—her ideas were the ones that the clients had liked best; although they had liked Bradley’s team’s work, and his ideas were never rejected out of hand, Regina’s ideas were enthusiastically accepted.

They compiled their evidence, and enjoyed their time together. Regina was realistic enough to know that in spite of their best efforts, enough poison sown in the ranks of the upper management could spell her doom no matter what evidence she produced. “If I lose my job, I’ll still have good references in Talitha and my former boss…and you.”

Bradley grinned at Regina’s observation, pulling her into his arms and brushing his lips against her temple. “Let’s see… Ah yes, ‘Regina exceeds expectations regularly; she has a marvelous talent and if it weren’t for some assholes and gossip, she would have been promoted over me months ago, rather than terminated.’ I think that will convince any future employers.”

They devoted all of their off time to each other, and Regina began to feel more comfortable in the fabric of Bradley’s life; she found his parents delightful to be around, and Denise had taken to calling her ‘Big Little Girl’ with affection as she made visits to Bradley’s home as often as possible.

Regina told Abigail about her misunderstanding, and about the fact that she had finally discovered who was really behind the bad opinion that the upper level management had of her.

“I’ll kill that bastard,” Abigail had growled when she heard the news.

Her sister was delighted to hear that Bradley had taken her back, that he hadn’t been the source of Regina’s career woes. “You two still need to be careful, you know. Bring your relationship to light AFTER you kick ass in your performance review.”

Regina could easily see the wisdom in that.

She became impatient as the contract end-date drew near, waiting for the shoe to drop. She knew that nothing had really changed; Talitha would have told her if it had. Bradley reminded her again and again to be patient, and Regina had to force herself to take his advice. She had to play along, she had to pretend that she had no idea what doom was being prepared for her. If she pushed and tried to force the confrontation, she knew that she would be at a disadvantage. Better by far to take the management by surprise, to show up well-prepared in spite of their gambit of trying to surprise her.

Talitha called Regina into her office one week after the successful completion of the Alistair-Pole-Richards project. Regina went in and sat down, seeing the solemn and worried look on her boss’ face. “I’m afraid that nothing I’ve tried to get you out of hot water has prevailed,” Talitha said, with genuine regret. “I hope you’re ready. You have a performance review and disciplinary hearing with the management tomorrow.”

Regina smiled slowly, almost laughing at the confusion that began to show in the other woman’s face. “I have actually been rather impatiently waiting for this,” Regina said, sitting up straighter in her seat.

Talitha raised an eyebrow.

“I got to the bottom of the situation by accident, about a month ago. Ever since then, I’ve been getting everything ready, since you warned me to expect this.”

Talitha nodded slowly, beginning to smile slightly at the fire and enthusiasm in Regina’s voice.

“The managers think they can blindside me, but I’m more than ready to face them.”

“Are you sure? They’re already stacked against you—I haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise.”

Regina shrugged. “Even if they do end up firing me, I can count on a good reference from you, and I have other contacts in the company that will vouch for me. But they’re not going to fire me.”

Talitha grinned. “Girl, I wish I had your confidence. But if you think you’ve got them on lock, I will happily look forward to watching you knock them all down tomorrow. I have to be there as your boss.”

Regina dressed with more than the usual care the next day, knowing that in spite of the meeting being a formality, and the fact that there was nothing she had to worry about, she was still going into battle. She wore a conservative pantsuit, with a crimson blouse underneath her blazer and a phoenix lapel pin to remind her of what she really was. Regina spent as much time as she dared primping, making sure that she looked not just pretty but formidable.

Bradley gave a low whistle when she joined him for coffee, eyeing her appreciatively. “If it wouldn’t make us both late, I would take you back to bed right now, Reggie. You are… awesomely hot in that outfit.”

Regina kissed Bradley lightly but hungrily, summoning her courage and collecting the few pieces of paperwork that she had put together at home to combine with what she had in the office.

She arrived with ten minutes to spare, thinking fleetingly of how hectic, how imposing and scary she had found the office on her first day. So much had changed in a year that Regina felt like an entirely different person altogether; more confident, more aware of her strengths, more powerful in herself. She knew that the outcome of her meeting was far from predetermined, but she thought as she went into her office, waiting impatiently for the call she knew would come, that she could at least take pride in not simply bowing to her husband’s sabotage and letting him win.

She was notified that the managers were prepared to see her. Regina texted Bradley to let him know she was going in; he would come in after her, to lend his support and to provide what clout he could to those in the management who put value in his opinions. Regina gathered up her paperwork and made her way through the office with her head held high. Even if they fired her, she thought, she was not going to cry—she would have done the best that she could.

“Regina, I’m not sure if you’re aware of why we’ve called this meeting,” Albert Cohen, the president of the department said as she entered and set her binder full of evidence down on the conference room table. The manager who Regina knew was behind the slander was there, along with Talitha, and several of the other upper level executives.

Regina smiled slowly. “Yes, I do know why you’ve called this meeting,” Regina said, glancing from one withering white face to another. “It’s because the management team has doubts about my ability to do the job I was put here to perform, and because someone among you is of the opinion that I am not a ‘good fit’ for this position.”

The president looked at Regina in shock before glancing at Talitha with accusation. “That is indeed why you’re here, Regina. What have you brought with you?”

Regina shook her head. “First of all, I would like to address you, Mr. Owings.” Regina pinned down the man who she had heard admitting to receiving gossip from her ex-husband with her eyes. The man squirmed slightly in discomfort as she stared at him for a moment. “I have heard around the office that you have made friends with my ex-husband, Richard Davies.”

The man Owings coughed, not quite rejecting the accusation.

“In fact, I heard it from your lips myself.” She opened the binder and took out the testimony from her divorce, looking at it for a moment. “I would like to ask your indulgence in reading the section I’ve highlighted.”

The man cleared his throat once more, glancing around in obvious discomfort before he looked down at the papers Regina had supplied. “The court finds that Ms. Davies’ allegations of abuse and gross misconduct on the part of her spouse are absolutely substantiated by evidence. If she had not categorically rejected the possibility of receiving alimony payments, I could not stress enough how much such compensation would be her just and fit due, considering the amount of anguish she has been through in this marriage.”

Regina looked from one person to another in the room. “I have not provided this information in order to garner sympathy or pity from any of the management team,” Regina said. “I simply wanted to point out that when my ex-husband befriended Mr. Owings, he did so with the full intention of furthering his goal to damage my life and livelihood.”

There was a knock at the door; a moment later, Bradley came in.

“Brad, this is a private disciplinary meeting,” said Albert, who was looking rather confused and alarmed.

Bradley waved the concern aside. “My understanding is that this meeting is to determine whether or not Regina performed to expectations on her projects over the past year. As her partner in the major project, I felt it incumbent upon myself to comment.” Bradley looked around, and Regina fought the urge to smile. “I think you will all find that if you were to ask the clients themselves what they thought of Regina’s work, they would say that if she were to leave Pater-Gray tomorrow, they would contract her as a consultant the very next day. In point of fact, I have an email saying exactly that right here.”

Regina almost laughed—she had had no idea that Bradley had managed to get such a thoroughly approving testimony from the clients; he hadn’t mentioned it. Copies of the email went around to all of the members of the management team, and Regina saw their unease growing. They thought this would be a cut-and-dry matter of getting rid of some dead weight.

She produced her own documentation, showing not only the hours that she had devoted to her various projects, but also the emails showing that her ideas had been favored among all of the work that had been done by the two teams. She sat calmly as the disciplinary board exchanged heated whispers.

“Regina, it seems that there has been a gross misunderstanding on our part,” Albert said.

Regina smiled graciously. “I only regret that when Mr. Owings began to hear such slanderous accusations against me, he didn’t think to ask me what my relationship with my ex-husband was like, so he could understand the motivations Richard had.”

Owings was turning almost purple from embarrassment and frustration.

The disciplinary board decided unanimously not to take any action against Regina; even more to the point, they decided on a merit-based pay increase, consistent with her performance in her first year in the position. Regina managed somehow to restrain her relief until she and Bradley were out of the conference room and in her office alone.

Regina lay curled up in Bradley’s arms, looking at the red-orange sunset splashed across the enormous bay window of the hotel suite they were staying in. To celebrate Regina’s massive victory, Bradley had surprised her with a short vacation out of town; they had gone to a seaside resort together, to spend an entire weekend alone—no parents, no daughter, just the two of them.

As they lay in bed together, their legs entwined and their arms wrapped around each other, Regina reflected on what a difference just a year had made in her life. She had found love, lost it, and regained it; she had made real progress on banishing the specter of her abusive marriage, and in finding peace within herself, and she had solidified her career and her professional reputation.

Bradley turned Regina’s face to his and kissed her sweetly on the lips. “You know, I have something I need to give you,” he said quietly, running his pale hands over her dark skin, lingering at her breasts for a long moment and giving one of her nipples a brief, tantalizing tweak. “I was going to wait for your birthday next month, but with everything else you’ve already achieved, I thought it would be a good idea to bring it with me.”

Regina looked up at him in confusion.

Bradley slipped away from her and off of the enormous bed the suite boasted, going to his luggage and rummaging through it for a moment. Regina took advantage of the moment to look at his muscled, firm body, devouring the sight of his fair skin and the golden-brown dusting of hair on his legs, his arms, across his chest. In the dying afternoon light, he was gilded like a statue, and Regina thought to herself that she could never possibly meet a more handsome man in her life.

He took something out of his suitcase and came back to the bed, showing her a small box.

“Another iPod?” Regina said with a grin. “What are you making up for this time?”

Bradley shook his head, smiling slightly and handing the box to her. Regina opened it to see a ring— shining brilliantly on its bed of velvet: platinum with emeralds set into the band and an enormous diamond in the middle. She gasped, looking from the ring to Bradley’s face in shock.