First Class Stamp (12 page)

“And when will it be a good time? Huh? When Alex is older?
When he’s gone to college? When?”

“Alex is, and will always be, my number one priority. I have
to look out for him.”

“So? Alex is a big boy. And you need a life. A life beyond
these brick walls. In one more mortgage payment we will have this building paid
off and then your father is going to hire more help and you won’t have to feel
like you need to be here all the time. Of course you are welcome to live here
as long as you like, but you can, and should, get a life!”

Sophia finished unloading her mother’s dishwasher, even though
Gloria insisted she could do it herself.

“You could do a lot worse than Ben Lathem, you know,” Gloria
continued. “Go on another date. Enjoy yourself.”

After three days officially in her new job, Maria was very
happy. Ben had given her a lovely promotion, a hefty raise, and she loved her
assignment. Her job was to work with a team of very talented individuals on
web-based training modules for support staff, namely receptionists, assistants,
and secretaries. After being hired, they would spend two days interacting with
each segment that pertained to their specific job duties.

Maria’s assignment was to be on the team that created the
modules and monitored their effectiveness after they were implemented, which
they hoped would be within a few months. She was also charged with ensuring
that all support staff already employed by MEL Holdings received the training
once it became available. She considered it a challenge and one she was ready
to accept.

At the end of her workday on Wednesday, Maria pushed the up
arrow on the elevator and rode up a flight to see if Ben was available for a
quick minute. His secretary showed her in to Ben’s office and asked her to have
a seat. Ben would be with her momentarily. As she looked around, trying to pass
the time, her eyes came to rest on a photo of what she assumed was his family.
They appeared to be on the deck of a boat and they all looked carefree and
happy.

A pang of jealousy hit her without warning. She’d been alone
for so long, trying to stay strong and keep up a positive outlook for Luca’s
sake. But it was hard and she was tired. She wanted a family. She wanted a
husband.

“Hi Maria,” bellowed Ben from behind her. “Sorry to keep you
waiting. How are you?” He marched past her and took his seat at the large desk
in front of her.

“I’m well, thank you.”

“And Luca?”

“He’s thriving,” she smiled with pride. “St. Luke’s is a
blessing. He loves it and has made friends quickly and he’s already a star on
the soccer team! I cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done for us.”

“It’s nothing,” Ben smiled. “What can I help you with?”

“Well, actually, I was hoping you would let us thank you by
coming to dinner. Luca would love to see you and it’s the least I can do,” she
smiled with a hint of anticipation.

“Oh!” Ben appeared surprised. “Oh.”

“If you are too busy I understand,” Maria added with
disappointment and understanding in her voice.

“No,” Ben shook his head, seeing his reaction had been not
taken well. “Um, I’d love to see Luca. When were you thinking?”

“Saturday?”

“Yeah, sure, why not? Saturday it is. What time?”

So they agreed on a time and Maria left Ben’s office with a
little spring in her step and Ben was left feeling…guilty?

*****

On his way home that evening, Ben stopped in at Aldo’s
Market to talk to Sophia, although he bought a book of stamps from Aldo so it
didn’t look
too
obvious.

“Is Sophia around?” he asked as Aldo swiped the credit card.

“Let me call her,” and he pulled out his phone.

In another minute Sophia walked into the store. “Hi,” she
smiled when she saw Ben.

“Hey. So about dinner?”

“Yes, about dinner,” she began.

“How’s Friday?” he said, not giving her an opportunity to
come up with an excuse.

She opened her mouth as if to say something and then closed
it again. Ben thought that she appeared to be having a conversation with
herself and wanted to know what she was thinking.

“It’s just dinner,” he grinned. “Nothing more.”

She sighed…loudly. “Okay. Friday.”

“Geez Sophia!” chuckled Aldo. “Way to make a man question
his desirability!”

Ben grinned and said, “I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.” He
picked up his stamps and turned on his heels and left…whistling.

*****

On Friday morning, Matt and Ben sat in Matt’s office and
signed all of the documents concluding the sale of Crystal Towers to Latin
World Corporation. The deal was done.

“I think I’m relieved,” said Matt, pouring himself another
cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. “We made money on the building so
we come out ahead.”

“Yeah,” Ben nodded. “I certainly didn’t want to risk
anyone’s safety. I’m glad we got our people out before something tragic
happened.

“You’re right,” agreed Matt. “But…”

“The timing?” Ben finished his sentence. “I’ve thought about
that too. But our investigators didn’t come up with anything fishy. All appears
to be above board.”

Matt took a sip from his mug and placed it on the table.
“Right. Well, I have to get home.”

“Okay,” Ben said. Enjoy your day.”

“Oh I will,” Matt grinned.

“Big plans?”

“Hell yeah! Today is Christopher’s first trip to pre-school.
If he does well, Janie says he’ll go three afternoons a week. That means, with
Ella already in school, I get my wife alone…during the day!”

“Well, enjoy yourself,” Ben chuckled.

“Oh I plan to!” he laughed and patted his baby brother on
the back as he left his office.

As their lawyer gathered up the documents on the table, Ben
thought about that nagging little thought that popped into his head every now
and then.
Why now? Why did Vicente want to acquire Crystal Towers now?
Yes
there was unrest, and yes it was public record who owned the building,
but…still.

Ben again pushed it from the back of his mind and headed
back to his office. He had a full day’s work ahead of him and then in the
evening he had a date!

*****

Ever since their dinner at The Bourbon, Sophia had thought
about Ben’s question. “You aren’t just a mom and a daughter. What about
you
?”

What about me?
She’d already decided that she wanted
to go back to school, after all, she’d only completed one year of college
before she’d dropped out. She had several more general study classes to
complete before she had to decide on a major. But when it came time to do that,
would she know what to choose?

“I could be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a physical therapist,
or a teacher,” she said to herself as she soaked in the tub. “I can be anything
I want!” The problem was she didn’t know what she wanted.

She did however, know one thing, and that was if she wasn’t
careful, she would be in big trouble with Ben Lathem. She could see herself
falling ever so hard. And that thought was scary.

Sophia climbed from the tub and dried herself with the big
fluffy towel and then slathered her body in lotion that smelled of jasmine. Then,
after wrapping the towel around her and securing it under her arms, she stood
in front of the mirror and removed stray hairs on her face and eyebrows.

“The Conti curse,” she scowled, as she plucked a dark hair
on her chin, talking of her mother’s family.

After shaping her brows and adding tinted moisturizer to her
face, she added eye makeup and some blush. She straightened her hair, leaving
it to fall down her back like silk and once again stood in front of her closet
trying to choose the perfect outfit. She liked the idea of being able to dress
up. She hadn’t done it in so long and going out with Ben even allowed her to
wear her heels. So she picked her shoes first, a pair of Jimmy Choo ankle strap
gold sandals, a purchase she’d made for the sole purpose of pissing off Willis.
He’d told her she had to accompany him to a company function where he was
receiving an award for one of his ad campaigns. She’d told him she couldn’t go
because she didn’t have anything appropriate to wear and for just the second
time in their marriage, he’d pulled a credit card from his wallet and told her
to buy something that would represent him in the best light. She’d taken the
card and headed straight for Neiman Marcus where she’d bought a magnificent
midnight blue strapless gown and the shoes she now pulled from her closet.
Needless to say Willis was livid when he saw the bill, which was the purpose of
shopping at Neiman’s in the first place. And when the evening of the dinner
arrived, Alex had a fever of one hundred and four and she refused to leave him
with a sitter which made Willis even madder. She’d taken the dress back and had
gotten store credit which she used to buy Alex some things, but she’d kept the
shoes…brand new shoes that she’d never worn.

Until tonight.

*****

Ben stood on the sidewalk at the back of Aldo’s Market and
buzzed up to Sophia’s apartment. The store was open but it didn’t feel like a
real date to go through the bread aisle and have Aldo text his daughter that
Ben was waiting. For some weird reason, he wanted this to be a
real
date.

Alex’s voice came over the intercom. “Yeah?”

He chuckled. “Hi Alex. It’s Ben. I’m here to pick up your
mom.”

The door popped open and Ben entered the small foyer and
took the stairs two at a time. He stopped at the first floor and saw the name
Manning next to the front door, so he headed up another flight of stairs. Alex
was standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” Ben smiled.

With a frown on his face, Alex stared at Ben. Ben stared
back for a second. “What’s up?”

Alex shrugged.

“Come on,” Ben encouraged, “Tell me.”

“I thought you were my friend.”

“I am! Why would you think I wasn’t?”

“Cuz you’re taking my
mom
to dinner.”

“So? I took you to the ball games…and dinner if my memory
serves me right. When does your mom get to go out? Is it fair that only you get
to go do fun stuff? Isn’t she allowed to have a good time too?”

Alex shrugged. “I guess so.”

“You guess right,” Ben grinned. “Besides, I was going to ask
you if you wanted to go to another game before the end of the season, but if
you’re gonna be a baby about it then…”

“No! I’m not a baby!” he perked up. “You’d really take me
again?”

“Of course!”

“Cool! I’ll let you know what game I wanna go see.” And he
ran off to find the Yankees schedule.

That left Ben to enter the apartment and look around at the
sparsely furnished living room, the mix and match dining table and chairs and
the old school television that stuck out into the middle of the room.
Man,
those things were huge,
Ben thought, as he thought of his own slim flat
screens mounted on the walls of his living room, bedroom, and office. But
everything was clean and tidy. It kind of reminded him of his college
apartment; sofas that didn’t match; three dining chairs and a coffee table that
had three legs and a sawn off baseball bat as the fourth.

Next to the door was a small bookshelf that held the life of
Alex in photographs. At least six school pictures were nestled on the wooden
shelves, along with photos of him and his grandparents on both sides and a
couple with his father. At the very back was a small picture in a silver frame
of Sophia holding him in the hospital after he was born. She looked so young
and beautiful and his heart lurched just a little, forcing him to straighten up
and look away. He was unused to feelings like that and was trying to avoid them
at all costs. After all, he was happy and content.

He heard her singing before he saw her. It was something in
Italian and her voice danced through the melody with ease. Then he saw her
coming towards him, her eyes on the gold clutch in her hands. The black dress
hugged her curves and as his eyes traveled down her body they came to rest on
her feet and the gold sandals and her purple painted nails. If feet could be
sexy then Sophia’s won the award.

“Oh! Hi!” she stuttered, coming to a dead stop. “Alex didn’t
tell me you were here.”

Ben chuckled. “That would be my fault. I told him to pick
another Yankees game he wanted to see so I believe he is studying the
schedule.”

“Ah,” she nodded.

“Are you ready?”

“I am. Just let me get my jacket.” She laid down her clutch
on the table and hurried back down the hall and reappeared a few seconds later
with a black leather jacket. Ben’s groin twitched. God help him if she was
going to wear those shoes
and
leather.

*****

Maria stood in her kitchen preparing for their big day
tomorrow. She needed to make the perfect dinner, have the apartment perfectly
cleaned and make herself look perfect for their guest. Everything had to be
perfect. Ben was coming!

As she peeled carrots and chopped celery, she thought about
all he’d done for her and Luca, not only recently in their move to New York,
but all those years ago when he’d given her a job and then surprised her with a
car. He was more than an employer…he was a friend…a good friend and a good
influence on Luca.

Yes, it was important to make sure everything was perfect
for tomorrow night so that she could find out if they could be more than good
friends. The time had come for her dreams to be realized. In Brazil, she’d
never even begun to think that there was a chance for them to be anything more,
but now, living in the same city, maybe there was a chance, and she didn’t want
to wonder ‘what if’ for the rest of her life. She was going to jump on the
opportunity.

Sitting at a table next to the window of the restaurant on
the thirty-ninth floor, Sophia gazed out at the bridges lit up and shining
brilliantly in the darkness. They sipped on a bottle of chilled white wine and
chatted about the beginnings of fall, Gloria’s recovery and Alex’s upcoming
band concert. The waiter brought a basket of sliced bread right from the oven
and Ben slathered a piece with butter and took a bite.

“You’ve got some…there…it’s dripping…no…there,” and she finally
gave up and wiped the spot of butter running down his chin.

“I promise I’m not a slob,” he laughed as he swallowed. “It’s
so good,” he added as he shoved the piece of bread toward her. “Take a bite,
then you’ll understand.”

Sophia took a small bite of the offered bread and shuddered
at the intimacy of eating of a piece of bread he’d already had to his lips. It
was probably the most erotic thing she’d ever done. The thought depressed her
because it wasn’t erotic at all.

“Mmm,” she smiled. “It is good.”

They talked about the market and how excited Sophia was for
her parents to finally pay off the mortgage after thirty plus years of working
tirelessly seven days a week. They would finally own their very own piece of
New York City.

“Mom said they’ll finally hire some more employees and then
dad won’t be in the store every hour of every day. They’ll actually be able to take
a vacation, or at the very least, a day off here and there.”

“I admire him and all he’s done to provide for his family.
He is a great role model for Alex.”

“Is that a kind way of saying his father isn’t?” Sophia
chuckled.

“That actually hadn’t entered my mind, but I guess that
too,” Ben grinned.

As each course was eaten, the conversation flowed easily and
they laughed and thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. Sophia was enthralled
with the stories of Ben’s childhood antics with his brothers and made the
off-hand comment that she was sad that her son wouldn’t get to have cousins and
siblings to create memories with.

“Why would you say that?” Ben scoffed.

“I am an only child, so no cousins, and he is already twelve.
Even if I got married tomorrow any siblings that came now would be too young.”

“That doesn’t have to be the way it is. Matt married a woman
with grown sons and then then had two children with her. All four of those
siblings adore each other and there’s twenty plus years between them in age. In
fact, Tyler had his three year old brother over to his place for a sleepover!
Don’t limit his future.”

Sophia could see in his eyes the he believed what he’d said
and somehow it comforted her. She didn’t want Alex to be lonely but she also
didn’t want to have another child just for that reason. That would be unfair to
everyone.

“Besides,” Ben continued, “you can’t predict what will
happen. You may fall in love with a man who already has eight kids.”

“God help me,” she laughed.

The dessert tray arrived and Sophia quickly declined but Ben
was tempted. “Come on,” he begged. “Share one with me? Please?”

She grinned and nodded. “Fine. But I get all the cream.”

“Deal,” he agreed. “Which one?”

Sophia perused the tray and decided on the divine raspberry
cheesecake.

“Ah,” Ben sighed with glee. “A woman after my own heart.
Cheesecake!”

“I was going to choose the chocolate fudge brownie sundae,
but then I saw the cheesecake and no matter what the choices are, I will always
choose that over anything else.”

“We are made for each other,” and as soon as the words
escaped his lips, Ben’s face fell into a blank stare and wished he could take
back the spoken words.

Sophia watched the instant change in expression and almost
laughed. “Well if cheesecake on its own could sustain a relationship then yes.
Otherwise I think we’ll just share one piece and call it good.”

Ben looked up, through his long eyelashes and was relieved
to see her smirk. If he’d said that to Jill…ever…she would have taken it as a
marriage proposal. Sophia however, seemed to have a better sense of humor. The
waiter saved him from having to speak as he lowered the plate in the middle of
the table and laid down two dessert forks next to the plate. “Enjoy,” he smiled
as he left them to devour the cheesecake.

“Oh, wow!” Sophia all but cried as she took the first bite.
“Rich and silky smooth. Heavenly!”

As she closed her eyes and Ben watched her slowly savor the
cream cheese concoction, his groin once again twitched. It appeared to be
almost an orgasmic experience as she moaned with pleasure with each bite. He
couldn’t move. He couldn’t focus on anything but her mouth and the desire to
kiss her became almost overwhelming.

Several minutes had passed and Sophia realized there was
just one bite left…she’d eaten the whole thing and the realization embarrassed
her. “Oh…sorry,” she muttered, placing her fork on the white linen table cloth
in front of her.

“Not at all,” Ben growled. “I’ve…enjoyed every minute of
watching you eat that. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at a cheesecake
the same way again.” As the waiter walked by Ben asked for the check. They were
going home.

*****

Home was his apartment. Sophia readily agreed to come up for
coffee and Ben wanted her alone. He
needed
to kiss her.

Once she stepped inside, Ben regretted his decision to bring
her up. It no longer seemed like a good idea. After all, he didn’t have any
intentions of having a relationship with her…right? He wasn’t looking for
anything serious…right? He was content and happy. He was just enjoying her
company. And as long as he kept telling himself that, he’d be okay.

Offering her coffee, he told Sophia to make herself
comfortable and he discarded his suit jacket and tie on the back of a chair at
the dining table. He began fiddling with the contraption on the counter in the
kitchen, trying to produce some coffee.

“Can I help?” came the voice behind him.

“Um,” he frowned. “I just need to get this snapped on,” he
said as he continued to mess with the machine. “Bastard,” he muttered under his
breath, as the latch wouldn’t click shut.

Finally, after several seconds, Sophia heard a faint ‘click’
and a heavy sigh from Ben. She smothered a smile and wandered back into the
living room. Gazing through the windows, she could see bridge after bridge lit
up in brilliant splendor, each proudly displaying its’ structure and
architectural design.

“You have a beautiful view,” she yelled over her shoulder.
“I would imagine it’s very soothing and calming to come home to this after a
long day at work. I know it would be for me.”

Ben stood in the kitchen and watched her; her long silky
hair cascading down her back, the black dress caressing her ass, her long legs
and feet perched in those sexy shoes.
Yeah
, he thought.
I would
imagine it’s very soothing and calming to come home to this after a long day at
work.

With two cups of coffee in his hand, he ambled towards her,
desire coursing through his veins. She turned as he approached and smiled,
accepting the mug he offered.

“Cream and one sugar,” he smiled.

“You remembered!” Sophia was stunned. They’d had coffee
together once when her mother had forced him to take her and Alex to a new
Italian restaurant. And he’d remembered. She took a sip. “Perfect!” she
grinned. Ben seemed pleased with himself and Sophia walked away from the window
and perched on the edge of the sofa. “How long have you lived here?”

“About seven years,” he replied. “It was the apartment I had
dreamed of when I was in college. I know guys aren’t supposed to care about
that kind of thing,” he chuckled, “but I didn’t get a scholarship to school
like most of my other brothers did, so the college fund my parents had been
saving for me didn’t go as far. I had money for tuition but I had to pay for an
apartment so I had to work too.”

“Oh, poor baby,” she mocked.

Ben grinned. “I know. I know. It sounds pathetic, but I’m
the fourth son and I watched my older brothers with scholarships and having
this awesome time in school and I was having to work to make ends meet, plus
study for school. At the time I thought I was the most under-privileged kid in
America.”

“I’m still thinking about the fact that you had a college
savings fund!” Sophia said. “That put you head and shoulders above most of us.”

“Yeah, and at the time I really didn’t appreciate it. But
the older I got, the more I saw just how fortunate I was and how grateful I was
to my parents for giving me so much.”

Sophia’s slight irritation at his arrogance waned and she
realized he was just being very honest…something Willis
never
was. Willis
would never have admitted to having any kind of character flaw, even though he
was riddled with them. In some ways, Sophia decided, it was refreshing for her
to hear Ben speaking so candidly.

“So you lived in a roach-infested walk-up with no hot water?”
she teased.

“Almost!” he laughed. “Although I don’t remember a lot of
roaches…just an occasional visitor.”

“That’s one of dad’s biggest fear…vermin!”

“I bet it is in his line of work,” Ben agreed. He took
another sip of his coffee and sat beside her. “I had a really great time with
you tonight.”

Sophia placed her cup on the table in front of her and
twisted ever so slightly to look at Ben. “I did too, but, I’m not looking for
anything serious.”

“Me either,” he whispered and put his cup next to hers.

She knew what was about to happen and instead of feeling
dread, she felt little butterflies of excitement and anticipation flit through
her insides. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and as she opened them
he was inches from her face, his eyes hooded and lips slightly apart. His hand
cupped her cheek and his thumb gently caressed her smooth skin. Sophia leaned
into his hand and closed her eyes again, instantly feeling his warm lips
against hers. The kiss was soft and sweet and he pulled away only to return
again this time with a little more heat and intent. Before she knew it, her
fingers were entwined in his thick dark hair and she held his head to hers as
she kissed him back with an intensity that surprised her. She licked his bottom
lip and he responded immediately, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth and
exploring every inch while dancing with her tongue.

Minutes passed as they devoured each other until Ben pulled
back and warned, “Sophia, if you kiss me again I won’t be able to stop. You
need to know that I crave you right now and if you don’t want this to go any
further, you should go…now.”

She looked into his eyes and smiled, then pulled his head
back to hers and kissed him again. She was boldly declaring her decision to
stay, knowing that she’d end up in bed with him. It had been
so
long and
she liked the way he looked at her like she was the cream on the piece of
cheesecake she’d devoured just an hour or so ago. She wanted whatever he’d just
threatened her with, and, after all, she was a woman and he was a damn
good-looking man. Why not enjoy the moment?

She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled herself
closer to him. He gripped her hair, forcing her head back and placed seductive
and toe-curling kisses down her neck to her shoulder. She couldn’t stop as a
moan slipped out and she heard the faint chuckle from his lips on her flushed
skin.

Ben’s fingers found the zipper at the back of her dress and
gently pulled it down…down all the way to below her waist and then slipped his
hands inside the fabric to caress her smooth skin. With her eyes still closed,
Sophia fumbled with the buttons on his shirt and one by one slipped the pearly
knobs through their holes and pulled up on the cotton, releasing it from his
trousers, exposing his chest. Unable to resist, she opened her eyes to admire
the taut skin with just a smattering of dark hair over his rigid muscles. His
nipples were rock hard like pebbles and she ran the palm of her hand across
them and felt his shudder under her touch.

Ben leaned back, breaking his hold on her and took a deep
breath. He removed one cuff link and then the other and shrugged out of his
dress shirt. He was magnificent and Sophia’s silent gasp had him grinning.

“Like what you see?” he lifted one eyebrow.

“I do,” she replied, and stood up, slipping the dress from
her shoulders and allowing to drop in a
whoosh
to the floor.

“Damn!” he breathed as he clearly appreciated what was
before him; lace and skin and those sexy shoes. “I really like these,” he said
as he leaned forward and traced his finger along the golden leather straps that
encased her foot. “Will you leave these on?”

“Absolutely,” she smiled.

Ben quickly untied his shoes and flicked them off. “Follow
me,” he said as he stood and grasped her hand pulling her behind him.

Her heels clicked on the floor as he led her down the hall
to his bedroom. He picked up a remote from the dresser just inside the door and
played with the touch screen. The curtains closed, two lamps came on and a
ceiling fan over the bed began to whir. He replaced the remote and pulled her
to him, their bodies touching and heat instantly building.

Sophia unbuckled his belt and unhooked the buttons of his
pants, feeling the tip of his manhood as she gently unzipped, exposing the
black briefs underneath. She let go and his trousers fell to his feet and Ben
quickly kicked them from his ankles and pulled her to him, their skin once
again rubbing against each other.

Reaching her arms behind her, Sophia unhooked her bra as Ben
nibbled on her shoulders. He grasped one strap in his teeth and pulled it
slowly away from her body, exposing her full, round breasts and distended
nipples. Dropping the lace from his teeth, Ben hooked his thumbs into her
panties and slid them down her thighs, over her knees and still downward. He
kneeled and carefully lifted her first foot and then the other, detaching her
from the last of her clothing. He kissed the top of each foot as he placed it
back on the carpet, then placed small kisses up to her knees. Using his tongue,
he caressed her thighs as his hands grabbed the flesh of her ass and held her
tight, Sophia grateful as she was beginning to feel light headed. Her heart was
thumping wildly in her chest, her breasts aching for his touch, but she could
feel herself moisten and readying for what she desperately hoped would happen
next.