"I'm sorry to had to keep
you here so late C.C. Maxwell Sheffield says to his long-time business
associate. Would you like a drink before you go? I know I need one.
He says pouring himself a scotch over ice.
"C.C. had actually had
several drinks already, but she was never one to pass up a cocktail.
"Sure I'm taking a taxi home anyway." She said taking the
martini he had prepared for her.
"Let's go sit in the living
room where it's more comfortable." Max says leading her out of
the office. They sit on the couch in front of the fireplace exhausted.
They had been working extra hours for weeks frantically getting their
new show ready for opening night. This was the first time they could
see light at the end of the tunnel and could finally relax.
They had been so busy that
they hadn't had dinner. Several more drinks later, they were completely
inebriated. "Well C.C. I better get to bed before I pass out right
here. Max says heading up the front stairs. "Why don't you sleep
in the guest room...I don't want you leaving in this condition."
He says.
"You're right." She
says following him up the stairs. C.C. always keeps an overnight bag
at the Sheffield home. She's had to stay over quite often when she and
Max work late.
Max opens the door to his bedroom
and is stunned that C.C. follows him in. Suddenly she puts his arms
around his neck and kisses him softly on the lips. "C.C...What
are you doing?" Max says. Even in his drunken state, he is shocked.
His heart starts racing as she is rubbing her body into his, causing
him to become aroused.
C.C. pushes him on the bed
and gets on top of him. She starts kissing him more passionately. Her
inhibitions are now completely gone and she has wanted to do this for
ten years. She is delighted that she can feel his hard arousal against
her body. She puts her hand on his pants over the hardness and rubs
softly.
A small groan escapes Max's
lips and he presses himself into her hand. In his drunken state he has
little resistance to the feeling of a beautiful woman caressing his
manhood. He rolls her over gets on top of her. Max starts kissing down
her neck and unbuttoning her blouse. She gasps as his lips find her
nipple and bites softly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realize
that this is all wrong. I shouldn't be doing this. This isn't right...but
why? But, the feeling of his arousal along with the effects of alcohol
have taken over his mind and body. He pulls her skirt down and takes
off his clothes so they are now both in their underware.
C.C. looks seductively up at
him. Oh, god...is this really happening? I can't believe he didn't
push me away! She thinks, her body now on fire. She is very drunk,
but not as drunk as Max. She is well aware of what she is doing.
Max starts to pull down her
panties. Suddenly a face comes to his mind.
Miss Fine...why am I thinking of her? He thinks worriedly.
I took back the thing, and we agreed to be just friends. He is
now confused and looks down at C.C. I can't do this! Have I gone
bloody mad? He thinks starting to panic. He lies down and takes
C.C. in his arms. "Oh, C.C....I'm sorry, we can't do this. It's
just not right." He says finally succumbing to the mass quantities
of alcohol he has consumed. He lies on his back and promptly passes
out.
Damn...so close! She
thinks dejectedly. It feels so good being in his arms. She decides that
she can at least sleep here; she doesn't have the inclination to get
up anyway. She snuggles up next to him. I'll probably regret this
in the morning. She thinks as the alcohol takes over and she falls
asleep.
"Good morning, Niles!
Taking Mr. Sheffield his breakfast?" Fran says noticing the silver
tray in his hand.
"Always so observant,
Miss Fine." Niles smiles at her opening Mr. Sheffield bedroom door.
The tray promptly crashes to the floor as Niles stares at the horrifying
scene he is witnessing, his mouth wide open.
Fran sees his horror and peeks
into the bedroom. Max and C.C. woke with a start at the crashing of
the tray; C.C. was still in his arms.
Fran gasps and puts her hand
over her mouth. Her eyes open wide and tears promptly flow out of them.
The look of betrayal she gives Maxwell shakes him to his core. She races
out of the room and into her bedroom. She can't get away from this nightmare
fast enough.
"Oh my god!"
Max yells. He quickly jumps out of bed, and grabs his robe. C.C. what
the hell are you doing in my bed!" He cries only vaguely remembering
her near seduction of last night. A stunned Niles is still rooted to
the spot. For some reason seeing Miss Babcock in bed with Mr. Sheffield
depresses and shocks him terribly. He was quite surprised at his feelings.
Also, he felt dreadful for Miss Fine. He knows that she is madly in
love with his boss.
C.C. is sitting up holding
the sheet over her chest with one hand, running her other hand through
her hair. She looks at Niles in humiliation.
Oh, god...he's the last one I wanted to witness this. She thinks
dejectedly.
"Well...You've really
done it this time Ca Ca." He says bending over to pick up the spilled
tray.
Max races out of the room to
Fran's bedroom jumping over the tray. Oh dear god! He thinks,
all of a sudden pretty much remembering all of what had happened last
night. He is embarrassed at being caught in bed with C.C. by his butler
and nanny. But he is more terrified by the look he saw on Miss Fine's
face when she saw them in each other's arms.
"Miss Fine?" He whispers
nervously opening her bedroom door. Max is horrified to see her sobbing
on her bed with her back to him. She is tightly clutching her pillow
and isn't aware he's standing over her. He sits down on the bed next
to her and touches her shoulder, which startles her.
Fran turns and sees him. "How
could you, Mr. Sheffield!" She sobs. "Please leave
my room. The sight of you turns my
stomach." She hisses the last words. She turns back around
and weeps softly.
The sight of her crying is
beginning to make him nauseous. He can't believe how badly she was hurt.
Did she love me that much? He thinks slightly shocked. She had
never told him she loved him, of course, after he took back telling
her he loved her she really didn't have much of a chance.
"Miss Fine...Please listen
to me." He says gently turning her around to face him. She struggles
to turn around but he holds her more tightly. All she can do is close
her eyes. She can't stand the sight of him anymore.
"Leave me alone Mr. Sheffield!
There's nothing you have to say that I want to hear." Suddenly
the shock of that nightmare scene is wearing off and she starts shivering
slightly. "Please just get out. I don't want you here!" She
pleads.
The sight of her misery is
breaking his heart. He suddenly pulls her shivering body into his embrace.
"Oh Miss Fine...Please don't cry. Nothing happened between C.C.
and myself! I swear to you!" He says hugging her tightly and rocking
her in his arms.
"Do you really expect
me to believe that? How stupid do you think I am? You were naked and
had your arms around each other in bed...and nothing happened?"
She starts crying fresh tears at the thought of Max making love to C.C.
"Oh Mr. Sheffield...how could you? I guess you really don't
love me. I can't believe how wrong I was about you." She cries
struggling to get out of his grip. He's too strong for her and she just
gives up and buries her head in his chest.
"Miss Fine...I swear,
I swear to you nothing happened! We were both very drunk and
C.C. followed me to my room. She started kissing me. But before anything
major happened I, for some reason thought of
you! I couldn't do it to you! Then, I must have passed out. I
didn't realize that C.C. just stayed and didn't go to the guest room."
He says praying she believes him.
She was trembling in his arms
and he suddenly feels very protective towards her. At least she wasn't
trying to get away anymore. "You believe me don't you?" He
says gently putting his fingers under her chin and lifting it up to
look in her eyes. His heart plummets as he sees the hurt there and knowing
that he was the cause of it.
"You were both naked...if
you passed out, how did that happen?" She says still not quite
believing him.
"Um...Yes, well..."
Oh, god...that's right. It wasn't totally innocent. He remembers
how in frenzy he had disrobed C.C. and had only stopped when he got
to her panties. "Well...I, well...actually, we still had our underwear
on." He says lamely. His cheeks turn pink with embarrassment.
How do explain this? He thinks starting to panic.
"Oh, never mind Mr. Sheffield.
It doesn't matter anymore." She says pushing away from him and
getting out of bed. Now that the shock has worn off, she is more angry
than sad. "Obviously even though you didn't have sex, something
happened. I'm not stupid. I've lived here for three and half years,
right down the hall from you. I never woke up near naked with you, but
C.C. did? Do you think I will ever forget that? I don't know why I'm
so mad, you certainly owe me nothing. You made it very clear a few months
ago that we were just friends.
Max's heart starting beating
faster, witnessing her cold, calm manner.
Oh god, this is worse than when she was crying. At least then I knew
she had feelings for me. Now the empty look in her eyes terrifies me.
He thinks jumping off the bed. He gathers her in his arms and pulls
her into him. "Please forgive me Miss Fine...I can't stand this.
He cries pressing her into him.
"I forgive you Mr. Sheffield."
She says calmly. "But really...there's nothing to forgive. You
owed me nothing last night. You're a single man, just as I'm a single
woman. We have needs...well I know I do and they have to be fulfilled.
Who we sleep with isn't anybody else's business." She says gently
squirming out of his embrace.
His heart starts pounding harder
at her last statement. He takes hold of her arms and looks into her
eyes. "What the bloody hell does that mean?" He says anxiously.
Fran just looks at him. "Excuse
me, Mr. Sheffield. I have a phone call to make. She calmly takes his
hands off her arms and walks out the bedroom door. Max just sits back
down on the bed with his head in his hands. He is now feeling very guilty.
He knows that while it wasn't entirely his fault, something did happen
in bed with C.C. last night. If the tables had been turned, and Miss
Fine had gone that far with another man, he would feel the same way
she does.
What does she mean she has
needs to be fulfilled? He thinks remembering her words.
Who the bloody hell did she have to call all of a sudden? Oh, god...she's
going to get even with me somehow!
He fears slowly walking to his bedroom. C.C. and Niles are nowhere to
be seen. He goes to the bathroom to shower and change.
Maxwell tries throughout the
day to approach Miss Fine. She is always very formal and her answer
to him is always...'I'm not angry...we owe each other nothing.' This
terrifies him. He would have felt better if she had been angry, or even
sad...but she was neither. She had absolutely no emotions towards him
anymore. When he looks into her eyes there was zero sparkle...That sparkle
that he now knew was her feelings for him. He is suddenly acutely aware
that he is madly in love with her. The horrifying events of this morning
made him realize it absolutely. Of course, if he ever would analyze
his feeling he would know that he actually fell years ago.
After a very quiet dinner,
as Niles is clearing the plates Max leans over to Fran.
"Miss Fine...please talk
to me. I think we need to have a long talk." He says taking her
hand.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Sheffield,
I can't. I have a date." She says taking her hand from his and
getting up from the table. "That must be him." She trots to
the front door at the sound of the doorbell.
"Cheri! Je vous adore!"
Philippe cries taking her in his arms.
Maxwell Sheffield's mouth drops
open and his heart starts to pound through his chest at the sight of
the handsome Frenchman. Of all the blokes Fran had paraded through the
Sheffield home the last four years, this is the one that Max absolutely
despised the most. He can't believe she would date
him after he had admitted that he would cheat on her even after
they were married. Max had never been so relieved when she had thrown
him out of the house a year ago. Oh, god! How could she have called
him? He's now realizing. That's the phone call she was so urgent
to make this morning, right after she talked about their 'needs' and
'who we sleep with is nobody's business!
"Hello, Maxwell."
Philippe says walking over to Mr. Sheffield.
"Philippe." He says
coldly quickly shaking his hand.
"Um, Miss Fine...could
I please see you in my office for a second?" Max says leading her
into his office. He closes the door and turns to her. "How
could you? How could you date that bloke? Don't you remember
how he made a pass at C.C. when he was engaged to you? He'll cheat on
you if you ever start another relationship with him! He's French, after
all...they see nothing wrong with it!" Max says desperately trying
to talk her out of her odious plan.
"Mr. Sheffield...not that
it's any of your business who I date, but, I didn't call Philippe for
a relationship. What he does after tonight, I could not care
less." She says coldly and starts to walk out of the room.
"What the bloody hell
does that mean?!" He cries holding the door shut from behind
her. He knows full well what the bloody hell it means, and is completely
horrified.
Fran turns and looks at him
with blank eyes. "I told you this morning. I have needs too. This
really is none of your business." She says turning around again.
Suddenly Max grabs her and
holds her to him tightly. "Please,
please don't do this Miss Fine! I couldn't stand it if I were
to think you were going to sleep with him because of what I did last
night!" He cries.
Fran is surprised at the emotion
in his voice and feels his body trembling slightly.
Wow! He's really worried but too bad. After pushing me away since
the thing, now it is his turn. Something happened in that bed last
night with C.C., maybe they didn't go all the way, but they sure did
more than he's ever done with me. She thinks resolutely. "I'm
sorry Mr. Sheffield...I have to go." She says untangling herself
from his embrace. She opens the door and walks out, leaving him stunned
and shaking.
Max can't believe it.
Tell her you idiot...tell her! He just can't bring himself to
pull the trigger. He watches helplessly as she leaves the mansion with
Philippe.
Niles stares at him in open
mouthed disbelief. "Have you lost your bloody mind?" He is
so enraged that he doesn't even bother to add 'sir' to the end of the
question. "First you are in bed with Babcock, then you let Miss
Fine out of the house for what is certainly a night of revenge sex with
the handsomest man I've ever seen! Didn't you tell her your feelings
just now?" Niles cries.
Max looks at Niles sadly. "I'm
a bloody coward." He says, suddenly he realizes the enormity of
the situation. Why the hell didn't I tell her?! "Oh,
god!" He cries running out the front door. He spots them
getting into a taxi and runs to his Porsche. He follows the cab until
it pulls up to an apartment building. He watches them enter arm and
arm. Philippe is kissing Fran's neck and she is smiling and holding
on to him. Max races out of his car but the elevator closes before he
can get there. They are so lost in their embrace that they don't notice
him.
"Oh god!" He yells
pounding on the elevator door. He runs to the doorman. "What's
the apartment number of that chap that just went up the elevator with
the beautiful woman?" He asks desperately.
"Oh, sorry sir. I just
started working here yesterday. I don't know most of the tenants yet."
Max races over to the list
of occupants to find a Philippe. Unfortunately everyone on the
list has only one initial for his or her first name. There are dozens
of 'P's. Defeated, Max goes back to his car and drives dejectedly
home. He walks into the front door. Niles blood runs cold at his _expression.
"She's gone to his apartment
Niles." Suddenly he thinks. "Do you have his last name old
boy?" He asks hopefully.
Niles just shakes his head
sadly. "I don't, sorry to say. Well, she always wondered what sex
would be like with Philippe...now I guess she'll find out." He
says shaking his head again.
Max's mouth drops wide open.
His heart starts to race. "What did you say?! What do you mean,
Niles? The whole time they were engaged they never...?" He cries.
Oh, this is even more horrible!
"That's what she told
me, sir." Niles says walking into the kitchen. He is still quite
perturbed with his boss. More over the fact that he didn't declare himself
to Miss Fine than by him being in bed with C.C. He knew that Max wasn't
really at fault for that...knowing Miss Babcock as he did. She had explained
everything to Niles this morning as he was making her hangover medicine.
Niles revelation causes Max
to feel even more sick to his stomach than he had already been. He suddenly
realizes that if she hadn't slept with her fiancé, she probably hadn't
had relations with anyone since she started working here.
I drove her right into that Frenchman's bed! He is racked with
guilt and jealousy. He sits on the couch for hours, his head in his
hands. Soft tears form in his eyes occasionally as visions of his Fran
and Philippe making love crowd his mind.
The front door opens and Fran
quietly walks in. Max turns and watches her walk silently up the stairs.
She doesn't see him. He follows her and is surprised as she walks into
his bathroom, using the hallway entrance so as not to have to go through
his bedroom. She turns on the water and stands up. She gasps in surprise
as he is standing behind her.
"Mr. Sheffield. What are
you doing up?" She says slightly embarrassed.
Max suddenly takes her into
his arms. She is stunned as he starts sobbing and holding her tightly
to him. "I'm so sorry I made you do it. It's all my fault!"
He sobs holding her desperately.
"Mr. Sheffield...what
are you talking about?" She says. "You better leave. I really
need this Jacuzzi tonight." She says stunned to be in his arms.
He just stands there. She gets
out of his embrace for the second time this evening. "Well, it's
up to you...I'm not shy." She starts disrobing as Max's mouth drops
open. She lowers her naked body into the tub letting the jets do wonderful
things to her body.
"Um, Miss Fine...do
you mind if I join you?" He says already starting to undress. He
wipes the tears from his eyes. The sight of her naked body has pretty
much shocked his sorrow away.
"It's your tub."
She says passionlessly. She lays her head back and closes her eyes.
Max gets in and smoothly glides
next to her. "Miss Fine...Can you ever forgive me...for everything?"
He says putting his arm under her head so she can rest on it.
"What do you mean? What
do I have to forgive you for?" She says still not opening her eyes.
"Well, for making out
with C.C. even thought it would never have happened if alcohol wasn't
involved. But most importantly, for causing you to have relations with
Philippe." He says his stomach in knots as he envisions her and
him again.
Fran sits up and looks at him.
"You think I had sex with Philippe tonight?" She knows that's
exactly what he thinks. It's exactly what she had wanted to think. "Do
you think I'm as easy as you?" She says disgustedly, the
thought of him and C.C. still fresh in her mind. She closes her eyes
and leans back again.
He stares at her in disbelief.
"You...you didn't make love to him?!" He cries overjoyed.
"Oh, Fran!" He cries taking her in his arms. He kisses her
on the lips. Max is hurt that she pushes him away.
"Mr. Sheffield. Save your
kisses for Miss Babcock." She says moving her body away from him.
"Oh, god. Fran, you know
I don't care about her! You know it's
you I love! Don't you know you almost gave me a heart attack
when you walked out the door tonight? He says desperately hold onto
her arms. "I followed you! I saw you go up to his apartment and
tried to stop you, but was too late!"
She is stunned by his confession.
She's also softening as she sees soft tears start to form in his eyes.
He followed me? I don't believe it! Did he just say he loves me?
"Well she says. What are you going to do about it?" She looks
at him expectantly.
Max's heart starts beating
rapidly as he realizes that they are both quite naked and only inches
apart. "This!" He says. He stands up and gets out of the tub.
He suddenly lifts her up grabbing a towel. He carries her to his bed
and lies her down. Slowly he dries her off never breaking her gaze.
He quickly dries himself off and gets into the bed with her. Max takes
her in his arms and kisses her tenderly.
Fran looks up at him. He is
stunned to see that there are tears in her brown eyes. "Oh, Mr.
Sheffield...how could you? I mean...C.C.!" She cries burying
her head in his chest. She is now hugging him tightly. The emotion has
returned.
"I'm so very sorry Fran.
Please...please forgive me." Max is actually relieved that the
coldness is gone and the passion for him has returned. Now all he had
to do was turn the sad passion into glad passion.
Fortunately for both of them,
he knows exactly how to do it.
The End