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The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Epilogue 8/Sept/10

Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:05 am
by Janetfl
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A HUGE thank you goes out to my lovely friend Monica who spent her valuable time creating this for me!!
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Killjoy and I can't thank you enough for voting for this story!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
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Title: The Art of Seduction
Author: Janetfl (Jan)/Killjoy
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Roswell .. sadly that belongs to the powers that be!! No infringement is intended.

Pairing: Max/Liz, Kyle/Tess, Maria/Michael, Alex/Isabel.
Rating: ADULT.

Summary: Max is a lawyer, fresh out of school, when he goes to work for his father's firm. Liz is the daughter of a very powerful business man, Jeff Parker. She is a very wild, spoiled rich kid who is always used to getting what she wants. What happens when she sets her sights on Max Evans?

Author’s Note: I am co-writing this story with Killjoy due to a challenge he set out (the link given below). He had so many wonderful ideas that I thought it would be best if we both got the credit for this story ... after all it wouldn't exist if it wasn't for his brilliant mind!! Although I will be writing the main bulk of the story Killjoy will be putting just as much effort into it by adding his thoughts and witty humour as well. This is our first time working together so feed back would be most appreciated!!!

Challenge 298#


I am apologizing in advance for any grammatical mistakes. Grammer is not one of my strong points!! Please forgive me. I just had to get this story out there!!!



Here we go ....................................................................



Chapter 1


Max Evans … the most by the book, follows the rules type of guy you’ve ever met in your life. A conservative among conservatives. He is the type of guy who has a daily routine one that he never breaks from, up at five, jogs till seven, always at work by 9am or earlier, never later.

He had just finished his law degree at Harvard and passed the bar on his first try. He was now on the fast track at his father’s law firm, Evans, Davenport & Sears. Although Phillip Evans did have partners, he held the majority of shares in the company.

His father had placed a lot of confidence in him by giving him a fairly high paid, high end job. He had his own corner office and secretary to help him deal with his work load.

Now his desk was clear from any clutter and he worked in a very methodical way. He was currently perusing one of his client’s files and taking copious notes on his yellow legal pad when the phone on his desk disturbed his concentration.

“Evans, Davenport & Sears, Max Evans speaking, how may I help you?”

“Max its Phillip”

Now Max’s dad always insisted his first name was used whilst Max was working for him which suited Max just fine. Although everyone knew he was the great Phillip Evan’s son they still liked to keep their working relationship strictly professional. So Phillip always called his son by his first name also.

“Hi Phillip what can I do for you today?”

“I’ve got caught up in huge case over here at the court and it looks as if it could possibly go on all day. My secretary has some documents that one of our most prestigious clients wants to get signed today and I won’t be able to make it. This client is none other than Jeff Parker so I want you to get the files off Monica immediately and go over to their mansion and get them signed.”

“Jeff Parker as in the most important client we have Jeff Parker?” gulped Max.

“That’s the one. Now get the address off Monica, take the Mercedes and drive over there straight away. Now Max I don’t need to tell you how important this client is to us. He puts all of his business through our company and as you know there are other firms out there swimming around like sharks in the water, chomping at the bit, just waiting for us to make a mistake so they can take his business away from us. So if he says jump you ask how high. Got it?”

“Yes don’t worry Phillip I won’t let you down.”

“I know that’s why I’ve put you in charge of this matter. I trust you know how to handle yourself.”

“Yes sir” said Max replacing the receiver.

His hands started to sweat under the pressure. He knew that this client could make or break a firm like his father’s and there was no way he was going to be responsible for losing his dad’s biggest client.

So he stood up, took his Armani suit that was hanging on the back of his office door, collected his toiletries bag and went to the executive bathroom to get changed.

He sprayed on fresh deodorant, put on his new white crisp shirt, followed by his black Armani suit. He placed his gold cufflinks through the cuffs of his shirt and finally tied a Windsor knot in his very conservative blue tie.

He checked himself out in the mirror and he looked damn fine or so he thought. He splashed on a light layer of Hugo Boss aftershave and he was ready to face the BIG man himself.

He took everything back to his office and then went to get the documents from his dad’s secretary, Monica.

“Good morning Monica.”

“Good morning Mr Evans. Here is the paperwork you are going to need for Mr Parker and here are the keys to the Mercedes. You have an appointment booked with Mr Parker in an hour so that should give you plenty of time to get to the mansion. The address is on the front of the file. Please drive carefully, Phillips words not mine” smiled Monica.

“Right, fine” said Max getting more nervous by the minute.

He walked out of the office, collecting his briefcase on the way, heading for the car park.

Once he reached the car he pressed the central locking mechanism and placed the folder of documents on top of the car. He opened the door and threw his briefcase on the passenger seat and then collected the documents from the top and got in.

He opened the file, memorised the address, punched it into the GPS system and off he went.



TBC …………………………………………………………… Should we continue?

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 2 (22/Dec/08)

Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 3:21 am
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another chapter done for you today!!!

We just wanted to say thank you to all of those who left feed back for us:



Monica
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AvalonRose
Carrie
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Thank you for all of your amazing feed back. It means so much to us and encourages us to continue.

Here we go ..............................................................



Chapter 2


What was wrong with the world? Every idiotic driver on the planet seemed to be crossing his path today. This, the most important day of his entire life, is the day he is supposed to prove to his father that the Ivy League education he had received was worth it … and what does he get … dickhead drivers trying to smash up the company car.

As he reached yet another traffic jam he decided to take off his suit jacket so it didn’t get rumpled and creased.

So … here he was taking off his jacket when the jam suddenly clears and he is left with his jacket half way down his back, both arms still stuck in the sleeves. He fought with his jacket whilst the driver behind him started to blast his horn.

“Since when did Armani make straight jackets” he thought to himself as he continued to fight the jacket off his body.

Finally breaking free he carefully placed his jacket on the back of the passenger side seat and started to drive. He glanced in the rear view mirror and saw the obscenities, the occupant of the car behind, was currently mouthing and gesturing towards him.

He followed the instructions of the talking GPS system and finally turned the corner onto the street were Mr Parker lived. As he pulled up outside the electronic gates a guard came out of a tiny booth situated at the side.

“State your business here please” said the 6’2”, built like a former NFL linebacker, guard.

“I’m Max Evans from Evans, Davenport & Sears. I have an appointment with Mr Parker at 10:30 am.”

The guard ran his big beefy finger down the page attached to his clip board.

“Right Mr Evans have you been here before?”

“No”

“Okay, go up the driveway and follow the road around to the right. That will take you to the front door. If you branch left you will be going towards the servant’s quarters at the back of the house. I will announce your arrival and someone should meet you at the door.”

With that the beefy guard, whose name was Cliff according to his name tag, went back into the booth and press something.

The electric gates started to slowly open.

Max drove the car up the long driveway which was completely covered by trees giving the air a cool feeling despite the rising temperature outside. As he eventually clears the tunnel of trees he is amazed at the sight before him.

There in the middle of well kept grounds stood the Parker mansion. It looked like it belonged in one of those period dramas, like Pride and Prejudice. It stood three stories high with four massive stone columns at the top of marble stairs.

In the middle of the circular driveway stood a huge fountain with what could only be described as a cupid statue situated in the middle spewing out water from its mouth.

Max pulled around the circular driveway and parked outside the impressive marble stairs. Standing by the double, solid oak, front door was the butler.

“This is it Max, your big chance, don’t fuck it up” he thought to himself as his palms started to sweat.

He grabbed his jacket from the passenger seat and put it on. He bent down, got his briefcase and documents, closed the car door and pressed the button on his key to lock the doors. He placed the keys in his briefcase and wiped his sweaty palms on his trouser legs. It would not be wise to show his fear in front of Mr Parker.

As he walked towards the butler he tucked the folder of documents under his arm ready to shake hands. The butler just bowed his head slightly.

“This way please Mr Evans. Mr Parker is aware of your arrival sir but is on a very important business call. Would you please wait in the hall and his assistant will call you in when he is ready.”

“That’s fine, thank you” replied Max.

“Okay here we go” thought Max as he stepped over the threshold.

The butler gave another slight bow and disappeared from view.



TBC ……………………………………………………………………………

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 3 (23/Dec/08)

Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 1:17 pm
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another update for you. We are just going to say a quick thank you to all that left feed back.

Courtney
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Thank you for your support it means a lot to us!!!!


Right on with the next chapter .........................................................................



Chapter 3



Jeff Parker was a famous business man. He was number two on the Forbes Worlds Richest List. Beating people like Bill Gates and Donald Trump. He had some of the worlds most powerful men eating out of his hand, like US Senators and he even knew the President on a personal level.

And the heiress to this vast empire was none other than the infamous Liz Parker, his one and only child. Liz’s mother had died in childbirth and Jeff was so devastated that he never re-married. He was never short of beautiful women wishing to adorn his arm but he never took it further than that. He never wanted Liz to feel as if he was trying to replace her mother.

So of course Liz grew up into a very wild, spoiled, rich daddy’s girl who is always used to getting what she wants. Although Liz is like this, everyone she meets seems to love her. She is never rude and is always polite to the people around her, even the servants.

She is constantly in the newspapers, along with her best friend Tess Harding another heiress to a vast fortune, for partying and what not but not once have they ever embarrassed their fathers by un-lady like behaviour.

Tess was Liz’s best and only trusted friend. They met on their first day at an all girls boarding school and instantly hit it off. Everyone around them knew who they were and they either got the gold digging friends or the envious bitches who just wanted to associate with them and get their names in the papers. So they had joined forces and made a formidable team. They became best friends and room mates.

Now their names were synonymous with all of the popular places to hang out. If they decided to grace your establishment then your clientele was guaranteed to go up market.

*******

As Max was taking in the luxurious surroundings he started to get really nervous. He felt a little intimidated standing in the grand entrance of the Parker mansion.

There was Italian white marble everywhere, the floors, the stairs and even a full sized marble replica of Michelangelo’s Statue of David standing by the spiral staircase.

He decided then that he had to get this first initial meeting just right so he started to run different scenarios of his greeting through his head.

“Hello Mr Parker it’s a pleasure to meet you” he thought.

No! No! That’s not right … try again ... okay…

Max was so intent on getting it right that he started to practice his greeting out loud and pacing the room.

"Hello Mr Parker sir, nice to finally meet you....no, no, no ... not formal enough!" he says to himself.

He shakes his head and than once again stops his pacing, smiles and sticks his hand out.

"Mr Parker it's a great honour to meet you...." Max rolls his eyes "now you sound like you're talking to a judge or something!"

As he turned around to start his pacing again the folder dropped from underneath his arm spewing the documents all over the marble floor.

“Oh Shit!” muttered Max bending down, gathering up the paperwork trying to get it in order and back into the folder.

He was so intent on getting the papers that he did not hear the bang of the front door behind him.

*******

Liz came charging through the front door intent on finding what she was looking for and then getting the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

She and Tess were going shopping today for a new outfit for the party that was being held that evening and she didn’t want to waste too much time. Finding just the right outfit, that was cut low enough to show some skin but no too low to flash the whole world their panties … or lack thereof … as they get out of a car, took a lot out of them normally.

Just then she heard a loud car horn and Liz rolled her eyes in frustration. She stuck her head out of the door and shouted ….

"Gees Tess would you chill! I told you I forgot my cell phone! It's not like Rodeo Drive is going anywhere!!!”

She turned back around to go and find her phone when she stopped dead in her tracks. She was awe struck … there in front of her was a man with his rear end stuck up in the air as he was trying to pick up what looked like a pile of papers.

“Whooa boy” she thought as she continued to stare at the man’s muscular rear end.

“I wonder if the face is as nice as this view?”

She was still standing there staring when Tess entered behind her to see what was keeping her friend. Nothing ever took Liz’s attention from going shopping.

"God Liz what in the hell is taking you so.....whooooa....I see" said Tess taking in the sight before her.

Liz still not breaking her stare, from the fine piece of ass wiggling with each movement of his arms, she whispers in Tess’s ear ….

"Yes isn't it a nice see?"

"One of the best sees I've seen in a long time!" smirked Tess.

Just then the man, after finally picking up all of the papers and placing them back in the folder, stood up.

Liz’s mouth fell open as she took in the sight of the man standing before her. Okay so she couldn’t see his face but she could tell he had a damn fine body by looking at the way his suit fitted his back perfectly.

Jeff Parker’s assistant, Serena, came out of one of the rooms and said ….

“Mr Parker is ready to see you now sir” whilst showing him into the office.

Liz strained her neck to try and get a good look at the man’s face but he never turned around.

As Serena came back out of the office Liz ran up to her.

"Serina! Serina!"

"Yes Ms. Parker?"

"Who the hell was that?"

"What? Oh you mean the young man who just went in to meet your father?"

"Yes him?!" Liz rolled her eyes.

"His name is Max Evans. He works at the law firm your father likes to use."

"Max Evans....huh?" Liz's smile turned predatory.



TBC ……………………………………………………………………………

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 4 (27/Dec/08)

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 7:06 pm
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another chapter ready for you. We hope you had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Just a quick thank you to all our feed backers .....

nibbles2
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Thank you so much ... your feed back means a lot to us and encourges us to continue .......



Chapter 4



“I take it we’re no longer going shopping now?” Tess asked as she looked at the predatory smile that was spread from one end of Liz’s face to the other.

Finally broken out of her sexual fuelled dream world Liz turned a puzzled look at Tess.

“ … huh … what …?”

“Sorry” Tess smirked, doing her very best not to laugh at her best friend “more than likely you didn’t quite hear me over your drooling. But what I asked was … I take it we’re no longer going shopping now?”

“Oh we are going shopping Tess! That's for certain!” Liz shook her head “We … I … need to buy quite a few more new outfits than I was planning … I just want to get a look at his face before we head …”

She never got the chance to finish her sentence because the door to her dad’s office opened.

Liz grabbed Tess by the elbow and pulled her away from the door and around the corner. They both slowly popped their faces around the wall to get a good look at this Max Evans.

Tess made a quiet whistling sound with her mouth.

“Now isn’t that a fine specimen of the male human physique?”

Liz found that she could only nod her head a second or two at Tess's comment before she was finally able to get her mind and her mouth to work together "God he’s absolutely gorgeous Tess”

“So about that shopping?”

“Yes, yes we’re going shopping" nodded Liz "Like I said I need to get myself some new outfits.....some sexy 'Come Fuck Me' outfits!”

“Uh huh...and this wouldn’t have anything to do with … what’s his name again?” whispered Tess.

“His name is Max … Max Evans” the name just rolled off her tongue with perfection “and yes this has everything to do with him.”

“Oh hell," sighed Tess "I’ve seen that look in your eyes before Liz. You’re not going to stop until you have him are you? And when I say 'have him' I mean in every literally sense of the words.”

“Watch and learn the art of seduction Tess. I’m going to make Max Evans mine” whispered Liz with determination.

Max was so busy trying to impress Mr Parker that he didn’t notice two sets of eyes staring at him. One with a look of pure lust in them and the other … well with a look that can only be described as pity for what was in store for him.

“It was a pleasure to meet you sir” said Max shaking Mr Parker’s hand.

“Please Max you can call me Jeff. I’ve known your father for quite some time now and I hold Philip and his company with quite high regards” said Jeff patting Max on the shoulder.

“Well I look forward to meeting you again sir...I mean Jeff” said Max taking his leave.

Liz quickly pulled Tess back around the corner as Max made his way past them and out of the front door.

“I see he’s already made quite an impression on your father.” said Tess.

“Yes he has … and that is no easy task” said Liz the cogs of her brain already working overtime.

“Liz what are you up to now?” asked Tess practically hearing Liz’s brain coming up with some sort of scheme. She knew her friend very well.

“Just go and wait out in the car for me a few minutes would you?”

“Alright Liz but don’t be long you know how much I hate waiting. Not to mention my credit cards are just itching to be used” replied Tess walking towards the door.

“I promise you Tess I won’t be long.”

With that Tess went to the car to await Liz’s arrival.

Liz walked up to her father’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” she heard her father shout.

She opened the door and stepped inside the office.

“Good morning daddy Tess and I are just about to go shopping to get a few new outfits for the party tonight.” said Liz.

“Well that’s good honey. I’m sure that whatever you choose will be perfect.”

Liz stood there with her hands behind her back and slightly swaying side to side. She put on her best puppy dog wide eyes and said ….

“Daddy, who was that man that just left your office?”

“Oh that was Max the son of Philip my lawyer” said Jeff.

“Well daddy you know you said that you wanted to make your company more hip and bring it into the 21st century?”

“Yes at the moment we’ve some how got ourselves an old fashioned, stuffy sort of image” Jeff shook his head "Hard to bring in new money with an image like that."

“Well how about having a young fresh faced lawyer representing your company? Although Philip could still do most of the work behind the scenes you could make Max the spokesperson for the company. I think having him in the pictures with you will make people see that you are serious about changing the image of the company. You know fresh young blood and all of that” Liz crossed her fingers behind her back and mentally began a 'please oh please listen to me' chant in her mind.

Jeff took one look at his daughter and realised that she was being serious.

“Do you think that will work?” asked Jeff.

“Well look at it this way daddy. I’m young and if I saw him pictured with you I would be interested......" oh boy you have no idea how interested I'd be in him "...You know he maybe the key to bringing in new business. He might encourage the younger entrepreneur to take your company seriously.”

“You know what sweetie? You just might have something here” said Jeff thinking over what his daughter had just mentioned.

“You know if you got involved in the company a bit more it might actually help our image as well.”

“Well maybe if this … what’s his name again … ah yes this Max person is involved then maybe I can help you also. With the two of us making a team maybe we can improve that old stuffy image the company has.”

“It would mean you working quite closely with Max. What if you two don’t get along?”

“Oh now daddy since when have I ever NOT gotten along with someone?”

“True, that’s very true. Leave it with me and I will think it over some more and then I will let you know.”

“Okay daddy. Well I’m just going to go shopping now okay?”

“Alright sweetheart” said Jeff.

Liz went and gave her dad a massive hug and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

“Don’t worry daddy I’ll make sure Max and I will get along.”

Ohhhh I'll make sure we'll get along.

With that Liz left his office with a huge smile on her face. God she was good!

“You look like the cat that got the cream!” smiled Tess from the driver seat of her car as she saw Liz walking toward her

“Oh operation 'Snag me a hottie’ is well on it’s way” said Liz as she opened the passenger side door to Tess's convertible and climbed in..

“What have you done Liz?” asked Tess unable to hide her smile knowing that Liz would stop at nothing to get what she wants.

“Oh I think I’ve just persuaded daddy to hire Max and have him work closely with me!” beamed Liz.

“You are evil Liz do you know that? Evil but extremely clever! That's why I love you.” laughed Tess “Max Evans is not going to know what hit him!!”

Tess started the Porsche and zipped out of the driveway. They had a lot of shopping time to catch up on.


TBC …………………………………………………………………

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 5 (31/Dec/08)

Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:16 pm
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another chapter ready for you!!! As usual just a quick thank you to all of you who left feed back!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

AvalonRose
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Your support is amazing and thank you so much!!!




Chapter 5



Max found himself fiddling with his napkin as he sat at a rather lavish table at the Parker mansion. He couldn’t believe what had happened over the last couple of days.

********

After his meeting with Mr Parker he returned to the office only to find his father had returned from the court case apparently it didn’t take as long as he had expected. Just as Philip called Max into his office to discuss how the meeting went with Mr Parker he was interrupted, via his intercom, by his secretary Monica.

“Mr Evans I’m sorry to interrupt you but Mr Parker is on line one demanding to speak to you.”

Philip threw a look at his son as if to say “What the hell did you do wrong?”

Max just shrugged his shoulders and closed the door in order for Philip to have some privacy.

As he walked back to his office he started to worry. He thought the meeting went well but by the urgency in Monica’s tone of voice he may have thought wrong.

He went through the whole meeting in his mind and couldn’t find anything that would have upset Mr Parker. Hell he’d even told him to call him Jeff. He sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands. What if Mr Parker took his business elsewhere? His fathers company would be ruined.

His bad thoughts were broken and he jumped when the intercom buzzed.

“Hi Max, Philip wants to see you immediately” said his secretary Carrie.

He always got Carrie to call him by his first name otherwise it would get confusing plus the fact he had a really good working relationship with his secretary. She was one of the best in the firm second only to Monica.

She always knew what he needed before he did.

“Did he say why Carrie?”

“No Max. He just wanted you in there PRONTO, his word not mine” laughed Carrie.

“Tell him I’m on my way”

“Yes sir”

Max took a few minutes to compose himself, squared his shoulders and prepared for the butt chewing of his life!!!

As he walked into Philip’s office he noticed the smile on his fathers face.

“Take a seat Max”

“Okay here we go” thought Max.

“I’ve just got of the phone with Mr Parker and I have to say that you made quite an impression on him. So much so he wants you to be the spokesperson for his company.”

“What does that entail?” asked Max slightly worried, he did not like surprises.

“Well we will still be doing all the work behind the scenes with your help of course but you will have to work closely with his daughter Liz. You will also have to attend any photo shoots on behalf of his company. His company at the moment has rather an old fashioned type of image and he wants to improve that. He thinks that if he gets you and his daughter involved in the company then it will improve their image and bring in new young blood!”

“I don’t think I’m comfortable with that Philip. You know I hate having my photograph taken” said Max.

He didn’t want to get so involved with Mr Parker or his daughter just in case he made a huge mistake and lose Mr Parker as a client.

“Don’t be ridiculous Max. This has to be done! If you don’t then we will lose him as our client and that would finish the company. Mr Parker spends about $400,000,000 with us so don’t think for one moment you have a choice in this matter!”

Max was not a happy man.

“But what if I don’t get along with his daughter or I screw up some way. I don’t want to be responsible for losing the biggest client you have and how do the partners feel about this?”

“They aren’t happy about putting a rookie on the job but they realise, as I do, that we would lose him anyway if we didn’t do this.”

“Great so now I have all of the partners hating my guts and the other more qualified lawyers we have as well.”

“Don’t worry about them. Mr Parker has invited you over for dinner at the mansion on Wednesday evening. I suggest you leave now and go and buy a new suit. The company will cover the expenses.”

Max knew he wasn’t going to be able to talk his father out of this one.

*******

And this is how he came to be sitting at the dining table in the Parker mansion in his very expensive new suit.

He never liked surprises in fact he HATED surprises. He had always prided himself on planning his life out weeks ahead and to the very finest detail. He was the only teenager at his high school with a day planner. Oh yes people used to laugh at him for it but most of those ended up working at the cheese factory!

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the starter was placed in front of him by the serving staff.

“So Max how do you feel about being the spokesperson for my company and working with my daughter Liz?”

How does he feel about working closely with “Oh hi just call me Liz” bumping into him “oh excuse me” Liz? Dressed in a short skimpy, tight black dress? His boxers started to tent as he thought about her. God she was simply breath taking. She had tanned long slender legs, gorgeous brown hair that he just wanted to run his fingers through and the most beautiful big brown doe eyes he had ever seen.

She was sitting directly opposite him, staring at him all the time. It was really starting to make him uncomfortable.

He coughed as he shook those thoughts out of his head.

“I can’t thank you enough for giving me this opportunity sir” said Max with as much sincerity as he could muster.

God why does she keep staring at him like that?

At that moment Max started to feel something against his leg. He looked up at Liz who was smiling widely at him.

Oh my god she was running her foot up and down his leg!!

He couldn’t believe it and she just sat there smiling at him. He started to get really nervous. Why was the temperature suddenly rising in this room? He started to sweat profusely and used his napkin to wipe his face. He took the glass of water that had been placed before him and took a massive gulp to help his now very parched throat.

Mr Parker noticed how red Max was, watched as he wiped his face with his napkin and then take a gulp of water. Maybe he was nervous about being in front of HIM. He did have this sort of affect on people.

“Max are you okay?” he asked concerned.

He was about to answer Mr Parker when he felt Liz’s foot move further up his leg.

“I’m …” he voice came out very squeaky so he coughed.

“Uh I mean I’m fine thank you Mr Parker” whilst shooting Liz a warning look. If it was possible her smile got wider and there was a glint in her eyes.

He started to concentrate on eating his starter trying to ignore Liz’s foot up his leg. He placed a hand under the table and pushed off her foot. Liz just pouted and then smiled again. She did a little wriggle.

Just as Max was about to put his prawn salad in to his mouth and chew he felt Liz’s bare stocking feet go directly to his crotch, causing him to jump, smacking the table hard. Everything started to rattle.

Max scraped his chair back and jumped up making an awful noise.

“I have to go to the bathroom, please excuse me?” he said turning quickly in order to hide his obvious arousal away from the onlookers.

“Of course” said Jeff none the wiser. Max was rather a jittery person.

*******

Max entered the rather lavish bathroom. White marble and gold surrounded him. He put his head against the cold mirror trying to calm his rapidly beating heart down. He moved his pants around trying to make his erection more bearable.

“Okay Max think of something that will help like … Rosie O'Donell … Ellen … Rosanne Bar … that’s it … Rosanne Bar … Rosanne Bar in a bikini ... Rosanne Bar in a bikini wanting me to rub her down with suntan lotion." he chanted like an mantra.


He leaned over the wash basin and ran the cold water. He cupped his hands filling them with water and then splashed the cool liquid against his very hot, red face. He looked back up to the mirror and started to talk to himself again.

"She's the daughter of your firm's biggest client ... but she's hot ... NO ... NO ... NO TOUCHING!”

The heat in his body started to rise again so he leaned down, cupped more water in his hands and splashed his face. As he came back up to look in the mirror he was shocked to find Liz standing in the doorway with a massive smile on her face.

"Feeling a little hot and bothered there Max?" her smile grew even wider.

Max turned around as Liz made her way toward him, trapping him against the wash basin counter. She placed her hands either side of Max and pressed her body hard against his.

He looked down at her with panic in his eyes and started to squirm. She just laughed bringing her lips closer to his.

My god he just wanted to kiss those candy pink lips. He wanted to ravish her just to show her that she did NOT have the upper hand … but then his sensible brain kicked in.

“You know Max I think I’m going to enjoy working underneath you! You’re going to have all the power you know? That might make things rather … hard ... don't you think?” she said seductively blowing slightly in his ear.

Realising that his resolve was slipping Max jumped so hard that he knocked her back a bit and broke free of her grasp. "I ... I ... I've got to get back to the table ..." Max stammered out before brushing by her and quickly making his way out of the bathroom back towards the dinner table.

*******

Liz stood frozen in the bathroom in shock. That had just not happened! Max Evans had NOT just blown her off and managed to escape her. Nobody has ever done that to her and it made her mad. No scratch that ... it made her furious! How dare he! That’s it … she was now even more determined to get him.

Storming out of the bathroom Liz made her way back to the dining table. Oh she was going to make him pay for that rebuff.


TBC …………………………………………………………………………. :D

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 6 (06/Jan/09)

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:13 pm
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another chapter for you. A quick thanks to all of you who left us feed back.

Lena
confusedfool
Courtney
keepsmiling
Destiny
Crazedearthgirl
Carrie
Eve
Cindy
AvalonRose
Ginger
POM
roswell4life
Sara
Monica:
Thanks for the recommending our story Monica and for the very pleasant bump!! :lol: :lol:

Thank you so much for all of your support. We appreciate it!!!



Killjoy found this video which seems to match our dreamer pair in this story so please take a look … I thought it was rather funny!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24FT3u-lhg4



Chapter 6



"I ... I ... I've got to get back to the table ..."

".....and he spent the rest of the night sitting across from me and didn't ONCE look at me! He even scooted out of the way where I couldn't reach him with my foot!" Liz ranted to Tess.

Tess had come around to see how her friend was getting on with her so called seduction but when she heard the story and saw how mad Liz was she was trying so hard not to laugh.

“That was a couple of weeks ago and that’s not the worse part” said Liz.

“Oh please tell me there’s more!” Tess said bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet and clapping her hands with glee.

“Oh there’s more alright!”

Liz proceeded to tell Tess about what happened between her and Max earlier on today.

*******

Jeff had called Max to the mansion for another meeting but when he arrived he was on another important phone call but this time he was shown into the living room to wait and offered refreshments which he refused.

“I’m so sorry Mr Evans but Jeff will be with you as soon as possible. This was an unexpected over sea’s call that came in and he had to take it” said Serena.

“That’s alright I don’t mind waiting” said Max.

Serena left the room and closed the door.

Max looked around the living room and whistled. He was sitting on a black leather couch that was so soft you just sank into it. There was another sofa, exactly the same as he was sitting on, situated opposite him. A 60 inch Plasma T.V. was attached to the wall above a very grand fireplace. He stood up and walked around the living room and continued to look around the room taking in the luxurious surroundings.

“What a total waste of money” said Max to himself whilst shaking his head “Just think how many government bonds and saving’s accounts he could have all this money invested in … pulling in at least ten percent interest!”

He was concentrating so much on his surroundings that he didn’t hear the glass sliding door open which lead to the well kept back garden.

*******

Liz had heard the door bell and knew it was Max. She couldn’t wait to get another shot at him. She was so angry that he hadn’t accepted her advances in fact she was furious.

She got changed into her very sexy, leave nothing to the imagination, white string bikini. It had two triangular pieces of material that almost … and the main word to catch here was ‘almost’ … covered all her breasts and tied at the back of her neck and the bottom piece was a sting thong which left her buttocks exposed.

“If this dental floss bikini doesn’t get him nothing will!” said Liz with a smirk on her face.

She placed a white silk robe around her body, grabbed some suntan oil and made her way to the back garden through the kitchen.

She walked around to the glass sliding doors that lead to the living room and sneaked a peak. She saw Max walking around the room looking at his surroundings. He looked even more handsome today because he was wearing a short sleeved white shirt, no tie and black trousers. Her father had insisted that he come casually dressed.

“My god if that’s casual I’d like to see what he wears when he’s slumming it” said Liz giggling to herself.

She could see his tanned muscular arms and firm butt as he moved around the room. Liz’s heart rate increased and her desire reach fever pitch.

“Oh you’re going down Max Evans!” she said to herself.

She slipped off her robe and rubbed suntan oil over the parts that she could reach. She quietly opened the sliding door and walked into the living room.

“Oh my I’m terribly sorry Max I didn’t realise that you were here!” said Liz in a shocked voice, clutching her robe to cover her breasts and doing her best to put an innocent look on her face.

Max spun around and noticed a scantily clad Liz. His face and ears turned bright red.

“Oh no what is she up to now?” his mind groaned.

His eyes roamed over her entire body and she was all shiny with the suntan oil she had put on. Max swallowed hard. Maybe she didn’t realise that he was there because she was clutching her robe to her body.

Liz started to blush slightly and suddenly turned around.

“Oh erm I-I’m terribly sorry Max” stuttered Liz.

Max’s eyes jumped out of their sockets when he viewed the heavenly sight before him.

“Holy shit” thought Max as he took in the view before him “This can NOT be happening.”

A growl of appreciation nearly left his throat before he realised what he was about to do and stopped himself. His eyes couldn’t help but travel up and down her body. Her hair was up in a kind of twist held by a sliver clip. He drank in the sight of her very toned, tanned back and then his eyes reached her butt. He choked as he realised she was practically naked.

Had the temperature in the room suddenly risen again, or was it his own body temperature? He was finding it hard not to just scoop her up in his arms and carry her to a bedroom.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from her.

“*Ahem* Liz, your – your not exactly covered up that way either” choked out Max.

Liz smiled as she heard the tightness in his voice. Yep she knew this bikini would come in handy at some point.

“Oh Max I’m sorry” she said in an innocent voice, turning back around and dropping the robe.

Max turned around again thinking that she would now have put on the robe … which she hadn’t. He knew as he stood there, staring at her, that he was now in deep, deep trouble. Once again he could feel the stirring in his groin start to build.

“Oh god why can’t she just leave me alone” he thought “I’m going to get into so much trouble if this keeps on happening”

“Max seeing how you are here I was wondering if you could help me”

“If the Parker’s say jump you ask how high!” Max heard his father’s words echo through his mind.

“Uhhhhhmmmm … sure Liz. What do you need help with?”

“Hook, line and sinker” Liz smiled to herself “Now all I have to do is reel him in.”

“Well I was coming in to try and find Serena but now that you’re here … could you rub suntan oil on the parts I can’t reach” said Liz seductively holding out the oil to Max.

“DANGER, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!” Max’s mind started shouting at him like a red alarm klaxon.

“I-I c-can’t do that Liz.”

“Why not? I’m only asking for a little help” asked Liz walking slowly towards him as he walked backwards “And isn’t that what you’re here for? To help my family in WHATEVER … we need?”

“Well yes but … but …” Max stammered as she once again pushed her body up against his.

He couldn’t believe he’d got trapped again. Here he thought that he was escaping her and yet she had walked him against the fireplace and his leg was now between her thighs.

“Oh god I don’t know how much more I can take of this” he thought.

“Maxxx” breathed Liz handing him the oil with a small pout on her lips “please.”

He looked down at her beautiful face and the pouted lips. Oh those lips he just wanted a little taste … just a little. He started to bend his head towards hers.

“THIS IS IT! I’ve got you now! You are MINE!” thought Liz as she closed her eyes waiting for Max to kiss her.

Max knew this was wrong, knew it would only lead to trouble but he just couldn’t help himself...all of his blood was running in a more southernly region than his brain at the moment. But as soon as he felt her rapid pants of breath against his lips his blood starved brain snapped out of its lust filled fog. Moving his lips away from Liz’s lips Max placed his mouth next to her ear and softly whispered …

“Do it yourself Liz”

Liz’s eye’s snapped open and her head shot up in disbelief!

Just as Liz was about to rant and tear into Max she heard the click, click of a woman’s shoes against the marble floor. Serena was coming to get Max for the meeting with her father. She ran, grabbed her robe and went to sit by the pool as if nothing had happened.

Max realised he had just gotten himself another lucky escape.

Saved by the bell.....or.....the click, click of a woman’s high dollar shoes! Whichever one Max would gladly take it.

*******

"You mean you wore that skimpy bikini you bought last summer when we were in Cancun?"

"That's the one." nodded Liz.

That was it … Tess couldn’t take any more and burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” asked Liz annoyed that her friend was laughing at her attempts.

“O-Oh god I’m so sorry Liz but it looks like ‘Mr in the palm of your hand...isn't quite as easy as you thought he’d be."

Tess was laughing so hard that she had tears streaming down her face and was clutching her stomach.

This made Liz even madder. She stood up and started to pace the room.

"Oh just you watch he'll be mine soon enough!" she stated with determination.

“I mean come on Tess, just who the hell does he think he is?!” Liz paced, hands clenching and unclenching.

"I mean any man would consider himself lucky that I was interested in him! How dare he just run out of the bathroom ... on ME of all people! Oh and then tells me to rub my own oil on my body. Just look at me Tess … how could HE!"

Tess finally stopped laughing when her friend started her tirade again.

"Maybe he's gay?" Tess smirked.

"HE IS NOT GAY!" replied Liz even angrier.

"Whooa it was just a thought" said Tess holding her hands up in a surrender gesture.

"Sorry but I know for a fact he's not gay. Besides ... a man that hot can't be gay ... should be against the law or something if he was" said Liz calming down a little.

“How do you know for a fact he’s not gay?” asked Tess curious.

“Because when he rejected my advances last week I hired a private investigator.”

"YOU DID WHAT? You hired a private investigator to follow Max Evans around?!"

"Okay...." Liz sighed "When you say it like that you make it sound a tad crazy."

"Liz I think you've gone waaaaaaay past the crazy stage and have now reached stalker territory!"

"I'm not a stalker!" shouted Liz.

“If you say so” shrugged Tess.

“Anyway I know he’s not gay because he was in a committed relationship for three years with a girl from college” said Liz.

“Oh.”

“Why isn’t he interested in me Tess?” whined Liz totally frustrated.

“Well here’s a thought Liz. Maybe just maybe he likes his women to be … now how can I put it politely … erm … a little more conservative” said Tess trying to be diplomatic.

“You mean stop throwing myself at him and use my brain instead of my body.”

“Exactly!”

“The private investigator found out that he spends a lot of his free time at a small bookstore come café down on Tenth Street.”

“I’m sorry but how is that going to help you?” asked Tess confused.

“Well if I can find out what sort of books he purchases then I can buy the same ones and leave them strategically placed around the house.”

“What if he asks you about them?” asked Tess.

“Oh I’m going to read every single one of those books so I can quote them if he asks!”

“YOU? Read a book? The whole thing?”

“Well ok … I might just skim through them and read their summaries on their covers.”

“Now that might just work” said Tess smiling.

“I have a problem though.”

“Oh what’s the problem?”

“You MUST go to the store for me tonight and find out what it’s all about and also dig up some dirt on Max.”

"But....why don't YOU just go?"

"Because Max might be there and see me spying on him!" said Liz rolling her eyes again.

"But....Justin was going to take me to ... Chez Pierre ..."

“You don’t even like Justin!” Liz protested “You told me that yourself last week!”

“Well yes … but he likes to spend an extortionate amount of money on me” pouts Tess.

"Oh please Tess ... do this for me!" begged Liz.

"Ok, ok but you owe me one Parker."

"Thank you, thank you." Liz hugs Tess.

"What’s this place called and where is it again?"

"It's a small place down on Tenth Street. It's called The Road to Enlightenment."


TBC ………………………………………………………………………………..

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 7 (07/Jan/09)

Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:42 am
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another update for you!!! A HUGE thank you to all you wonderful feedbackers!!!

Destiny
roswell4life
keepsmiling7
Ginger
Lena
Courtney
Alysluv
Crazedearthgirl
Monica
Eve
AvalonRose
Carrie
behrluv32


Thank you so much for the wonderful feed back!!!! I have to say that Killjoy practically wrote this chapter because my muse flew away for awhile!! :roll: :lol: Oh and THANK YOU Carrie for also putting this fic on the recommended board!!! Everyone's support is just amazing ... thank you!!!



Chapter 7



Tess typed the address into her GPS system and then left the Parker mansion to go and find this stupid bookstore Liz wanted her to visit.

After about twenty minutes on the road she turned the corner in to Tenth Street and noticed the bookstore. She pulled into a parking space outside and got ready to go in. She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to find out the information that Liz required but she would give her best shot after all that’s what best friends do for each other.

“Oh god, nice one Liz” said Tess as she got out of her car, locked it and headed towards the store/café.

It was a rather quaint little bookstore or so most people would see it that way but Tess saw it as a hovel.

It had a black sign with white lettering on stating that this was ‘The Road to Enlightenment Bookstore and Café’. Underneath the sign was a red canopy where people, who were sitting in the outdoor area, could take shelter under if it was raining. As she looked into the window she could see books set out on display to attract the customers. There was no fancy arrangement they were just all lined up on a set of shelves specifically designed to fit in the window.

There was a window above the store which looked like it belonged to an apartment and there was a wrought iron surround that went across it.

“God I bet this is the sort of place that has that old, musty smell of books to it. Liz owes me BIG TIME for this” she said to herself before she stepped through the door.

Once inside Tess found that she was actually quite surprised by the interior of the bookstore. Instead of stale books all she could smell was the fresh aroma of steaming hot coffee and baking buns. She inhaled the bittersweet aroma and made her way to the back of the store where the café was situated.

She was even more surprised at how busy it was. There was only one table available but it was quiet because everyone was engrossed in their books and too busy sipping their drinks to talk. There was an oldish looking couple chatting in one corner while two teenagers in the other corner were playing a round of chess at their table.

Tess stepped up to the serving counter and was shocked to see that the girl, who was rubbing down the counter, was sporting tattoos all over her arms and piercings in her nose, one eyebrow and both ears.

“Erm … could I please have a double skinny latté please”

“Cummin’ right up! In or out?” said the girl with a smile.

“I’m sorry?”

“Are ya drinkin’ in or out?” said the girl.

“Oh sorry I’ll take it to drink in please” said Tess smiling.

“You aint been here before have ya?”

“No, first time.”

“Well the books over on that shelf you’s can read whilst drinkin’ ya coffee” replied the girl pointing to a shelf full of books situated at the back of the café.

“Oh thank you. I might just do that.”

Tess paid for her double skinny latté and made her way towards the bookshelf. There were many books to choose from … most of them were some sort of self help books and a lot about Buddhism but there was a small selection of other genre. She chose a crime fiction novel and was reading the back to find out what it was about as she made her way towards her table.

Just as she got to the good part of the description she crashed into something solid and her hand tipped back spilling the coffee all down the front of her new dress.

“Shit, shit, shit!” said Tess as the coffee seeped through her dress and started to scald her.

“Oh my I’m so sorry” said a husky male voice.

Tess looked up to see what or rather who she had bumped into. When she saw the man who stood in front of her she was pleasantly surprised. He was a very handsome looking man with his dark brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a dark red t-shirt with the gold letters USC spread across the front of it. She took a second to admire his bulging biceps that peeked out of the arms of his t-shirt.

“Maybe this isn’t such a bad place after all” she thought whilst smiling.

Tess watched as the man turned around quickly and grabbed some napkins from a nearby counter and then turned back to her. She couldn’t help but to giggle as the man started wiping down the front of her dress running his hand over her ample breasts in the process. Her giggles increased in intensity when the man suddenly stopped realising what he had been doing with his hands.

“Oh – Oh I’m terribly sorry I didn’t mean to … you know” he said taking a step back from her pointing to her chest area whilst his face was turning a beetroot colour.

“Feel me up?” smirked Tess

“Uhhmm yeah...here take these and wipe yourself down” he said offering her more napkins.

“Well since we’ve gotten to know each other … intimately now …maybe you could tell me your name?”

The man blushed even more if that was possible.

“Huh? Oh yes sorry my name is Kyle and you are?”

“Tess”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Tess” he said holding out his hand “a-and I’m truly sorry about … that” Kyle said pointing his finger at her chest area again.

“No worries you were just trying to help me besides it was I who wasn’t looking where she was going” said Tess indicating the book and then shaking his hand.

It was only then that she noticed the books surrounding her on the floor.

“Oh did I make you drop those?” she asked bending down to help him pick them up.

“Oh yeah but you don’t have to...” Kyle bent down at the same time as Tess did and when they both reached for the same book their heads bumped together.

“Ow!” they both said in unison as once again the books fell to the floor as they used their hands to rub the spots on their heads that they had just smacked together.

“You know how about you sit down over there...” Kyle smiled and pointed over to the last empty table “...and I will bring you another coffee after I’ve picked up these books. That way we won’t be so dangerous to one another”

“Thank you” said Tess raising up off the floor still rubbing her now sore forehead.

“What were you drinking by the way?” asked Kyle as he picked up the last of the books and stood up.

“Oh … er … a double skinny latté please” answered Tess as she was heading to the table Kyle had pointed out to her.

“Be right back” nodded Kyle heading off to replace the books in the correct positions. Once that was done he went behind the café’s service counter and started to make her coffee.

Tess studied his magnificent form as he worked the latté machine causing his back muscles to stretch his shirt tight across his broad ... “Whoa girl get it under control!” Tess shook her head as Kyle started making his way back to her table.

“Here you go now, one new double skinny latté!” said Kyle setting the drink down on the table in front of Tess and then taking the seat across from her “But you know I was just thinking … would you please allow me to pay for that dress I just ruined?”

“Ok first off it was I who ran into you so it’s totally not your fault and secondly I bought this dress from Gucci and it cost me $800 dollars.”

“Huh? $800 … as in dollars? American? ONE dress?”

“Yep” Tess nodded and smiled as she sipped her latté.

“*Ahem* Well in that case, seeing how I can’t get you a new dress, how about letting me buy you that new latté?” he asked sheepishly.

“Honestly Kyle you don’t have to bother about the dress … really … I can just get another one tomorrow.”

“A-Another one?” choked out Kyle “My bookstore doesn’t make much more than that in a day”

“Oh so this is your bookstore then?” asked Tess.

“Yep all mine!” Kyle said with a huge grin on his handsome face “And I own the apartment above the store as well.”

“Wow I’m really impressed. I mean you don’t look that much older than I do. But here you are already having a business and home that you own. Is this what you always wanted to do, you know, run your own business? Own a bookstore?”

“No, no, no far from it" laughed Kyle "Actually since the day I picked up my first ball I wanted to be a famous pro athlete."

"Just like every other male at that age." smiled Tess

"Well yes" Kyle smiled back "I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging here but I was quite good. Actually I was a famous college football player back in my day."

"Really....who did you play for?"

"Uhhhh… U.S.C…” Kyle ran his fingers under the three bright gold letters that ran across the front of his shirt.

“Ohh…” Tess nodded but then got a confused look on her face “Who’s U.S.C.”

“The University of Southern California…you know ‘Go Trojans’!”

“Ohhh sorry” Tess smiled sheepishly “I’m not real big into sports."

“No problem.” Kyle smiled trying to put her at ease “Got me a national championship my senior year. I even had the chance to turn pro and go to the NFL. But that sort of fell through on me right before graduation."

"What happened?"

"You know what they say a guy needs to stay mysterious so how about I hold that bit of info until our second date?"

"Second date?" Tess's eyebrows raised up "Who ever said we'd have a second date ... and just when did we have our first?"

"We're having it now" a large grin spread across Kyle's face.

"And just how do you call this a date?"

"Well we have a guy … that would be me."

"Obviously"

"Then we have a woman ... that would be you."

"Correct again"

"And here we are sitting at a table, having refreshments..." Kyle pointed to her latté "...and having a meaningful conversation. If that doesn’t scream date than I don't know what does."

"Well now that you put it that way I suppose ...."

"Oh hi Max how are you today?" asked Kyle as he noticed Max making his way towards the table.

“I’m fine thanks Kyle and you?” asked Max looking at Kyle with a raised eyebrow indicating that he’d noticed the blonde sitting opposite him.

“Oh yeah I’m alright you know, same old thing. Listen I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

“Oh god no, no, no don’t introduce me” thought Tess.

“This is Tess. Tess this is my best friend Max.”

“Oh shit, what am I going to do now!” thought Tess.

Max held his hand out to Tess and she placed her small one in his.

“I … erm … it’s … er … nice to meet you Max” said Tess eying the books in his arm.

“Well it’s nice to meet you too Tess.”

“Oh … erm … I see you have some books, are they any good?” asked Tess.

“Actually yes they are. These ones are my favourite but I’m just waiting for one more?” said Max showing Tess.

“Oh they’re all Steinbeck so which one are you waiting for?” asked Tess as innocently as possible, making a mental note of the titles.

Max just gave her a strange look.

“Well I’ve just found this place see and I wanted to read some good books” said Tess as an explanation, smiling.

“Well Steinbeck is my favourite author as you can see. I already have, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl. I’m just waiting for my special edition, hard back copy of The Grapes of Wrath” said Max.

“Well you won’t have to wait any longer Max because it came in yesterday. It’s in the back room, come through and I’ll get it for you” said Kyle.

“Well seeing how you’re busy Kyle I’ll go now” said Tess.

“Will you be coming back?”

“Oh definitely I’m not going to miss out on that second date” Tess winks.

“Great!” said Kyle smiling.

She now knew how Liz felt about Max because she felt the same way with Kyle.

As Max and Kyle disappeared into the back room Tess quickly grabbed the books off the shelf and paid for them. Liz would have to get hold of a copy of The Grapes of Wrath somehow.

Finally she had completed the mission Liz had set out for her.

She escaped the store before Max and Kyle could see her again but what she didn’t notice was the girl behind the Café counter, the one who served her, her first latté saw everything she had done … and she wasn’t happy.


TBC …………………………………………………………………….

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 8 (14/Jan/09)

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:49 am
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another update for you!!! I want to apologise for taking so long to get this to you. It was purely my fault and not Killjoy's. We just want to say a HUGE thank you to all the feed backers.

Eve
Carolyn
Lena x 2
Crazedearthgirl
AlysLuv
AvalonRose
Nibbles2
Carrie
Destiny
roswell4life
Monica
SmileeUK
April
Courtney


Your feed back means a lot to us!!! Thank you!!!




Chapter 8


Tess and Liz are sitting in the living room on one of the big black leather sofas. Liz starts to read one of the books out loud.

"All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house."
- John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men


SLAM …


“Well what the hell does that mean?” asked Liz.

“Don't look at me....you're the one reading it” replied Tess coming out of her bored induced coma.

“God this book is boring as hell!” Liz slammed the book down on the nearby coffee table.

Leaning back on the sofa she began to rub her forehead “And all of this reading is making my head hurt!”

Tess just laughed at her friend “I told you yesterday, when I phoned, that this plan wouldn’t work. I warned you that each one of those books were like two foot thick and would bore you to death.”

“Well I didn’t think you meant literally!” groaned Liz her arm slung over her eyes and forehead.

“Well I'd love to stay and help but I've got to...” said Tess standing up, ready to leave.

“Just where in the hell do you think you're going?! Tess you can't leave me! You have to stay here and help me finish up all these books!” Liz jumped up straight on the sofa and started waving her hands towards the large stack of books that rested on the coffee table.

“Uhhh I'm not the one that has to memorize all of them and be able to call them up on demand so ... bye”

“Oh alright then we’ll stop reading the books and chat for a while okay?” asked Liz with pleading eyes.

“Oh ALRIGHT then” said Tess rolling her eyes but sitting back down on the sofa.

“Thank you. Anyway how did you find out what books Max likes?”

“Oh I took a peek at the ones he was holding in his arms and then asked him about them. It was pretty simple really” said Tess proudly.

“YOU WHAT?” screamed Liz.

“I said that I took a peek ….”

“I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!”

“Then why did you …”

Liz interrupted again.

“Think about WHAT you’ve just said” said Liz glaring at Tess.

Tess’s eyes looked up in the way people do when they’re trying to recall something from their mind.

Stressed out Liz tried to spell it out for her friend.

“YOU met MAX” stressed Liz.

“Yeah … so … what’s the big deal?” said Tess with a look of confusion on her face.

Liz rolls her eyes “Tess you're over here like all the time.”

“Yeah … so?”

“Max will be over here like all the time, right?”

“Yeah”

“Well, what if you’re both like over here at the SAME time and he SEES you?!”

“Ohhh … well it wasn't my fault! It's not like I went up to him and said HI! Kyle introduced us” said Tess defending herself.

“Who's Kyle?”

“Is that an original dress designed by …”

Just as Tess was about to try and divert Liz away from the discussion of Kyle, by changing the subject, they both heard voices outside the living room door.

“So Max what do you think about this new deal we’re taking on. Thanks to you and my daughter we now have the younger generation falling all over themselves trying to sign up with us. You’re doing an excellent job Max.”

“SHIT” whispered Liz as the door knob started to turn, jumping up off the sofa she grabbed Tess by the arm and started dragging her away “Fuck Max is here you have to hide!”

“Liz where the hell am I going to hi …” but Tess never got to finish her question as the door to the living room swung open.

Luckily for Liz, Jeff’s and Max’s attention was on a document they were studying. Liz forcefully yanked Tess towards a nearby open closet and then proceeded to shove her in it so Max couldn’t see her.

Slamming the door shut Liz turned around to rest her rear end against the door and then bent over at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. It was only when she stood back up, straight, that she noticed both her father and Max were looking at her strangely.

“Ohhh hi … Max” Liz gave him a rather weak wave.

“Uhhh hi Liz …” Max gave his own weak wave in return as he took in the panicked look on her face “… are you okay?”

“Oh yeah I’m just peachy!” said Liz plastering a big fake smile on her face.

“Jesus that was close” Liz thought.

*******

As Liz slammed the door to the closet Tess was plunged in to darkness.

“I swear to Gucci … I’m going to kill her when I get out of here” said Tess having a fight with the coats she’d already gotten tangled up in. The more she fought them the more entangled she became.

“Shit”

Tess stilled herself in order to hear the conversation going on outside.

*******

“So Max how are you getting on with my lovely daughter?”

“Erm … fine thank you Jeff. She’s a REAL pleasure to work with” said Max through slightly gritted teeth, thinking of all the times Liz had tried to seduce him.

He found Liz incredibly sexy but he had to keep reminding himself who he was dealing with … in fact he was surprised to still be there after he'd turned down her request to rub oil all over her body.

Her … totally hot … and sexy … nubile body.

Oh that was it … Max groaned to himself as the vision of Liz in that dental floss thong bikini came floating through his mind like a heat wave. He had to get out of the room quickly before his pants started to tent up and he embarrassed himself.

“Hi Daddy, yes Max and I are getting along REALLY well aren’t we Max” said Liz giving him a cheeky wink.

“Perfectly” Max smiled hoping like hell that Jeff bought it.

“Oh well that’s just great!! I was hoping you were getting on because after all the good work you’ve done for the company so far I have a lot more work coming up for the pair of you” said Jeff smiling.

“*Ahem* Well maybe we could discuss that later Jeff. I really need to get back to the office and work on these papers you have given me.”

“Of course Max, of course, but I want to discuss some other business with you first before you leave” said Jeff turning to walk Max out to the door.

“I’ll see you soon Liz” said Max over his shoulder as he walked out of the living room with Jeff.

“Yeah I’ll SEE YOU soon Max” said Liz turning towards the closet as the door closed.

*******

Liz yanked open the door to the closet and Tess fell flat on her back pulling the entangled coats and about half the coat rack down along with her.

“Get these freaking things off me would you!” shouted Tess as she carried on fighting the entangled coats.

Liz bent down to help and then picked her up off the floor.

“What the HELL was that for?!” said Tess, her face flashing an angry, hot red.

“Sorry but no time to explain right now! You’ve got to go! Max may come back any second!” said Liz as she was pushing Tess towards the sliding doors that lead onto the garden.

“Jeeze … five minutes ago you were begging me to stay here and talk to you now you’re … Liz what in the hell is … okay, okay, would you just stop pushing me!” said Tess getting angrier by the second “I wanted to go back to the bookstore anyway … oh … I … erm … I mean I want to go shopping anyway.”

Liz pushed Tess outside and closed the sliding door just as Max re-entered the room.
Tess darted away and started walking towards her car.

“The bookstore? Why the hell would I have said that?” wondered Tess as she got into her car. She was that focused on those two questions she’d asked herself that she automatically started heading her car in that direction.


TBC ……………………………………………………………………

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) Chpt 9 (18/Jan/09)

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:37 am
by Janetfl
Hi everyone. Killjoy and I have another update for you!!! Just a quick thank you to the feed backers.

Monica x 2 (Hunter)
Eve
AvalonRose
Destiny
April
Carolyn
Ginger x 2
POM
Carrie
Monica (Crazedearthgirl)
Mezz
Courtney
Buddha-boy
Lena


Thank you so much for your continued support!!!




Chapter 9



Tess found herself standing outside Kyle’s bookstore having a mental debate with herself on why she drove way the hell out of her way to come here.

“Why am I here?” Tess asked herself silently “I mean it’s not like this place is anything special. I could be shopping … buying myself that new dress…”

The mention of her dress sent Tess’s thoughts back to the last time she was here. How her dress had been ruined and how sitting in an old bookstore sipping a latté had been the best first date she had been on in a long time.

“Well I guess stopping in and having one coffee wouldn’t hurt.”

With a smile on her face Tess thanked an older man who was exiting the store and who held the door open for her. As she approached the counter she noticed Kyle was, once again, standing behind it; his back to her busy at the latté machine. He hadn’t noticed her yet so she took the moment to once again admire his rather nice backside.

As she watched him work the latté machine her smile grew even more. But her smile faltered a tad when she notice that the blonde haired girl working the counter with Kyle had noticed her standing there.......and from what Tess could see out of the corner of her eye the girl wasn't looking too happy about it.

“Did that girl just frown at me?” she thought slightly confused.

Just as she was thinking this Kyle turned around, finally noticing her standing across the counter from him, a huge grin came across his handsome face.

“HEY THERE!” he boomed excitedly “What are you doing here?”

Tess placed her hand over her heart in an ‘Oh I am wounded’ fashion.

“You say that like me being here’s a bad thing” pouted Tess.

"Never" Kyle shook his head grinning "A beautiful girl like you being here is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned."

“You will not blush...you will not blush...” Tess ranted over and over in her mind as she felt the heat start to burn in her cheeks. “You are a mature woman who has been hit on by countless guys...sophisticated women like you do not blush just because a nice guy called you.....oh what the hell!”

Tess gave up her inner fight and once again grinned up at Kyle.

"Thank you for the compliment."

“Not a problem. Now tell me to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“Oh … erm …well you see I was in the neighbourhood..." Tess started to say while at the same time her mind started to scream... “LIAR, LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE...” “...and I thought if you're not too busy then we might have that second date?”

“NO!” Kyle's booming voice caused everyone in the quiet bookstore to jump and then look his way.

"Sorry" Kyle waved to everyone as they went back to their book reading and coffee sipping.

Turning back to Tess he shook his head vigorously and in a softer tone said "No...I'm not to busy."

"Good"

“Could you watch the counter for me please?” Kyle asked the blonde girls whilst stepping from behind the counter, removing his apron in the process and heading towards Tess.

“Yeah sure!”

“I have reserved our special table” said Kyle leading Tess towards the table they had sat at previously.

As she turned to follow Kyle to the table she noticed the blonde girl giving her the evil eye and could feel her cold stare boring into the back of her neck.

“What is up with that chick?” Tess thought.

Kyle held out the chair for Tess and she sat down.

“Thank you Kyle” said Tess blushing again. She’d never had a man treat her so gentleman like before...she could come to like this.

“Your welcome” he said smiling bemused by the slight blush that had formed on her cheeks “Would you like you usual refreshment?”

“Oh … erm … yes it’s a …”

“A double skinny latté” interrupted Kyle.

“Wow, you remembered?” asked Tess.

“Of course I remembered … why wouldn’t I?” smiled Kyle before turning around to go and prepare their drinks.

As Kyle walked away, Tess stared at the blonde girl, who was busy serving another customer, and tried to work out what her problem was, if indeed there was one.

God knows she and Liz had pissed off numerous girls over their years of partying. Maybe this chick was an ex to some guy Tess had dated in the past.....or the ex to some guy she stole in the past.

“So” Kyle said placing the latté in front of Tess bringing her out of her train of thought. Looking down at the table she noticed that there was something else sitting in front of her other than her double skinny latté.

"What is that?"

“I’ve brought you a cup cake with chocolate covered icing” said Kyle with a huge smile on his face, knowing that most women liked chocolate.

“Oh thank you Kyle” said Tess with a slight frown on her face.

“What? What’s wrong, don’t you like cup cakes?”

“I LOVE cup cakes?”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong Kyle” said Tess smiling reassuringly “It’s just that I prefer strawberry flavoured things.”

“I thought ALL women LOVED chocolate” said Kyle "I mean I hear stories about how you women worship at the altar of chocolate."

“Ok your first mistake is believing that all women are the same." Tess smirked at Kyle pointing her finger at him "And second I DO love chocolate it’s just strawberry is my favourite flavour”

“Oh well in that case …” said Kyle starting to walk away from the table.

“Hey!” Tess said gently grabbing his forearm unable to control the slight shiver that ran through her when she made skin to skin contact with him.

“What?” asked Kyle now totally confused.

“Were are you going with my cup cake?”

“Well it’s chocolate but you said you like strawberry. I don't think I have anything strawberry but maybe I can find…” before he could finish his sentence Tess snatched the cup cake off the plate and took a bite.

As she chewed a small moan of satisfaction left her lips.

“Hhmmmmm I may prefer strawberry but I didn’t say anything about not wanting the chocolate cup cake now” said Tess smiling “Those are really, really good, do you make them yourself?”

“No, I can cook but I have a friend of mine who is a baker and he makes these at home for me to sell here.”

“Wow, well you must pass on my compliments to your friend then” said Tess taking another bite of the cup cake.

“I might just do that” said Kyle smiling as he took the seat opposite to Tess “Ok now....seeing how I was the one who told you a little about myself on our last date, how about you share some information with me about yourself.”

“Well I’m twenty years old, my favourite colour is red, I love going shopping....I'm actually pretty good at that, you might even call me a Pro....and I LOVE my car. She's my baby.” said Tess listing the first things that came into her head.

“What car do you drive then?” asked Kyle.

“I drive a black, Porsche GT Carrera”

“Ohhhhh good car!”

“You better believe it mister. So, back to you.”

“Well I’m twenty five years old, my favourite colour is green, I love to watch football on TV or go to my old alma matar to watch them live … oh yeah and I’m a Buddhist.”

“A Buddhist?" Tess's nose scrunched up in confusion "Isn't those the people who like to run around with no clothes on all the time?"

"Uhhh no" Kyle coughed into his hand as he bit back his laughter knowing it wouldn't be nice to laugh at her "...you're thinking of NUDIEST. I'm a Buddhist...it's a form of religion, originated somewhere around China, approximately 400 BC."

"Ohh sorry…" Tess ducked her head embarrassed. She hated when she said stupid stuff like that some times.

"Hey it's okay, no one knows everything about everything."

Kyle reached across the table to pat Tess on the hand, causing the shivers to, once again, shoot up her arm as she smiled at him for trying to make her feel better.

"So what does it mean to be a Buddhist?"

"Well there two main branches but both follow many of the same practices. Buddhism tells us that the world as a whole is suffering, mostly due to cravings or attachments to worldly goods and pleasures. As a Buddhist we should cast out these cravings for material goods and do our best to help others. Only through this will we have a chance at a better life when we die and are reincarnated."

"Does that mean that you believe that you might come back as another person or even an animal once you die?” asked Tess with a look of confusion on her face.

“Yeah that’s right”

“Oh that means you could end up like a gopher or something!” said Tess really bubbly and smiling “I bet you would look so cute!”

"Well thank you for saying I'd look cute...but I was kind of hoping to shoot for something a little further up the food chain in my next life." smirked Kyle “Hey listen we are having a poetry night tonight. Everyone sits around in a circle and then we all discuss the books we are reading and sometimes we read some poetry out loud. I even put on a small little buffet for the customers. Why don’t you come along it’s at eight pm?”

“Ohhh this might be my chance to get more information on Max, for Liz but I don’t want anyone to ask me any difficult questions. I’m going to make a total show of myself” thought Tess.

“Oh no, I-I’m sorry Kyle but I can’t do that. What if they start to ask me questions about books that I read or ask me my opinion on a specific book? I don’t want to embarrass myself” said Tess lowering her head.

Kyle tucked his finger under her chin and gently raised her face so she was looking at him.

“Hey you never have to be embarrassed in front of me okay? Now you don’t have to say anything whilst your there. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the atmosphere okay?”

“Okay” whispered Tess.

“Listen I’m really sorry but I have to go and help the girls now. There is a lot still to prepare for this evening but I’ll see you at eight tonight?”

“Yes I will see you at eight” said Tess standing, ready to leave.

“Good bye Tess”

“Bye Kyle” said Tess smiling.

“Why did I agree to that? I don’t even like poetry!” thought Tess as she stepped outside the bookshop and headed for her car.


TBC ……………………………………………………………………………………

Re: The Art of Seduction (AU, M/L, K/T ADULT) 10&11 (21/Jan/09)

Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:03 pm
by Janetfl
Hi everyone Killjoy and I have another update for you!!! Just a quick thanks to everyone who left us feed back.

Carrie
Lena
Destiny
Eve
POM
Ginger
Buddha-Boy
AvalonRose
April
Monica
Shannon


Thank you so much for all of your support ... it means a lot to us!!! :D


A/N: Killjoy is a little scared that all you Dreamers out there are going to hurt him because we did two lamptrimming chapters in a row and no Max/Liz. I have assured him that we Dreamers are a friendly bunch and won't boil his bunny just yet!!! :lol: :lol:




Chapter 10



As Tess pulled up outside the front door of the Harding mansion the butler, Charles, was there to meet her. He opened her door for her which she thanked him for and she handed him the keys so he could put the car into the garage.

She walked inside the house and took in her surroundings. The huge, round entrance hall was covered in black and white marble with columns, either side of the room, holding up the massive structure. There was an ornate chandelier in the middle and a spiral staircase that wound around the room.

Now Tess had always loved this room but somehow today she didn’t find any comfort in being here. There was antique furniture placed all over the house and it was like stepping back in time. It looked more like a house that a King and Queen would own. Although her father did have a lot of modern electrical equipment it was all hidden behind antique monstrosities.

The butler came in behind Tess and shut the front door. He watched her for a short period of time feeling rather sorry for this poor young woman. She was always pleasant to the staff and never treated them as if they were beneath her. He knew that she wasn’t happy.

“Will there be anything else Miss Harding?”

Tess was so deep in thought that hearing Charles’s voice made her jump. She turned around to look at him.

“I’m terribly sorry Miss I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Oh Charles, you didn’t, I was just deep in thought that’s all. Thank you for putting the car away for me.”

“You’re welcome Miss.”

Tess started to laugh.

“Charles how many times have I told you to call me Tess?”

“Oh I couldn’t Miss. Your father simply would not allow that and it would be very impolite, not to mention unprofessional, of me to do so” said Charles.

With that remark the smile disappeared from Tess’s face.

“Is my father home?”

“No Miss he won’t be back for another week. He’s still away on business.”

Tess sighed and started walking up the spiral staircase, towards her bedroom.

“Thank you Charles. I won’t need anything for the rest of the day. I am going out this evening and I’m not sure what time I will be back.”

“What time do you want the car ready by?” asked Charles.

“I’m not going until this evening so say around seven thirty.”

“It will be ready for you Miss. I’ll get Dan to wash it for you.”

“Thank you” said Tess disappearing up the stairs.

Charles stood staring at the spot where Tess just stood. He shook his head and made his way towards the servant quarters where Dan would be located.

“That pig headed man is going to lose that wonderful child if he’s not careful” thought Charles shaking his head.

*******

Tess was getting more and more nervous as the hours ticked by. She was sitting in her magnificent room looking at everything she owned. She was trying to figure out why on earth she agreed to go to this poem night tonight.

She started to get butterflies in her stomach when she thought about Kyle but it soon turned to a feeling of sickness when she realised that she was going to be way out of her depth with all the books that were going to be talked about.

Oh she had, had an excellent education and passed all of her exams but the one thing she was sadly lacking in was Literature. She had always found reading a book completely boring, plus having the most monotonous literature teacher in her school didn’t help.

She glanced at her watch for the tenth time and decided it was time to start getting ready. She turned on the water to fill her bath and put a good sized squirt of coconut bath foam in. Once the bath was full she stripped off her clothes and placed them in the dry cleaning basket.

She stepped into the bath and felt the tension of the day slip away. Tess closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, savouring the coconut aroma that filled her nostrils. She let her mind drift back to the events of today. Getting shoved into a closet by Liz and then somehow she ended up inside the bookstore. She remembered the smile on Kyle’s face as soon as he saw her and the fact that he had brought her a chocolate cup cake. What was so special about this guy to make her want to go there tonight?

After Tess had shampooed and conditioned her hair she washed her body and then got out of the bath. She wrapped a fluffy white towel around her hair and put on her bath robe. She went into her walk in closet and set about the task of choosing suitable attire for this evening.

She had numerous designer dresses but she decided to go simple tonight since Kyle had only ever seen her in a dress. She chose a black pair of designer jeans, a pale blue halter neck top and soft black leather, knee length boots to wear for tonight.

She placed the items on her bed and went back into the walk in closet. She pulled out a pale blue bra and panty set along with some black socks. She walked towards the electronic safe, which was behind a door in her closet, and typed in the combination. She had numerous pieces of expensive jewellery that her father had bought her on special occasions.

As she looked at all the jewellery she remembered each time she was given the pieces like it was yesterday. Most of them were guilt presents from her father. Always brought back when he had been away for her Birthday or he had missed something important at her school. She sighed at the memories that were now invading her mind. She couldn’t understand why this was all affecting her now. It had never bothered her before. She selected a simple silver chain necklace and matching bracelet that she had bought for herself.

She closed the safe and headed towards her vanity desk. She applied her makeup so it looked natural and then set about drying her blonde curly locks. Once she had finished she dressed herself and then put on the jewellery. She took a look at herself in the full length mirror and decided she looked natural, not overdressed or underdressed.

She put on her tailored soft black leather jacket, grabbed her purse from the table next to her bedroom door and headed downstairs closing her bedroom door behind her. As she came down Charles was there to meet her with her car keys in his hand. To say he was shocked at the sight before him would have been an understatement.

He was used to Tess wearing some designer dress and her make-up was usually a lot thicker. Tonight she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Her make-up was light giving her a natural beauty look and for once she was wearing a pair of jeans. He smiled at her when she looked up.

“You look wonderful tonight Miss” said Charles smiling.

“Thank you Charles”

“The car is ready for you Miss” said Charles dropping the car keys into Tess’s hand.

“Would you mind thanking Dan for me Charles?”

“Of course Miss I will do it as soon as you have gone.”

“Thanks” said Tess as she walked out the door towards her shiny clean car.



Chapter 11



When Tess arrived outside the bookstore she noticed that all the parking spaces were full except for one which had a cone in the middle with her name stuck to it. She got out of her car, moved the cone and pulled into the space.

She pulled out her compact mirror and checked her makeup before she exited the car. As she walked towards the door of the bookstore she started to get nervous butterflies in her stomach. She took a deep breath and walked through the door.

Kyle was getting more nervous as the minutes passed. He’d started to think that she wasn’t going to show up tonight. He heard the bell above the door jingle and he looked up in hope that it was Tess. The sight before him just took his breath away. There she was a vision of loveliness, in her black jeans and light blue halter neck top which clung to her curves in all the right places. Her beautiful blonde shiny hair was loosely curled and hung around her shoulders.

“Wow you look beautiful tonight, not that you don’t usually … it’s just that there’s something different about you tonight” said Kyle walking up to Tess and gently grabbing her hand.

“Come on I’ve saved you a seat” said Kyle leading Tess towards the unoccupied chair.

Tess sat down next to Kyle and she looked around the group and noticed that Max was there as well. She gave him a slight nod and a small wave in greeting. He just nodded and smiled. Everyone took turns in standing up and reading from their favourite poets books. After each reading there was a short discussion on the meaning of each poem. It took a couple of hours before the final man stood up to read his poems. He had the look of a Literature Professor, tweed jacket with leather elbow patches, glasses and a beard.


Never give all the heart, for love
Will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seem
Certain, and they never dream
That it fades out from kiss to kiss;
For everything that's lovely is
But a brief, dreamy. Kind delight.
O never give the heart outright,
For they, for all smooth lips can say,
Have given their hearts up to the play.
And who could play it well enough
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
He that made this knows all the cost,
For he gave all his heart and lost.

Never Give All The Heart – A poem by William Butler Yeats



She hears me strike the board and say
That she is under ban
Of all good men and women,
Being mentioned with a man
That has the worst of all bad names;
And thereupon replies
That his hair is beautiful,
Cold as the March wind his eyes.

Father & Child – A poem by William Butler Yeats


He closed his poetry book and turned towards Tess.

“And which poem is your favourite?”

“I … erm … Father and Child” stuttered Tess turning bright red as all eyes turned towards her.

“And what do you think it means?” asked the man.

This was what Tess was afraid of. If she attempted to answer she might just embarrass herself. As the Lit Professor looked at her in expectation, a very nervous Tess grabbed Kyle’s hand and gave him a pleading look. Kyle smiles at Tess and then turns his attention on the Lit Professor.

“Bob this is Tess’s first night here. So why don’t we go easy on her and just let her listen and watch?”

Bob just smiled at Tess and nodded at Kyle and then turned his attention to one of the regulars in the group. Tess threw Kyle a look of gratitude for saving her and continued to listen carefully to what everyone was saying. She was concentrating so hard that she didn’t realise she was still holding Kyle’s hand.

Kyle looked at their entwined hands and a big goofy grin came across his face. This was turning out to be the perfect night.

After all of the discussions had finished the group separated and started to help themselves to the buffet that Kyle had laid on for tonight. Kyle told Tess to grab their usual table while he went to get them some food. As she sat down Max brought a chair over to the table and sat by her.

“So, how long have you known Kyle then?”

“Oh, we only met a couple of days ago” said Tess shyly.

“How did you two meet then?”

“Well it was here actually. I kinda bumped in to him and spilt some coffee down myself and we just sat down and chatted for a while.”

“Well you couldn’t have chosen a nicer guy to know a little better” said Max smiling and gave a little wink.

“Well he seems …” Tess never got to finish her sentence because Kyle came over with two plates piled high with food.

“Hey you guys aren’t talking about me are you?” said Kyle with a smile on his face.

“Yeah we were actually. I was asking Tess how she met your sorry ass” said Max winking a Tess again.

“Hey that’s …”

“Kyle he’s only joking. He asked me how we met” said Tess worried that Kyle would take it the wrong way and think badly about her.

“I know, I know” laughed Kyle when he saw the slight fear in Tess’s eyes.

“We’ve been best friends since … well since about junior year of high school. You see Tess, Max is a workaholic and about the only chance he gets to interact with beautiful women is when he's either with me or when he's...uh well … that is when he's ...uh… well never actually” laughed Kyle “I mean dude you have gone out on a date some time THIS century right?”

Max rolled his eyes "Even I'm not that bad Kyle! I’ve been on a few dates this year!”

“Max no offense....but my Grandpa is like eighty seven, in a nursing home full of a bunch of blue haired old ladies and he still gets way more action than you do!”

“Ha he's so funny isn't he?” Max turned to Tess.

“A riot” smirked Tess.

“Hey now that’s not true!” said Max faking indignation “I'll have you know that I’ve met a very beautiful woman.”

“Oh yeah and who is that?” asked Kyle curiously.

“Her name is Liz, Liz Parker!” said Max with a smug smile on his face.

Tess’s ears picked up right about the same time Kyle’s mouth fell open.

“Come on you have to tell me more!” said Kyle with interest.

“Well I’m currently working for her father and well for some reason she has set her sights on me … you know she’s been doing stuff” said Max blushing.

“She's been doing stuff? What kind of stuff?" asked Kyle with a devilish grin spread across his face " And more importantly is she doing that stuff too you?! Come on man you can't leave me hanging like this....you got to tell me!"

“Well the other week I was at dinner at her house and she started playing footsie with me under the table. About a week later she comes in wearing this bikini which left nothing to the imagination and asked me to rub oil all over her.”

“To which you agreed I hope?” said Kyle.

“NO! I told her to do it herself.”

“YOU DID WHAT!” Kyle could not believe his ears.

“You turned down an opportunity like THAT! Listen I don’t see what the big deal is. You’re single … she’s single…she’s hot…and you’re…well I guess if the light hit you just right some women out there might find you hot…”

Max just scoffed and rolled his eyes at his friends humour.

“....so as far as I can see we just have a whole bunch of hotness going around here. So if I was you I'd just go for it!” said

“It's not that simple Kyle" Max sighed "Yeah I want her.....”


“Ohhhhh wait till Liz hears this” thought Tess.


“But what if her dad found out and wasn't happy about it and took his money out of our firm? What if down the road she gets bored and tosses me to the side? What if....”

“What if a giant comet hit the Earth and killed all of us in the next five seconds...” Kyle rolled his eyes “Max two of the worst words in the English Vocabulary is ‘what if’. This world is filled with a lot of what if’s. What if’s hold us back and keeps us from discovering and enjoying new things that come into our lives. The thing to do here is for you to just say to hell with it and then go for it...life is to short to sit around worrying about what if's. Trust me I know.”


"Of all the stupid....dumb....male things! Oh I have to tell Liz all of this!" thought Tess.

“Listen I’ve got to go. I’ve got another meeting with Mr Parker tomorrow” Max got of his chair and put on his coat.

"Look Max if you want my advice, the next time you see that Liz Parker just grab her and go for it man!” said Kyle.

“No, no, I’m not going to go there … or at least I don’t think I am” muttered Max as he walked out of the store.

“Jeeze Max has it bad. I’ve never seen him like that over a woman before” said Kyle.

“RRREALLY” smiled Tess.

“So are you going to tell me a little bit more about your beautiful self?” asked Kyle.

“Like what?”

“Tell me a little about your family. Like what does your dad do for a living?”

“Well have you ever heard of Harding Enterprise?"

“Yeah....aren't they like one of the top Media companies?”

“No...THE biggest producer of...T.V. shows and Advertisements” replied Tess.

“Ohhh so your dad works there?”

“No … my dad OWNS it.”

"Ohhhhhh no wonder you can afford $800 dollar dresses" teased Kyle his eyes open wide in shock.

“Well all the money in the world doesn’t guarantee you happiness” said Tess without thinking.

Kyle caught the remark but saw Tess’s eyes go wide as if she had revealed information that was TOP SECRET. So he didn’t push her to explain what she meant, he simply changed the subject.

“Well everyone is leaving now so I’m going to have to clean up this mess” said Kyle waving his arm around the café.

“Oh I’ll help you” said Tess standing and picking up their plates; a little shocked that she had offered her services.

“Oh you don’t have to do that Tess. I’m used to clearing up on my own” said Kyle.

“No I would really like to help Kyle”

“Okay” Kyle said smiling.

“So you liked that poem, Father and Child by Yeats?” asked Kyle.

“I really liked that one” said Tess as she threw away the empty cups.

“Really?”

“Yeah” Tess nodded “I really like how he expressed the father’s disappointment with his daughter’s choice of man.”

“Well in that case hold on a second” Kyle held up his finger and Tess watched as he made his way down one of the bookstore aisle before going out of sight. He soon came back carrying a book.

“Here you go” Kyle smiled handing Tess the book.

“What is this?” Tess asked Kyle as she looked down at the book in her hands.

“Ohh it’s just a work of poems by William Butler Yeats. Take it home with you, give it a good read.”

“Ok let me get my money out of....”

“No” Kyle shook his head “It's yours...on the house...a gift. Like I said take it home with you, read it and come back later and tell me about anything you liked about it.”

Once again Tess looked down at the book in her hand. She had been given numerous gifts before...by numerous men....but that had been diamond studded jewellery, furs and anything else you can think of that cost a lot of money. But this was the first time she was ever given a book...the first time anyone had ever thought she was smart enough to be given a book as a gift. Fighting back the tears that gathered in her eyes Tess looked up at Kyle and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Come on it’s getting late. Why don’t you let me finish up here and you go home and read that book” said Kyle smiling.

“If you’re sure I don’t mind staying to help you” said Tess.

“Well I was thinking that if you read that book then maybe you would come back next week?” smiled Kyle, hoping that she would return.

“Kyle I don’t need an excuse to come here. I actually enjoy your company and I really enjoyed myself tonight.”

“REALLY?” said Kyle.

“Yes really. Now I might be back sooner than you think” said Tess firmly planting a kiss on Kyle’s cheek.

“I hope so! See you soon?” said Kyle with another goofy grin on his face.

“Yeah I think you will. Bye Kyle” said Tess as she exited the bookstore.

Kyle locked the door behind Tess and watched her until he knew she was safely in her car. As Tess pulled away he turned around and jumped pumping both hands into the air.

“YES!”

As quickly as he jumped Kyle hit the ground hard.

"OW!"

Kyle rubbed the side of his bad knee while looking around to make sure there was no one in the store watching him acting all goofy and un-cool. Realizing the coast was clear and he was all alone he got back to his tidying up......whistling a happy tune the whole time.

*******

Tess was smiling as she hopped into bed. Today had been a long day for her. She picked up the book Kyle had given her from her bedside table and started to read.

About three poems in the phone beside Tess started to ring.

“Hello”

“Tess I’m so glad that I finally managed to get you. I’ve been calling for like over an hour!” said Liz frantically.

“What? What’s wrong Liz” asked Tess slightly worried.

“Eh? Oh nothing is wrong. That new club, The Cross, is opening tonight and we are top of the list for the VIP treatment so what do you say?” said Liz knowing that Tess never turns down an opportunity to go to a new club.

“Uh you know what Liz? I’ve just gotten in to bed so I think I’ll pass on hitting the clubs…I’ve got something here I need to do that’s a little more important … bye” said Tess still engrossed in her book. Not realising that she’d just hung up on her friend.

*******

Liz just stared at the receiver in stunned disbelief.

“Did Tess just turn me down on going club hopping?!”



TBC .......................................................................................