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Post by mabs on Feb 1, 2011 22:18:14 GMT -5
Girlfriend. Reed Armstrong had a technical girlfriend, an honest-to-God one, and it almost made him feel on top of the world. Of course, they had yet to have a real knock out fight, at which point he knew would test their resolve. But for then he was still basking in the moment of having a girl who was faithfully fucking him into oblivion and no one else. It made him feel like a god, well more than he already did. Reed Armstrong as on top of it all.
Except for the times when Miss Heart got a little testy in bed. And then Reed was fully willing to give up some control.
Regardless, Reed was in the clouds, and he enjoyed his. His office seemed to as well, as he was hardly bitching and moaning as usual. They were just waiting for the fall out, to which he would return to his temperamental, combative ways in a heartbeat. Reed however, was enjoying it.
He'd had a couple hours free before a lunch meeting in town, during which he figured he would torture his girlfriend. He felt boyish thinking of it. Reed had showed up, waving through the secretaries of the office and passing casually straight back to Adrienne's. It wasn't surprising that she wasn't there yet, as he'd come to find it was a rare occurrence that she was on time. For anything. Reed had taken a more curious look at her office and the ones around her, catching sight of a familiar name on a placard. Frank Ferrier. The man had wanted to employ Reed and his firm to represent him in a settlement case for Frank's company probably a year ago or less, to which Reed had discovered was a tangled love triangle between Ferrier and his wife and his girlfriend. To which Reed had snarkily turned down and referred him to a divorce lawyer.
Though that did make for interesting food for thought as Reed sauntered back to Adrienne's office. He propped himself up much like he had the first time he'd encountered the redhead at her office: his feet were propped up and his nose was in one of her magazines this time, scouring the feminine volume for any notion as to an article about him.
Reed got caught in an article (much like one got hypnotized by the food network) about the "Top Twenty Positions He'll Love, which amused him to no end. Eh, at least the magazine's were getting a few things right. He barely noticed the door open, as engrossed as he was in the decidedly pink mag, leaning back causally in his grey suit. He had procured the interest of some of the office members yet again, but they seemed to grow bored with him. Finally. It was as though Adrienne never had a man in her life. Though perhaps she didn't have one that was so intent on meddling in her affairs, surprising her constantly, and keeping her on her toes. Just like she requested.
Just like she requested.
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Post by rocky on Feb 2, 2011 8:53:43 GMT -5
Adrienne was well-accustomed to having a man in her life. It was the lack of secrecy she wasn't used to. She'd been with Frank Ferrier for two and a half years before his wife had noticed -- or perhaps before she had complained. Everybody else in the office had known perfectly well what was going on, and had pretended not to. It had been a demoralising, humiliating affair that had left her reeling -- she'd done everything she could to convince him to leave his wife and be honest about it. It was the first time she'd really thought she was in love and not just infatuated; her youth had been a series of infatuations with men who were too old for her, and who didn't want much more than sex from her.
Which was the point where Reed stopped making sense. Adrienne didn't understand what he wanted, but the fact of the matter was that he was beginning to occupy her thoughts so thoroughly that Frank had noticed. She normally spent a lot of time quite deliberately ignoring Frank. That was, ignoring him so deliberately that he could not possibly miss that she was ignoring him.
Since she'd had that awful dream Reed had launched an assault on her senses. She hadn't had the chance to think about Frank at all. She hadn't realised until he had called her into his office for a 'talk'.
The talk had comprised largely of him trying to pry into her life and work out what had taken her attention so thoroughly of late. Adrienne had irritably asked if her work had been affected, and Frank had grudgingly admitted that no, it hadn't.
The door to his office was visible from Adrienne's, through the glass divide -- just. She appeared from inside with a slight frown on her face, preoccupied and lost in thought.
She made it all the way back to the door of her office before she realised Reed was inside. She paused and looked at him through the glass.
It was never more obvious how different they were than when they had both been at work. Adrienne was in a pair of skinny jeans and a fitted white t-shirt, Reed was in his tailored suit. She was beginning to foster an appreciation for the tailored suits. They fit him well, and highlighted every angle of him in a way she had never let herself enjoy before.
She ran her fingers through her hair and raised her eyebrow at him through the glass, then opened the office door.
"Nobody sees the wizard," she told him, with a smirk.
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Post by mabs on Feb 2, 2011 9:13:57 GMT -5
Reed had caught sight of the red hair he was growing so fond of, coming out of the office Reed had glanced at before. Frank's. Frank's. For a moment everything Adrienne had said seemed to crystallize, at least about her and Frank. Reed didn't know if she was the woman in question when Reed had been asked to represent the man, but that was inconsequential. Reed just hated Frank a little more now than he had before.
His nose had just swept back into the magazine when Adrienne exited the office. He looked up when she spoke, her jazzy sounded voice that was lilted by her accent making him smile. He peered over the top of the magazine with a crooked grin and a quirked brow.
"Does that make me Dorothy, my dear? I look terrible in blue and white gingham," Reed teased back at her with a chuckle. He closed the magazine and stood, walking over to her and giving her a half hug and a kiss. He wasn't sure if Frank was watching, but he almost hoped so.
"I had a couple of hours to spare before a meeting. Thought I would drop by and bother you a little." Reed grinned and ran his hand down her back to nonchalantly pat her bottom with a smirk of his grinning lips. If he were honest, he had really just missed her. He hadn't seen her much for the past couple of days at all, as he'd had a large case to settle. And this morning he couldn't help himself but show up to bother her a bit. Just a tiny bit.
"Also, I brought you some coffee," he added, gesturing with a nod to the Starbucks cup of ridiculously too expensive coffee next to her computer. "Wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got it black with milk and sugar."
Reed gave her a wink before sitting down at the chair opposite her desk now, propping his ankle up on his knee in an image of laid back elegance. "So what's on the docket today?"
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Post by rocky on Feb 2, 2011 11:43:24 GMT -5
"I'll get you in drag one of these days," Ade said, with a little smile. She was always self conscious in her fish-bowl of an office, but she let him kiss her today, and looped her arms around his neck. After an encounter with Frank she normally went straight for the chocolate, but Reed was an acceptable substitute, she found.
She couldn't help glancing around when he disengaged from her, and the office girls outside all turned back to their work. Frank had poked his head out from his office and was watching them darkly from his office. She made eye-contact with him very briefly, and then turned back to face Reed, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Just admit that you are only here to cause a scene," Adrienne said, but had to admit that this was becoming an oddly comfortable experience. "What is it you think you'll find, rummaging around in here, anyway?"
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Post by mabs on Feb 2, 2011 11:52:18 GMT -5
"A scene? Me? Never," Reed offered jovially, with a grin and a laugh. He reached for a stress ball she had on her desk, probably an underused one considering that it was certainly covered in a light blanket of desk litter, and he began playing with it.
"Evidence," Reed spoke musingly. "As any good lawyer should, they must always be looking for evidence." Reed smirked up at her though and tossed the stress ball to her before leaning back into his chair. He was beginning to enjoy their public playful times, almost as much as their private playful times. She had looked a little uncomfortable when she'd entered, but now she didn't look so adverse to him being there. Perhaps she was getting used to it. Reed enjoyed that thought a little too much.
"Actually, if I'm completely honest, I was looking for any articles about me," he said with a grin. "And then I got caught up by the feature piece under 'Sex and Love'. Plush is hypnotizing, I'll admit it. It's like a wildlife documentary into the female mind." Reed was on the verge of subscribing himself. Or making Vivien turn in her copies. Just for evidential support of course.
Reed leaned onto the desk. "So tell me, babe. Have you been writing about me again?" He smiled boyishly, in a way that made one side of his face break out in a dimple. A charming dimple and a devilish grin.
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Post by rocky on Feb 2, 2011 15:54:45 GMT -5
"You would love it if I did!"
Adrienne realised he was fishing. Shamelessly! She had an incredulous look on her face as it dawned, and then she was amused at his expense, and she nudged his arm with the heel of her hand.
"A wildlife documentary traditionally includes factual information, for that matter," she added, and rolled her eyes. "If this is where you get your information it doesn't surprise me that you're so misinformed."
She was still teasing him, but it was true that she didn't think Plush was an accurate reflection of what women wanted; if women could be grouped in terms of wants and needs anyway. She doubted that they could.
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Post by mabs on Feb 2, 2011 19:33:18 GMT -5
"Misinformed!" he raised his voice with amused incredulity. Reed put his leg down and leaned his elbows onto his knees, giving her a boyishly challenging look. "Misinformed about what exactly? How to give a woman what she wants? How to make her scream?" Reed smirked, reminded of their first emails. "I do believe you can attest that I'm adept at both."
Reed grinned and stood, walking around behind her chair. He set his hands on her shoulder and began rubbing them soothingly, his large hands making big massaging circles about the tense muscles. "So tell me something," Reed asked with a smile. "Frank Ferrier. Is he the Frank you're...supposedly in love with?" Reed didn't want to make her feel ill on the topic, but he kept rolling things about in his head.
The biggest thing was how much better Adrienne was than Frank. The man was slick with slime, more than Reed himself was. Slick enough that even a corporate shark wouldn't deal with him. Adrienne deserved better.
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Post by rocky on Feb 3, 2011 16:40:35 GMT -5
"Misinformed in general," Adrienne returned, "On the subject of what women want when they're not -- screaming."
She stiffened as he mentioned Frank and honed in at once on the uncomfortable truth. She had been enjoying not facing up to that dream. She shrugged Reed off a little defensively, though it wasn't him that she found offensive exactly.
"Does it matter?" she asked, and sighed. "He went back to his wife."
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Post by mabs on Feb 3, 2011 17:08:57 GMT -5
Reed felt her shrug him off and he sighed. She was troublesome, God she was. But ultimately, she was an agreeable woman. And Adrienne made Reed want things that he wouldn't admit to. He couldn't admit to. Though he knew it was more than healthy jealousy that made him want to rip Frank's ball sacks off and feed them to the dogs for messing with Adrienne.
Reed squeezed her shoulder gently and leaned close to her ear, crooning into her ear words only meant for her. "You're better than that," he said softly, rubbing his hands along her arms. "You deserve better than him." Reed knew. Because he'd been him for seven years. Though Reed had never once considered going to Franny. However, Reed was older now, and he knew that he couldn't keep up with his antics for ever. Reed was just a cocksure male. Frank was pure, unadulterated bastard. The type of man that Reed liked to hate.
"You deserve to be taken out like a real woman. And you deserve to be romanced. And you deserve to have a nice evening with a dapper gentleman. He even has a plan. A romantic plan." Reed kissed the skin by her ear with a smile and nuzzled her gently. "Seven o'clock. My place?" Reed was by no means pointing out that he deserved her either. He wasn't sure that if push came to shove, he deserved much of anything slightly as good as Adrienne. But he was basking in it.
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Post by rocky on Feb 3, 2011 17:45:05 GMT -5
"Does that mean you're going to introduce me to a dapper gentleman...?"
Adrienne's teeth nipped at her lip as he kissed her, though, and she lamented again the glass wall on the side of her office. He was nothing if not eager to please, she was realising. She had never tried so direct approach re: terrible kissing before, but if the results from Reed were anything to go by, she would have to start announcing it at the start of every fling.
Although she wasn't supposed to have flings any more, she reminded herself. She hadn't, either, so far -- although the meeting with Frank had left a lead-weighted knot in her stomach that she didn't quite know the origins of. She didn't much have the perspective to look at the situation objectively.
"You're just trying to get me to write about you," she accused him, but she couldn't keep up the façade of teasing him for long. "All right, then. Seven."
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Post by mabs on Feb 3, 2011 23:42:40 GMT -5
"Actually, I'm just trying to get you in bed with me," he teased at her. "The rest is just collateral." Reed grinned and placed another more playful kiss on her cheek before leaning back again. Mission accomplished. She seemed at least a little bit settled, moreso than she'd been early. At least by Reed's calculations.
Reed leaned against her desk for a moment more as she accepted the offer, and he smiled. "Alright. Wear whatever you want tonight doll," he said with a smile. "Romeo is cooking for you." He grinned and winked at her before taking her stress ball that he'd been playing with earlier. Ironically, it was shaped like a heart. He assumed it was a frivolous something that perhaps a coworker had given her, or some sort of Plush paraphaneilia. Either way, he pocketed it.
"I'm stealing your stress ball. And don't be late, Heart. Which I know you will. Just keep in mind that the later you are, the more I'll have to punish you," he trailed off suggestively. He sauntered out of the office with his hands in his tailored pockets, a grin to his face. And of course, as he passed a messenger possessing a potted flower, one that looked positively exotic and almost erotic if you were thinking in those terms (and he had when he'd selected it), he knew that the messenger was headed straight for the office he'd just vacated.
The note was simple that went with the flower: Red is your color, mon cheri. See you at seven.. The flower itself was red, and the tone of the note was obvious. He knew she'd come to dinner at seven, and he enjoyed keeping things on a smooth rail, though Adrienne often took to derailing his train of actions often enough. He vaguely hoped she'd let this one slide and let him romance her. The damnably frustrating woman.
Regardless, Reed cast a last long glance at Frank's office, pursing his lips slightly. It was okay for Adrienne to still be in love with another man, but Frank Ferrier? That was not okay. Reed was unable to pinpoint the origins of the jealousy, but it began to consume him, or at least it would have if he let it. Adrienne was with him afterall, so there was nothing to worry about. But that didn't make him want to strangle the man any less.
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Post by rocky on Feb 4, 2011 12:33:27 GMT -5
"As if you're stressed!" Adrienne watched him go languidly, curiosity piqued. Cooking for her. Punishing her. Hmm. It had the potential to be a disaster. She found she rather hoped that it was a disaster, she felt equalised when he was flustered. That probably wasn't a healthy approach to the relationship -- to be impressed when he was being resoundingly unimpressive. Still. She looked at the flower and rolled her eyes, laughing -- it was suggestively arranged. She rolled the chair around the desk and nudged the other out of the way, to type him an e-mail. [/b] r.armstrong@armstrong-copeland.com From: a.heart@plush-magazine.com Subject: Only one? I'm not going to find half a million of these in my pigeon hole*, am I? -- Adrienne Heart, Columnist, Plush Magazine * You can choose to interpret 'pigeon hole' as you like.[/ul]
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Post by mabs on Feb 4, 2011 12:40:32 GMT -5
Reed was being driven back to the office when his Blackberry buzzed in his pocket, announcing the arrival of a new email. He had a feeling he knew the sender before even looking at the address, and he was satisfied to find NEW EMAIL FROM ADRIENNE HEART flashing on his screen. [/b] a.heart@plush-magazine.com From: r.armstrong@armstrong-copeland.com Subject: Re: Only one? Wouldn't want to bother those sensitive allergies of yours, my dear. I'm sure neither of us would enjoy that much. -- Reed Armstrong, Attorney-at-Law, Senior Partner of Armstrong and Copeland P.S. I thought one would be suitable enough. It so wonderfully resembles certain parts of your anatomy I'm well acquainted with. [/ul] |
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Post by rocky on Feb 4, 2011 12:51:24 GMT -5
[/b] r.armstrong@armstrong-copeland.com From: a.heart@plush-magazine.com Subject: Re: Only one? Not if you want me to be in any condition to receive punishment later, no. What are you cooking? -- Adrienne Heart, Columnist, Plush Magazine [/ul] |
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Post by mabs on Feb 4, 2011 12:53:50 GMT -5
[/b] a.heart@plush-magazine.com From: r.armstrong@armstrong-copeland.com Subject: Re: Only one? Does that mean you're purposefully going to be late? And that's a secret. Takes the fun out of keeping you 'on your toes'. ;) -- Reed Armstrong, Attorney-at-Law, Senior Partner of Armstrong and Copeland [/ul] |
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