Free Fatal Greed by John W. Mefford Page A

morning sun filtered through our bedroom shades, allowing me to see the flawless beauty that touched my heart. Marisa helped me to my feet and kissed my neck and then my ear. My heart beat against her chest. She playfully bit my shoulder, knowing the effect.
    “You want more of that, Doyle? Then get your ass in the shower and bathe me.”
    I followed like a puppy dog on a leash. With steam rising in the shower, she turned and put her hands on the wall. Water poured over her head and down her sloped, taut back.
    “Are you ready for more?” she asked.
    I grabbed each side of her beautiful hips. I leaned forward and kissed her neck and shoulders, and gently pinched her breasts. The sound of the shower muted her moans, but the running water appeared to add to her excitement.
    Marisa ate me up…she loved me…she wanted more of me.
    We reached a united crescendo, then relief.
    She turned and put the side of her head on my chest. We kissed. As the water peppered her backside, she whispered into my ear. “I love you.”
    She had rocked my world. I had rocked her world. Now, it was time to face the world.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Twenty-Four
     
    “Oops, sorry.” Jennifer had accidently knocked my arm as I walked toward my office. I dodged another coworker walking even faster.
    People moved briskly throughout the building. It appeared the mood from the Christmas bash had carried over to Monday. I overheard conversations about the party, Christmas shopping, and plans for New Year’s Eve. Although there was no certainty the positive vibe would continue beyond lunch, it was a relief to see people with smiles on their faces. J&W might be selling us like cattle, leading to the employment slaughterhouse, but the company went all out for the holiday party.
    Hopeful for a more normal week of work, absent of concussions, dead bodies, and police interviews, I focused on work, reviewing the updated project status reports. Everything looked in order. We were green on the summary report, which I’d developed with the help of one of my project managers last year.
    I looked up from my computer monitor and spotted Reinaldo, who walked by with the collar of his jacket turned up. He and Mrs. Ireland met at his office door. After a brief conversation, he nodded then disappeared into his office.
    With Reinaldo back at work—although he appeared haggard and less social—the office had an emerging resemblance to life before the PHC-acquisition announcement. The morning zipped by. I took my last bite of a turkey sandwich and strolled into Paula’s weekly staff meeting.
    “Good Monday afternoon, everyone. Good to see we all survived the party over the weekend. I think it was a lovely event. Reinaldo, I’m glad we get to see your face this week. I hope you’re feeling better.” He only nodded. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in days.
    Paula had a knack for not allowing distractions to take us off track. I doubt J&W knew Paula’s leadership was reason number one why many of us had remained at the company for so long. But as we progressed through our regular agenda, I became annoyed. I wasn’t convinced she’d address the most pressing topic. After breaking down our monthly P&L numbers and Jennifer discussing her one resource need for an uncomfortably long time, we finally moved into the round-table portion of the agenda.
    I raised my hand as if we were in a school classroom. “I’ll go first.”
    Paula nodded.
    “Is there any new information on the PHC purchase of J&W?” I knew I shouldn’t come across too strong. I didn’t want to alienate Paula. “The longer this goes without good communication, the more likely our customers are to entertain our competitors.”
    An office clerk waved through the window for Mrs. Ireland to leave the meeting.
    “Michael, thanks for bringing this up. While I don’t have a lot of new information to share, I do know the goal is to close the deal prior to the end of the year, before Christmas if