Author: Clarissa Fuselier
As the morning grew, Ivan found it in his best interest to leave before nine-thirty. By then, Athena would wake up to realize there was no one to nag until four-thirty. He grabbed his mug and brought it to his lips. Wincing at the steam, he still gave a sigh of contentment. There's nothing like good coffee, he thought. Compared to Athena's coffee, his was considered gourmet; at least it wasn't bitter from the loose coffee grounds, which Ivan strongly believed she placed in there on purpose. Glancing at his watch again, he realized it was safe to stay a little while longer to read the paper. While flipping through the pages, he noticed the shiny happy people on page B3.
"Ah, the Wedding and Anniversary announcements," he mumbled. Almost immediately, his face shook with pity as he stared at the photo of a couple in all smiles especially the male. "Poor bastard. You don't have any idea what you're getting into, do you?" Of course, the guy in the photo maintained his smile. "Don't worry, you'll find out." Ivan then glanced at the bottom of the page to see a wrinkled couple with little or almost no hair, grinning. The caption underneath stated they were married for seventy-five years. "Jesus, what Viagra and Prozac cocktail kept you going?" Ivan suddenly checked his sarcastic expression and traded it in for a more admirable one. "I tip my hat to you, buddy," he said to the photo, "I doubt I may even live that long, let alone live that long with Athena. She'll be the death of me." With that comment, he hurried off to work.
Unlike normal thirty-something men, work actually excited Ivan. No woman nagging all hours of the day, no flower bills to pay because he'd screwed up, and at least he got paid for his troubles. To him, work was much less demanding than marriage.
Walking to the elevator, he felt a slight nudge to his side. He stepped toward to gain his balance. He sneered and turned to the assailant. "Hey I'm walking here!" Ivan's face then softened to a more cordial appearance. "Arthur, you're such a idiot," he said, giving a wry smirk.
"Hey lighten up." Arthur walked on the elevator following Ivan. "You're getting almost as anal as Elliot."
Ivan's face crinkled at the sound of his soon-to-be-former boss. "Shut up Arthur, and I am not anal. Besides, I refuse to be compared to someone like Elliot."
"Naughty, naughty." Arthur shook his finger. "You shouldn't talk that way about your employer."
"Employer, my ass," Ivan replied. "His name is being scraped off as we speak. You're the lucky bastard that got the promotion, so unfortunately you're my employer now." He blossomed a small grin. Although Arthur can be a pain, it was a gift from God that Elliot was replaced with his friend. He saw future perks in the horizon from this event and Ivan couldn't wait.
"You know I could use a good right hand man, Ivan. Executive Vice President should be a great position for you." Arthur smiled brilliantly. "Besides your anal demeanor, you'd make a great vice pres."
"Thanks..." Ivan's voice trailed off as he zoomed in on a leggy, long-haired blonde walking past the elevator. "Geez, would you look at that." His eyes followed though Ivan stood still.
"Who, Iris?," Arthur asked. He shamelessly shared a look himself. "Yeah, she's a nice piece of work. Smart as hell too!
Ivan cocked an eyebrow towards Arthur and shook his head.
"What, I don't pay attention to brains now?" Arthur replied in defense.
"You mean you did before?" Ivan said, smiling.
Arthur fanned his hand as to wave off the accusation and continued walking through the aisle.
"Ivan and Iris." He let Iris' name out with a slow hiss. His mind started to slowly drift off to a world where women like Athena were burned at the stake, and women like Iris could walk around in lingerie all day long.
"She's beautiful, but the seventh floor receptionists are a force to be reckoned with." Arthur smiled to himself. Dating Sara was one of the highlights of Arthur's career.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind having a go at her, though." Ivan clinched his teeth as if to curse himself. Shit, he thought. Did I say what I thought I just said? He grabbed his briefcase and walked toward his desk, Arthur was less than two steps behind him.
"Ivan...?"
"What Arthur," Ivan replied, without facing his friend.
Arthur's eyes squinted and examined Ivan as though he was under a microscope. "Is everything okay at home?"
Ivan's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
Arthur began to feel uneasy. It wasn't his intention to pry in Ivan's business. "You know," he instinctively looked around to make sure confidentiality was ensured, "With you and Athena, everything's fine?"
"Couldn't be better," he replied flatly. In truth, his palms began to sweat and his body wanted to tremble. In truth, he felt like screaming at the top of his lungs about his wife. But that wouldn't help anyone at all-especially him. "Why would you ask?"
"You know why. In all the times I've known you, you have never and I mean never made comments towards having an affair." His head tilted in curiosity.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say affair, Arthur." Ivan flashed a humorous smile in efforts to masquerade. It struck him hard to hold back on Arthur. No one else was trustworthy, and Arthur may even be able to help. Get real Ivan, he thought. What in the world could Arthur help me with? He sure as hell couldn't screw my wife for me; that wouldn't be much help.
"Well you mentioned sleeping with Iris." Arthur shrugged harmlessly. The last thing he wanted was Ivan to get defensive.
"I was joking Arthur." Then Ivan laughed. "Gees, a guy can't make petty locker room jokes anymore?"
"I'm sorry, man. I must've read the signals wrong." Arthur's whole body flamed in guilt. He admired Ivan and Athena for so long. He'd hate to see it crumble from womanization. Immediately, Arthur shook the thought away. "Besides, I can't imagine you not happy. Must be great sleeping with a beautiful woman every night."
Sleeping, Ivan thought, But that's about it. "Yeah, you're right. I'm a lucky guy."
Guilty, and went quite beyond the call of duty, Arthur felt it best to end the interrogation. "Well, I've got some meetings to prepare for. Consider my offer, and I'll see you later."
"Sure. See you around." Ivan looked everywhere except his friend.
"Okay. Tell Athena I said hello." With that, Arthur disappeared in a crowd of hurried businessmen.
Ivan sucked in a breath. It was then his remark about Iris scared him. Was Arthur wrong? Did he misread the signals? He shook is head. No, he thought, I meant it. I know I meant it. I want to have a relationship with a woman other than Athena. It was true. He finally turned out to be the bastard he feared he would become.
Laying in bed that night, Ivan kept playing with the whole idea. Affair...Affair. But soon other words followed. Cheat. Liar. Adulterer. Bastard. Alimony. His stomach pitched. He couldn't believe himself. What was he thinking?
His concentration snapped out as a flash of silky silver crossed his peripheral vision. She's always scampering around at night, he thought as his wife sat at the vanity, only to leap up and step into the bathroom. Arthur's voice began to echo in his head. "You sleep with a beautiful woman every night." In fact he did. Athena was only thirty and could put any high school cheerleader to shame. But her looks wasn't the problem; it was her mouth. She bickered too much, which ticked him off every day.
Athena focused on him through the mirror. "Ivan..."
"Hmm?" He didn't bother to lift his head from reading.
"Are you working Thursday?," She asked, stroking her raven locks.
Immediately Ivan considered lying. His suspicions lead him to believe she wanted service of some form. He became annoyed. If she's asking me to show one of her catatonic parents around town, she can forget it!, he thought. Last time, I played the goddamn tour guide for three hours! "No, why?" Ivan's voice leaked with suspicion.
"Well," she went on, "I was wondering since you weren't working..." She glided to his bedside.
Ivan sighed. There she goes with that "good wife" crap again, he said to himself. He figured he should just spare her the trouble and stop it now, but he actually liked her this way; it was good to know she was capable of being that nice. "What is it, Athena?"
"Mom is..." She was silenced by Ivan's hand.
"Forget it, Athena. No."
"No?" Athena pulled back as though he had slapped her. "No?"
Ivan cocked an eyebrow. "Athena, honey did I stutter?"
She quickly sucked in a breath and leaped off the bed.
"Aw, so soon," he said in irritation, "I'd thought you'd at least fondle me a little."
"You can be an asshole sometimes Ivan!" Her arms folded tightly.
"According to your lecture last week its all the time," Ivan said, still refrained from facing her.
"Dammit Ivan...!"
"Look, I don't want to get into this with you. I like your folks, but the answer's no. End of discussion." He leaned back in bed as if to settle down from an authoritarian episode. He felt guilty all of a sudden. He didn't want the argument to start from him, and going to bed heated always turned to insomnia. Maybe making up is our good factor, he thought. He looked up and met her eyes. "Athena."
Athena whipped her head around. "What!"
"I love you."
"Go to hell, Ivan!"
Ivan's eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell was that?" His voice a mixture of innocence, defeat, and shock.
"What do you think?", she thundered. "I'm no fool. What, you think you can butter me up, eh? Maybe heat up the sheets up a little?"
"Jesus, Athena we haven't had sex in two months!" He caved in only enough to admit it. He'd be damn if he begs for it.
"Perhaps if you'd last longer than cotton candy in a toddler's mouth, I'd be glad to jump your bones!"
"That was a low blow, Athena. It's your nagging and pressuring which screws me up!"
Athena shook her head. "Don't give me that. I honestly can't remember the last time you got it up. If you can't hold out, why waste my time? Besides, you get along well without me, know what I mean?"
"That's my business," Ivan shamefully defended. "If you'd do..."
"Go ahead." She sighed. "Find an excuse to wank off in the bathroom for half an hour. You know, I'm surprised you're not blind."
At that point, he could have strangled her. He wasn't proud of what he had to do at times to keep his sanity, but she saw it as a joke. Ivan's anger escalated to dangerous heights. He leaped off the bed and grabbed his pillow. "I'd be damn if I sleep here another night!"
She slammed her brush on the vanity nearly cracking the glass surface. "Good! It's not like you do anything in here anyway! I swear to God you're worthless!"
Ivan walked to the door and stopped. She can't get away with the last word, he thought. "You know Athena, I much rather 'yank it'. I'd probably go blind from waiting for you to get me off anyway!" He closed the door behind before he heard his favorite Tiffany lamp smash against it. Ivan gathered his pillow, and headed towards the living room. The sofa sleeps better anyway, he thought to himself. And a good thing I put insurance on that lamp.
It had been a while since Ivan visited his favorite restaurant, and he honestly couldn't have thought of a better opportunity to come. Every time he glanced at his watch, it seemed it looked like it was 8:45 for at least three hours. He shifted back and forth in his seat, and had to stop himself twice when he caught himself drumming on the table, which wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't glass tables. This is crazy, he thought. Absolutely crazy. His eyes widened as a young woman walked in. She looked lost as her head scanned the restaurant, her blonde hair fluttering across each shoulder. He zoomed in on her low cut dress, which complimented her very petite shape. Immediately, Ivan became excited. Good job, Ivan. Good Job, he thought to himself. He straightened himself in the chair and awaited this gorgeous woman to see him. Suddenly, she looked at him and smiled, and then Ivan couldn't move. She glided towards him, every step more elegant than the one before. When she stood before him, he'd almost forgotten to stand.
"Hello, are you Ivan?," she asked with a soft smile, almost flirting.
Ivan leaped up. "Yes, I am." He reached out his hand to shake hers, and she placed an envelope in his hand instead.
"Then this is for you. Please don't open it until I am gone." Her expression wasn't very romantic, yet she was still quite beautiful and coy. Before Ivan could react, she turned and walked away.
Ivan bit his lip in confusion as he feared that this will be the last time he sees her beautiful backside. As he saw her walk out of the restaurant, he looked at the envelope. Great, he thought. A rejection letter, like I'm applying to screw her. He sat back down and examined the envelope. She didn't have to waste such expensive stationary to tell me to go to hell. He figured it was best to bite the bullet and open the letter. Ivan carefully tore at the edge and slipped the paper out of the envelope. His face clouded with puzzlement as he read the single statement on the paper: "Look behind you, please." He slowly turned his head towards the back of him, and saw a red-haired woman a few tables back smiling directly at him. Ivan didn't know exactly how to react, and he found himself staring at her. She didn't look as young as the blonde, but she was just as attractive.
"Um, excuse me, Sir," a young man's voice spoke.
Ivan turned to see a waiter by his table. "Yes?"
"The lady over there wishes for you to join her. She's quite anxious to meet you."
"Thank you." Ivan slipped him a couple of bills and rose from his seat. His knees felt like jell-o for the first time in years. Stay calm, Ivan. She's just a woman. You see them everyday. As he walked closer to her table he received a better look of her. She had bright flashing green eyes and a glorious smile. When he finally reached her table, he managed to smile. "Hello."
"Hello, Ivan, she softly voiced. Her tone was mature and soothing, almost sultry. "Please have a seat. I'm Helen."
Ivan sat down across from her obediently. "I'm afraid I'm a little..."
"Confused?," she interjected. "I'm sorry. I've never done this before and I wanted to see you first. I also wanted to see what attracted you; hence, my younger friend to give you the note."
Ivan felt slightly embarrassed. He didn't know what she expected from him. If the test was to see if he was a chauvinistic pig willing to pork a young blonde more than anything else, he shamefully deserved an "A". If he wasn't careful, he'd lose this one too. " I'm really not shallow. I definitely would have reacted the exact same way had that been you walking up to me."
She smiled. "I know. I believe I found that out as you came over here. You seemed like a nice guy on the answering machine, and wanted to make sure you were okay in person. Personal ads are a little creepy."
"What persuaded you to meet me?" Ivan took a sip of water.
"Adventure," she replied coyly. "Without a little adventure your life has no flair."
"I agree." Ivan leaned in closer. "Totally."
The waiter came with a bottle of red wine and poured them each a glass.
"So Helen, what did you think of me as you saw me over there?" Ivan took a slow sip of wine, then smiled.
"Insecure?"
"No, just curious."
She sighed. "Well, at first I thought you were a nervous, adorable, thirty-something man, then after my friend, Lisa delivered my note, I saw you as an anxious, horny cradle-robber..." Her voice trailed off to see Ivan's face decorated with a shocking frown. "I'm not finished. Now I see a mature man, mannerly and cute. Very attractive and sexy...and also very married."
Ivan looked at his hand.
"The tan line", she said. "It never fails."
"I never told you I wasn't married."
"And I didn't expect you to," she replied. "We're both adults. There's no games involved." She sipped her wine casually. "You being married doesn't bother me."
"It's not a problem?"
"I said it didn't bother me, not that it's not a problem."
Ivan gazed puzzled. "I don't understand."
"What I mean is that I have no objections to being involved with you. It's just that you are in danger of your wife finding out, which makes it a problem, especially for you."
"You let me worry about that, Helen," he assured, reaching for her hand.
Helen smiled. "Besides, we didn't come here to talk about your wife, did we?" Her eyebrow raised, and brought her wine glass up to her lips slowly. "Am I right?"
Ivan grinned, "Absolutely." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "What'd ya say we take this bottle of wine somewhere else."
She leaned inward. "What do you have in mind?," she purred.
"A hotel suite."
"Then why are we wasting time here?
The next morning was a little disorienting to Ivan. He couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to tell Athena had he stayed with Helen till the morning, so he left at three to sleep on the couch. When he woke up, he thought it had been a dream. Athena made breakfast along with her normal bantering as usual. It was clear that she suspected nothing, since she always believes he stays helping Arthur late at work. He remembered she called it "kissing Arthur's ass". Athena could've cared less if I spent the weekend humping my secretary most likely, Ivan thought. She never was the jealous type. He was extra careful that he didn't do anything different at all. After all, it would be his luck for Athena to pick up on the slightest change in him.
At work, Ivan tried to keep his mind off of Helen, but it was no easy task. With his presentation coming up for the annual banquet, and his endeavor to be promoted, he didn't need anything taking his focus off success. Ah, but it was adventure, he thought. Who'd ever thought sex could be an adventure. He leaned back in his chair.
"Ivan, there's a package for you." his secretary barged in, plopping a medium-sized brown envelope on his desk.
"Thank you," he replied. After his secretary walked out he carefully unclasped the envelope. He slid out a little note which read:
A SOUVENIR FOR THE GOOD TIMES. LOVE, HELEN.
He turned the envelope to the side and photos slipped out. His eyes widened in shock as he found himself holding color photos of the night before last. Each picture more vivid than the other, yet all had "porn-site" potential. Immediately, he began to wonder how many copies were floating around of his little escapade, but he remembered that Helen had no intention to tell anyone of their romantic encounter. Suddenly it donned on him. Shit, he thought. I asked her for a souvenir the other night. Ivan then took another look at the photos. "Shit Helen, a pair of panties was what I had in mind." He started to pick up the phone, but then realized it was pointless. Helen was gone. You give a souvenir to someone you will not see again. " It was just as well", he said to himself. "A long drawn out affair will get me busted." He looked at the photos. "...And so will these."
"Um, Ivan?"
Ivan slid the pictures back in the envelope without even looking at who was speaking. "Yes?"
His secretary smiled. "Arthur wants to see you now."
"Great!", Ivan spoke with genuine enthusiasm. He wanted to speak to Arthur about the presentation all day. He threw the envelope on the desk and grabbed his folder. "Hold all of my calls, okay?"
"You got it, sir," she replied as her boss ran out of the office. As she walked out of his office a tall, twenty-something man stepped up to her desk. She smiled. "You just missed him, Daniel. Can I help you?"
Daniel returned her smile. "Yeah, I have Ivan's prints for his presentation." He hands her a brown envelope.
"Fabulous." Her voice was cut off my the phone ringing, and she immediately picked up the phone. "Hello, Ivan Browning's office." She placed the receiver on her chest and looked at Daniel. "You can set it on his desk, that's okay." She then returned the receiver to her ear.
"All right." Daniel obediently walked into Ivan's office and threw the envelope on the desk. He walked out and waved to the secretary, who paid little attention to him.
After she hung up the phone, she realized the memo next to her drawer. "Dammit," she said to herself. She leaped up and went into Ivan's office grabbing the brown envelope. "He should've reminded me that I had to send it to the printing lab," she said aloud as she walked off.
A half-hour later, Ivan came back to his office, his face nearly glowing. His secretary shook her head. "Good news, I'm assuming."
"You have no idea, sweetie."
"Well, don't keep me in suspense, sir." She sat erect waiting attentively.
Ivan ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, I'm not positive. But if this annual goes well, Arthur will make me vice president."
Her eyes widened. "God, Ivan that is good news. He's definitely picking the right guy for the job."
"Thanks, sweetie. I just need to focus on this annual and all will be fine. Did Daniel come by?"
She nodded. "Yes he did. I sent them to the lab a few minutes ago. Your slides should be ready by tomorrow."
"Perfect," Ivan said with a grin. "You can leave early if you'd like. I'll be in my office if you have any messages for me."
"Thank you, Ivan." She grabbed her coat. A early day was nearly extinct to her, so it was best to take advantage.
Ivan sat down at his desk and sighed. He took the brown envelope and ran it through the shredder. "It's been fun, Helen," he said leaning back in his chair. " Now I'll never see you again." With this new promotion coming up, I cannot afford to get caught sleeping around, he thought. Ivan no longer had sex on the brain, and his career looked even more promising. "And tomorrow, my life will start a new chapter."
Athena slipped on her heels, and glided to the vanity to get her earrings. She wore her favorite dark blue dress, and her extremely bare back indicated she needed Ivan to zip her up. She grabbed a handful of her hair and pinned it up, showing her calm, soft face.
Ivan, on the other hand could not keep still. Though he was fully dressed, he found himself pacing. To everyone else, tonight was just some gala, but to Ivan, it was the end all, be all of his existence. All he could focus on was being perfect.
Athena glared at Ivan. "I wish you would stop pacing, you're making me nauseous."
"Well, if you had a presentation to do in front of hundreds, including the CEO of your firm, I'm sure you'd be nervous too!" His tone was shaky, yet annoyed.
"Uh oh," Athena replied. "Once again, Edgy Ivan rears his ugly head."
"Whatever you say," he asserted.
"Ivan, you've done this hundreds of times. Just pretend its like all the others."
"But it's not like the others." Ivan raked his hair. "This one's different. It's an opportunity-an opportunity that may not come again."
Athena sighed. "Ivan..."
"What?"
"If you zip me up, I'll tell you something."
Ivan rolled his eyes. "Fine." He walked over to her and zipped up her dress. Athena smoothed it down, then faced him.
"Listen, you," she said sternly, placing her hands on his cheeks. "You are gonna do fine. Stop worrying, okay. I'm proud of you either way."
Ivan didn't know whether to hug her for the support, or die from the shock.
"So are you gonna hug me, you bastard, or are you gonna just stand there?!" Athena said, her hands on her hips.
Ivan embraced his wife. "Thank you, Athena. That means a lot." He kissed her forehead.
"Look, I know we've been no Ozzie and Harriet, but let's be civil for at least one night, okay?" And Athena for the first time in months, smiled at her husband.
"Okay," Ivan replied.
The gala was decorated with some of the most important and richest people in town. Every woman shimmered in their sequin gowns, and every man donning their formal black tuxedos. Athena mingled with her usual group of mature, haughty wives. It really wasn't a joy to her; they were the only group of women she felt she couldn't offend.
Ivan stayed by Arthur's side, as though he was practicing his future role. Arthur talked and laughed continuously, every now and then nudging Ivan and inviting him in on a joke.
"Are you nervous, buddy?" Arthur grinned and sipped his champagne.
Ivan shook his head. "No, not really." He thanked the alcohol for making him confident. "I'm just nervous about knocking the socks off a couple of these old businessmen here, that's all."
Arthur patted Ivan on the back. "Good. I'm sure everyone can't wait to see what you've been up to."
The sound of a gong thundered through the hundreds of conversations, and a young man stood at the podium. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, if you would be so kind as to be seated, we will begin with our presentation."
Within moments, crowds of people began to be seated. Ivan watched as Athena took a seat at the very first row. His eyes also went to the advisors and founders which sat up close as well. Ivan smiled sardonically. This promotion is mine, he thought.
Arthur smacked Ivan's back once more. "I'm gonna make a quick phone call to check on some paperwork, I'll be back in time for your show. Break a leg."
"Thanks Arthur." Ivan watched Arthur walk off. Taking a deep breath, he stepped up to the podium. Immediately, he found himself staring at hundreds of people waiting for him to speak. "Welcome everyone. I'm Ivan Browning, associate chairman for this project. Today I am asked to show you, the guests, what this company has been doing this year. We've done a lot of merging, and acquiring new divisions. I'm pleased to present our annual slide show." With that, the lights dimmed and slide show was cued. As he stepped down from the podium towards Athena, he noticed people's mouths gaped open, others gasping. Even Athena's face froze into a gray statue. The commotion forced Ivan to turned to the screen. All color drained from his face, and his knees jolted, begging him to collapse. What he saw was an enlarged, public version of Helen's photographs being viewed by all. Slide after slide of their sexual encounter was cast across the screen. Ivan prayed he would stop breathing. He closed his eyes. Oh God, tell me I didn't. Tell me this isn't happening! When he opened his eyes, he saw Athena standing out of her seat; hurt and rage searing her face, making it red. At that moment, he wanted to run-but his knees said "no".
Athena walked up toward him, anger making her stride rigid.
Ivan's voice became small, almost weak. "Athena, I...."
Before he could finish, she grabbed his shoulders and jammed her knee into his crotch. Ivan killed over, collapsing onto the steps in front of the podium. With tears running off her face, Athena blared, "You son of a bitch. I hope screwing her is worth you screwing up your life! How dare you humiliate me!!"
Arthur ran up to Athena, who shook him off and ran away. He then turned his attention to Ivan, who was gasping for breath. "Ivan?", Arthur called. "Ivan are you...alright?"
Ivan nodded, but when he didn't hear Arthur reply, he turned his head to face him. "Arthur?"
Arthur didn't reply. His eyes were wide, unfathomable and glued to the images on the screen. His breathing even quickened. "Oh my God!," he shouted. "MOM?!"
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