Serving Mr. Stevens, Part Two: Lover's Complaint -- An Erotic Romance (Part 2 of 5) Read Free Page A

building, and she burst into the boardroom just in time to halt the proceedings. She gave Kearns a piece of her mind that day.” He chuckled a bit at the memory.
     
    “Yeah, she was a firecracker all right. But from then on… things were rough for their family. Harvey died soon after, and Sandra assumed the president’s seat. Mind you, Tommy was only 12 years old when this was going on. She did the best she could, managing the company, but that bastard Kearns tried to undermine her every step of the way. I know it was hard for Tommy to watch, to be too young do anything about it. That’s where he gets his mean streak from, you know.” I nodded, enthralled by the story. I was seeing Mr. Stevens in a new light.
     
    “But wait,” I said. “Why didn’t Sandra just kick that Kearns guy out of the company?”
     
    Carl made a gesture of resignation. “She tried, but it was impossible. The guy had weaseled himself so deep into the records, his name was on every division of the enterprise. And remember, he had half the board members up his sleeve. It was all she could do to keep him from ousting her completely. Can you imagine trying to raise a kid while that’s going on?”
     
    I nodded. It was certainly an interesting story – but it raised as many questions as it answered. I looked down at the business card in my hand, the one Mr. Stevens had given me the day of our first meeting. I ran my fingers over its embossed lettering: HENRICKSON & STEVENS, LLC. “So then, where’s Kearns now? And who is this Henrickson guy?” I asked.
     
    The driver’s eyes flashed up at me again, with surprise this time, and what I thought might have been a hint of unease. “You’re asking all the right questions,” he said finally. “But unfortunately I don’t know if I’ll have time to answer them all right now. We’re almost there.”
     
    Suddenly I snapped back to reality, and noticed the unfamiliar surroundings. “Wait a minute,” I said, looking out the window to see the Manhattan skyline fading away in the distance. “I thought we were going to the Stevens building, downtown.”
     
    “Not today,” replied Carl. “Boss’s orders. He’s working from home, and we’re supposed to head directly to his house. He said he’s got plans for you.”
     
    Plans? A flash of fear went through me, unwarranted. I didn’t know why, but I was suddenly getting cold feet for some reason. “Carl, I don’t know about this,” I said. “Can’t we just turn around?”
     
    He looked at me quizzically in the rearview. He seemed confused by my sudden trepidation. “But miss,” he said slowly, “it’s like I told you. We’re already here.”
     
    ***
     
    I looked out the window again – sure enough, we were pulling off the main road into the trees, past a large sign that said Stevens Manor. I was close to panicking now. Meeting him in the Stevens Building was one thing: it was in Manhattan, and I’d worked there for years. It was still within my comfort zone. But here, in some secluded mansion out in the woods? Anything could happen to me. It wasn’t safe.
     
    And yet, as foreboding as the setting seemed, I was undeniably curious to see what lay in store me there. It was that same thrilling sense of danger that had drawn me to Mr. Stevens in the first place. From our very first conversation, there had been a vaguely threatening undertone lurking in his words, his demeanor and his voice. I couldn’t help but find it strangely alluring, just as seductive as it was frightening.
     
    But this might be too much. What was I getting myself into?
     
    As we continued down the shady path among the trees, a large mansion came into view off in the distance. I gasped when I saw it. It was truly magnificent: absolutely huge, with neo-Gothic columns and white stone arches buttressing an enormous anterior chamber. It looked like a palace, like something out of a fairy tale.
     
    “Welcome to Stevens Manor,” said Carl, as we pulled