Bolden tried not to appear surprised when he said...

“So...you’re talking about covert missions.

Eliza calmly said...

“Yes.”

“When you worked for my father--is that what you did?  Covert business transactions.”

“Bolden...when I worked for your father, I signed a disclosure agreement.  In other words, I am bound by a contract...even though I no longer work for your father’s company.  As a matter of fact--the contract prohibits me from revealing which of your father’s companies that I worked for.”  Eliza locked eyes with him when she said...

“I may not be able to expound on my employment...but I can say, that what I learned there was extremely helpful--and you should have accepted your fathers job offer--if there’d been one.”

Her eyes grew stern when she said...

“But that boat has sailed...and now you work for me.”

Bolden felt his chest muscles flex when he said...

“But I thought that I work for the governor.”

She shed light on reality when she said....

“Don’t be fooled by your title, the name on your paycheck...or the fact that you’re here, in the governor’s office.  Let there be no bones about this; you work for me.  You come when I want you to come.  You go where I want you to go.  You report to me--and only me.”

Eliza noticed his expression, so she added...

“I’ve heard about you.  You’ve got that officer of the law mentality--well, you can stow that shit because there is the law, and there is a way of interpreting the law.  For us--we’ll be working somewhere in the middle--and I need to know that you’re okay with that.  If not---”

Eliza let her words hang.  She studied his face, while recalling his father’s impression of his son.

Bolden said...

“So...in other words; we’re going to be breaking the law.”

“I didn’t say that and you know as well as I do; any attorney worth his salt knows that sometimes the law is grey--and it has to be left to interpretation.  So you might as well get use to this because, that’s the side of the law that we’ll be operating on.

Eliza studied him, and she waited.

Bolden said...

“When are we leaving...?”

And that was all that it took.  From the moment Morpheus  had singled out his son, she’d known that Bolden was the man for her; in more ways than one.

**********

Bolden didn't know the name of the person responsible for souring Eliza’s mood and frankly, he didn't want to know.  From the moment they boarded the Boeing private jet, and before they took off, she’d been horn locked on the phone, telling someone what they would and would not do.  In truth, listening to her issue demands, then alternate her mandates, using colorful antics and mixed metaphors; Bolden had to bite his lip to restrain his laughter.  But the exciting part about watching Eliza in action was in the way she used profanity.  The woman was fluent in several languages, and she used this to her advantage to spice up her gritty side.   When she added flavor to her ultimatums, she would cuss like a sailor, using varying languages to stir the pot.  On more than one occasion, while listening to her, Bolden had been forced to straighten his leg, because her tantrums elicited a response, swelling his length.  The woman was the total package.  Brains, brut and beddable.

When they landed, then the pilot followed the towers directions; finally the plane came to a stop in a private hanger.  Eliza switched off her business manner, abruptly disconnecting the call.  Her eyes brightened when she said...

"I know of a great sushi bar.  The chef is a personal friend of mine."

And that was all it took; one plane ride witnessing Eliza in her environment--and he was hooked.  Bolden didn't know if it had been genetics or if there was an actual attraction; because his father had been known for sleeping with his employees, their spouses and any number of other women.  Of course...he didn't concern himself with the specifics that had brought him and Eliza together.  He’d followed her to her hotel room because she'd asked him, and that had been hours ago.  Now, it was three in the morning and he was wide awake, while Eliza snored like a woman who'd been thoroughly fucked; thank you very much.  And as for him; Bolden was still trying to make sense of the days events.  He stared at this woman and--yes, she was damn beautiful; but he couldn’t staunch the questions.  Why had he done this?  Why would he jeopardize everything before giving this job opportunity the true chance that it really deserved?  A part of him wondered that perhaps he’d subconsciously accepted Eliza’s offer because instinctively from the very first day, he’d entertained ideas that would sabotage his employment.  He still hadn’t gotten over Eliza’s overt deception.  When she’d interviewed him, she had cloaked her real reason for hiring him, and part of his brain told him not to trust her.  But--here he was, and Just looking at her, even in the darkened room; Bolden understood his reasons for joining her.  She might not have wanted him for the same reasons--but he didn’t care.  Even if their reasons for being together were one-sided, some marriages are based on far less but he questioned if it was wise to give in to this feeling that nagged at him to trust her.  He'd grown up learning about his father from the words of his mother.  According to his mother, Morpheus was the devil incarnate and after this flight, Bolden knew enough about Eliza to tell him that she wasn’t a saint or an angel.  And after sleeping with her, he would swear on a stack of bibles, that the woman was a cross between a tigress and a plumber.  She’d scratched him up and thoroughly cleaned his pipes.

Bolden hadn’t moved, but his inaction didn’t stop Eliza from stirring.  She was still wearing her false lashes, and the tips fluttered like ostrich feathers.  She yawned while groggily saying....

"What time is it?"

"Late." Was Bolden's response.  She stretched like a cat, then sighed a rush of air.  Eliza shifted her body until she faced him.  She raised her hand, and her eyes glided across his face, following the path of her finger.  She parted her mouth, moistening her lips with a glide of her tongue.  The move was such a turn on, he wanted to lean in to capture a kiss.

Eliza grinned when she said...

"We're good together”

"Real good" he replied, but he found himself saying "Eliza...is good sex enough for you?"

He'd grown up witnessing his mother’s depressed moods.  Money and large expansive houses didn’t buy Mikita happiness and short term loveless relationships were to blame for most of her heartaches.  Bolden had grown up knowing that his mother didn’t want her son to repeat her mistakes; she wanted more for him.

Eliza studied his face, but she wanted to see more of him, so she perched her weight like a tripod; steadying her body on one elbow.  The room was dark, but they’d left the drapes open, and the light in the bathroom was still on.  She strained her eyes, and she could see bits of his father in him, and these vestiges compelled her to hold back, restraining her brutal honesty.  She couldn't allow herself to settle into a false sense of security and when she spoke, Bolden experienced a chill.  Eliza’s phrase held an enigmatic tone.  She was hiding something--and he knew it.

She pressed her lips near his Adams apple.  She kissed him there, then she said...

"Some people would kill to have five minutes of what we've just shared."

Eliza leaned in, biting his earlobe, then she nipped until she settled on the tip of his nipple.  At this point, Bolden loss all sense of reality.  He pressed her firmly against the mattress, climbing on top of her; then he rode her like a cheap carnival ride--which was exactly how she'd wanted it.  Fast, jerky, hard and long.