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DISCLAIMER – I don’t own anything.
A/N – This wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you Sally and Nancy! Hugs to you both. I can’t get back into the online dating story at the moment, but have this one all mapped out and I plan on going all the way with it.
Fault Lines
The sky was clear blue, nary a cloud hung from above, the sun shone over the trees and through the slits in the blinds in their windows. They both loved the spring and hated the spring for the same reason – the sun would always wake them at least an hour before they had to actually get out of bed. Sometimes he just lays awake, rests his eyes and listens to his wife’s even breathing as she tries to hide her head under the covers to squeeze in a few more minutes of sleep before their human alarm clock lets them know it’s time to start the day. No matter how often she does it, he always thinks that it’s the most adorable thing he’s ever seen.
Though, he thinks most things she does are adorable, save for when she’s angry with him for tracking dirt into the house after she’s just cleaned the floor, or when he gives Cece a lemon because he gets a kick out of the way her face looks when she puckers her lips and squeezes her eyes shut. She thinks it’s mean to do that to a two year old. He thinks it’s hilarious.
Overall, at that very moment life was perfect. He had his sales numbers up, and now that the new fiscal year had begun, his commission rolled in once again. He knew he had to watch it and be wary of the commission cap, but at the moment they were living well. They splurged on dinners out and the name brand name products for the baby and they even added HBO to their cable subscription. The lights of his life were within the same household, and he was the literal term of flying high.
He looked to their bedside clock, noting that they had about an hour before they had to be responsible adults and take care of their baby before going to work. He turned onto his left side, mimicking his wife’s position, he inched the covers up to his jaw and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of her shampoo that radiated from her soft hair. The same shampoo that he carefully washed through her hair last night as they showered together, the memory of which made him reach out to her, his hand finding her hip and the edge of her underwear. He ran his thumb over the seam and she sighed.
The more he tried not to hear the memory of her moans in the shower or the ghost of her fingernails digging into his back as she moaned his name over and over as waves of pleasure crashed through both of them, the harder he became. He adjusted the slight bulge in his boxers and fanned his fingers on her stomach, pressing her closer. She let out another sigh, this time with a peaceful hum that draws his lips to her neck where he slowly kisses his way to her shoulder and back up again, his lungs expanding and his exhale slow and deliberate in her ear as his lips reached her earlobe.
“Good morning,” he whispered to her, his hand taking a hold of her breast. “I love you,” he said between kisses to her jaw line.
Her fingers gripped his hand and she sighed again, letting out a small moan as she said, “G’morning, babe,” with her eyes still half closed. “I love you, too,” she breathed out.
“Didn’t mean to wake you,” he said, holding his lips to her temple, his arm snaking around her.
“Yeah, you did,” she mumbled, turning her head toward him, kissing the tip of his nose as she grinned.
She reached her arms out to him as she turned her body to face him and he captured her lips with his, kissing her slowly, languidly, the way he always does first thing in the morning. He slowly deepened the kiss, letting out a long breath when their tongues met. Her fingers threaded through his hair and she pulled him closer, engulfing his mouth with hers hungrily, making him grow harder by the minute as her hips began to move under his. She whimpered as he lifted himself up a bit, his hand surrounding her breast, holding it, squeezing it, his thumb grazing the nipple as it peaked. She curled a leg around his and he could feel her wetness on his hip.
He kissed the side of her breast teasingly before he captured the hardened bud into his mouth, his teeth grazing just enough to make her moan and arch her back slowly. She whimpered his name and bit her bottom lip, her hips grinding into his, making him buck his hips against hers.
“Oh,” she moaned, breathing heavily, gasping when he moved her underwear to the side and slid his finger through her center lightly circling her clit with the tip of his finger.
If he could spend all day just doing this for the rest of his life, making her moan and writhe and come for him again and again, he would die a happy man. He thought about all of the times they’d done this, all of the times he held her up against the wall, on the couch, on the kitchen floor, in the shower, and at work in their own private hide away, moving in and out of her like his life depended on it. But this way, in their own bed, in their own home was by far the most mind-blowing for him. He’d always tell her men never use the term making love, but if he were to use it, this is where it was defined. They were alone in the confines of their bed, together in a world untouched by any other person other than them.
Sometimes though, like this morning, she was worked up so easily that he knew it was only a matter of time before she told him what she wanted and how hard she wanted it. He dipped a finger into her, pushed it as far as it could go and pulled it out slowly, slamming it back in again, his erection begging for the same action.
He kissed his way down her body, from her shoulders down her stomach, dipping his tongue into her bellybutton, kissing and sucking the skin right above her underwear. He moved himself back and slid them down her legs slowly, his eyes locking with hers, both filled with desire. He continued his journey down her body, licking circles on the inside of her thighs, which made her roll her eyes back and groan.
“You’re so beautiful,” he rasped. The way her hair fanned on her pillow, the way her eyes were squeezed close and her mouth hung open, her chest rising and falling made him ever eager to please her.
His mouth found her center hot and wet and ready for him and he snaked his tongue out once again in upward strokes, sucking her clit into his mouth, her hips grinding into his mouth as she moaned his name, her fingers pulling on the hair on his head. He worked her in faster strokes, knowing she was close, dipping his tongue in and out of her, teasing and sucking until she called out his name and yes and oh god as she came in a flood. He lapped his tongue through her folds once more before he moved to kiss her neck, shoving his boxers down, he entered her in one swift motion, feeling her climax slowing down as he rocked in and out of her slowly. Her breasts pressed up against him as he kissed her hard on the mouth.
Breathless, he pulled back, breaking the kiss, touching the tip of his nose to hers, he panted as he said, “You amaze me every day,” his words a whisper only she could hear. He picked up his pace, pushing into her deeper at her urging, the heels of her feet pressing into his lower back, his face buried in her neck as he stroked and grunted, her finger tips digging into his shoulder blades.
Five years ago this week they had their first date, and he remembered the way things were six years ago around the same time, alone and grieving a loss to something he never had possession of. He stared down at her now, her cheeks pink and her eyes filled with love, adoration and lust, her quiet moans filling the room and he remembered how lucky he is to be here sharing this with her. Sometimes he still can’t believe he’s allowed to touch her, allowed to share something so intimate with her. He relished every sound she made, the feeling of her fingers pulling at the strands of hair on his head, her lips reaching to kiss any part of his skin they could make contact with.
She kissed his shoulder, holding onto his neck with her arms and flipped them over, he on his back, she writhing on top of him as she swirled her hips over him. His hands balanced her by molding her breasts, he pushed them together and pinched her nipples, making her throw her head back as she panted, pushing herself up and down his length. His fingers found her swollen clit and he rubbed it in slow circles, her hips bucking forward.
He sat up, kissed her passionately, his hands moving from the round curve of her ass up her back and into her hair. His lips left hers and took hold of her breast again, lavishing each with attention, licking the middle of her chest and sucking on her nipples. He rolled them back over, hovering over her, pushing himself deeper into her, his lungs gasping for air. She whined out, “Yes, oh, yes,” like a hiss and he pushed harder, feeling himself erupt and release within her at the same time her walls clenched around him. He groaned as he filled her, giving a few more shallow thrusts as he softened.
He wrapped his arms around her, held her back close to his chest, their breathing evening out together. He took her hand in his, smiled at her and kissed her wedding band. He looked at the bedside clock once more and waited for the minute to change to the next, their daily sign that it was time to step out of their carefully constructed bubble and greet the real world head on. At that moment, he thought the real world wasn’t all that bad.
**
The best thing about watching his daughter grow up was that she was now mostly speaking in full sentences. The term terrible two’s was rearing it’s head, Cece had started to test her limits, often ending up throwing herself on the floor in a red faced tearful fit of a tantrum. Other times, like that morning, she was pleasant, laughing at his silly faces as they ate their breakfast while Pam showered. The curiosity bug was setting in, and he figured he should prepare himself for the eventual questions that his brothers told him he was going to be asked - some questions that would leave him utterly speechless.
He new a question was forming in his daughter’s head right at that moment. She stared far off into the corners of their yellow and white kitchen, her index finger tapping lightly at her chin. Sometimes he thought that she was an exact clone of Pam, especially in that moment when his daughter mimicked her mother and bit her bottom lip.
“Daddy,” Cece began speaking in what he would always think was the most adorable voice he ever heard. “Is it you home days?”
“No, baby,” he tried not to laugh at her phrasing. “It’s Friday. Tomorrow’s Saturday. I’ll be home tomorrow and the next day,” he enthused.
“Oh,” Cece said, nodding as she took another bite of her French toast stick. “Daddy?”
“Yes, Cece.”
“Can we do Zoo tomorrow?”
“Sure, sweetie.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Cece,” he said again, a thing he learned to say each time she said daddy, otherwise she’d keep saying it until he acknowledged her.
“Why do you kiss mommy?”
“Because I love her. And I kiss you because I love you too.”
“I love you, daddy,” she smiled at him, reaching her arms to him for a hug.
He kissed the top of her head and tickled her side. “Love you too munchkin.”
“Why I a nunchkin?”
“Munchkin. It means smaller than when you’re a big girl.”
“When’s big girl?”
“Don’t rush me,” he said with a laugh, sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes, making his daughter giggle as she took the last bite of her breakfast.
“Okay guys,” Pam said, brushing her hand over her blue cardigan. “Ready to get our day on?”
“No,” Cece said, shaking her head. “Please have a home day?”
“Honey, tomorrow we’ll all be home,” Pam assured her, kissing her daughter’s cheek.
“Daddy said Zoo tomorrow.”
“That sounds marvelous, darling,” Pam said in a mock British drawl, laughing along with Cece as she picked up the breakfast dishes and set them in the dishwasher.
**
They piled into the car, dropping off Cece at daycare before arriving at their office just in time. Normally they wouldn’t care, but as soon as they saw Jo Bennett’s car in the Business Park’s parking lot, they breathed a sigh of relief that they weren’t late today.
It started out as a day like any other. He made a few sales calls before lunch, discussed some orders that needed to be renewed with recurring clients and scheduled face to face calls with new prospects. He was amazed that there was still a market out there for the company he diligently and sometimes not so diligently worked for.
He noticed the office was quieter than normal, which was usually the case when Jo visited their branch. He was glad it was today and not earlier in the week that she decided to drop in unexpectedly. Dwight had started taking kickboxing classes two weeks ago, and out of no where, Dwight would extend his toward Jim with a, “Hah” as if he were going to punch him, startling Jim so badly last Friday he spilled coffee all over his favorite blue shirt. Jim spent the entire weekend trying to think of a way to repay him. Jim spent all of an hour on Tuesday convincing Dwight that someone had replaced the coffee in the coffee shop in the lobby with a secret potion that allowed him to see the future.
Dwight was skeptical at first, but thanks to Pam the plan worked beautifully. Jim managed to say things before Pam did them - blessing her before she sneezed, handing her a pen before she asked for one and the final thing that made Dwight race downstairs and bring up three cups of hot coffee – Jim leapt out of his chair to catch Pam before she tripped. It was so well executed and he was so proud of himself, he sold more paper and printers through this week than he had all month so far.
“What are you smiling at,” Pam asked, leaning over her desk to grab a pretzel from the bag he had on his desk.
“Huh, oh, nothing,” he said shaking his head as he smiled at her. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she said above a whisper. “Jo’s been looking at me from the conference room almost all day.”
He shrugged. “It’s probably nothing, don’t worry. Just look busy.”
She nodded in agreement and went back to her pile of paperwork. The afternoon coasted by smoothly. They ate their lunch in the break room, knowing that if Jo were not around they would have taken an extended Friday lunch. But they settled for salads and a crossword puzzle.
“Why do you think Jo’s here,” Pam asked quietly.
“I don’t know. Maybe,” he looked around the room at his coworkers who were immersed in their own things. “Maybe she’s here to see what we’re doing?”
“I heard she’s here to talk to accounting for some reason. Angela said she has a meeting with Jo this afternoon. Do you think the company’s in trouble?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Don’t start overanalyzing. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“Okay,” she said skeptically.
**
The afternoon passed by without incident, everyone remaining mostly quiet as they worked. He made another few sales and kept his mouse pointer away from the internet button and his IM chat, feeling Jo’s eyes boring into the back of his head.
He was about to shut down his computer when the conference room door opened and Jo walked out. He turned to smile at her and she walked over to him.
“Jim, can we see you in the conference room, please.”
He shared a look with Pam who sat up straighter in her chair. He turned to see Toby and Gabe sitting at the table and he swallowed, suddenly in desperate need for a glass of water. He followed slowly behind Jo with his hands in his pockets, looking back toward Pam once more before he walked inside.
“Have a seat,” Jo pointed to a chair as she walked to the other side of the table to sit facing him. She folded her hands over a folder and licked her lips before she spoke. “I have a very real problem here.”
“Okay, anything I can do?” he offered
“You reckon those printers that caught on fire a few years ago, Jim?”
“Yes,” he nodded, feeling the palms of his hands moisten under her stare.
“Well, Sabre hasn’t been able to recover as well as we would have liked. Figured it would take some time, and we gave it a good long shot, almost two years. But, the company is in the red right now.”
“Okay,” he said. “How can I help? I just closed like, six sales today. I can do more if that’ll help.”
“That’s the problem, Jim. We have to cut the budget. And it’s better to have a bunch of little fishing rods in the pond than to have one big one. We have two salesman near retirement and that’d cost a pretty penny to sever them, plus add in their pension which we can’t afford. Andy, Dwight combined take up your salary when you add up commission. We thought about lowering the cap, cutting salaries, but I’m sorry, this is the only way we can afford to stay in business right now. Those printer fires hurt us, they hurt us bad.”
“So what’re you saying?”
Jo took a breath and let it out. “According to the numbers, we’re going to have to let you go.”
He looked around the room at the three serious faces that stared back at him. Toby started talking about a severance package and Gabe interjected that he was not the only casualty that the company had, they were still looking at all of the numbers, but all Jim could hear was a ringing in his ears as the ground below him started to shake.
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Chapter End Notes:
I hope it's not in bad form to post this the day after I posted the ending to Harmony. More on the way soon!
