Lauren gave an impatient little flip of her long, thick braid before pushing the down button for the elevator, pointedly ignoring Ben as she waited for it to arrive. As the elevator doors opened, Julia gave Ben an apologetic smile and a little wave before following her sister, while Nathan silently mouthed “See what I mean” before stepping inside the car.
Ben was pensive as he walked towards his office, wondering if Julia and her husband had been right to worry about Lauren. And while Nathan had been right on the money when he’d mentioned that Lauren was frequently in a bad mood, Ben realized that it had gone way beyond that over the past couple of months. Her short-temper and almost perpetual crankiness had evolved into being withdrawn and unnaturally quiet, almost to the point of depression. And that sort of behavior was so unlike Lauren that it gave him cause for concern as well.
Truthfully, his mind hadn’t been terribly focused on the job much as of late, and thus he hadn’t paid enough attention to his staff. Rather, he’d been preoccupied with his own problems, both professional and personal ones.
Ever since Karl had called him with the news of his sudden marriage and imminent resignation from the magazine, the wheels had been spinning in Ben’s head about his own future with the company. It was almost a sure thing that he would not seek to renew his contract and remain in his current job, but exactly what he would be doing come January he hadn’t yet figured out. He knew that leaving this editorial job would both anger and upset Elle, especially since what he really wanted to do was travel again.
And Elle was quite another issue altogether. Ben had felt for some time now that they were growing further and further apart, that in fact they’d seen more of each other and liked each other better when they had been simply roommates. Complicating matters of late was the increased presence of her parents, who seemed to be around a lot more often, probably due to the fact that Gordon had retired a few months ago. Elle’s parents had stayed at the brownstone for more than a month before the trip they had all taken to Spain, and then returned to New York for an additional couple of weeks. They had just left two days ago, when they had finally jetted off to England, the same day Elle had flown to Atlanta to interview a retired ambassador for her latest article.
He and Elle hadn’t been alone, really alone, for over two months now. Not that he missed having sex with her per se, especially since she was as reserved and inhibited as ever in bed. But he was definitely horny, a condition that always seemed to be aggravated whenever Lauren was in town.
Like today, for example. Throughout the crew’s morning meeting, he’d had to force himself not to look in her direction too often. Or give away the fact that he lusted after her almost constantly. And while she had never again arrived at the office as scantily dressed as she had that one day last summer, it was small comfort as far as Ben was concerned because everything she wore called attention to her petite, full-breasted body.
Today’s outfit had been simple enough – skinny white jeans, a hip length, semi-sheer pale blue T-shirt, and bright blue Converse sneakers. But the jeans had cupped her butt cheeks like a second skin, while the lacy cups of her bra had been clearly visible through the thin material of her top. He’d had a rather uncomfortable hard-on for the better part of three hours, and it had only made matters worse to watch her eating one piece after another of that damned licorice. As she’d chewed slowly on each stick, it had brought back memories of those plush lips on his cock, and he had shifted awkwardly in his chair every few minutes.
It had been a relief when he’d had to leave the office for another appointment, though he knew his reprieve would be short-lived since he had another meeting scheduled with Lauren and her crew after lunch. Fortunately, they were flying out in the morning for a two-week assignment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Whenever Lauren was in New York, she was a constant temptation, and Ben definitely didn’t need any additional complications in his life right now. God knew that between making a decision about a new job, and about his future with Elle, he more than had his hands full.
It was becoming more and more obvious – at least to him – that it was well past time to end things with Elle. It wasn’t fair – had never really been fair – to stay with her when he simply didn’t love her in the way she needed him to. But instead of realizing that their relationship had pretty much reached a dead end, Elle had actually begun to throw out more and more hints about getting engaged or married. He hadn’t missed even one of her not so subtle suggestions on the matter.
“I know my parents have been here for a longer than normal visit this time. But they’re just so old-fashioned, and it would make things very uncomfortable if we were to share a room when we aren’t married yet.”
Earlier this summer, she’d made arrangements for a special dinner out to celebrate their second anniversary as a couple, and had attempted to make light of the situation with a little joke.
“Just think, Ben. We’ve been together longer than several married couples I know.”
And just a few weeks ago during the trip to Spain – the one that had turned out to be a total snooze-fest for him when he’d been dragged along to museums, art galleries, and wine tastings instead of being able to get outdoors and do the things he’d wanted to do – Elle had come right out and made several comments about how perfect Spain would be for either a wedding or a honeymoon.
No, there was little doubt in his mind that the time had come to break things off with her. He wasn’t happy, hadn’t been in a long time if he was being honest with himself, and had no idea why Elle would want to remain in such a dead-end relationship. But he also realized he would have to let her down gently, over a period of time, though he certainly didn’t want things to drag on for several more weeks.
He would have to find another place to stay, of course, and had already begun to check out some short term rentals. Not knowing what his job future held at this point, he didn’t want to commit to a longer lease in the event he wouldn’t be based in New York come January.
As he walked past the conference room, he was surprised to see Karl still inside.
“Hey, didn’t you get the memo?” joked Ben. “It’s officially lunch time.”
Karl glanced up from his laptop where he’d been busily typing away. “Yeah, I must have missed that particular memo,” he said wryly. “Actually, an idea popped into my head for this book I’ve been trying to write, and I wanted to get it down before I forgot it all. I’ll go grab some chow in a second.”
Ben couldn’t help feeling intrigued. “A book, huh? Fiction?”
“Yup.” Karl nodded as he saved his document and shut his laptop. “It’s something I’ve been kicking around for a few years now. I figure I’ll have time on my hands pretty soon to do some serious work on it.”
“Any thoughts on what you’re going to do with yourself when you leave here?”
Karl shrugged. “You mean besides writing the Next Great American Novel? Not specifically, no. I’ve socked away a lot of dough, and Tamsyn’s design business has really taken off the last few years. If the writing thing doesn’t pan out, I can always help her with the goats.”
Ben nodded. “Well, if it’s any consolation, you may not be the only one trying to figure out your next career move over the next few months.”
Karl was visibly startled. “She told you? After she swore me to secrecy, threatened me with deadly bodily harm if I breathed a word?”
“Who?” asked Ben, equal parts perplexed and alarmed. “You don’t mean Lauren, do you? Jesus, is she really thinking of leaving? Is that why she’s been so out of it lately?”