The Love Of Money - S01 E04

2 weeks ago

The Love Of Money - S01 E04

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

"Ah," Natalie said. "Makes sense. I can't imagine someone asking me a question seventy times. I get annoyed if someone makes me repeat something more than once."

"I'm aware." I leaned back against my standing desk and crossed my arms over my chest, "Jessica broke up with me this morning." felt my smile fade a little. Despite the warmth from Natalie, the pain of getting dumped by someone I genuinely cared for was still a cold presence.

"Aw, Marcus! I'm sorry to hear that," Natalie said, stepping forward to envelope me in her arms, pulling me into her. I could feel her large breasts press into my chest, and I adjusted my stance so she couldn't feel the sudden half-erection I had going on in my pants. I wrapped my arms around her waist and laid my chin on her shoulder as she rubbed my back.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Surprisingly okay," I said, which was honest. Sure... being broken up with hurt. I'd thought about keeping my day off. Thinking that I would be too broken up about it to actually get anything done. But despite the pain, there were some realizations that were starting to dawn on me. The long distance had been hard, and Jessica did have her problems, and Natalie's hug seemed to dull that icy ache in my chest and make me realize that this wasn't the end of the world.

After a few more moments, the hug started to feel a bit Inappropriate; Natalie pulled back to look me in the eyes, and I let my hands slip from her waist. We were in the privacy of my cubicle, but there was no door, and anyone could walk by and see something that looked Inappropriate for the workplace.

"Why did she do it?" She asked.

"She said there was someone else."

"That fool."

I smiled at that, "Thanks. I'd like to think so too, but you never know... she might have found someone much more high-value than me."

"Not possible," Natalie said, taking a couple of steps back and leaning against the wall, "You were way out of her league to begin with."

"You're just saying that because I got broken up with," I retorted.

"That's not true! You could have done way better than her. You always do that, Marcus. You think too little of yourself and you end up dating needy women with no ambition and they just suck you dry. Aim higher next time."

There was a moment of silence as we just looked at each other. I gave her a half smile and she returned it.

"Maybe I will," finally said, hoping there was some implication in my words. My nerves were a little raw and asking her out right now would be horrible timing, but maybe...

She stared at me for a long moment before her half-smile grew a

bit more and she nodded, "Good. But you've lost dating privileges. I have to approve whoever you date next."

I hesitated there. Had she missed the meaning behind what I'd said? It'd been pretty subtle. "I guarantee you, you'll approve of the next one I date."

"Good," she said with a slight air of superiority, and then she shifted the tone.

"You said you guys broke up this morning?"

"Yeah," I responded.

"But she's been here all week."

"Yeah. Exactly."

"God," Natalie huffed, "What a cunt!"

"Everyone thinks I dodged a bullet," I said.

"Everyone is right." Natalie shot back. "I suspect everyone thinks you can do better."

"Thanks. Well anyway, I decided to not spend a full vacation day in abject despair and instead at least salvage it by coming into work, which is why I'm here, to answer your question. And it was a good call. Especially getting to see you."

She gave a miniscule curtsey, "Glad to be of service. It's what I'm here for."

"It's not financial analytics for rich people?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm the floor's source of morale. We need one to offset Bobbi and Gina. Analytics is just tangential stuff that happens to get done as a byproduct. Probably more collateral damage than anything."

That earned her a snort, but she wasn't wrong. Natalie wasn't just a ray of sunshine for me in this place... she was the whole goddamn sun.

"Okay, I need to get back to work," she said as she reached out to squeeze my arm. "Let me know if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk."

"I will. Thanks Nat," I said as she turned and left. I watched her leave too.

Bobbi might have been a work of perfection, but Natalle was a goddess in her own right, and as my friend walked away, I had to admit that Bobbi's ass couldn't compare to Natalie's. I poked my head out of my cubicle to watch her walk down the hallway. Gerald's head poked out of his cubicle next door and blocked my view.

"Hey Gerald," I said. He snapped his head around to look at me. "I see you looking." The older, conservative man blushed and grinned before he disappeared back into his cubicle like a prairie dog slipping back into its hole.

The next hour proved difficult for me to get back into work mode. My head was full of the conversation I had with Natalle, thinking of what could be a possibility in the next few months. I had to keep telling myself that Jessica had literally broken up with me that morning, so I needed to calm the hell down and do some navel gazing, but that was hard to do when I could still smell her perfume lingering in my cubicle.

So I was annoyed when the phone rang just as I was starting to quash those thoughts and get back into a work groove, ruining any momentum that I had. I picked up the receiver, "Marduke. This is Marcus Upton speaking."

"Mr. Upton? This is Karl Yunger. I'm a lawyer for your grandfather's estate. Is this a good time?"

"Yeah... I'm available. I'm confused though... my grandfather died 5 years ago. Was there something missing?"