melody_actions

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS by Melody

“Hey Tricia, I got your reply to the party invitation this morning,” James gently guided her into an empty part of the room away from prying ears. “Why aren’t you coming?”
“I don’t do parties. Thanks for the invite though.”
“Can’t you make an exception?”
“No. Anyway you only invited me to be polite.” Tricia smiled and made a move back to the centre of the room to collect the dirty crockery and take it to the kitchen.

“I invited you because I want you to come. It will be nice to see in your glad rags with some make up on and your hair done rather than that ponytail.”
Tricia laughed. “I may surprise you and turn up here for work like that one day. Painted nails, high heels, fancy dress and jewellery aren’t too practical for a cleaner though are they?”
James put a hand on her arm halting her. “You are more than a cleaner and you know it. Without you I would be lost.”

“Nah you wouldn’t. You coped before I came along, you’d be fine if I left.”
“You know that’s not true!” he winked. “Why did you post it? You could have given it to me. It would have been easier.”
“Easier but not proper.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s courtesy to reply by post and so I did.”

James eyed her with suspicion. Was she taunting him or did she genuinely have no concept of his emotions?

They had met nine months ago when James had stayed overnight with Martin and his wife Marisa.   Tricia was a friend of Marisa’s from their college days and she was staying with the Halls until work on her apartment was finished.

Tricia had moved from Yorkshire. At forty years of age she had decided that she needed a new challenge. Finding another nursing job was the easy bit; nurses were thin on the ground all over the country. The relocation was increased as an added incentive for her.

So with a wonderfully spacious and modern two-bed apartment ready to move into, she put her home on the market. Actually it never got as far as being put up for sale at the estate agents. One of her colleagues needed a place closer to the hospital and as soon as she heard that Tricia would be moving, she arranged a viewing. Tricia had been happily shocked when Maggie offered her the asking price without attempting to barter. It was the easiest house sale She had experienced.

The move to Wales went without a hitch. Nothing got broken nothing got lost. It was when twilight descended that the problems arose. The electric’s fused and of course everything ceased working. Not too worried, Tricia called the number she had been given should any problems arise. An electrician was with her within two hours. Talk about service!

Then came the bad news, her apartment needed rewiring as it was completely unsafe. The electrician told her she’d been lucky.

So she was back on the phone. Yes they would pay the costs of the repairs but they had no alternate accommodation. That was when Tricia had the idea of contacting Martin and Marisa. If they had turned her down she had no idea what else she would have done.

The electrician was more than a little pissed off. Not because of the work he was now requested to do but because the Health Authority wanted a full safety report from him to enable them to sue the builders. To ensure there were no other problems they would have to have a complete check done. Once the electrical and any other remedial work was finished, the decorators would go in to make the place habitable. Two weeks with Martin and Marisa had turned into six.

James had been invited over for a meal and drinking session before Tricia had enquired about staying. She persuaded Martin and Marisa not to cancel their plans on her account. The fact that she had always found James sexy was neither here nor there of course!

She and James hit it off immediately, both having the same dry caustic sense of humour. Pretty soon they had to be careful to remember their hosts. Both embarrassed at the realisation that they had been ignoring them for long periods of time. James had an upmarket apartment a couple of miles from Tricia’s.

“Call me a cheeky bugger,” James sniggered, “but as I’m not there too much and because when I am I’m not very good at keeping house…”
“Here comes trouble!” interrupted Tricia with a girlie giggle.
“Hmm,” he grinned. “How about I trust you with a set of keys and you take care of the place for me?”
“Hey, I’m a busy girl.”
“I know.” He raised his eyebrow, moved his mouth closer to hers then whispered, “ I’m sure you could find one day a week to sort it out when I’m not there.”

“I smell a catch coming…”
James winked at her. “I’ll need you more when I’m there. I’m a messy little sod.”
“Oh you want a dogsbody? Do I look like a skivvy to you?”
“No. You look like the kinda woman that can keep me in check.”
Tricia laughed aloud. “If you want a dominatrix you need to be searching elsewhere.”

Marisa howled with laughter. “If you think that’s whispering you’re both highly deluded!”
“Oops,” Tricia blushed. “I got a bit carried away.”
James joined her in blushing, gazing apologetically at Martin. “Sorry.”
“Look,” stated Martin wryly. “You get along well and I’m sure Tricia could do with some extra cash. Nurses aren’t that well paid after all.”

“You presume too much,” Tricia said, chastising Martin with a light-hearted whack on his arm. “Stop meddling.”
“Oh you’d love it and you know you would. It will give you inspiration for your stories.”
“Stories?” James was very interested.
“Tricia writes for magazines. Murder mysteries, thrillers, horrors, you name it.”
“I’m not great but it supplements my income. Hence why I do not need another job.”

Martin ignored her. “Right now she’s working on her first novel so she may not be with you for long.”
“IF I went to work for James, what time would I have to work on my manuscript? At least I get paid for the other stuff, it may not be a lot but it’s better than a kick in the balls.”
“You do realise that this extra information makes it imperative that I have you,” James remarked cheekily sitting back in the dining chair.

The gauntlet had been thrown down!

“I am not a piece of meat James.”
“No,” he responded quickly. “You are a multi talented young woman with a feisty spirit. I admire you. I think that you will enrich my life.”
“Don’t patronise me!”
“I’m not!”
“He isn’t,” agreed Martin. “He’s being honest. Unfortunately his words are less than tactful.”

Marisa watched the interaction with interest. “The coffee is almost ready. Why don’t you both take yours out onto the patio and have a chat? If you stop this one-upmanship and petty arguing you’ll agree terms. Never look a gift horse in the mouth!”
“You agree with him?” Tricia pointed at James whilst glaring at Marisa.
“You both get on. You won’t take any nonsense Tricia and that’s precisely what James needs.”

And so it began.

They agreed terms. When Tricia was on holiday from nursing she was also on holiday from James’. If she worked for him during this time she would get triple pay.

Any requests that James made at short notice would be paid at triple time.

Extra duties such as catering or staying late to prepare for a special occasion would be a minimum of double time.

James readily accepted though merrily castigated her on her hard bargaining skills.

“Ah but I’m worth it,” Tricia responded, her voice laden with innuendo.
“Oh I don’t doubt that!”

“So why don’t you do parties?” James asked curiously a little later. “You know all the others that will be there.”
“James, I don’t go on nights out with my colleagues, I never have. Why should this be different? You’re my boss.”
James was hurt by her words. Whilst his smile tried to hide the pain, his eyes could not disguise theirs. “I also thought that we were friends.”

Tricia swallowed down hard. She hadn’t missed the pain in his blackened eyes or in his quaking voice. “How can I be here as a guest when they all know me as your housekeeper?”
“I have never called you thought!” protested James vehemently.   “I’ve always told them that you’re a god friend that pulls me out of the mire and keeps me in check. You are not nor will you ever be anything less than a friend.”
Uncomfortable with the tension of the situation and needing a diversion, Tricia started loading the dishwasher. “I didn’t mean to speak out of turn,” she mumbled, her voice partially lost under the clatter of pots and pans.

“Look at me!” demanded James, pulling her back from the dishwasher. Stunned by his actions Tricia said nothing. Remembering that Nicky, Rachel Sean and Rhian were in the next room, James lowered his voice. “I did not invite you here to make up the numbers.”

“You tricked me! You told me you had guests coming, gave me the menu and asked me to cook. That’s why I’m dressed in old jeans and a tatty faded t-shirt. I thought I’d be practically anonymous.”
“Hence the subterfuge and deceit,” James moaned in hushed tones, stroking her face. “I knew you wouldn’t come otherwise. I wanted you to be with me as my friend but most all, as my partner.”
“What?” her voice was barely audible. Slowly the realisation of his words hit home. “But…”

“Did you never wonder why I asked you to come round only to spend hours talking with you?”
“I was scared.”
“Scared? Why come if you were scared?”
“Not of you, of me, of my emotions. At Marisa and Martin’s I felt a spark. The more I got to know you and got to know your ways…” she didn’t finish.
“Stay here a minute,” instructed James. He then disappeared back to the dining room.
Tricia got on with making the coffee. When James returned she was finishing the tray with a plate of after dinner mints.

“Why did you keep coming?” he asked, startling her.
Tricia turned to face him, resting against the worktop, gripping the edge with her hands. “Because I wanted to be with you. If nothing else I had time alone with you.”
“I wish I’d known. All that time I wanted to be with you. I thought you came out of a sense of duty.”
“Duty? After working ten hours, ten hours of hell, why else would I come here if not to be with you?”
Sheepishly he stared at his feet. “Stay behind when the others leave.”
“I’ll think about it,” she smiled coyly.

“Leave those exactly where they are,” smiled James when he saw that Tricia was about to clear the coffee things away. “Come, let’s go through to the lounge for some brandy.”
Demurely Tricia nodded. “I’ll get the glasses.”
James and Tricia were both oblivious to the knowing looks and sniggers that his guests were exchanging.

“Do you think tonight will be the night he asks her?” Rhian quietly asked the others. “It’s unlike James to be so slow.”
“Shows how much he thinks about her,” chipped in Nicky. “He’s been bricking it, worried that he’s got it wrong.”
“You gotta be kidding me? They’re besotted,” Rhian replied.
Nicky sniggered. “He’s in love. His brain isn’t working.”
“When it comes to women,” Sean added sarcastically, “James never thinks. I have to admit though that I’ve never seen him dither so much.”
“Shush, they’re coming back.”

“Ok, they’ve all gone home, the dishwasher is loaded,” said Tricia to James. “You don’t need me anymore.”
“Er, no you don’t,” he asserted. “No running away from this.”
“What’s to talk about?” Without waiting for an answer she turned away from him. “Nothing will change. Things are as they should be.”
Stealthily James walked over to her, placing his arms around her waist. “I don’t believe that anymore than you do.”

Caught off guard, she tried to wriggle free. “What I believe and what may be are not necessarily the same. Perhaps I ought to hand in my notice.”
James stomped his left foot with frustration, determined to keep holding her. “We do not have a written agreement as well you know.”
“Fine, I can leave!” she retorted angrily.
He pulled her back into him sharply. So brutally that she crunched against his body.

“You can leave my employ but not my life Tricia.”
The shock of being thrust against him with such force left her at a loss for words. Instead she stared pathetically at him, not realising that her hands were resting on his shoulders. “James…” she started before her words trailed off.
“Stop me if you find this offensive…”

Tricia didn’t have a chance to digest or make sense of his words. His mouth was soon on hers, his tongue probing her lips for entry. A low moan came from her throat. She opened her mouth and caressed his tongue with slow deliberate strokes from her own.

With their passion rising, James slid his hands down to hold her pert backside, pressing their groins together. Tricia whimpered his erection was nudging her. She sighed and moaned, the noise captured by James’ hungry mouth.

When they stopped kissing they clung to one another, smiling inanely.
“It seems that the old saying is right,” whispered James, nibbling on her earlobe.
“Huh?”
“Actions speak louder than words.”
“Ah that one.” Tricia winked at him and blushed. “Sorry for being so awkward.”

“Just tell me that my demonstration has worked,” he chuckled.
“As demonstrations go it was ok I guess.”
“Only ok?”
“If I’m going to be able to make up my mind I need more to go on. That was a bit brief.”
“How much longer are you thinking of?”
“Oh I think at least for the rest of the night. I’ll let you know how you got on when you bring me breakfast in bed.”
“You’re going to stay the night with me?” James grinned.
“Shush,” she murmured. “I think this is another one of those times when actions speak louder than words don’t you?”

Confidently she took his hand and led him to his bedroom.

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