Mark shrugged and stated “The lady need never fear I’d be mad at her. She is too precious to me.” Once again Kate was hearing words that surprised her — pleased but surprised none the less.
It was now Kate’s turn to interrogate Mark, figuring she needed to propel this discussion on somewhat, she asked, “Do you find Janet attractive?”
Mark replied nonchalantly “Yes, I think she is very attractive indeed, but my words of caution still stand. This is a big step certainly for two of us if not all three of us and I’ll need a bit longer thinking it through.” He turned to Janet and added “I want to help; I really do and I’m not saying no; I want to underline that. It’s just the whole making another human being thing that is so very new to me.”
Janet nodded her consent adding “I fully understand. I’ve had months of soul searching to reach this point, you’ve had it lumped on you this evening.” Kate then steered the conversation to mundane topics having guessed that no more would be said about the main topic of conversation. In actual fact the three of them had a very enjoyable evening and afterwards Janet bid the other two farewell and Kate steered Mark up to his room. The two predictably made love but Kate could tell Mark was still thinking through the evenings conversation and so settled for cuddling her lover on the big comfy bed.
During a break in the following days meeting Janet steered Mark to an unoccupied adjoining meeting room and asked “I hope I haven’t adversely affected our relationship after last night’s conversation. I was against lumping it so directly in your lap, but Kate knows you better than I do and I just followed her lead I’m afraid.”
Mark smiled back at her and placing his hand on her arm calmed her by saying “Don’t worry no harm done. In fact, I came to a decision this morning while taking a shower.” Janet’s face paled at those words and held her breath as he continued “I’ve decided that I will help or at least try to if you are still serious.”
Janet jumped and flung her arms around Mark’s neck as she buried her face into his shoulder blade. A muffled “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that.” Mark placed his arms around her to comfort her. It was only the third time he had held a customer in such close proximity but then he rationalised that the two of them would soon be sharing more intimate contact and he actually liked the feeling.
They held each other for the longest time but it was John that ended it by saying “I think we ought to head back in there. Do you need to take a minute to compose yourself?”
Janet pulled back and nodded “Yes, you are right. I’ll take a trip to the toilets while you go back in there. Thank you again” and swiftly turned on her heels and made her way out of the room. A few seconds later Mark did the same and re-joined the meeting just as everyone else was filtering back into the room, the last person being Janet. Throughout the next session Janet was trying her hardest not to look at Mark as he guided the rest through his session. Not to look at the man that she hoped would be the father of her baby. Not to look at her next lover. Strangely it was this last thought that excited her more than its predecessor.
For his part Mark was his usual professional self even if he too was avoiding eye contact with Janet unless someone involved her in a conversation topic. They purposely kept apart during the break for lunch as they did during the afternoon comfort break. Once the afternoon session was completed, the attendees filed out of the room to catch up on their emails, only Janet and Mark remaining in their seats looking suitably busy. Once the last person had left, Janet went and shut the door and came and sat next to Mark who looked up and smiled his most charming smile. Janet was visible shaking as she wrung her hands together in her lap. Mark reached over and placed his hand on her arm making her look up into his face before he said “Look. I appreciate this is a big step, especially as it’s not like anything either of us have done before.” Janet gave a big sigh of relief and gave a crooked smile back as an answer. “Don’t think it has to be wham, bam thank you mam. We can take things steady. There is no script for this. No-one I know has done anything remotely close to it and so if you want to talk through any aspect before doing anything then I can be patient” Mark added.
Janet unclenched her hands and placed one on top of Mark’s saying “It is a little bit of that but it’s mainly the fact that I so desperately want to get fucked; I want you inside of me. It’s been so long since I’ve been intimate with a man, I’ve been so focused on providing a safe home life for the kids, but this is a new feeling for me. I’ve seen you in action for my own eyes and I like what I see. You are genuine, funny, passionate on your subject matter and above all a nice bloke to be around. When you combine that with what Kate has told me about you means you were the ideal candidate for my baby’s father. I was seriously worried about her at one point, very worried indeed, but in the matter of a few weeks she was a different person, she was back to the Kate I knew and that coincided with when you entered her life. I don’t need that same transformation, but I need a bit of the man that was instrumental in that change.”
Mark was a little stunned by her comments; pleased none the less. He leant forward and in the same hushed tone replied “I think you are similarly amazing and can’t wait to get you naked” at this Janet gave an involuntary squeak. “I need to speak with Kate first though but once we have that out of the way we can make more suitable arrangements. I’m in the area every couple of weeks and I’ll prioritise your schedule so that the kids don’t get inconvenienced too much. There are no guarantees of this thing working the first, second or even third time but I promise to try my best to be there for you.”
Janet leant forward and flung her arms around his neck once more, burying her face in his neck like before. She liked the way she felt safe in his embrace. Eventually she pulled back, wiped her eyes and replied “My parents have the kids this evening. The kids love being spoilt, and my parents love being needed. Because they don’t live far from me, they’re happy to have the kids whenever work demands my presence. Kate has already messaged and said that she is at the hotel already and for us to meet her there. I’m afraid I was too excited this morning and I let slip to her what your decision was. I’m so sorry but for what it’s worth she is thrilled for us.”
Although Mark was a little miffed that Janet had let the cat out of the bag as he would have preferred to be the one who told Kate he kept quiet and smiled. They quickly packed their respective work bags and made their way separately to the hotel. Mark reached the bar first and went straight to see Kate “I’m sorry you didn’t hear the news from me. I wanted to save telling you until we met face to face.”