Page 5 of Controlling Her

“Deal?” my boss queried with his eyebrows up.

"Yes, deal. Wasn't there some exchange or promise Kyle made with you? You are not the kind of man who gives time off; we both know your disposition toward me. There must be something to this sudden courtesy,” I said with my arms folded.

"Andrea, if you want to know what your husband told me, you should ask him. Your husband didn't have to offer me anything to make me accept his plea to give you time off work. Moreover, you are one of my best workers,” my boss said.

I felt embarrassed that I had raised the matter and had been forceful about it. So, I let it pass.

"Okay, then," I said, my voice low and subdued.

“It's fine. Ensure you rest tomorrow,” my boss said and left me standing with my cheeks red with embarrassment.

Despite my boss's seeming honesty, I still felt he had struck a deal with Kyle to give me a day off. I had not discussed with my husband that I wanted to rest, so why would he discuss that with my boss? There was more to the kindness extended to me that I hadn't found out.

I knew that I couldn't call Kyle to ask him about the discussion and would have to wait till evening after work. By the close of work, Kyle was at my job to take me home. He was nice to me in a way that raised my suspicion.

"Are you here to see my boss again?" I asked as I saw him outside. I stepped out.

“No, I have come to take you home,” Kyle responded, "Can’t I do that to my wife?"

"You're being nice to me, and I feel a bit, ugh…"

"A bit what, Andrea?" Kyle snapped at me before I concluded my statement. It was good that I hadn't used the word 'uncomfortable' before he cut me short.

After inhaling deeply, I said, "You have not done this before, and I wasn't expecting it. It positively shocks me."

Kyle's disposition changed, and he said, "You deserve to be pampered, and that's what I'm trying to do now."

"Thank you," I responded with a smile so that the matter could rest. It worked, but that also meant that I couldn't raise the issue of his discussion with my boss, for doing so would start another heated argument.

As we walked along the sidewalk to the next stop to board a bus home, Kyle grabbed my left buttock as if he wanted to take a mound of flesh with his bare hand. I winced and looked at him, and he smiled satisfactorily.

“I want to be sure you still had no panties on,” he said.

“You could have checked me out at work before we got on the road,” I said.

"I like it here on the street," he replied, "and when we get home."

I knew what he meant: sex. I thought if he was going to have me and was already anticipating it, I could strike a deal to get the information my boss refused to give me. But I chose not to be aggressive with him.

“Thank you for speaking to my boss this morning and for the time off tomorrow,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” Kyle responded.

"I've been wondering how you convinced him to grant your requests. It's unlike him to easily agree to such requests."

"Well, let's say I spoke to him how he likes to be spoken to, and I got you what you needed."

“That’s good to know. Someone else would have cut him a deal. My boss can be disagreeable.”

“You thought we had a deal, don't you?”

The bus had arrived at the stop, and I stared at Kyle, suggesting I knew what he did with my boss before we embarked on the vehicle. I sat by the window, and Kyle was in the seat next to the aisle on the bus. He didn't ask me to respond to his question as he had often done if I didn't react to something he said, and I didn't bother to do so.

But Kyle's silence didn't mean he had forgotten the matter. I waited to see what he would say about it later. For that moment, I basked in the bliss of having won an argument against him. The bus stopped, and Kyle held my hand as I exited the vehicle. I smiled at his smoochy behavior, even though I felt there could be more to it than the need for him to be kind to me.

We walked the short distance home from the bus stop with our arms locked together. Kyle glanced at me on the journey, and I responded with the cutest smile I could come up with the first time. But when his stare became frequent, I became uncomfortable.

I thought of asking him why he had acted that way, but I didn't because, like everything about Kyle, no one could force him to say or do what he didn’t want to until he was prepared. His unpredictability was something I enjoyed because it took boredom out of our marriage.

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