One Night Stand With My Husband’s Brother

She did not go to him that day, not the next, not even the next after that.

Mackenzie waited throughout the weekend, telling herself – hour after hour – that if he did not come to work, she would go to him herself.

It was a good thing he had not told anyone of the true nature of their relationship yet. It was easy to keep her thoughts together that way.

That weekend, Charlotte decided to celebrate her liberation from unemployment, and invitation to work in the most successful company in Greensville, Axford company.

It was to be a picnic at the beach, the largest and most exquisite one in all of Greensville, Sandstone.

Yes, she stood pride in saying she could afford such trips and many more, now that she had a job.

Felicity and Charlotte made sure Mackenzie took time off her busy schedule to accompany them to the beach. They had noticed the worry constantly etched on their friend’s face, and how distant she seemed to be sometimes.

Mackenzie told them everything. There was no reason to hide anything from the two women she could trust with her life.

Charlotte and Felicity listened carefully, drinking in every detail, and every expression on their friend’s face, and in her eyes. Mackenzie’s countenance often determined the nature of advise one could give her.

“In my opinion, you should really put yourself together and tell Chase the goddamn truth.” Charlotte spoke up, chewing on her pop tart.

Felicity flashed her a stern look, before she turned to Mackenzie. As they sat on the beach sand, she reached for Mackenzie’s hands and held them in hers.

“Listen, Mackenzie. It’s really only a matter of time. You cannot keep this secret forever, you know that.”

Mackenzie’s eyes dropped to her sandy feet.

She had intended to keep the secret forever. The twins were safer that way.

“What’s the point of hiding the truth? You know Chase Axford more than we do, and we know that he would do anything to protect the children, his children.”

Mackenzie heaved a sigh as she watched Felicity’s concerned doe eyes.

“I’ll tell him, okay? After this weekend, when the time is right.”

The weekend passed, and Mackenzie still had mixed feelings. While she dreaded having the conversation, she looked forward to seeing Chase. She had not known she would miss him so much until she could barely catch a glimpse of him.

As she walked into the Axford Hotel building, her heart began to hammer in her chest. She clutched her black leather bag in her right hand, and walked into the reception hall.

The image on the longscreen at the top of the wall caught her eyes.

The woman’s smile had the power to capture her, to seize her attention, no matter where she found it.

Mackenzie stood still and kept her eyes glued on the screen.

Camilia Axford stared back at her, sapphire blue eyes piercing into her heart, reminding her of the secret she was keeping from Chase.

Her pictures had never been put up on the screen before, Mackenzie thought.

What has changed?

“In loving Memory of Camilia Axford. 1979-1999.” was displayed on the screen, along with beautiful pictures of the elegant woman.

Mackenzie quickly tore her eyes from the image. It was like looking at an elderly version of Calista. She wasn’t sure how she could deal with that.

She started to walk towards the elevator when she got a call. Mackenzie picked her phone out of her bag and found the project supervisor’s called ID on her phone screen.

She was told they had to deliver some materials to the hotel for the C. E. O to review it.

She had barely gotten off the call when Nora jumped on her from behind.

“Miss Torsney! Goodness, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Mackenzie turned sharply in the direction of Nora’s voice. She found her trying to catch her breath, as though she had been running.

A small smile formed on Mackenzie’s face as she looked at her.

“Please call me Mackenzie. How are you, Nora?”

Nora briefly returned the smile and nodded her head.

“I’m fine, but there’s an emergency.”

Emergency.

Mackenzie’s shoulders grew tense immediately. Her heart jumped in her chest at the mention of the word.

Did something happen to…

“What’s wrong, Nora? Did something happen to Chase?”

It was only when the question slipped off her tongue, that she caught herself. Mackenzie dropped her gaze to her feet and interlocked her fingers in front of her.

“I mean, the C. E. O. Did something happen to him?” Even as she tried to feign a calm stance, her worry was still evident in her eyes.

Nora stared at her with amusement laced in her orbs, hidden behind glass lenses. She would have flashed Mackenzie a smirk if the situation at hand wasn’t very serious.

“No,” Nora started to speak.

“Nothing is wrong with the C. E. O, but something would happen to us if we don’t find him right now.”

Mackenzie narrowed her eyes on Nora. She noticed Nora had been fidgeting since they started speaking. She could barely keep any of her feet stamped on the ground.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look, the president of the United States, our president, is coming to Greensville.”

“Okay?”

“And he wishes to stay here! In our very own Axford!”

Mackenzie’s eyes brightened with a smile almost immediately. That was goodnews! Why then did Nora act as though the company was on the brink of doom?

“I know, I know, you think it’s great. I do too. The C. E. O helped the president’s child in another country, so he has decided to return the favour, how gracious of him. This is goodnews, because with the news of scandal flying about in tabloids and papers, the stock prices of the company went down drastically. This…this is a good opportunity, Mackenzie, and being a good businessman, I know that the C. E. O would not want to miss out on this.”

As Nora continued to speak, Mackenzie watched her in silence. She was talking so fast, yet with so much passion. She was pleased to know that Chase had someone who cared a lot about his company, by his side. The fire with which Nora spoke was unmatchable, even for her.

“… the only problem now is that I can’t reach him! I mean, I know that he should be working from home this week, we all know. But this is really important, we need him.”

That sounded really urgent. Mackenzie cleared her throat and straightened her stance.

“Well, have you tried calling him?”

Nora glared at her with a look that screamed, “really?”, as though she could not believe Mackenzie had asked the question.

“I have every means to reach him. His home number, his cell number, his private number, everything. But he isn’t answering any of his calls. His private number normally goes through whenever he is on his one week hiatus, but that is currently unreachable.”

Mackenzie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Nora cut in again. Sweat began to gather on her forehead, and Mackenzie was growing worried about her.

“We have to get the C. E. O. Courtesy demands that he is available to welcome the president on his arrival. The image of he and the president would give the tabloids something else to talk about, and might help reduce the dent on his image.” Nora continued to press on.

Mackenzie saw how tight she gripped her notepad, and looked up at her face. She did not know what was going on, or anything about the inner workings of corporate life. What she knew was that this was important to Chase, and if this gave her an opportunity to help him, then she was willing to do it with all her heart. She also needs to speak with him, and has been hoping he would show up at work.

However, she cannot deny how nervous she feels about being in his presence again.

Something about him always seemed to drain energy from her, break down every wall she had worked very hard to build around herself.

“Please, Mackenzie.” Nora started to plead.

“You have to find a way to get him. If he doesn’t come, Jeffery would have to meet with the president instead! Trust me, none of us wants that to happen!”

Yes. Mackenzie could not bear the thought of having Jeffery take Chase’s place – in anything at all.

She looked around the room, before turning to Nora.

“I was kind of hoping he’ll come today.” It was Mackenzie’s turn to fiddle with the fabric of her suit skirt.

“He can’t come today. His one week hiatus starts today, but we really need him, Mackenzie. The president would be arriving on his private jet, so it is important for him to be at the roof on the president’s arrival. Honestly, I wish I could be able to get him to come, but nothing I say will be enough to do that. The C. E. O I know won’t come out, even if it was God coming to Earth to do business. Everyone knows he is more powerful than the president, but for courtesy’s sake, he has to show up.”

Mackenzie could see that Nora was practically begging her. It could only mean that she understood how hard this was going to be for her.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

She cleared her throat once more, before she asked.

“When is the main date of the anniversary?”

“Oh the 12th of January, this Wednesday. We are only one day away, Mackenzie. Please, you have to do something right away.” Nora would have reached for Mackenzie’s hands if hers weren’t occupied by the notepad she was currently squeezing.

Mackenzie heaved a sigh.

It seemed she would have to go to him after all. She had pushed it enough.

“I should try to call him first, before going to his place.” Mackenzie replied.

Nora’s shoulder’s relaxed. The veins that had potruded from the skin of her forehead relaxed, and she smiled with gratitude.

“Thank you so much, Mackenzie. However, I would need you to be discreet about your meeting with him, to avoid anymore…issues.”

Issues.

Mackenzie knew exactly what Nora was talking about. She replied with a curt nod.

Here goes nothing…or everything.