The Forbidden Fruit

Episode 3

Jide was frozen with surprise as Anita squirmed on his lap, her lips pressing down harder on his as each second passed. His was surprised for various reasons. One was the fact that he had not been expecting the kiss; before that morning, his relationship with Anita had not gone beyond work, friendly banter and the occasional light flirting which he had never taken seriously. On a more basic level, the texture of the lipstick on her lips was strange against his. His wife Patricia was not a fan of make-up and only used lipstick for serious occasions that requireda bit of glamour. He had never kissed someone with that much lipstick on before. The greasy feel was definitely new to him.And although the feeling of his colleague’sslick mouth against his was strange, and her hips grinding into his crotch was shocking, he was even more surprised by the last thing he noticed.He liked it.

That jarring thought finally broke the state of paralysis surprise had plunged him into.He gripped Anita by the upper arms and shoved her off his lap none-too-delicately and she just managed to stop herself fromfalling by grabbing the edge of his office table. Jide got up hurriedly; placing the chair he had been sitting in between them, not just to keep her away, but also to hide the physical reaction of his body to her embrace.He raised a hand and brusquely wiped his mouth clean of greasy lipstick with his wrist. “And just what the heck do you thinkyou’re doing?” he asked harshly.Anita leaned on the edge of his table and laughed, throwing her head back. “Ahn ahn! Jide, did I bite you? See how you pushed me away. If you weren’t married I would have asked you if you had never kissed a woman before. Or doesn’t your madam kiss you?”Jide stared at her in shock, amazed she could still mention his wife in the same breath she used to dismiss the kiss she had forced on him. “I don’t know what impression you have of me, Anita, but I’m guessing it’s a wrong one. This was not okay.”Anita scoffed and straightened from where she was seating, moving toward him. He pushed down the instinct to move backwards and stood stock still as she pushed the chair aside. “Oh lighten up, Jide! It was just a kiss. In more civilized climes, it’s an accepted mode of greeting you know.”Jide kept his expression blank as she reached forward and brushed something off his collar, letting her hand linger on his shoulder. Many words of rebuke struggled to leave his lips but he reminded himself again that Anita was his superior. “It’s not acceptable to me.”Anita smiled knowingly before she stepped back, letting her eyes roam down to the crotch of his well-fitted trousers, where a visible bulge diminished the strength in his words. “If you say so. Is that a pen in your pocket or were you just happy to see me?”Jide cursed beneath his breath at the mocking tone in her voice. He looked towards his office door where he imaginedhe had just heard a shuffling sound. What if his secretary was listening? He was just glad Nancy or someone else had not walked in while Anita was busy trying to stick her tongue down his throat. He made his way stiffly to the door and stopped with his hand on the door handle. “Sorry, but I have a tonne of work to get to…”“Like I said dude, lighten up.” Anita walkedtowards him, her heels tapping as her hips rolled in the body-hugging red dress. She winked him, her lipstick just as red as it was before she kissed him. “Get used to it o. i think I like greeting you like this. Good way to perk up your morning eh?”Jide ignored the obvious pun in her question. “A handshake would work just fine.” Relief filled him as he opened the office door and peered out. His secretary was seated at her desk, primly clicking away at her desktop computer. She would have been too far away to overhear what had ensued between his colleague and himself.Anita pouted and lowered her voice. “You’re no fun. See you at lunchtime.”He watched her sashay away, shoes tapping, and hid a grimace as the memory of the kiss ignited a small spark in his crotch again.
Fate had picked the worst time to send temptation his way; he was starved of affection, both physical and emotional from his wife. It was no wonder he had reacted to Anita’s nearness, he thought to himself with a sigh. He would just have to make sure he kept Anita at arm’s length to avoid the unwelcome situation again.Keeping his lower body hidden behind his door Jide peered around it.
There was a young lady seated behind the table near the door of the office opposite his. He frowned; she was unfamiliar. The face he was used to seeing behind that table was suspiciously fair and usually garishly painted, her fake spidery lashes and thickly drawn eyebrows always making him shudder whenever his eyes fell on her as he exited or entered his office. This newface was plain and dark, long hair secured in a neat bun, sensible eyebrows naturally arched above eyes demurely cast down asshe also typed away dutifully on the key board in front of her. Had Mr Agboola, whohad the office opposite his, gotten a new secretary?At least this one would be easy on the eyes, Jide thought as her gaze rose to meet his. Her eyes were big and slanted and although her lashes were long, they seemed real enough from where he was standing.“Good morning, sir.” Her greeting interrupted his thoughts. He found her voice soft and feminine, not too high or too low, but just perfect for the ambience of the work place. Jide felt a smile tug at his lips as she realized he had been staring at her a bit too long.“Good morning. You’re new on this floor, aren’t you?”Florence threw a quick glance at the other secretary and half rose from her seat. She was still shaky from how close she and Nancy had been to being discovered eavesdropping.
They had barely returned to their desks before Jide opened his office door to let anit aout. She was surprised her voice wasn’t shaking. “Em… Yes, sir.”Jide noticed Florence was rattled and he incorrectly guessed she was a bit flusteredby the attention she was getting. He smiled at her hesitant reply and waved her back into her seat as he moved out of his office fully, intrigued. “Please sit down. Noneed to be formal here. In time, you’ll find I’m pretty reasonable.”“Yes, he usually is.” A voice interrupted.Jide and the two secretaries turned to see a woman step through the elevator that had stopped at their office floor. Jide and Florence stiffened just as Patricia Babalola stepped off the lift.Jide stiffened because he felt a hollow feeling of guilt at seeing his wife just after his encounter with Anita.Florence stiffened because she had just noticed a streak of Anita’s red lipstick on the sleeve of Jide Babalola’s white office shirt.And Patricia was about to see it as well.