Chapter 20 – You're Beautiful.
As Steffi stepped into the precinct, she had the feeling she'd made a huge mistake. Phil was nowhere to be seen, and all around her were his lecherous male colleagues. She shuddered slightly, and went up to the desk.
"Nadia, hey. Is Phil in?" The receptionist looked at her for a moment then opened her book.
"He's out on a shout. Should be back any minute now. Why?"
"Oh, he just wanted something from home, so I brought it along. Is there anywhere I can leave it? I've left Grace with a neighbour you see."
"Take it through to his desk, its fine. He'll be back before you know it." Nadia pressed a buzzer and Steffi went through the heavy door into the cubicles.
The men appeared not to take notice of her at first, and Steffi let go of a breath she had not realised she was holding. She began to scurry across to the cubicle belonging to her husband, and stopped abruptly when a man called to her.
"Oi, Cam! Get 'em out for us!" Steffi felt her face flush a deep red, and tried to carry on through their laughter and jeers. She stole a sideways glance at the man; it was Lieutenant Conroy. Ever since she'd first started dating Phil, Conroy had wanted her all to himself. At first, he'd tried subtly hinting, telling her that there was a bottle of wine with her name on it somewhere, and that he owned it. When she had rejected his advances, he started trying a different approach. Whenever he saw her, he would shout a lewd or abusive comment to try and impress the other men. They were all so scared of Conroy that they laughed along with him, with a slight unease when they saw her pained expression.
"Get what out, Lieutenant? I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
"Of course you do; get your boobs out! Bet they're as gorgeous as you are… you're purtyer than a 'little ole red wagon climbing up a hill' sunset." She folded her arms over her chest protectively, putting on a brave face against the laughter.
"Why would I want to do that? I'm not just some sex object you know, I'm a woman. In fact, I'm the wife of one of your colleagues, and I'm sure you've all heard him talking about our four-year-old daughter, Grace."
"Not as much as he talks about your sex life; or should I say lack thereof." Conroy grinned when he saw Steffi's spine snap straight. She turned around slowly, a dangerous glint in her eye. All the other men saw it, but Conroy didn't.
"So you want to know about our sex life, hmm? Tell you what; why don't I show you?"
"There's nothing I'd like better!" She beckoned him to follow her, and started walking towards a supply closet. He followed eagerly, winking at some of the other men.
Once they were inside, the men could hear a series of bangs and Conroy groaning. Then, there was a startled 'Hey!' and Steffi stepped out. Shutting the door carefully behind her, she put a hand up to her hair and tried to smooth down her clothes with the other.
"You may or may not want to get him out of there," she said sweetly, and sat at Phil's desk awaiting his return. "He could be in one bad mood." One of the younger men got up bravely, and went into the closet. There was the sound of laughter, and then a menacing growl. When the boy came out, he flung the door open wide, and everyone in the room cracked up. There, in the closet, was Conroy, naked except for his boxers, and tied to a chair by a pair of handcuffs. He was growling menacingly, and he glared at Steffi as she watched the men falling about. When she eventually looked at him, she blew him a kiss and smiled sweetly at him as he gnashed his teeth like an animal. She got up languidly, and went over to him. Touching his cheek gently, she bent down low to his ear and whispered,
"Was that what you wanted to see?" Then, she gave him a resounding kiss on the cheek leaving the mark of her lipstick imprinted upon it. All the lads cheered, and she gave a little mock bow. "It's what I'm here for, boys."
When Phil eventually got back, he saw ten captivated men sat around Steffi, like children at story-time, listening to her tales of her younger years, when she'd been an infamous party animal. With one leg crossed over the other, tucking her hair behind her ear and telling her story to the guys, Phil knew. She really was the One. She felt his eyes on her and looked at him for a moment, and he mouthed 'I love you'. She smiled cutely, and resumed her story telling. It was only when he went to get a file out of the cabinet in the closet that he saw his disgraced Lieutenant, and he laughed.
"Carmella, you little beauty."
A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed has nothing to do with me at all.
This was just a little fun chapter for me, because Steffi is getting way too grown up now she's a mother. Like Cyndi Lauper said, 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'.