At the same time Sydney and Claire were enjoying the reservoir, Emma Clark Matteson was getting ready to spend some quality time with her husband.

Hunter John’s desk in his office at work wasn’t as comfortable as his desk in his office at home. The dark paneling on the walls and the ugly metal desk had been there since Hunter John’s father ran the business. Emma found herself laughing at the thought of Hunter John’s mother, Lillian, coming to the plant and greeting John Senior this way.

Lillian definitely would have changed the desk if she had. The metal was damn uncomfortable on one’s bare bottom.

Hunter John’s receptionist said that he was giving a tour of one of the plants and would be back in a few minutes. Perfect. It gave Emma enough time to undress and drape herself across his desk, wearing only stockings, garters, and a pink ribbon tied around her neck.

She’d never surprised him at his office like this. Oh, she’d come by to bring him lunch and they’d neck a little sometimes, but they’d never actually had sex at work. There were very few places she and Hunter John hadn’t done it. It was a lot of work trying to keep things interesting, trying to keep Hunter John’s attention focused only on her so he wouldn’t think of Sydney or maybe how his life hadn’t turned out quite like he wanted. Emma would never tire of trying to make her husband happy. She liked sex, after all. No, she loved sex. It was just difficult sometimes to keep going when she didn’t know if this was really what he wanted. She wanted Hunter John to love her. But in the end, if he didn’t, she didn’t want to know. She would take this over not having him at all. She wondered if her mother settled like this. She wondered if love mattered to Ariel at all.

She heard Hunter John’s voice approaching his office and opened her legs a little wider.

And in walked Hunter John’s father.

“Whoa Nelly,” John Senior said.

Emma screamed and rolled off the far side of the desk.

“What’s wrong?” She heard Hunter John enter the office as she scooted into the recess of the desk and hugged her knees to her chest.

“I think I’ll just leave you and your wife alone for a while,” John Senior said.

“My wife? Where is she?”

“Under the desk. Her clothes, however, are over there on the chair. Really, son, this is no way to run my business.”

Emma heard the door close. Then Hunter John’s footsteps approached, and he knelt facing her. “Damn it, Emma, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”