Uranium Fist | Page 4

could feel that energy building up inside his own body, crackling down his nerves to power up his own sense of excitement. And when the clouds unleashed their pent up rage, it brought a sense of euphoria, of revelry in the power of nature; storms were a heavenly symphony of the elements.
"Daddy! Daddy!"
Rebecca hurled herself towards him with the tempestuous enthusiasm that only a six-year-old can muster. She slammed into his knees with a force that almost knocked him to the ground, but he used that childish momentum to sweep his little girl into his arms and lift her high. She giggled and wriggled, and released the laughter from his own heart.
Sara followed at a more sedate pace from the cool interior of the house. She folded her arms, leaned against the doorframe and smiled. "Careful, darling! He's not as young as he used to be."
"Not as old, surely," he said, adopting a mock frown.
She smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and mouthed her love for him. He pulled his daughter close and moved to put his free arm around Sara's waist. She felt good as she moved closer, and the smell of her showered and perfumed body added nuance to the passionate air.
He kissed her with a lingering motion. "Love you!" Then he turned and pecked his daughter on the cheek. "And you!" Rebecca giggled loudly and wriggled until she was in her mother's arms.
Part of his mind whispered that he was too old for this kind of display. The warmth inside his heart said otherwise. Meeting Sara was the best thing that ever happened to him. Rebecca's arrival completed the entirety of his new-found happiness.
Until he met Sara, he never realised there was a gap in his life, or that he was unhappy. As a young man, he had always felt awkward around women, never sure how to handle himself. Quite unlike the self-assured man he was in business and commercial circles
The result was he never found anyone, and eventually concluded he never would. Unlike his peers - who married, divorced and grew bitter - he threw himself into his career, and climbed the ranks. Then - unexpectedly - he met Sara. She was one of the young analysts. She worked for him in a distant kind of way, and he never knew of her existence until they met in a lift of all places, both going to their respective departments.
"Which floor?" she politely enquired, taking him for just another of the middle managers. When he told her, she became obviously nervous. How often had she accompanied senior management, let alone the vice president of the bank - as he was then - on their way to the upper echelons of power?
Something about her manner amused him and he found himself automatically trying to make her feel at ease. It proved difficult to prise conversation out of her; not that she wasn't talking, quite the contrary. He recognised the interview-speak immediately, the well considered words, chosen to convey a striking image of the speaker, without saying anything that might be turned around and thrown back.
When they arrived at her floor, he held the lift for a while so he could continue the conversation. It was innocent enough, but he still had his position to consider. Offices were terrible rumour machines. He kept their conversation as business-like as possible, trying to convey the image of management taking a friendly - but platonic interest - in a new staff member. Yet, he knew there was something more. He was amazed to find himself assessing Sara at more than the professional level. What's more, he felt her assessing him in the same way.
On impulse, he asked her to lunch. She turned him down, with what seemed like a trivial excuse. After the initial dismay, he found himself both amused and intrigued. Later, he found an invitation to lunch on his internal mail. For the look of it, he left the reply for a couple of days before accepting the proposal. Sara's voice was filled with a mixture of surprise and nervousness. Edward discovered an entirely new avenue in life - what's more he found himself enjoying it.
"We really must be going, Sir." Jenkins suddenly pulled him from the depths of fond memories, snapping smartly to attention. Edward sighed inwardly. Duty called. Irksome to be so reminded by the staff. He casually acknowledged his chauffeur and turned to kiss Sara goodbye. She murmured her appreciation, while her wandering hands promised him a warm welcome on his return.
Reluctantly, he broke off and strolled towards the car. Jenkins held the door for him. He took his usual glance back to his young family before sliding inside.
"Bye, bye, Daddy!"
"Bye, Darling. See you soon!"
He waved back until the smoked glass window obscured him from