#irving graff

[kieselguhrkid]

JEREMY STRONG // Armageddon Time (2022) I want you to be a whole lot better than me.

[aurorag98]

Dream Time

Irving Graff (Armageddon Time 2022) x f!reader | Read on Ao3

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SUMMARY: Is 1980, you are a young lawyer who moves alone into an apartment, the oven* is out of order and you contact Mr. Graff to have it repaired. Both of your lives are forever changed by a stupid, risky and selfish dream.

WARNING(S): SMUT (+18) Discrimination, mention of class issues and social roles, adultery, infidelity, low self-esteem, suicide mention, mental health problems, angst, vaginal sex, unprotected sex.

NOTE: Ever since I watched this movie, I wanted to write about this Jeremy Strong's character. It took me a long time because one I think the character is super faithful to his wife and his flaws are others, which I also try to convey and two, I didn't think anyone would read it, but I already know that at least one person will read it so I'm really glad 🥰 I will write about another Jeremy Strong's character from the movie The Happening (2008) , where he plays the private Auster, since I watched that movie I can't stop thinking about a fic in my head. Well this note is very long, sorry, thanks for reading.

*pd. i know the character was a plumber, but as i saw him fixing his wife's oven, i thought of making him a handyman, i hope it won't be a problem the change 👀

It was 1980, your father was a millionaire businessman, you had graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and were working in a prestigious firm, you had a handsome and wealthy boyfriend that your parents liked and he was the son of one of the main partners of your father's company.

You had moved into a spacious apartment in a luxurious building that you had bought thanks to the trust fund left to you by your grandfather.

Everything was perfect in your life, except that your boyfriend was fucking all your friends and the oven in your new apartment didn't work. You had to fix that as soon as possible, your parents were coming to your apartment's housewarming dinner and you wanted to prepare something for yourself, you wanted to tell them "Look, I'm a completely independent woman! I definitely don't need to marry a man, I can do it on my own."

So you needed someone to repair your oven efficiently. Lilly Prescott, the only other female junior associate at the firm since the rest were male Harvard grads and viewed you two as if you were juicy steaks, recommended someone who would fix your oven for a fair price, although you didn't care about the price, you just wanted the oven to be functional before dinner on Friday.

"Yes, he will do it, my parents have known him all their lives, he's Mr. Graff, he's very honest and he's very good at what he does." She assured you by passing you his number on a piece of paper after contacting her mom to ask.

"Thank you Lilly! I'll talk to him as soon as possible, I really need to get that furnace repaired."

"You're welcome, then we could go for drinks after work."

"Yeah, sure." You smiled at her.

Your parents would not agree with you being friends with someone like Lilly Prescott, she came from a middle class background and if she had excelled it was because of her high intelligence that had helped her get a scholarship to a private prep school which in turn had allowed her to go to Columbia and law school at Yale.

Your mother belonged to an English family with noble titles and the old money, your father was more of a nouveau riche, but he never accepted it and would never accept you hanging out with people below your "social class" either.

Certainly your parents had very archaic ideas and you being their only daughter and therefore their most precious asset, you had only managed to escape from your parents' house on the condition that sooner or later you would marry your boyfriend Will, you knew Will was a womanizer and you barely tolerated his presence, but your parents liked him, so you had made a long term plan: you would prove to your parents that you didn't need Will to succeed.

Since you had been dating William Hilton since you graduated from high school, your parents had been impatiently waiting for you to marry him, but you had managed to graduate from college with honors and had landed a summer internship at a prestigious law firm in New York City as well as Harvard Law School.

You thought that would impress your parents enough, but it didn't, they were not at all interested in your academic and professional achievements.

By your 25th birthday you were finally able to access your million-dollar trust fund, which allowed you to buy the apartment you now lived in.

Your mother freaked out and practically wanted to lock you in the house to keep you from moving in, but you were a promising young lawyer and were able to make a simple deal with them.

"Let me live alone for at least a year, just a year and I promise that after that I will marry Will and be the housewife, wife and mother you expect me to be."

"A year is a long time, you will have six months and that is my final offer." Your father said firmly, raising his hand in your direction to give you a squeeze.

You knew your father wouldn't give you any more leeway to win, he was a tough businessman, so you took the offer and shook his hand, your mother jumped off the couch, furious.

"Robert! Are you really going to let our daughter leave the house without an engagement ring on her finger?"

"Emma, it's only six months and she'll live ten minutes from here, don't be distressed." your father minimized the situation as he minimized all of your mother's thoughts and ideas.

Your mother looked at you with narrowed eyes, pursed lips and withdrew.

Seeing your parents was like seeing your future with William, you were fighting with all your might to change that future.

You didn't want to accept that you had already lost.

Wednesday night Mr. Irving Graff showed up at your apartment to fix your oven, you had called him requesting his services as soon as possible, he told you he had a busy schedule and first a woman answered you, you guessed his wife.

"Graff family home, who would you like to speak to?" the woman asked, from the tone of her voice you could tell she was really busy.

In the background you could hear the voices of children arguing and the murmurs of other people. You were quick, you told her your name.

"I'm looking for Mr. Irving Graff, Miss Lilian Prescott recommended him to me for electronics repair..."

"Of course Miss, send my regards to Lilly for us, I'll put him on the phone with my husband now."

"Thank you, Mrs. Graff." You thanked her but she was already yelling at her husband to come answer the phone.

"Irving Graff on the phone, my wife was telling me that you needed help with the repair of an electronic device Isn't that right?" his voice was deep and somewhat monotone, but he sounded quite agitated as if he had been running.

"Yes, Mr. Graff, look I need you to repair my oven as soon as possible, I have a very important dinner on Friday and..."

He interrupted you.

"I'm really sorry miss, but I have a full week." He seemed really frustrated about it.

"Please, really, I need your help, look, you can come after hours, I'll pay you overtime, I'll pay you double the money, I'm willing to receive you today in the evening or in the early morning."

He let out a few small chuckles, he seemed quite nervous.

"Miss, I understand your situation, but even if I can come tonight, I will have to make a diagnosis of the problem and I may have to order parts from the factory, which would take even longer..."

"Then do the diagnosis, maybe it's just something easy, let's hope it's something simple, please come." You pleaded with him.

You felt him sigh deeply, he looked tired. You didn't know that he was actually surprised, even flattered. No one had ever begged him before.

"Don't do that, no need to beg, I'll come in an hour, tell me your address."

You smiled, you were quite persuasive when you put your mind to it.

You waited impatiently for him, when he arrived you greeted him so effusively he couldn't believe it.

"I really appreciate you being able to come, Mr. Graff. I have coke, coffee and tea, I also have wine, beer and whiskey, what would you prefer?" you told him helpfully, unaccustomed to receiving visitors in your apartment.

Even Will hadn't come to your apartment in the three weeks you had been living there and your parents were less than enthusiastic about dinner on Friday.

"A glass of water is fine." He said to you.

On your way to the kitchen, you came back remembering that you had forgotten something.

"Oh I'm so silly, I forgot to tell you to give me your jacket to hang up."

"Yes, of course, miss, don't worry." He looked so dazzled, that was the word, he was dazzled with your apartment.

Sure he had fixed up the electronics of wealthy people, but your apartment was so modern, full of paintings and furniture that looked expensive, with big windows where you could see the nightlife of the city and he had never had clients from Manhattan.

He moved between Brooklyn and Queens. He hurriedly set his toolbox on the floor to hand you his jacket, you placed it delicately on the coat rack next to the front door of the apartment. Something about the way your hands touched his old corduroy jacket embarrassed him. He didn't want to feel out of place in your beautiful apartment, but he used to feel that way almost all the time in many places.

The two of you walked into the kitchen, you leading him to the oven.

He gulped dry when he saw your huge kitchen, it had a granite island in the center, the appliances were gray and looked very modern, everything was so white and devoid of color.

But what made his palms sweat was seeing the huge six burner integral cooktop, oven included and the huge range hood.

"This is the troublesome one." You opened the oven to point it out.

"Oh I see... I should check it out..."

He slowly approached and bowed to the monstrous electrical appliance, surely it didn't even run on gas. He didn't feel capable of fixing your oven, he didn't feel skilled or smart enough to do it.

"Of course, take your time, I'll pour your glass of water." You smiled at him.

He needed to fix your furnace, he really needed the money and he liked to see you smile, he wanted to see you smiling at him when he said the problem was fixed. He didn't even know you, but he needed that little dose of approval.

He was a very accommodating man, he couldn't be any different, he was always looking to please everyone. He was a fucking doormat on the floor that everyone could trample on and he should be grateful.

You left his glass of water on the bar, you wanted to stay by his side, you were alone anyway, yes, a button away from talking to the front desk of the building that would save you, but you were still a woman alone and you wanted to keep an eye on him.

You didn't distrust him, Lilly had told you he was honest and he looked honest, he was wearing a beret and glasses, his hair was gray.

"Do you mind if I join you?" you asked him sitting in the high chairs by the bar.

"No, of course not." He replied as he kept trying to find the problem.

"Lilly told me that your parents have known you for years."

"Oh yeah, Esther and I, we've known Jimmy and Jane for years, they're our neighbors."

"That's great."

"Yeah, and you, have you lived here long? Your husband works a lot, because it's pretty late." He said looking at his watch.

He also didn't believe that a young woman could live alone and that you weren't married.

"No, I don't have a husband, I live alone, I moved here three weeks ago." You smiled nervously at him.

He looked at you more than just sideways, he actually looked at you in surprise.

"Oh I'm sorry for assuming you were married, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended, my mother always tells me that if I don't get married before I'm 26 I'll be an old maid and that I'm an embarrassment among her group of friends because all her friends' daughters already gave them grandchildren." You told him as a joke, but it was really something that made you sad and he noticed it.

"I don't agree with your mother. I truly believe that if you are alone, it is because you want to be alone, surely you have many suitors trying to woo you, the right one for you will come along."  He assured you.

It seemed rather paternal advice, your parents never gave you that kind of advice, for them the right one was William Hilton because his family's fortune and connections would only make your father's fortune grow.

It sickened you to know that you were just a piece on your father's board, but you had accepted that fact long ago, otherwise you would have given up the comforts and privileges that your family's fortune provided.

"Thank you Mr. Graff for your kind words."

"No, you're welcome Miss, it's my pleasure."

He smiled, he never thought he could contribute anything to your life of abundance, it made him feel good to know that you respected him enough to take his advice.

He didn't know that it wouldn't be the only thing you would take from him and that he would be so willing to give you what little he had in exchange for five minutes of your smiles.

Mr. Graff was able to repair your oven in time, the next evening he brought a couple of parts and installed them, you thanked him very much for his services and gave him the promised payment.

"That's too much, miss, I can't take it." He handed you back the wad of bills.

You took his hand in yours and smiled at him.

"No, please, I interrupted a family dinner yesterday, I took you away from your family, please take the money."

"Miss..."

"Mr. Graff, please take your wife to dinner at the restaurant you told me is her favorite and the two of you go to every anniversary, buy her sunflowers." You remembered.

He sighed, in those hours, you two had told each other many personal things. You of course had told him about William, and your parents.

He had told you about his family, how much he loved his wife Esther and loved his two sons Ted and Paul.  Also how much he admired his father-in-law Mr. Aaron Rabinowitz.

When he talked about him and how much he had supported him his hazel eyes lit up.

"He never judged where I came from, or what I was into when I started dating Esther, he's a great man, I always aspire to be like him."

You saw his wet eyes and the passion in his voice, you had never seen so much honesty in someone, you lived in a world of mirrors and masks, the prettier the mask and the better it reflected you in the mirror, the better everything was.

"You are a great man, Mr. Graff." You said without thinking.

He stopped screwing on the piece he was installing. He didn't dare turn to look at you. He couldn't believe what you had told him.

"With all due respect, miss, you don't know me." His voice was a little grim.

No one liked to be made fun of and he wouldn't accept you playing with his feelings. He hadn't been able to help it, but he could only think about you all day. He woke up with a happiness because he would see you again and then the anticipatory anxiety accompanied him the rest of the day.

He was also accompanied by guilt, what kind of husband was he? He was thinking about a rich girl of twenty-five who was way above his level and besides he was married and had children.

It was a stupid, risky and selfish fantasy. Very selfish. He hated those unfaithful men who had two families or a mistress, who were not one hundred percent for their families.

He would never be like that, he loved his wife and children, he admired his father-in-law so much and wanted to be like him.

Besides you would never listen to him, you were a rich and privileged girl with the world at your feet, with a thousand possibilities that neither he nor his family had, he told himself he could daydream a little longer that after that day he would never see you again, but he didn't expect you to make him feel just like all the rich people made him feel.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I'm just saying that I think you're a great man, because I really do." You apologized between stutters, you were nervous.

He allowed himself to look at you and smiled to reassure you.

"Don't worry, miss, thank you, I'm almost done."

He didn't know whether to believe you, but he liked to believe you.

"Well, I'll take Esther out to dinner and buy her Sunflowers, I'll tell her dinner was because of you.”

"Oh no, take all the credit, you earned it, you repaired my oven in record time."

You said goodbye with an awkward handshake and both of you went on with your lives.

Dinner was a disaster, but not because of the oven, not because of your baked stuffed chicken with potatoes, it was a disaster because Will knelt before you with a sapphire boulder that belonged to his grandmother and said "Will you marry me?"

He ruined everything, your long term plan went down the drain. You stood static in front of him, unable to make a sound in front of your parents. Your parents' faces were pure happiness, you wanted to vomit.

"I need to think about it."

"What? Daughter, you've been dating Will for years, there's nothing to think about." Interjected your mother, your father scolded her with a glare.

"This is none of our business, work it out between the two of you, after all you can give my daughter some time to think about it can't you Will?"

"Of course sir, she can take all her time." He smiled charmingly.

When your parents left he was furious.

"You should have said yes! You humiliated me, Fuck!" he slammed his fist on the table, you gasped.

"I need to think about it, just give me a week please, Will.

"I'll give you your stupid week, the chicken was dry, by the way." He spat on the plate and walked away.

You were left alone, shaking, not knowing who to call, you didn't know what to do.

The only person you could think of was him.

You dialed his home number, this time a boy answered.

"This is the Graff's house, who are you looking for?"

"Hi, you must be Paul, right?"

"Uh-huh, I guess so, my parents say not to talk to strangers or scammers, so I should hang up..."

"No! I know your dad, I'm a customer, is your dad home, can you pass him the phone?"

"Oh sure... Dad there's a lady on the phone who wants to talk to you!" shouted the boy hurting your ear.

"Irving Graff speaking..." he sounded tired.

"Hello, it's me." You told him.

He recognized your voice.

"Did something happen with the oven? I can go check it right now!"

"No! Nothing like that, the oven is great, I made a baked chicken and potatoes and Will said it was dry, so I guess even the best oven in the world won't make me a good cook..." you joked, but your voice was so tiny that he got scared.

"Miss, is everything okay, are you all right?"

The concern in his voice was something you had never heard from your own parents.

"No, nothing is okay, everything is a mess, I don't know what to do, please tell me what to do." You were crying, you were really bad.

He really was worried, and then he understood that he had seen in you, the same thing he had seen in his own mother, that sadness and anguish hidden between warm smiles, his mother died from an overdose of sleeping pills.

"Please calm down, I'll be right there, wait for me, don't do anything silly."

He hung up the phone, put on his jacket and beret, Esther was preparing dinner, he came out of the kitchen wiping his hands with a rag.

"Honey, where are you going? Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"I have a work emergency honey, I need to solve it, this client is the reason Paul is going to Forest Manor." Explained Irving quickly giving his wife a kiss on the lips.

"Oh yes, honey, we understand, hopefully it will be resolved soon."

"I'll come home as soon as I can."

"We'll save you some food." Esther assured with a huge smile.

"Yes dad we'll leave you plenty of food because no one will eat it." Said Paul.

It only took one look from him, for his son to stop joking.

He hadn't told you the reason he wasn't a good man.

He had beaten his son until he bled.

He wasn't a good father, and he wouldn't be a good husband after that night.

When he arrived, you were trembling, he slowly approached you and then hugged you.

He knew he shouldn't do it, but you were sobbing into his chest.

"Miss..."

"Will proposed to me.”

"Oh..."

He knew who Will was, you had pictures of him in the room and besides you had told him about him. Your boyfriend of years who you barely tolerated and only dated because your parents liked him.

"What should I do?" you hugged him tighter.

"I don't...that's not for me to decide."

"Please tell me what to do." You said trying to look him in the eyes.

He took your face in his hands and wiped your tears with his thumbs.

"Miss, you have to do what you want to do, it's your life, you have the opportunity to decide, many of us don't have that privilege."

You knew what you wanted to do, you knew it very well.

You threw yourself towards him and kissed him, you felt his soft lips against yours.

There was a lapse of time when you caught him completely off guard, but then he could have stopped you, he did not.

He didn't stop you, he closed his eyes, immersing himself in the damn selfish dream he had been in since he first saw you just three days ago.

He let your warm scent and breath intoxicate him enough, to take off his jacket and beret and throw them on the floor.

You had on a beautiful elegant blue silk dress, the buttons were forward as if they were a shirt, you quickly removed the first three buttons leaving your fine lace bottom exposed.

All your clothes were so expensive and fine, your scent was exquisite, your skin was soft in contact with his calloused hands.

He unbuckled his belt and his pants, just barely under his boxers, he felt the air on his buttocks. He had begun to intensify his kisses, at first he had been tender, now you could feel his teeth lacerating your skin, but you liked it.

His hands had been slow and gentle, now he cupped your breasts hard.

You let out a small cry as he threw you at the living room carpet.

"I'm sorry." He apologized awkwardly.

"No, it's okay." You mumbled, wrapping your arms around your neck to kiss him again.

He reached between your legs and pulled down your panties, slowly without stopping kissing you.

When he had your thin lace panties in his fingers, he realized what he was doing, but then he saw you half-naked, with your hair on the carpet, your breasts bare and your wet pussy dripping with pleasure.

He put your panties aside and touched you with his fingers, you moaned, desperately seeking to kiss him again.

He couldn't believe you wanted him so much. You were above him, you were so much more than him, he didn't deserve you.

He was like a commoner touching his princess, sinking his filthy fingers into your sacred intimacy.

He couldn't take it anymore, he took his hard member in his hand and placed it at your entrance, then he looked at you.

You just nodded and he sank inside you, you moaned from the surprise of feeling him inside you.

You had only ever been with Will, and you had never wanted him as much as you wanted him.

He tried to calm down, he had the impression that he would come in five minutes, so he did it slow, he kissed you again and you were grateful for it, you wanted to feel and taste him, his warm tongue in your mouth, his soft thrusts, his skin colliding with yours, his silent gasps and grunts.

His glasses damp from the mist of the mingled breaths of the two of you. Your fingers in his soft gray hair.

The thrusts increased, no longer gentle, each shock making you let out gasps and moans, he couldn't even pretend he wouldn't cum soon, so he slid his hand into your intimacy and brushed your clit between his fingers.

That was enough to feel you tightening around him. You both cum at the same time, you squealed and he watched you bite your lips and shudder beneath him.

He tried to pull out of you before he cummed, but only spilled his cum on the carpet.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll clean it up." He said trying to stand up pulling up his pants, but you sat up and grabbed his hand.

Your makeup was smeared from all the crying you had done, from the sweat, and you still looked beautiful, disheveled and half naked with your intimacy dripping his cum on the carpet that surely cost more than a month's salary.

"No, please stay with me." You begged him.

Your eyes were wet, you were still so sad.

He couldn't believe that you would beg him. He still couldn't believe it.

"No, don't beg me, I'll stay." He lay down next to you and you hugged him laying your head on his chest.

He put his arm around you and stroked your hair between his fingers.

You smiled slightly as he didn't notice, you were still quite persuasive when you put your mind to it.

He couldn't believe what he had done, he could never see himself in the mirror again, he could never look his wife in the eye or kiss her, he could never discipline or kiss his children's cheeks without knowing he was a damned adulterer who had betrayed them all.

But you were still lying on his chest, he could feel you breathing lightly, he could caress you and he could kiss you again.

You were real.

You were not a stupid, risky, selfish dream.

You were better than that.

You were worse than that.

You were a spoiled princess who would strip him all away.

You were a beautiful, pure angel letting a mere mortal touch her.

You were not a dream, you were a terrible nightmare, but he didn't know that yet.