by Nikki Bella
“I don’t believe you, but I can’t force you to tell me what’s going on. Don’t do anything stupid and think before you act. I trust your judgment and you always seem to know the right thing to do. Your father and I gave you the tools and it’s up to you to use them. I taught you most men want only one thing and will do and say anything to get it.” This was what I was counting on and I was just going to have to use my God-given instincts to make the right choice from a multitude of men vying for my affection.
The smell of cinnamon from the candle burning in the room was a perfect reminder of those Sunday mornings when I was a child with only my imagination for companionship. I thought back on those simpler times and I realized too late how stupid it was to want to be an adult.
“We all make mistakes and it doesn’t matter if we have the best intentions. I’m a survivor because of the both of you and I will always land on my feet regardless of what obstacles stand in my way.” I was majoring in psychology and reading the body language of a man was like a blind man reading Braille. I only needed a couple of minutes and their entire story chapter in verse would be revealed to me.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I almost forgot and we are having a dinner party tomorrow night and your father requests your attendance. He wants those contributors to see him as a family man which means you’re going to have to be on your best behavior.” I was always being paraded out as the light of their life and I was getting a little tired of being a living and breathing prop.
She made a sigh of resignation before closing the door behind her and leaving me to the task at hand.
Sheila was soon asleep and I very carefully laid a blanket on top of her to keep her from getting cold. I had hidden the bottle, but it was almost polished off with only one mouthful remaining. I finished it and then I made a conscious effort to look at my perspective suitors.
There was suddenly a new one added to the mix and this one left a bit of mystery without a face. The body was athletic and I licked my lips wondering what was hiding underneath the transparent white shirt. The pants were molded to his body and the outline of his package was impressive. He claimed to be eight solid inches which were more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. His name was Damon, but it could’ve been a pseudonym. It wasn’t like I was using my real name. Sandra was the moniker I was using.
Chapter Three
Nicholas
I was still thinking about Samantha, but it still was a slim possibility it wasn’t her. Somebody else could have had the same birthmark, but the likelihood was nothing more than a pipe dream. She had grown up to be a boys’ wet dream come true and an older man’s fantasy of capturing his youth again. Those guys married with children sneaking around behind their wives backs gave the good ones a bad name.
“I don’t even know why you bother to acquire my services for the evening. You haven’t even taken your eyes off of the laptop in front of you long enough to tell me how beautiful I look.” I didn’t pay for sex, but I did use my money for the girlfriend experience. It was easy to flaunt my wealth and I didn’t have to worry about getting into a sticky situation.
“Deborah… Diana… Dolores…whatever your name is, I think I need to remind you about your place. You are to be seen and heard, but don’t expect pleasantries when my time is best spent doing business. This party is for you to mingle and to listen for anything I can use.” This girl had become something of a staple and her reputation preceded her. I couldn’t remember her name, but I didn’t have to which I’m sure was a little galling for a woman in her profession.
“Nicholas, I don’t mind doing your dirty work and you pay quite handsomely for my expertise at getting men to loosen their lips. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for your attention every now and then.” She was a bodacious blonde bombshell with a pair of breasts that defied gravity. I had no idea how the dress was staying on and it had to have something do with double sided tape.
“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit distracted at the moment and I don’t mean to make you feel neglected.” I could’ve easily made the proposition of adding sex and there were times I had thought about it. She would’ve just told me what I wanted to hear and there wouldn’t have been any enthusiasm behind her actions.
“I don’t need much, but the one thing I can’t stand for is being treated like a second thought. There are men who bend over backward to give me their undivided attention. It’s what I call a beneficial arrangement that works for both parties. I know how to be whatever you want me to be. I find it simply surprising you don’t want anything more than my eyes and ears.” Her hair was done up and her long legs went to heaven and beyond.
“You must realize there’s a reason why I asked for you specifically. This is where you excel more than anybody else and I don’t take it lightly. I need to know what moves to make in the market without costing millions to me or my investors. Any inside information will go a long way to secure my retirement. The arrangement we made is monetary on the condition you’re able to get me something I can use.” She would get her standard rate, but the bonus would be quite substantial.
“I’ve never failed you in the past and nothing is going to change that.” This was the one time I felt the nervous energy and I was usually calm and calculating in my approach.
This shouldn’t have been any different, but there was a real possibility that I was going to see Samantha. She was going by another name in the classified and I could see the reason why she didn’t want to advertise who she was.
I also had an image to uphold and I would’ve been ostracized if this got out. My stock would plummet overnight with the scandal, but I just couldn’t bring myself to allow somebody else to touch her with the idea of getting their money’s worth. She was playing a dangerous game and I felt duty bound to protect her. I convinced myself that I would gladly give her the money without asking for anything in return. I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to stop myself from touching her when the time came to collect.
“I think you know by now I’m a student of human nature and I know when something is bothering a man. Far be it for me to interfere, but I consider anything you say doctor and client confidentiality.” I did trust her, but there was no way I was going to share something like this with her.
“I have some things on my mind and one of them is a young lady who has captured my interest. I regret that I’m not going to say anything more than that and I hope that you can accept my need for privacy.” I had no idea what I was going to say to Samantha when we came face to face. I knew her dirty little secret and I was tempted to tell her parents. It would’ve been the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to do anything to ruin the close relationship I had with Samantha.
It had been a couple of years since I had seen her, but we had stayed in contact without the blessing of her parents. I was able to put her in touch with one of the many companies I owned to give her a part time job. I knew her work ethic and the one thing I could be assured of was that she was never going to make me regret it.
“I don’t want to pry, but I usually know what that look in a man’s eye means. Girls can be manipulative and I would be very careful about revealing anything about your feelings. You may not even realize how deeply you feel for this woman. Take my word for it, love is a fantasy. I give them that fantasy they can’t get at home. Happiness is an illusion and giving up part of your heart to anyone is stupid.” I had gone down this road one time where I had been close to proposing when I found that her heart belonged to another.
It crippled me and sent me into a spiraling depression which only Jackson could pull me out of. I owed him a debt of gratitude I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pay back in my lifetime. He was my brother from another mother and I depended on him to open my eyes to reality.
This woman with the kind of body made for sin had also been jaded by love. There was still hope for me, but she had found a different way to deal with it. Sex became her outlet and she had seen what
resided in the dark corners of a man’s soul. She really did believe that no man regardless of his attachment was immune to her charms.
“I don’t know what I feel for this woman, but there’s really only one way to find out. I would kick myself if I didn’t take the chance even if my feelings are not reciprocated. We only get this one life to live and whatever chance we have at happiness is over within the blink of an eye.” Time was fleeting and nothing was meant to stay the same. It was ever changing sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.
“You really have it bad and the only thing that I can do is pity you. I don’t know how you have fallen victim, but I suppose every man does eventually. I thought mistakenly you were different and realized that love is a terrible joke played on all of us.” Her opinion was infectious and what I had gone through made me rethink my position.
The white dress she was wearing had this long slit up the side to expose a healthy amount of her leg. She knew how to dress to impress without appearing like she was bought and paid for. She had a select clientele list and she was using all of us to get rich.
“I don’t need a lecture about love and destiny.” I had wandered around incomplete and I thought that my heart would never mend after breaking into a million pieces. Whatever didn’t kill me had made me stronger and more resilient than I’d ever been before.
“This woman better be worth your time and I’ve grown quite fond of you. I don’t think that I have the capacity to love and that’s my cross to bear. I know my status in life and everybody should know their limitations. I’m not going to tell you what to do and the only thing that I can stress is caution.” The estate was right in front of us and the black iron gate swung open to greet us. The limousine rolled down the driveway and finally came to a stop in front of the doors.
I glanced out the window and I was actually surprised at how much I was looking forward to this. I was still nervous, but it was like my first date and that feeling was something I had never been able to capture again.
I was momentarily stunned and the girl in the little black dress standing by the door drinking a flute of champagne was Samantha. Her hair was up giving me a bird’s eye view of the nape of her neck. I had this desperate need to make her tremble in my hands.
I looked down at the thumping presence of my manhood and I knew I was going to have to think of something to tame the beast.
Chapter four
Samantha
I hated these things, but I tried to put on a brave face for the sake of my father. He was already playing the game and then I saw Nicholas entering the room like he owned the place.
I always admired Nicholas and he always seemed to know what made him happy. The girl on his arm was way out of my league. She had sex tattooed across her forehead in bold letters.
Her breasts made me feel inferior, but I knew they weren’t real. I didn’t think any man who had the pleasure of her company really cared. Nicholas wasn’t even paying attention to her and then she separated from him altogether to mingle amongst the herd.
He was quite something and I hadn’t seen him in quite some time, but I did feel that he was deserving of my praise. He was technically my godfather, but his jet-setting ways made him an absentee godfather.
Biting the bullet, I went to where I was a mere inch away from him and then I tapped him on the shoulder. I wasn’t expecting the kind of greeting I got. He turned and his eyes lit up until I made a momentary gasp as he lifted me by my waist and spun me around the room off my feet.
“I was wondering if you were going to be here and I have to say you have changed. You’re no longer the little girl in pigtails falling for my idiotic magic tricks.” He took me back to that time by performing the one where he made a quarter appear from behind my ear.
I was a little flushed and embarrassed by this display, but secretly the feel of his hand ignited an ember of excitement. “Nicholas, I didn’t get a chance to thank you for putting a good word in for me. I remember the last time we saw each other at Christmas and how my father was not very appreciative of you buying me the car.” The car in question was a red sports model Corvette with the kind of horses under the hood to have me screaming at the top of my lungs on the highway.
I could sense somebody’s eyes boring a hole in the back of my skull and I glanced over my shoulder to see my disapproving father staring daggers in this direction. He wanted things to be staid and this kind of public display of affection was frowned upon within the inner sanctum.
“Your father is my best friend, but I just couldn’t help myself. He’s probably embarrassed and wants nothing more than to get me someplace private to dress me down.” His statement brought to mind something naughty with his pants coming down a little. I’d always had a major crush on him and I noticed he had filled out to be the perfect specimen of what a man was supposed to be.
He had me in a deep embrace and his hot body pressed up against me was enough to cause all sorts of mixed signals down below.
“My father’s too hung up on his political posturing to notice anything about me these days. He has my mother running around in circles in his campaign to be the next governor of the state. I sometimes think he only had me because he thought it would be good for his image.” I knew the dress I was wearing was a little secret most women had in their closet. I had shown my mother what I was going to wear and then I changed my mind at the last second. It did not go over very well, but my father couldn’t do much about it when he saw me make my grand entrance.
“I know if you were my daughter that I would not allow you out of my sight. Boys your own age must seem immature and you’re the one temptation that probably makes them circle around you like bees to honey. You should be careful and there are guys not very subtle about their intentions. Don’t fall for those who tell you what you want to hear.” We had never talked about relationships and it felt a little strange talking to my godfather about my love life.
“Nicholas, don’t you think what you’re saying is a bit hypocritical considering who you brought to the party? The girl knows how to work a room and I’m not blind to the way you’re using her. She’s only here to make you look good and to slip into any conversation seamlessly. You may fool some people, but to me, you have always been an open book.” His story was unwritten and I had heard rumors from my father about an unhealthy breakup which caused a decline into depression.
“This is a valuable lesson and I’m going to give you one good reason not to trust what most people say. Nobody really knows anybody’s story and there are dark corners of some of the pages which should not be seen in the light of day. Everybody hides something and it’s human nature to keep things private.” I wasn’t sure that he was directing his comments to me or if he was talking about himself. It was as if we were talking in riddles without saying much of anything at all.
For some reason, I was not appalled by his attention and I found myself blushing from the way that he was constantly scanning my body from head to toe. He was my wet dream growing up and I caught sight of him at many functions photographed for posterity. The expensive suits and the way he carried himself was only the tip of the iceberg.
“I don’t easily trust and the one thing my father did right was to instill skepticism in me. There’s always a reason for somebody to suddenly get friendly. I had a good friend and he was a man which eventually led to an awkward situation with him trying something.” I was acting like he was my confidant and somebody I could trust with the secrets I had locked up inside.
“There are a million ways for a woman to dangle a man with a promise of sexual favors. Your father did himself proud by teaching you not to become susceptible to a man’s advances. Those who don’t have the total package try to make up for it with sweet talk and of course, throwing their money around.” I felt like he could see right through me and every word worried me that he knew that I was up to something.
“I have monopolized your time and I’m sure that you want to mingle amongst the g
uests. It would stand to reason, a man like you would have his dance card already filled up. Do me a favor and save one for me and I’ve always wondered whether or not you were two left feet.” It was true about a woman being able to determine how a man is going to be in bed by the way he moved around the floor.
An awkward display would mean the same thing in bed, but a graceful motion would give hope to something of an explosive ending.
“I will always have time for you, Samantha.” I backed away from him, turning and feeling like he was typical of any man. I purposely put an extra swing in my step hoping he was eating his heart out. I couldn’t imagine being shy and still going through with this charade of putting my virtue on the table for a price.
Chapter five
Nicholas
It didn’t matter how many people I talked to and my eyes would constantly gravitate towards the attention grabbing daughter of a politician. I wondered how much she knew about her father’s shaky holdings and what kind of house of cards was waiting to fall down around his ears. The Internal Revenue Service had already flagged him for suspicious behavior. He was keeping everything quiet, but those closest to him would have some idea about his change in demeanor.
“I found out a few things and I have everything recorded for you to go over later. We haven’t been here for more than an hour and already I have enough to bury one Supreme Court justice and a computer mogul. Tonight has been very productive and the only thing I had to do was listen. Can you imagine what I could do when I finally pull out all the stops?” She was very good at her job and I felt like I had a secret weapon like my own superpower.
“I don’t need to know how you do it and the only thing, I require are results. I thought you might have a harder time, but liquor does have a funny way of getting men to reveal their secrets to you. You have a gift and you squander it by sleeping with men for money. If you really wanted to, you could easily become the worst nightmare for any company owner. Taking what you learn from the streets and bringing that savvy and insatiable appetite for knowledge into the boardroom would make you unstoppable.” I was talking to my companion for the evening while at the same time watching the irrepressible charm of Samantha laughing at everybody’s jokes without even finding them the least bit funny.