by A. Anders
“And how much would you pay me to do this?”
“$50,000,” he said casually.
“$50,000?” Cara asked shocked.
“Well, let me correct myself. I will comp your hotel and food for a month. If during that time you inspire Mars to come up with the first line of clothing for our company, then I will pay you a fee of $50,000 for it.”
“And if I don’t inspire him?”
“Then I will still comp your room and your food but I won’t pay you anything.”
Cara considered Brik’s offer. It wasn’t bad. At its worst, she still got a month at one of the fanciest resorts in the world for free. What could be better than that? Cara thought about it.
“I have a counter offer,” Cara eventually said.
“A counter offer?” Brik said a little amused. “And what would that be?”
“That you pay for my room and my food, but if I manage to inspire your next clothing line, your resort carries our beer in all of your restaurants and bars.”
Brik thought about it for only a moment. “And my counter to that is that we DON’T carry your beer and, instead, I pay you $75,000.
“Think of it this way. What sells beers is name recognition. Your beer has no recognition, which means that it will sell almost nothing or nothing at all. $75,000 would be more than your brewery would make from us in a year. $75,000 is a great deal. And on top of that, you guarantee me that you will not have sex with Mars again. Is that a deal?”
Sensing that she had some sort of leverage in the negotiation, she stuck to her guns. “My final offer is that this resort carries our beer for a minimum of two years. And secondly, you will never again try to tell me who I can or can’t have sex with.”
Cara looked at Brik steely eyed making it clear that she was not about to budge. Brik looked the round woman up and down and understood her resolve.
“Agreed,” Brik said uncomfortable with the agreement. This was not the deal he was hoping to make, but it was close enough.
Cara smiled suddenly realizing what she had done.
“I don’t understand it,” Brik continued staring at Cara. “You do get that you’re going to end up with less money than the tax-free cash amount that I offered you, right? Why would you possibly want this deal instead?”
Cara stuck out her hand to shake his. “Why don’t you not worry your pretty little head about such matters and just stick to the deal that we’ve made.”
Resigning himself not to know, Brik took her hand in his and made it official. “Alright. Just let me know what you need.”
Cara’s mind swirled with possibilities. What did she need? Or, more specifically, what the hell had she gotten herself into?
“The first thing I’ll need is a few new dresses,” she told him testing the waters.
Brik didn’t buy it for a second. “Really? You think you going to muse him, a clothing designer, by styling yourself in someone else’s clothes?”
Cara realized that Brik had a point. How the hell did someone muse someone, anyway? She made a mental note to check online for a book. But until then, she was going to have to think of something else.
“Okay, you might be right. Then, how about if you show me the dress that I inspired him to make?”
“That, I can do. Why don’t you meet me in the Junkanoo studio at 3 PM. That will give me some time to make Mars aware of our little arrangement and to smooth things out.”
“Fine. I’ll first find out where that is and then meet you there at three.”
“And, my time is valuable, Ms. Reeder. So, I will hope that you will be there on time.”
With that, Brik turned around and walked back towards the hotel.
As Cara watched him walk, she decided that he really was quite good looking. But she had a hard time figuring out how he was able to walk with that stick stuck so far up his ass.
When Brik was out of sight, Cara looked around for a clock. Should couldn’t find one. But, energized by the opportunity that had fallen into her lap, she got up and walked to the back of the swim-up bar.
“Excuse me,” she said getting the familiar bartender’s attention.
“Another Bloody Mary?” He asked her knowingly.
“Actually, I was going to ask you for the time.”
The tan-skinned man looked at his watch. “It’s 2:15.”
“Thank you very much,” she said turning to walk away.
“Ma’am, did you want the Bloody Mary?”
Cara stopped and stared back at the bartender. Did she want the Bloody Mary? No doubt. Should she show up buzzed to her first day on her new job? She wasn’t sure. What was standing operating procedure for a muse? She reminded herself to look for that book.
“No thanks. But keep the drink cold for me. I have a feeling I’ll be back,” Cara said to him with a smile.
“You got it, ma’am.”
All of the men on the island were so freaking hot, she decided. It was like she died and went to hot guy heaven.
Instead of the drink, Cara decided to head back to her room to take a shower and change. Brik was right. She shouldn’t try to inspire Mars by wearing someone else’s clothing, although her birthday suit did do the trick the last time, she thought with a smile.
She should meet Mars wearing some clothes, however. Bikinis were great for some occasions, but perhaps not this one. Entering the bathroom, Cara took a second and enjoyed the idea that she was going to see her lover again. She couldn’t help it, she was excited. And after taking a shower, she climbed into bed naked and imagined how Mars would respond when he saw her. After all, she had inspired him to create art.
Cara laid in bed fully aware as the nightstand clock passed 3 PM. Cara wasn’t sure why she hadn’t moved a second before that, but at that point, she looked through her suitcase and pulled out a pair of navy blue short shorts, and a sheer white blouse with blue smiling dolphins on it.
After Cara made it back to the lobby and asked for directions to the Junkanoo studio, she realized that she should’ve left a lot earlier than she did. The studio was halfway across the resort. She wasn’t going to get there until around 3:30. What had Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass said about not being late? She couldn’t be sure but her guess was that he was against it.
“Ms. Reeder, it’s about time you got here,” Brik said tersely as he stood outside the studio.
“I’m so sorry,” Cara replied. “I got all turned around looking for this place. This is a really big resort.”
“I see,” Brik responded not believing a word of it. “Well, I was hoping to be able to show you the dress and perhaps go over a few things with you, but now that will not be possible. Mars is waiting for you inside. And, so you’re aware, I told him that I hired you to be his assistant.”
“His assistant?” Cara looked at Brik confused. “I didn’t agree to be his assistant.”
“Don’t worry, your job hasn’t changed. He might ask you to do some light work, maybe get him some coffee. Perhaps he’ll ask you to retrieve some color patterns or whatever it is that designers ask for. But not much more than that. Remember, your job is to inspire him to come up with our next clothing line. Whatever else you do, inspiring him is the only thing that will fulfill our deal.”
“Then, I don’t get it. Why do I also have to be his assistant?”
“Because he didn’t seem very open to the idea of me hiring him a muse,” Brik said with finality.
“Fine,” Cara agreed wondering how more of their deal would change.
“Excellent. Now I just have to break the news on who it is that I hired.”
“Wait, are you saying that he doesn’t know it’s me?”
“No. Something told me that he wouldn’t be very open to that idea either. But don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Did the man just say that everything would be fine? She and Mars had had sex the night before and he had scrambled off in the middle of the night. Bringing back a one night stand to be your assistant, wasn’t that some
thing that was better discussed beforehand?
Without another word, Brik escorted Cara into the main room of the studio. It was a large open space with six eight-person wooden tables arranged in three rows. On the tables were draped reams of cloth. Against the wall were cloth torsos like she had seen in tailor shops. And in the middle of all this was the tanned-skinned hot guy who she had last seen with his tongue on her clit. He was as gorgeous as she remembered. She felt a flush of heat between her thighs seeing him again.
Hearing the two of them enter, Mars turned around. Seeing Cara and immediately recognizing her, he froze staring at Brik. “What are you doing? What the hell is this?” Mars asked angrily.
“This is me introducing you to your new assistant. Mars, this is Cara,” Brik said introducing the two officially.
Not knowing what else she should do, Cara stuck out her hand and walked towards Mars. “Nice to meet you.”
Mars saw her attempt and ignored it, instead choosing to approach Brik. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but you know this is bullshit. How did you even know who she was? Did you send her to the pool to seduce me? My God, Brik, is she a prostitute?”
Cara listened shocked. “You think I’m a prostitute?”
“Says the woman who didn’t even ask me my name before sleeping with me,” Mars said dismissively.
“You asshole!” Cara replied angrily. “You didn’t ask me my name either, you slut.”
“Yeah. But the difference is that I didn’t show up in your office the next day being introduced as your assistant.”
Cara stared at Mars with her mouth hanging open. She had her limits, surprisingly, and this was apparently one of them. “That’s it. The deal’s off. I don’t need this.”
“Mars? Cara? Everyone calm down. And no, Mars, Cara is not a prostitute.”
“I can’t believe you actually had to explain that to him,” Cara said trying to wrap her head around what was going on.
“Then how in the world do you even know who she is?” Mars pushed.
“Cara is a guest at the resort. She arrived yesterday hoping to sell her brewery’s beer into the resort’s restaurants. She interrupted a walking tour that one of the managers was giving me. Later on, when we were on the terrace of the second floor restaurant, I looked down at the pool and saw you talking to her. I then saw you quickly leave with her. This morning, there was a dress. Considering you haven’t stitched a single item in weeks, I thought that she could be…,” he considered his words carefully. “I hoped she could be a kind of good luck charm.”
“So you hired her as my assistant? Don’t you think that sort of arrangement might become a little awkward considering I fucked her last night?”
“Wait a minute. Let’s get this straight. I fucked you,” Cara said unwaveringly. “Let’s make that clear right now.”
Both Mars and Brik looked at Cara stunned. With her not giving an inch on the fact, both men laughed breaking the tension.
“I don’t know what you two are laughing about. I saw him, chatted him up, took him back to my room and fucked him. What? Were you two thinking that it was his idea?”
The two men stopped laughing as they considered what Cara had said.
“Oh my God, she’s right. She was the one who fucked me last night.”
“That’s right,” Cara said putting herself between Mars and Brik. She reached up and held Mars’ cheek in her palm. “Now, you’re not going to make a big deal about this, are you baby? You’re gonna be a big boy, aren’t you?”
Mars looked down at Cara with his head spinning. He wasn’t sure what type of mental jujitsu she was using but he was now at her mercy. “I mean, if you’re okay with it, I guess I can be too.”
“That’s my big boy,” Cara said giving his cheek a firm tap before lowering her hand.
Mars watched Cara walk away. “What the fuck just happened,” he wondered aloud.
“We just found the one person in the world who could deal with your shit and fling it back at you, that’s what,” Brik said just as surprised as Mars. “Mars, allow me to leave you in good hands,” Brik said as he took another quick look between the two and then headed out.
After watching Brik leave, Cara turned back towards Mars. She still didn’t know what to make of him. She remembered thinking that he had a dark side but how far did that dark side go.
Mars, on the other hand, stared at Cara wondering what he had gotten himself into, both last night and by agreeing to allow her to become his assistant.
“So you fucked me last night, huh?” Mars repeated.
“That’s the way I saw it. Why? Did you see it some other way?”
“I may have seen it a different way, but I guess it doesn’t matter now. So, you’re going to be my assistant, huh?”
“That’s what Brik told you,” she said choosing her words carefully. Cara was never one to have a problem with lying. But her philosophy was, ‘why lie when you don’t have to.’
“Have you ever been an assistant to a designer before?”
“Maybe you should first ask if I have ever been an assistant before.”
“So, you have never even been an assistant before?”
“My family owns the brewery. I started working there when I was fourteen. My father learned quickly not to put me in charge of the paperwork.”
“Then what does a fourteen-year-old do working in a brewery?”
“Bottling, mostly. When you have a small brewery, all of the bottles are put into their sleeves by hand. Apparently, child labor laws never made it to Boston.”
“That must’ve been a tough life,” Mars said impressed.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t all bad. It was working there that I found my first true love.”
“What’s that?”
“Beer,” Cara said with a confident smile.
“There’s no one like your first love,” Mars said congenially.
“Yep, and it has never stopped fucking me,” Cara said humorously.
Mars chuckled and gave her a look. Cara knew that look anywhere. It was the same look that all men gave when they were picturing a woman naked. In that moment an image of him without clothes flashed through her mind. God damn was he hot. She wondered if she should offer her assistance getting off his pants.
“So, if you don’t have any experience as an assistant, what are you planning on helping me with?” Mars asked taking a step toward Cara.
“Well, I guess we are going to have to figure that out,” she said staring him in the eyes as he got dangerously close.
Chapter 3
Cara
Cara was about to grab Mars’ shirt and pull his lips to hers when something unexpected happened. She thought about Brik. More precisely, she remembered how insistent he had been about her not having sex with Mars. Yeah, she had negotiated that out of their deal. But what would it look like if five minutes after he left, she did the one thing that Brik had asked her not to?
“Would you like me to get you some coffee,” Cara said suddenly trying to redirect the flirtatious energy that poured off of both of them.
“Coffee? Is that a Boston euphemism for something else?” Mars said continuing to lean towards her lips.
“No, I mean coffee,” Cara declared taking a long step back. “I’m told you need to design a whole line of clothing. I don’t know how someone does that. But if it’s anything like cramming for an exam in college, it requires a lot of coffee.”
Once again Mars looked at Cara stunned. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Thank you,” Cara replied.
“I didn’t mean that as a compliment.”
“Yeah, you did. You just don’t know it yet,” Cara concludes with a smile. “So, was that a yes for the coffee? I’m getting one for myself, so it’s no problem if I get one for you.”
Mars stared at Cara as if he had just spent five minutes in a tumble dryer. “Yeah. I guess.”
“Good. And when I come back, we’ll all get back to work
,” Cara said with a smile.
Immediately after Cara left the room, her smile dropped. That wasn’t easy. Her loins were so on fire that she could’ve jumped the first semi-decent guy walking down the hall and rode him like a bucking bronco. She didn’t, though. Why? Because Cara was a lady.
Twenty minutes later after Cara had gathered herself and returned to the studio, both were in a much more business-oriented state of mind.
“Thank you,” Mars said cordially.
“No problem. So Brik tells me that you were so inspired by the sex we had that you ran out and designed a dress.”
Mars spun towards Cara.
“What? Is that not true?”
Mars gathered himself. “The order of events is correct. But the idea that you inspired me is a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, it’s entirely wrong.”
Cara never thought that he could reply with something that would bother her so much, but he had. She knew it was a little obnoxious to assume your lady bits had inspired art, but the thought that it had had made her feel special. Now here Mars was making her feel foolish for thinking that was the case. Cara wasn’t about to let him know how much what he had said had bothered her, but there was no denying that it did.
“Oh really?” Cara asked casually.
“Really,” Mars stated with even more conviction.
Cara couldn’t speak for second as she absorbed Mars’ clap back. Fighting to not react, she filled the growing silence. “So what inspired you? Because we’ll need more of it.”
“What inspired me?” Mars looked at Cara again. His eyes softened. “I remembered someone from my past. I remembered how I felt when I was with them. It brought back memories.”
She wasn’t sure if he was intending to do it, but with every word, Cara hurt more. Had he really been thinking of someone else while they were having sex? That was a tough pill to swallow.
Sure, it wasn’t like he had any obligation to think of her while they were fucking. After all, she hadn’t even given him her name. Theirs was a hookup. There was no question about it. But, still, after it was done, Cara had allowed herself to want their hookup to become more. What a fool she had been.