When we pull up to his parent’s house, my stomach immediately sinks. Before Benjamin gets out of the car to open the door for us, Heath asks him to give us a moment in private.
“Alicia, you seem nervous. What’s wrong?” Heath asks me once we are alone.
“When you told me to imagine people just like your mom surrounding me, it made feel a little uncomfortable,” I answer truthfully.
“Darling it was a joke. Honestly, I hate going to these social events because I’m so much different than the “London Elite.” You’re a very successful woman by your own right, Alicia, you don’t have to be intimidated because you’re at a party full of people who act like they have sticks up their asses. You work very hard for what you have.”
I tilt my head slightly and stare at him confused. “What do you mean by that? When I was in the states, I’d never been to a social event because that wasn’t the crowd I associated myself with, but I have just as much money as some of the celebrities.”
He looks at me as if he’s trying to understand what I’m saying. We’ve never discussed my net worth before, so I guess he just assumed that I was some divorced woman who was left with nothing.
Guess again Mr. St. James, I have my own.
He smiles at me. “Well, I guess I stand corrected. I’m not the only wealthy person in England that can be down to Earth.”
I smile back. “I guess I can be sometimes, but tonight I am the CEO of what will be, by this time next year, the largest investment firm in all of UK.”
“So you’ll be fine tonight?” He asks looking at me intently.
“As long as your mother and your ex stay in their lanes, I’ll be just fine. I can also get some investors out of this little shindig.”
“That’s my girl,” he says with a smile on his face.
He gets out of the Range Rover and Benjamin opens the door and helps me out.
“You’ll do just fine Miss McAllister,” Benjamin says. I stare at him surprised by the name choice he used for me. Maybe he has to be professional now that he’s here.
Heath takes my hand and escorts me to the rear of the house. As I suspected, the grounds look amazing. There are low lit lanterns hanging from the trees giving off an intimate vibe lighting the path to where the party is being held. Before we make it to where his family is standing, we are approached by a photographer from The Sun who asks Heath if he can take his picture. I back up to move out of the picture and Heath grabs me, pulls me into his embrace, and then kisses me passionately on the lips. My eyes are closed but I can feel the flash of more than one camera against my face. When he lets go from the kiss, he looks at me intently as if he wants to make love to me where we stand. “Smile for the camera,” he whispers to me in that voice that could make me touch the sun. I look at the camera man who is also taken aback by Heath’s public display of affection toward me and give him the loveliest smile I have ever given anyone.
“Mr. St. James, may I ask who this lovely young lady is?” The photographer asks because although Heath has done countless interviews and my picture was plastered all over the tabloids when he and I first started dating, to this day no one knows my name.
“The future Mrs. St. James,” Heath says with pride making my smile widen for the first time at the thought of someday being his wife.
“Thank you Sir,” the photographer says before he walks off.
We continue to walk to the back yard and I’m in awe of how nice it is set up. There are globe lanterns hanging from the trees giving off just enough light. In the middle of the yard is a grand tent with all of the sides opened showing off the immaculately decorated tables with white tablecloths and chair covers with blue sashes on the chairs. There are tall center pieces that boast blue and white long-stemmed Juliet Roses with crystals at the bottom of the vases. The floors of the tent are hard wood with a spotlight that shines the letters “SJ” in the center.
We walk past the tent to where Himaya, Raymond, Ada, and her date, who she introduces as Chauncey, are standing.
“Well hello Heath St. James,” Ada says playfully then gives her brother and hug and kiss on the cheek. “Alicia, you look so beautiful,” she says to me, then gives me a hug.
“Thank you and so do you,” I say eyeing her strapless pink and silver accented cocktail dress. Her hair is in her perfect pixie cut. Chauncey is wearing a black tuxedo with a silver vest and tie. I turn to Heath’s parents, “Mr. and Mrs. St. James, this place is so beautiful and you both look lovely.”
“Why thank you,” Himaya says too kindly.
What the fuck?
She’s wearing a blue floor length gown with a slit up her leg and Raymond is looking like a dapper older version of Heath in his all white tuxedo. We exchange pleasantries and then Heath and I leave to look around a little more. We are approached by one of Heath’s business colleagues, Max Abrams, a white man in his late forties, I’m sure, with brunette hair and a lovely smile. They explained to me that Max owns some of the apartment complexes that were built by St. James Construction.
“Max, this is the love of my life, Alicia McAllister,” Heath says with a smile that would light up the world.
“You’re the young lady from the magazines,” Max sounds confused. “I didn’t think you guys were together anymore because I stopped seeing you on the front covers.” He looks at Heath and smiles. “Then again, you are dating a very influential person.” He and Heath both laugh as though it was some sort of inside joke.
“Max, Alicia is the CEO of the new investment firm in London City. I remember you telling me that you wanted to start another portfolio,” Heath says. I should hire him as a sales consultant.
Max faces me with a smile. “Which company do you work for young lady?”
“Stansbury Investment,” I say as I turn into Alicia the CEO. I reach into my clutch and give him one of my business cards. “Call me and we will schedule a meeting to determine what products you may be interested in and then I will pair you with one of my best investment advisors and get you all taken care of.” I hand him the card and he puts it in his wallet.
“Thanks, I’ll give you a call within the week,” he says with a smile.
“I look forward to it,” I say giving him my firm, all-business handshake.
He turns to Heath and they start talking about some things that I can’t relate to, but I stand there and smile. When Max finally leaves, I turn to Heath and smile.
“What?” He asks looking at me with a sexy half-smile that makes me forget that I’m at an outside event with other people.
“Are you trying to earn some time with my little lady?” I ask flirtatiously.
“Why do you say that?” He asks.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
He looks around and then pulls me close to him holding me at the small of my back and whispers in my ear. “I did it because we are a team and anything I can do to help you in business or in life, I will. I don’t have to earn time with something that already belongs to me, and if you’d like me to I’ll take you in the house and prove it to you.” My nipples harden, my skin instantly becomes more sensitive and my little lady starts to salivate. “Would you like me to take you in the house to prove it to you, Alicia?”
Yes please. “N . . . no n . . . not here,” I stutter.
Still holding me he looks into my eyes. “Are you sure?” He asks in that voice that will make me do anything for him. It doesn’t help that we didn’t get to have sex last night because the pizza delivery guy got there in twenty minutes and then we both went to sleep while watching a movie. Nor did we get to do it today because of last minute errands that had to be done before the party. It’s safe to say that we are equally horny and we will probably be leaving here early or disappearing for a little while to take care of one another’s needs. He leans in and gives me a simple kiss but sending enough of a message to let me know that he wants me, too. When we pull apart, I hear a man clearing his throat.
“Mr. St. Jam
es, would you and your lovely companion like some champagne?” One of the waiters asks.
“Would you like some champagne darling?” Heath asks.
“Yes please,” I say just above a whisper trying my best to collect my wits under his intoxicating gaze.
Without taking his eyes off me, he reaches out and grabs a glass from the tray, hands it to me and then takes a glass for himself. He stands back and raises his glass, “To us,” he says, staring at me as if he wants to see into my soul. “I love you Alicia McAllister,” He says and then we sip our champagne.
“I love you, too, Heath St. James,” I say with a smile.
We spend most of the evening talking to Heath’s business associates, and some of the people from Bridgecam Racing that he invited. He also introduced me to everyone in senior management at St. James Construction and mentioned that Stansbury Investments can help them out with their finance portfolios. One of the men, Franklin, mentioned that Heath seems happier now than he did when he won his first professional racing trophy. Knowing that others think that I’m the reason Heath is this happy makes me smile on the inside. I tell Franklin I am the happiest I’ve been in all my life because of Heath. Before he leaves, he promises to give me a call and set up an appointment.
“Before we got here, I was worried about how you’d handle yourself among these types of people,” he says smiling.
“How am I doing?” I ask.
“You seem to have gained popularity among the elite people of London.”
“That’s only because I have the heart of the most handsome man in the entire group,” I say, batting my eyes at him.
Raymond’s voice comes over the microphone asking everyone to take their seats because dinner is served. As we walk to take our seat at the table, we run into Nadia and Albert. She’s wearing a strapless floor length red gown and he is wearing a black tuxedo. I’ve noticed for the very first time that they really do look nice together.
“Good evening,” Albert says as they approach us. He shakes Heath’s hand and gives me a quick hug.
“Hello good fellow,” Heath says.
Heath doesn’t have any ill will against Albert or Nadia about the whole garage fiasco. He says that he wishes them the best in whatever they decide to do with their lives. Albert doesn’t act any differently, either. I think that his feelings toward Nadia are genuine, but I can’t say the same about her, she’s eyeing Heath like he’s Kobe steak.
“Hello Heath, you’re looking rather handsome this evening,” Nadia says extending her arms out for a hug, but Heath grabs her hand and shakes it. Thrown off by Heath’s actions, she turns to me, “Hello Alicia,” she says in that catlike tone that she always uses when she addresses me.
I plaster the fakest smile I can conjure up and as sweetly as I can manage, reply, “Good evening, Nadia. I love your dress.”
“Aww thank you. You look nice, too. What consignment shop did you snag that up from?” She says with a chuckle.
Consignment shop? Do they all think I’m poor?
I manage to maintain my smile but my eyes are blinking rapidly, surprised by the indirect blow to my social status. Once I’m able to gain control of my eyelids, I continue. “Why would I, a CEO of an investment firm who was previously married to a billionaire, have to shop consignment?” My voice is surprisingly normal but this bitch knows exactly how I feel.
“Well I heard your ex-husband left you with nothing,” she says taunting me.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but what you should have heard was that I didn’t want anything from my ex-husband. I worked and I made my own money, let’s not forget that my employer is a company that invests people’s money to help them make a profit from it. Do you really think I wasn’t smart enough to invest my own? What do you do for a living? Oh that’s right, you’re a model. I’d honestly never heard of you until Heath told me about you. You see Nadia, I’d rather be financially secure and have no one know anything about me than to have the whole world knowing me and changing men every time I turn around to make sure I eat and have a place to stay for the next month.” I reach into my clutch and pull out a business card and hand it to her. “My dress is YSL and my loving future husband was kind enough to buy it for me, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t afford to do it myself. It didn’t come from a consignment shop, it came from a boutique in London City. When you’re ready to talk business, my phone number is on there. An initial investment is one hundred thousand pounds. Once you’ve saved that up give me a call.” I look over at Heath who has a holy-shit-I-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that look on his face. I didn’t want to stoop to her level but I’m tired of this bitch poking at me every time I see her.
“Shall we?” Heath asks with a proud half smile offering me his arm.
“Yes, we should,” I say taking his arm and letting him lead me to our seats.
“I’m sorry about that, but you gave her exactly what she was asking for. I’m sure she won’t bother you anymore for a while.”
“It’s not your fault she’s an arrogant bitch,” I say as I check my makeup in my compact.
He looks over out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t look now but she looks pissed,” he chuckles. Then gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.
When we make it to our table he pulls my seat out for me and waits until I get settled in before taking his seat next to me. We are soon joined by Ada, Chauncey, Himaya, and Raymond just before the Master of Ceremony asks everyone to take their seats. Nadia and Albert are seated at the table next to us.
“Good evening everyone,” the MC who is dressed in a black and white tuxedo says. “Welcome to the thirty-fifth anniversary celebration for Mr. and Mrs. Raymond St. James.” The crowd bursts into cheers and applause. I look over at Raymond who grabs Himaya’s hand and kisses her on the cheek. His affection toward her makes me smile. I tell myself that it must be a gene he passed down to Heath. “Settle down everyone . . . please settle down. I’d like the couple to come up and start us off with their thirty-fifth year first dance. Band please take it away.”
The MC moves off the stage and the band starts to play and the lead singer croons “Here and Now” by Luther Vandross. I watch as they take the floor and begin to slow dance. I can feel the love between the two of them, it’s real, it’s sincere, it’s heavenly. I briefly let my mind wander back to my own parents and how in love they were the second time they’d gotten married. My father always said the biggest mistake he ever made was consenting to a divorce from my mom for what he calls silly reasons. I can hear him now. “No one was cheating, no one was getting abused, and no one had fallen out of love. We just had our pride in the wrong places which led us to make the worst decision of both of our lives.”
My eyes start to well up at my thoughts and what I am witnessing. “Darling what’s wrong?” Heath asks concerned.
“Nothing,” I say embarrassed. “To see this much unconditional love after all of these years reminds me of my parents, that’s all.”
“Aww, I’m sorry darling. We can leave if you’d like.”
“No, we don’t have to leave, I’m having a great time.”
“Let’s go dance with them,” Ada says to Heath.
“Come on,” Heath answers her then grabs my arm.
“Heath, I’m not going out there to interrupt your parent’s dance,” I say pulling away from him.
“It’s ok our parents love it, just follow along. I hope you can keep up.” He chuckles as we head out to the dance floor followed by Ada and Chauncey.
He twirls me around and then grabs one of my hands, positioning his other hand at the small of my back. I put my free hand on his shoulder and then he begins to rock and sway with me. He makes this look effortless and although I’m a great dancer, he makes me look better.
“What would you like our first dance song to be darling?” Heath whispers in my ear.
“I haven’t really thought about that Heath. Especially since we’re not getting married anytime soon,” I say
smiling at him.
“It may not be anytime soon but we will get married. We’re meant to be. You’re what I’ve been looking for all my life and I am what you need in yours. So think of a first dance song because a wedding between us will happen one day.”
I smile and then he bends down to kiss me on my lips, slowly but chastely so that the feeling rushes through my body making me wish we would have skipped the party and just had dinner so that we could go back home for our own night of passion. He smiles at me, no doubt, thinking what I’m thinking.
We dance through two more songs before Chauncey comes over and asks if he can cut in. Heath obliges and walks over to his mother. Now Raymond is Ada’s partner and Heath is his mother’s.
“I’m not a really good dancer, so if you want we can take our seats and watch,” Chauncey says.
I look at him and smile, “Sure come on.” For some reason I only want to dance with Heath anyway. Chauncey and I are watching the St. James’ dance their night away as we make small talk and get to know one another. I’ve learned that his major is International Business and that he is also a student at Oxford. Ada and Chauncey have been dating since their freshman year of college, despite Himaya’s disapproval because Chauncey is from an upper middle-class family. “Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.” We both laugh.
“I don’t understand her disapproval for you. Ada tells me that you’re a Chief Executive Officer and that you’re giving her an internship,” Chauncey says.
“All of that is true, but sometimes it doesn’t matter who you are and what you have if a person has their mind set on something else, you’ll never be good enough,” I say staring at the dance floor where Raymond has taken Himaya back as a dance partner after she has invited Nadia to the dance floor to be Heath’s partner and another young man as Ada’s. Heath has a look of disgust on his face and I smile in his direction, letting him know everything is fine. He shrugs his shoulders and pouts as if he is saying he’s sorry if I’m uncomfortable with this.
What She Needs Page 16