by Nicola Jane
“Yes, I’ll have your money by the end of the month,” I sigh.
He grabs my wrist, I look down at where he touches me and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine. His nails are too long and dirty. “That’s not good enough I’m afraid. I need it by tomorrow,” he states.
“It’s a new job, I can’t ask for an advance when I’ve been there one day,” I snap.
“Then you’d better find a way to pay, it’s not like I haven’t given you any options.”
I pull my wrist from his grasp and head inside my apartment, slamming the door in his Weasley face. It’s times like this I hate Daniel. I should be in my house with my old job, which I loved by the way, and instead I’m stuck here with a creepy landlord and a job in a sex house.
My parents don’t know about me and Daniel yet. I don’t want to upset them and they will worry especially when I tell them I left my job. I worked hard to help Daniel market his company brand. We both decided that it was time to hire a trainee, the company was growing and people always wanted to buy and rent houses and so I hired Becca. She was fresh out of college and eager to learn, we both really liked her. I shake my head as images of Becca snuggled up in my bed with Daniel flash through my mind.
I jump in the shower and let the water wash the images away, they are replaced with ones of Vass and his gorgeous body, I switch the shower to cold, I need to think about ways to come up with rent before tomorrow.
Placing my meal for one in the microwave I turn on my television and flick through the channels until I settle on an old sitcom. My mobile vibrates across the small table by the sofa and I reach for it, pressing accept and placing it to my ear.
“Hi Mom, how’s things?”
“Hey Liv, things are good this end, what about your end?”
“Same old, work, sleep, repeat. How’s Dad?”
“Watching the football. You’d think he’d get sick of the team losing. Are you coming home this weekend?” she asks hopefully, “We miss you and Dan.”
I close my eyes as pain squeezes my heart, my parents adored Daniel, this will hit them hard. “I don’t know what our plans are yet, I’ll text you on Friday,” I say. She accepts that and after a few more minutes of catching up we say our goodbyes and I go and retrieve my pathetic excuse for a meal from the Microwave oven and watch the sitcom, feeling the loneliness wrap around me.
I can hear an annoying buzzing. I open one eye and realise it’s light outside and then I throw the covers off me and sit up grabbing my phone in a panic. I have fifteen minutes to get dressed and get back to the Riverside for the car that Vass is sending to collect me. I rush around the apartment with my toothbrush in my mouth whilst I pull on a striped fitted dress. I look in the mirror and run my fingers through my hair, it will have to do even though the waves look a little crazy. I squirt a dot of tinted moisturiser into the palm of my hand and rub it into my face, hoping it will cover up the just out of bed look. I snatch my phone from the bedside table and grab my handbag as I leave the apartment, crashing straight in to Keith. I’m pretty sure he stands outside my apartment and listens at the door.
“Don’t forget, today I need the…”
“Yes Keith I know,” I snap before he can finish and I rush from the building.
I run all the way to the Riverside and as I round the corner I spot a black SUV. Vass is leaning against it, his arms folded across his chest, his shades covering his gorgeous blue eyes and his suit jacket pulling tight against the strain of his muscly arms. He spots me before I can step back around the side of the building. His smirk tells me he knows my game.
“Good morning Liv,” he says, pushing his sunglasses on to the top of his head.
“It’s Alivia. Vass, sorry I had to pop to the shop before work,” I say.
“Whatever you say, get in.”
I climb in to the SUV and fasten my seat belt, ignoring the fact that Vass is watching me. “What did you need from the shop?”
“Stamps,” I blurt out and Vass laughs.
“I know you don’t live in that building Liv,” he says and I glare at him.
“Of course I do, what are you talking about.”
He looks back at the building and then to me, “Okay, prove it, take me up to your apartment.”
“I’m not showing you my apartment, besides we need to get to work.”
“I’m the boss, I can be late.” I watch in horror as Vass steps back out of the SUV. He turns back to me, “Come on.”
“Look Vass lets forget that and get to work, I have a lot to do today.” I groan as he begins to walk towards the building and I begrudgingly get out of the SUV, “Okay just stop. You win okay, I don’t live here.”
He turns to me with a smug smile, “Don’t you think I check out my employees? I knew you didn’t live here last night.”
“So you let me lie and then walk home in the rain,” I huff getting back into the SUV.
He follows, clipping his seatbelt in to place whilst laughing. When he drives out of the carpark he turns right instead of left, “Where are you going, it’s that way,” I say.
“I want to see why you were hiding your apartment,” he grins.
“You really don’t, it’s an awful place to live with a terrible landlord.”
Vass ignores my pleas and drives us back to my apartment. I give him a defeated look as he steps from the car. I really hope that Keith isn’t around.
Vass
I can see the apprehension in Alivia’s face. She doesn’t want me here and I don’t understand why. Is she ashamed of where she lives. It doesn’t look great from the outside but I’m not the kind of person to judge, she needs to know that.
Alivia trudges up the steps that lead to the building and pushes her key into the lock. It opens and an elderly man stands in the entrance way sniggering at her. I don’t like the vibes that this man gives off and I notice the way Liv’s shoulders tense up, he makes her uncomfortable.
“You got it already, what did you do, Sell your body?” he grins.
“I forgot something,” she mutters pushing past him. He doesn’t make it easy for her to get past and I clench my fists, I don’t like the way he leers at her. He eyes me suspiciously and steps back for me to follow her.
We get to her door and she opens it. I’m pleasantly surprised. The décor is fresh and clean and her furnishings are pretty and girly. Once inside she turns to me, “See, nothing exciting.”
“What was he talking about downstairs?” I ask.
She fidgets with her bag, “Ignore him, I told you he was weird.”
“He’s your landlord?” I ask, shock clear on my face.
“Yeah, Creepy Keith is his nickname,” she says with a small smile.
“You owe him rent?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“Look are we going to work or not,” she sighs. I follow Liv back downstairs where creepy Keith is still waiting in the entrance hall.
“Don’t forget the rent,” he barks as we head out. I turn back to him fixing him with a steely glare.
“How much does she owe?” I snap and he looks to Alivia who shakes her head at him. “Ignore her, how much?”
“Six Hundred and fifty,” says Keith.
“Jesus, for this shit hole,” I mutter pulling out my wallet and counting out the notes. I hand him a bundle of fifty’s and he frowns at me. “I take it that’s enough?”
He nods with a crooked smile that shows off his stained teeth. “Yeah for this month.”
We get in the car and I turn to her, “Liv you can’t stay there. The guy is a creep,” I say.
“He’s okay, you get used to him. You shouldn’t have paid the rent. I was sorting it. I can’t pay you back until I get paid.”
“Don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t put it past him to offer you another way of paying, he was undressing you with his eyes,” I say with a shudder. The look she gives me tells me I’m right, “Jesus Christ, you can’t stay here.”
“He won’t bother me now until next m
onth and I should be able to pay him then,” she says. My mothers words ring in my ear, maybe Alivia would go for the deal.
Once we get to The Luxe, Alivia goes straight to her office. Bianca is already waiting for me in mine with a coffee and bagel.
“Good morning sir,” she says with a smirk. I slap her ass as I pass her and she gasps.
“How’s the new girl working out?” I ask.
“She’s nice, I like her. She has some great ideas,” says Bianca. There’s a knock on the office door and Bianca opens it. Clarisse doesn’t wait for an invite in, she marches past without acknowledging Bianca which annoys me. I give Bianca a nod, dismissing her. She closes the door quietly.
“How dare you fuck the receptionist and then sack her. Do you know how hard it’s getting for me to dodge your bullets,” yells Clarisse.
I lean back in my chair and give her a cocky smile, “Good morning Clarisse.”
“Don’t good morning me Vass, she was so upset. I ended up paying her two months wage with the promise of a glowing reference. I don’t want to give her a glowing reference because she was fucking shit,” she shouts.
“That’s exactly why I sacked her,” I said, “You are the office manager, you should have sacked her ages ago.” I’m pushing my luck and Clarisse looks fit to burst.
“Fuck you Vass. Who did you leave with?”
“My new marketing manager,” I say wiggling my eyebrows.
“Oh joy, another girl for you to fuck and chuck,” she groans, “How old is this one?”
“Actually, she is Jennifer’s idea. She went for an interview for the position at Glamour Cosmetics. Jennifer saw something in her and brought her here. She thinks that Alivia is the one. She’s twenty-three,” I say.
“Really, well that’s a turn up. Although your Mum did warn you that she’d find someone if you didn’t. Twenty-three is a little young though, will she go for your thirty-year-old ass?”
“I’m only seven years older, I’ve had younger,” I grin. Clarisse sighs, sitting down in the chair opposite my desk. “You know this would all go away if you’d just agree to do it.”
“Your grandmother knows I’m not into you like that Vass,” she says with a laugh.
“You could pretend, you used to love my cock,” I huff and she laughs harder.
“Like I’ve said a million times, you’re the reason I prefer women.”
There’s a knock on the conjoining door and Clarisse jumps up to open it, delight in her eyes. She steps back, allowing Liv to come in and once Liv’s back is to her she gives me the thumbs up. “Sorry, I just wanted to run some things by you,” she says politely and Clarisse grips her heart in a mocking gesture.
“I’m free. Ignore Clarisse, she isn’t important,” I say.
Alivia looks at Clarisse and smiles. “Actually, I’m quite a big deal around here,” says Clarisse, “I am the one that sooths the broken hearts you leave behind.”
“Go and bug someone else, I have work to do,” I sigh and she blows me a kiss before leaving the room. “Sorry about that. You’ll get used to her. She’s the office manager,” I say to Liv.
“She seems nice. You’re good friends?” she observes and I nod. Our mothers were best friends and we naturally became close because our parents were always together. We tried being together in a relationship but it didn’t work, we were better at being friends and then as Clarisse got older she admitted that she was bisexual. We still hook up occasionally, if I have a willing girl wanting a threesome, Clarisse will always oblige.
We spend the next hour going over idea’s and we decide to arrange a meeting with the board, this is an ideal opportunity to introduce my grandmother to Alivia, not that I’m going ahead with what my mother wants but it wouldn’t hurt to introduce her.
I email the board members and schedule the meeting for Friday morning. Then I call my mother and tell her that Alivia has returned for a second day meaning I haven’t managed to scare her away. “Did you offer Alivia a company car?” I ask.
“Yes, I had to sway her to take you on somehow. I’ve spoken to Callum and an order has been put in for a Mini Cooper I believe,” she replies.
“Cancel that, I’ll sort the car,” I say. The line goes quiet and I know her brain is going over time wondering why I’m offering to sort the car. I couldn’t give her an answer even if she asked me, something inside makes me want to look after Liv and I hate the thought of her driving in our standard Mini Coopers that we offer other staff. No, Liv is different and she deserves better.
I look into the brown paper bag that Bianca dropped in for my lunch. The Chicken Salad sub doesn’t look too appetising today. I pop my head into their office, both Bianca and Alivia are tapping away on their laptops. “Liv,” I say and she glances up.
“Alivia,” she corrects me and I smile.
“Alivia, have you had lunch?” I ask. She shakes her head, “Great, follow me.” I know she probably doesn’t have the money for her lunch and I could use the company.
We head out to my SUV, “Where are we going?” she asks. From the little time I’ve known her I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t want a pity lunch and so I tell a white lie.
“A lunch meeting with a company that makes fantastic brochures, I thought I could introduce you,” I say.
She seems to buy this because she gets into the car without another comment. I stop outside my favourite Italian. I often eat here, the owners know me well. Alivia glances at me, “I thought you meant a sandwich somewhere.”
Once inside Giovanni greets me with so much enthusiasm even Liv raises her brow in gest. “Come, Come,” he says guiding us to a table for two.
Liv shakes her head, “Oh we have someone joining us,” she says and Giovanni looks to me for direction.
I wave my mobile phone in the air, “I just got a cancellation text, but we’re here now so we should eat,” I say. Alivia scowls at me, lowering herself into the chair that Giovanni pulls out for her.
“Why do I feel like I’ve been tricked into lunch with you?” she asks warily.
“You know you should be thankful, I have women lining up for a date with me,” I say with a cocky grin.
She opens the menu that Giovanni hands to her. “This is not a date,” she says firmly, “And yes, I read about the most eligible bachelor in London. It must be hard for you batting these women away, you poor man.”
“You have no idea Liv.”
“Alivia,” she corrects and I nod.
The waiter approaches us with a glass bottle of spring water. He places two glasses down in front of us with a slice of lemon in each and pours us both a glass. “Would you like wine or anything else?” I ask Alivia and she shakes her head.
As predicted Alivia tries to order the cheapest thing on the menu, a green salad. I refuse to feed her rabbit food and order her a spaghetti Carbonaro because it’s the best thing I have ever tasted and I’m certain she needs the carbs.
CHAPTER THREE
Alivia
My stomach growls from the amazing smells of the Italian food. A plate of Garlic Bread and Olives is placed in front of us whilst we wait for our lunch. “Go ahead, eat something,” insists Vass.
I pop an olive in my mouth just to keep him quiet. “So,” I start, “Why would you invite me out to a fake business meeting when you have fangirls wanting to date you?”
“I didn’t want to lunch alone, I’ve seen Bianca naked and lunch would give her false hope that I was interested, fangirls only want one thing and you look like you need a good meal inside you,” he says.
“Wow, so many reasons. Bianca is a nice girl, why wouldn’t you want to date her?” I ask.
“I don’t date,” he says simply.
“What, like ever?” I ask, not quite believing that someone as gorgeous as Vass never dates, especially when he clearly gets a lot of attention.
“It’s too complicated especially when you have a business like The Luxe,” he shrugs.
“I’m sure there are women out t
here that would accept it,” I say.
He laughs, “Find me one and I’ll consider dating her. She doesn’t just have to accept The Luxe, it comes with all kinds of demands. I’m not a normal vanilla kind of guy,” he says with a grin.
I feel myself blush, I want to know more but I’m too shy to ask a man I barely know about his sex life. He intrigues me though and so I bait him. “I don’t think it would bother me, it’s clearly a great money maker, I guess the unsociable hours might be an issue if you spent lots of late nights there but if you made time to fit me in I wouldn’t complain,” I say. I realise what I’ve said sounds like a total come on and I freeze mid olive popping, “Oh god I wasn’t coming on to you then, I mean, I just meant…” I give up, I can’t back track out of that.
“I know what you meant, relax,” he assures me, “Girls think they can handle it, they start off with your mindset, the money helps but I can’t give up the lifestyle. I like the sex too much.”
“Oh,” I gasp, finally realising that he means he takes part in the evening activities, “That is a lot to ask of someone,” I add with a laugh.
Our meal arrives and my mouth waters as the spaghetti is placed down in front of me. It smells so amazing. I don’t remember the last time I had a cooked meal in a restaurant. Daniel was always too busy to go out to eat, although it turns out he went out quite a lot with Becca.
“So this landlord,” begins Vass and I role my eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, I can handle creepy Keith.”
“Do you need a wage advance?”
“No, you already kind of gave me one today by paying the rent. You’ve been so kind and I really appreciate it but I’ll be okay,” I insist.
“Can your parents help you out?” he suggests.
“They would but they don’t live nearby and I haven’t been totally honest with them,” I admit.
“About creepy Keith?”