Desire_Her Two Rivals

by Ally Miller

  Michael Venture looked at her intently. “You were able to see through my disguise, you knew who I was. I need someone to assist me in my crusade. Someone to help me differentiate my affairs.”

  “Are you asking me to be your assistant?” Rory asked with an eyebrow raised.

  “If you want to consider it that, yes,” Michael Venture answered.

  “You aren’t going to ask me to have sex with you for money?” she clarified.

  “Why on Earth would I do that?”

  Rory shrugged. “The mugger assumed I would do that, why not you?”

  Michael Venture didn’t look offended but his expression was strange. “I’m a nice guy?”

  Rory wasn’t sure why she was sharing this but she said it anyway. “I promise it’s not for crack or even to pay my rent. I’m trying to go to college.”

  He smiled at her. “I know.” Before Rory could ask him how he knew that, he continued, “You can still work at the diner if you like but I’ll expect you at my apartment every day and I will pay you whatever you need to live comfortably and attend college.”

  Why would Rory waste her time at that dead-end diner if she could have everything provided for her? She would work her ass off if that was what it took to make him pay her everything she needed so she could better herself. “I’ll try it,” she agreed. “But if things get weird, or if you try to put a move on me, I’m out of there. My diner job might be gross and pay crap but Max and my boss would never hurt me.”

  “Very good.” Michael Venture agreed. “I will take you home, unless you want to go somewhere else.”

  Rory shook her head. “With the night I’ve had, it’s probably best that you just take me to my apartment.”

  He put the car in gear and began to drive away from the alley way. For a while Rory didn’t say a word. She took in the car's leather seats, sleek exterior and all the buildings that whipped by. The more time that passed, should couldn’t help but think of the strange light coming out of his umbrella. Had she imagined it?”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Michael Venture still had his eyes on the road but he nodded. “Sure.”

  “How did you get the umbrella to shoot that light out of it? It was a really cool effect.”

  He smiled at her but didn’t answer right away. “You told me that you didn’t want things to get weird.”

  Rory furrowed her brow for the second time since meeting him. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You may not like what I have to say,” he explained. “You’ll be quitting your job before you even start it.”

  Rory thought of the people who came into the diner, the dangerous walk between it and the diner, and the way her uniform always felt grimy no matter what she did to clean it. Surely she could handle any eccentric quirk that Michael Venture was going to tell her. That he dabbled with magic tricks to scare away the bad guys. Maybe he used his money to buy state of the art weapons like Batman or Iron Man. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  “Okay,” Michael answered. “It is true that by day I am a very successful businessman. I am the president and founder of a security company that helps people all over Europe. I am in the process of getting things started here in the United States.”

  “That’s very interesting,” Rory admitted, “but it doesn’t explain how you had a beam of light coming out of your umbrella.”

  “I’m getting to it,” he assured. “By night I run around New York City protecting people. I don’t have a name for myself yet. Maybe that is something you can help me with. I used to do it back in England too, but I knew I had to come here. That the threat was moving.”

  “The threat?”

  Michael nodded. “I’ve been at this for a very long time. How old do you think I look?”

  Rory thought it was a strange question to ask. “I don’t know, thirty?”

  “That’s very kind of you,” he replied. “Ready for things to get weird?”

  Rory grabbed onto the door handle extra tight. “I guess?”

  “I’m not from England and I’m not thirty. I’m over five-hundred years old and come from a place that is light years from light years away from here. My form changes every eighty years or so. You could say that I’m immortal. I don’t die, I become a different version of myself. If that makes sense. My job has always been to protect life forms from evil. This time it’s picked Earth to antagonize and destroy.”

  “Are you saying that you are an alien?” Rory asked.

  “Yes, Rory,” he replied, “I am.”

  Chapter 3

  “Stop the car,” Rory demanded. “Stop the car now.”

  “You wanted to know why I was able to do what I did to the mugger. I used my powers. I couldn’t just start with that without explaining everything else.”

  “Yah, but I wasn’t expecting that. I thought you were like that guy from Iron Man!”

  Michael Venture looked at her incredulously. “You realize in that story that he was kidnapped by terrorists and had an electromagnet built inside of him, right? That’s believable, but being an alien from another world isn’t?”

  “I’m actually more concerned how you know my name when I haven’t told you a thing about me. But yes, you confessing that you’re some sort of ageless extraterrestrial crime fighter is only a slightly secondary shock.”

  For the first time all night, Michael looked nervous and like he didn’t want to share the truth. “I tell you what. If you come to work for me and you stick around for a while, I’ll tell you why I know who you are.”

  The sensible part of Rory knew to run. That this was crazy but just like she looked at him when he’d taken off his mask, something gave her pause. Something told her not to run away. There was a reason why she’d crossed paths with him tonight. “Okay,” she murmured. “I have no idea why I’m trusting you, but something is telling me that you aren’t going to mug me or worse so fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Don’t you want me to drive you the rest of the way to your building?” he asked.

  Rory shook her head. “I need to clear my head.” She opened the door and let herself out. “Where should I report tomorrow?”

  “192 5th and Park.”

  She nodded and power walked the rest of the way to her building and once she was safely behind her door, she tried to process everything that had happened to her. Wasn’t she just making fun of things for seeming too much like a comic book? Sometimes the truth really was stranger than fiction. She checked the clock before she whipped out her phone and starting typing out a text. It was to her boss.

  It’s Rory. I can come in and make it official but I’m giving you my two weeks. It wasn’t anything you did. Long story, but I was just given the opportunity of a lifetime.

  ***

  The next morning, Rory put on the nicest shirt and pair of pants that she owned and took the subway up to 5th Avenue and Park. She knew Michael Venture’s building before she saw the number above the door, it was the tallest and most extravagant in the area. It even had a doorman who let her inside.

  “Mr. Venture is expecting you,” he said as he shut the door behind her.

  The room that she walked into reminded her of a lobby in many office buildings. It was obvious that things were still getting established as there were plenty of things being built and installed as well as people at desks. Rory walked to the receptionist wondering if she misunderstood what Michael had offered to her last night.

  “I’m looking of Michael Venture,” she mumbled nervously.

  “Oh, Aurora Cummings?” the girl asked brightly, “Mr. Venture wants you to meet with him in his apartment on the 20th floor.”

  Rory looked at the girl in confusion. How did it seem that everyone knew her name before she’d said a single word? She tried to smile and play it off. “Great. Am I able to get there by any of the elevators?” She spied two of them to her left; did anyone have access to the billionaire’s quarters?

  The
receptionist handed her a key. “Use this to access his private floors.”

  Rory thanked the girl before she boarded the nearest elevator. She put the key in the designated spot and heard something beep before the elevator took her to the top at what felt like a dizzying speed. The doors opened and Rory found her jaw dropping as she took in the elaborate doorway that stood before her. It was like she was standing outside a palace and she was on the twentieth floor of a high rise. There was a door knocker instead of a doorbell. Rory used it and several seconds later the door opened and Michael Venture was there to let her in.

  “You live on top of your company?”

  Michael nodded as he closed the door behind her. “Pretty convenient, huh?”

  Rory took in the gray three-piece suit he wore. He wore a blue shirt with it that brought out his eyes. Once more she looked at him and something about him seemed so familiar, but she must have been going crazy because why would she know someone who claimed to be an alien?

  Michael seemed to be looking her over at the same time, and she found herself becoming embarrassed over him looking at her in her gray button-down shirt and black slacks. “So what’s my first task?” she asked changing the subject.

  “Tell me what I can do to not be so obvious. If you knew that I was the one out there fighting crime, others will too, maybe even my enemy.”

  Rory explained that while it was great that he was donating his money to great causes and doing things to shake up New York, people didn’t always need to know that he was responsible. She explained being anonymous. “You can go to benefit dinners and things like that and you can make the occasional donation in your name but if you are doing these charitable things left and right you are going to be in the news and people are going to be visualizing your face. You haven’t told everyone you’ve ever met that you are 500 years old, have you?”

  “No,” Michael Venture replied. “In fact, you are the only person I’ve admitted that too.”

  Rory felt her heart race at that admission. This man confused her to no end. “Okay... don’t know how I got to be so lucky but...”

  “I told you I would tell you, just not yet.”

  They continued to discuss keeping his identity a secret when he asked Rory something else. “I know I’ve known for several hours, but would you want to get dinner later?”

  “What?”

  “There’s a lot of things I’d like to catch you up on,” he explained. “You ever wanted to eat at a restaurant in London?”

  Rory could have told him no, she could have reminded him that she was only working so that she could go to college, but something told her to just go with it. “Sure,” she answered, “I’d love to.”

  Chapter 4

  They went by private jet to a five-star restaurant that had a private room just for them waiting with champagne on ice. Michael explained that the owners knew him from when he worked and lived in the city.

  “What if there is crime in New York tonight?” Rory questioned after she ordered lobster ravioli and he ordered the best cut of steak on the menu.

  “I’m really there to fight the monsters and I haven’t seen any activity in the last several days,” Michael explained. “They are also not from Earth. They want to take the planet as their own. They use humans for energy.”

  “How do you possibly do it alone? Isn’t there just more than you can handle?”

  “I have many years of experience,” he answered. “That and I have something that guides me when things get rough.”

  “What’s that?” Rory asked him

  Michael smiled at her. “I have hope.” Then he put his large hand on top of hers and Rory could have sworn that she’d experienced this same moment before. “You said you have powers,” she said, trying to control her breathing. “I saw you use your umbrella and it looked like you stopped that man from using his gun. What else can you do?”

  “I can live forever as long as I’m not fatally injured. I can sense when bad things are about to happen.” He took her hand into his and squeezed her gently. “I am able to share memories with others.”

  Rory gasped as she saw memories through Michael’s eyes. The worlds around him changed, the time periods shifting. The one thing that didn’t change how he always seemed to be following a girl. Sometimes she was brunette, other times she was a redhead or blonde, but her brown eyes were always the same and her smile made Rory feel scared because it reminded her so much of her own.

  She found herself blushing as she watched visions of this girl loving him and kissing him. Before things could get anymore risque, Michael was bringing her back to the private room in the restaurant. Rory stared at the man as he looked at her in a way that didn’t make sense. It was almost wistful.

  “Who was that girl?”

  Michael looked conflicted. “I promised I wouldn’t tell you until you worked for me more.”

  Rory felt the panic setting in; that if he told her the truth she would be trapped here in London. “This keeps on getting weirder and weirder. I don’t know if I can wait.”

  “Remember you said that,” he warned. “There’s another reason why I knew where you’d be last night. I’d been looking for you. It’s what I do. I’ve been doing it for almost 500 years. All those girls in those memories, are previous versions of you.”

  Rory tried to process everything that Michael said, and couldn’t speak as her mouth was agape. Instead, her brain felt like it was full of static.

  “You are Aurora Cummings in this life. In your last life your name was Maria Valencia. I could keep going until I get to the version of you I met when I first reached this Earth, but I’m sure that I’m already overwhelming you. Just know that every time I changed forms it was because I lost you or you reached the end of your life. Everything I do, I do it for you. This enemy I fight is not only to protect the people of various planets but to protect and serve you. I will continue to watch over you and this life and your next.”

  Rory was frozen in place as Michael rose from his spot and closed the space between them. He kissed her gently on the lips as if he was willing her to remember. She felt fear, she felt confusion, and even though she didn’t see various memories of a man following her or loving her, deep in her heart she knew what he said was true. Michael Venture was her soulmate and that was why she had this strange urge to trust him.

  They broke apart and Rory continued to look at him, trying to understand this strange story that she was now thrust into. “There are so many things I don’t understand,” she explained. “But I want to know everything.”

  “Come back to my apartment,” he pleaded.

  Rory was brought back to what she had said to him the night before, of having sex with him for money. Things had turned around so quickly. Now she felt like being that way with him would be the only way that she could discover all his secrets and learn who she was. Maybe there was a reason she’d been struggling in the city after all.

  Chapter 5

  Rory felt anxious as they took the jet back to New York and even more as they made their way back into his lavish apartment. Was she really going to do this? Hadn’t she just met him? But the more time she spent around Michael Venture, the more she knew deep in her heart that she knew him from somewhere before. Maybe it wasn’t for five hundred years, but she knew that in a past life or in a chance moment that had been connected.

  “I want to do this right,” he said to her once they were standing in his living room. “I want you to enjoy this.”

  Rory let him guide her into his bedroom and had to pause when she took in how it seemed bigger than her whole apartment. The bed was a California king with luxurious sheets. The rest of the room was equally as nice with modern furniture made of dark wood and a wall completely made of glass that looked out at the New York City skyline.

  “Wow,” she marveled, “The life you live is unbelievable.”

  “Come here,” Michael replied with open arms.

  Rory let him envelope her in his a
rms and stepped on her tiptoes to kiss him. Michael grabbed onto her face and ran his fingers through her hair before he began to undo his tie and take off his suit. Rory followed suit and unbuttoned her shirt and took off her pants. She looked at Michael confidently before she sat on the edge of the bed, beckoning him to join her.

  They continued to kiss until Michael laid her down on the mattress. “I’m so sorry that things have moved so quickly.”

  Rory smiled at him as her stomach tumbled with nerves. “It’s strange, but something tells me that I’ll know everything soon.”

  Michael rolled so that he was on top of her and caressed her so slowly and gently it was as though he was retracing his steps through something that he’d touched ages ago. It was like he was relishing the moment. Rory found herself closing her eyes and feeling strangely at peace as he kissed her neck, breasts, and stomach. She ran her hands over his back and bare shoulders, wanting desperately to remember being in this exact situation before. The memories didn’t rush back to her, but she did have the uncanny sense of ‘déjà vu’, so she decided she would go with it.

  She arched her body so that she could whisper into his ear. “I’m ready,” she told him. She spread her legs wider as made his way to her entrance. He locked eyes with her one last time, to make sure that she was really okay with what he was about to do before he slowly entered her.

  Rory wasn’t innocent. She’d run off to the city as soon as she was old enough. She’d been with plenty of boys in the five years she’d been living here. A few were boyfriends, but she’d also had her share of flings. This wasn’t her first time having sex with someone on a whim, but it was totally different than anything she’d ever felt before. It wasn’t carnal or sloppy, it was tender and gentle. Rory found herself filling slowly with pleasure, but at the same time, she found herself feeling very full, almost like emotions were making her chest swell. It was the sort of feeling that she always thought she would associate with making love with her soul mate. With everything that Michael had told her, was it possible that she was remembering something?