“We will produce your boosters in exchange for the technology that you used to make them. That means…”
I interrupt him. “I know what that means. You want to be listed on the copyright. Your company and mine will be the only two to use the boosters.”
“That’s right. So, what do you say to such an awesome deal?” he asks as he smiles, revealing very white and perfect teeth.
“I say, I have a board that has to make that decision together. I will tell you that we have an offer exactly like yours, though. And already one of our board members has expressed concern.”
“If you allow me to approach the board, I assure you, I will get their approval. I can be a very forceful man when I need to be, Ryker,” he tells me and I feel a bit like he’s threatening me.
“How long will you be in Florida, Damien?”
“Two weeks. So, let’s not waste time.” He gets up to leave, abruptly. “I have a lunch appointment. Will I see you at the fundraiser tonight?”
“I’m going,” I say as I get up to escort him out. “And I’ll talk to the engineer who invented the boosters. It is him who has been approached with the other offer.”
“Let me leave you with one thought, Ryker. If it’s my government who made the offer, you need to know this. They share their technology with all Russian companies.”
With a nod, I open the door and lead him to the elevator. “It was nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing you this evening.”
With a nod, he gets on the elevator and I find myself wondering what I should do.
What can I do?
GIA
“Yes, mother, we’re in the states. We’re in Orlando, there’s a fundraiser tonight. I’m at the spa, being pampered right now. My feet are soaking in a gooey substance and my face is covered in mud. Damien is spoiling me again.”
“Are you going to be able to come to Nebraska for a visit?” she asks.
I hem haw around, as I say, “I’m not sure. Damien said our stay is only two weeks. He’s got some new thing he really wants from another company. I foresee him spending the majority of his time here, in Orlando.”
“What about you, Gia?” she asks. “You could come for a visit on your own, couldn’t you?”
I know I can’t. Damien would never let me go. But she’d hate to hear me say that. “I’ll see. He needs my help, Mom.”
“Oh, good,” she says, enthusiastically. “It’s nice to hear he’s letting you use your brain again. You were such a talented engineer. What are you helping him with?”
“Um, well, it’s top secret,” I say as I’m not helping him do anything. He doesn’t let me. But Mom sounds so happy, I can’t let her down.
“Top secret! Wow! A Russian top secret project, how exciting for you, sweetie,” she says as I see Damien come into the spa.
“Gotta go, Mom,” I say. “I’ll talk to you later in the week.”
“You do that, Gia. We all miss you. Your sisters, your father, and I all would love to see you. It’s been a couple of years, you know.”
“I know, Mom,” I say as Damien comes my way. “I have to go. Love you.” I end the call and put my cell in the pocket of the white robe the spa puts their clients in.
“They say you have two more hours. I am going to lunch with a comrade from back home. An old school pal. You will go back to our suite when you’re finished here and put on the dress I had hung in the closet for you. I’ve instructed the woman at the front desk on how I want your hair done. Be ready by eight,” he snaps at me.
“Eight? You won’t be back from lunch until tonight?” I ask as that’s insane.
“I am catching up with my old friend, Gia. I don’t know how long that will take me. You will be fine. I’m going to take my tux with me, so I can get ready.”
“Where? Where are you going to get ready at?” I ask as he’s making no sense.
“The hotel room where I am meeting my old friend. Have no worries. I will be at the room at eight to get you. Be ready.” He spins around with nothing else and leaves me.
I watch him walk away from me. Damien is tall and built like a brick house. His light blue eyes seem to see right through a person. He’s handsome and commands respect. And he’s mine. My boyfriend of three years.
I was fresh out of MIT when I met him at a space fair in Washington. It was about the idea of going to Mars in the future. He sought me out when he found a project I had made. It was a capsule with nutrients enough to sustain a human body for three days. An invaluable thing for the long journey to the planet.
He thought I was a genius and his company bought my patent and they will be the ones who will sell the capsules when space travel begins. It’s odd to me how he thought I was so smart but once we really got together, he had me stop working and devote myself to him.
At first, I was so enthralled the magnificent man wanted me to be at his beck and call, that I gave myself to him, entirely. It was a novel, the man wanted me around him all the time. He showered me with gifts and attention.
His attention in the last year or so has been lax. He’s always on his phone. He leaves me at home on his vast estate, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, when he goes to his office. I used to go with him but he started leaving me behind and that became a trend.
He only brought me with him to the U.S. because I’m not a Russian citizen and I have to leave from time to time. I thought, by now, he’d have asked me to marry him. But that’s never been discussed between us.
I overheard him and his father talking once, in Russian, that Damien should marry a Russian woman. His father told him that he could keep me as a mistress. Damien didn’t say anything back to his father. I have no idea if that’s a thing he thinks I will allow or not.
I wouldn’t, though!
If he was to go that far then I would definitely leave him. Even though he has helped my parents, financially, since he took me with him to Russia. He’s even made sure my twin sisters and their husbands are taken care of.
He bought them homes, cars, and puts money in an account for them all. They want for nothing. If I left him, they’d lose it all. I don’t want that.
He’s not mean, abusive, or anything like that. Just neglectful. I don’t think that being neglected is a reason to end a relationship. Especially one that affects my whole family.
“Time to wash this stuff off and do your hair and makeup, Miss Flynn,” the attendant tells me.
I watch her as she pulls my feet out of the gel and wipes them off then slips on a set of thin slippers. At least once a month, Damien makes sure I’m completely pampered. He’s not neglectful in that way.
I drive an expensive car, wear expensive clothes, and have tons of jewelry. I have all the money that I want. He’s a wealthy man and has no problem spending money on me or my family. It’s his time, he’s stingy with.
But this old friend of his has managed to get an abundance of his time for some reason. I’m lucky to get ten minutes with the man before we go to bed.
He does pay attention to me in bed. He always has. Only, this last year, he’s changed. It’s pretty much wham, bam, thank you ma’am, now. No soft words, and no exciting lust-filled nights, either. Just plain old, roll over and let him hurry up, sex.
His dream of going to Mars is his reason for the change in him. He’s in a rush to get there. There is a small fact about Mars that I have a problem with. I don’t want to go, not that he’s invited me.
He’s never asked me, even once, if I wanted to go with him. I’m unsure if he just expects I will or if he doesn’t even want me to go with him. He and I haven’t talked much, lately.
He tells me what he wants and I do it. Like tonight, for instance, he has to have me at this boring fundraiser. I did tell him I’d rather not go and he said I must. He said it looks bad for him to go to such things alone.
All I know, is I’m not looking forward to staring into the crowd as he ignores me. I know it’ll happen that way. It always does.
RYKER
The place is packed as I enter the gazebo of the Central Florida Zoo. Only the wealthiest people were invited. Thanks to my grandfather, I joined that list of the elite a couple of years ago. I’m one of the youngest men here. At thirty, I’m a baby, compared to most of the people here.
When I took over my grandfather’s job as CEO of Apollo Engineering, I gained a massive amount of money as well. The responsibility is high and the anxiety I can get at times is hard to handle. Hence, my need for a personal assistant who can handle all my personal needs.
Bridget was sent to me by one of the other board members when he saw me struggling in the early days. I was a mess and he sent the woman to my office with a note that said she was my assistant and I could use her anyway I needed to. He added at the very end, even sexually.
She was fine with the arrangement and I use her about three times a week to ease my frustration level. It’s great. No commitment, no drama, no worries!
I have women I mess around with. One night stands, mostly. I don’t like getting too close to anyone. I plan on leaving this planet as soon as I can. Getting attached to someone here would be dumb.
My plan is to find someone and settle down after I reach Mars. That way, I can be part of populating that planet. It fills me with a surge of energy to think about being such a huge part of the beginning of a new place for humans to reside.
Who knows, maybe one of my kids will end up as the king of Mars? I have no idea how we’re going to rule that planet. But I like the idea of kings and queens. I’m old fashioned that way.
The gazebo is lit with white Christmas lights and I see a monkey is in a nearby cage. The zoo is special to me. They have a breeding program and plan on sending some of their animals to Mars too. It’s going to be so exciting!
“That’s Rufus,” a woman in a long white gown tells me as she walks up and hands me a flute of Champagne. “He’s one of our ideal Columbus monkeys. It’s his sperm we’re collecting and keeping for the mission to Mars. It will be some of his descendants that make Mars their home.”
“And I suppose the retrieval and storing of that sperm requires money,” I say as she nods and sips the bubbly liquid.
“Lots of it.” She slips her arm through mine. “I’m Claudette, a breeding scientist, here at the zoo. Let me show you some more of our prime animals, Mr. Crawford.”
“And just how do you know who I am?” I ask her as this is my first function of any kind since I took on the CEO position.
She produces a pamphlet from a pocket on her dress. Along with several other wealthy men, my picture is there with my name and what company I represent. Underneath my picture is Damien Markov’s. “We were all given these to make sure you each had five-star treatment.”
“I see. And where can I find this man?” I ask as I point to Damien’s picture.
“Mr. Markov is sitting at a table over here. Come on, I’ll show you to his table.” She takes me with her, heading through the crowd. “He’s brought a woman with him. She introduced herself as Gia Flynn, so you’ll know who’s with him. I suppose you two have business dealings.”
“We might,” I say then see him sitting at a table, talking on his phone. “I’ll take it from here, Claudette. You don’t have to worry about my donation, it will be a great one.”
With a smile, she leaves me and I look back at the table to find a young woman with dark hair, held up in a loose bun with shiny tendrils falling out of it, sitting down at the table with Damien and he’s not paying one bit of attention to the rare beauty who seems to be in the middle of a spotlight.
Nursing a drink in her hand, she looks at the floor then glances around the place. She seems to be lost. And it’s a shame that she’s being ignored like that.
Her skin is a pale creamy color that her pink lips accent perfectly. I watch her take another drink and wish I were the glass that touches her sweet lips. She can’t be Damien’s date. He’s not even looking at her at all!
But why would she sit at a table with him if she isn’t here with him? Why would she be fine with being ignored? Why am I standing here when I can go talk to her?
I move one foot in front of the other and make my way across the floor, only to be stopped by Gary from Sim Corp. “Ryker, great to see you here,” he says as he shakes my hand and claps my back. “Come here, I have some men I’d like you to meet. I brought my team of engineers tonight. I know they’d love to pick that enormous brain you have.”
I go along with him as he takes me to a group of men who all wear expensive tux’s like I do, only most of them seem uncomfortable in them. They fidget as I come up to them. One calls out, “Hey, it’s Ryker Crawford!”
A laugh erupts out of me as I had no idea I could command that much excitement from a group of guys. “It’s nice to see you know about me.”
They seem in awe now and converge on me in a circle, fencing me in and keeping me from getting to the gorgeous creature perched on the edge of her chair at Damien’s table.
She just can’t be his date!
I’m trying to give this group my full attention but can’t seem to focus on them as I’m so focused on the woman who’s looking sad and lonely. Damien is still on his damn phone and I watch her as she gives him longing looks then looks away when he doesn’t notice her at all.
One of the guys asks me a question about my plan to go to Mars, so I have to answer him. “Yes, I want to be on the first mission. It’s my dream to see the red planet and tame it for future Martians.”
The men laugh a little and I see the woman place her hand on Damien’s arm. He looks at her hand then gets up and walks away. Shaking his head at her.
I find the way he’s treating her, appalling and excuse myself to go talk to the woman, now that she’s alone. I make sure Damien is all the way out of the gazebo before I get to her. I pick up a couple of drinks from the bar and go to her. “Hello, gorgeous.”
She looks up and stares at me. “Who me?”
I place the drink on the table in front of her. “Mind if I sit down and introduce myself to you?”
“I’m nobody,” she says. “I’m here with Damien Markov.”
“I’m sure you’re somebody. No one is a nobody. And I don’t see Damien around. Are you supposed to be on a date with him?”
“He and I are a couple,” she says, shocking me.
“For how long?” I ask as I reach out and twirl a tendril of her silky hair. “I knew it would feel this soft. You are a rare beauty, Gia Flynn.”
“How do you know my name?” she asks with surprise.
“Oh, I have my ways. When one sees such a beautiful woman, one finds things out about her. Your name was first on the list. And now that I know you, I have more I’d love to know about you. Like why you’re sitting here, being ignored by any man.” I take a seat, even though she’s not offered one.
“Damien’s busy with a call from an old friend he met with today. I suppose it’s quite important.” She takes a drink and I reach out and touch her arm.
“Since he’s so busy, would you care to take a walk with me? Touring the zoo in the twinkling lights looks fun. But I don’t want to do it alone,” I tell her as I stand and pull her up with me.
“Damien should be back soon,” she says as I tuck her hand into the crook of my arm.
“I’m sure he will. And he can wait on you, when he gets back. Don’t worry, I’ll explain things to him when I return you to him. If you want to be returned to him, that is.”
Her giggle sends chills through me. “You’re funny. And your name is?”
“I am Ryker Crawford of Apollo…”
“Oh, I know who you are. Apollo Engineering was a company I was going to see about interning with before I met Damien,” she says. “I’m sorry about your grandfather. His mission to see Mars populated is what started that company. He was a true revolutionary man. The space community misses him, dearly.”
I smile with her sweet sentiment. “Why didn’t you still apply for an internship? Mee
ting Damien shouldn’t have ended your career.”
“No, it shouldn’t have,” she says as her brows furrow. “But it did. I moved away to Russia with him. I thought I’d work for his company. You see, I designed a capsule with enough nutrients to keep a human body nourished for days at a time. It would be useful…”
I cut her off as I know what it would be useful for, “…Moving people and animals to Mars.”
She stops and nods as she smiles, broadly. “Yes! But I haven’t made one for animals yet. Each animal has different needs. I was going to work on that and develop them for each kind of animal. That way, they would be ready for when the first mission takes off.”
“What stopped you?” I ask as she seems brilliant.
“Damien,” she says and her smile fades away. “I sold the patent to him. He has his own people working on doing that. They’ve yet to come up with anything as good as I did for humans. I’d love the chance to work on the project but he likes me to be available to him.”
“Not to be nosy, but available for what?” I ask, wondering if Damien Markov is keeping this woman as his sex slave. She’s far too smart to allow that to happen to her.
“Just be available. Not exactly in a sexual way. Just be around when he comes around. Which isn’t a lot, anymore,” she mumbles.
“Where are you from, Gia?” I ask as I move us along. I’d love nothing more than to hide her away from the man all night long.
“Nebraska, Blue Hill, Nebraska, to be exact. My father was a farmer,” she says as we stop in front of a cage that supposed to have a bear in it but he seems to be sleeping.
“He was a farmer?” I ask as I move us along to the next exhibit.
“Since I got with Damien, there’s no need for him to farm his land. Damien gives my family more money than they know what to do with. Dad’s land is just sitting there. He keeps it fertilized but that’s all,” she says then points to the back of an enclosure. “See, that?”
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