Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  When we got back to the house, the driver told me to just take my personal bags up to my room and that he would take care of the rest. I thanked him and went inside of the house. There was a guard waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, and as much as I should be upset that I was going to be locked inside of his room for the rest of the day, I wasn't. I was happy and I didn’t think anything could ruin my happiness right then.

  The guard let me into the room and locked the door behind me. Just like the note said, there were a mini cabinet and a mini fridge. There was also a slender bookshelf full of books in the corner. The smile on my face got bigger and I felt the happiest I'd been in a few weeks. Who would have thought pure happiness could come from being locked in captivity?

  I thought it was really nice that Arsen took the time out of his day to do those things for me. I guessed this was him showing that he appreciated me. That gave me a little reassurance. I smiled to myself and put the snacks away. When I turned around, I jumped a little at what randomly appeared. There was a TV mounted on the wall and I’m not sure how I missed it upon entering. There was a sticky note attached to it.

  I walked closer to the TV, and the note read:

  “I’m sorry about last night. I hope you can forgive me”

  I shook my head and took the note off of the TV screen. I tossed it into the small trash bin and walked back over to the bed to sit down. He didn’t have to buy me gifts to apologize, but I did appreciate the things he gave me. They could entertain me while I was locked up in here, however long that would be.

  Luckily for me, I saw a couple of books that I'd been meaning to read on the bookshelf. So that was another great thing to look forward to. I got up and sat in front of the computer. I was going to write a little more of my story.

  I know you’re wondering what my name is, and I’ll tell you. My name is Hazel and I fell in love with my dominant. He fell in love with me too, but his feelings aren’t there anymore. Not since I hurt his feelings. I used to make him so happy. I love his smile. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. I can't believe that I even brought myself to hurt such a beautiful soul like that.

  I remember waking up every day to make him breakfast and to make sure his clothes were ironed for work. I just miss making him happy. Being trapped down here in the basement gives me enough time to think and, man, have I learned my lesson. Never take the one you love for granted.

  Arsen

  Seeing Lola close to tears like that made me feel horrible. I couldn’t believe that I’d had the chance to actually reveal my feelings for her, and instead of telling her, I kissed her. That old trick had worked on girls in the past, but I should’ve realized that Lola wasn’t like most girls. She wasn’t like the ones before. She is the one.

  I tried to think quickly about how I could make her see that she was actually important to me without physically making a move on her. I started to think about how her room was lacking and that I could actually help her enjoy herself while she was here. I noticed her room had minimal entertainment in it. Al that she could enjoy herself with was the computer.

  So I called up the interior designer. I told them that I needed them to do some work for me the next morning. Lola was a novelist, so clearly, she liked to read. I decided to get her a little bookshelf with a couple of books from my library. Just in case she got hungry between meals, I told the designer that I wanted a mini fridge to be put inside of the room as well. I also thought that adding a flat-screen TV to the wall wouldn't hurt. I figured she liked watching shows and movies just as much as she likes reading books.

  I was really excited about this. I hoped that this would put a smile on her face while I figured out something bigger and better to do to show her that I really cared. I didn’t want her to think that she was just another girl that I was playing games with. I wanted her to see truly how important she was to me. Although I had to keep her hostage, I wanted to see her nothing but happy.

  Her happiness brought me joy and her smile brought me comfort. She made me feel young again and Lord knew I'd been longing for that feeling since my divorce. That was why I scheduled us to go to dinner tomorrow. I wanted to take her to a semi-normal restaurant to eat so that we could be around people of both of our age groups.

  I wanted her to feel safe and secure around me. I wanted her to feel beautiful and like she was the most important girl in the world. And I knew that money could not buy her love, so I was really putting thought into this. I wanted to live the rest of my life with her. I suspected tomorrow night would be the night that I expressed my true feelings for her. I just hoped things went as planned.

  Lola reminded me of the second book I had ever written. It was similar to my book that she told me she liked during our interview, but better in my opinion, as the author. This particular story didn't have an age gap between the two lovers because it was based on my ex-wife. Although I loved that woman with all of my heart, there were a few things that she could have worked on to better herself as a person.

  I made sure to put those things in the novel to make it seem as though this was just a character and that her and my wife had differences. But they were good differences. The character's name was Abigail and she was Lola in the flesh. She was described the same, she talked the same, and even felt the same. It was like I was actually reliving my own book.

  I smiled to myself as I continued my plans for the day. I got another strange email from the girl who may possibly have been Lola’s best friend. She claimed that she knew where I lived and that she’d be sending people over to ‘end’ me. I chuckled and leaned back in my chair. She was a very funny girl if she thought that she could ever kill me.

  I licked over my lips and started to think of ways to lure this girl in so I could retrieve her information and track her every move. Although I looked at her as a joke, threatening my life wasn’t a joke and it wasn’t something that I took lightly. Now my goal was to end both her life and her mother’s life. I just didn’t need the stress of their complaints.

  I finally sent an email in response from a fake email account to let them know that things were serious:

  Subject: To the mother and daughter of the man who couldn’t do his job.

  Let’s get a few things clear. First, your threats don’t scare me. As a man of wealth and people, I have nothing to fear, and if I were afraid of anything, it’d be neither of you two. I am a very hardworking man, but your loved one couldn’t deliver me what I asked for. I paid him exceptionally well for minor jobs, but he still couldn’t deliver what I asked for. Why? Because he was a greedy son of a bitch.

  He stole money from me! It just so happens that he was the only one to come back later than the others, and he came back with less money than I requested. I was killing random people in the market because he claimed that the amount he had given me was the amount they gave him. He played with my money, so he needed to lose his life. So I’m warning you now ...if you don’t stop these childish acts of trying to scare me or trying to kill me, you’ll end up six feet under just like him. You rats are a disgrace.

  P.S. — If you or anyone else you are associated with even puts a hand on the girl, I’ll tear you to fucking pieces.

  I smirked as I hit send. I felt full of energy and on edge at the moment and it was kind of crazy. I pulled out my phone and made a call to Pete to check in on everything with the group.

  “Hello?” He answered. “What’s up, boss man?”

  “Not much,” I chuckled. “How’s everything looking?”

  “As far as I can tell, everything is right on track. We’ve located the residence of the lady and we’re going to handle the situation tomorrow night. Make sure you’re out of the house and busy with witnesses so nothing leads back to you.”

  “Perfect!” I replied.

  “Also, we got back the packages that were taken and more. We now dominate their shipping and get half of all of their income and profit.”

  “This is great.” I smiled widely. Toda
y had been the best I’d had in a while. “Where would I be without you guys?”

  “We could ask the same about you, boss.” I heard him laugh. “Everything will be back to normal soon.

  “All right. Talk to you soon.” With that, I hung up. Seemed like my life would be going smoothly again.

  I was going to spend the rest of my day putting everything together for Lola and I tomorrow.

  Lola

  I woke up the next day in the best mood ever. My breakfast was already sitting on my dresser for me, and to my surprise, it still had steam rising from it. I stood up and took a huge stretch. I was convinced that this was literally the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in.

  I waked over to my dresser and took a seat. In front of me sat fresh, fluffy pancakes with an omelet and a small bowl of fruit. Ms. Rose really did know how to cook. Each bite tasted like love and compassion, and I just got happier as I neared the finish of my food. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and skipped back over to the bed. I got back under the blankets and turned on the TV.

  The only thing that was written in the journal of tasks was a dinner date later, around seven o’clock. It was ten-thirty, so I had all of the time in the world to relax and have a little fun before I had to get up and ready.

  I turned on a channel with music videos and just sang along like crazy. There I went, shamelessly feeling like a teenager again. The summer after my high school graduation was a blast. It was honestly the best time of my life. It was non-stop parties and just fun activities in general. No matter what we did, we made the best of it. ‘We’ meaning my friends back at that time. They never stuck around because we had different ways of living. Partying was their only hobby.

  When I turned twenty, life took a drastic turn. But that was another story. I decided that tonight would be the best night to express my love for Arsen. Regardless of whether he felt the same about me, it was still something that I needed to get off of my chest. For a man who had such little time to waste, he had so much time for me.

  For a man who held so much importance in the world, he held much more importance with me. And I cherished that. I cherished every moment that I spent with him, and though we only had a few minutes to spare sometimes, it was like world moved in slow motion.

  For a woman with a strong head on her shoulders and a bright future ahead of her, I had time to fall in love. Just when I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life alone because no one was level-headed like me, someone came along. He came along. Something about him made me want to do better, but also made me want to do things that I shouldn't.

  This dominance he held over me was something that I'd been craving for years.

  I started to rehearse the words that I would say to him in my mind. Maybe something along the lines of, ‘Arsen, I know we haven't known each other for that long, but my feelings are becoming really strong for you. It's kind of crazy. I mean, I only know a little about you, but I feel like I want to be with you for the rest of my life. When I was nineteen years old, I had the best time of my life. I knew how to equally balance my work and my time to have fun. You make me feel that all over again, and that makes my attraction to you grow stronger. Maybe, if you feel the same, we could possibly spend the rest of our lives together."

  Yeah, that's perfect. I laid back on the bed and turned on a French film. The elegance of French culture always made me feel fancy. What better way to feel before a date with a billionaire than opulent? The specific film that I put on was about a young girl who sold her body to older men. In a way, I could relate, because I had always been attracted to older men, and no, I didn’t have daddy issues. I had just always been that way.

  Tonight was going to definitely be something to remember.

  Arsen

  It was finally time for us to go out and I was nothing but happy. I pulled out one of my best suits and put extra effort into doing my hair. I knocked on her door and waited for her response. After a few moments, I didn’t hear anything, so I just unlocked the door and let myself in. Her music was playing faintly in the corner of the room and I heard things moving around in the bathroom.

  “Lola?” I called, tapping my knuckles against the bathroom door slightly.

  “Almost ready!” she called out.

  “All right. Meet me downstairs when you’re done, love.”

  “Okay.” I heard her giggle and it touched my heart. I smiled and let out a small chuckle.

  I left her door unlocked and went downstairs at the end of the stairs to wait for her. I knew she was just going to be beautiful beyond words. My heart raced as I waited for her to be in my presence. She headed downstairs and I was taken aback by her breathtaking beauty.

  I smiled and took her hand, helping her down the last few stairs. My eyes traced her body as I admired her outfit. She had on an all-white, long-sleeved dress with rose gold jewelry and matching rose gold heels. Her makeup looked amazing and her hair was pulled up into a bun.

  “You look absolutely stunning, Lola.” I smiled and pulled her closer to me.

  She draped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. I smelled her natural scent, but it’d been enhanced. Her aura opened my senses a little more. She pulled away slowly and smiled at me.

  “Ready to go?” I asked and she nodded, sliding her hand back into mine.

  I led her out to the car and opened the door for her. We both got in and I closed the door behind us. The driver pulled off, and he began taking the long way. I wanted Lola to see the entire city in one night. Instead of cutting through town, we took the highway, which surrounds the city. You could see all of the buildings and bright lights in action, and it was up closer than the view from my place.

  Her face lit up when she saw everything, especially the harbor. I saw the twinkle in her eye when she saw the tall Ferris wheel. Little did she know I already had that planned for after we had our dinner.

  I felt like a teenager again, out late at night with the girl of my dreams. For that moment in time, it felt as if we were the only two people on earth. I looked over at her, just taking in the beauty of her surroundings, and felt my feelings becoming even stronger.

  We made it to the restaurant and it wasn’t crowded. This made me ten times happier than before. We were escorted to a table that was in the middle of everyone. The people surrounding us looked like everyday people, which is exactly what I wanted. I wanted Lola to know that there would be times when we could hang out and still be around normal citizens.

  “How are you feeling tonight, beautiful?” I asked Lola. “You look absolutely stunning.”

  “Why, thank you, Arsen.” She blushed. Her cheeks became a rosy pink color and she flashed a childish grin. “I’m feeling amazing tonight. Thank you for bringing me out.”

  I nodded. “I just want the night to be special for you. For us.”

  I wanted tonight to be memorable for the both of us. I wanted us to express our love for each other and hopefully take a big step forward with what we have between us.

  "I'm really honored to be here right now. It's really comforting seeing average people here tonight, and the fact that you are here with just me and no guards is amazing. You're a billionaire with a crazy woman after you. You're so brave and I admire that." Lola spoke, pulling her chair closer to the table.

  "If anyone should be honored, it should be me. I'm sitting face-to-face with an angel right now and I couldn't be any more grateful." I smiled and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on it.

  I felt like I was on top of the world. It was like time slowed down, but we were still in the present. The only thing I cared about in that moment was me and her. I would love for her to really give me a chance. I'd been sitting there the entire time, thinking about the right thing to say to her. Maybe something along the lines of:

  “Lola, I know we've only known each other for a short while now, but I’m falling fast and I'm falling hard. My feelings for you are starting to become so unbearable that, if I don't tell you, I’ll lose my
mind. You may not feel the same and that's okay, because we are still in the process of getting to know each other, but if you could just give me a chance, I won't disappoint you. I can promise you that I can make you happy and I can provide you with the things that you want and need. I don't want you to look at this as me trying to bribe you with money or materialistic things, because giving you everything that you want and need doesn't just apply to luxurious items. I can satisfy you mentally, physically, and emotionally. If you could just let me show you how much you mean to me, this could be the start of something new and amazing.”

  “Hi, my name’s—” the waitress began, but was quickly cut off by Lola.

  “Anabella?!” Lola shouted.

  “Lola?” the waitress questioned as she raised an eyebrow. She turned to me and her face turned into a look of disgust and hate. Bingo. This had to be the daughter of that awful man who had worked for me, who also happened to be Lola’s best friend.