‘Fuckssake! What do you think I’m going to do, kill her?’ Troy was sick of it all.
‘Take it easy. You mustn’t do anything crazy - imagine if, instead of the poodle, it had been the police? You would be in prison.’
‘I seem to attract dogs and policemen! ’
‘This isn’t the time to say stupid things, I'm giving you some advice and you would do well to listen!’
‘Just what I need, a woman who organizes all aspects of my existence.’ That seemed chauvinistic.
‘If you’re just going to spit sexist comments, I’d do better to look for someone else.’ He almost choked on his drink when he heard that.
‘Are you starting again? Whatever I say or do, you relate it to your radical Third Wave feminist hatred of men.’ What???
‘Look, we're talking about us and your problems with that woman, what does feminism have to do with anything?’ He was stressed…
‘You're right, don’t listen to me, I’m sorry.’ He continued sipping his coffee - he had already had three, no wonder he was uptight.
‘Honey, why don’t we go for a walk? Do your legs hurt?’ I asked. I couldn’t see his bandages, the pants covered them, but I imagined that they must be painful.
‘No, not any more, but just in case I brought painkillers.’ It was incredible that such a small dog could do so much damage.
‘That animal is a beast,’ I said, laughing a little.
‘It might seem funny, but there is another who is a real monster, Attila.’
‘Yes, but if I ever want a guard dog, I know now that size doesn’t matter!’ I said with humor.
‘I like joking about it, it helps me forget my problems.’
‘Yes, that’s best, right?’
It was a splendid day for a walk, sunny and bright. We went to a bar and sat down; he paid immediately, as always. All kinds of people of different races and colors came and went.
‘Honey, there’s something you’ve never told me... ’ I was getting romantic.
‘What?’
‘Do you... love me?’ I looked at him hopefully, expecting a resounding "yes".
‘Well... it's hard for me.’ That dry response was not what I expected.
‘What? Oh, I understand, you only want me to fuck!’
‘Don’t be like that, I treat you well, I invite you out, take you to restaurants... ’
‘I can’t believe I'm hearing this – that’s enough, is it?’ I was so disappointed.
‘Oh no, no, honey! I'm just at a difficult stage right now, I’m not ready for a relationship that’s so... ’
‘Fuck! So this is just a joke for you?’ He truly was totally immature.
‘Wait, let me talk!’ He was tense.
‘No way, you don’t know me.’ Telling me to shut up when I say something important...
‘Please, Elsa! Let me explain, what I need is time, now isn’t the time for... ’
‘... for me, right?’
‘Listen!’ he screamed. This time I did as he said, he was angry.
‘Sorry.’
‘Huh… what I mean is that I can’t promise you anything until I fix the problem with Barbara, she’s trying to break us up and... ’
‘So don’t let her!’ He glared at me, ‘I'm sorry, continue.’
‘As I was saying, of course I have feelings for you, but I can’t commit myself 100% until I’ve eliminated this problem, or the tension could mess everything up.’
‘By ‘the tension’, do you mean Barbara?’ I asked.
‘Elsa, we’ve just started together, don’t you think it would be better to go step by step?’
‘Yes, Troy.’ I said sadly.
‘We’re getting to know each other and we have an enemy to overcome. Barbara will do anything to separate us, she can threaten me with her share of the company's stock.’
‘Can’t you get the shares back in some way?’ I asked hopefully.
‘I wish I could, but I have to prove that she never paid me for that 20 percent of the shares.’
‘You must have been blind when you gave them to her, just like that.’ I said, although I don’t know much about these things.
‘Elsa, she could barely afford the ten percent she bought, she asked for a loan for them which she has trouble with.’
‘Why doesn’t she sell the other twenty percent?’ I asked, as I drank the coffee I had ordered.
‘Because then she would have no income; she doesn’t work.’ He said.
‘She lives off of you,’ I added.
We got up and decided to go to his house; his legs were beginning to hurt.
‘Honey, take an ibuprofen.’ I said, seeing his expression of pain.
‘I don’t like taking drugs.’
Well, he was going to be suffering all the time then. ‘And are you going to go around looking like you’re constipated?’ I asked. It might seem a bit harsh, but I like to be clear.
‘You treat me as if I were an animal.’ Said the king of sadomaso...
‘Don’t forget the reason why you still have whip marks on your back.’ I said angrily.
‘For that very reason, I can bear pain, for me pain doesn’t exist.’ Oh, how deep!
‘Does it exist if I kick you in the balls?’
Troy laughed. ‘Elsa, you're incorrigible, hahaha!’ We were heading towards his sports car.
‘At least I've got rid of your constipated face.’
We got in the car and went to his mansion. Once there, we entered the Fantasy Garden on foot.
‘Look, Dallas formed this witch.’ Troy said.
‘Did you tell Tatiana that you created these wonders?’ I asked as we admired the witch-shaped bush; it really was impressive.
‘Yes, hehe, that was at the beginning.’ He said, smiling.
‘And how would it turn out if you tried to mold a witch?’ I joked, nudging his arm.
‘Maybe like Barbara! Hahaha.’ We both laughed; even though I didn’t think it would work out so well if Troy did it, ‘she’s the perfect model,’ I said.
We went towards the front door; it was cold when the sun wasn’t shining, and a faint fog had risen. Can you imagine what it's like to walk around among those figures of goblins, fairies, ogres and witches in the middle of the fog?
We entered the house and crossed the huge hall, but before entering the dining room we noticed a light coming from the library. We realized that Dallas must be home, so we went to greet him. As we got closer, we heard my sister's voice.
‘Ah, I think Tatiana is here.’ Troy said. So instead we went to make some hot tea.
As we sipped our tea to get warm, we heard the couple's low conversation. Incredible as it seems, everything that was said reached our ears - in that huge house the silence and tranquility allowed us to listen in.
‘Let's go and say hello!’ I suggested; I wanted to see my little sister.
‘We shouldn’t disturb them; it might be an intimate moment.’ He said, cupping his hands around the mug.
‘Not really, and anyway we're listening to every word... Why don’t we go and tell them to close the library door?’ I asked; after all, she was my sister.
‘Okay, but it's up to them. Let's finish our drinks first.’ He put his arm around my waist while I took a sip.
‘Oh, come on, I'm dying to say hello!’ I looked at him mischievously, smiling and kissing him.
‘You gossip, we have to leave them.’ He said, planting tender little kisses on my neck.
‘No, Troy, let's take a walk to the library!’
‘Oh, OK then!’ He took my hand and we went slowly, until we saw the pair of them next to the majestic entrance to the library.
Dallas had brought Tatiana a small gift.
‘What’s this? Oh, what a beautiful box! It was small, made of wood and adorned with precious stones.
‘I painted it myself, you can see the detail here,’ he explained, pointing out the various drawings.
‘It's beautiful!’ Tatiana opened
it and inside there was a gleaming engagement ring, resting on a small red cushion, with little jewels sparkling in the light. ‘Oh, Dallas! What’s this?!’
He took her hands and knelt on the carpet in front of her. It was a very romantic place, reminiscent of an antique library, with chandeliers and sculptures of famous people - everything conveyed an air of grandeur, and what’s more Tatiana loved books.
‘Honey, you're the most wonderful woman I've ever met in my life,’ he said, gripping her hands. She watched him expectantly, her eyes wide. ‘I love you! Will you marry me?’
Tatiana, with tears in her eyes, took the ring between thumb and forefinger, looked at Dallas and said:
‘Oh, Dallas! Oh my God! Of course, I love you!’ She put on the engagement ring and hugged her lover.
I couldn’t contain myself; I started to cry with happiness when I saw them. Troy had to hug me in his turn and wipe the tears from my face.
A few moments later we showed ourselves.
‘Ahem...’ Troy said, ‘we were passing by here and it seems that we have stumbled on some great news.’ He turned to Tatiana. ‘I hope that you will be very happy with my brother, he is a wonderful person and I know he will look after you. Dallas, congratulations.’ He gave both of them a hug, all together.
Then I went to Tatiana, we hugged and kissed and I also gave Dallas a kiss on the cheek.
‘Everyone, listen up!’ said Troy. ‘To celebrate this extraordinary news, I suggest that we all go out to dinner together.’ He took my hand.
‘In your limo?’ Asked Dallas.
‘Yes, in my limo!’ We all laughed, it was a moment I would remember fondly.
Troy ordered a pair of beautiful dresses for us, and we all showered and got changed. An hour later we were ready – we wanted to look perfect for this event. We went to one of the best restaurants in the city, a place which is usually fully booked; but thanks to Troy’s contacts, we were able to get a table there to celebrate the engagement.
‘With all this excitement, I haven’t asked you how it’s going with you,’ said Dallas to Troy, tucking into his meat – he was clearly very hungry.
‘With me? You mean my legs?’ We couldn’t avoid sniggering a little at the memory.
‘Haha, I’m sorry, darling’ I said, ‘I couldn’t help it’. He didn’t look impressed.
‘At least you have fun with me’ said Troy self-deprecatingly.
‘Don’t be offended, brother, you know… it’s a strange situation’ said Dallas, wiping his mouth with a napkin and taking a sip of wine.
‘Anyway, I’m a bit better, since you ask. I’m still worried about what Barbara might do next though.’
‘You had your opportunity to report her to the police, but now…’ I said with a sigh.
‘But now what? What do you mean?’ he asked, picking up his wine.
‘You could have reported her when she drugged you, but you went and attacked her.’ I knew that he had lost what could be his only chance.
‘If my brother had done that, Randy would be in trouble too,’ said Dallas. I hadn’t thought of that.
‘Randy?’ said Troy. ‘What’s he got to do with all this?’ The three of us looked at each other, not sure what to say.
‘Nothing, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it’ said Tatiana, with her mouth full.
‘No, wait – are you going to tell me what Randy did, or am I going to have to find out some other way?’
‘Uh… a while ago he played a trick on Barbara, he soaked some biscuits in liquid ecstasy and gave them to Attila,’ said Dallas.
‘What? The art director from my magazine?’ exclaimed Troy, getting furious. We had really messed it up now…
‘Dallas! You promised you wouldn’t say anything,’ said Tatiana reproachfully.
‘This is really bad!’ cried Troy. ‘Barbara owns 30% of the shares!’ I gestured to him to lower his voice.
‘It’s all in the past, brother – Barbara doesn’t know who did it, although maybe she could guess…’ he gave an involuntary snort of laughter.
‘It is certainly not all in the past – he is the one ultimately responsible for what happened to me!’
That wasn’t true at all, I had to speak. ‘No, honey, it was Barbara who drugged you; don’t you forget it.’ He fell silent at that, but I could see that it was an effort for him.
‘I can’t believe that one of my employees did something so stupid.’
Tatiana turned to him. ‘Don’t be like that, you don’t know how it was – Barbara harassed us all on one of her visits to the magazine.’
‘Come on, let’s not fight over Barbara,’ said Dallas sarcastically.
‘It’s true’, I said, ‘you should concentrate on getting back the shares that you gave her.’
‘I didn’t give them to her, supposedly she bought them,’ said Troy miserably. We were on dessert now, a delicious tarte.
‘Supposedly,’ said Tatiana. ‘She never paid for them, did she?’
‘No, but I signed as if she had done and they are legally in her name.’
My sister sat thoughtfully for a moment. ‘In that case, you have to prove that she never paid you, that she tricked you,’ she said, wiping her mouth. Her eye fell on her engagement ring, and she stared at it, entranced.
‘Yes, I’ll talk to my lawyers; I might have to hire a private detective. I’ll see how things go.’
Chapter 7
After dinner we returned home a little drunk, and the next day I had to work - I had a terrible time in the delicatessen, with a horrible hangover! I had to get up at seven to be there at eight, and it was freezing cold. At least Troy's driver took me to work in the limousine; though I was embarrassed when they saw me get out that car.
‘Elsa! Did you win a prize on TV?’ asked one of my colleagues, the shelf stacker.
‘Er... it's my boyfriend's, last night we took my sister and her partner to dinner because they got engaged.’
‘Amazing! Tatiana? You rented a limousine and everything?’
‘Um... more or less.’ I said, blushing; I wasn’t going to admit that I have a "millionaire boyfriend" just yet, fuck, when I think about it... a millionaire boyfriend!
‘Aren’t you lucky, your boyfriend has to be loaded, right?’ That was Nestor, a real gossip.
‘It's because his brother is going to get married, to my sister.’ I didn’t want to give too much detail to that busybody.
‘Sweet! Everything stays in the family then. What does your boyfriend do?’ How insistent Nestor was!
‘I'll tell you later, now I have to work and I have a hangover.’ I massaged my forehead with my fingers while attending a customer.
‘Look at you Elsa, you come to work in a limousine, and it must have been one hell of a party... ’
‘Come on Nestor; don’t be silly, it’s not as if I went clubbing!’ I called out as my colleague walked away. He looked back, laughing.
‘Hold on in there, Elsa, you can do it.’ What a pain he was with his jokes.
It wasn’t an easy day, especially with the tension between my boss and me. Since the day of my outburst over "Troy's adventures" I had had some problems with her, she had been threatening to kick me out. Well, it was my fault, I admit, I don’t shut up for anyone. And then when she started telling me what to do, I made it worse by reminding her of the extra hours she owes me, plus the fact that she never pays on time.
As for Troy, he got down to business in the case of Barbara and the shares in Generations. An error he should never have made, just like marrying her, but anyway. He picked up the phone.
‘Hi, Barbara, I want to apologize for the other day.’ He said, sounding regretful and ashamed.
‘What’s going on, is it the phone or is it your voice that sounds so docile? What are you plotting, Troy?’
‘Well... I wanted to ask you when you plan to pay me, you owe me a huge sum of money, you know.’
‘Hahaha! Now I understand everything, do you really think I ca
n pay you that amount?’ She asked cynically.
‘When I signed that paper, you promised me that you would pay monthly installments, you swore.’
‘Yes, well, I have a lot of expenses, maybe next month.’ She said lightly, as if it didn’t matter, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
‘Maybe? Maybe? You cheated me out of a quarter of a million dollars to live like a queen!’
‘Don’t start! I was your wife!’ She screamed.
‘Yes, until you took off with the booty... ’
‘I felt that you didn’t appreciate me, but afterwards I realized that we were made for each other.’
‘Incredible. Have you still not given up? Still want to conquer me?’ He asked sarcastically.
‘No, after the other day, you can rot in hell, dear.’ She said calmly, and hung up.
Troy was sitting in his huge living room, on a Victorian sofa, staring into space and thinking.
‘How the hell am I going to get my magazine back? Oh shit!’ He got up and started walking around the house. In his fury he kicked a small table, but his legs hadn’t healed yet.
‘Oh, fuck! Ouch... damn dog.’ After rubbing the painful area, he stood up, thinking hard for a few seconds.
He took the cell phone again and dialed another number.
‘Hi Christine, get me Randy, please.’ He waited a few moments until the art director picked up.
‘Randy... could you come to my house now?’
His boss's question surprised him; a few seconds passed in silence. ‘To... your house? Boss, we have a lot of work here. What is it about?’ He asked, surprised.
‘It's a personal matter, to be frank. I have to talk to you urgently, in private. Don’t worry about the work. I want to see you here, and fast!’
‘Of – of course, boss.’ Troy hung up.
Randy put on his coat and headed for the exit, but Tatiana crossed his path before he got to the door.
‘Where are you going in such a hurry?’ She asked.
Upon hearing her, Randy stopped in his tracks and turned thoughtfully towards her.
‘Tati... Did you all say anything to the boss?’ He asked with narrowed eyes, as he put on his scarf.
‘Something... about what?’ Deep down, my sister knew what he was talking about, but she didn’t want to mention it.
My boss seduces me! Page 5