The Temptress

by C. J. Fallowfield

  ‘I don’t mind at all, I’m all talked out,’ I sighed. ‘What about you Coco? You’ve hardly had a chance to get a word in edgeways.’

  ‘Trust me, my life is so boring compared to you two, you’ve heard all of my news. I say bring him over, let’s have a bit of fun and laughter, before we hit the dance floor and enjoy this outrageously fabulous music,’ she grinned, doing a little jive in her seat to Respect and Hannah Jones’s version of I am what I am which had sent all the men on the dance floor crazy.

  ‘“Why not try to see things from a different angle,”’ Dom sang in my face, laughing as he got up and disappeared to see Calvin.

  ‘Well I have to say Dom and I have never been more in tune,’ Coco smiled, with a shake of her head. ‘You need to meet Luc. See how it goes, there’s no rush. But I think you know that eventually you need to let him know about Tristan, no matter how much it may hurt you, if he wants to be part of his life you don’t have a choice.’

  ‘I know,’ I sighed, resigned to the fact. I’d never wanted to keep Luc and Tristan from meeting, but it was scary and it needed to be carefully considered and planned. Dom was the one who rushed things, not me. I smiled as I saw him weaving through the crowds, holding the hand of a very good looking blond guy with dark brown eyes. ‘Trust Dom to find the best looking guy in the club to date,’ I whispered to Coco. Neither of us had met him yet.

  ‘It’s so not fair,’ she moaned, as her eyes roved over his face and body. ‘He’s just my type as well.’

  ‘Except for the whole prefers cock thing,’ I laughed.

  ‘Yeah, there is that I guess,’ she replied with a heavy sigh. I squeezed her hand.

  ‘It will happen for you too one day. You’ll lock eyes with someone and know in an instant that he’s the one you want.’

  ‘Knowing my luck it will be when I’m eighty and I’ll be so dried up the only hot sex I’ll be having is from the friction burn, my idea of fast and furious sex will be on his Motability scooter and sheet clawing sex will be from a battle not to empty my incontinent bladder and bowels over him, while he has a heart attack and collapses on me. You know they never check people in old people’s homes. I could lie there for days in a cesspit of my own making with his stiff body on top of me.’

  ‘Hell of a way to go though,’ I laughed as she gave me a forlorn look. ‘Don’t worry, if you get to forty and you’re still single, I’m making it my life’s mission to find you someone.’

  ‘Great, another mere ten miserable years of singledom, thanks.’ She gave me a mock smile. I laughed and stood up to kiss Calvin and gave him a hug.

  ‘Lovely to meet you at last, Calvin. I was beginning to think he was ashamed of us or something.’

  ‘Now you must be Lulu, stunning with the same amazing eyes and smile,’ he replied. ‘And here I was thinking he was ashamed of me.’

  ‘Please,’ I scoffed. ‘You’re all he’s talked about for the last few weeks.’

  ‘Really?’ he grinned, flashing a look Dom’s way, who rolled his eyes. ‘You must be Coco, the Italian green eyed beauty, I’ve heard all about you too.’

  ‘All bad, knowing Dom,’ she smiled as she stood up and gave him a hug and kiss.

  ‘I’m being painted in a very bad light here,’ he complained, as he gestured for Calvin to slide in next to Coco.

  ‘So Calvin, you’re a model too?’ I asked, eager for more information on the man who had my brother’s boxers in such a twist. I’d never seen him so enamoured.

  ‘Tell me you’re an underwear model and you have your portfolio on your phone?’ begged Coco.

  ‘It’s been a slack year, for both of them,’ Dom laughed, as he draped his arm around Calvin’s shoulder.

  ‘Looking like you two do? Seriously?’ uttered Calvin. ‘You should be fighting off men. If any women could swing me to the other side, it would be you two.’

  ‘It’s official, I love you already,’ I smiled, with a clap of my hands.

  ‘I’ll reserve judgement until I see the photos,’ nodded Coco, making us all laugh.

  ‘I love the music in here,’ I screamed, as Utopia’s Feel The Need In Me came on. The four of us had been dancing for over an hour, the extra bottles of champagne acting as the perfect painkiller for my knee. The dance floor was packed and I’d never seen so many good looking men in one place. It was like being out fishing and the catch of a lifetime was waiting, but I’d forgotten the fishing rod. Coco and I had decided that Krave must have a strict looks policy for entrance, as there wasn’t one ugly or untoned guy in here. It was torture for us.

  ‘Queer as Folk soundtrack, it’s a classic,’ yelled Calvin over the heavy beats.

  ‘Queer as Folk?’ Coco frowned.

  ‘Fabulous TV show from the nineties. You have to watch it. Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy was in it, as a gay teenager in love with the stud of Canal Street in Manchester, Stuart Alan Jones,’ he added in a very good Welsh accent.

  ‘You’ve not seen it?’ gasped Dom, as he looked at us both shocked.

  ‘No,’ we replied shaking our heads.

  ‘God you so need to, it’s hilarious.’ He looked at Calvin and both of them grinned.

  ‘“I spent all night chasing after some bloke who turns out to be mad. He had every episode of Juliet Bravo on tape,”’ they quoted in unison and burst out laughing.

  ‘Well if it has this soundtrack it’s a done deal for me,’ I nodded as we continued to dance.

  ‘It was really daring for its time,’ Calvin confirmed with a serious face. ‘Gay sex on TV back then was a big deal. Charlie’s character even got rimmed.’

  ‘Holy shit, Charlie’s naked backside and these songs? I’m in too. Let’s blow off the wedding and have a marathon viewing session tomorrow,’ Coco suggested, with a hopeful look in my direction. She’d always had a thing for blond guys and Charlie topped her top totty list.

  ‘Bridesmaids,’ I reminded her, with a roll of my eyes.

  ‘Trust me, watching this series would be so much more entertaining,’ Calvin laughed, as he grabbed my hand and spun me around. I laughed, I was drunk and carefree for the first time all week. And I was going to see Luc again, however complex that was going to be, right now I didn’t care, right now I craved him.

  Luc

  I shook hands with Mr. Armand, withholding a sigh of relief that the meeting was finally over. The last three days had been hell, stuck in Monaco, discussing the state of emerging markets and forecasting trends for stock. Even with the financial possibilities an investor that large could bring me, I only had one thing on my mind. Her. Since Bertrand rang me on Tuesday morning with her work address, I’d wanted to cancel my meetings and fly to see her immediately, but it would be discourteous to my long standing client. I’d hoped to return to London early today, to go and see her immediately, but annoyingly there’d been some complication with my flight papers, ensuring that my plane could not take off until this evening. Bertrand had done just what I had asked of him by finding her, he’d volunteered to do a more in depth report, to give me a full background check, financials, family tree, medical information, perhaps more pertinent whether she was married or in a relationship, but I’d declined. None of that information would be of any consequence to a man like me. I saw something I wanted and I ensured I got it, no matter what was standing in my way. Lulu’s relationship or financial status wasn’t going to change that. Nothing was going to prevent me from pursuing her, from making her mine.

  No, the only issue I saw was my darling wife. A wife with a heart so cold even Polar bears would run from it in terror. I shivered as I thought of her. How the hell I’d stayed with her for so many years was beyond me. It was as if I’d had a spell cast over me, that I’d been made to believe that my life was as fulfilling as it was ever going to be. But finding Lulu again had broken that illusion, half an hour in her company, one intense kiss and I saw clearly for the first time in years. I was miserable. I was ridiculously rich and absolutely fucking miserable. Chained t
o the most toxic woman to ever walk the planet. I needed a divorce. And fast. Despite the state of our “relationship” I could be committing financial suicide. Divorcing the pride and joy of Monsieur Bouchon would come with consequences. I had no doubts that he’d pull the plug on my trading in any stocks that had bonds or equities with the Bouchon name and that he’d blacklist me with any of his worldwide clients. I sighed as I stroked my chin, deep in contemplative thought. Whilst seeing Lulu again had been the catalyst for my ponderings, this was actually nothing to do with her. Divorcing Myrtille was something that had been on the cards for a number of years, in fact if I hadn’t been so damn miserable five years ago, I’d never have married her in the first place.

  ‘Jean Paul, viens ici s’il te plaît,’ I requested over my intercom, asking my PA to come in. I asked him to compile a list of all Bouchon holdings and all clients with close personal connections to the Bouchons for when I returned on Tuesday and to arrange a meeting for me with the head of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest in the world today, as well as Crédit Agricole. I needed to start solidifying my relationships with them, before I announced my intentions to Myrtille. My personal finances wouldn’t be at stake. I doubted, given her assets, any judge would force me to hand over any of mine, even at fifty percent I was more than financially secure, but my business assets could take a substantial hit. Worst case scenario I could be blackballed by those loyal to the Bouchon family and be unable to continue to trade, in France at a minimum. I was going to have to start meeting with key clients sooner than later and judging their stance in the event of a rift. Jean Paul assured me that he’d get on the case and I asked him to ensure our IT guy had fortified our systems, I didn’t want Myrtille to be able to access any information from this moment forward, by any means.

  He suggested having the locks to the offices changed, as she had a key, changing all passwords on a daily basis for all staff with computer access and assured me that he would not reveal my whereabouts if Myrtille was to call. He’d worked for me for thirteen years, since I started this firm at the tender age of twenty-two. I had no doubt of his allegiance to me and trusted him implicitly. I asked him to contact Havershams, to source a vivid yellow orange diamond for me, to set it into a necklace and gave him a deadline of one week. He raised his eyebrows and I smiled. I purchased white diamonds for Myrtille’s birthday or Christmas, she hated anything that wasn’t “pure” in her own words. When I told him who it was for, he nearly fell off his chair. He remembered my melancholy and lamenting after she left Paris, how I’d been so affected by her. He couldn’t help smiling as he made notes, commenting that he considered my personal life of greater urgency than my business one. He was right, it was in dire need of resuscitation.

  I put my foot down on the accelerator of my Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, speeding up the autoroute towards the private airport where my plane was waiting to take me back to London, a smile finally settling on my tense face. Being in this car always made me smile, it reminded me of Lulu. I’d chosen it in sleek Carbon Black, glossy and classy, with smooth curves in all the right places. She felt expensive, she was a thing of beauty to be taken care of, but that would give me so much enjoyment. Just like Lulu had, just like I hoped she would. The thought that I’d be seeing her again soon had my heart rate speed nearly as fast as the car. I was disappointed that she’d not responded to my original email, or to say anything after the bouquets of roses I’d sent to her every day. I was also getting increasingly frustrated with her tenacious receptionist, who repeatedly told me that she wasn’t available and would take a message to pass to her. I wasn’t a man who was easily deterred, I’d never have succeeded as a businessman if I was. Short of locking herself in the vault with the Crown Jewels in The Tower of London, nothing was stopping me getting to her now. I was the hunter and she was the prey, she’d tried to flee, but her surrender was inevitable. I forced myself to focus on the road, instead of the way her body had responded when I’d pulled her against mine and kissed her on Monday. She was a fool if she thought that attraction like ours could ever be sated. It was a wild and savage beast that could never be tamed. My cravings for her ran so deep the Grand Canyon would be displaced as a natural wonder of the world.

  Confrontations

  Lulu

  Monday

  I dropped Tristan off at school and headed to the office with a feeling of dread. I’d had an amazing weekend. Drinking and dancing with good company on Friday night, an emotional wedding on Saturday, Coco and I pretending to be a couple to avoid the slew of men trying to flatter us, then a lovely day on my own with Tristan and a roast dinner. Reality had come back to bite me in the arse last night though. I’d tapped into the camera feed to see that Luc was back in his suite. He seemed brighter, his posture was straighter and he had a knowing smile on his face. I’d even taken my iPad to bed with me, so I didn’t miss a moment. When he’d gone into the shower and had started to masturbate again, I couldn’t help myself from doing the same as I looked at that perfect wet body and his beautiful face contorted in ecstasy. Our first mutual orgasm in six years, my best in all that time point of fact and he had no idea. For all I knew, he could be waiting for me outside the office as I pulled up. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed to find he wasn’t when I activated the remote garage doors and eased my Mercedes in.

  ‘Morning, Mike,’ I called as I stepped out of the car and locked it up, seeing his legs sticking out from under the van.

  ‘Morning. Good weekend?’ came his muffled voice.

  ‘Excellent thanks, see you at ten for the staff meeting?’

  ‘Sure thing,’ he called. I smiled and headed up. Violet was waiting by the lift doors as they opened and thrust my coffee into my hand. ‘Morning,’ I greeted, startled. It wasn’t like her to veer from her perfected routine.

  ‘I can’t take it anymore, I’ve been tense all weekend,’ she moaned. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘How about we start with something easy, like how was your weekend, other than being tense on my behalf?’ I suggested, as we headed to my office.

  ‘Awful. You’re affecting my sex life now, when I’m stressed I go off sex. Jared said to tell you to sort it out and soon.’

  ‘Did he now,’ I laughed. ‘Easier said than done, but I’m sorry for ruining your sex life too. Are we still on for her coming in at four?’

  ‘Yes, I confirmed as soon as I got in this morning,’ she nodded, opening my door for me, the gently scented aroma of my roomful of roses hitting me immediately, making me breathe in deeply.

  ‘Great. Once I’ve seen her I’ll go home and put Tristan to bed, then I’ve decided I’m going to go and see him.’

  ‘Really,’ she squealed, with a quick burst of excited claps.

  ‘You’re as bad as Coco and Dom. He might not even be there, he might have plans.’

  ‘So call him, tell him, you can’t let this opportunity go to waste. Henry says he has a crazy diary of appointments in Paris Tuesday and Wednesday, then he’s going to China on Thursday. He won’t be back in the UK until Saturday morning.’

  ‘Fine, I’ll send him an email this afternoon, when I’ve seen her and found out what’s going on. Satisfied?’

  ‘So much so that I might have to dash home for a quick nooner, if you can spare me at lunch time?’ she asked, raising her eyebrows hopefully. I burst out laughing. ‘If she wasn’t coming in I’d say take the afternoon off.’

  ‘Trust me, an hour is plenty of time for him to do his quickie magic,’ she grinned, making me blush.

  ‘So, take my mind off her and the fact that you get to have hot sex during the day please, let’s talk business,’ I suggested, as I took a seat and nodded for her to do the same.

  ‘Before we discuss anything, can I tell you how amazing you look?’ she uttered sincerely, as she ran her eyes up and down my knee length fitted black leather skirt, hot orange silk blouse and matching coloured shoes. I wanted to look smart, to face that aw
ful woman, I didn’t want her looking down her nose at me. Coco had let me borrow some of her statement designs to accessorise with and I’d made more effort than usual with my eye makeup, a soft brown gold shade with long dark lashes and flicked out eyeliner. I’d even left my long hair loose, letting its natural, thick lustress tresses tumble down my shoulders.

  ‘Thank you, I didn’t want her showing me up.’

  ‘Please,’ she scoffed, with a shake of her head. ‘Even with no makeup and greasy hair you’d look a million times better than that frigid old cow.’

  ‘Violet!’ I laughed, shocked at her unusual bluntness.

  ‘Well you would. And you’re beautiful on the inside too, Lulu, something she’ll never be. Never forget that. Right this is getting a bit personal, so let’s get on with the business stuff. First of all you have an appointment at eleven, new client, Mrs. Jones. In need of advice as she suspects her partner is about to have an affair.’

  ‘About to have?’ I asked, loving the way she slipped effortlessly back into efficient PA mode.

  ‘Yes I queried that, she seemed a little flustered and said she couldn’t say more, but it was imperative that she meet with us urgently. I can see her if you want?’

  ‘Thanks Vi, but it will do me good to keep busy.’

  ‘I’m collating files on the candidates Ian suggested for you to interview, I was thinking I could pencil out some time for you to review them on Wednesday and decide who you want to shortlist, then I could ask them to come in next Thursday or Friday?’

  ‘Great,’ I confirmed, trying my hardest to focus on work and not the thought that I might be seeing Luc this evening.

  ‘Mrs. Jones is on her way up,’ came Violet’s voice over the intercom, an element of frustration in her voice. ‘She’s four minutes early! Do you want me to have her take a seat or bring her straight down?’

  ‘It’s fine, I can see her now,’ I replied, resisting the urge to chuckle at Vi’s indignation at someone turning up a few minutes early. ‘Would you be able to order me a sandwich before you go?’