Chapter 6
The beach was deserted and Lucy sat hunched over on the sand looking out vacantly to sea. This was her night off but she had nowhere to go and there was nothing at all that she wanted to do.
She saw a massive cruise ship heading towards Palma and wondered where Derek was in his yacht now. He had probably sailed away from the island and was on his way to new adventures with other gullible girls who let him take advantage of them in their first night together.
A few minutes later the wake of the cruise ship caused waves to splash up around her but she never even felt them. That morning, she had found out about the terms for changing her flight home.
It would cost her a chunk of her savings to get home on a different flight but there seemed no point in staying here any longer. She felt as though the billionaire had stripped her of her innocence under false pretences.
The moon looked huge in the sky and Lucy looked up at it wondering where Derek was and whether he was looking at the same sky over Majorca or on the other side of the planet. The stories about him on the internet talked about globe-trotting adventures, a hectic social life and tons of beautiful women who were just dying to marry him.
She laughed bitterly as she thought about how well she would rank in the list of the world’s most eligible single women. Round about the 8 million mark if I’m lucky.
All this business of seeing the world and living an exotic lifestyle was turning out to be more complicated than she had thought. Life was simpler when she didn’t know anything about Majorca, had never tasted brandy and didn’t know a thing about a handsome billionaire named Derek Serrano.
She lay back on the sand and looked up at the stars hanging in the sky above her. She felt very far from home and very, very small as a single bitter tear ran down her cheek.
The night had freshened slightly in Palma but the American businessman was still dressed in a light shirt and formal shorts. He was sitting in a bench by the docks, in what he had discovered was called the paseo marítimo.
The sight of his glorious and ridiculously expensive yacht bobbing in the water gave him no satisfaction at all. It was just a piece of expensive machinery that had long since stopped giving him any pleasure, if truth be told.
Would he be happier exploring the world in a rowing boat or a rubber dinghy with the right woman by his side? Life wasn’t as easy that though, was it?
As he contemplated the hundreds of yachts moored in front of him he sensed someone sit next to him. Since he wasn’t in the mood for small talk he looked straight ahead, despite feeling that the stranger was looking at him insistently.
“You’ve been here for more than two hours.” The accent was difficult to identify but it sounded kind of Dutch to the American’s ears.
“Have I?”
“You like looking at boats?”
“Seems like it.” He tried to sound as terse as possible, to make the annoying guy go away. This wasn’t the time to chat about yacht specifications or weather forecasts.
“Boats offer us an escape from our Earthly problems but only on a strictly temporary basis.” Jesus, the Dutch guy was a freaking philosopher. That was all he needed right now.
“Thanks for the advice.” Derek wanted to get up and walk away but something was holding him back. Maybe the guy was going to say something useful after all.
“I used to have a beautiful yacht like one of those. Do you know what happened to it?”
“I have a feeling I soon will.” Almost against his will Derek was beginning to warm to the stranger who insisted on talking to him. He took a look at his raggle taggle appearance and tried to work out if he was telling the truth about his past.
Over the next hour, Ruben told him how he had once been a wealthy man with a thriving chain of supermarkets around Rotterdam. With the money he had travelled the world, drunk the finest champagne, flirted with famous actresses and built a palace in his home town. He had lived the life of his dreams but somehow it hadn’t satisfied him.
“But I still didn’t find what I was looking for.”
“Just like the U2 song.”
“Ja. I love that song. It reminds me how I felt empty inside when I was at my lowest point but everyone else thought I was the king of the world.”
What Derek didn’t know was that Ruben had seen him several times since his arrival in Majorca and had seen in the American’s sad eyes a reflection of his own struggles that had almost killed him a decade ago.
“What did you do?” Derek was utterly absorbed in this story, which so closely reflected his own life and internal struggles.
“I gave it all away.” Ruben laughed a deep and hearty laugh that sounded like it was going to go on forever at one point. “I gave away everything except what I needed to survive. I didn’t need a yacht and a palace to live a good life.”
“You gave away your yacht? Seriously?”
“Ja. To charity. The day I gave it away I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my chest. I didn’t even know that it had been there until then but now I can breathe again.” Ruben inhaled and exhaled deeply, as is if to prove the truth of this miraculous transformation.
“Cool story. What do you do now?”
The Dutchman shrugged. “I breathe. I eat. I drink. I do what I did before but I savour the moment now. I don’t care what other people think and I don’t live by anyone’s rules but mine.”
Derek was deeply moved by the tale and stayed a while to think while his new, eccentric friend wandered off to breathe and live on his own terms elsewhere.
As the next cruise ship sailed in Lucy saw it first from the deserted Magalluf beach. Derek then saw it arrive to Palma at the same moment that the small waves from the wake splashed against Lucy’s legs. They were so close yet so very far away from each other.
It was now past midnight but neither of them had any reason to go home yet.
Chapter 7
It was another busy night in the bar and Lucy was feeling utterly exhausted. She could now see that this was going to be a very long and draining summer if she stayed on.
What had seemed like a fun break from living with the almost constant rain in her home town was turning into the toughest experience of her life. Working in the never-ending heat was more difficult than she had thought and now she longed for a little bit of rain.
The only good thing was that having so many customers in the bar meant that she was too busy to think about her little lost prince, who really did seem to be lost now.
Three days had passed since their explosive night together and she was completely sure that he had sailed away from the island to explore other lands and find other ways of enjoying his fame and fortune.
A baggy t-shirt and a pair of longish shorts meant that she felt better protected than the other night. However, the down side was that it was really far too hot to work dressed like that even at night. A bead of sweat ran down her back as if to confirm the point.
It was around 9 in the evening when she stepped outside for some fresh air. In truth, the air was still hot and humid but at least she got away from the smoke, the shouting and Shakira singing in Spanish by sitting on the steps down to the beach for a few minutes.
There were still people wandering about the beach. Most of them looked drunk and at least one couple looked to be splashing about naked in the water. The atmosphere felt heavy and oppressive to Lucy, who has beginning to feel completely out of place in this non-stop party town.
“Can I invite you to a brandy?”
It took her a full minute to find the words to answer.
“The last time I drank cognac with you it ended badly.”
The billionaire hunched down beside her. His aftershave smelled delicious. Of course, a bottle of it probably cost him more than she would earn here in the whole summer.
“Sorry I haven’t been in touch. I…I was doing stuff…” He tailed off lamely, wondering why he hadn’t planned what to say in advance.
“It’s ok
. I’ve been doing stuff too.”
“Busy at work?”
“A little. By the way, thanks for lying to me the other night. My boss never told you that I was to take the rest of the night off.”
Derek tried to play it light. “Really? I must have picked him up wrong. He has the weirdest accent. What is he, half French poet and half Viking warrior?”
“He’s Moroccan but learned English in German. Anyway, I almost got fired over it.”
“Am I banned from the bar now? Because I really wanted to try the brandy you serve. It was kind of starting to grow on me.”
“You can drink there if you want to. Having the 5th most eligible bachelor in the world as a customer is good for business.” Lucy was struggling to keep up the cold attitude but was trying as hard as she could.
“Ah…To be fair, I think I might slip down to 6th this year. Some Indian prince just inherited a village or something.” He shrugged and tried to look disappointed.
“Damn Indians and their inheritances.” Lucy instantly regretted lightening the mood like he had wanted her to. “Listen, I don’t know why you even came here. It’s crystal clear that I’m not your type. Why don’t you go and look for a Duchess or another billionaire’s daughter?”
“I tried.” He swallowed hard and decided to be completely honest. “They’re as boring as heck and I hate them all.” It felt good to tell the truth to this girl.
“How can you hate Duchesses and rich little girls? They’re all empty and shallow like you.” She hated herself for being so cruel but it seemed like the only way.
Derek got up and wandered over to the bar. He looked like he was going away to look for a taxi but then turned on his heels and headed back to sit down next to Lucy.
“Ouch. You sure know how to find a guy’s sore spot. I was talking to a man the other day and it got me thinking about how my life is kind of, well, empty and shallow.”
“Seriously?
“His name is Ruben. He once had a yacht and a palace like I do.”
“Yeah, I saw your palace. A bit over the top, don’t you think? That long room with all the old portraits is just plain creepy”.
Derek laughed. When was the last time he had laughed as genuinely as he did when he was with this girl? She said the weirdest stuff that no-one else had ever said to him.
“He gave it all away. The whole lot and now he lives here as a free man and can breathe again.” Derek mimicked the Dutchman breathing deeply and saying “Ja” while Lucy giggled.
“Are you going to do the same?”
“I don’t know if I can give it all away but I can make a start. I could give a few million bucks to charity and maybe get rid of a few cars.”
“A few cars? How many have you got?”
“That’s the problem, I don’t even know what I own anymore. In fact, I don’t feel as though I own anything. My possessions own me.”
Lucy took his hand in hers and looked him deep in the eyes.
“Do you want to try living a normal life?”
“What’s normal? Does my butler still get to serve me caviar in bed for breakfast?”
“I’m afraid you need to let Jeeves go.”
“Ha, he’s called Marceau.”
“Oh god, you’ve got a French butler. It’s worse than I thought.”
He pushed her hair back behind her ears. She hated when her Mum did stuff like that but she liked it a lot when he did it. He run his fingers down her back. She liked that too.
“I also have a Peruvian gardener and a Costa Rican chauffeur but that’s not important now. I want to find the meaning of life again. I know it’s not in the casino, in the country club or in the boardroom.”
“Live a simple life like Ruben.” She took a deep breath before continuing in a hoarse whisper. “With me.”
There, she had said it and there was no going back. In her lover’s eyes she could see an internal struggle going on. How could he give up everything about his magnificent lifestyle just to be with her? It was crazy.
He gently slipped his hand out of hers and walked down to the edge of the water without saying a word. She spent what seemed like an eternity looking at his silhouette as he looked out to the sea.
Things had come full circle and he was a little lost prince once again.
Chapter 8
The yacht faded to a dot on the horizon, leaving behind the thrilling, cosmopolitan city of Palma de Mallorca. It was now just another one of the thousands of boats sailing in the Mediterranean, each setting course for new lands and fresh new adventures.
Down on the dock, a straggly looking Dutchman watched it disappear into the distance and shrugged.
It was another balmy evening but a cool sea breeze made Derek’s shirt flap slightly. It had been made by the finest tailor in Hong Kong but he just laughed as a blob of ice cream dropped onto it.
“Oops.” Lucy tried to scoop it up with her finger but only succeeded in smearing it all over the front of the shirt. “I hope that isn’t a new shirt.”
“It is. Well, it was until you smeared it with dulce de leche ice cream. It isn’t really my style anyway. A bit too formal if you know what I mean.”
“Let me take it off you then.” The shirt fell to the floor and Derek kicked it disdainfully into a corner.
“Stupid old rich man’s silk shirt.”
Lucy laughed out loud before going over and giving the shirt a kick as well. It felt good to be able to laugh at his wealth instead of tiptoeing around the matter.
“I kind of like this city now.” It was true, Derek felt really at home for the first time in his life.
Yesterday they had gone to the city beach with a simple picnic of sandwiches and orange juice. His acquaintances in his old social circle would have laughed if they knew how he raved about this being the true good life.
He had even got on a bus yesterday for the first time in his life. They travelled on it out to the German dominated resort at S’Arenal, where they had giant frankfurters for lunch and listened to a group playing what Derek had described as “German hilly billy punk rock”.
However, their best day together so far was when they went out to Magalluf. During the day it was a lot more relaxed and calm than the American has expected.
Laughing until she looked like she was going to burst, she had ordered a full breakfast in the Scottish restaurant for her boyfriend. Derek had looked at the time with an exaggerated gesture.
“Breakfast? At 3 in the afternoon? You Brits sure know how to let your hair down.”
The smile has been wiped from his face when a massive plate of unidentifiable stuff was slapped down in front of him.
“There’s yer breakfast. Ah hope ye enjoy it.” The owner winked at Lucy before heading back to the kitchen.
“Holy macaroni. What on Earth is this…concoction of strange food-like things?”
Lucy stole a piece of bacon from his plate and laughed like never before in her life. There were so many things she had to teach him about living a simple life.
Anna had joined them for a drink later on and had forced her friend to go to the toilet with her, to a quizzical look from Derek.
“It’s a girl thing. You wouldn’t understand.”
Once they got to the bathroom Anna grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her wildly.
“Oh. My. God. He is such a dreamboat. Does he have a brother? A cousin? Any sort of distant male relative?”
The two of them laughed together in the bathroom for ages and promised to meet up once the season was over. Anna said she would tell their boss that Lucy wouldn’t be back.
“Maybe next summer, eh?” Anna had joked as they went back to see Derek theatrically eating a spoonful of beans.
Lucy went back outside on the balcony and felt the reassuring presence of his hand stroking her upper thigh as she watched his yacht disappear. They were on a private balcony on the 15th floor and no-one could see them but she still looked around nervously as he pulled down her bikini
bottom.
“A rather bold move on your part, Mr Serrano.”
His fingers probed gently upwards and his lover unhooked her bikini top after one last look to be sure no-one was hang-gliding past their balcony or passing in a helicopter.
“I thought so too, Miss Devine.”
They had gotten used to each other’s moves in the last few days, so Derek knew exactly what she was doing as she went round the back of him and put her arms round his waist. The billionaire without a yacht and without a care in the world closed his eyes as he felt the first of his clothes fall to the ground. Then the next one.
“Will we ever see your yacht again? Or Marceau. Oh, poor Marceau, I hope he doesn’t take it too badly.”
Derek picked her up gently but firmly and lay her on the bed. The room was nice but it wasn’t the kind of luxurious suite that he was used to staying in. He looked at their joint reflection in the mirror and understood how well their bodies fitted together when they hugged while naked.
He reached his hand down to the area that he now knew so well he could describe it in a thousand word essay. She wiggled her slender hips and let out a gasp. It truly seemed like a miracle that their bodies understood each other so well.
“Maybe one day. Until then, let’s enjoy life in other ways.”
“What ways did you have in mind exactly?”
He whispered in her ear and she put her hands on his hips before pulling him down slowly but surely on top of her.
“How long have you booked this room for?”
“Long enough.”
Billionaire's Paradise Virgin Page 3