by Tia Siren
“You'll have to sit in an office and take orders while I travel the world to exotic locations.”
“Crap. The furthest you'll get is Brighton Beach where a well-hung Russian will shag your brains out and come all over your belly,” Avaline said. “And besides, no man tells me what to do. Remember John and what happened to him?”
How could I forget? Penny thought Poor John. He'd been Avaline's boyfriend for years, and although she'd cheated on him numerous times, he'd never found out. When he'd told her he didn't like her new hairstyle, she'd gone crazy. First she'd taken a picture of his manhood while he was asleep and posted it on Facebook under the heading, “Small Cock for Sale.” Then she'd taken all his clothes and stuffed them down a drain outside the apartment.
Penny looked at Avaline. She was a beautiful woman. Her long legs seemed to go on forever, and they were as shapely as any woman's. She had long, natural blond hair and a smile no man seemed able to resist.
“Out in the real world, I think you'll find it's different, especially in the business world.” Penny took the pot of nail varnish Avaline had handed her and began to paint her own nails. “There are a lot of very hard men around. You won't be able to click your fingers and have them fall to their knees like you did with all the others you've had.”
“I've never met a man strong enough to resist me yet. I can twist them all around my little finger. All I have to do is show a bit of leg and flutter my eyes and the poor creatures buckle.”
“You're so wrong; you'll find out sometime.”
*****
Avaline looked at her watch; she was five minutes late. CL Real Estate was located in a huge glass-fronted building in downtown LA. Colten's company occupied the top three floors, and the rest of the building was occupied by various companies, from banks to shipping companies. By the time she got to the top floor, she was ten minutes late.
“Hi. I'm Avaline Francis. I'm starting work as Mr. Lewis's PA today,” she said to the woman behind the magnificent reception desk.
“He's expecting you. Through that door there.”
Avaline looked behind her and saw a double glass door. It led to a smaller office with a desk, which she assumed was hers. Another door led from that office to Colten's. She knocked and entered.
“You're late. Your first day and you're late. I would have thought you’d be twenty minutes early. That's what I expect.”
He was tall and dark, and she noticed his nose had been broken at one point. It wasn't crooked, but it was flatter than most men's. She hadn't met him at the interview; he'd asked his personnel department to choose a few suitable candidates. He'd taken two things into consideration when hiring her. First, what the personnel department had to say, and second, the way she looked in the photo of her they gave him.
“Sorry,” she said.
“That's your desk out in the small office. You don't come in here unless I call you. Is that clear?”
“Yes.”
“And you're working hours are twenty-four seven.”
“Sorry?”
“You are to be available any time, day or night, when I need you. I operate an international business.” He sat on the edge of his desk and looked at her tanned legs. “Calls come in at all times of the day and night. It will happen that I call you in the middle of the night and ask you to come in. The world never sleeps, and neither will you when I need you. Clear?”
“Yes, it's clear.” Be professional and do as he requests. After a few weeks, you'll have more control over him, she thought.
“Good. Today you're going to spend the rest of the day with Jean from personnel. She's going to show you how we do things around here. I like things done my way. I expect a lot from my employees; that's why they are well paid. They also respect me.” He turned and looked out the window. “This is a special view. You can see the ocean and a lot of LA. I earned this view with my own sweat. Nobody will ever take it away from me. If you work hard for me, you will get a lot of rewards as well.”
Avaline remembered what Penny had said about there being some hard people in the big wide world. If she was right, he was surely one of them. “I'll do my very best to do a good job,” she said.
“You can start with your timekeeping then, can't you?” he said harshly. “Tell Jean to bring you back up to my office at 5 p.m. You'll find her one floor below, room 365.”
Avaline felt like she'd just been grilled by an army officer. Nobody had ever set out so many rules for her.
At 5 p.m. she stood in Colten's office and waited until he'd finished his telephone call.
“That's all I can pay, Jim. It's a fair price. Look at the place; it's almost derelict.” Without another word on his end, he put the phone down and clapped his hands together. “Another great deal done. Making money is all about purchasing at the lowest price possible.” Avaline nodded. “One compliment I do have for you is how nice you look,” he said. She was wearing a short black skirt, black pantyhose, and a blue blouse. “You look very businesslike, and your hair and makeup are perfect.”
She hated being judged by a man in such a way. He'd appraised her like a farmer would appraise a prize bull. But she was going to be professional. “Thank you,” she said.
“Party time. The day's for working and the evening’s for enjoyment. Come with me; I'm going to introduce you to the gang.”
*****
When they arrived at the Hopeless Sinner, a bar, restaurant, and health club, Avaline could hear the beat of loud music from outside. Colten got out of the Rolls and opened her door. When she got out, he was careful to note how shapely her legs were as they slid from the leather seat.
“This is our playground, the Hopeless Sinner. I own it, and a guy called Tony Jameson runs it for me.”
They had stopped close to the waterfront. It was a curious building that Avaline would never have thought he owned. Built of wood, it looked like an Austrian log cabin. There was a veranda at the front and a large neon sign on the roof advertising the best fish in town.
“Tony, this is Avaline, my new PA. Whenever she wants to come here with her friends, you look after her and put whatever they have on my tab. Okay?”
Tony was a young man of around twenty-five, tall and thin and Hispanic looking. “Sure, boss. Do you want the usual this evening?” Colten nodded.
“Remember that, Avaline. Bring your friends here whenever you want. Now let me show you around.”
They were standing in the bar area. In front of the bar, which extended down the side of the interior, there were wooden tables and chairs. She followed him through a door and into the restaurant area.
“Wow. This is pretty special,” she said.
“Yes. All the furniture was imported from Indonesia especially. The palm trees are from Egypt. We tried to get a real nice colonial look.”
“Well you succeeded. It's really atmospheric.” Avaline imagined herself transported back to the days of the British in India.
“Wait till you see this,” he said.
They went through another door and down some steps. After they had walked down a corridor, Colten pushed a door open, and then they were in paradise. Avaline was sure they were now underground. What she saw was a vast cavern with a domed roof and a serpent-shaped swimming pool. She gasped. At the side of the pool were two Jacuzzis and more palm trees, only these were bigger than those in the restaurant. When she looked more closely, she saw they were artificial. She assumed that because there was no real daylight, real ones wouldn't survive there.
“I'll tell you what we're going to do this evening. We're going to have a bottle or two of champagne, have some of Tony's best seafood, and come down here and relax.”
“But I haven't got any swimwear with me,” she said.
“Don't worry about that; we don't need clothes.”
“Er...excuse me? I'm not cavorting around here in the nude.”
He laughed. “Then you're the first prudish PA I've ever had. Most of them were only too pleased to get their
clothes off. Especially when they saw what my friends looked like.”
“Well, I...” Avaline was caught. She didn't want to appear prudish, but surely this was beyond the call of duty. It was also quite unprofessional. She'd gone to CL Real Estate to start a career, not prance around like a two-bit hooker. “Sorry, Colten, but I'd rather not be naked.”
“Okay. How long will it take you to choose a bikini?”
“Er...a few minutes.”
“Great. Then the chauffeur will take you downtown. You get a bikini and be back here by six thirty. Okay? Here's two hundred dollars.”
Avaline was beginning to feel like a kept woman. She wasn't used to this level of attention, and it was a little overwhelming. She also didn't much fancy being in a bikini for all of Colten's friends to gawp at. But she needed the job, and she'd already pissed Colten off by arriving late for work. The last thing she wanted was to have to join Penny on the set of some B porn movie.
When the chauffeur, whose name she discovered was Robert, dropped her off outside Raylene's Swim and Casuals, Avaline immediately saw a beautiful bikini in the display window.
Raylene was about five foot nine and as butch as any woman Avaline had ever seen. “Yes, we've got that in your size. It's great quality. Look.”
“Yes,” Avaline said, looking at the multicolored material.
“Do you want to try it on?”
Avaline had heard a lot of stories about the dangers of trying swimwear on. Most of it had been tried on before by an average of five women. “Has anyone tried it on before?”
“No. It's fresh out of the cellophane. You don't have to worry.”
Avaline stood in front of the mirror and admired herself. Even the harsh fluorescent lights didn't show a single blemish on her skin. The bikini fit nicely. She took off the top but quickly pulled it over her breasts again when Raylene popped her head through the curtain. “Everything okay? Oh yes. I like those bottoms. Haven't got the top on yet. Shall I help you?”
Avaline declined and waited until Raylene had gone. Should she report her? How many women had she ogled, felt up, or raped in the changing room? she wondered She got dressed quickly and went to pay. Raylene gave her a wide smile. “Here's a voucher for twenty-five dollars. We've got an open evening next week. Come along and see if you can find anything you like. We've got more than swimwear, as you can see. Raylene pointed to an array of other leisure wear. “That will be ninety-nine dollars.”
Avaline paid and left the shop. Robert was waiting for her on the other side of the street. Unfortunately, she didn't make it that far.
*****
“More champagne please, Tony,” Colten said. He was sitting at the bar with his best friends, Sylvester and Chris. Both were self-made real estate dealers, but not quite as rich as Colten.
“I'm getting too old for this, Colten,” Sylvester said. “My body won't take it anymore.”
“Crap. You're not even forty yet,” Colten said.
“Thirty-nine and counting. You're only thirty-three, remember. Maybe you can drink champagne and get laid every evening, but I tell you, I'm beginning to feel my age.”
“Jesus, you're not going soft on us, are you? This place will be full of LA's most beautiful women in a couple of hours. Just think of that.”
“He's got a girlfriend,” Chris revealed.
“You what?” Colten asked. “You've got a steady girl? So it's not your old body letting you down. Some broad has got her thumb on you. Great,” Colten said despondently.
“It's time to settle down. I want a family. All this partying has been great, but it's time. You'll feel the same in a couple of years,” Sylvester said.
“No way. Forty-five. That's the age I've got in mind for settling down,” Colten said. “Well, old friend, good luck. I hope she turns out to be the one. Although when she sees how well hung you are, she'll probably run a mile.” He looked at his black friend and laughed. So did Chris.
“She already has seen it, and no, she didn't run. She liked it,” Sylvester replied, a sparkle in his eye.
“Here's to you then,” Colten said. There was a chink of glass on glass and then they all downed their drinks in one.
A group of scantily clad women came into the bar and looked at Colten. “Hi, Colten,” Nikki said. “Are you up for a good time tonight?” She was tall, blond, and well proportioned. Her black dress clung to her hips and buttocks as she walked across the room.
“Sorry, Nikki. Not tonight, darling. We had a great time on Saturday—it was really nice—but I'm a bit busy tonight.” Nikki pulled a disappointed face, turned around, and joined her friends again.
“Did you just turn her down?” Sylvester asked. “I've never seen you turn down a broad that hot before.”
“Avaline's my choice for this evening,” Colten said.
“Who's she?” Chris asked.
“My new, super attractive, sexy PA.”
“You're terrible. Do you know that?” Chris said. “You've tried it on with all your PA's.”
“She's different,” Colten said.
“How?” Sylvester interjected.
“I can't put my finger on it, but she's classy, intelligent, and so sexy you won't believe it. This one really does something to me,” Colten concluded.
“How old is she?” Chris asked, swirling around the champagne in his glass.
“Twenty-two,” Colten said.
“Ten years in it then. No too bad. She'll be able to supply you with innumerable babies.” Sylvester laughed. The thought of Colten changing nappies was too much for him.
“Funny,” Colten hissed.
*****
Avaline hadn't seen the man hiding in the alleyway next to Raylene's. As she made her way along the sidewalk toward the Rolls, he jumped out and grabbed her bag. Avaline didn't want to let go, so she put up a fight. Before Robert could get out of the car, the man hit her over the head with a club and ran off, leaving her unconscious and bleeding profusely.
Raylene heard the screams and ran out of the shop. Robert dashed over the road and squatted next to Avaline.
“Call an ambulance,” he said to Raylene.
He took out a clean handkerchief and pressed it to the wound on her head. A crowd of bloodthirsty spectators gathered around them as Raylene shouted into her cell phone.
Robert had spent long enough in the army to know that Avaline had now stopped breathing. He let go of the handkerchief, pressed her nostrils together, and gave her the kiss of life, followed by three sharp presses to her chest. He waited, but nothing happened. He repeated the process and waited again. This time, Avaline spluttered and began to breathe. Shortly after, the ambulance arrived and took Avaline to UCLA Medical Center.
Colten was halfway through his seafood platter, wondering where Avaline was, when Robert called him. He left the restaurant in a taxi and hastened to the hospital.
“How is she?” he asked Robert.
“I don't know. They told me to wait for her while they do the tests they need to do.”
“First day at work and mugged. Did you see the man who did it?”
“Not that well. There were some parked cars between me and the incident.”
Colten felt responsible. He'd sent her to town, and all because of a bikini. His thoughts turned to his sister, who had been raped in a park in LA. She'd also just run out to do something trivial. The rapist had been sentenced to just six years, but Colten had made sure his life inside was unbearable. He hadn’t been able to believe how cheap it was to have someone's legs broken, although having the man raped in the showers had cost considerably more.
The doctor came out of intensive care and looked at Colten and Robert. “She's concussed, but we can't find any lasting damage. We'll keep her in for observation for two nights, and after that she can go home. But she'll need to rest. A couple weeks off work should do it.”
“All right doctor. Thank you,” Colten said.
“I believe you are to thank for saving her,” the doctor s
aid, looking at Robert.
“I gave her mouth to mouth, if that's what you mean.”
“Yes. Well, you did it very well. She's got a lot to thank you for. Does she have any relatives we need to inform?” the doctor asked.
Robert didn't have a clue, so he looked at Colten. “No. She's alone in the world,” Colten said. “Can we see her?”
“When we get her onto the ward, in an hour or so.”
It was two hours before Avaline was on the ward, by which time Robert was snoring in a waiting room arm chair and Colten was checking his bank accounts on his cell phone. A nurse came and fetched them. Avaline was sitting up in bed with a bandage on her head. The first thing Colten noticed was how pale she looked.
“So you didn't want to come back to the Hopeless Sinner?” Colten asked jokingly.
“No. I decided to get myself bashed over the head instead,” she replied. “I'm sorry.”
“What for? It wasn't your fault. You'll be back in the saddle in a couple of weeks. You need some rest,” Colten said. “You're coming to stay with me.” Robert flashed him a glance and mentally questioned Colten's motives.
“No. I'll be fine at the apartment. Penny can look after me.”
“I'm not taking no for an answer. I won't have you sitting in some tatty apartment while you're ill. There's all you need at my house. You can swim, sun yourself, go for a sauna, and walk the grounds. It's very relaxing.”
“Thank you, Robert,” she said. “I heard you saved me.”
“It was nothing, miss. I'm glad I was there. My army training came in useful for once. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave you two to talk.” Robert left the room, and Colten pulled a chair up to the bed.
“You've got one hell of a bump on your head,” he said.
“A hell of a bikini bump, you could say. I'm not coming to your house to recover. It's not right. I'm one of your employees, not your wife.”
“I don't give a damn about that. You're coming back with me, and that's the end of it. This happened when you were working for me, and I'll look after you. You've got nobody else except that porn star.”
“How do you know about Penny?” Avaline hadn't told anyone about Penny's occupation.