Wicked While He Watches: The Billionaire’s Secret
by
Mercedes Eva Nordstrom
Chapter 1
Claire Silk was terrified. She felt like her hands were tied. Daniel’s probably were, she realized. Tears welled in her eyes. The ransom note came five days after they had lost contact with her husband Daniel in the jungles of Columbia. He had gone there to survey for valuable deposits of gold and oil, and now he was a captive. She was relieved to know that he was alive, but so afraid for him. She gripped the steering wheel tight and kept her eyes on the road.
She knew it was common for people to be kidnapped in Columbia. The good thing was that if they got the ransom money, hostages were usually released. But they were demanding $800,000. More than the company thought he was worth, or at least more that they were willing to pay, and much more than she could possibly raise. Even if she tried to borrow against, or sell the house, it wouldn’t be enough. Daniel was a great at what he did and he made a lot of money for the company, too much it seemed now, since the kidnappers chose him as their hostage.
Claire drove into the parking lot of Fawcett Global. Expensive was the only adjective to describe everything about the building. The fountain in front of it probably cost more than $800,000. Full of indignation and desperation, she tried to bottle her fury and her tears. A curl fell loose from the tight bun she had secured her dark brown hair in. She wanted to look together, not like the mess she felt inside. All she could think of was Daniel. He was everything. She thought of his warm body holding her close. When his arms were around her he made her feel so safe, like nothing else mattered. And without him, nothing did.
She tucked the stray lock behind her ear, and straightened her clothes when she got out of the car. It was too warm out for her tailored gray pantsuit, but she wore it any way. It was her power suit, and if she ever needed a confidence boost it was now. Her figure was curvier since she wore it last. The pants were tighter and the jacket fuller with her rounder cleavage. Her heels clacked over the pavement as she walked to the entrance. Once she got to the front door, security stopped her in her tracks.
“Can I see your badge?” one of the goons dressed in a blue uniform asked.
“I don’t have one. My husband works here. Let me go in,” she said through gritted teeth with an attempt at a friendly smile. “Please,” she added. She nearly burst into tears out of sheer frustration. She’d psyched herself up to talk to this billionaire. Now she couldn’t even get in the building.
“Sorry, Ma’am. That’s not how it works. What’s your name? We’ll see if you’re on the list,” the bulk of a man shot back.
She nodded. “Fine. I am Claire Silk,” she stated calmly. Lifting her gaze to his eyes, she bit back saying what she really wanted to. One man stood at the door while the other went inside. Soon he returned.
“She’s cleared. Go in, Ma’am and check in at the front desk.” Claire gave them an insincere flash of a smile and strode through the door. At the desk they took her picture and made her a badge to wear. Questions followed. Who do you want to see? Why? We’ll check to see if you can. She waited and waited. Then suddenly a well-dressed young man came to escort her to Nick Fawcett, the billionaire owner and CEO of Fawcett Global. They sashayed through the sleek corridors then took the elevator to the top floor. After more security hassles at more levels, she was finally admitted into his office.
He wasn’t there.
It looked like a billionaire’s office. The desk was probably worth $800,000, never mind the art collection. And what was $800,000 to a billionaire anyway? Next to nothing. She was standing there growing even angrier, when he came in. About fifty five years old, he was trim, not bad looking, with dark brown cold eyes. His hair was probably fifty shades of gray. He looked her in the eyes only, commanding all her attention with his solid stare and his powerful presence. Claire felt like a little girl. Her power suit wasn’t effective at all. How was she going to do what she came here to do? Ask him to have the decency to pay the ransom for her husband. And if he didn’t, tell him what she thought about it in so many scathing hateful words.
“How are you Mrs. Silk? I am so sorry for Daniel’s trouble,” his voice had no regret or compassion in it. His manner was as if she were inconsequential, replaceable, disposable, like he obviously felt her husband was.
“I am devastated, Mr. Fawcett. I’ve come here to ask you to reconsider paying the ransom.” Her voice was unsteady and her body trembled with all she felt: helplessness, overwhelming sorrow, fear, and hate, more loathing than she had ever felt for anyone.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Mrs. Silk,” he said out of the blue as if he hadn’t heard what she said, as if her begging was not worth acknowledging.
“If I am, so what?” she hissed. Fuck him. He eyed her body making her feel like she was on display, like she was standing there naked. She felt like running from the room, but she held her own. She would not walk out of this room, until he answered her question. Daniel was all that mattered.
“How much do you want the ransom?” he shot back so forcefully that she gasped and took a few steps back unsteady now in her high stiletto heels.
“I’d sell my soul for it,” she confessed quietly. Daniel was the only man she ever loved. She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t do all she could to save his life.
“How about your body?” he growled back and lasciviously eyed her up and down, then locked his gaze on her frightened blue eyes. “You wouldn’t actually have to sell it; just give it to me whenever I have use for it.”
“You want me to sleep with you for $800,000?” Claire asked, confused, dumbstruck. Is this really what he wanted? She’d do it, she instantly thought. If that would get her husband back, she could bear it. She’d just think of Daniel. He would never have to know.
“It’s not quite that simple,” he stated stepping nearer to her. She could smell a hint of his expensive aftershave. “How much would you do to free your husband?”
“I don’t understand,” she confessed, but she was driven now by a hope that her husband could be returned to her, that there was some way to convince him to pay the ransom.
“You’d have to do whatever I want you to. Some of it, you probably wouldn’t want to do, but you’d have to act like you liked it. Maybe you will like it, or will after a while. ” A low growl of a laugh slipped through his lips and he walked over to his chair behind the gloriously carved mahogany desk. Sitting, his gaze never left hers. “So you do have a choice. You’re in control of your husband’s destiny.”
Claire started to breath heavy. Panic was gripping her. She loved Daniel. She couldn’t let him be executed in the jungle. “I’ll do it, whatever it is.” She stepped over to his desk and sat in the black crocodile leather upholstered armchair chair in front of it facing him, leaning forward eager to get the $800,000 to free her husband. She could feel the cool leather seat through her pantsuit.
He sat back in his chair. A merciless smile played on his lips and his cold eyes were full of excitement.
“This will be a contractual obligation. Do you consent to that?” Another question she wasn’t expecting. There was no going back now. There was nothing he could do to her that she couldn’t withstand for Daniel.
“Where do I sign?” she replied matching his stare and squaring her jaw. Prepared to risk her fate for her husband’s sake, she altered her mindset and accepted the billionaire’s proposition.
The contents of the document were shockingly vague. The langu
age was convoluted and it was unclear as to exactly what she was agreeing to.
She was starting to get alarmed so she stopped reading and just signed it. There was no option in her mind to do anything else. She set the piece of paper on his desk in front of him and stood there like a servant waiting to be dismissed. She shifted nervously in her tall heels and flushed as she realized that she was his to command.
He tilted his head back, eyes revealing the satisfaction that his total conquest of her gave him. A diabolical smile spread over his face, making Claire realize that in fact she practically had sold her soul to the devil.
“We’ll start tonight at 2 o’clock in the morning. I’ll have everything ready.” His tone was commanding and cold.
“Tonight,” she gasped. Oh, God! What had she agreed to? Was this really happening? “Two in the morning. Are you kidding?”
“Two, that’s what I said, Claire,” he remarked. She noted that now she was Claire to him, not Mrs. Silk.
“What are you going to do to me, Nick?” she asked, even though she knew he wouldn’t tell her and she was afraid to know. She regretted ever coming there. But, no. Daniel. She loved him. She couldn’t let him die.
“That’s Mr. Fawcett,’” he corrected her. “And you’ll find out soon enough. Sit down again, Claire,” he directed ignoring the question. She obeyed and perched on the edge of the seat. Her head was swimming.
“When will my husband be returned? Will you pay the ransom tomorrow?” she asked.
“No, not tomorrow,” he said matter-of-factly. A hard stare that didn’t match his smile faced her. “I said you’d get your 800,000 grand and your husband back. But there are conditions. All you have to do is satisfy my needs. If you can’t do that then the deal is broken. Do you understand?”
“I’ll be here tonight at 2,” she returned hardening her resolve and steadying her voice.
“Not here. Here’s the address. And take this. You can’t get in unless you show it.” He handed her a piece of paper and a coin with a black boar on it. “See you later,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
“Yes,” she replied not realizing that there was more to his last comment than she could ever have dreamed.
Claire had no trouble staying up that night. She had hardly slept since Daniel was kidnapped. And now the dread of what was going to happen to her, kept her eyes open and staring at Daniel’s jacket hanging on a peg by the door where he left it. The digital clock read 12:59, and then blinked to 1:00. Claire was sitting at her kitchen table waiting. She had a dress on, the quintessential little black dress, with red stiletto heels. It was time to go.
She drove in quiet for forty five minutes. It seemed like four hours. And she had too much time to reconsider, to tell herself that she could just swing the car around and head home. But then the reality of it revealed itself to her again. It wasn’t a home without Daniel. She pressed on, clutching the steering wheel and drove over the darkened roadway. Every possible scenario played in her head, except the one that actually awaited her. It was more than she could have imagined Nick Fawcett would have in store for her.
She found herself at a fortress of a house set all by itself far on the outskirts of some little town. It was surrounded by tall pines and enclosed by a twelve foot high iron fence. She drove up to the gate and rolled down her window as the gatekeeper approached. She held her hand up and opened her palm revealing the coin. He nodded and pushed a button for the heavy tall gates to open and let her pass. Claire drove on over a rounded cobblestone drive until she was at the house.
The stunning house was huge. Did she expect anything less? There were no cars in sight. She parked in front of the house. A man shot out of nowhere. “I’ll park it for you, Ma’am. Go right in.” Valet parking. Claire’s stomach tightened, so fearful of what was to come. The man took her keys and was off. Her car disappeared behind a bend. Dreading each step she approached the door. Her hand began to reach for a jeweled button she assumed was the doorbell, but before she could press it, the door flew opened and an arm pulled her in. A scowling bald fat man had her by the arm. A panicky whimper slipped through her lips and was met with an angry whisper telling her to shut up. Through corridors that seemed to be hidden in the walls of the house, she was practically dragged by the man. Then he stopped in front of a door, turned the knob and pushed it open.
“Go in there. Put that on and wait,” he ordered. Who the hell was he? Claire was truly afraid. Surprisingly there were a lot of clothes hanging from hooks on the wall. She took off her dress and slipped into a sheer corset with red silk stockings and garters. Her red stilettos matched the stockings perfectly. The rest of the outfit was very conservative, a pink skirt that came to her knees, a rayon blouse, and a linen jacket. She had more clothes on after she donned this ensemble than when she arrived. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.
There was one thing left on the hook that gave her pause. A mask, bright red and feathery, hung there before her questioning face. She just put it on and gave up trying to figure it out. She looked silly considering the situation, practically dressed for a job interview but wearing a red mask and sexy underwear.
“It’s time,” gruffly the voice said, and the strong armed fat man grabbed her again pulling her along the dim corridor. Then he stopped in front of another door, opened it, and held it open for her to enter. Once she stepped through, he shut it behind her. It was an empty room with just a long table in front of the wall and a line of chairs. Mr. Fawcett sat there alone.
“Glad you made it okay. I like your outfit,” he said. Claire didn’t know what to think. She just waited for him to do whatever it was he was going to do. Apparently it turned him on for her to be dressed like a masked Sunday school teacher. What did she care? As long as she got Daniel’s ransom, she’d wear whatever he wanted.
She replied with an empty “Thank you.” She didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to get it over with.
“I am going to explain this to you,” he said and he pushed a button by him on the wall. The part of the wall above the table lifted up to reveal a window. “It’s a one way mirror,” he declared.
Claire looked through into what looked like a big living room. The lighting was subdued. Assorted upholstered furniture was arranged around. Two very good looking men were standing in the middle of the room, talking. One was wearing a conservative gray suit that looked like something a teacher or a minister might wear. The other was in a similar suit, but all black. Claire shifted uncomfortably in her stilettos. A dirty smile played on Mr. Fawcett’s lips again.
“You see, Claire. I like to watch,” he said eyeing her closely as if trying to gauge her reaction. Claire just saw his lips move and the words hung in the air before.
“You like to watch,” she echoed.
“Yeah, so go in there and put on a good show for me. The boys are ready. Be creative. Let them be too. And most importantly, remember; whether you are or not, look like you’re loving it.” He said this to her as nonchalantly as if he was ordering in a restaurant. No reply escaped her lips. She just stared at him in complete shock. It was only a half mask so it could hide tear but it couldn’t hide the expression on her mouth.
“Two?” she uttered. This whole thing was not anywhere close to what she thought was going to happen.
“Yeah, two. And you’re going to love it. Remember.” This order was a threat. She smiled the phoniest smile that she had ever plastered on her face. It was for Daniel.
“I’ll love it,” she lied, playing the game. “Just watch and see.”
“Oh, I will, Claire. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for me.” This was said in a tone that made Claire tremble fearfully. She felt her stomach tighten and she had the urge to make a run for it.
He must have been able to read that on her face because Mr. Fawcett reminded her,“You’ll never see your husband again if you run.” He cocked his head and looked her up and down. She nodded that she was only too aware of that, and they both knew that she was
n’t going anywhere..
Chapter 2
The fat man came through the door just then. He led her by the arm out of that room and into the other. Her gaze locked on the mirror once she got in. She knew he was there watching. It made her skin crawl and she felt dirty. She looked away down at the floor and her stilettos. God, what was she going to do? Could she really go through with this?
Then she took a deep breath and glared at the mirror. And it struck her that the whole reason that she was getting a chance to get her husband back was because the billionaire liked to watch. She determined to give him what he wanted, so she could have what she needed, Daniel back.
Claire turned her gaze to the two men, and she transformed into a new woman. It wasn’t her who was doing this, she told herself. It was Coco Blue, a girl who would try anything and like everything. She looked again in the mirror and now saw her alter-ego. When the mask was on, the inhibitions were off. It was the only way she could do this.
She approached the men and they smiled at her. She was going to handle this like a fight and make the first move. Coco wrapped her arms around the one in black, grabbed him by the hair on the back of his neck, pulled his head down to her, and took his mouth. He kissed her back hard. He unclasped her barrette and her long dark hair fell about her shoulders. He wrapped it around his hand and held her there to him. The one in gray moved in behind her. He stroked the back of her neck, moved down her back to her bottom. He cupped it in his hands and lifted up her skirt. Coco stiffened for a moment, shocked by it all, and overwhelmed with how fast they moved in, but she composed herself.
She had to remember that she wanted it, that she loved it.
His hand went up her skirt and he ran his fingers into her panties. Then he slipped his hand out from between her legs and trailed his hand over her thigh, feeling the softness of her leg.
“Hold on.” The one in black stepped back from the kiss and the one in gray moved around next to him so they stood facing her.
Wicked While He Watches -The Billionaire's Secret (Claire and the Billionaire) Page 1