‘Not far, in fact we’ll be there any second. The restaurant has the most amazing view of the laser light show on the island and the food is supposed to be spectacular too.’
‘It’s not somewhere really expensive is it?’ I shot him a concerned glance, trying not to focus on his kissable full lips.
‘Does it matter? I’m taking you out for dinner and I’m paying. I just want you to relax and enjoy yourself, as if it were a date with any of the boys from your home town.’
‘If that’s your wish, then I will do as I’m told,’ I nodded.
‘Are you always so obedient?’ he enquired, looking me directly in the eyes.
‘I try to be. It is customary for a Thai lady to be on her best behaviour and to make sure that her man is happy and well cared for.’
‘And am I? Your man?’ he asked carefully, studying my face as I tried to process what he’d just asked.
‘Mr. Ponsonby, I …’ I stalled, shocked. I knew he liked me, but he was implying he wanted a relationship with me.
‘Charles,’ he interrupted, still holding my gaze.
‘We’re just having dinner. Tomorrow you return home and I won’t see you again.’
‘You will. I’ll be coming back more regularly for meetings with Chinese investors. Could you see yourself dating me, exclusively, if I were to visit every few weeks? If things went well you could move to Singapore to be with me.’
‘You want a relationship? With me?’ I uttered, dumbfounded. He was a rich banker, I was a lowly maid with virtually no savings.
‘Yes,’ he nodded, lifting my hand to his lips again. ‘You are like no one I’ve ever met. You beguile me, Alana. I’m so taken with you that I want more. I want you all to myself. To be mine and only mine.’
‘This isn’t some fairy tale or film, Charles. It’s not “Maid in Manhattan” where Ralph Fiennes rides off into the sunset with Jennifer Lopez.’
‘No, for starters your backside isn’t nearly as large,’ he chuckled. ‘It’s “Maid in Hong Kong” and I want to ride off into the sunset with you, Alana Mookjai. We’re here, you don’t need to give me an answer immediately, but I’m not sure I can get on that plane tomorrow without knowing. Let’s go and eat and forget this for now.’
He took my hand to help me out of the limo, not letting go as we walked towards the restaurant entrance. My head was spinning. He wanted a relationship with me? He barely knew me. I’d told him nothing of my past, of the reason I no longer had contact with my family. If he was so attracted to Thai ladies, why wasn’t he pursuing one who came from a wealthy background, someone with a University degree already, someone more on his own footing. The thought had crossed my mind that maybe all he was after was a housekeeper to fuck now and then, not a real “relationship,” but he’d been so respectful with me, that I didn’t think that was the case. I was feeling very confused.
Charles
I held her hand as we headed back to the waiting limo, still stunned at the amount of food we’d just wasted. I’d taken her to the best dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong and she’d ordered that many dishes we’d nearly covered the whole menu, yet she’d only had a few bites of each of them. I’d heard that this was customary with many Thai women, but I’d never seen it. The smile on her face though, as she’d tucked into those delicious morsels, had been worth it. She’d confessed that she’d never been taken out on a formal date, let alone to a restaurant as upmarket as this. As I sat watching her, I’d decided that I wanted to take her out on many dates. I’d finally found the woman who made my heart beat that bit faster, as well as making my cock stiff. I’d also never waited so long for a woman I was sexually attracted to. My need to have her was overwhelming, yet what was more surprising, was that I felt respect for her. I wanted to be different for her, I wanted to treat her as if she was the most special woman in the world. My woman.
My only woman.
I had a difficult few weeks ahead of me if I was going to have to break it off with the other women in my life. That news, I was positive, wasn’t going to go down well and I wondered what the possible repercussions of that could be. Alana smiled up at me as I helped her into the limo, that smile was like a ray of sunshine piercing the gloom that had suddenly descended on me. I’d put up with anything they had to throw at me if it meant I spent the rest of my life getting smiles from this woman. I did my best to focus on her face as we headed back to The Domville, instead of looking at that flash of bare thigh through the slit in her dress. Could I really go back to Singapore without having been inside her?
‘Meet me in my suite for a nightcap?’ I asked as we pulled up at the rear of the hotel.
‘Charles, I don’t know if that’s appropriate,’ she replied, dropping her chin to her chest, breaking eye contact with me.
‘We’ve done it every night, why is tonight different?’
‘It’s your last night and I think that you might have certain expectations,’ she whispered.
‘You think I want to have sex with you?’
‘Don’t you?’ she asked, still not looking at me.
‘Of course I do, why do I think that you don’t want that to happen?’ I asked, lifting her hand to my lips and kissing it. I knew she wanted me. I’d seen her not so covert looks at my backside and cock when she’d thought I wasn’t looking. The way she licked her lips and her chest heaved when we were close or touching.
‘It’s … too soon. I promised myself that I would only sleep with someone again if I saw a future with them.’
‘You don’t see a future with me?’ I asked, feeling surprisingly hurt. She let out a gentle breath of air before looking back up at me. ‘I’m falling in love with you, Alana Mookjai. When I see my future, all I see is you.’
‘Charles,’ she whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she shook her head. ‘You barely know me.’
‘I know enough. I know that I’ve never wanted a woman like this before. I’ve never spent time with women, wooed them or been a gentleman for them either. I fuck women, Alana. It’s all I do, it’s all I’ve ever done, often more than one woman concurrently, but I’m prepared to give all of that up for you. If you’ll have me. Will you have me?’ I could hear the nerves in my voice, not since Carly had I ever asked a woman out, officially.
‘You are seeing some of these other women still while you are here with me?’ she asked, looking hurt, which pained me far more than it should have done.
‘Yes,’ I admitted, ‘but the minute I get back home I’ll be telling them that it’s over. If you’ll have me, I want to be your one and only, just as you’ll be mine.’
‘Charles, I just … I’m sorry, I can’t do this,’ she uttered, flinging open the door of the limo and fleeing before I had a chance to stop her. I stared into the dark in shock, wondering what had just happened, before jumping out and running after her. I turned the corner of the high wall at the back of The Domville in time to see her disappearing through the staff entrance gates. Damn it. I strode back to the limo with my face set in a determined line. No way was I leaving in a few hours with that having been our last conversation.
All attempts to contact her on her mobile proved futile. I checked my watch, I only had half an hour before the limo returned to take me back to the airport. I had to know. Li Wu had already packed my cases and they were waiting for the porter in the lobby. All I had to do was pace, full of frustration. Li Wu! It hit me, he was here to make sure I had everything I wanted. I picked up the lounge tablet and summoned him.
‘How can I help you, Sir?’ came his voice.
‘I wish to see my maid, to thank her in person for looking after the suite so well.’
‘That’s very kind of you, Sir, but it’s her job. There’s no need.’
‘I insist, please have her come to me immediately, I’m due to leave shortly,’ I snapped, my patience was already wearing down with each passing minute, let alone having to battle to have my wishes met.
‘Certainly, Sir. My apologies for upsetting yo
u,’ he replied. ‘She’ll be with you shortly.’
I continued to walk back and forth, my eyes never leaving the double doors from the lobby to the lounge and my heart leapt into my mouth when they finally swung open to reveal her standing there, hands knotted in front of her, head down looking at the floor.
‘You wanted to see me, Sir?’ she asked.
‘So it’s “Sir” now, not Charles?’ I asked, striding over to stand in front of her.
‘It’s for the best. You’re leaving now and I’m just a maid, nothing more. I didn’t sleep with you, so you don’t need to be nice to me anymore and you never have to see me again.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ I bit, reaching out to grip her chin and angling it up to force her to look at me. ‘Would I have liked to have had sex with you? Yes of course I would. I’m a red blooded male, but I respected you enough not to push it if you’d said no. I care about you, Alana. More than I’ve ever cared about anyone. I’m not bothered that you’re a maid, you could own the damn hotel and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. I just want an answer. Will you be my girl, will you wait for me until I come back in a few weeks?’
‘You’re serious?’ she whispered, her lashes batting her cheeks a few times as she blinked up at me.
‘Deadly serious,’ I nodded, holding her gaze to emphasise the point. ‘I want to be with you, but if I’m going to end my current relationships for you I need some sort of sign that you want this too.’ I released my grip on her as she remained silent. I felt totally defeated. I wasn’t used to rejection, the fact it was someone I really cared for made it sting even more. I let out a heavy sigh with a shake of my head. ‘Goodbye then, Alana. I really had the most incredible couple of weeks with you.’
She surprised me by suddenly flinging her arms around my neck and kissing me forcefully. Before I knew what was happening her tongue was in my mouth and it took a second for me to regain my equilibrium and remember I was the man, I should be the one setting the pace. I felt a low growl rumble up from my core as I wrapped my arms around her slender waist, lifting her off the floor as I took charge of the kiss and made her whimper into my mouth. It had been so long since I kissed anyone, but I knew that it had never felt this good. Not even those first kisses with Carly when we were high on teenage lust. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Alana was the woman I was meant to be with. I only hoped that she felt the same about me.
Truths Revealed
Charles
I spent the flight from Hong Kong to London with a ridiculous grin on my face, remembering how that incredible kiss had felt. The way she’d thrown herself at me, showing a surprising amount of strength and skill that she’d been hiding behind that meek demeanour. I’d really liked it. I passed quickly through customs, turning on my phone as I looked for the driver I’d hired to collect me. I’d told no one that I was coming home, as I’d wanted the element of surprise on my side. I stopped in my tracks as a barrage of alerts sounded loudly on my phone. I had numerous missed calls and voice messages as well as texts from Zena, urging me to call her the moment I landed. I stepped out of the way of some passengers behind me, tutting as they tried to hurry past, and dialled her directly.
‘Thank God,’ she uttered, her voice full of relief. ‘Please tell me that you haven’t left the airport?’
‘No, just exited customs. What’s going on? Is it old man Blandford? Has something happened to him?’
‘O no, it’s way worse,’ she exclaimed. ‘Listen?’ The line was silent for a second as I heard her walking, then I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I heard screeching in the background, sure one of the voices on a verbal rant was Sai. I’d never heard her so angry.
‘Shit, has Laura turned up in the office upsetting Sai again?’
‘Laura?’ she laughed. ‘The same Laura who told me she can’t work for you anymore after the confrontation with Sai in the office last week? I’d say Laura is the least of your problems. She’s a kitten compared to these two hormonal lionesses. You’d better turn around and catch the next flight back before things get even worse.’
‘Zena, what the hell’s going on?’ I demanded.
‘Just the small matter of your wife turning up for a surprise vacation with you because she misses you. A wife even I didn’t know you had, so you can imagine how well that went down with Sai,’ she replied sternly.
‘Fuck! Carly’s there?’ I uttered, running my free hand through my hair. ‘I came to bloody England to tell her it’s over, face to face.’
‘O, I think she’s got that message loud and clear, given Sai’s told her all about your ongoing relationships with her and Laura. To say she was shocked was an understatement. In fact, include me in that statement, five years I’ve worked for you and you never once mentioned you were married. I’m bloody furious with you and I didn’t fuck you! Imagine how the two women that did are feeling right now. I’ve got to go, I shoved them in your office to try and contain the fall out, but it sounds like they’re trashing the place. All I need now is for Laura to turn up and Mr. Blandford to drop dead of a heart attack with all the noise and destruction going on in his building. You owe me a serious raise for this. Get your arse back now and clean up your shit,’ she ordered, cutting me off before I had a chance to say anymore.
‘Shit. Shit, shit, shit!’ I uttered as I scrubbed my hands over my face. I’d deliberately not told anyone I was married and I made sure Carly only had my mobile number, to avoid any complications. I’d never foreseen her flying to bloody Singapore to be with me, let alone her surprising me in the office. I went home every couple of months to spend a week with her. She’d refused to move out here when I’d asked her all those years ago and had been so upset, stupidly I’d asked her to marry me, saying if we were married we could make anything work, even long distance. In a way it had worked, for me anyway. I had the security of a loving wife waiting for me at home, and the bonus of amazing sex with Sai and Laura while I was out here. Sex between Carly and I had become a function for me. She just didn’t turn me on anymore, not the way my Eastern beauties did. I hadn’t wanted to hurt her by letting her know I’d been screwing around behind her back though. I’d come to England to tell her it wasn’t working for me and that she deserved to be with someone who could give her more time and attention than I could. Worse than the fucking mess I’d just got myself into, was the fact that Carly had insisted on a pre-nup, given she came from money herself. If I was found to have had an affair, I’d owe her even more in the divorce. Damn it. I headed to departures to find a ticket desk and jumped as my phone rang again. ‘What?’ I snapped.
‘You just caught a lucky break,’ Zena’s pissed off voice announced over the din of Carly and Sai still screaming at each other in the background. ‘Blandford wants you back in Hong Kong immediately. The Chinese want to proceed with the deal and he says it’s your top priority regardless of annual leave.’
‘Over a showdown between my pissed off wife and furious assistant, in the office?’ I asked, wishing I’d had this news a little earlier so I could have at least celebrated and congratulated myself for a brief fucking moment. It was the deal of the century.
‘Looks like I’m going to have to handle that for you as well. Carly was staying for two weeks, assuming she doesn’t want to head back to England early and avoid you. I’ve secured the suite in Hong Kong again for you for three nights, so if you get an overnight flight it will be available to you from tomorrow. I’ll arrange a translator for you as it’s too short notice for me to join you for the meeting. Do I send Carly to yours, or book her a separate suite?’
‘Laura’s there, do you really think that’s a good idea?’ I enquired with a roll of my eyes, stiffening as I heard a crash in the background. ‘What the hell was that?’
‘Your brandy decanter on the glass office door,’ she sighed. ‘I say we send her to your suite to meet Laura. Better to hit the poor woman with all the bad news at once. Let them all duke it out while you’re in Hong Kong. Hopefully by the
time you come home they’ll all have calmed down a little. You’d better have a good think about what you want before you return, as they’re going to be wanting answers.’
‘I already know what I want,’ I confirmed, sure in my convictions, and it wasn’t any of the three women I’d been fucking for the last few years. It was the one woman I hadn’t, who would be there in Hong Kong when I arrived tomorrow. Suddenly all of my problems seemed to melt into the background. If I got Alana out of this, it would all have been worth it.
‘Let me guess, a certain Thai maid? Do you even have the capacity to be with one woman at a time?’
‘I won’t know until I try, will I,’ I replied honestly. ‘But for her I’m willing to give it my best shot.’
‘Just be careful,’ she sighed. ‘I couldn’t find out much on her background check. It was like she didn’t even exist until a few years ago. I pulled up nothing on her family and while she’s not broke, she’s not exactly rolling in money. You might just be a meal ticket out of a life of hard work.’
‘I don’t care anymore, I can afford to take care of her. There’s nothing about her past that would change the way I feel about her.’
‘I have some potential replacements for Sai and Laura lined up, I take it you want me to do a first set of interviews?’ She hissed as there was the sound of another crash in the background. I dreaded to think what state my office was going to be in when I returned.
‘I think it’s for the best. I’ll give them a generous leaving bonus.’
‘On top of my very generous bonus,’ she reminded me. ‘I’ve got to go, I think furniture is next on the list of weapons of destruction. Seal the deal and get back here, I’m really not paid for all this personal shit.’ She hung up again before I had a chance to say anymore.
I took a deep calming breath, Carly, Sai and Laura were problems I didn’t have to face now until the weekend. My more immediate issue was ensuring I closed the deal with both the Chinese and Alana before the week was up. I headed towards Emirates’ ticket desk to book the next available first class flight back to Hong Kong, suddenly feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
The Domville 4 (The Domville #4) Page 5