Road to Casablanca

by Leah Leonard

  “That, my dear is the traditional Moroccan spearmint tea, a local delicacy of sorts.”

  “This is delicious, and the food is wonderful, too, really relaxing.”

  “It is good, but if you want relaxing, just wait until this afternoon. I think you’ll feel like a new woman after that.”

  Cindy smiled at him as she sipped her tea and tried to relax. He was so darned good-looking she was certain she’d be tongue-tied if it weren’t for her incredible physical exhaustion. He was quite an interesting man and she couldn’t wait to learn more about him.

  “I appreciate the dress and the jewelry, thanks.”

  “You’re most welcome. It looks great on you.”

  “Thanks.”

  They sat in silence for a moment looking out over the thick patio walls and into the arid valley below. Lush tropical vegetation hugged the walls of the hotel and filled the grounds, but judging by the barren view beyond it, Cindy could see these were planted and tended to by the hotel and not a natural part of the landscape. Nevertheless, it was a stunning view.

  “I think you’ll really like what’s coming tonight. We’ve got a big dinner with the Jibades at nine and a party afterwards. I think you will be really impressed.”

  “Is that what the dress is for?”

  “Yes, there will be lots of celebrities around here for the next few days, and I want you to fit right in.”

  “Thanks. I really enjoyed being fitted for the gown. The silks are amazing. I think the woman really knew what she was doing.”

  “Well she better. She’s fitting for a lot of the folks from Hollywood today.”

  “I’m sure I will put it to good use.”

  “Oh it’s only one of many you’ll get. The week has just started here. The big events and the awards aren’t happening until this weekend.”

  Cindy didn’t fully understand what he meant. Surely a dress like that could be worn at least twice on a trip like this one.

  “I could always wear it again later, toward the end of the week.”

  “No, not for these parties you won’t. I want you to have something new every time you step out of our—I mean your—room.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You know, you really are something. You really are different than other people I’ve met.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that if what you are saying is true, then I probably owe you a big apology for the things I said earlier. They were out of line. You don’t seem to be an overly materialistic woman out for my money.”

  “I’m…not, Erick. I am really happy just to be here. I don’t expect those kinds of things.”

  “I get that about you. I do, and believe me, it means a lot.”

  “You have to understand something about me, Erick. I grew up on a farm with sisters and hand-me-downs. This…is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “I forgot you’re not the world traveler you claimed to be on your paperwork, huh?”

  “Hey, I didn’t lie. I said exotic and overseas sounded neat, but that didn’t mean I’d ever experienced it before.”

  They both laughed as the platter was taken away and replaced by a fresh pot of tea and a wide array of delicate pastries.

  “You know, the more I think of that, the more fun it makes this trip. I can actually do things for you, show you things, new things that you seem to appreciate…”

  “I do!”

  “Do you have any idea how sexy that is for me? It makes me feel good to do for someone who appreciates me.”

  “I’m glad. Oh, and one more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do I really have to pretend to be your wife the whole time we’re here?”

  “Well, yes, if you could I would appreciate it.”

  “Not meaning to pry, but why is that?”

  Cindy watched Erick stuff a jelly roll into his mouth and his eyes wander over the valley as if he was preparing his response.

  “I...that’s why you’re here. I need someone with me because this is, let’s just say, a very traditional society. It helps my business to be seen in the same light, if you get my meaning.”

  She didn’t, but realized it was too soon to expect him to tell her more than that. She would have to gain his trust and that might take another few hours, or another day.

  “Okay, but pretty soon, you will have to trust me if you expect me to help you. You know that, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why is it you need a wife here, and more importantly, why me?”

  “The culture here is quite different than back in the U.S. The people I am dealing with here are quite conservative and family-oriented. I want them to think we share a certain level of commonality amongst us so that it will be easier for us to do business together, now and in the future.”

  The future. Cindy knew beyond this date that there was no future for the two of them.

  Victoria was right; she was merely his Cinderella, minus the glass slipper. When the clock struck twelve, her chariot would turn back into a pumpkin and she would go back home to her plain life, boring office job and cat.

  This dream was only temporary — a once-in-a-lifetime fantasy that would never amount to anything.

  It was interesting to run her mind though the various scenarios and possibilities for the future, but realistically nothing would ever come of this relationship. She was here to have an experience, expand her horizons, nothing more.

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Yes, okay. I will go along with your make-believe marriage. I will do my best to pretend you are my loving husband and that we share a wonderful life together back in the States. To do that, you’re going to have to fill me in a bit on who you are and what our life is like back there, don’t you think?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Erick’s eyes couldn’t help wandering from Cindy’s face to her bare shoulders and back again as he thought about their fictitious life together and how happy he was she was willing to play along with it.

  “We live in Hollywood — in the San Fernando Valley.”

  “How long have we lived there?”

  “Not long, just a couple of years.”

  “Do we like it there?”

  Erick watched Cindy grab a ladyfinger and put it in her mouth. He couldn’t help but wish he could take its place as he watched her full lips wrap around the pastry.

  “Hello? Are you listening?”

  Cindy waved her hand in front of his face, but his eyes were still glued to her mouth.

  “Uh, yeah, I mean yes, I think we do. I like it there more than you do, though. You miss your family and go home to see them a lot in…where do you live? I forgot.”

  “I told you, Texas. In Dallas.”

  “Oh yes, I remember now. We go to Dallas quite a lot to see your family. How many brothers and sisters did you say you have?”

  Now Cindy began sucking water from a straw and delicately licking the sugar from the corners of her mouth with the very tip of her tongue.

  Does this woman realize she’s driving me wild? She sure doesn’t seem to.

  “Two older sisters and they live in Iowa, not Texas. And you?”

  “What?”

  “Iowa…my family lives in Iowa.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course.”

  “Are you paying a bit of attention to anything I’m saying over here?”

  “Of course I am.”

  Look at her face, her eyes! You can do this!

  “What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  Realizing concentration was becoming increasingly difficult, Erick finally looked away, and took a cool drink of water. As he stared down into the valley, he wished he could put ice down his pants and cool himself off.

  “Only child.”

  “Oh…That makes a lot of sense.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Selfishness.”

  “Selfishness? What are y
ou talking about?”

  “You never had to share.”

  “Hey! Are we going to have to have our first marital spat?”

  “No, we already had that earlier in the room, remember, dear?”

  Cindy busily twisted the ends of her hair in her fingers.

  Didn’t I read someplace that means she wants sex?

  “Very funny.”

  “I’d call it a spat, even if you don’t. We’re well past introductions, you know.”

  “Yeah, I hear ya. Now back to business…the business of knowing each other. I started a software company and sold it during the dot com boom and now I am looking to invest in the film industry here.”

  “Are you a millionaire?”

  Oh boy, here she goes.

  He knew it had to be too good to be true. The girl was starting to become sexier to him, she certainly seemed nice enough, but now here she was bringing up money. They always did. The spell she’d cast on him was instantly over, his crotch shrunk back to its normal size and his mind was once again back on the business of the day.

  “I thought you didn’t care about all that.”

  “I don’t. I told you that before. Why don’t you believe me?”

  Erick stared into her eyes and thought he saw sincerity there.

  “Like I said earlier, I want to; I think I believe it, I’m just not sure.”

  “Listen, I don’t have to know, nor do I particularly care how much money you’ve got. That being said, I’m sure you meet lots of women who do. Time will take care of you trusting me, but for now, in our little fantasy, I need to know whether or not you and I are millionaires. That’s the kind of thing a wife and husband should know about each other, don’t you think?”

  Erick admired her spunk. She certainly didn’t act like the little gold diggers he was used to chasing him around Hollywood, and she was right about one thing – for this to work, he needed to trust her.

  “Yes, we are millionaires, darling.”

  “Well, that’s just fabulous!”

  Cindy lifted her chin so she could look down her nose at him. She was so cute and sexy, she was turning him on again as he stared at her long lean neck and thought about what it would taste like.

  “Yes, it is. You really like the lifestyle a lot.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well you don’t seem like you’re suffering much from it either, my friend.”

  He watched her and thought about wiping that smart-alecky attitude right off her face with a big wet kiss then carrying her kicking and screaming back up to his suite. If he wasn’t here on such important business, he would have already taken her.

  “And just how long have we been married? How long has it been that I’ve been standing by my man waiting for things to take off?”

  Erick laughed as he pondered the question wondering as he invented their life script if it was better for her to hook up with him when he was already made, or when he was still a financial nobody.

  “I don’t know. What do you think?”

  “It’s up to you, darling. This is your fantasy, not mine. I do think it sounds more noble for me to have been with you since the hard times, that we shared our struggles as we rose to the top, but again, you tell me if that will or won’t work for you. It’s certainly up for discussion.”

  “I think you’re right. You and I have been together since college and married for the past couple of years…which is when we moved to our new house in Hollywood.”

  “You sure are good at filling in the blanks! What college did we go to?”

  “UCLA.”

  “Okay, but if they ask me about that, I’ve never been there.”

  “Don’t worry, I doubt that will come up. Basically, the story is this: you stuck with me through the ups and downs, ever since college, and now you and I are reaping the rewards, enjoying the fruits of my labor.”

  “Your labor? What about me? Who cooked and cleaned for you while you went out there and made it happen?”

  “You’re right, our labor.”

  “You’re darned right, our labor!”

  Erick admired Cindy’s bare shoulders as the sunlight hit her hair. She was a pretty lady and a funny one as well.

  “Anything else we need to know about our life together?”

  “Why don’t we have any kids, or do we?”

  “No, we don’t.”

  Cindy rolled her eyes and laughed.

  “What?”

  “Figures you’d say that, like they’re really going to believe I don’t want them just because you don’t? What’s our excuse?”

  “We enjoy traveling so much, we just don’t want them.”

  Cindy laughed so loud several people turned to look at them.

  “Shh…you’re drawing attention to yourself. What’s wrong with that? Lots of people like to travel.”

  “Uh, yeah right. I love to fly. Couldn’t you tell by my latest airport fiasco? That one should go over real well.”

  Erick thought back to the scraggly woman who stepped off the plane and could hardly believe she was the same person sitting across from him now.

  “That’s not a problem.”

  Cindy rolled her eyes again.

  “Uh huh.”

  “What?”

  Erick noticed Cindy became much more contemplative.

  “Nothing.”

  “What? Tell me, wife!”

  “I’m still thinking about the no-kids story. I wonder how that is going to play with your new family-oriented friends. I’m sure they all have tons of kids and place value on that. You know a lot of people do. It seems to me if you really want this scam to go over, you need to play it to the fullest.”

  Erick gazed into her dark eyes, which he was happy to be able to see since she left her crazy glasses up in the room. She was smart, that was certain; more importantly, she was right. It was foolish not to consider it after the lengths he’d gone to so far. Family was important to his new business associates. Period.

  “Okay, let’s just say ‘not yet.’”

  “’Not yet,’ what?”

  “When they ask about our kids, we say we don’t have them yet. And again, about your fear of flying, nobody knows about that but me. I don’t see that as a big deal.”

  “Okay.”

  “Besides, by the time you get home, I’m sure you’ll have that one licked. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes, absolutely. After that many hours in the air, I know things will be much better on the way home.”

  “See? Everything is under control.”

  “If you say so…”

  They both laughed as Erick raised his tea cup to her.

  “To us, a happily married couple.”

  “To us.”

  “So now, wife, I am about to leave you to your day at the spa while I go off and do some of my more husbandly duties.”

  “And what exactly would that be?”

  “It’s an ancient ritual involving a long stick and a ball.”

  “Sounds a bit like masturbation. Is that what you have in mind?”

  Actually the more Erick sat here with her, that might be another addition to his afternoon plans. This lady was driving him mad.

  “No, it’s called golf.”

  “Ah, I see. And how long will that activity take?”

  “Already playing your role, aren’t you? Why do you think I invited you to the spa all afternoon? By the time you are finished, I too will be finished and you can join me for a romantic dinner.”

  “Sounds fine by me.”

  Erick couldn’t help scooting his chair over next to her, grabbing her face in his hands and kissing her deeply on the lips.

  He felt her struggle for a moment then relax into his touch.

  “You taste about as good as you look, you sexy little bride, you.”

  “You are too kind, sir. Thank you for lunch. I have to go now.”

  Cindy popped up out of the chair before he could stop her and he watched as she slowly sauntered away, her backside s
waying ever so gently beneath her dress.

  Later tonight, that will be mine.

  “Erick?”

  Erick looked up to see Mr. Jibade and three other men walking up to the table.

  “Good afternoon. How are you, sir?”

  “Are you ready for golf?”

  “Absolutely. Perfect timing, in fact.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Cindy smiled as she walked away from the table, the tingle of Erick’s kiss and the scent of his cologne still fresh. She had to admit was quite a charmer, but there was something indescribable about him too, and it was that special something that made her feel the time couldn’t pass fast enough until she could see him again.

  Down at the bottom of the long flight of stone steps, a sign pointed the way to the spa and salon. The scent of fresh flowers filled Cindy’s nose and the sun warmed her shoulders on her walk through the gardens.

  At least a half dozen expertly coiffed ladies passed her by, all looking incredibly relaxed and smelling of scented lotions, so Cindy knew she was headed in the right direction.

  The salon doors were partially hidden by palm trees, flowers and a thick thatched roof. A beautiful young girl with long dark hair and olive skin greeted her at the door.

  “Hello, welcome to Sultana Spa. How may we help?”

  “I’m Cindy Brown. I have an appointment at the spa this afternoon.”

  “Yes, Ms. Brown. We’ve been expecting you. Come right this way.”

  Cindy followed the girl down a long tiled hallway; relaxing music played softly in the background.

  “We will begin today with your haircut, followed by a facial, massage, and mud bath. After that, you may shower and we will style your hair and do your makeup.”

  Cindy couldn’t believe she was being given such a treat. Erick was a generous man. Of course she realized he needed her to look her best, but still, it seemed he was going all out to try to please her.

  The stylist was another gorgeous local girl who spoke perfect English. She was impeccably dressed and Cindy felt completely at ease with her.

  “What would you like done with your hair?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What I suggest is shaping here, taking a few inches off there and some highlights to bring out your eyes. Is that okay?”

  Cindy had never indulged in such extravagance before. But she was here to have an incredible experience, and if that was going to happen, she knew she had to trust the team of experts and allow them to do their thing.