“You are Parker, and call me Chris, because we’re a first name family here, so welcome to the family. I hope we get along, now I have to be going I have my jet waiting. Any problems, questions anything I haven’t told you, ring Judy that’s stored in your phone, as is my number, Pauls number, he’s the pilot and Henry my head of security, if you need anything don’t be afraid to ask, we don’t bite. Oh sorry your office here is right next door, Stacey will get you anything you need just ask. Right I have to be going, Jamie here my security officer whilst I’m away goodbye and good luck.”
“Thanks for taking the chance on me and happy flying.” I pack my things away and watch as she takes herself to her office, I think she’s a keeper she reminds me of a young Judy, oh hell no, not two of them.
“Sir we have an hour to get to the plane and here are the files you requested on Ms McAlister, Henry says she sounds like a find and is sending Paul for her at ten in the morning, I have informed Stacey of the time and she will pass on the message.”
“Thanks Jamie, let’s get this trip finished, who’s mad idea was it to remodel the Hong Kong Easy? Oh right, that would be mine.”
We head for the airport and I catch Parker smiling at me, I wave back and get in the car. We make it to the plane in plenty of time, and as customs board and do the usual checks, I’m able to relax a little and concentrate on my game plan for the island holiday. This trip is a make or break thing for me, and my last shot with Bella, if I mess this up Luis tells me there will be no other chances. I need to make a few calls then I will settle into my cabin and catch up on sleep, because as soon as we land, we are on site at the hotel. I have to look in at the club and see how that revamp is doing. Doing both was a little ambitious, but it means I only have to do these meetings once. I should have brought Parker, and tested her Mandarin she would have been helpful, next time, perhaps? I phone Judy and let her know she is having a visitor, and get her to pay all Parkers more pressing debts off, reading through the reports it’s mainly bills from her father, bills that are in her name. Parker had already phoned Judy and introduced herself as a courtesy. I hit the cabin and get some much needed shut eye, as does Jamie, this is his first big solo detail.
We arrive and get straight down to it, and for four solid days we argue and shop and chose damn colours, red is a popular colour choice here, especially in the club it represents happiness, beauty, success, good fortune and the Number Eight Club, is a highly popular casino and nightclub. My days are long and nights longer, I cat nap the whole stay, I also grab a couple of nice fancy dress costumes, a zebra and a skunk, Luis says the skunk is fine I am to be Pepé Le Pew. I am also to speak French and tell her I do not speak English, apparently my ‘y’all’ will give me away? Luis says he feels like my pimp. I go and buy her present, and damn it she has everything, apart from a ring, and that’s a little too presumptuous even for me to give her, I have it already, but it stays in my pocket, just in case it’s needed. I know a watch, I will get her a watch, now where to get the said watch?
The answer is on my wrist, I will get her a Rolex, so we head to their store here and as I walk in, I am at ease in here because watches I know about, Rolex’s especially, I love them. After being shown their matching collection, I make the purchases and leave with an identical pair apparently, they are called couples watches, I can but hope. After I purchase a card, and then arrange for the wild flowers to be sent to my hotel on St Bart’s, on the morning of our birthday. I feel nervous as I pack for the next leg of my journey…
CHAPTER TWELVE:
Bella:
Luis and I are on our way to our wonderful secret holiday, which is now a joke, it is turning into a damn circus, and I was just informed as I boarded the jet in Spain, that the hotel was now full. How many people had my mother now invited? The party had now moved from the beach to the hotel, the hog roast, and the barbeque was now a catered meal. The whole thing was way out of control, so I did what Luis did and drank myself into oblivion at the impending circus, now that would be a better theme for my party and I could dress everyone as clowns, yikkies why didn’t I think of that before…?
Chris’s fear of clowns, his Coulrophobia which would have definitely kept him away, I had no need to worry though, I’d also heard through quite mumblings that he’d been invited, but is choosing to stay at home and have a steak dinner and a few beers by his pool, Amy keeps me informed of his plans bless her, and I know this time that the info is correct, so I’m not bothered really. I have feelings for him and I think I always will, but know nothing good will ever come of it.
“Penny for your thoughts Bella Pooh, you look lost and out of it.” I sip on the vodka and tonic and mull the strange feelings through my head.
“Just thinking Luis, just thinking...”
“I bet I know who about too?” I smile and sip the last of my drink and swirl the ice cube around the glass and sigh, the clink as I place it down alerts Tom, the flight attendant, to my request to keep them coming, he dutifully places the next drink down before me.
“Go easy on those please. I don’t want to be drunk sister watching.” I huff, as only a spoilt little sister should.
“Pay back brother dear, is a bitch, how many times have I put you to bed, shit how much sick and detritus have I moved from the aftermath of your drunken grab-em-home-booty-calls? You owe me Luis, and I’m bloody cashing in the IOU’s, all of them. I intend to be hammered from start to finish of my shity birthday week, so yeah watch my back for a change.” After a horrific ten hours of turbulence and my fowl temper we finally landed in Florida, Tampa to be precise.
We’d added in a couple of extra day’s holiday and we were stopping off in Tampa to do the theme park here, something I have never done before. We were supposed to be taking it easy before our holiday started. The holiday that I had, three years ago envisaged, the one on the quiet lazy island, is no more. It is now an out of control disaster waiting to happen, so instead of relaxing I was rushing around getting last minute stuff, including the furriest penguin suit I could find, Luis is gonna pay for mum getting the drop on my twenty first birthday holiday. I also got Chris his birthday gift too...
Unlike him, I did not though actually send the gifts I bought him. I simply placed them in a box year after year well that’s an overstatement, the year’s thing? I have two previous gifts and this new one, a fluffy donkey wearing a St Christopher’s medal that I purchased in the mall here. I may box them up with the hundreds of texts and emails I have sent him over the past painful three years since our last encounter, happy birthday Chris.
I buy some rather daring bikinis, why have the body and not wear them? I was very brave when drunk, I stopped in a bar with Rosanna, my security for the trip, Julie is away with her hunky German boyfriend, on her first trip without me tagging along. I fear after we graduate from university, I am going to lose her to Günter, the man she fell in love with whilst eating knackwursts, after a night on the tiles. A night were although she was supposed to be my protection, I ended up being hers and her interpreter. It was so not good telling the hunky six foot eight body builder of her intentions to strip him naked, and pole dance his body all night, something that tickled him immensely, and after that night she learnt more German and he improved his English, damn sharpish.
Yes, she did dance on his pole all night and most of the sodding weekend, my ears were packed full of cotton wool all weekend, I never want to hear her scream, “Das is good yah baby?” Never, ever again…
“Miss Isabella, we need to be going you really have had too much to drink.” I had and I agreed, so bags in hand I was helped to the car with the mass of bags, full of my slutty clothes and my head was a hot woozy mess of Vodka and Red Bulls.
“Rosanna, have you been told about the four foot rule?”
“I have Miss yes.”
“Well when we get to the island, if you come within twenty foot of me, you’re sacked and I cancel the party, and I fly away to somewhere else and please do tell Bedford I�
��m serious. I’m not a fucking baby anymore. Go on tell him before I get my bags and just do one when I get back to the hotel.”
She did as requested and from the look on her face he wasn’t damn happy, well tuff titty I’d had over twenty sodding years of having a shadow and I was now at the end of tether with it all. I was taking my life back. As she handed me her phone I heard the voice of my tormentor on the other end of the handset.
“You will do no such thing Bella you will allow Miss Dumfries to do her job. Do you hear me, are we clear?”
“Oh I hear you, I hear you loud and fucking clear, I have had enough, and I am now demanding all protection be taken off me. I want to be free to live my fucking life do you understand Bedford I’m sick of it all, sick and damn tired? Tell Dad twenty feet, or I leave and I will not have any security at all, are we clear? You work for Dad not me you cannot tell me how to live my life, now Bedford are we clear?” I snapped shut the phone just as we got to the hotel. I was a tad drunk yes, but the damn woman was not Julie, Julie gave me a little more freedom a little space, she I trusted and she trusted me. Oops Luis was at the front of the hotel obviously angry and on the phone to someone.
“She’s here, no I do not have her passport, no I do not have her cards, you tell her Dad, she is so unhappy at the moment, she wanted a quiet relaxing week and Mum ruined it for her, she didn’t want this Dad, but she agreed to it because Mum was teary and made her feel like shit. All she wanted was her, me and a beech, she doesn’t ask for much, give her this Dad give her a little more space, she has at least earned that much, her agreed to number of forty, has turned into well over a hundred, that’s not what she agreed to.” I smiled my big brother had said all I needed he passed me his phone as I took a deep breath.
“Bella what the hell are you playing at, Rosanna says you have been drunk from getting on the jet in Spain, is this right?”
“Um hum, it is and do you know Dad it feels great, now I need sleep before I fly away to a quieter bloody island, were nobody knows my name.”
“Isabella Maria Humphries if you do that I will cut you off.”
“Do you know what Dad? I don’t care anymore cut me off, I have my own bank accounts with my own money, all I am asking for is a little more space to breathe, it’s not too much trouble to ask that on a private holiday, I don’t have a freaky, strange woman virtually holding my hand and taking me to the crapper.”
“Bella, why are you doing this?”
“Why? I will tell you why, a perfectly nice boy asked me what I was drinking. I said I was fine with the coke and my sandwich, he then smiled and whispered I was beautiful and before I knew what was happening next, my new pair of Bedford’s Bevis and Butt Head security had him an arm lock and were forcibly taking him out of the bar. He was harmless, and I wasn’t at that time intending to get drunk, I hate this Dad I hate it. Gina is meant to be in the past and I need more sodding space I want what Luis has, what Rachel has, I want to be allowed to grow up. If you don’t let me I will take the problem away, I will walk away.” He sighed as I passed the phone back to Luis and went to my room and hit my bed I wasn’t for arguing anymore, plus I’d got a storming vodka fuelled headache, which was my fault, it was my bag and hell I will be bad in the morning.
I wasn’t too bad after all when I woke up and as I hadn’t in fact got any sign of the dread hangover, I did a two hour cardio and kick boxing session in the gym, where I noticed the security were in hiding and well away from the four foot imposed security line. I threw my trainer and sparing partners around the floor, kicking arse and yeah alright landing on my backside a few times, but I felt empowered, free and damn good at this shit. I showered and changed and ate my breakfast, Luis joined me and told me Dad had relaxed security, and has told Mum to quit with the over enthusiasm on the party front, or I would not be there and he told her I meant ever, not just at the party, that I’d had enough and had cracked.
Luis and I spent the whole day at Busch Gardens Tampa, every ride enjoyed, every morsel eaten and we had one guard only, who stayed in the shadows, this was the most freedom I had ever had, even with Julie I knew she was there doing a job and was not my friend, well she was, but she was only there to first and foremost, to watch my back.
“Can we go on one last ride and then go to a club? I fancy some serious cocktails and pull some moves on the dance floor with my big brother.”
“With you on that Sis, I have to make a quick phone call, can you get me a smoothie from the stand there any flavour will do.”
“Okay be right back.” I watched as he spoke to whoever smiling back at me with a wave. He’s up to something that brother of mine I just have to figure out what. I hand over the ten bucks for the two drinks and wonder if I have to get security one?
“Here do I need to get Bevis or Butt Head one?”
“No he will get his own, have you had a good day Bella Pooh?”
“I have Lou-Lou Bell. Who were you on the phone to?”
“Chris, he rang me earlier and I had to return the call. He is on a business trip to Hong Kong and sends his love and said he’d re-read the book and it had been longer than a year and a day, how much longer does he have to wait to be given forgiveness?”
“He’s forgiven, I guess time is a great healer and all that crap. I should have invited him really and buried the hatchet a long time ago, but I’ve been really busy. I guess he can’t come then?”
“No, he has a business meeting, and then he’s home for his birthday, he said something about a steak and beer day in the pool with the twins?”
“Twins, he’s seeing twins, great he hasn’t changed then?”
“Yeah, two real beauts, called Megan and Georgia, Tammy and Henry’s twin girls, you know the only girls he adores and worships are the near three year old terrors?” Okay stupid me. “Why are you so jealous Bella, do you still have a crush on him after all this time?” I blush.
“No I do not. I think that’s best left in the past, way back in the past. Why the sudden interest in my love life Luis?”
“I’m just interested Bella that’s all. He still likes you, and very much, you know. that right? He always asks about you, he talks to Mum all the time about you.” I gather so.
“Well maybe someday we will be in the same place at the right time, obviously not in four days for my birthday. I need his address too I have a few things I bought him for his birthdays, over the past three years I would like to send them to him.”
“Wrap them and pack them, and I will send them later, I have some mail I have to send for work. Right last ride, and then back to the hotel, can we give partying a miss, we have to be up in the air earlier. Mum and Dad want the jet.” I agreed seeing as I had little choice.
After getting back to my hotel room, I add the new gift to the already packed Chris birthday gifts I will no longer be carrying them with me, after they are posted. I carried them because I often wished he would turn up, so each trip I take, each birthday I have, they are with me just in case, sad I know, but then I am sad ninety percent of the damned time, anyhow I printed out all the emails and the text messages, and put them in a box and wrapped them, knocking on Luis door I handed him the box and went to bed, too late to go running back in for the box now, it’s a done deal. I showered packed my stuff and went to bed.
We were on our way to St Bart’s. I start drinking again as Luis and I had a competition, truth or dare, and a shot for every fail. I was drunk and he was well on his way too…
“Luis your turn… When did you lose it?”
“What, my mind? Agreeing to come here with you, you mean my cherry, right?” I blush. “When I was fifteen and on Chris’s sixteenth birthday, he did too.”
“I didn’t ask about Chris, but I’m now aware he lost his virginity, at the same age I wanted him to take mine, talk about double standards Luis.”
“You wanted to what with who?”
“I wanted to lose it to Chris so, that’s no secret I told you already, I’m just pissed
off he had done it at my age.”
“I thought you said you just kissed him?”
“I did, I wanted to go further he didn’t want me that way, something about it being illegal was mentioned and we agreed to wait, I did he didn’t old news.”
“WHAT, YOU’RE NOT A VIRGIN?” I laugh.
“I’m twenty one in four days what do you think?” I’ll let him sweat, but yeah, I’m still intact mores’ the pity. “Any way thank you for thinking I’m like you and Rachel, unlike you two, bedroom activities for me, means sleeping and that’s all.”
“Sorry I just presumed don’t worry not asking for details of your past dates because that would be too much.” Good because I hate to lie. “Right what next this games gotten old now, do you know it was better the last time I played it, but then I was with twin strippers and we did naked truth or dare. I’ve had enough.”
“Sir Madam, we’re coming into land can you get seated and buckle in please?” Tom takes our drinks and takes his seat after checking the Humphries children are all fastened in.
“Mum and Dad get here tomorrow, so tonight we chill, the barbeque is back on, as is the hog roast and the beach luau is back on. Dad thought you’d be better with accepting the extra guests if the party was your original idea. The cousins are already on their way OMG, yes, they are still saying it, what are they like sixteen again? Their husbands are coming with them. More pressure for us, as Dora’s pregnant too. Gheeze Bella, I am sorely pissed because Sister Rachel gets in tonight too she even asked if her mum could come do you believe her?” I snigger as the wheals land gently.
“No, she didn’t? I bet Mum stopped her yes?”
“Nope Dad did, Mum said the old hag could come, she wanted to show her what true beauty was, I think she meant me.” I laugh as he preens.
“When did you find out about Dora, she swore me to secrecy?”
Soul Mates. The Beginning. Page 25