“You understand what I’m saying, right?” Ruth smiled and nodded her head. “Anyway, I know you don’t need the money, which is good because the job doesn’t pay that much, but I need a manager to oversee the concierge, and I think you would be perfect for it.” Vicky once again stepped outside her purview as CEO, and offered a job that Human Resources should be handling. The last time she did that, she agreed to hire Aidan. Of course that was different in that she didn’t know it was Aidan when she offered. She was just trying to help a wounded soldier. In a way, Ruth was also a wounded soldier, having guarded her secret for all those years.
“So, my job would be talking with folks, giving them directions, that sort of thing?”
“Yes. You would be the first contact for most of the patients, and that is a critical job. You would set the tone of the whole hospital.” Vicky exaggerated just a little. “The department would consist of you, and three of your staff.”
“I do enjoy bossing people around, but Vicky, I’m too old to start a new career, and too rich to have to work eight hours a day anymore.”
“Aunt Ruth, you set your own hours, and delegate the work to your staff. You’d be a doorkeeper, how hard can that be?”
“Well, when you put it that way…, sure, I’ll give it a try. It might be fun.”
***
“Tell you what, little lady. I’ve got a wad of bills here, that I’d be willing to bet against that hot rod of yours, I saw you pull up in.”
Aidan was caught off guard. “Fuck me.”
“Maybe later.” The greasy mechanic laughed at his own joke. “Right now are you gonna bet that car, or ain’t ya?”
“Give me a minute, damn it!” Aidan clinched her cigar between her teeth, and leaned back in her chair. She knew this was wrong. She knew if she offered up her classic Mustang, a Boss 429 muscle car, it would just be out of prideful desperation. She already had two thousand dollars on the table, and the pot would garner the winning hand, ten thousand dollars. But she could up the ante, since he had a bank roll that could cover it. So, should she fold and walk away, or stay and bet her beloved car? A car that she bought straight out of boot camp, and paid it off, even before the oil needed changing.
She blocked everything out, save for the cards on the table. He had a possible straight, while she had a possible flush, depending on the next card she drew. She looked at his face, emotionless, yet cocky. A once lost memory came to mind that reminded her of a poker game in Texas, where she won the bet, but ended up having to fight three Marine grunts because of it. She had won the pot, and the fight. That thought gave her the courage she needed.
“Well? Do you have the balls to make the bet or not?”
“Nope. Actually, I have the vagina. I’ll see your bet, and raise you my car.”
Aidan threw the keys to her car on the pot, and drew another card. The room fell deathly still, even the smoke seemed to freeze in place, as they turned their cards over at the same time. Everyone around the table gasped in unison.
“Fuck… me.”
Chapter 5
Applying extra makeup to the scar on her chest, Vicky examined herself in the full length mirror, and approved of what she saw. She chose a strapless, royal blue velvet cocktail dress, cut low to draw Aidan’s attention down to her full, soft breasts, where she placed a tiny drop of expensive cologne.
The ensemble was complete with a string of pearls adorning her neck, and dangling from her left wrist. Her diamond engagement ring, which looked larger on her slim finger, sparkled brighter than usual. Her shimmering blonde hair, newly coiffure just for the occasion, contoured around her face, adding to the sensual softness of her alabaster skin. Just as she was about to put in her matching pearl earrings, the doorbell rang.
Vicky hastily slipped into her heels, and inserted the last earring, while she hurried to the door. Aidan stood on the other side, wearing a form fitting white shirt, and a turquoise tuxedo vest, that accented her auburn hair, and brought out her emerald eyes. She wore a pair of skin-tight, black jeans, that showed how muscular, and in shape she was. And finally she had on her favorite black boots that gave her that strong, handsome look. Dressing up like that for Vicky, was like creating a special culinary dish. It brought out Aidan’s self-assured side, with a dash of cockiness, and a pinch of studliness, thrown in for good measure.
When Vicky opened the door, she was surprised that Aidan was standing there holding flowers, and a box of chocolates. She knew it would be Aidan, but didn’t expect that she’d come bearing gifts. It made her feel special, and a little bit giddy, in anticipation of what else the night might hold.
Both lovers looked each other up and down, and said in unison, “Wow!”
Aidan couldn’t take her eyes off the sensual blonde, standing in front of her. She all but drooled, “Is all that exquisiteness, just for me?”
“Only if all that handsomeness, is for me.” Vicky felt her knees go weak, and a smoldering fire beginning to grow hotter.
Aidan grinned, and stood straighter. She loved when Vicky called her handsome, it made her feel strong, and in control, something she felt lacking, on more than one occasion, lately. Remembering she came bearing gifts, she handed them to Vicky.
“These are for you, m’lady.”
“Oh, thank you, they’re beautiful.” Vicky kissed her on the cheek, because her arousal was instantaneous, and she knew if Aidan touched her lips, they’d never leave the house.
“So are you ready for a night on the town?” Aidan did her best Elvis impersonation, running her fingers through her hair, and cocking her lip up. Vicky grinned, as Aidan extended her arm to her, and they walked to the waiting limousine.
“We’re not going in your Mustang?”
“No, uh, I thought I’d treat you in style tonight.”
They began the night at an elegant restaurant, where the food was expensive, and the bubbling Champaign more expensive. Aidan did not care for the taste of Champaign, but she knew that Vicky loved it, and she wanted only the best for her lady. She kept the conversation light, and happy, and complimented her date often. After dinner, they went to the hottest clubs, drank more Champaign, and added their body heat to the gyrating, music filled dance floor. They finished the night with an open carriage ride through the city’s historic district, where the horse’s foot fall made a clippity-clop sound, that kept time with the Italian love song, playing through the carriage speakers. And, as if it had been prearranged, the moon smiled down upon the lovers, with its beams of silver light, mollifying all it touched with love.
Aidan kept looking over at Vicky, catching her breath each time, for the moon had bathed Vicky’s soft blond hair into a radiant glow, as if she were a manifestation from heaven.
For her part, Vicky was happy, engulfed in the love of her intended. Her dream had finally come true. Granted there had been several obstacles along the way, that she hadn’t foreseen, including the similarly insurmountable obstacle, called Samantha. But Vicky pushed that thought from her mind, as she lost herself in her lovers sparkling emerald eyes.
Aidan escorted Vicky to her front door, took the keys from her hands, and unlocked the it. Then she kissed her under the porch light, with the intention of saying good night, as befitting a proper date conclusion. The kiss, soft at first, became hungry, lustfully hungry, and it was no time before the two lovers stumble their way through the door, kicking a shoe off here, and throwing the keys down there, their lips never separating. But this time, the lust was different. This time it was much more needy. There was a heightened sexual awareness, that they were crossing into unknown, dangerous territory together, and as such, needed to meld into each other’s souls to reassure themselves that they belonged to each other. And that nothing and no one will ever come between them.
After only a few hours’ sleep, the two lovers woke in each other’s arms, exhausted but content. Aidan woke first, to find Vicky’s hand laying on her stomach, her diamond engagement ring, sparkling in the dark. She wa
tched as Vicky giggled in her sleep, as if she were ten years old again, and caught in something naughty. Her facial expressions amplified what she was dreaming, and Aidan marveled at her innocence. Oh baby, what am I getting you into?
She wiggled the ring, unintentionally waking her lover. “Good morning, baby?”
“Good morning, lover of mine.”
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I was having the most wonderful dream about us, as kids. I always love recalling those fun memories of you.”
“Oh, no, let me guess, the one where I was butt naked, and your dad saw me?”
Vicky giggled, “Yep, that’s the one, how did you know?”
She laughed, and replied, “I could tell by the way you were squirming in your sleep, that it had to be bad.”
“It wasn’t bad, Aidan. You were only nine years old, and had just come out of the shower, you can’t get any more innocent than that, you know.”
“Well, you’re father wasn’t so sure.”
“My father was so embarrassed, he ran out of the room, screaming for mom.”
They both laughed at the sweet memory. Aidan, a year and a half older than Vicky, often stayed over at Vicky’s house, as a child, as much to get away from her father, as to play with her best friend. Vicky’s parents, Leonard and Alice Montgomery, had lived in Beebe, Arkansas, since before Vicky was born, and always made sure there was food and drinks on hand for Aidan.
“Speaking of your dad, you probably ought to go see your parent’s pretty soon. Once we commit to the training, we won’t get time off for anything else.”
“Oh, the training!”
Vicky jumped up out of bed, and waddle her nude body over to her purse, lying on the dresser. Picking it up, she turned to Aidan, but suddenly stopped, her blue eyes wide with amazement, her wanton hair, strewn about her face.
“Damn, honey, I can barely walk this morning.”
Aidan roared with laughter so hard, she almost fell out of bed. Giggling, Vicky ran back and handed her an envelope, as she climbed up beside her.
“What’s this?” she asked, still chuckling.
“Well, I could say it’s for services render,” Vicky grinned, as she pulled the bed sheet around her, “but it’s not nearly enough, after last night.”
Aidan pulled out a check for $300k. Her laughter was suddenly replaced with concern.
“For some reason, I thought it would take longer to get that kind of money.”
Aidan realized she was disappointed. Granted, she wanted to go rescue Samantha, but these last few days with Vicky had brought her such joy, and growth, and togetherness, that she wasn’t ready for it to end. Sure, they had clashed every step of the way, but each time, Aidan learned a little more about Vicky’s strength and determination, essentially who she was, as an adult. And she learned a little more about her own strength and understanding. The two lovers hadn’t really had a chance to relax and enjoy their reconnection, and now, with this new mission, it didn’t look like they would be able to, anytime soon.
“Aidan?”
“What, oh yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll take care of this. Thanks, baby.” Aidan got out of bed, and pulled a slip of paper from her jeans pocket. “Here, this ain’t much, but at least I feel like I’m contributing to my own mission.”
“Aidan, this is a deposit slip for fifty thousand dollars?”
“Yeah, I sort of got lucky at a poker game yesterday.” Aidan rubbed the last speck of gambling tension, from the back of her neck. Never again, Cassidy. Never again.
“Oh, no, Aidan. Why?”
“Baby, it’s hard for me, you know? I feel, I don’t know, inferior, if I can’t contribute to my own mission. I mean my God, you’re paying a hundred grand to help me get my fiancée, uh, ex-fiancée back. I just can’t take advantage of you like that. I just can’t do it.”
“Honey, you gambled, what, your savings, your car… oh Lord, not your body?”
“It was my car.”
“Oh, Aidan. What if you had lost the bet?”
Aidan thought for a minute, and then grinned, “I guess I’d have to hitch a ride with you.”
“Aidan, honey, I love you like crazy, but please, you’ve got to get past this. Your insistence is creating a division between us, that will only get worse, if you don’t accept me for who I am.” Aidan was going to protest, but Vicky stopped her. “Yes, I said for who I am, because my money is a part of me. But if you keep this up, I’m going to start donating my salary to charity, just so you won’t feel inferior.
“Okay, not fair.”
“Aidan, you bet your Mustang, for God’s sake.”
Aidan contemplated for a moment, and said, “Baby, remember when we were kids, and you wanted to go to the skating rink, but I didn’t have the money, so if I couldn’t go, you wouldn’t?”
“Sure, I remember, but you got the money from your father… right?”
“No, actually I bet one of my video games against a kid’s allowance. I won the bet.”
“I didn’t know that? Why would you do that?”
“Because I love you, silly. Don’t you know, I’d do anything for you. Betting my Mustang was as much for you, as for me. I have to be able to respect myself, and I have to know that you respect me too. But I can’t do that if you pay for everything, every time I don’t have any money. Vicky, I lived on the streets when I was a teenager, because I didn’t have any money. All I had was my pride, and that is more important to me, than money could ever be. You understand, right?”
Now it was Vicky’s time to contemplate, and she came to realize, she had been foolish. “I think I understand, and I have a solution to all of this, if you’ll consider it?”
“Tell me what it is first, then I’ll consider it.” Aidan had a cautious smile on her face.
“First of all, admit to yourself that the need for this kind of money,” she held up the two checks, “is an extreme circumstance, that we most likely won’t have to face again in our lifetime. Um, unless there is someone else in your life that I don’t know about?”
Aidan laughed, “No baby, I’m pretty sure that was it.”
Vicky smiled, relieved that Aidan took it so well. “Good, then secondly, I think you and I should open a bank account together after we’re married, and equally contribute to it. We can use that account for the big ticket items like vacations, cars, and stuff like that. Also, we’ll open a house budget account that we’ll use for groceries, cable, etc. And if you want, we can each keep a separate checking account to use as we see fit. Mine will go toward keeping my parents secure, and—”
“And for helping out your employees, when they need help.”
“You are such a sweetheart. Do you realize that by merely suggesting that, you are as much as helping them out yourself?”
Aidan did a double take. She had not even considered that, but she liked the idea. “Okay, kid, you make good sense. I think that’s exactly what we should do. And kid…”
“Yes honey?”
“Thank you.”
“Ditto.”
Chapter 6
While New York City never sleeps, it still wakes up an hour before Arkansas does. And as the sun rises over the tallest skyscraper, so to, does the nationally renowned heart surgeon, rise from her deep slumber. Groggily following the smell of coffee coming from the auto timed coffee maker, in the oversized, stainless steel kitchen, Joyce gladly accepted the cup Ellen had poured for her. Consuming a large gulp of the eye opening java, the cobwebs began to wash away.
“Did I tell you what hair brain scheme Aidan has Vicky involved with now?”
“Sort of. You started to tell me, and fell asleep in mid-sentence.”
“Oh, sorry about that. Had a tough one yesterday, that kept me in surgery for a couple more hours than usual.”
“Here, drink your coffee, and tell me all about Vicky’s predicament.”
Joyce knew that Ellen had no desire to hear about surgery, no matter how exciting it was. So she took anot
her gulp from her coffee cup, and told her wife everything she knew about Vicky’s upcoming trip to Syria.
“Oh, my God, Joyce. She could be hurt. They both could be killed over there. That country’s at war with its self, for God’s sake!”
“That’s exactly what I said, but you know Vicky, she’ll do anything to keep Aidan near her. Damn it. If Aidan had only stayed at home, instead of running off when they were kids, this would never have happened.”
Ellen knew that Joyce spoke out of fear, “So you’re saying you wouldn’t have done the same thing, if it were me? I know better than that. Aidan did exactly what she had to, and I applaud her for the gutsy move.”
“Yeah, that’s what Vicky said too. I just hope she doesn’t get Vicky killed.”
“Don’t you worry about your best friend, Joyce. Aidan would sacrifice everything to keep her safe.”
“Maybe so, but the problem is, that Vicky would also sacrifice everything, to keep Aidan safe.”
***
Ruth, with papers in hand, made her way down to Human Resources for her drug screen. All new employees must pass a drug screen test before they’re allowed to work, and while it was never pleasurable, peeing into a cup, she knew it had to be done. What she wasn’t aware of, was that Vicky had asked the health nurse to give her a thorough examination. It was not protocol, but the nurse wasn’t one to argue with the CEO. So, after Ruth did her business in the cup, the nurse took her behind a screen in her office, pulled out her stethoscope, and listened to her heart and lungs. She took her temperature, her pulse, and felt her thyroid. Tapped her knees, felt her ankles, and examined her toes.
“Seriously? Is this the norm?
“No ma’am.”
“Then what gives?” Ruth asked.
“Ms. Montgomery requested it.”
“Oh, she did, did she? I’ll bet that little girl thinks she’s being funny.”
“You do know she’s the CEO, right? If she wants a new employee checked out thoroughly, then I check them out thoroughly.”
Remember, It’s You I Love: Operation Pink Knight Page 6