by Ana Vela
“Look who’s not talking now,” he said, laughing.
“Mmm.”
“You’re perfect, Alexis. So perfect and beautiful, inside and out,” he said softly, surprising her.
She pulled herself back and looked into his large eyes, which were now greener than ever seen them.
“No one has ever said that to me before. At least, not in a nice way,” she answered, trying not to tear up in front of him.
“Well, no one else matters then. Because you are,” he said, hand on the side of her face.
She gazed into his eyes, not daring to say a word for fear that she would blurt out words of love way to soon, but she knew in that moment that she loved him in some way. She knew it was too soon and all, but she could not help her feelings for him. How could she not love him was the real question.
In the morning, Richard had to leave early, but he would not do so until he had insured that she had ordered the largest breakfast arrangement possible for herself, which she had only agreed to thinking that he might stay.
“But I have to go,” he said in response to her surprise that he was leaving. “I have meetings until we leave Friday night. I’ll send a message your way when I know for sure what time we’re heading out.”
And with a kiss, he was gone again. She could not believe that yesterday morning she had been in such a different state of being concerning their relationship. She felt like a new person after their amazing night together. She knew with certainty that that was the best Wednesday she had ever had.
****
Alexis looked at her computer again, surprised that there were no emails from work. Jacob had certainly been wondering why she had yet to turn in another story for the magazine, especially the fluff piece that he had assigned her. She decided to curtail any complaints from him and write the story and send it to him before he asked for it.
Before she could open a new document, there was a knock on her door. She wondered who it could be; she prayed that it wasn’t Brandon again. When she reached the door, she peered out the peep hole but whoever was on the other side had their thumb over it, “Hello?”
“Madame, I have a request of you!” Richard exclaimed from the other side, using his French accent again. Alexis smiled as she opened the door and was stunned to find him wearing a tuxedo and holding a garment bag. A piece of blue fabric peeked from underneath the bag, sending her heart into a frenzy, “I know that this is last minute but can you spare a few hours to be my date for another fundraiser?”
“I’d say that I don’t have anything to wear, but judging from the bag you have that covered,” Alexis smiled and waved him into the room. He laid the bag on the bed and drew her into his arms. His lips were warm and inviting, she felt her knees go weak. She pressed against him and puckered her lips for another kiss. After they pulled away, she looked at him with a devious grin, “Unless of course you want to change into the contents of the garment bag.”
“There’s that witty banter that has me so entranced. Now, darling will you please be my date? I know this is last minute, and normally I would ask my sister but she went to help my mother out. She isn’t feeling all that well.” Richard shifted his eyes away from her; Alexis swore that there was a tear falling down his face. “If you have to work or something, please feel free to turn me down. I would understand, you know.”
“Well you did punch a guy for me, so I think that I can take one for the team,” Alexis grabbed the garment bag and unzipped it. The gown was one of the most gorgeous pieces of clothing that she had ever laid eyes on. It was blue with black lace covering it, the neckline plunged and there was a slit up the leg. “Give me one second and I will be ready for you.”
Richard watched as she went about getting everything that she would need for the evening ready. The only pair of earrings would not go with the fancy gown that Richard had picked up for her, she knew. They were simple diamonds that she had brought with her just in case she needed to class up one of her work outfits. “Don’t worry about accessories, Darling. I have some being sent up any minute now.”
“How do you always…” Richard put his finger to his lips in an effort to get her to stop talking. She went to say something but thought better of it. She grabbed the garment bag and went into the bathroom. She was still awed by the gown, as she took off the clothes she was wearing, her eyes remained on the dress.
She was astonished by how she looked in the dress. Her eyes seemed to pop with the blue material. What was even more amazing was that it was the perfect size for her, it hugged her body in the right way. She grabbed her brush and began to do her hair. She played with different ways to do it, up in a bun or a ponytail. Briefly she thought about curling it but decided to wear it down and straight. If she had had more time to get ready, she would have showered and put on make-up. Instead she put on a layer of lipstick and opened the bathroom door.
“You look incredible! As I knew you would,” Richard smiled and stood up from the bed. He crossed over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulled her closer to his body. He kissed her forehead, then her nose, and finally their lips met. “I know we’ve only known each other for a few days but I am quite fond of you.”
“Thank you, Richard. One of these days I really want to know what your secret is, how you always know exactly what will look good on me and how it will fit me. It confounds me how you know this stuff,” Alexis looked up at the man and wondered what kind of secrets he was hiding. The thought vanished when he pressed his lips to hers again; it was a tender kiss, one that made her head swim. “Was that your answer?”
“No of course it’s not. You are an astute reporter who would sniff out the truth in almost no time. The truth is, I had nothing to do with picking out the clothes that I have bought for you, other than giving my credit card number and your size. I have an associate who handles all of that for me, because if I was in charge of it, well you would be wearing a lot less than what you are.”
“Remind me to thank this mysterious assistant of yours, sometime. Whoever it is they are brilliant and somehow they seem to know how I would look in almost everything,” She twirled around, showing off the dress. Her mind flashed back to a little girl she had seen before boarding her flight for London, the girl’s views on love had made her realize how distant she had been with Brandon. Richard smiled his appreciation, and pulled a small box out of his back pocket. Her heart thudded in her chest. Part of her wanted it to be an engagement ring but logically she knew that they hadn’t been together long enough. “What is that?”
“Open it and find out,” He handed her the small box. When she opened it, she was astonished to see two diamond earrings lying on a felt pillow. The light hit them and they reflected the light back, making her close her eyes for a second. The brilliance of the diamonds hurt her eyes and made her wonder what Richard was expecting in return. “Let’s put them on you. I just know that you are going to look lovely in them.”
Richard took one out and put it in her ear and did the same with the other one. He pulled the hair off of her neck and gently kissed it, sending a wave of passion surging through her body. “Thank you, Richard. Thank you for everything.”
“Well I felt that I owed you a little something, seeing as I came over and asked you to come with me last minute. Normally I would have asked my sister to come with me but she is still helping my mom.” Alexis would have sworn she saw a tear forming in his eyes but it was gone just as fast as it appeared. Richard took a deep breath and gave a weak smile, “Darling, we should get down to the car. Logan is waiting for us. And there just might be something else in the car for you.”
“Really that’s not necessary. You’ve done enough for me; you have been more than generous with everything. The least I can do is be your date for, uh, what exactly am I your date for again?”
Richard sucked in a deep breath and released it. A small smile formed in the corners of his mouth. He tilted his head down to Alexis’s and pressed his lips to hers again. “I forget which one this is, i
n fact I had planned on going to a business dinner when my secretary called me and reminded me of the function.”
“We should go then,” Alexis knew that pushing for more information would do no good; Richard wouldn’t tell her more than he already had. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the room. The elevator ride was fraught with silence and stolen glances; she would look at him and then look away when he looked at her.
“Hello ma’am, sir.” Logan bowed and opened the Limo door for them. Alexis slid in first with Richard following her closely. The driver closed the door and got into the car, raising the partisan to give the couple privacy. After a few minutes of silence, Logan lowered the separator and cleared his throat. “Sir, there is something up here for you. I apologize that I didn’t tell you about it before.”
“No problem, Logan. Can I please see it?” Alexis gasped when Richard pulled back a large box with ‘Cartier’ engraved on it. Richard smiled when he saw her face, he handed her the box. “I knew that I had forgotten something in my rush to get up to your room and see you. I hope that you look this, it’s a token of my appreciation and yes infatuation with you.”
Alexis opened the box and gasped when she saw the contents. A sapphire necklace in the shape of a pearl, the chain was made of sterling silver. When she lifted it out of the box, she noted that it was very heavy for a piece of jewelry. “Richard, it’s beautiful. I mean it’s too much, I can’t accept it. It’s too much…”
“Nonsense darling, if you hadn’t agreed to come with me this evening who knows what would have happened. As I said, it’s a token of my appreciation.”
“You would have found a way to occupy your time, I’m sure some starlet or socialite would have kept you company,” Alexis winced when she heard the note of jealousy that had crept into her voice. She closed her eyes and prayed that Richard had not heard it as well. “I mean, uh, I meant that…”
Beep, beep, beep. Alexis sighed, relieved that she didn’t have to explain herself because of the ringing cell phone. She waited for Richard to fish it out of his pocket but he remained stoic, a sly grin on his face, “I do believe that is you, Darling.”
****
The hotel that the event was held in was made of white marble. Alexis marveled at it as they walked up the steps, arms interloped with one another. Flashes of cameras blinded her as they walked up the steps, the paparazzi shouting out questions but none of them were comprehensible. Richard looked over at her and smiled when the ascended the final step. He brought her into his arms and forcefully pressed his lips to her. He slightly dipper her backwards and forced his tongue into her mouth.
“That was, that was amazing!” Alexis smiled at him. More light flashed from the cameras and the shouts of questions from the paparazzi seemed to grow in size as the couple entered into the hotel. “Seriously, what was that?”
“I wanted to give the tabloids something to talk about. When you’re a world famous billionaire, the tabloids will always run rumors and speculation about you. Sometimes they get it right, and other times they just make up whatever story they want to. This time I gave them something to talk about,” Richard answered, his tone was serious. His eyes focused on the signs leading to the event. “No worries, Darling. No one will know who you are; as a matter of fact you will only rate a mention in the article. Though I don’t know why with how stunning you look.”
Once the shock of his insult wore off, Alexis realized that he was right. Being photographed one time with Richard Greene would not make her the next tabloid target. Alexis knew that the writers would get more fuel out of the story if Richard was photographed with another woman within a few days or if she was photographed with him again. “You truly are incredible, Richard. Is there nothing that you don’t know? It seems as though you are an expert on every subject.”
“Not every subject, but that’s why I have employees and a computer. What did we ever do before the advent of Google? It’s as if the computer has opened us up to all the information that one would ever need, even if someone wanted to emulate Fifty Shades of Grey.” Richard winked at her. Alexis felt her cheeks flush with excitement and embarrassment. “No worries though, I would never want to be Christian Grey. He’s much too poor and has control issues.”
“A man threatened by Christian Grey? It’s almost like saying that men have penis envy,” when she seen the stern look on his face, she smiled at him. Softly she touched his arm, trying to reassure him. “It was a joke, don’t be so serious. You have nothing to worry about,”
“Do you really think a place like this is the right place to talk about my genitalia? Alexis, please use discretion. While there is nothing wrong with sex, I certainly don’t want that information spread around in public.”
Alexis bit back a retort by biting her lip. She inhaled sharply and turned away from him. Her eyes were looking for a restroom where she could collect her thoughts and calm her nerves. Richard reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, “Please don’t be upset. I was harsh yes but Darling you understand that I do business with these people. Please don’t be upset with me.”
“Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise already,” Janice Williamson drawled as she embraced Richard. After she pulled away from Richard, Janice extended her hand to Alexis. “”I am Janice Williamson, and you must be the latest woman to fall for Richard’s charm. Give him hell for all of us women, honey.”
“I’m Alexis Black. I work for Coast to Coast magazine and just did a profile on you,” Alexis gushed. She winced when she realized how much of a fan girl she sounded like. She squared her shoulders and drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry I know how weird that sounded. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise, Miss Black. As I said I want you to give this man hell. It is unbelievable how many women he goes through, and yet they all keep lining up to be with him.” Janice walked away after shaking Alexis’s hand again and giving her a smiled, she walked away from them.
Richard looked at her in a way that a father would look at a daughter before launching into a lecture. Alexis decided to head him off at the pass, she had no desire to be lectured by anyone. “Richard, please don’t start. The words slipped out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. I apologize if I embarrassed you but unlike most of the girls you date, I’m not used to seeing celebrities.”
“Alexis, Darling, please. I thought it was quite charming how you treated Janice like she was a rock star. After everything that she has been through, she needed to know that people respect her.” He pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. His hand travelled down her back. “I also apologize for being out of line earlier. I know you meant no harm and frankly I do find it refreshing when you give me a hard time.”
Once again her phone went off. She fished in her purse and pulled out her phone. The caller ID said it was Jacob calling again, so she silenced it and placed it back in the bag. She made a mental note to call him back later. “It’s odd that Jacob keeps calling me. If he does it again, I may have to excuse myself and see what is going on.”
She found herself alone. Her eyes scanned the crowd and landed on Richard talking with another businessman. Briefly she considered calling Jacob back but a woman came up behind her, seemingly reading her thoughts. “If you want to keep Richard Greene, I would advise you to forget about work or anything else that takes the attention away from him. He is not fond of being ignored by the woman he is dating and will find himself someone else to feed his enormous ego.”
“Who are you?” Alexis asked but the woman glided back into the crowd. When she turned to find Richard he too was gone.
****
Alexis allowed the warm water to cleanse her body and shake the memory of the previous evening. After she had caught up with Richard, he had acted distant and irritated with her. When they found a moment alone, he had alluded to the fact that he expected her to be by his side every moment. She argued that she wasn’t his babysitter and would be circulating throughout the crowd.
She understood why he wanted her by his side at all times when Johnny Penn, the gay man she had befriended earlier in her trip, had warned her that there was a tabloid reporter trying to find out who she was. Richard had heard the same thing and asked security to find the perpetrator and escort them out of the event.
Logan had driven her home, but Richard had demurred on joining her for a night cap. He had said he had an early meeting but Alexis knew that something else was going on. Even though they had made up, he still seemed agitated by something, distracted by more than just the party.
“Hello?” She said into her phone, as she stepped out of the shower. The steam made it difficult to see the caller ID, she hoped that it was Richard. “Hello.”
“Finally I get a hold of you!” Jacob exclaimed into the phone. Her heart was racing, she knew that something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones. “Everyone loved your piece on Janice Williamson but it’s been killed. The higher ups are going to use a Hillary Clinton piece in its place. They are talking about using the Williamson piece for a blog that they want to launch, they may have you rewrite it into more of a profile. They were right, it was more of a profile.”