about being skinny. She finally gave in and asked for a chicken sandwich.
Now Melanie and Linda were trying to hit on Rosario. They needed a Sugar Daddy to take care of them whenever they came in from California. Rosario was only into Kristen and once the other girls had eaten, he encouraged them to go find partners on the dance floor.
When they moved on, he said “Thank God, now I have you to myself. They were giving me a headache with all that Valley Girl twang.” Kristen chuckled. She knew that she was never going to suck into Rosario. He was too controlling and cranky. But she played along with him, and it was going to be tough trying to keep him at bay.
Rosario kept refilling her glass and tried to keep her at the table. Kristen stood up and announced “I really want to dance. I’ve got to work off this food.” Rosario said “Tonight, I am not in the mood to boogie. Please just sit here with me.” Kristen said “I’ve got to move! I’m getting worn out sitting.”
She started to walk in the direction of her girlfriends. Rosario called out “I will wait for you. Please behave yourself.” Kristen waved at him and cheerfully walked up to a herd of men that had Melanie and Linda surrounded.
Their group moved to the other side of the bar and out of Rosario’s line of vision. They found a safe spot and stood there as countless people milled about them. Kristen enjoyed getting some fast dancing in before her feet called it a night. Her heels were too high to be comfortable in.
She slowly walked back to Rosario. His table was now filled with women and they were also standing around him. Kristen recognized two popular soap opera stars. It sounded like he was telling them a wild tale when she came up to them. A waiter hurriedly added a chair for her and put her right next to Rosario. He patted her knee “You are such a beauty Kristina!” Kristen smiled at him “Grazie Rosario!” Rosario was impressed with her Italian and he dramatically shooed the women away. He said “I want to take you for a ride. But no Valley girls allowed!” Kristen replied “That’s OK, I guess.” Kristen had a waiter go to her girlfriends to tell them she was leaving; her feet were too sore to do it herself.
The Manager walked up to Rosario to bid him “Arrivederci”. He patted Kristen on the back and said “Take good care of him.” Kristen gave him a special look so he knew she had no intentions of any hanky-panky with Rosario. The Manager seemed to understand her and laughed “Kristen, I’ll see you back here soon and I will personally keep you happy.” He gave her a wink and then a flirtatious pat on her butt. Kristen scooted forward to slip away from his hand. Rosario was walking ahead and didn’t notice anything.
When they went outside, Kristen was expecting to see the Rolls-Royce. Instead, Rosario must have had someone bring him his race car, because a hot red Ferrari Testarossa was revving up in front.
Rosario said “You said you liked Ferraris Kristina. So, we ride in my Ferrari.” Kristen applauded “Molto Bene!” She jumped in. “Let’s go!” Rosario gunned the engine and tore out of there with a big screech. Everyone in the lot turned to look.
They zoomed over the Intracoastal Bridge and took a fast turn on Flagler. He had a wild streak in him that she connected to. They talked about Italy and his business. Rosario’s family had been exporting Italian marble and other materials globally for over sixty years and he had homes in several countries. He said he only was in Palm Beach maybe one to two months of the year and sometimes for week-end visits. He had a mansion on the ocean located in the South End.
Kristen was starting to like him now and would happily dine with him, but she never entertained the thought of progressing it into his bedroom. He was way out of her age range and Rosario just didn’t have that effect on her. If Kristen wanted someone; she knew right away.
They headed out by the turnpike and he drove the car at 140 MPH for a long stretch. No one else was on the road. He would have gone faster, but Kristen asked him to slow down.
Rosario then drove back to the island and deposited her back at her car by the penthouse. He gave her a tired kiss on the cheek. “Good night Kristina. It was fun. I should take you to the Whitestone sometime. They throw great parties. I will call you.”
She replied “How can you call if you don’t know my number?” Rosario said “Don’t worry.” Kristen just looked puzzled and thought, “These rich men are strange characters. You never know what they want or what they are thinking.” Kristen did not like it when someone did not make their intentions clear. She felt if they were not going to pursue her, she was just going to move on, she didn’t need their game. As she emerged from the car she straightened up and could feel the sunburn from earlier intensifying on her back.
Kristen woke up to a fresh day and renewed her attitude. She really did prefer it in Florida more than up north. She was always eager to play a lot of tennis, golf, and ride horses. She was probably the only person there that especially loved the excessive humidity. When it wasn’t The Season, life was still a party, but it just wasn’t the same.
But then, after a few more weeks, Kristen decided she was getting bored with the whole scene and wanted to move back home. She called up Linda and Melanie and told them her plans and that she would start flying out to Los Angeles to party there instead. She drove back to Chicago a few days later. She liked the idea of being less accessible and living the true island life, so she kept the house lease open. She decided to go back to Palm Beach whenever she had a whim. It would be costly, but she needed that spontaneity. It kept her more exciting!
When Kristen returned to Illinois, she immediately rented a large house in her hometown. She didn’t plan to stay in it long. She just needed to breathe while thinking of where she was going to buy permanent quarters. Instead of being happy, she only felt like a fish out of water again, and knew it was a mistake to leave Palm Beach. Her plans were too grandiose to be stuck back at home again. She felt like she needed to re-invent herself; otherwise she was going to jump out of her skin.
At least Kristen’s persistence with trying to advance in her career now paid off. A few of the top fashion magazines wanted to take her on as a regular contributor. They paid well and liked that she had her own fresh outlook with regards to the industry and trends. This extra income was certainly welcome and would help to feed her voracious wardrobe needs and demanding lifestyle. She would also earn the last of her college credits that were needed to accelerate getting her degree.
One late afternoon, after spending hours going through her style manuals, Kristen felt extra bored and knew that an outing downtown was just what she needed. She rounded up her girlfriends and set the plan in motion…
4 SUGAR DADDY 101
Cabaret was dimly lit with red lights reflecting off the crushed velvet on the wall. It gave off the essence of a bordello with a hint of sophistication, and surprisingly enough, it was one of the classiest restaurants in downtown Chicago! It was also well known for the executives and tourists that trickled in and congregated around the bar area without their wives.
Kristen loved Cabaret. It came alive when the other places closed, every day of the week. Tonight, there was still a great assortment of extremely well-dressed men, and lucky for her, a minimal number of gold diggers and pros.
It was a long night and she had easily outlasted her girlfriends. They had abandoned her two hours before. Kristen was just there to get a bite to eat before she went home. The restaurant area was closed, but they still had food in the lounge.
She had just finished eating when she looked across the bar. A tall, handsome man was staring at her. He was one of the sharpest dressers she had ever seen! He had black diamonds on his collar pin and the look of unchallenged power. Kristen could always tell who the president of a company was, and who was not. Tonight, she could smell Multi-National wafting across the bar.
She was startled from her thoughts when the bartender suddenly placed a bottle of Dom Perignon on ice in front of her. She was aware of whom it was from and
she knew what to do. She smiled at the bartender “I don’t want this.” He looked shocked and put it back in front of the obvious sender. Without a flinch, and with a chuckle, her generous stranger looked completely delighted. He poured himself a glass and gave a toast to her across the bar. Kristen thought she would be funny. She asked the bartender for a bottle of beer and uncharacteristically took a swig from it and toasted him back.
The man smiled and slowly rose from his seat. He picked up the silver bucket and walked around the bar towards Kristen. There was a gentleman to her right side that was slumped over his drink. He looked up, and with a non-verbal acknowledgement of a higher presence, he swiftly vacated his post.
Mr. Important sat down very casually as the bartender quickly cleared him a space. The man slowly poured Kristen a glass of champagne and handed it to her. She was blushing by now and was absolutely impressed. She knew it was going to be hard to play any further games with him. He was too amazing; he was too much of what she wanted.
Of course, she had to ruin the moment. She slowly forced her eyes to look at his left hand. And, to no surprise, the gold ring gleamed right back at her. He saw her looking at it, gave her an evil grin, and said “Aww, too bad!
The Devil's Intended-Love & Evil In Palm Beach Page 5