The Devil's Intended-Love & Evil In Palm Beach
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only reason she liked it and could tolerate sitting at a desk, was because she was usually the only one in the office. The others were always out in the field and she had no one to bother her.
Kristen’s cell phone rang. One of her sisters was calling her to let her know that the Step-Witch had been recently admitted to an assisted care facility and had passed away.
Kristen politely said she was not able to leave town and to extend her condolences. Her sister knew it was pointless that she even asked her to come. Margaret had been so awful to Kristen, but she still felt bad when she thought about whether Margaret had done any suffering while she was ill. Her sister told her that she was to immediately call the Trust Vice-President of the major bank that was handling her father’s money and gave her the direct number. Obviously, her sister wanted to get the process started.
Kristen carefully dialed, and was surprised when the executive answered the phone himself. He told Kristen that he was unaware that Margaret had passed away and said he would start the wheels in motion as soon as he confirmed it. He told her that due to the fact that this trust had been around for a while that it would not be difficult to get it set up for the final distribution to Kristen and her siblings.
That was such great news. It was unbelievable that she now was going to get a lot of money. Though she had been far from hitting the skids, she would finally know again how it felt to be financially secure for life. She also liked the fact that she had enough that she could also do good things with it for others. It was such a sense of relief. She had to sit down and slowly absorb it all in. She was glad no one was in the office. She did not want them to know she was getting money and would probably be quitting soon. There was another hour before she had to leave work. She started looking on the internet for flights to the Palm Beach airport.
The Vice-President called her back right away. He told her that he now found out that it might take a few months or more to close the trust, because it turned out that Margaret’s financial advisors had brilliantly manipulated the legal loopholes to defer paying any taxes on the principal’s interest that she had collected. Thus, they would all have to wait until Margaret’s own estate was settled before they could finalize her father’s holdings and also release the remainder of her mother’s money. He said he could issue an immediate check to her for only one hundred thousand.
Kristen just wanted to get on with her life. That was definitely enough to get by on, she didn’t mind renting a place again on the island. For some mansions in Palm Beach that was not even enough to pay for one year of property taxes. She was too excited to stay at work, so Kristen grabbed her purse and left early. When she arrived home she burst through the door and immediately called the first long-distance mover she saw on-line. She pulled all her old boxes out of the closet and started packing. She was off to Palm Beach three days later and had the bank wire the money to her account…
11 RETURN TO SHARK BEACH
Several sunrises later…
Sunset was fast-approaching when a large industrial barge sporting a tattered foreign flag lumbered its way through the murky waters of the Intracoastal. It slowed its pace as The Royal Park Bridge prepared to allow for its passage. The gears began to grind and the grated structure creaked as it slowly made its ascent.
As its shadow settled in at the foot of the bridge, a magnificent Rolls-Royce Phantom appeared. The Bridge Master shot his balding head out of the tower window and waved his dingy white short-sleeved arm towards the vehicle. Without hesitation, he reversed the controls to return the overpass to its sedentary position.
From the backseat, Karl smirked and gazed down at his lucent reflection on the laptop. It was all about the power, and the look, and he had it! He raised a hand carefully to move his titanium designer sunglasses up onto his head as he further admired himself. Karl had always been the perfect specimen. His toned physique rivaled no other. He pointed his nose up into the air and surveyed his firm chin. Satisfied, he then closed the cover. He was indeed a handsome “Devil” and was far, far superior in every way.
It truly seemed to be all about him these days and the world was just as he wanted it to be. He fit in comfortably amongst the chaos and flourished above the struggles of mankind and the downwards trend away from all that was good. Karl in all his blackness was quite content. He was unyielding and unapproachable with an iron will that was forged from the depths.
As his driver continued over the bridge, Karl felt at home again. It had been too long since his last visit and he had arrived days ahead of the “usual” time to attend to the more important matters. He was back, and this definitely was “his” town. He knew that his prize was awaiting him and all was prepared for his arrival…
Kristen had now been permanently settled in Palm Beach for well over a year now. She still hadn’t found someone, and she was getting anxious. She needed to have a true friend who could also love her unconditionally, and more than himself. All of her father’s estate matters had been quickly taken care of and Kristen, was now sitting comfortably by the pool in her new house that she bought two months ago. It was 10,000 square feet, which was small compared to Palm Beach standards, and it was only a few blocks from the ocean. Kristen deeply wished it was on the ocean. That had always been her strongest desire since she was young.
Kristen hired two popular designers to help make her furnishing decisions. The house had both a modern and tropical feel to it. Her share of the family antiques was finally whisked away from Margaret’s house and they blended into Kristen’s abode very nicely. She had considered buying another place in her hometown for hurricane season, but decided against it since she was still one of the rare ones that truly enjoyed Florida year-round. She also thought of a summer rental in The Hamptons. But to see the same social crowd both there and Palm Beach seemed a bit tiresome.
Kristen was now more concerned these days with her charity work. She was quite talented in helping to make a lot of money for all of the good causes. She had been invited to sit on a few committees, and she was aiming to be a chair for a major gala. She was finally an “Insider” and was recorded in the elusive Social Register under her name, not her father’s. It would still take a lot of finesse in making even more connections. It was all about who you knew in Palm Beach to get into those higher types of positions. She also needed to be in the appropriate age range.
The Season was back on and she was feeling a bit restless. She decided to call up some friends to go with her to a new nightclub on the island. It was on the lower level of a small hotel which was located on one of the narrow side streets. The club was going through another re-incarnation. Every other Season the place would fold up, remodel and change its name. It was always a place to go, but it never really caught on, no matter how exclusive it was, what its name was, or what famous chef or group owned it. It seemed like the lot had a curse on it.
Kristen sparkled herself up and put on her most comfortable dancing shoes. Their group arrived fashionably late after midnight and was immediately seated at one of the reserved tables. The small room was packed and the music was blasting. It was surprising that any of the sleeping occupants on the floors above could tolerate it.
Kristen sipped at her glass of wine observing the heated bodies turn colors under the pulsating disco lights. She noticed right away that Gregory, her luscious hunk from her previous stint on the island was there. He was dancing with two women. Kristen patiently waited for him to recognize her.
After twenty minutes, Gregory was still on the floor and it was apparent that he was oblivious to his surroundings. So, Kristen grabbed one of her girlfriends and swished her way out through the dancers. She moved right up on him with her body about three inches behind his. She stepped backwards and gave him a little thump. He bumped and grinded hard right back on her.
He then turned around laughing and began dancing and rubbing on her body
. He yelled above the noise and into her ear “You don’t think I noticed you, did you? What’s the matter are you jealous? You had to have me?” Gregory then made it obvious to his dance partners that their time was up and they sulked off. Kristen was magnetized by Gregory’s charm and she couldn’t pull herself from him. It had been a long time since she had first met him and he had not aged a day. He was more sophisticated and was wearing a coat and tie. Sadly, he no longer resembled a long-haired Norse god.
But he was still gorgeous, tan, and his muscles were even more ripped, with every one of them protruding from his white pants. Gregory held her closely and pushed his lips into hers. She felt the warmth of his breath and they stood transfixed in the middle of the dance floor as they welded together. The room seemed to spin around as they kissed.
Gregory whispered “We are getting out of here. I have to have you now!” They walked off the floor with Kristen hanging on him. She gave a weak wave to her surprised friends as they left the club. She had long been waiting for this moment, and willingly went with him.
Gregory grabbed his keys from the valet and headed to his Bugatti Veyron which was placed right at the front door. He gave it a pat