No one was around, and we finally had the privacy I’d been waiting for. “Ariel, as much as I need you to stick around, I’m not gonna put up with that bullshit again. When I ask you to do something, you do it. Or you can find someone else to sign your checks. You understand me?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, wearing the same irritated look on her face. She had an astute business mind, and she understood all the tiny cogs in the machinery I’d built. There was no one better to have as a business partner. She had a brilliant brain and a fierce attitude. But I refused to be disrespected like that.
“We’ve always had a great business relationship. Suddenly, London comes around, and everything I value about our partnership goes out the window. I don’t know what your problem is, so you need to tell me.” I wondered if she was jealous seeing me with another woman. In all the years we’d been working together, I’d never suspected she saw me as anything more than a business partner and friend. There was never any attraction between us, any sort of chemistry. I’d never made a pass at her because I didn’t mix business with pleasure. She seemed to share my same ideology. But if that wasn’t it, I couldn’t figure it out.
“I’ve seen you with your women. You’re cold, heartless, and right to the point.”
I stared at her blankly, unsure why she was stating the obvious.
“But when this woman comes around, everything changes. You don’t hand her over to Bones like you planned, and she’s sleeping in your bed every night. It’s none of my business who you fuck and I really don’t care about your sex life, but this woman can’t turn into something more. And it seems like it’s going in that direction. We both know there’s a very small pool of women you can spend the rest of your life with. London isn’t on the list.”
Now everything made sense. “That’s what you’ve been worried about?” I had to hold back my laugh because it was ridiculous. “If that’s what the problem is, we don’t have a problem. London is something I keep around for entertainment. That’s it.”
“But you can’t keep her around forever.”
“I realize that.” I had no idea what I was going to do with her eventually. “And I don’t intend to. She’s just like all the others. Don’t worry about that.”
Ariel didn’t seem entirely convinced. “You’re different with her. I’ve seen it.”
“No, I’m not. I comforted her on the plane because she was scared. Doesn’t mean I love the woman.”
“But it doesn’t mean you’re indifferent either. Have you been with other women since she’s come along?”
I refused to answer that question. “You’re approaching a line you shouldn’t cross.”
“I’m not being nosy. I’m just proving my point.”
Ariel knew a lot about me. She probably figured out I hadn’t been chasing tail lately. “It doesn’t matter. London doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m not going to repeat myself.”
She searched my gaze as if she was searching for a lie. Ariel was invested in my personal life because my future marriage affected her. If I’d married Josephine like I originally planned, it would have been easy to expand my scotch business into foreign territories. Ariel would be much richer in that scenario than she was now. Not to mention, it opened a lot of other doors for her as well. If I ended up with a nobody, then she had very little room to advance professionally. We were both ambitious businesspeople, determined to grow our wealth as much as possible. “You give me your word, Crewe?”
She knew my word meant more than anything else in the world. “Yes, I give you my word.”
London had already showered by the time I arrived in the bedroom. She opened the Mediterranean doors to the balcony and stood at the railing. She looked into the darkness surrounding the house, only seeing the stars because everything else was invisible. She stood in one of my t-shirts with just her panties underneath.
“Wait until you see it in the morning.” I undressed and tossed my clothes on the hardwood floor. I’d been wearing the same thing for hours, and I was eager to shower and appreciate a bottle of scotch.
She came back inside and shut the doors behind her. “I can tell it’s beautiful without seeing anything. The air is nice…reminds me of home.”
I was sure she was homesick all the time, but I never felt bad for her. She didn’t have freedom, but she still had the opportunity to see the world on my dime. I scooped the ice cubes into the glass and poured some scotch.
London eyed my action judgmentally. “Crewe, you’ve been drinking all day.”
“I’m aware.”
“Just from friendly advice, step it down a notch.”
“Noted.” I downed half of the glass before I returned it to the counter. “I’m gonna get in the shower. When I get out, I expect to see you naked on the bed with your ass in the air. Got it?” I didn’t want to talk for the rest of the night. I just wanted to fuck her from behind and stare at that beautiful little asshole then go to sleep.
A fire always leapt in her eyes when I told her what to do, but she invariably controlled her mouth. “Yes, sir.”
I knew it was so hard for her to answer that way, and knowing she struggled made me hard. I loved conquering an unconquerable woman. It gave me the kind of power I craved, the kind of undeniable control I needed constantly. I turned to walk into the shower.
“Can I ask something?”
I turned around even though I shouldn’t have. I stared her down and silently gave her permission to speak her mind.
“Is everything okay with Ariel?”
Ariel was focused on business and business alone. That was why I liked her so much, trusted her instincts as well as my own. “We worked it out.”
She slowly nodded, obviously wanting more detail than that. “What’s her problem with me? Maybe there’s something I can do to annoy her less.”
There was nothing London could do to annoy her less. London would have to stop being beautiful, stop stealing my focus, and stop being the ornery spitfire that she was. All the women I encountered were poised and refined, always behaving with class that was borderline boring. London would have to change everything about herself. “No.”
I woke up the next morning with London on her side of the bed. We fucked every night before we slept, but we never cuddled. She always stuck to her side of the bed, and I stuck to mine.
Which was how I preferred it.
I showered then got dressed just when she woke up.
She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, the sheets falling and revealing her perfect rack. Her hair was a mess from the way she rolled around, and the sleep was heavy in her eyes. Her gaze immediately went to the window, which was covered by the curtain.
I read her thoughts and pulled on the string so she could see the view. The Tuscan hillside immediately became apparent, the green grass and the distant vineyards easy to see.
She stared with wide eyes, taking in her first sight of the beautiful country.
I opened the door and found my breakfast tray on the ground where I instructed my crew to leave it. Two coffees and two breakfast plates were prepared for me and my guest. I carried it to the table and sat down.
London’s eyes followed me. “Can I join you?”