CHAPTER 33
Gloria
The legendary pink Beverly Hills Hotel was located a few miles from my condo on Sunset Boulevard. Tyrone let me out at the entrance. A long-legged valet instantly ran up to the car and opened the passenger door.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Long. Welcome back.”
I was quite a fixture at the Beverly Hills Hotel, meeting numerous vendors and reporters here, especially for breakfast at the famed Polo Lounge. And this was, of course, where Victor Holden held all his business meetings. It was a favorite celebrity and power mogul hangout.
As I stepped out of the Range Rover, I told Ty to wait for me nearby. That I hoped to be done with Victor and whomever else I was meeting by two o’clock. He obliged with a big smile.
Passing through the famous pink and green Art Deco-inspired lobby, I strutted to the Polo Lounge located in the rear. My long-stepped stride was a blend of sexy confidence and arrogance, one that had heads turning. Once inside the Polo Lounge, I spotted Victor immediately. Dressed in one of his classic three-piece gray suits, he was seated at his favorite green leather corner booth in the dimly lit front room. A tumbler was in his hand. His afternoon bourbon. When I strode up to his table, he rose, his lecherous eyes leering at my body from head to toe.
“Why, darling, I must say you are holding up quite well given what you must be going through.” He grasped my hand and put it to his lips.
I so wanted one of those antiseptic wipes to wash off his slimy kiss. I mentally sneered at him as I sidled into the booth until I was seated in the middle. I acted cool, calm, and collected. Like the Forbes power woman I was.
“Thank you, Victor. I’m confident that the stock crisis is just a little glitch, and we’ll be back on track shortly. The prototype for the vibrator came in, and I must say it exceeded my expectations.” My sex twinged. Oh, Jaime!
“That’s good to hear.” A smug smile curled his lips. “So, Gloria, have you reconsidered my offer?”
I flinched. Under the table, his free hand ran up and down my thigh. Pig! Crossing my legs and squeezing them tight together, I kept a poker face. And kept him at bay.
“Victor, the only thing I’ve focused on is the stock crisis.” That and the affair your slut for a daughter is having with Jaime Zander. Inwardly shuddering, I wondered if he knew about it—or was even aware of Vivien’s deviant history with her stepbrother.
His steely eyes narrowed. “Are you still seeing Jaime Zander?”
The mention of his name unhinged me, but I acted calm. “No, I’m not seeing your stepson.”
At the word “stepson,” Victor flinched. He was taken aback and for sure knew I was aware of his abusive past. Like a snake, it was time to strike. I took a deep breath before showing my fangs and asking, “Victor, why were you the first to sell off so many shares of stock when you knew business was solid, in fact, poised for growth?”
My question caught him off guard. He twitched and gulped his bourbon.
“Answer me,” I demanded.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” He drained his drink and then slammed the tumbler onto the table. His eyes darted to the left. “Now, Gloria, shut your fucking mouth or I’ll shut it for you because here comes our meeting.”
My gaze followed his. Lumbering toward us was a stocky man wearing a long black trench coat, the collar curled up, and a wide brimmed hat that obscured his face. There was something déjà-vu about him. Where had I seen him before? I racked my brain. Think, Gloria, think. And then it hit me—in the lobby of The InterContinental Hotel in Paris just after checking in.
The man stopped at our table and removed his hat. I almost shit my panties. I knew this man! It was a face I’d never forget! The face of a monster!
“Gloria, I’d like you to meet…”
Boris Borofsky! I wasn’t sure if I even heard Victor say his name. For a brief second, my heart stopped beating. Everything inside me died. Then my heart beat into a frenzy.
Victor continued. “He owns a chain of very successful international sex clubs. We met in Paris and thought there might be a natural synergy between his enterprise and Gloria’s Secret. An opportunity to get our products into his many clubs around the world. Perhaps set up Gloria’s Secret boutiques inside them and create an exclusive BDSM line.”
Still standing, Boris’s eyes, the color of pink quartz, clashed with mine. I felt myself turning white as a ghost. If only I were a ghost and could make myself invisible. I tried hard to steady my right hand as I offered it to him to shake. His stubby, calloused fingers entwined mine, his grip so hard I almost winced. My bandaged finger throbbed with pain as the horrific memory of these fingers wrapped around my neck threatened to undo me.
“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Long,” he said in his husky, unforgettable, thickly accented voice. Still squeezing my hand, he gazed into my duo-colored eyes, slicing right through me. “You have fascinating eyes, Ms. Long. It is rare to meet somevun who has vun blue eye and vun brown vun.”
Oh, God! Did he recognize me? It was hard to tell because he was maintaining his cool. I twitched a smile and thanked him.
“I never forget a beautiful face. Have we met before?”
Every hair on my body bristled. “No, I’m sure we’ve never met,” I stammered. Stay calm, Gloria! Don’t let him hear your heart thundering.
“Are you sure we never met several years back in New York?” His voice was growing more ominous by the second.
Fuck! He knew! He knew who I was! “Yes, I’m sure,” I managed with a nervous smile.
He smiled coyly. “You must be right. It vould be hard to forget an albino freak like me.”
I inwardly shivered. I now wasn’t sure if he was putting me on or believed me.
He thudded around the table and sat down next to me. My eyes fixed on him. He was completely bald now and paunchy, and despite obvious plastic surgery, the bullet hole scars that bracketed his fat chalky lips made him more hideous than he already was.
A waiter came by to take our drink order. Another bourbon for Victor, a Stoli straight up for Boris, and a sparkling water for me. I couldn’t let alcohol cloud my thinking.
“Cheers!” said Victor when the drinks arrived. “To our future together.”
My heart hammered. I wasn’t sure I was going to have a future as I clinked glasses with Victor, who was still manhandling me under the table, and with Boris, who was mentally stabbing me in my gut. He eyed my bandaged finger.
“Vhat happened to your finger, my beauty?” His sinister voice was going down a path.
I twitched another skittish smile. Inside, every nerve ending was on edge. I could barely breathe. “It’s nothing. Just a minor scrape.”
He leaned in close to me, his quartz eyes burning another hole into my chest. “Do you vant to know vhat happened to my face? Most people do. Although I bet you can guess.” He snarled at me. “Scars have the power to remind us that our pasts are real, don’t they, Ms. Long?”
My heart was beating so fast I thought it would ricochet out of my chest. Sweat poured from behind my knees as nausea rose to my chest. Grabbing my bag, I leaped up.
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” I was going to throw up any minute.
Boris forcefully grabbed my braid, holding me back.
“Hurry back, Gloria. We have business to discuss.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said, jerking myself free of his grip and losing a clump of hair in the process. Keeping an evil eye on me, Boris stood up and let me out of the booth.
Holding my head high, I walked calmly out of the Polo Lounge, and then, the moment I stepped foot into the hotel lobby, I sprinted to the ladies’ room located down a hallway to the left. Yanking open the restroom door, I ran straight into a vacant stall and crouched down on the cold marble floor. Holding my braid back with one hand, I puked my guts out over the toilet. Oh God! How could this be happening? First the stock crash! Then Jaime! And now Boris Borofsky was back in my life! I was in harm’s way. Big time! Terror seized me like a vice grip. What was I going to do?
Only one thing was clear. I had to get out of here as quickly as possible. Away from the man who would, without doubt, seek his revenge. Gloria Long could soon be a goner.
After a quick wash of my hands and rinse of my mouth, I raced to the hotel entrance, calling Tyrone on his cell to meet me there as quickly as possible.
Once outside, I tapped my foot anxiously, waiting for Tyrone to pull up, and stole nervous glances behind me. The hotel, popular with the Hollywood crowd and tourists alike, was bustling, with the valets running back and forth to service guests. My galloping heart jumped into my throat when a red Thunderbird convertible pulled up. Oh my God! Jaime!
He immediately saw me and leaped out of his car, leaving it for the valet. My already cramped stomach balled up into a knot of panic.
“Gloria.” His voice was a breathy blend of surprise and desire.
“What are you doing here?” I gasped.
“Meeting my real estate agent. And you?”
“Leaving.” Oh please, Tyrone, hurry!
“Did you get my flowers?” Facing me, he gripped my shoulders with his strong hands. I trembled beneath his touch.
“Jaime, let go of me!” Come on, Tyrone! My prayer was answered. Ty was heading up the driveway. I would have run downhill to meet him, but I couldn’t break free from Jaime.
His piercing blue eyes were fierce on my face. “I’m not letting you go until you answer my question.”
“Let go of her,” thundered another voice from behind me. Boris! “She’s all mine.” With a painful yank of my braid, he tore me away from Jaime.
“Who the fuck are you?” barked Jaime, his eyes flaring.
Boris growled. “Your worst nightmare.”
No, my worst nightmare!
“Fuck off, asswipe!” Jaime barked back at him.
Boris didn’t know whom he was dealing with. And didn’t see it coming. I ducked just in time as Jaime thrust a clenched fist into Boris’s ugly face and sent him reeling to the ground. Blood poured out of his bulbous nose and trickled over his hideous scars. A split-second later, Tyrone pulled up. Without waiting for a valet to assist me, I jumped into the Rover and slammed the passenger door shut. Thank God, it automatically locked because Jaime was one step behind me.
Frantically, he tried to yank it open. My eyes held his for a long second and then turned away. Desperate and frustrated, he banged at the tinted window with both fists. “Fucking open up, Gloria!”
Battling tears, I kept my head facing straight ahead. “Floor it, Ty.”
“You got it, Ms. Long.” The SUV peeled away from the curb with a screech and a cloud of smoke. I glanced back to see Jaime running after us at hell-bent speed. He had no chance. The car zoomed down Sunset, leaving him in the dust behind.