Chapter 3
“…must have asked you that question three times already.” The lady with hair in screaming shades of green and orange announced, concern appearing in the bright eyes.
"Huh?" Hunter grunted, coming back to the present. He was so engrossed that he hardly noticed Lisa standing by his desk. "What question?" he replied, embarrassed at being caught.
"What do you intend to do about this?" Miss Lisa repeated, laying the thick linen envelope with his name embossed in gold, on the table.
It was an invitation to the Governor’s Ball, a yearly fund-raising event. At $2,500 a plate, it was one of the most prestigious events held in New York City. Every “who’s who” in the city scrambled for an invite.
Hunter grimaced. Another boring event that was sure to hog the headlines of every newspaper the next day. He glanced at the envelope and replied, “Write a check, I suppose.”
“You don’t have it in mind to go?” Lisa asked. At sixty years of age, her wits were still sharp as a whip and she could easily read the mind of one of the richest men in America.
Lisa had known Hunter all his life, having worked with the Blackwell family since she was fifteen. When Hunter took over the reins of the Blackwell Empire, she was his only choice as his personal assistant and private secretary.
She often referred to herself as a glorified nanny, totally devoted to her once young ward, often casting an evil eye at employees who swooned when the big boss was around. No one could win against her in a stare down match of wills. She could have retired years ago, but Hunter insisted that he couldn’t do without her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked candidly. She was the only person in the building who could be this blunt with Hunter and get away with it.
“It’s the same shit every year.” He replied with rancor.
“You realize that sending a check won’t be enough? A no-show would ruffle feelings and that’s not what we want right now.”
“Fuck their feelings and shove it up their asses.” He replied viciously.
“Tell me what happened at the meeting,” Lisa prompted gently, as she took a seat.
Hunter narrated what had occurred at the meeting with the council. He scowled, remembering the condescending attitude regarding his reputation and how they thought he would be unfit to hold the position of Assembly Man. He huffed in disdain at the suggestion that he settle down, change his lifestyle, and get married.
“Those old turds wouldn’t be sitting in their air conditioned offices if it weren’t for my campaign contributions,’ he sneered.
"So you'd rather act like a rebellious twelve-year-old and not go, to prove what exactly?"
“They can’t tell me what to do with my fucking life.”
“Oh, honey,” Lisa smirked, “go ahead and tell them to shit in their adult diapers. That’s your prerogative. But… weren’t you the one who said running for the senate was your dream? I still have to see the day you let anyone stand in your way. So if that means having to lick their asses, for now, do it."
Hunter repressed a chuckle.
“I guess you’re right. I have to find a suitable date that would pass the discriminating taste of those dodos.”
"That would be a problem then. Your taste runs from the Avante Garde to the extremely tacky," Lisa retorted, keeping a straight face.
Hunter laughed. “If you were forty years younger, I’d take you as my date. Hell, I’d even marry you.”
“Humph. I wouldn’t. You hold no surprises for me. I washed your butt when you were a baby.” Lisa replied impudently, making him laugh again.
She stood up to leave and added, “I need to know her name.”
“Who?” Hunter replied, looking edgy.
"Your date, silly. I have to put her name down when I do the RSVP," Lisa replied, wondering why he was acting so jumpy all of a sudden.
He nodded, relieved when she finally left the office. It didn’t take much for the old gal to see right through him. He could never lie to her. But he wasn’t ready to reveal that his mind was still set on someone that he had just met.
Noelle Mancini.
He left the café this morning with reluctance. He practically forced himself to leave, realizing that he was taking too much of her time. She needed to work and make a living. The feeling nagged at him till he reached the office.
There was something about her that strummed a chord in his sophisticated mind. Sure, she was gorgeous. The sheen of the chestnut hair that fell down in waves around her shoulder, the bronzed skin that reminded him of caramelized champagne truffles, the green eyes that shone when she laughed or blazed when she thought he was spying on her – he couldn’t shrug her image out of his head.
But Noelle seemed unaware of her beauty. She had a delicious ass, he admitted. The way she undulated her hips while dancing, innocently unaware that she was being watched. The rise and fall of her chest when she turned into an angry tigress evoked curiosity and sexual attraction. What would she be like, naked and passionate, in his arms?
He couldn’t get beyond how unaffected she was to the Blackwell name. Most women would fawn and simper. Noelle was more interested in his ideas for change. That was totally refreshing. The other women that he dated would automatically lose interest, preferring to search for clues if he was interested in seeing them again.
What was it that his dad used to say? ‘You can’t go wrong with a woman who can cook.’
She doted on her son and still managed to run a business. She had ambition. She was the ideal American girl and very genuine.
Instinctively, he felt that something was troubling her. He wondered what was on her mind. Meeting Noelle today was serendipity, he was sure of it! With her place being the only café open at that hour, just when he was on the lookout for a place to eat in a side of town that he rarely went to. If this morning’s event was one of his many business deals, he would have gone in for the kill, based on a sixth sense that there was something wrong, and then come out successfully with another business acquisition.
Thinking about her now made him feel restless and needy. He reached for his cell phone.
Idiot. She didn’t give you her number. He castigated himself.
Although her eyes did light up when he mentioned wanting to see her again. I wonder if it’s too soon to show up for lunch. He thumbed it down. It had barely been an hour since he left her. That and his exaggerated sense of manliness didn’t approve. Women did the chasing. Never him.
A movement by the door alerted him to Lisa’s presence. She was the only person in the entire building who entered without announcing her presence. Perks of the relationship, she often teased when he mentioned it to her.
Hunter pretended to be engrossed with his Mac. Lisa placed a check made out to the Governor’s Ball. He signed it, not bothering to glance at the figure.
“Don’t forget the name. I need it for the RSVP,” she reminded him.
“Yeah,” he replied. Knowing Lisa, she’d remind him again before the day was over.
Unexpectedly, a wild idea formed in his mind: he would ask Noelle to come as his date.