Chapter 11: Zach

The end of the week brought the highlight of our week. I had reserved a table for two at Element 47, a five-star restaurant in the Little Nell hotel. I wanted to spoil Hailey a little, show her my gratitude for everything she’d done and everything she’d been on this trip.

My mood had changed

Not only had Hailey managed to make the trip something amazing – she was the kind of person who kept my mother’s memories precious even though I was sharing them with someone new– but she had become something more than just a PR agent to me. This was aside from the sex, which I had to admit was fantastic.

Tonight, was going to top off the trip just right, even if it was our last night. We were leaving for Denver in the morning and everything that we had become would come to an end. It felt like everything we had learned about each other would stay behind here when we drove back to the real world.

I shook off the thought. It would be bittersweet, but I wouldn’t let that put a damper on things. I was going to enjoy the time we spent together.

I glanced at my wristwatch.

“Are you almost done?” I called up the stairs. “We’re going to lose our reservation if we run too late.”

“I’ll be down in a minute,” Hailey called, her voice muffled through the closed door. I walked to the mirror in the entrance hall. I had chosen a black suit for the evening. The suit had a satin weave so it shimmered a little when I moved. I had my hair slicked back and I was clean shaven.

Hailey hadn’t chosen the suit for me, but I knew she’d be impressed. I wanted to surprise her, show her that I was capable of cleaning up well if I chose to and look as good as I could.

I heard her door open and walked back to the living room where I waited for her at the foot of the stairs.

She rounded the corner and I froze. She wore a gold dress that hugged her curves perfectly and flared out a little at the bottom. It had a scoop neckline and she wore a delicate necklace. Her hair was curled elegantly and hung over one shoulder, pinned to the side to bare her neck. Her breasts called my attention down to them, and her nipples budded beautifully. I licked my lips and pressed my hand to my chest as my cock twitched and swelled in my slacks.

Fuck me.

As she stepped down, black heels showed from underneath the dress.

I looked her up and down. She stopped halfway and smiled shyly at me.

“Wow,” I said. “You look fucking amazing.”

She blushed, her innocence still ever present. The alpha male in me woke up and growled, low and deep. Fuck she left me needy like no other woman had before her. “I like your suit,” she said when she reached the bottom of the stairs. I took her hand and kissed it. “You look good. Really good.”

“Oh yeah?” I smirked like I didn’t already know. “I chose it, for you. It isn’t blue, but it’ll work.”

She giggled. “Don’t make me fall for you, Zach.”

“Never. Let’s go,” I said. “We can’t be late. I’ll have you know that punctuality is important in your line of work.”

Hailey rolled her eyes but she was smiling. I smiled, too. We had come a long way from that first day when I hadn’t been able to be in my own office at seven.

I opened the car door for Hailey and she stepped in carefully. When I walked around the car I glanced at her silhouette through the dark windows. She looked just like the women in my world – she cleaned up beautifully and she had an exquisite fashion sense. But that was where the similarity stopped. Everything about Hailey was genuine. She didn’t once pretend to be something she wasn’t. It had taken her a while to open to me and there were times when I still had no idea who she was deep down inside, but whether she showed herself to me or not, she was genuine.

She was a breath of fresh air compared to the women I spent my time with until now. They all hid themselves behind money and plastic surgery, using their social standing to make up for what they lacked in character. They all believed that the world owed them because they were at the top of the food chain.

With vanity and pride flowing freely it didn’t matter how much makeup they wore or how expensive their clothes were. It didn’t matter what size diamonds they had in their ears or who their fathers were. Being with Hailey shed a new light on my life. I was starting to see where all the holes were, all the things I’d conveniently ignored.

Maybe it was the fact that we were alone here, that we were caught in a bubble in a romantic spot. Maybe, when I went back home, all of this would fall away and I would slip back into my old life like nothing had ever happened.

All of it felt like a dream, one that I would wake up from soon. She expected me to be a good man, but she was in the minority.

I opened the car door and slid in behind the wheel. I glanced at her. She looked like a goddess with her golden dress and perfect profile. She smiled at me.

“Tonight will be fun.” I reached out and touched the side of her face, brushing my thumb over her full bottom lip.

“I believe it will.” She captured my hand against her face and turned slightly, kissing my palm.

“Be careful. I might have to let the beast out.” I waggled my eyebrows.

“I’m hoping so.” She pulled her hand from my face and tried to play it cool.

I shook my head and smiled as she busted out laughing.

Fuck me. I was falling for her too.

****

Element 47 was a modern restaurant with an authentic feel. When we were seated by the maître ‘d I looked around and took in the ambiance of the place.

The decorations were mostly wood and suede with dark blue leather seats and booths and a luxurious carpet stretching out beneath our feet. The tables were decorated with wine glasses and silverware. We were seated along the barrier that divided the restaurant in two at a small table that felt private even though we weren’t in a booth.

“This place is beautiful,” Hailey said, glancing around.

A waitress came to our table. She smiled and welcomed us, giving me a wine list. She ran through the specials and then left us alone to decide what we were going to eat.

“I don’t know what to choose,” Hailey said when we’d been reading the menu for a while. “There’s so much I want to try.”

I smiled at her. She was like a kid at Christmas. I had lost that awe for the things in my life. It was time I got it back.

“How about we both order something interesting and then share? That way we both get to taste double.”

Hailey smiled and nodded. “I’d love that.”

“Good. What the lady wants, the lady gets.” I let my eyes linger on her while she looked over the menu.

When the waitress returned to take our starters order, I ordered a baby beetroot salad with a pomegranate vinaigrette and ricotta. Hailey ordered curried cauliflower soup with apple shavings and crisp capers. I ordered a dry white wine along with it and the waitress disappeared.

“There was a time when I used to never order the same thing on the menu twice,” Hailey said after the wine had arrived. “I used to order everything, even if I didn’t know what it was.”

“Why did you stop?” I asked.

“Because I got too busy to eat out often. And if it’s a place like this the chances of me ever coming back here to work my way down the menu isn’t very good.”

Unless she came back often with me, I thought. But that wasn’t realistic.

“Have you spoken to your dad today?” Hailey asked.

I nodded. I chatted with my father almost daily. I had to keep up with what was going on at the business. We didn’t have time to discuss more than that. He was too busy for more than just a quick update.

“I imagine he’ll be happy to have you back in the office.”

“That’s the hope.” I nodded. He would be happy to have me back, but not because he felt I added something to the business. It was more like he wanted me close so that he could know what I was up to, when I was embarrassing the name of the Company, when he had to pick up the pieces.

That was the idea with Hailey, wasn’t it? That had blown up in his face a little bit, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I wasn’t going to let her see that, either. I would be the perfect gentleman and see this through to the end the right way. That was the one thing I could do.

“I know we don’t talk about this,” Hailey said, “but what’s going to happen when we get back to Denver?”

I hadn’t wanted to talk about it. I hadn’t wanted to think about it. “We’re going to continue working together,” I said. I wasn’t telling her that we would say goodbye. I didn’t want that. But I couldn’t promise her that we could keep doing this either. Denver was a different world. We’d have to navigate that shit when we got to it.

Hailey nodded, looking down. I wanted her to look at me so I could fall into the ocean that was her eyes, but she refused to make eye contact.

“Sounds good,” she said softly.

The food was amazing, and I shifted the conversation to her, asking about what she loved to do and such. She opened back up, and I stifled a sigh of relief. Why did women have to be so damn difficult all the time?

We worked our way through dinner and then enjoyed dessert. “God, I’m stuffed.” I moved back in my seat and rubbed my stomach.

“But it was so worth it.” She dipped her finger in the whipped cream on the pie in front of us and licked her fingers. “Although I’m not sure I’m in the mood for rolling around in the sheets.”

“What?” I sat up, feigning shock. “I bought this expensive meal and dressed up and no sex? Oh, that’s it. I’m out.” I winked as she giggled. “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s get out of here.”

I hated that the night was over. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want any of it to be over. Not the night, not the week, not any of it. I wanted it to last, and for the first time in my life, my money, my social standing, not even my power as CFO could change the fact that the relaxed week was coming to a close.

I smiled at her, putting my hand on the small of her back as we walked out of the restaurant. The back of her dress was zipped up to just below her shoulder blades, her naked back beautiful and inviting. When she walked, her hips moved under my hand and I felt her body. I wanted her. It hit me so fast, my undeniable hunger. I wanted her naked and writhing beneath me.

It was partly the wine talking – we’d each had a few glasses – but it was also my male instincts to claim my woman. It was primal and animalistic and real. I wanted her and even though she was stuffed… she wanted me too.

We drove home. Hailey was silent, the radio on softly so music floated between us, taking the edge off the silence. She was lost in her own thoughts and I didn’t have anything important enough to pull her back to the present.

We stopped in the driveway and I jumped out to open her door for her. She smiled at me, looking tired.

“Come on. Let’s get you in the house.” I held my hand out and escorted her to the door, where we paused and I lifted her hand to my lips, kissing her fingers softly. “I had a good time tonight.”

“Me too.” She moved back and let me open the door before speaking again. “I’m going to get changed,” she said and climbed the stairs, holding the front of her dress so she wouldn’t step on it. I followed her and walked through to the bathroom on the landing. I pulled off my tie and blazer and undid the top button of my shirt.

I ran the cold water and splashed it on my face. The water dripped down my neck and wet the collar of my shirt in patches. I dried my hands and face before I looked at myself in the mirror one last time.

The last few times I looked, I had begun to recognize myself less and less.

“Zach?” Hailey called from the room.

“Coming,” I said.

The door was ajar. “Can I come in?” I asked, pushing open the door.

Hailey stood in front of the mirror. She had removed the clips that held her hair to the side, her golden jewelry and her shoes. She was still fully clothed.

“Can you unzip me?” she asked.

“You don’t have to ask me twice, baby.” I walked to her as my body tightened, my pulse spiked. I stood behind her, looking at her in the mirror. I couldn’t read the emotion on her face. She looked back at me, her pupils dilated.

I slid the zipper slowly down. The dress split open as I moved along, showing her bare back. I touched her skin. It was smooth and pale. I leaned my body against her and moved her hair out of the way. I kissed her shoulder while I slipped the straps of her dress down her arms. It slid down her body, revealing her nakedness. The dress had its own support so Hailey hadn’t worn a bra. When it fell in a heap around her ankles she stood in front of me wearing only a bright pink G-string.

She was standing with her back to me. I reached around her body and let my hands roam over her stomach and tits. “Fuck, you look good, feel good, smell good.” I ran my nose over her shoulder up toward the back of her neck, breathing in deeply.

“That feels so good,” she whimpered and turned her head to me, our gazes locking me. “I want you.”

“Good. Then you’ll get me.” I leaned in and kissed her, opening my mouth and giving her the lead. Her tongue swirled around mine, demanding carnality.

I pulled her against me, pressing her soft curves against the hardness of my own body. My cock danced between us, trying like hell to get the girl’s attention.

“And if I didn’t want you?” The cheeky tart asked.

“That’s something you’ll get over.” I nipped at her lips and smiled.