“What do you think of this one?” I twirled around in a long black, strapless dress with a tiny amount of red accents. I was playing with the idea of not “obeying” his orders of what I should wear. It felt good.
“It looks amazing!” My friend Sylvie was a buyer at Saks and she went with me anytime she could when I had to buy something for work or an event so I could get her discount. She was also fun to sit and have some wine with.
Sylvie came over and made some adjustments here and there with some pulling and lifting. Then she smacked my ass and I squealed in surprise.
“Sorry, I had to see how your tight little butt felt being smacked through the velvet material. It felt really, really good. I think Christopher Ward will like it too.” She smiled at me mischievously and winked and I laughed. How could I not?
“Christopher will be lucky if he gets to get as far as you just did.”
That kind of thing is what I loved most about Sylvie. I dealt with so many uptight and stuffy people all the time. She just loved to have fun and it was always like an escape to spend time with her.
When I told her what I needed the latest dress for, she was there in a moment’s notice with me on Tuesday night. She had several dresses already picked out for me. I decided not to even try on the red dresses. I really did like the idea of the black.
“I think that’s the one. It just looks amazing on you. I can see almost every inch of your body yet you still look classy. It’s perfecto. We’ll take it.” Sylvie gestured to the sales lady who was in the dressing room with us and she nodded. “Go take that off and let us wrap it up for you, you hot little Vice President, you.”
I laughed and agreed as I went to change back into my work clothes. I wondered what Christopher was going to say about my obvious noncompliance. What could he say? This served two purposes. The first one is that it was just fun to disobey somebody giving me an order when they really couldn’t enforce it. He wasn’t going to fire me for wearing black.
The second purpose was that his reaction would tell me so much about him. It would tell me how well he takes things being out of his control. I would be able to see how easily he can hold back his immediate involuntary reaction to things.
“What are you doing about shoes?” Sylvie called in to my dressing room as I was just finishing up. I opened the door just as she was yelling the last word. She smiled and laughed. Her energy was so contagious.
“I have a simple black pair of Louboutin’s. That seems pretty perfect, no?” I grabbed my purse and bag and followed her out of the dressing room.
“Yeah, that works. Okay, I was just going to offer to loan you a pair of Stuart Weitzman’s diamond collection is all.”
I stopped short. Those shoes were worth hundreds of thousands.
“Seriously? Won’t you get in trouble?”
Sylvie stopped and looked me straight in the eyes.
“Lady, stars borrow these shows all the time for red carpets. You are going on a date with one of the hottest and most famous billionaires on the planet. I think that qualifies.”
It hadn’t hit me until she put it like that. I really was. I was getting ready to go out with a bona fide celebrity. This man had dated almost every hot thing in Hollywood. He was often seen with Victoria’s Secret models. And I was going to be on his arm tomorrow night. I had been so wrapped up in revenge that I hadn’t really thought about everything else that came with this.
My stomach tied itself up in knots. I had a long workout in store later that night.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
I stopped by the salon after work to get my hair done in an up do and have my makeup done. Luckily, I remembered to wear a button up shirt and my dress was strapless, so I could just step into it and zip it up with a hidden zipper on the side. All was going smoothly.
I couldn’t wait to see Christopher’s face when he saw the black dress. I had a couple of guesses from what I knew of him already. Either he would ignore it or he would make a curt comment about it. I didn’t think he would find it funny, though it would be fun if he did.
Playing with his head was part of the seduction, though. I had to keep him on his toes. I had no doubt he would be keeping me on mine. At that moment, I had a fleeting thought that he might have noticed that we play the same control game. It was highly possible. I had to remember to keep that in mind. I was so caught up in having him figured out that I forgot to factor that part in.
With my hair and makeup done on point, I raced home, put on my black, velvet dress, Stuart Weitzman shoes from his diamond collection, diamond teardrop earrings that I got as a graduation present from Mac after he sold his app and a diamond tennis bracelet that belonged to my mom. It was a reminder of what all of this is for in case I got too caught up in the fairytale of it all.
I grabbed a Lincoln town car to the Lincoln Center, I didn’t want a regular cab. I was kind of wondering why I didn’t have him pick me up but, ultimately I knew I kept better control if he didn’t. I felt an excitement building in my stomach and I had no idea which part of the night to place it on. It was probably excitement for the whole thing. The whole thing was just so full of awe and wonder to me.
My car pulled up to Center where David Geffen Hall is located and I saw several limos parked there. I paid the driver and walked towards the entrance, assuming he would be closest to the front as he was a billionaire and all.
“Look who showed up.”
I whipped around and saw Christopher’s face looking out of his limo with his tinted window down. I winced at the cliché-ness of this whole thing.
“Oh no. We are now officially in a very bad episode of Sex in the City.”
“Wait. Were there good episodes?” Christopher smiled jestingly as the driver came to open the door for me. I couldn’t help myself, I laughed.
“Only the ones without Mr. Big.” I winked at the driver as he smiled at the dig aimed at Christopher.
I sat in what looked like a luxe leather couch opposite of Christopher. It was like sitting on a cloud. Looking around, I held in my awe but it was one of the most opulent limos I had ever seen with a crystal and jeweled chandelier and velvet walls. The bar had all of its liquor in real crystal bottles. I kept my gaze blank as I looked back at Christopher.
He looked incredible in a sharp, perfectly tailored, navy blue suit. His short hair perfectly done with a bit of a bedhead look. The dark blue in the suit brought out the dark blue in his eyes. My breath was taken away by how good he looked. To top it off, the limo lighting seemed to be very flattering on him.
He eyed me up and down making it obvious that he noticed my insolence in wearing a black dress with red accents instead of the red dress he ordered. I smiled sweetly with a hint of a challenge for him to say something. His face showed me nothing. I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking at all. It was very clear now; he had mastered the art of holding in his immediate, involuntary reactions just as I had. That was going to make things so much more challenging. Why did that excite me?
“Have you ever been in a limo like this before?” He smirked as he handed me a glass of champagne.
“Every day. It’s exactly like the one I take to work.” I accepted the glass and took a drink as I smirked at him.
“That makes sense. You are a VP now.” He smiled and his blue eyes, which matched the darkness of the night, gleamed.
“Absolutely. It was tough dealing with the Rolls when I was a senior analyst but everything evens out in the end.” I grinned back at him and felt a surge of excitement as the reality of who I was with started to sink in.
“You’ll be a billionaire before you know it.”
He lifted his glass; we clinked glasses as we both chuckled and each took a drink. I looked around again and took in how the beauty of the luxury felt untouchable. I wondered if he felt the same.
“Have you ever seen the New York Symphony perform in person, Alison?”
“A few times as a child, with my mom.” I looked away as I said that. I felt a twinge of longing for her at that moment and my resentment for what Christopher’s family did to her took a front seat. That was good. I needed a reminder. He was too good looking and charming. I quietly thanked my mother and reminded myself that my goal was to make sure she didn’t die in vain.
“Are you close with your mom? He seemed genuinely interested and that made me hate the question even more.
“That’s for another day. Are you close to yours?” There was more of an edge to my voice than I could control. I took a few deep breaths without making it obvious. I reminded myself that I needed to stay chill. If I played this right, everything Mac and I had been working towards all these years would come to a head soon.
“Why don’t we both change the subject?” He took a big drink of his champagne. “That’s a nice dress.”
“What, this old thing? Gosh, thank you, Christopher.” I gave him my nice-as-pie sarcasm and shot him a big satisfied smile.
He did another once over looking at my dress and did a slight shake of his head as he smirked. He knew I knew why. It made me feel a bit more power in our exchange.
“Usually by now, I would have said something about how stunning you look. There is a reason I haven’t yet.” He set a serious stare on me with just a hint of a smile in his eyes.
“Yes, Mr. Ward. I’m aware of the reason.” I crossed my legs and looked down as I smoothed my dress. I looked back up at him and arched my eyebrow. “It is a nice dress, though. Don’t you think?”
“It’s a very nice dress, Miss Bishop. Just not the one I wanted.”
“Well, Christopher. I’m sure you don’t hear this much but it’s true, even for billionaires. You can’t always get what you want.” I handed him my glass for a refill as he laughed.
“Dear, dear sweet Alison. You have no idea how many times I have learned that lesson.” He looked at me coyly. “Even as a billionaire.”
“My heart bleeds for you.” I took the full glass he handed me and took a big swig. This man made me feel so many things. I had to concentrate.
“I must admit that it probably doesn’t happen as often as it should, which is why you not being intimidated or feeling like you have to follow my orders so intriguing. I don’t get that a lot from women. It’s usually men in business who make me rise to a challenge.” He took a drink from his glass while continuing to look at me. “I don’t seem to have the same effect on you as I do most other women.”
“Really? Even those Hollywood A-listers you date? You have been linked to some pretty powerful women. Weren't they a challenge? Why, Mr. Ward. You do need to be humbled, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that but I do need to figure out this puzzle, here.” He gestured at me as he finished his glass. “We should go in now.”
I handed him my glass and followed him as he opened the door to get out. He grabbed my hand to help me out gracefully. I still lost my footing for a second and he put his arm around my waist to keep me steady. I smiled up at him and thanked him. Inside, I felt electricity everywhere. His touch was incredible. I didn’t know what to think about that.
We made it to our seats, which were the best seats in the house, of course. I recognized an Oscar award winning actress a few rows over and didn’t react in any way but my stomach did a flip-flop. This was so exciting and my brain had to process it.
Taking some internal deep breaths, I told myself to concentrate. This was not for fun or my enjoyment. I wasn’t here to enjoy the good life. My mother was killed by this man’s father and who knows how many other people in this section had killed people or ruined lives. I wasn’t here to be a part of this. This was all pretend. I took a few more internal deep breaths and put on a smile to Christopher as I quietly brought my focus back.
The music started and the acoustics were off the charts. It was beautiful. The notes were so clear and it was like I was sitting next to the orchestra. I felt a euphoric energy come over me. I allowed myself a minute to enjoy it. I would use this to spur my focus on. This was more like a recharge than me joining a world filled with the kind of people who ruined my life.
I glanced over at Christopher and saw that he was watching me. He didn’t react when I caught him; he continued to study me. It could have been creepy but it was actually kind of hot and I smiled a sly smile, letting him know that I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him staring at me. I wondered if that was even his intention.
I was the one to break the staring contest first, this time. I wanted to focus on the music and not have staring contests all night. I loved watching the orchestra. The bows of the string section, watching the sticks fly in the percussion section, seeing the slides of the horns, it was all fascinating to me.
I got lost in the music for a little while longer. I was sitting in the big plush chair, relaxed and let the music surge around me. It was an experience and at that moment everything felt right. I felt like I was where I needed to be. Everything was going to work out exactly as it should.
All of a sudden, I felt this urge to look up to my left. Somehow, in this sea of people, I found a needle in a haystack and looked straight at a man staring at me from the second balcony. I startled internally for a second and tried to focus because this man looked very familiar. Then, I realized who he looked like. Matthew Ward.
My hands grabbed the arm of my seat so tight my knuckles went white. I continued to stare and saw him smile. It couldn’t have been a more clichéd evil villain smile. It was him. I knew it was him. I had seen enough of this man in newspaper stories, CNN profiles and everything in between. Anger, fear, anxiety and pure disgust ran through me.
I quickly looked over at Christopher and he was looking in the same direction. The look on his face almost seemed to suggest he was feeling the same way I was. That took me aback. I looked back where Matthew Ward was and he was gone. My eyes did a search around for a minute to make sure I was looking in the right place. No, he was gone.
“I’m going to get some air.” Christopher leaned in and whispered to me before he got up and walked up to the exit of our seating area. With my heightened emotional state, his breath against my ear felt like a bolt of lightning hit me.
I sat there, stunned. So many thoughts and emotions were swirling through me. Was Matthew back? Was that really him? Did Christopher know he was going to be here tonight? It didn’t seem like it from the look on Christopher’s face.
But did he know that his father was in New York was the question. Did they keep up communication after Matthew disappeared? I assumed they had. As I processed everything, I chalked up Christopher’s reaction to being upset that his father was putting himself in danger of being caught and arrested.
Protecting his father, it was the only thing that made sense. I went numb and tried to get into the music again but it was not going to happen. I waited for a lull in the music before getting up and going to see where Christopher went.
I walked through the lobby, scanning the large area for any signs of Christopher…or anybody else. I didn’t see him anywhere, so I made my way outside to the limo.
He was there, pacing back and forth. A stern look was on his face. He was so into his thoughts that he didn’t even notice me approaching him.
“Are you okay?” I had to play dumb. Maybe I would get some information from him about his dad if I played this right. I mean, I knew he wasn’t stupid but neither was I.
Christopher startled for a second and then relaxed when he saw it was me. It was a rare moment of him being caught off his guard and I felt a surge of satisfaction about that.
“Oh, hi. Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. It was just a bit stuffy in there. I needed a minute. I’m sorry, are you okay?” It was taking him a bit of time to get his bearings back. His father definitely had an effect on him. But really, who didn’t that man have an effect on. He was probably part of the reason for the last recession.
“Yeah, I’m good, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You look like you had seen a ghost.” Oh, my wording was so on point. I gave myself a little high five in my mind.
“Yeah, haha, yeah. That could be it, actually.” He stopped and stared at me; something was obviously on his mind. “I think we should leave. Are you hungry?”
I was actually starving. I hadn’t eaten since lunch because I had to get ready and food was the last thing I was thinking about during all of that commotion.
“I am famished.” I nodded my head enthusiastically.
“Good. I know just where to go.” He motioned for the driver to open the door and he got in so he could take my hand and help me in after him.