Be Our Guest
“This is fucking ridiculous,” I told myself as I stared into the mirror.
It was eight and Adam was already on his way to my apartment. It was a good thing my father had left to get back to his place and I didn’t have to let him see me in this revealing outfit. I wouldn’t really be able to justify how outrageous this whole get-up was to my father. He was a little more conservative than most fathers and that was saying a lot.
I shook my head and sighed in surrender. I just had to go through this. As I did my phone vibrated and I checked it to see Adam sent me a text message. He was outside, waiting by the car.
“Just do it,” I told myself. “Just do it and when dad’s job is done I can put all this behind me.”
I put my phone in a simple, black leather hand purse and then grabbed my keys before walking out of the front door, locking it as I did. Outside, just across the street from my apartment unit was Adam, standing out by his car. It was a gorgeous, sleek two-door red Porsche and it was a convertible too. While not the most extravagant of cars it definitely oozed with style and that instantly got me feeling a little tingle in my chest.
That sensation only grew when I saw Adam. He was wearing a two-button blazer with wide lapels and a very simple but elegant bowtie. Even from a distance I could notice his shoes were well-shined and he wore a very expensive watch. I couldn’t tell what it was but I definitely knew it cost more than anything I had ever spent in my life. It could even be more expensive than my car.
“You’re very gorgeous tonight,” he greeted me as he walked up to me, held my hand and walked me down the stairs and to his car.
“T-thank you,” I sheepishly replied, my gaze once again down on my feet. I felt my cheeks flush red and I tried to hide it by not looking his way.
He wouldn’t have that though and with his hand he pulled my face to look up at him. I felt a little queasy to stare up into his eyes. They were ever so deep and for a very brief moment I forgot how afraid I was of him. He was handsome – very handsome – and it was making my knees weak just having to look at him as he stared down at me.
“You blush,” he noted. Hearing him point it out made me feel even more embarrassed.
“A-am I? No, you must be mistaken,” I lied as I broke our gaze and headed to the passenger side of the car. He didn’t press it further and with a push of a button he unlocked the doors. I stepped inside quickly, hoping the darkness of the interiors would hide my sudden shame.
When Adam got in, he strapped on his seatbelt and drove us off in pure silence. He didn’t say another word for a good ten minutes. We were well into the city by the time he opened his mouth to say something.
“I like how your dress looks on you,” he told me, his eyes steady on the road. “You look very gorgeous, very sexy. You almost have a Russian flare to the way you present yourself.”
Now that just had to be some kind of joke, “Me? No way. I’m just plain old me.”
“Why do you belittle yourself?” he asked. “What do you do when you are not at work?”
I shook my head as I thought about the implications of what he was asking. I looked out the window and watched as the buildings, car and people whizzed by. After taking a deep breath I then answered, “I’m really just a nobody, Mr. Rousseau. I spend my free time playing video games, browsing on the Internet and reading books. I’m a geek, a nerd, a homebody. I don’t dance at clubs, get drunk and flirt with boys. I’m not one of those girls someone like you would go out with.”
Adam took a quick moment to veer his attention from the road and towards me, “What do you mean ‘someone I would go out with?’ What kind of girl do you think I prefer?”
“Someone hot, flirty and drools all over you while sharing a martini and dancing on the table?” I said bluntly. Almost immediately I realized how dumb my reply was and that I had just insulted him. I wanted to smack myself in the face.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem hurt. If he was affected he didn’t let it show. He simply pursed his lips, bobbed his head and said, “Well, I can see why you’d assume that. Most men in my position do prefer that kind of woman. I don’t.”
“Well, what kind of woman do you prefer?” I asked, daring to get a little personal.
“Someone I can appreciate for the beauty in their heart as much as the beauty of their face,” he answered. His tone was soft and a little melancholic. The words he chose were a little surprising as I didn’t expect that kind of reply.
For a moment I felt a pang of guilt riddle through me. Perhaps I had assumed too much regarding him. Then again he was a handsome billionaire who just asked a twenty-one-year old to be his personal secretary and he’s now taking me out to dinner.
“Then I don’t fit in that category,” I solemnly told him. “There’s nothing beautiful about me.”
He took a hand off the steering wheel and pressed it down on my leg. As soon as I felt his heavy palm on my skin a jolt surged through my body. I had never really been touched by a guy before and this was new territory for me. It was a little awkward to feel him touching me.
“Do not belittle yourself,” he told me. “I am bringing you to this dinner for a reason, after all. There is a light in you that no other can match.”
I didn’t know what to say to that and simply nodded back once and turned back to stare out the window.
As I did, my mind began to trail off and I pondered about the past relationships I had gotten into when I was younger. I may have never slept with a man but I did have two boyfriends before.
Both of those relationships were pure mistakes. The first boyfriend I ever had was back in junior high and it was with a jock, a football player. He was really handsome and really big – Adam kind of reminded me of him a little if it was just in terms of physique – but we didn’t last more than a month. He was just too dumb. I didn’t want to bite into the stereotype that football players were idiots but he kind of made it true.
My second boyfriend was a little smarter. He was on the debate team in college and he was a writer but this time his intelligence got to the better of him. He was a little bit of a pompous asshole and was misogynistic to boot. He expected I would simply bend down over a table and let him fuck me because “that was my job as a woman.” Needless to say I broke up with him.
Adam, on the other hand, seemed like a strange mix of the two while still being someone entirely different. He had the body and menace of my first boyfriend but the brains of the second. However, he was a little soft-spoken and he always chose his words carefully, making sure he would never seem insulting or hovering above anyone else. There was an air of humility with him while at the same time authority and menace.
Maybe the rumors were true. Maybe he was involved with the mob. Only a man like Adam could demand such respect and fear.
I didn’t get to ask because as I turned to face him and ask another question we pulled up to a very beautiful resort. It was then that I noticed we had drive all the way to the beach, off to an exclusive part of town solely for the rich and famous.
The building itself was extravagant, to say the least, and even the valet who took and parked the car had on a uniform more expensive than anything I owned. He seemed cute too but when compared to the raw power and presence of Adam the valet looked more like a puppy sitting next to a lion.
An usher then took us and guided us through the building’s large double doors. Adam took my hand and I wrapped my arm around his as we walked inside.
The ceiling was over sixty feet high and brightly lit by several large, extravagant chandeliers. They had electrical lights, however, shaped only to resemble traditional candles. Everything from the walls to the floor and ceiling were in beautiful white with golden trims and designs. Some of the walls had elaborate paintings that were a good eight feet high and around ten to twelve feet long. They all looked like the kind of paintings that belonged in a museum, not a fancy resort-restaurant.
“This way,” he told me as he led me through the crowd of circular seats. We passed through the back and it was then that I noticed the front area of the dining hall had a big jazz band getting ready to play.
Finally we reached a large table situated in a nice little private cove, a VIP area if I ever saw one. There were already a few gentlemen seated there and only one other woman. She was obviously older than I, around thirty or so, and had long blonde hair that curled towards the bottom.
“Good evening,” Adam greeted the folks at the table. At my final count there were at least eight people, including the woman. He then escorted me to a seat and helped me get on.
I didn’t know what to say as they all turned to greet us. I just smiled and bowed my head as a simple curtsy. When I got to relax in my seat I quickly came to the horrifying realization that the dining table was set with so many spoons and forks I had no idea where to start.
Names were passed and people introduced. I didn’t catch most of them except for because he was a popular director, Victor Harding since he was the CEO of a phone developing company and the woman, Melanie Cortez. It turned out she wasn’t just someone’s trophy wife – she was the CEO and President of a big web development company.
When the food arrived I started to fret. I didn’t know where to begin and I didn’t want to look like an uneducated idiot. Not only would I get embarrassed I’d also make Adam look bad.
“Uh, I-I think I should go to the ladies’ room and powder my face,” I said, hoping it sounded sophisticated enough.
Adam, underneath the table, pulled me back down to my seat and then leaned in closer to whisper, “The soup spoon is the second one from the right, right between the tea spoon and the fish knife.”
I let out a sigh of relief, grabbed the spoon, and observed the others real quick as they dined. I followed suit, carefully sipping my soup in a way that it wouldn’t be messy. Pretty soon I got the hang of it and as each new dish was delivered Adam whispered instructions in my ear so I wouldn’t get lost.
“So, what do you do?” Melanie suddenly asked me right as we were getting into dessert. The live band had taken a break and it was quiet enough for us to converse.
For a brief moment I panicked but then I figured I didn’t have to lie, “I work for Mr. Rousseau as an app developer.”
“Oh, I assumed you were a model,” Victor then said. “I didn’t know such a beautiful woman could be so smart.”
I didn’t know if he was just being a misogynistic asshole or if he was just joking around. Fortunately for me, Melanie cut in right on time.
“Are you calling us dumb or ugly?” she asked Victor. “Either one is not going to end up nicely for you.”
Victor raised a hand in apology and said, “I-I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying I assumed you were more involved in show business given how beautiful you are.”
“Her father is Maurice Verdandi,” Adam then added. “You might want to rein in your tongue there.”
Victor bowed slightly at Adam, “That is very interesting to know. I hired Mr. Verdandi a couple of occasions and he definitely did an exemplary job every time. It is so nice to discover that his daughter is just as bright as he is.”
“Apology accepted,” I then said. I felt a little braver now that Adam actually stood up for me. Melanie helping as well was the icing on top. “However, I would refrain from letting your poor choice of words become a regular habit if I were you, lest this behavior get you into deeper trouble than you can handle.”
Everyone at the table applauded me. I didn’t know if they were impressed with my flair or with my guts to say such things directly at Victor’s face.
Adam reached underneath the table and grabbed my hand. He gave it a little squeeze and then whispered into my ear, “Very good. When we first arrived you earned their admiration with your beauty alone. Now you’ve earned their respect as well. I was right to take you in to work for me.”
I leaned in closer to him and whispered back, “You sly bastard. You set this all up, didn’t you? What are you trying to prove here?”
At first I thought he would get offended by my words and for a moment it seemed so. He balled his fingers into a fist and it looked like he was seething in anger but then he let it go and then answered, “Yes, this was all set up so that I could show these puppets on string that I am more than what they think of me.”
“What do they think of you?” I had to ask.
He sighed, looked at the folks at the table – who were all busy in their own conversations now – and finally said, “An upstart gangster who rose too quickly up the ranks. Many of these people pretend to be my friends but when my back is turned they sneer and disown me as one of their peers.”
I took a moment to eye each person at the table. Even though I just met them I did get the feeling that they were all playing a wicked game of faces, each one pretending to be nice and sincere when the truth was they all despised each other. They had to be social because the media was always looking at them but behind the scenes they were the kind of folks who would backstab each other if the opportunity presented itself.
That made me wary of them all, even of Melanie. Maybe she was just being friendly to me and protecting me from Victor solely so she could get an inch at Adam.
“I’m starting to feel a little dizzy,” I then told Adam. I was hoping this excuse would get us out of this place.
Adam looked at me and then asked, “Would you like to leave? We can leave.”
“I-I don’t want to ruin your image in front of your peers,” I told him. He did bring me here for a purpose, after all. “Maybe we should stay a bit longer and at least finish a few drinks.”
“We can drink at home,” he told me. “I have a bottle of scotch that has yet to be opened.”
My lips quivered and I hesitated for a moment. I looked at him and explained, “I-I’ve never had a one-on-one drink with a man before. I don’t think I’d be a really good drinking buddy.”
Honestly I was just hoping he wouldn’t take advantage of me and get us into some kind of sexual entanglement. I knew how men’s minds worked. They’d get a girl drunk and helpless just to fuck her and then leave her. While I didn’t think Adam was that sort of man, I still felt apprehensive about lowering my defenses with him.
“J-just one drink,” I answered. I figured that was the safest course of action.
He nodded in approval and then looked up to the rest at the table, “You’ll have to excuse us. Bella and I have some business to attend to. We’ll have to leave for the time being.”
“Oh, but you won’t be able to see the rest of the show,” Victor tried to act like he was sad to see us go.
I just shrugged it off and replied, “That’s okay. I’m pretty sure they don’t require our approval to showcase their musical prowess. It was nice meeting you all.”
Melanie eyed me and smiled as we stood up and left. The others waved and Adam gave the obligatory handshake to each one until we were finally out of the area. He led me back to his car and drove off to his manor, which turned out to be on the other side of the city. When I looked at my phone to check the time I was shocked to see it was already ten-thirty. Maybe I should just cancel this and have him drive me back home.
Yet when I looked at him I saw a certain radiance emanating from his being. It was like having me there with him at that dinner lightened the mood in the dark corners of his heart. Feeling guilty about asking to leave, I dropped the idea and just waited until we arrived at his place.