CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Cassandra
“Funny, I didn’t notice how spectacular the view from here was before,” I said as Devin and I sat on the wide balcony of his villa, looking out over the sloped roof of the lodge and the sloping mountain side below. Above and beyond, the cloudless blue sky was turning a deep purple in the east, darkness rolling in slowly but steadily. It would be dark soon and the sun would leave the world on its own for a while. The moon hung faint and low in the sky, as if it was waiting its turn to rise and shine.
“The last time you were here we didn’t really take the time to look at the view,” he said over his glass of Chablis, smiling, his eyes dancing across my face. “As I recall, we were quite busy with other things.”
“Yes, we were,” I said with a giggle. I returned his smile and let go a long sigh into my glass. “Hard to believe that was two months ago.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” he said, opening his hand and wiggling his fingers, inviting my hand to come join. We were sitting in matching Adirondack chairs in jeans and light sweaters and hiking boots. The autumn air was already crisp here in the mountains, cool now and turning colder later. Devin said it would snow every day here in the winter, making for treacherous driving, which was the reason the resort would be closed until spring. We would still come up, he said, ferried by his private helicopter to a landing pad further up the mountain side. I couldn’t wait to see the views from our villa when the mountain was blanketed in snow.
“Happy?” he asked, turning his head to face me.
“Very,” I said, squeezing his hand. I looked down toward the lodge and knew the orientation dinner for the last session of the year would start soon. I dreaded these nights and would be thankful when they were finally over. It had been hard for me these last couple of months as Devin transitioned himself out of the position of Yoni Master at Paradiso.
He had trained his top three masseuses to take over when the new session began in the spring, and had recorded video for a series of “Yoni at Home” and “Yoni Certification” DVDs that would be released in a few months.
Once I ran the numbers and proved to Ben and Genevieve that they could make far more money by replicating Devin and his methods, they quickly came onboard and agreed to his retirement without further argument.
Devin also convinced Genevieve that they should jointly award Ben 20% of the business for all his hard work in building their empire over the years. Genevieve resisted at first, then relented when Devin threatened to simply walk away.
Needless to say, after the dust settled and the grumbling ceased, everyone walked away happy.
Especially me.
In the meantime, however, Devin had to keep things going while plans were being put in place. There was over a million dollars on the line just from Paradiso reservations. And more importantly, people were relying on him. That’s one thing I learned quickly about Devin Walker, aka, Devin McMasters: his word was his bond and he took his craft very seriously. He was probably the most honest, sincerest man I had ever met. Even Lulu approved of him and that was a very big stamp of approval.
Still, I tried not to think of him doing to other women what he had done to me; massaging their bodies, listening to their moans, then sliding his magic fingers inside until the waterworks ran dry. I trusted him fully and loved him completely, but it was an odd feeling knowing that the man you loved was off fingering another woman to planet orgasm. Devin tried to convince me that “his work” was purely clinical, and that other than with me, he had never gotten sexual aroused while performing Yoni Massage. He compared it to dating a gynecologist, who would have a hand in far more pussies than he ever had. It was an unconvincing argument and I told him so.
My gynecologist had never rubbed my G-spot until I squirted and peed. And if he had, his ass would be rotting in a jail cell.
Sometimes, being a lawyer really sucks.
It was hard to just let things go.
Again, I knew he would never cheat on me, but still…
Just one more weekend, I kept telling myself.
Just five or six more women and then he’ll be done.
I forced myself to smile and said, “I guess you should start getting ready. The orientation dinner starts soon. You have to choose The One.”
“I’ve already chosen The One,” he said, bringing my hand up to his lips. “The last one…”
“You know what I mean,” I said, trying not to sound like a petulant child or a nagging lover. I turned sideways in the chair and set my feet on the deck. I squeezed his hand and did my best to look and sound supportive. “You have to do it. I understand. Really. One more weekend and that’s it.”
“What if I told you that I did not have to do it?” he asked, his eyebrows flexing over the wine glass. “This weekend or ever again?”
I frowned at him. “What are you talking about? You told Genevieve and Ben that you would finish out the season?”
“Well, I changed my mind,” he said with a shrug. “What are they going to do? Sue me?”
“Genevieve might,” I said seriously. “Of course, you would have a fantastic lawyer to represent you. At a very reasonable rate.”
He squeezed my hand again and smiled. “Actually, Yonas is fully trained and will be named Paradiso’s official Yoni Master at the orientation dinner tonight. I will present him as my successor, along with the others who have been trained and named—” he made air quotes with his long fingers “—Yoni Apprentices.”
I bit my lip and resisted the urge to scream. In my best lawyerly fashion, I calmly asked, “You don’t think there’ll be a demand for mass refunds?”
He flashed his perfect teeth and held up his glass. “I do not. You see, to reward our guests for their understanding, every woman here this weekend will get a Yoni Massage from Yonas and his capable apprentices.”
“Really? Wow… Lulu picked the wrong weekend not to come.”
“She certainly did,” he said, tapping his glass to mine. “So, all I have to do is attend the dinner long enough to pass the baton to Yonas, then I will be back here and we can have dinner brought up just for the two of us and have a lovely weekend.”
“I have a better idea,” I said, leaning in to kiss his lips. “You go to the dinner, then hurry back because I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? For me?” He gave me a suspicious look. “What kind of surprise?”
“If I told you that it wouldn’t be a surprise,” I said. I stood up and tugged him to his feet. He opened his arms and I melted into him.
“I love you, counselor,” he said, pressing his lips to my forehead.
“I love you, too, Mr. Walker.”
I pulled back and patted my hands to his chest. “Now, go to your dinner and do your duty. Your surprise will be waiting when you get back.”