The Christmas Con: A Novella

by Rachel Robinson

  Shouldn’t you get in trouble for taking someone against their will? I don’t stay silent, I make a ton of noise, but these guys know the ins and outs of the mansion and take me to an elevator I didn’t know existed, down a few floors, and then to a passageway that leads to a car that takes us to the other Bianchi residence. What the hell is going on. I’m barefoot and still in a bikini when they open the door. Gabby puts the dog on the ground and takes the tape off my mouth.

  “I figured the only way I could hang out with you is if I kidnapped you from Luca. Don’t be mad. I just want a friend.” The urge to throttle her is strong. Actually, it’s more than strong. I’m sure smoke is blowing out of my ears.

  “Gabby, you can’t just take people. You could have asked. I would have said yes.”

  She pouts. “He wouldn’t have said yes. You’re going to leave soon and I’ll be left with my stuffy family and fake friends who want to use me for Instagram followers and parties. You just want my brother’s dick, so I know where your loyalties lie.”

  “That’s offensive. You can’t talk to people like that. You can’t take people. I’m not even dressed.”

  I step out of the blacked-out car and it’s like she’s realizing for the first time that I’m wearing a swimsuit. “Oh, well, we are in Bora Bora you don’t need clothes anyway.” She looks at the guard closest to me. “Well, don’t stand there, untie her hands.”

  To me, she says, “Admit it, that got your heart pounding, didn’t it?”

  I swallow hard. “It did. Where was Luca’s security? Does he know I’m gone?”

  She giggles and takes a bottle of wine and her cup from the car and tells me to follow her. There’s an elevator that leads up to their house, and we ride up multiple floors before she answers me. “I anticipate he’ll be calling over losing his head completely. Wait till you see Luca angry. Dad gets fired up too. It’s funny to watch.”

  “That does not sound funny, Gabby.” I pet the dog leaning against my leg. “It sounds scary. You should probably call him.”

  “Nah, it’s better this way. Consider this a grand game of hide and seek.”

  Damn, rich people are fucked up. There’s no other way to describe it. They have their own rules, their own way of thinking. A life so elevated that the feelings of others are rarely taken into account. Once we’re in the large kitchen, trying to stay out of the staff’s way as they prepare a late dinner, she gives me some of her wine. I try to cover my chest, and my barely covered ass when we pass by people who have no idea one of their bosses just took me by force from the neighbor’s house. Gabby forces a new drink into my hand as we pass by a tray of champagne flutes. “Why is it always champagne?”

  “Oh,” she says, like a light bulb clicking on. “Do you prefer something else? I can have them make you whatever you want. Gin? Vodka? Tequila shots?”

  “No, no. It’s just you were drinking it earlier and it’s… everywhere.”

  “Gams loves Dom. Facts of life. Want some more wine instead?”

  I shake my head, sipping the bubbly. “What did you have planned? Hopefully something outside by the pool or the ocean or you’re going to have to give me something to cover myself up. My butt cheeks are on display.”

  “The guys will love it. Come on.” Gabby makes me more nervous by the second and for the first time, I wonder if she’s on something other than alcohol. The security guards follow her around like a puppy. To save her from herself, no wonder. Gams is wearing a gold robe, holding a bottle of Dom when we pass a living area. She uses the bottle to bump my ass, tops off my glass, and tells me that Luca is lucky to have such a fine piece of prosciutto in his grotto. Eyes wide, I try to process that while I follow Gabby into a dark room that is full of… cages. And men. Naked men.

  “Guys, this is my friend Lizzy. Lizzy, this is my animal garage! Welcome!” Birds squawk, monkeys swing from actual trees, and there’s an honest to God, full-sized tiger in a cage. The guys, who all look like beefy male models greet her by going on their knees. Instead of a she-shed like the average middle-aged American, Gabby has some weird sex dungeon filled with exotic animals.

  “What. The. Fuck.” I didn’t realize I spoke out loud.

  Gabby pets a blond man crouching next to her who has a parrot on his shoulder. “Do you see anything you like? You can have whatever or whoever you chose.” When she actually takes a good look at my face she says, “Luca won’t mind at all. These guys are well paid and super clean. Squeaky clean.”

  I drain my alcohol and set the empty down on the edge of a mantle. There isn’t a fire in the fireplace, though. A goddamn boa constrictor is in its place, hissing like it knows how fucked up this is. My stomach leaps and I lay a hand on it. “Gabby, this is really awesome, but I’d rather go back to Luca’s.” The fact that she makes him seem normal is abhorrent. “This is a little much.”

  The blond man stands, his boner at full attention, and his eyes ravaging my barely clothed body. If I wasn’t icked out before, now I’m horrified. “Lick her, Toby,” Gabby commands. “Do that snake thing with your tongue. On her neck.”

  “Oh, no, no. That’s okay. No snake things, thanks. Not really a fan of reptiles.”

  “Trust me. He’s so good at it,” she says back. “Do it.” Her order is firm and I’m reminded that she’s accustomed to getting anything she wants, and won’t react well if I go against her wishes. As I look around, my heart pounds out of my chest. Is this another thing where I’m just supposed to go with the flow? No plan. Just do it, Lizzy. Shay wouldn’t even believe me if I told her this story. A brunette man is jacking off in the corner. He’s wearing a sash like Tarzan, and nothing else. The glass ceiling is bowed up and the moonlight casts an ominous glow. Like, maybe these royals can only truly be themselves at night because their preferences are so gauche and odd. I don’t even have my cell phone to snap a photo as proof. Just my knotted stomach and rapid breathing.

  Toby leans in, his hands on the bare skin on my lower back and flicks his tongue against my neck. There’s a crash in the other room—glass breaking, furniture being thrown and a furious voice echoing the hallway.

  “Oooooh. Luca is here,” Gabby squeals and claps as she kisses Toby’s cheek, then frolics over to pet the tiger and another guy’s dick at the same time. Luca blows in the room, masculine rage pouring off him. His gaze flicks to mine and then darts to the guy holding me possessively. The blond guy backs away, but it’s not far enough for Luca’s liking because he storms over and shoves him until he stumbles on his feet and lands on his back, balls meeting the moonlight above.

  “What the fuck Gabby,” Luca yells. The tiger lets out an annoyed roar as Gabby stands, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. “You don’t just take people. I watched it on the security cameras when I realized she was gone. What were you thinking? Or you weren’t, were you? You never use your brain.” He’s seething, and I scoot back away, toward the fireplace, but then remember what’s inside there, so I head for the door. “You live in this fucking fantasy world where you pay everyone to do what you say. She’s off-limits.” His eyes narrow to slits. “How could you not know she was off-limits? You out of all people should know.”

  “I had some idea, but how could I really know when you don’t tell us. Or her. Since when do you care about what I do with your playthings? I was bored and I wanted some female company. You’re making a really big deal out of this for nothing. Gams was even happy to see her.”

  “You had your guards physically remove her from my property and restrain her. How else did you think this would end? Is it a war you want?” He bangs a fist on his chest. He screams out a ton of Italian I can’t understand, but it’s easy to read between the lines.

  “Not everyone can be as business savvy as you, Luca. Don’t talk shit about how I fill my time. I don’t judge you. It was just a game. I wasn’t going to hurt her. She was having a good time before you barged in here and ruined our party.”

  Luca glares at me, eyebrows high
. “You having a good time in here then? That the truth? Ready to fuck a tiger, are you? I’ll give you a tiger to fuck if that’s what you’re after. Let’s go.”

  I cross my arms. “I’m not into bestiality,” I say, rolling my eyes, playing at a joke to lighten the atmosphere. But wait, is Gabby into animals like that? Oh, God, I really need to get out of here.

  Luca is seething as his chest heaves. His gaze cuts to Toby on the ground. “I’d wager that’s a lie. You want him?” His eyes flash back to me.

  Gabby’s giggle echoes the tall room. “Are you jealous? That’s the only logical explanation for you being this mad. I expected you to be upset because I got the better of you this time, but this?” she sneers, waving her fingers at him. “Yeah, this is a little much. Does the Fuck Prince not want anyone else touching his toy? Hypocrite.” I’d speak out for myself in any other situation. It’s as if the world cobbled together the perfect amount of what the fuck and fear to force me to keep my trap shut in this moment.

  The gloves are off and I can tell Gabby is punching where she knows it will hurt, but truly he can’t be jealous, can he? I mean, she’s right. He has sex with women for work and wouldn’t seriously be upset if something happened between Tiger King Toby and I, would he? “She’s not a toy or my plaything, Gabby.” Luca’s face flushes. “It’s not like that. You know it, too.”

  “What’s it like?” Gabby prods, stalking forward passing another tiger leashed to a white marble column. It tugs against its chains and I wince. “Tell me what she is to you.”

  I rush forward to diffuse the tense energy. “Luca, let’s go to the beach.” I smile, wide and fake, grabbing his waist.

  There’s a vein popping on his temple. “This was dumb, Gabby. We have a lot of enemies. Ones that would do far worse to her than expose her to weird fetishes, she knows better than this.” He shakes his head. “This wasn’t a game or a joke. Not to me. Don’t do it again.”

  Gabby asks the same question again, but I pull him out the door. “The beach,” I command. He follows, but the muscles in the arm I’m clutching are hard and tensed. I do my best at a hasty, polite goodbye to his sister, but it comes out curt and it’s weird I feel regret for that when this crazy bitch tied me up and whisked me here via bodyguards.

  When we’re safely ensconced in his car I exhale rapidly. “I’m glad you came for me. Holy cow.”

  “Yeah?” he asks. “Could have fooled me. You looked pretty comfortable in her… den.”

  “She ordered that guy to lick my neck, Luca. Lick me. I didn’t want it. When you came in I was trying to figure out an exit plan. You made light work of it. That was the single weirdest situation I’ve ever been in and I’m glad I escaped it.” The mental scars may last a lifetime.

  “Sure you’re not lying again?” he fires back.

  “What is that supposed to mean? Don’t take your anger out on me. I was the one tied up and duct-taped tonight, alright?”

  “I could kill her for doing that to you.” He parks the car and continues breathing heavily. “It means that the love is bigger than the lie, Elizabeth. I want to complicate things.”

  I lose my breath. “Oh.”

  “Yeah. We need to figure out what that means for our lives.” I swallow and readjust my bathing suit top. “But first I need to fuck you before my head explodes.”

  I lick my lips.

  He closes his eyes. “I take it back. I need to kiss you before my world explodes.” He takes my head in his hands, and he kisses me fiercely.

  I lose my breath. To think, I assumed being kidnapped was the most dangerous thing that was going to happen today. This man steals my oxygen, and I’m okay with it.

  Chapter Nine

  The real world

  “THAT’S THE LAST box,” Shay says, dropping a box of books on the coffee table in my brand new house. “I locked your car.” She brought over the few boxes I had stashed at her house. My home is a town over from where my parents live, and close enough to the city that I can still frequent my favorite places. The official job offer from Luca came with an enormous lump sum of money. I accused him of money laundering or something underhanded, only half joking. Kieran told me it was standard when I questioned it further. I want to be treated exactly the same as any of his employees. I’ll report to some guy named Mario instead of Kieran or Luca, so it will stay on the up and up. Not many people can pay cash for a house in this neighborhood, or any neighborhood, so I’m still kind of floating on cloud nine. It was a speedy sale and closing because cash is king, and it came fully furnished with beautiful things. It’s textbook, dream house status. I never want to leave. One thing would make it better. Luca Bianchi here. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen him. Even though we video chat twice every day, it’s still hard. More than hard. I’m desperate for him.

  Antonio sent me a case of wine from a vineyard they own as a housewarming gift. Gam Gam, of course, sent me champagne. Gabby sent me a Gucci suitcase with an apology note inside, and his mother showed up to my house the day I closed to apologize in person on her daughter’s behalf. She said she was in town on business, but I’m starting to realize Luca is the only royal that does any sort of real business. The rest live off billions and sort of do whatever the fuck they want whenever they feel like it. What I admired at first, I realize is sort of a drag. All the money in the world and no real friends or relationships outside of each other. Luca explained further about why he didn’t date and it circled back to this same idea. That, and most women can’t deal with him screwing other women. Something I’m doing my best not to think about at the moment.

  I grab a bottle of the wine off the table and extend it to my best friend. “I thank you for your time. I thank you for keeping my broke ass off the streets when I needed you. I thank you for telling me to make a really irresponsible decision. Like, the craziest, stupidest decision I’ll ever make that turned out awesome, and well, thanks for being my best friend. This wouldn’t be possible if not for you getting fed up with having me in your house.”

  “I still can’t believe this is your life now. Gosh, the odds of you finding someone legit on that website were basically zilch. You took that and multiplied it by infinity and you now landed a prince. A fucking prince, Lizzy!”

  I think about it. “More a prince of darkness than a real prince. No riding white horses.” After I tried to explain to her how the titles work and how it’s mostly vanity and tradition, she spent days and days researching, until now I’m sure she knows more about his Italian lineage than I do. “I think he’s flying in a little early. Before Christmas. We can spend some time together before we do the whole… family thing.”

  “Did you tell them you’re bringing a boyfriend? I feel like Luca Bianchi is someone you need you to prep your family for. Lay the groundwork for when you bring the Italian Stallion into your grandma’s kitchen and ask her to talk about the weather with him.” Shay’s eyes are wide as she lets the scene play out in her mind. “Yeah, no one is going to believe he’s your boyfriend. You spent too many years being single without any prospects to show up with a man like that now.”

  She cradles the bottle of wine in her arms like a baby and sits down at the dining room table.

  “I appreciate all the confidence you have in me. I really do, but because it’s not a sham I don’t have to convince them of anything. I told them I met a man who offered me an awesome job and we hit it off.” Simplicity was my goal, but maybe I didn’t give them enough information and Shay is right.

  “Yeah, and it happened in less than a month. Admit, that’s a stretch.”

  I hold my hands out to the sides. “But it’s true, Shay! As crazy as it sounds, it’s true. You don’t have to remind me that he’s way better looking than me either. It’s blatant. I’m sure you watched plenty of videos of him in your internet sleuthing.” I watch her face, but she doesn’t give away whether she’s watched Luca fuck. I have to get used to the fact that millions of people have seen it. Luca and his giant cock belon
g to the world.

  “I never said that once. Shut your face, you know you’re beautiful. Men like Luca wouldn’t look twice if you weren’t. Stop with the low confidence. I heard that’s what ruins relationships more often than anything else. Trust you are good enough. Equals.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you watch his videos?” I ask, thinking back to this morning when I was creating a social media grid and had to sort through video stills that were appropriate to post. His face mid-thrust. His abs. The women’s leg wrapped around his back. My stomach sours. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

  She sighs and asks for a wine opener. I direct her to the kitchen drawer where it’s at and she opens and pours us two glasses. “Lizzy, it’s hard to search him and not see… stuff. Have you talked to him about how it makes you feel?”

  “Jesus, Shay, don’t be so naïve. A man like that doesn’t let a woman dictate his career.”

  Her brow furrows. “You just said it wasn’t a sham, so why wouldn’t your feelings play into his decisions? That’s how a relationship works.”

  I take a sip. It’s a delicious red blend. Notes of wood and something floral. I study the bottle more carefully. “I guess that’s me downplaying my importance. I don’t know. It’s confusing. When he comes, I’m sure we’ll talk about things and where we stand.”

  “And you’ll tell him it bothers you he’s screwing all day?”

  “I don’t know if that’s what he’s doing all day. It’s a damn empire. It’s a ton of business and contracts and agreements. He has hundreds of employees that run things behind the scenes. That’s a lot of pressure on anyone. His dick keeps them employed. How am I supposed to say, sorry, my jealousy is more important than all of your employee’s livelihoods?”