by Jamie Knight
I cursed Pedro for having the champagne in the suite. I had hoped he would place some cranberry juice or water there, but instead he had gone for the romantic gesture and added the strongest champagne in our collection from 1868. Valeria had gotten tipsy the moment the glass left her lips.
Fuck. She’s gonna get drunk, I had immediately thought.
And she did. Valeria got so drunk she was incoherent. It was tough, carrying her into the chopper past the ogling guests and the dumbfounded Pedro. I hushed him out and told him to get back to his duties for the night. I would deal with him later.
But now, Truman came to life and flew us back to my office, where we landed with no hitch. The city lights were truly beautiful, and Valeria’s incoherence was just as cute.
“Valeria… can you walk?” I asked, her left arm slung over my shoulder.
“Ha-ha. The clouds are eeeedible baby… can I call you baby? Hey man, your arms are really hic heavy. Do you work out? Hey, we hic should go see the Queen. She lives in Africa, right? Hic.”
She is so fucked up, and it’s my fault. Maybe this was a mistake.
The elevator on the roof that led to my office opened, and I checked for anyone around before lifting Valeria out of the chopper. This was going to get me screwed one way or the other. Carrying her 30 floors down was not an option. Someone would notice.
I needed help.
For a while, I considered using the stairs no matter how hard it was, and juggled my options, when I heard my phone buzz.
Jonathan.
Fucking spectacular timing!
“Sir, is everything alright? Truman got in contact with me to inform me of your intoxicated guest,” he drawled.
He had a hint of disappointment in his voice. He didn’t approve of me getting Valeria drunk – not that that had been my intention, though.
“Jon, it’s urgent. We can iron this out soon. Where are you?”
“In your office, Sir. I sent Nancy home early. She seemed a tad unwell, with a broken nose. Anything I should know about that too, sir?”
This man was a miracle.
“Come to the private elevator. I need you.”
“Well,” he drawled, “It is quite nice to be needed. On my way.”
Valeria leaned on the wall, smiling daftly at the “In case of emergency” poster.
She is something else. She makes me feel alive again. The ecstasy of her care and caress is too much, but… it’s wrong. Maybe I should call it off… it’s her first day, and she’s already drunk and messed up with bad relations in the office.
I struggled with myself to find an answer but could not.
The elevator doors opened and Jonathan helped me carry her out. He was frowning.
“I have more bad news, Sir.”
I looked over at him, gently resting the snoring girl on my desk.
“Someone at the ranch sent a picture of you carrying Miss Silva here to Mr. Goodright. He looked up Valeria’s age and saw how much younger than you she is. I’ve already received an email saying that he is going to take up your inappropriate behavior with the board. He implied that your actions with Miss Silva would not make the company look good.”
I swallowed a hard lump in my throat.
That was fast.
“We can’t risk anyone else seeing us together, then. Perhaps I can say I was helping a sick guest out?”
“We will figure it out, Sir. One thing at a time. I wish you had informed me of exactly what you were up to, and the fact that you hired the girl you’re so enamored with. Nevertheless, I’m here to help as much as I can, although it’s quite too late to prevent the things that have happened. I took the liberty of coming here with the limo, so that I could help you out.”
Lifesaver! Where would I be without the man?
I hoisted Valeria into my arms, and we walked out into the empty lobby. Jonathan was ahead of us, and he moved in such a manner that you would not think him to be of old age. He punched the waiting elevator doors shut and we hurtled down to the basement parking lot.
The black limo was parked in all of its sleek glory, and Jonathan opened the door for us. I laid Valeria down on the leather seat and she passed out comfortably.
I got in next to her and Jon closed my door shut. He sat in the driver seat and roared the smooth engine to life, and slowly we sped off, out into the streets.
We had scuffled along too fast to take heed to our surroundings. Any random pair of eyes could have been watching us and I felt annoyed with myself for not being more careful.
“How did you get back so fast? You were on vacation…” I trailed through the open window between the driver and my small cabin.
Valeria snored peacefully by my side.
“The jet, Sir. It was primed and ready as always, Sir. I leave for two days and I find you in a bundle already? Surely, you could have been more discrete. Taking her to the office was a bad idea,” he lectured, as his grip on the wheel tightened.
He was clearly concerned. And I knew he was right.
“Won’t this present a problem in the days to come, Alexander?”
He called me by name. Shit.
“Okay, Jon. Giving Valeria a job might not have been my best idea. I just wanted to see her again…”
“Yes, yes. I know. But what about the consequences, Alexander? Have you taken into consideration how badly this could reflect on the company? With you? With her?”
That took me by surprise. He had done his homework, but if he was so concerned about my image, then why did he steer me towards Valeria to begin with, when I had asked him for his advice?
“You know,” I started, “it was your idea…”
“And don’t go blaming me. I agreed that she could be good for you, but I never said to hire her or to get so close to her so soon. You got impatient, Alexander,” he turned, digging further into the road as we sped along the highway heading to Valeria’s house.
“Jon, you don’t get it. This girl is special. I know that sounds crazy to you, but I really think that in one crazy and messed up way… this is real.”
I was caressing her hand, and she gently tugged it closer to her heart.
“Alexander, she is still so young. You need to take things slowly. I know she is quite easy on the eyes, but think, my boy, think! You need to get ahead of yourself and put things in order. Case in point, look at the situation we’re in right now. First day at work and this is how she goes back home? What will her parents think?”
He has a point.
I kept silent, knowing how badly this would damage her. She was really in love with me, and there was no way for me to return it without having severe implications to both our lives. I should have waited.
If I keep this up, she might end up broken and desolate. Her family is truly strict and religious, and bringing her along in the web of my life will ruin things for her future.
But I don’t want her to go…
The limo slowed down. Looking outside, the small cozy yellow lights that lit up the porch of a cramped up house at the edge of the cul-de-sac signaled to me our arrival at the Silva residence.
Jonathan leaned back and switched off the engine. He eyed me carefully, and then looked at Valeria sweetly, with a fatherly undertone. With a firm attitude, he pursed his lips and twitched his mustache.
“Do the right thing.”
“Valeria, wake up. We’re home,” I pleaded with her.
She was still incoherent. I was glad that there was no strong smell of alcohol on her, and to a blatant outsider, she just seemed extremely fatigued. I had taken her out of the limo and the fresh air woke her up slightly.
“Alexander? How did we…” she started, swaying midsentence to the side.
I grabbed her just in time.
“Take it easy, Valeria, steady. You just need lots of water, okay?” I firmly said.
Jonathan coughed.
“My head hurts, badly,” she whimpered.
At least she doesn’t look drunk.
/> “Let me walk you to your front door,” I offered.
I grabbed her by the shoulders and walked with her side by side. Her hair smelt of jasmine and a hint of lavender.
Damn, she smells good.
My heart suddenly felt heavy with the words I was going to utter to whoever opened the door for her.
I don’t want this to end.
Four knocks on the door.
We waited.
Footsteps.
We looked at each other.
She smiled.
I hurt.
The deadbolt unlocked.
We looked at the door.
It swung away from us.
James Silva stood at the door frame, with Lisa in the background and Andrew standing off in the distance as well. As Valeria was received by her father, he looked at me with his eyebrows raised, as if wanting to know, but also not wanting to know, why his daughter seemed half asleep.
“Sorry, James. I think her first day at work was pretty hard on her. She fell asleep at her desk…” I started, but Lisa soon stepped in front of her husband.
“She did what?” she practically yelled. “How unprofessional and disrespectful. I don’t know what is wrong with her; we raised her better.”
“No, no,” I said, hurrying to ensure she didn’t get into trouble.
This was certainly not a great plan, but it was much better than telling them the truth: that we had slept together and she had gotten drunk. Their eyes held flashes of the truth in them, though, as if they were not dumb and were able to figure out that there was more to the story than met the eye. However, they went along with my explanation.
“It’s fine,” I reassured them. “I just wanted to make sure she got home safe, since she was so tired.”
As my re-found friend James took Valeria from me and shuffled her inside, and as he thanked me for bringing her home, I was instantly filled with regret the moment that door shut.
I was glad I hadn’t had to explain anything further. But nervous to not know what was happening on the other side of the door.
I stood there for a little while to catch my breath, for I could feel a bulge in my throat coming up. Hands in my pocket, I was distraught.
I had just let Valeria go, and she had no idea what had happened. I had a feeling that she would not be back to work, since her strict parents were so embarrassed of merely the fact that she had fallen asleep, let alone what had really happened.
All she had left me with at that moment was heartache and the wisp of her fragrance on my neck – along with some scars on my back and neck.
The cold night air brought me to earth, and I stopped staring at the old white door. I slowly edged away from the porch, and walked aimlessly towards Jonathan, who had gotten out of the car to wait for me.
Silence.
The man seemed to understand that I did not want any kind of wisdom from him at that time. I had screwed everything up. All I needed was peace and time to think.
My mind reeled, as Jonathan shut my car door, and the engine roared to life. The limo rolled down the fading asphalt, and the window through to my driver shut slowly.
Left alone to stew in my thoughts, I could not help but wallow, while rubbing the wrist that I had handcuffed to her.
Will she ever forgive me?
Chapter Twenty-One
Valeria
I woke up with a start. My surroundings confused me for a while, before my head stopped spinning and the familiarity of the enclosed space came back to me.
The wallpaper of tulips that led to the Panic at the Disco poster on my wall jogged my memory. The yellow-framed window added to my understanding that I was back home and in my room.
My body felt like it weighed a ton, and memories of yesterday flashed by me. Slowly, the memories came back. I had just spent an afternoon with Alexander, my boss and lover, and he had shown me things I doubt would bode well with God.
Alex had blindfolded me, used toys on me and handcuffed me. It was a lot to process.
Oh, fuck!
Oh, fuck, indeed. I had spent my last two days in his presence acting like a whore, and the depth of my soul wanted something more. I wanted to do it all again.
A slight buzz was in my ear, and the slightest move of my eyes darting towards my black blazer panged me with a tiny migraine that ebbed in waves through me.
So, this is what a hangover feels like, huh?
My conscience flooded me with the imagined memory of Alexander’s long dick inside me and then also in my ass. He had fucked me at the same time in both my holes, and I was so focused on myself and my pleasure that I hadn’t realized what he was doing.
Then it hit me.
How the hell had I gotten home?
I clearly remembered how far we had gone in that evening. Alexander had swept me in his arms, and I had nodded off in his warm embrace. There was no way I came home that drunk without my mother noticing.
He must have brought me here.
I was suddenly wrought with gratefulness that my room was bathed in darkness. The look I would have in the mirror, of my body completely different from how I left yesterday morning, would have made me feel so wrong.
The buzz in my ears stopped and was replaced by the strong voices of two people arguing downstairs. The walls were thin in our household, and I could tell through the reverberation of heated words that this was not just a spat.
The voices were muffled, but my mom had a knack for letting anyone who was within earshot know of how upset she was with me.
“…fell asleep at work! Bullshit, James! The more I think it over, the less it makes any sense. There is certainly more to this story, and if falling asleep at work wasn’t bad enough, I think that Valeria actually did something way worse than that. An immoral sin, maybe. That buddy of yours, Alexander, is messing with our little girl and you’re too blind to see it.”
“Oh, really, Lisa? Why do you always have a negative attitude towards that man? Because he’s richer than we will ever be? Come on. He tried to give her a job!”
“No way! You lied to me that he was going to take her under his wing, and now I find her dress with sticky stains? He drives her home and tells us that she slept on her desk after a hard day’s work in the basement? No, Silva, this is not going on under my nose anymore!” she screamed.
I winced when she said, “sticky stains”. Touching my dress, I realized my underwear was not on me. I panicked and felt uncomfortably vulnerable.
“It was her first day, Lisa! Maybe she spilt some coffee on her clothes or maybe she’s just having hormonal issues. You can’t dare say we raised our daughter to whore around. She wouldn’t do that, and particularly, not with a man more than twice her age. You’re losing it,” Dad defended.
I felt slightly guilty at his words. I knew how much it would hurt him to find out what had really gone on in the past couple of days.
“James... have you seen your daughter lately? Ever since that devil started attending church, she’s been wearing skimpy clothes that reveal too much of her skin. She just started working for him and she was drunk! Are you going to play dumb or are you just that stupid?”
Silence.
“She’s just like you were at her age, remember?” he said. “Strutting around for men to notice and dancing to make them watch. Don’t you try to make yourself a saint, Lisa. I caught you once in the bedroom with a man that wasn’t me, and I forgave you…”
Damn, Dad.
“God forgave me, Silva! Not you! You were never there for me, and that man was interested. We didn’t even do anything, anyway.”
“Yeah, because I stopped you…” he said, but she cut him off.
“I have the right to please myself, but this has nothing to do with Valeria,” my mom said. “Her boss or someone at FGC is taking her for a ride, and I will not let this pass!”
I could hear heavy footsteps rushing upstairs towards my room.
Oh, no!
Panicked, I pretended to be asleep
as my door flew wide open.
The light was switched on hurriedly, and a sharp pain cut across my face.
I opened my eyes suddenly and was partially blinded by the light.
Adjusting to the brightness, I saw my mother, fuming at me with a belt in hand and tears running down her face.
“You are going to tell me what happened to you yesterday, Valeria, whether you like it or not,” she firmly said, curling the end of the belt around her hand.
Holy crap.
I was in trouble, and it was more trouble than I had ever been in in my formerly innocent life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Valeria
The deluge of water was all my body needed to mask the salty drops flowing down my cheeks. Slight hiccups and pain surged through me in sharp bursts, as my hair rolled down in a thick mass to my back. My naked body was in agony, but I could not begin to compare it to my heart.
Inwardly, I was dying.
My hands grabbed onto the wall of the bathtub as my legs lay squat on the almost greying wet, tile floor. The thought of ending it all swiftly and in my own terms toyed with my mind, as the edge of the razor blade on the counter called to me, closer every minute.
My vision became blurry, welled with salty waters of pain and anguish. I could still not believe how my life had turned out in the past few hours. My spirit was crushed, and the man of my dreams had abandoned me.
We had only had a short time to ourselves, yet it felt like an eternity. In my mind and thoughts, Alexander and I had been soul mates for years, decades even. He had taken me to a place no man ever would, and in hindsight, ever had. Not even in my wildest dreams.
Why me?
Out of all the bad that could have happened, fate had really done a number on me.
The hot water had run out, and the silence that was once superior in the bathroom reigned again. The few rivulets of water that drilled down my body drained through the tiny hole a few feet from me.
Light sobs flickered through my chest.
I was all alone.
