by Sweet
He tried to find answers. In fact, he had spent many years and travelled thousands of miles in search of a solution to this problem of why humans, who were capable of imagining and striving after the idea of the divine, and could even offer a glimpse of it in their most lofty achievements; refused to follow that vision into their conduct. Human wars and the horrifying atrocities he had witnessed left more than a bitter taste in his mouth. These things led him to wonder whether humans were irredeemable, and not even worth trying to save.
So he hid. It was not that he had given up on the human race - he had no choice about the matter. He simply wanted to be rid of them for a while so that he could cleanse his mind of the horror he had witnessed and regain a sense of who he was.
Unfortunately, his many years of self-imposed isolation where the only human contact he had were his business associates, was wearing a little thin.
He had no friends and had never really cared to make an effort to gain them. These women on Earth were terrible flirts and he found it difficult to go out to nightclubs for that very reason.
He wanted to drink alone and listen to live music. He wondered how beings so depraved could create such beautiful music, each example of which could evoke a whole world of beauty and cause time to stand still. But women wearing grotesque makeup, eye-watering designer perfumes and slutty clothes were constantly trying to get close to him. He wanted no part of them.
So what was it about this one woman that had him so enthralled?
She was quite attractive in an unconventional way; he would admit to that. She was rather short, 5'2" or 5'3", with a small build, but not too thin. Her hair was a lovely natural light blonde that reached the middle of her back, pulled back in a ponytail.
That was all he could tell about her from where he sat across the street in the coffee shop.
Yet it was enough to capture his attention.
He wondered about the reasons for his interest. He had met women more remarkable, more conventionally beautiful than Hollianne. He had mingled and sometimes enjoyed socializing with what was considered the cream of the crop.
But physical beauty could only be that; physical.
Most women attached so much importance to what they presented to the eye, and did not think that what was inside could be interesting too. Such women lost his interest immediately; he could not brush them off soon enough. But there was something else about her, something uncontrollable, uncontained; it was like she had so much potential for rebellion bubbling up on the inside that it could become unrestrainable once it had a chance to break free. Her feelings and thoughts registered on her lovely face like ripples on the surface of a calm lake; they emerged through her actions, in the way her hands moved, even the way she walked and carried herself. He had never seen a woman whose entire body seemed at one with her soul.
He actually smiled when he thought of the way she'd protested when talking with Jackson. She was someone who would not take no for an answer, and had really been giving the poor man hell.
It was a good thing he had sworn Jackson to silence regarding their agreement. He really didn't want Hollianne to direct her irritation toward him, or beg him to give in to something she wanted to happen.
Angel or not, he knew he would have a very hard time refusing her, even as the thought crossed his mind. For some reason, he felt he would enjoy it, too. He remembered the look of sadness on her face as she sat across the road from him.
She looked so alone, even when she was in the middle of all the chaos. He knew it was so because that was what she thought. It was what she believed.
He wanted to protest that no one was truly alone. He was there, with her. He was there, feeling what she was feeling even when he knew nothing about her. He felt a need, a deep-seated need, to indulge her, to let her make demands on him, to make him keep giving way until all his defenses were gone.
How could this human being make him feel this way?
Suddenly, for the first time in years, he was looking forward to having dinner with someone. Actually, not just with someone, but with this very unusual woman. Truth be told, his usual practice was to make excuses, pretending that he had some urgent business out of town; the idea of three hours coming up with polite banalities and insincere flattery was a source of horror to him. This time, however, he knew that no pretense would be necessary.
Chapter Four
At precisely seven, Hollianne entered The Moon Bay lobby.
She thought that she should have confirmed where they were to meet. It had not occurred to her just how many places to eat there might be in this hotel; so far, she had found two dining rooms and a breakfast room, besides smaller suites on the first and second floors for those who wished a more exclusive and intimate setting.
Just as she was wondering what to do next, her cell phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Ms. Talbot!” Erick enthusiastically greeted her. “I just realized that we neglected to settle on a place to eat.”
Hollianne laughed.
“Yes. I'm in the lobby now and I just realized that same thing.”
“Great minds think alike. Look, I'm staying in the penthouse suite and I've taken the liberty of ordering room service for us. I thought that it would be easier to talk without lots of interruptions and distractions. Would you be comfortable dining in my suite?”
Hollianne honestly wasn't sure she was comfortable with that at all. She had had enough near disasters in her life to know better than to agree to a date alone with someone. But she really did need the job and her stomach was currently reminding her that she hadn't eaten since last night.
Well, what if he was a pervert wanting to draw you in?
His voice did not sound like that of a pervert.
How do you know?
Her stomach growled.
What choice do I really have?
“Sure, Mr. Angell, that sounds fine. I'll be right up,” she said as she forced a smile on her face with an effort that was positively painful, while at the same time she gripped the small container inside her bag with her other hand.
Oh well, there's always Mr. Pepper.
Chapter Five
As Hollianne passed the front desk, the concierge beckoned her over. He smiled at her and handed her a keycard.
“You'll need this to open the penthouse floor,” he explained. “We were told to keep an eye out for you.”
“Oh, um, thank you very much.”
That should be a good sign, right?
He was not afraid that people knew she was coming up. If something should happen…The thought occurred to her that he had paid the concierge to pay no attention. Surely no one would be so…
Now, don’t even think about it. That puts the energy out there. It won’t happen if you don’t think about it!
Yeah, right. I didn't think that accident wouldn't happen to Adam, but it did.
Ah, so now she was talking to herself.
She attributed her rambling thoughts to a hungry stomach, and she knew she had to hurry. She walked slowly to the elevators and took one that opened empty before her as if it had been arranged.
She noticed the letters PH engraved on a little door and beside it, a small slot where she was able to slide her keycard. The door opened and she pushed the button to reach the penthouse. When the elevator stopped, the doors opened instantly onto a foyer. The man standing there waiting to greet her took her breath away.
“Ms. Talbot, I presume,” he said, smiling and holding out his hand to assist her from the elevator.
Slowly, as if in a dream, she lifted her hand for him to take, never taking her eyes from his face. All her reservations, her caution and trepidation, vanished like the smoke of a snuffed candle.
He had the most amazing neon-blue eyes she had ever seen. They were warm and friendly, but they also held a glimpse of wisdom; ancient and self-assured. His hair was jet-black, cut short but falling in a natural wave that didn’t need maintenance. He was approximatel
y 6'3" and built so that she would feel safe going down a dark alley at night with him – strong and able to handle himself, but at the same time, neither vain nor oppressive.
She couldn't imagine that someone like him would hurt her, but at the same time, neither could she explain why she felt utterly safe just being in his presence. He wore a pair of black dress slacks and an open-necked dark purple shirt with no tie, revealing his tanned upper chest. He looked perfectly human, yet perfectly divine.
She imagined that if she ever saw an angel, it would look like him. He was, in short, the most beautiful man she had ever set eyes on. And weren't angels purported to be this beautiful?
“Is there something wrong, Ms. Talbot?” Erick asked, still holding onto her hand.
“Oh no, no!” Hollianne felt her face heating up as if on fire. “I'm, um, just so amazed at how beautiful this place is.”
She transferred her eyes to her surroundings, though not really able to take anything in. Erick laughed. Oh, it was a beautiful, caressing sound!
“Come in, please. Let me show you around.”
Thus began one of the most remarkable nights of her life.
Erick showed her around the suite with an easy and unassuming confidence, relaxed and respectful, as if he were expecting nothing more to come of the evening than pleasant conversation. And why would he expect anything other than that? They had only just met. If either of them expected any more than chatting, it would cheapen the evening as well as their beginning connection. They sat down at a table in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window that offered an amazing view of the city, a constellation of thousands of lights like a black plain festooned with multi-coloured stars.
The table was full of covered dishes that, when uncovered by a suave and efficient waiter, offered a feast unlike anything Hollianne had ever experienced – course after course of delicate, mouthwatering cuisine accompanied by Pétrus and Romanée-Conti, a single bottle of which would cost more than her weekly food budget.
It was over this dinner that Erick delivered what Hollianne could only call a dream job proposal.
After outlining what he would like to see accomplished with his book, he started to talk money.
“Now, given that there’s a number of different areas I want to reflect on, we’d be looking at eight to ten chapters, so what I would like to see is a finished book of at least 350 pages, no less. It can, of course, exceed that number if needed, at which time we would renegotiate the terms of payment.”
He was very serious, she observed, just like a real businessman would behave in an important business deal.
So how could there be any doubt that this offer, whatever really lay behind it, could be dishonest?
“For now, though,” Erick continued, “I would like to offer you $100,000 for a 350 page book.” He paused for just long enough to let the figure sink in, dropping it into the conversation as casually as if he were discussing the weather. “Half of that will be paid upon the signing of the contract, and the other half upon completion of the book. You will be awarded royalties from the book sales in the amount of 45 percent. Are those terms acceptable to you?”
Hollianne couldn't speak. All the arguments inside her head ceased.
All the voices inside there were just as speechless, like a garrulous audience struck dumb by the highest C ever uttered by a human voice, sitting there stunned and blinking in the silent darkness of the auditorium.
The thing that was truly astounding to her was his offer of 45 percent. That never happened in any book deal! So either this man was much unschooled in business negotiations which she highly doubted, or he simply had money to burn and didn’t need to make a lot of money off of this book. There was also the chance that he wasn’t sure of how well the book would be received and wanted her to gain some money from it even if it wasn’t a lot. Well, whatever he was thinking, she wasn’t about to turn down a deal like this if he was seriously offering it to her.
Chapter Six
Finally, seeing that his face gave no hint that he was anything but serious, she was able to conceal her shock as she sipped her wine, gatheringher thoughts and thought of an excuse for not responding instantly.
In her mind, Hollianne had already accepted the deal and was thinking of just how drastically it could change her life. It would go a long way towards helping her get back on her feet; that was for sure. This kind of money might just help her to put Adam’s shocking death in the past as much as anyone could ever move on from something of that magnitude. She could finally plan her life from this moment on and escape the prison in which she had existed since the night the police turned up at her home with life altering news. So, yes, there was no doubt that she would be accepting Mr. Angell’s very, very generous offer.
He had just given her the most unexpected blessing, and here, she was still dumbstruck. She must seem so gauche and awkward to him, whereas deals like this must be perfectly normal to him.
She finally managed to speak; or rather, she heard a voice speaking in a detached and professional tone, and was surprised to find that it was her own.
“Well, Mr. Angell, I have to say that those terms sound exceedingly fair. I have no issues with any of what you’ve said so far.”
God, the understatement of the year!
She wanted to laugh. It was crazy, completely inexplicable, but if it was a dream; it showed no signs of ending.
“Excellent then!”
Erick flashed his dazzling smile again, and she tensed involuntarily, sensing that something was coming.
“There's one more condition that I have, and I hope that it won't change your mind.”
No, it wouldn't, whatever it is. A meteor falling on Earth would not change my mind. It would be considered the highest rate of crazy to change her mind! But, nevertheless, she felt that this was to be the crucial point; the one he had been leading up to all along.
“As I like to work at various hours throughout the day and night, I'm going to need you close by at all times. You'll be on call, so to speak.”
She stared at him, confused.
“To that end, I will need you to take up residence in your own private suite within my home. It's a large estate with live-in help, so you needn't worry about any improprieties.” He dropped the word so casually that not even a more suspicious mind than hers could have detected anything behind it. “You could look at it as one of the perks while you're writing my biography.”
That was it? She would just have to change her plans to accommodate his and that was it? Hollianne had not expected this, but she made up her mind instantly.
Even though she'd be able to pay Jackson and keep her townhouse, she also knew it was time to move away from her memories of Adam, especially given the latest of them, which tended to cast a long and grim shadow on the other times they had shared. Though she had clung to the happier times of the past with him, those memories had unavoidably dragged her down. She knew it was time to break free of the past, both good and bad, so that she could make her own way unburdened by it. She needed this opportunity.
It was almost too good to be true. She couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't some hidden agenda somewhere.
“Mr. Angell,” she finally said, “I have to ask you something. Are you an angel that just dropped to Earth?”
At first Erick was stunned at the question. She had startled him for the first time this evening. This was also one of the very few occasions during his sojourn here on Earth that he was genuinely unable to form a response, thinking for a brief instant, however ridiculous it seemed, that somehow she had managed to discover his secret and that somehow that meant the end of everything…
There's no way she could know that!
But just as he was forming an answer to the question, or trying to, Hollianne spoke again with a giggle.
“The reason I say that is because you have offered me a job that is absolutely perfect for me.”
“Oh, is that so?” he replied innocently, whil
e inwardly allowing a feeling of relief to flow through him.
She nodded. “I'm in a transitional period in my life and this couldn't have come at a better time. I'm happy to accept your job and all of the terms that you've outlined here tonight. So, when would you like me to start?”
Knowing that things couldn’t be moving along more perfectly, Erick dazzled her once more with his high wattage smile.
They agreed that she would be packed and ready to move into his home by tomorrow evening.
He offered to send someone to help her pack and move out but she declined, saying that she tended to dislike strangers handling her things.
“That sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it,” she said, a little embarrassed. “I just... it's something I've had since I was a kid. Something about changing nannies. I don't remember much; just that I loved this nanny, but she died. Since then, I can't bear anyone else touching my things.”
“What about your mother?” he asked, looking very curious.
“She died when I was a baby,” she answered awkwardly. “My father was a very busy man so without a mother, I was raised by nannies.” She found herself staring out at the view, or at least the part which did not show his reflection, because it was much easier. For some reason, she could not lie to him. She could not make up a story that was less painful or embarrassing to tell than the real one. “And then he died when I was sixteen, and my stepmother got everything. I was left only with the money I inherited from my mom. It was deposited in a tight trust fund that she couldn't touch. I have lived independently since then.”
She tried to summarize her life as succinctly as possible. There were so many things left unsaid, and she normally didn't divulge her life to somebody else. This was a very private part of her life that she guarded from everyone. Of course, she had told Adam all about it but to open up to a stranger was unheard of, especially to a stranger who had just offered her a dream job. Now it occurred to her to glance at his face to see how he was taking this little bit of her life story. She was relieved to find that his face held nothing but an understanding expression. There was no pity there nor was there any type of judgment. Allowing herself to return to her former feeling of comfort with this man, she smiled a bit wryly. “I guess you just got a bit more than you bargained for,” she said.
