by Amy Valenti
“Awesome, awesome, I really hope this goes well” Sophie said to nobody in particular. She got up and started pacing, watching her phone, waiting for it to ring. She didn’t know how long the German woman would need, but Sophie hoped she would get back to her quickly.
It took an hour and eight minutes before Sophie’s phone rang again. She lunged for it, picking up just as the first ring was fading. “Hello?” she asked, trying not to sound as enthusiastic as she felt.
“Hello, this is Sophie, ja?”
“Yes, this is Sophie.”
“I have spoken with Mr. Fehrmann, he is willing to make a meeting with Mr. Carey. Mr. Fehrmann is in New York on business for the next three days. Two days from now, at night he has a slot free, if Mr Carey wishes to meet with him over dinner.”
“That would be fantastic!” Sophie exclaimed. “I can have a car sent to collect Mr. Fehrmann from his hotel, or wherever he will be, and take him to dinner. I will organize the reservation straight away.”
“That’s very acceptable.” The woman gave Sophie the address of the hotel where Mr. Fehrmann was staying, as well as sneaking her the information that Mr. Fehrmann was very fond of Italian food, should Sophie want a hint as to what type of restaurant she should reserve.
Sophie thanked the woman and hung up. This time, she did a little dance around the room before immediately going over to the phone and making a reservation for Alex and Mr. Fehrmann at the most exclusive Italian restaurant in the city for the following evening at 7pm. I’ve never been so glad that Alex’s name gets him a reservation literally anytime, anywhere.
Sophie tried to focus on the other work she had to do, but she couldn’t wait for Alex to come back so she could give him the good news. She half heartedly went through files, organized Alex’s schedule for the next week and did all of her usual jobs.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Alex came back. “Hey Sophie, just checking in. I’ve got thirty minutes before I have to be back in the PR office. Damn employees and wanting their legally mandated lunch hour” he joked, sitting down at his desk.
“Sir, I have some great news for you” Sophie told him, unable to hold back. “I got you another appointment with Mr. Fehrmann. You’re going to be having dinner with him tomorrow night.”
“What? How on earth did you manage that? Even I didn’t manage to get another appointment.”
“Well, it was begging, mostly. I was practically on my knees on the phone with his secretary, and it didn’t hurt that I added that it would be good business sense to go with you since you are the best.”
Alex laughed. “Thanks Sophie, that’s fantastic. How did you get through to the secretary, did she finally return one of your calls?”
Sophie explained how she simply hit redial until the woman finally picked up the phone. Alex burst into laughter. “You’re amazing, Sophie. That’s the kind of spirit I like to see, that’s the kind of spirit that made me my billions.”
Sophie blushed at the compliment. “In all seriousness, I want to say thank you Sophie. You went to lengths I would have never asked in order to get this appointment. You’re absolutely fantastic.”
Not knowing what to say, Sophie told him about the Italian restaurant and how his secretary told her that was his favourite type of food.
“Perfect! When I get back, I’m going to work on what I want to have done for that meeting. Everything else comes second to this meeting until tomorrow. There’s nothing I’d like more than to be able to tell the board I brought Klaus Fehrmann on board as one of our clients.”
Sophie nodded. “I’ll get the details ready while you’re gone Sir” she told him.
“Perfect. I’ve got to head back off now, I think I’ll grab a quick lunch before these afternoon meetings, but I should be back in a few hours.”
He gave Sophie a kiss, a long, passionate kiss that flowed through her before leaving. “Hey, Sophie” he added before leaving. “Why don’t we go out for dinner to celebrate?”
Sophie smiled. “That sounds great. Where would you like to eat?”
“Wherever you want. After all, you’re the one who’s to thank for this. The least you can do is choose what you want to eat for dinner.”
Sophie smiled as he left. She knew exactly where she wanted to eat. There was a small French restaurant out near Central Park that she and Alex had gone to once or twice. It was owned by a Frenchman who immigrated in the 80s, after having been trained in France, and had the most amazing food and atmosphere Sophie could imagine. Every time they ate there she felt like she was on a street in Paris, the aroma of the soft bread wafting through the air.
They didn’t go there often, as New York had so many other great restaurants they would try, but Sophie knew that tonight this was where she wanted to be. The thought of such great food made her stomach rumble, and glancing at the clock Sophie realized it really was lunch time. She finished replying to a couple of emails and fixed up a file that needed to be sent to accounting, then realized another twenty minutes had passed. I’m going to skip lunch completely if I keep working she thought, grabbing her purse and heading to the company cafeteria downstairs.
Sophie enjoyed a chicken Caesar salad and a bottle of apple juice, sitting at a table in the cafeteria. She sat up by the window, watching the world go by. I’m definitely getting more and more comfortable with the outdoors she thought as she watched the world go by. It’s funny that it was less than a year ago that I watched these people and I was so intimidated by their money, their professionalism. I’m one of them now. I fit in here. Sophie loved New York. She smiled as she thought about how happy she was here. Sophie decided she was going to go outside by herself again this afternoon. After all, I do need a new dress she thought to herself.
Sophie went back to the office for a while after lunch, finishing her work, then deciding she was definitely going to go buy herself a new dress. She looked in her wallet and found that she still had one of Alex’s credit cards in it. He’d given it to her a few weeks earlier, Sophie remembered.
“It has no limit” he told her. “Buy whatever you want with it, I’ll pay the bill at the end of the month.”
Still being a frugal small town girl, Sophie had never actually charged more than $20 at a time on the card, usually it was just a coffee or something small that she wanted when she didn’t have any cash on her. Now, however, the card was tempting her. She knew Alex would love for her to buy a new dress, and Sophie made up her mind, she was going to do it.
She called a car and had it take her to Fifth Avenue. Sophie spent the next two hours trying on dresses in various stores. Every time she went outside she felt a little bit self conscious, but the more time passed, the more Sophie went between stores, the better she felt about things. See? You’re totally fine now. Nothing’s happening. Smiling to herself, Sophie picked out her dress. She didn’t want anything extravagant, so she chose a simple navy blue dress that showed off her body, stopping just above her knees, and picked out some beautiful white shoes and a new white purse to go with it.
As she admired herself in the mirror, Sophie knew Alex was totally going to be on board with this purchase. She also realized she needed some more makeup, so grabbed some while she was out shopping, figuring she could do her makeup at the office and they could go straight to the restaurant.
As she drove back in the car on the way back to the office, Sophie thought about just how happy she was with Alex. She couldn’t have asked for a better man. When she first came to New York she never expected that this would be how her life would turn out. Alex was the perfect man: strong, confident, capable and domineering. Sophie had to admit, she would have fallen in love with him even if he was penniless, even though she did appreciate the perks that came with his money.
When she got back to the office, Sophie left her bags next to her desk and got back to work. She always had more things she could do, and Sophie enjoyed being in charge of making sure Alex Carey’s life worked like clockwork. Twenty minute
s after she came back, he returned from his meeting with the PR people.
“So how did it go, Sir?” Sophie asked.
“About as well as could be expected,” Alex replied. “No company wants to have to deal with a former partner kidnapping the current head’s assistant, it’s a public relations nightmare.”
Sophie nodded. “I can only imagine.”
“We’re going to try and get out ahead of it, I’ve got to do a bunch of interviews next week, we’re going to be distancing ourselves as much as we can from Ulhmann, remind everyone that he left the company months ago, the name of the firm is now Carey Investments, that sort of thing. Whatever he has done since leaving doesn’t reflect the company as a whole and blah blah blah.”
“Would you like me to schedule them with the reporters you prefer?”
“That would be perfect, thanks Sophie.”
Sophie spent the rest of the afternoon calling a number of reporters. Since they’d gone through this a few months earlier, when Ulhmann was originally ousted from the firm, Sophie knew the drill. She made appointments with a half dozen reporters from the biggest newspapers and business magazines in the country, as well as a couple on national business news networks.
When she was finished, she ducked into Alex’s private bathroom on the same floor as his office and got ready for their date. She came out of the bathroom and found him getting ready as well, and Alex whistled when he noticed her. “Niiiiiice. New dress I see?”
“I hope you like it, Sir” Sophie teased, twirling around slowly to give him a good view before shooting a perfect modeling pose.
“Absolutely I like it. It’ll look even better on the floor later” he added, a twinkle in his eye.
They headed off to the restaurant Sophie chose. “Oh good thinking” Alex told her when she mentioned their destination. “I completely forgot about that place, it’s wonderful though.”
For the next two hours, Sophie enjoyed Alex’s company as they had a meal fit for a king and queen. As soon as she tasted the beautiful quiche lorraine she ordered, Sophie knew she’d made the right choice. The egg dish was light and fluffy, with the perfect amount of bacon and cheese filling. They spoke about their childhoods, Sophie telling Alex all about growing up in a small town, Alex telling her about growing up in New York and taking the subway to school, a thought that was so foreign to Sophie, whose parents always drove her the two blocks it took to get to the school.
Finally, as they enjoyed a crème brulée, with the chef coming out personally to scorch the sugar on top for them, the subject turned to the future.
“What do you see happening with the company?” Sophie asked when Alex broached the subject. He sighed. “I’m not sure. I know we’re still doing great things, and we definitely haven’t lost any clients lately. As you obviously remember we actually gained clients when we got rid of Ulhmann because of the publicity. I’m just not sure what kind of effect this other stuff is going to have on the company. We’re obviously not going to go out of business or anything, I’m just wondering what to do to make the company grow further.”
“Well it’s already worth billions, isn’t that enough? Wouldn’t maintaining those kinds of numbers be something most people wouldaccept?”
Alex laughed gently. “That’s true, most people would absolutely be thrilled with a company maintaining those kinds of numbers. But I’m not one of those people. I’ve always been competitive, I’ve always wanted more. I want to take the company to the next level, and I’m really hoping that tomorrow’s meeting is going to be a step towards that direction.”
Sophie nodded, understanding. She was pretty competitive too, after all, though obviously not nearly as much so as Alex.
When dinner was finally over, Alex suggested they go over to Central Park and enjoy the longer night as spring turned into summer. “That sounds great” Sophie replied, thrilled. She was always more into the parks and the outdoors than Alex, and he almost never suggested they go for a walk in the park. Sophie and Alex held hands as they wandered through the trees, watching the people go by.
As Sophie looked around, she knew this was true love. The pure happiness she felt as she walked around with Alex was the proof. They wandered aimlessly for a half hour or so, until finally they reached the horses that take people around. “Have you ever been on a horse carriage ride in Central Park?” Alex asked Sophie, motioning to the horses. She shook her head. “No, Sir, I haven’t.”
“Well, no time like the present then” he added, guiding her towards a beautiful black horse who let Sophie pat its muzzle. They clamored into the back of the carriage together, the man obviously happy with the money Alex gave him. For the next forty minutes Sophie lay nestled in Alex’s arm, the slow, rhythmic movement of the horse making Sophie feel just a little bit sleepy as she watched the world go by. Alex held her close as the horse led them through the park, and Sophie had to admit this was one of the most romantic moments she’d ever experienced.
Finally, the carriage came to a stop, dropping them off by the fountain on the edge of Turtle Pond. There were still a few boats with couples floating in the water as the sun was setting, casting a gorgeous orange hue on the scene. Sophie looked around, enjoying the scenery, and when she next turned around to look at Alex, he was on one knee.
Sophie couldn’t believe it. He had dropped to one knee and was looking up at her, his hand holding out to her a light blue box with the most incredible diamond ring Sophie had ever seen.
“Sophie, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” Alex asked. Sophie thought she was going to faint. Oh my God. Is this really happening? Oh my God. Answer him before he changes his mind. Oh my God. What’s going on? “Yes... yes, of course I’ll marry you” Sophie replied. “Oh my God, I’d love to marry you” she added, the events of the last thirty seconds finally sinking in.
Alex got up from the ground and removed the ring, slipping it gently on her finger. “Wow... are you serious?” Sophie whispered. “Of course I’m serious Sophie. I hope you like the ring. I went out and got it this afternoon after the meeting with the PR people.”
“It’s... incredible” Sophie told him, and she meant it. She gazed at the ring, with one diamond at least the size of her pinkie nail in the middle, with two smaller but equally perfect diamonds on either side. It was set in gorgeous gold with flowery designs creeping up the side of the diamonds. They glistened, even in the fading light, as though they were still in a display case.
She looked up at Alex, who had the biggest smile she’d ever seen on his face. He leaned down to kiss her, and Sophie wrapped her arms around his shoulders. When they finally pulled away, Sophie had tears running down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, a worried expression suddenly crossing his face. Sophie just laughed through the tears.
“Nothing, nothing is wrong at all. I’m just so happy. I never imagined this would happen. I can’t believe this is happening. I love you so much” she cried, looking up at the man who was now her fiancée.
Alex took her into his arms. “I love you too, Sophie” he answered, holding her tight. “’I’m so glad you said yes.”
They wandered slowly back through the park where the limo was waiting to pick them up once more. The whole way back Sophie peppered Alex with questions.
“When did you decide to propose?”
“As soon as you were kidnapped. That feeling in my heart told me everything I needed to know. I wanted to be with you forever. I wanted to do it when we were in Italy, but I never got the chance to buy a ring while we were over there, since you were with me the whole time.”
“It’s so beautiful. Is it really from Tiffany’s?”
“Of course it is! I went down there this afternoon after the meeting. I had it in my pocket the entire time at dinner. I was tempted to do the traditional thing and have it brought to you in a glass of champagne, but then changed my mind and thought a carriage ride through Central Park would be more romantic.”
“
So you really mean it? You really want to marry me?”
“Yes Sophie, of course I do.”
“Sorry Sir, it’s just so unbelievable that you’d want to marry me. It just hasn’t sunk in yet.”
“It’s alright Sophie, it hasn’t really sunk in for me that you’ve said yes yet either. It’s strange, but nice to think of you as my fiancée now.”
They got into the car and drove back to Alex’s apartment, both of them thrilled with the way the night had gone. Two hours later, after a heavy session of lovemaking to celebrate their new relationship status, both Sophie and Alex fell asleep in each other’s arm, Sophie now wearing a symbol of Alex’s ownership of her in her diamond collar, and also of his love for her with her new engagement ring.
* * *
The following day absolutely flew by for the both of them. Sophie called her mom up in the morning to tell her the news, and they cried with happiness together. As the news spread across the office Sophie got congratulations from quite a few people, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Ellie, the girl who had made fun of Sophie when she first started and intended to be the one to “tame” Alex Carey, had heard the news yet.
Alex spent a good chunk of the day getting ready for the dinner that night while Sophie took care of most of his everyday work. She had to admit, she was getting good at it. She stopped for a quick lunch, then went down to the street and grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner. She went back to the office, looking at her watch and realizing Alex would be leaving soon.
When she got back up to his office, she realized the door to his sex dungeon was open. Just the sight of it started to make Sophie weak in the legs. After all, there was only one reason he could be down there, right? But he doesn’t have time, he’s got to get going in less than twenty minutes Sophie thought to herself. She locked his office door behind her and went down into the dungeon. With every step she took, Sophie tingled with excitement, until she finally found herself in Alex Carey’s secret room. He heard her enter and turned around.
