Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs)

by OW, Christina

  Did they even use any?

  Allan cursed under his breath. Theresa was conniving enough to plant a pregnancy on him if it meant getting him to the altar.

  He pulled his wallet from the inside pocket of his jacket. “I didn’t know Michael was in the auction, let alone that his package included a rushed screw in the manager’s office.” He pulled out the five condoms he kept handy in the instances where Theresa decided to jump him in places that weren’t his home or office. He carried his own condoms to her house—he never trusted the woman enough to use hers.

  Allan chuckled. The woman was calculating. She had more brains than he had ever given her credit for.

  “Allan, honey—” Theresa began but he silenced her by holding up his hand.

  “Theresa, you know I don’t like to share, but this is a charity event after all. We need to get the proceedings for the cancer foundation any way we can.” He threw the condoms at her, “You might want to use those from now on. The HIV/AIDS fundraiser is next month if I recollect correctly. And I definitely don’t want to be trapped by any of his bastards.”

  With that, he bowed out, closing the door because he knew for certain Theresa was going back to bending over that desk despite getting caught.

  * * * *

  Riana watched the huge double doors for Allan. She knew he was livid and hurt and she just wanted to give him the same comfort he’d given her. A distraction he’d called it. Well it had worked. It also opened her eyes.

  Riana found herself wondering if she ever did love Steve, because she shouldn’t have reacted so wantonly toward a man seconds after meeting him, right after her breakup. What she knew for sure was that the betrayal by two people she lived with and trusted was what cut her deep.

  “Riana, you’ve been staring at that door since you walked in,” Loraine said, pulling the empty tray of appetizers out of her hand and replacing it with a full one. “If the dragon lady sees you, she’ll fire you and you’ll have no money to pay me rent.”

  Riana rolled her eyes and walked alongside her friend as they made their rounds in the large ballroom. “I just want to know how Allan is.”

  Loraine sniggered, clearly an effort to keep from laughing out loud. “I would have loved to have seen them getting caught with their pants down. Get it, pants down?”

  Riana bumped her, shaking the glasses of champagne on Loraine’s tray. “That’s not funny. There is nothing funny about seeing the people you trust betray you.”

  Loraine sighed. “Well look at the bright side. You are free to jump each other’s bones now.”

  “Loraine!”

  “Riana.”

  She spun around at the sound of her name. Her breath hitched in her throat when she spotted Allan, smiling down at her. Damn, the man is a hunk.

  His smile widened as if he’d heard her thoughts.

  She felt Loraine lean close to her side. Riana didn’t turn to pay her any attention. She was too busy staring at her very own Greek god.

  “Honey, you said that out loud,” Loraine whispered.

  “What?”

  Loraine chuckled. “See you later, hunk. Don’t forget.”

  He chuckled. “I won’t.”

  Riana groaned covering her face with her free hand. This was extremely and unequivocally the most embarrassing moment of her life.

  Riana felt Allan lean down, like he was curving around her body to whisper in her ear, “Don’t worry. I find you very attractive too and I’d like to take you to Venice with me.”

  Her hand dropped from her face. “What?”

  “All you have to do is win the bid for me.” Then he walked away without any further explanations.

  “What about your girlfriend?” she called after him.

  “What girlfriend?” he tossed over his shoulder with a chuckled and Riana could barely restrain her smile.

  Venice? He wanted to take her to Venice and all she had to do was win the bid for him… with money she did not have!

  She stomped her foot. Damn!

  Riana really wanted to go to Venice. She hadn’t been anywhere except her home in Florida. Well, it hadn’t been her home for the last three years since her mother died. She’d only gotten to experience New York because of her scholarship and she really, double time really, wanted to go to Venice with Allan.

  What to do, what to do?

  “Loraine!”

  Riana bounced on her heels with a giddy cheer then rushed toward Loraine. She pulled on Loraine’s waistcoat to get her attention from the older couples.

  “Excuse me please,” Loraine said to them politely before she turned a stern look at Riana. “What!” she whispered harshly.

  “Allan wants me to go to Venice with him but I have to win him in the bid first.”

  Loraine stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Do you want us to pool our savings and bid on a billionaire?” Her voice rose an octave. “I have five hundred dollars in the bank and around ten dollars in pennies in my piggy bank. What about you?”

  “Don’t make fun of me Loraine. I’m not an idiot!” Loraine raised a brow in response. Riana huffed. “Come on Loraine, help me out. I really want to go!” she whined.

  Loraine let out an exasperated sigh. “You just saw the boy you love cheat on you with your roommate. Then, a few hours later, Allan’s girlfriend takes it from behind from…whoever that guy was.” She harrumphed. “What’s wrong with you two?”

  Riana shuffled on her feet nervously. “I didn’t love Steve and I just realized that. I wish I’d come upon that revelation before I let him have my V-card—”

  “And you think running off to Venice with a guy you just met on a rebound affair is the better decision?” Loraine spoke, cutting her off. “Two wrongs don’t make a right Riana.”

  Riana sighed. Loraine had a point. Running off to Venice with a guy she’d just met, and of course with no passport, was a little daft. She had one more paper to write before she finally finished University, and then she would head to the teacher’s training college that began in two months’ time. She needed to stop chasing after love just because she was lonely and concentrate instead on her future. She wanted to be an art teacher in a high school and that was where her focus was staying. Maybe in another five years she could try this whole love thing again.

  “Loraine, you are—” she was cut short when Loraine hit her elbow making her hand shoot up and a male voice boomed thirty thousand dollars.

  Riana rubbed her throbbing elbow. “What the hell Loraine!”

  “Allan’s up on the stage and he’s staring daggers at you.”

  “What?”

  She grabbed the tray out of Riana’s hand and placed it and her own on the nearest table. She then turned Riana full body to face the stage. Allan stood there looking intently at her, the edges of his lips turned up in a slight smile and his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like a king staring down at his subjects.

  She sucked in her lower lip, butterflies fluttering in her chest. Yup, he was Greek god material.

  “You better start participating actively if you want to go to Venice.”

  Riana’s brows furrowed in confusion. “But you said—”

  Loraine silenced her with a wave of her hand. “Oh shut it. I say a lot of things I don’t mean. Now do you want to go to Venice or not?”

  “Fifty thousand!” the woman next to Riana yelled.

  Riana placed a hand over her ringing ear. “But I don’t have the money.” She watched the hands shoot up all over the room and she felt desperate. They were at eighty-five thousand already. These women are horny vultures!

  Loraine rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he doesn’t expect you to pay for it. He said bid to win, he didn’t say anything about you paying right?”

  “No, he didn’t.” But he didn’t say he would pay either, she thought.

  “So what are you waiting for?”

  “Ninety thousand!”

  Then the hands stopped shooting up and the room went silent. Th
at was the final bid and no one was going to up it. She turned to the source of the shout to get a look at the lucky girl with ninety thousand to spend on her trip to Venice, but the room was too crowded.

  Loraine clucked her tongue. “Riana, it’s between you and the slut in the hooker dress and Allan doesn’t look the least bit amused by your silence.”

  Riana turned to Allan and Loraine was right. She was sure the others in the room couldn’t tell but his eyes showed how furious he really was with her. She saw the fingers of the hand tucked under his arm move up. He wanted her to bid higher.

  “Isn’t that too much?”

  Loraine knocked her elbow again and yelled, “One hundred thousand!”

  “Loraine!” Riana hissed, stepping away from her and rubbing her elbow.

  Loraine pulled her back. “Does he look hard for the cash? Look around you Riana. Do any of them look hard for the cash? He probably spends that much in one day buying a suit or flying his dinner in from Paris. He’s a damn billionaire!”

  “But it’s not my money to spend!”

  Loraine shook her fist in Riana’s face, tightening her grip on her arm until it hurt. “Riana, outbid that slut and go to Venice or I swear I’ll break your perfect little nose!”

  “One hundred and fifty thousand!” Riana yelled leaning away from Loraine and her fist, taking the threat seriously. She liked her nose as it was.

  Then she spotted the slut in the hooker dress charging toward them from behind Loraine. “We’ve got trouble!” she whispered.

  “This is ridiculous! This waitress can’t afford that!” She protested, settling a seething look on Riana.

  Loraine stepped in between them, shielding Riana. “Whether or not she can afford it is none of your business. Call out your bid or forfeit now. Either way, she’s the one leaving with him.”

  “Damn straight I am,” Riana announced happily, bouncing on her toes.

  Allan’s ex-girlfriend—stress on the ex—took Loraine in from the tip of her shoes to the top of her head with a superior look, her lips curved in a sneer. Then she turned to Riana, killing her victory instantly with her livid look. “Two hundred thousand.”

  Riana chocked on her own breath as a gasp echoed in the room. She turned to Allan and he gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. “Two hundred and twenty thousand,” she countered.

  Then the slut’s lips spread in a sinister smile and she turned to the stage. “Two hundred and fifty.”

  Riana’s eyes popped. A quarter of a million dollars! She couldn’t go higher than that. Allan wouldn’t possibly agree to it. She turned back to Allan feeling defeated but his smile just grew wider. He nodded his head to the side, signaling her to his hidden fingers.

  Riana’s head cantered to the side to see.

  Is he holding up three fingers? She dipped her head further for a clearer view. Four, no five…five!

  The same moment the slut cheered, “I win,” Riana exclaimed loudly, “Five hundred thousand! Allan you can’t be—”

  “Sold!” Allan yelled from the stage.

  Before the auctioneer could utter a single word in protest, Allan leaped off the stage and charged toward her.

  * * * *

  “Half a million dollars! Really, Allan, if you don’t want to go with her just say no.”

  Allan grabbed her hand and dragged her away without a word in response, but that didn’t stop Riana from rambling on. She had to run to keep up with his long strides.

  “Do you have any idea how much half a million dollars is? That’s too much! Let her pay. They can’t possibly force you to go if you don’t want to. What, is there a clause that says you’ll go to jail if you don’t agree to this?”

  Allan brought them to a quick halt then turned to Riana with his brows creased. “You babble a lot. You just go on and on and on without a single break to breathe. Do you know that?”

  Of course she knew that! The most Riana ever spoke was when she rambled and this situation deserved a babble! “Five hundred thousand dollars, Allan. That’s crazy!”

  “My sentiments exactly!” the slut said breathlessly. Riana wasn’t the only one running to keep up with Allan.

  Allan muttered something incoherent under his breath then pulled Riana back into a chase after him. They finally stopped at a desk and he quickly stuck his hand in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his checkbook.

  “Allan, she can’t possibly afford you!”

  Riana shook her head and shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m not paying for him. He’s paying for himself…or is it for me? I guess it’s for me since he’s the one who invited me to—”

  “Riana,” Allan spoke softly cutting her off.

  “Hmmm?”

  “You are rambling again.”

  “Oh. Sorry,” she whispered. He chuckled, shook his head and turned back to the lady at the desk.

  The slut pulled at his sleeve jacket. “Allan, this is not how things are done. You can’t pay for yourself!”

  Allan stared at her assaulting hand and she quickly dropped it before he responded, “She’ll pay me back.”

  “I will?” Riana squeaked. She knew this would happen. Now where the hell was she going to get half a million from? She stomped her foot. This was all Loraine’s fault!

  Riana looked back at Allan just in time to catch his eyes move over her like he was undressing her. When she finally met his eyes, the lust in them made her take a step back. The pit of her belly burned when she finally realized what kind of payment he meant.

  He held her gaze and said, “Yes, Riana, you will,” with the most sensual voice she’d ever heard, and then he took a pen from the lady at the desk and leaned down.

  Riana swallowed hard, and let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

  “Mr. Jones, tell Mr. Sinclair he can’t pay for himself!” The slut screeched like a banshee.

  Mr. Jones, the organizer of the event, was sitting behind the desk and looked too old to be dealing with her temper tantrums and Riana wished there was a way she could spare him the drama.

  “Miss Davenport, what seems to be the matter?” he asked with a tired voice.

  Riana stepped back to avoid the slut’s hand as it shot up to point an accusing finger at her. “This…thing can’t afford to pay for Mr. Sinclair. She very well knew that but she still joined the bid. In fact, she isn’t even a guest but a waitress. She shouldn’t have been participating!”

  “And you can?” Allan threw over his shoulder.

  “Can what?”

  “Can you afford me?”

  The slut went silent, staring at Allan with a seething look but he was completely unfazed. He stared at her like he was staring at a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.

  He turned back to the desk. “Didn’t think so.”

  Riana took another step back. She wanted to give them some space—not too much space, but just enough to deal with their issues—and hopefully Allan could reduce her screeching by a few octaves as well.

  Allan’s hand stilled over the check and his gaze quickly shot up to her. His expression was blank except for his right brow, which slowly rose. She wasn’t sure if he was asking a question or reacting to her stepping back. Riana took back the step and Allan turned his attention back to the check.

  So that’s what that look meant. Noted.

  His ex-girlfriend stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm. Riana knew she was being ridiculous, but the sudden urge to rip it off filled her. She was feeling territorial over a guy she just met. Loraine was right; there was something seriously wrong with her.

  “Allan, you can’t possibly be serious. This trip is for us.”

  Riana held back a laugh. The banshee was gone and the seductress was in the house.

  Allan straightened, tucking his checkbook back into his jacket pocket after tearing off a page and handing it to the lady on the desk. He gently pulled her hand off his arm and dropped it. Then he smiled a
smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t forget Michael.”

  Michael. That must be the guy she was having sex with in the manager’s office.

  His ex stepped back as if she’d been slapped. “He’s irrelevant!” she said hotly.

  Irrelevant? Riana was shocked. Twenty minutes ago she was very accommodating to him. Now he was irrelevant?

  Allan tilted his head slightly to the side, his brow rising in wonder. “Oh really? Does he feel the same way? Only a few minutes ago you were bent over—”

  “Enough!” she yelled cutting him off. She took a visible deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment before she spoke again. “I thought you didn’t care. And would I be wrong in concluding you too are having an affair with this…waitress?” She hissed through clenched teeth and Riana thought she sounded like a snake.

  “If it will make you feel better, you can take her upstairs to our suite for a few hours, then we’ll be even. We’ll go home and discuss our trip to Venice.”

  Riana wasn’t sure what offended her more. The fact that the slut just called her a whore or that she still thought she was going on her trip to Venice. She decided to address the first because the Venice trip was a sure thing.

  “I am not a whore!”

  The slut sneered. “Of course not,” she responded sarcastically.

  Before Riana could give her retort, Loraine stepped in. “It’s true. The girl has never had sex,” she said in such a nonchalant way, biting into an appetizer and adding, “This is really good.” Riana had no way to hold back the laughter that bubbled out.

  “Lucky me,” Allan mumbled, killing Riana’s laugh.

  He probably didn’t mean to say it out loud—the sultry look he was giving her suggested his mind was far off and she was definitely naked wherever he was—but she heard him. Loud and clear, and the confession did weird things to her body.

  The slut looked around, suddenly conscious of the attention they were drawing. “Allan, could we please go up to our suite and discuss this in private?”