by Lisa Lace
I feel like I am in an erotic movie as he wraps his arms around me and orgasms hard, slamming himself into me several times before completely letting me go. I feel my orgasm start to dissipate until he pulls his tie off my eyes leaving it to dangle around my neck. My wrists are locked above my head, and he disappears into the bathroom. I look around, anxious and a little angry that he’d leave me this way. When he returns, he walks toward me, naked and still erect. He unhooks me, catching me as I fall into his arms, and he carries me to his bed, laying me across the edge. Climbing over me, he enters me again without his condom and slowly fucks me until my orgasm overcomes me and washes over me. He rolls away from me, leaving small kisses on my face and down my shoulder.
“You are incredible,” I say, my fingers stroking his tie.
“I could say the same about you. I can’t explain it, but I’m very attracted to you, Elise.”
“I kind of see that,” I giggle.
“I mean, you’re not even my type. Not even close.”
“Sometimes an attraction can be formed between two people when you least expect it.”
“But being attracted to someone of your level is unusual for me.”
I know he didn’t mean to say it the way he did, but I can’t help but feel a twinge of hurt, wondering if I’m reading him wrong. I was beginning to think he was developing feelings for me, that maybe I didn’t have to play a role with him after all. To marry a man of his prestige for love and not for other benefits is a dream.
Maybe I’m just hoping for my fantasy to come true. He’s right. I’m not his type, and he isn’t mine. Who am I kidding to think a man like Rory could actually love me? It’s just a game, right? It’s just role-play for his benefit. As soon as he wins his right to keep Gracie, I can move on.
I look over at him and smile awkwardly.
Elise
Over the past few days, I’ve begun to stay over at Rory’s house. He’s set me up in one of the guest bedrooms, a large room that overlooks the backyard. I have just finished getting myself dressed for the day when he walks in.
“Well, I’m on my way to work,” Rory tells me. “What are you up to today?”
“Well, I have a bit of writing to do, but I thought that today I would do something with Grace…if that’s okay with you. We’ll do something here at the house. Girl time.”
He seems to hesitate for a moment, and I don’t blame him—after all, I’m still a stranger to his daughter. Slowly, he nods his head.
“Okay.” There’s a slight struggle going on.
“Alice can stay with us,” I suggest gently. I place my hand on his arm. “I know that we agreed to do whatever Grace felt comfortable with. But as Grace’s parent, you need to feel comfortable, too.”
“She doesn’t need to be right in the room. Unless Grace wants.”
“Of course.”
Rory leans in, kissing me on the forehead. Just then Grace runs down the hall, pausing as she catches the tender moment. She cocks her head to the side.
“Good morning, Grace,” I say.
“Morning.” She fidgets and looks up at her daddy.
“Sweetheart,” Rory begins. “Elise was wondering if you wanted to spend some girl time with her today.”
“We can do whatever you want,” I promise her.
Grace squints. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
She smiles. “I need to eat breakfast, first.”
“So do I, actually. Do you want me to cook you something?”
“Can you make pancakes?”
“Absolutely. Can you show me where everything is?”
“It’s downstairs.” I smile and wave at Rory as I follow her toward the kitchen, where she helps me gather the ingredients. Alice comes into the kitchen as we are mixing the pancakes. There is a moment where she looks concerned, but then she smiles.
“What is going on in here?”
Grace looks up at me. “Alice usually cooks breakfast.”
“Have a seat, Alice,” I say. “Grace and I will serve you this morning.”
“Well, isn’t this a lovely surprise. Thank you, ladies.” Alice sits down at the kitchen table.
“How’s the stirring coming, Grace?” I look into the mixing bowl.
Grace stops stirring to regard her work. “Good, I think.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “We just want to make sure that there are no more lumps.” Grace nods, focusing on stirring. I glance over toward the door, where Rory is watching us. He waves, then leaves. I have a feeling that he sent Alice, but I’m not upset about that. I totally understand.
Once the pancake mix is done, I show Grace how to ladle it onto the pan. We work on flipping them together. Once we are done, Grace proudly brings a plate over to Alice.
“These look wonderful.” She waits until Grace and I both have our own plates. We all sit around the kitchen table, digging in.
“What do you think, Grace?” She nods as she chews.
“Well done,” Alice commends us. “What are your plans for the day?” Grace shrugs. Alice looks at me. “Grace loves to do puzzles, you know.”
“Is that so?” Grace nods. “So do I.”
“I’ve been working on one upstairs. I can show you.”
“I can clean up down here,” Alice says.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. You two cooked, so I can do the cleaning.”
We head to one of the living rooms, where Grace has begun a puzzle on the floor. It’s a picture of some horses in a field full of buttercups. We settle in to do the puzzle.
“Besides puzzles, what else do you like to do?”
“Play video games. Read books.”
“I love reading. Who’s your favorite author?”
“Roald Dahl.”
“Oh! The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are two of my all-time favorites.”
“I like those,” she says. “Right now, Daddy and I are reading The Witches.”
“Oooh.” I raise my eyebrows. “That one is scary.”
“I like scary.”
“Me too.”
We work on the puzzle in silence for a little bit. I want to know more about what Grace thinks and feels about this situation, but now is not the time to broach that subject. Right now, I need to build a relationship with her—something that would usually build over time. I know that Rory’s spoken to her about it. He said that she seemed positive about me.
“You two have made some progress!” Alice is at the doorway, her hands on her hips. “Well done!” Over the past hour, we have gone from discussing favorite books to movies, to the puppy that Grace hopes her daddy will someday let her get. We have put together most of the border. For a seven-year-old, Grace has quite the patience.
“Can I have a snack?” Grace asks.
“Certainly,” Alice says. “Apple slices and Ritz crackers with cheese sound good?” Grace nods.
“Are you coming, Elise?” Her small face is hopeful.
“Absolutely.” I grin. Grace is a delight.
Rory
A week later, Elise and I are standing outside of a room stuffed full of journalists. She is gripping my hand tightly. Elise looks flawless. She’s wearing a plain black A-line dress that I had Charlotte pick out for her from a designer store, along with a pair of diamond earrings. Her hair has been carefully arranged into a sophisticated style. She looks immaculate, but most beautiful of all is the smile on her face.
“Nervous?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Don’t be.” She nods, her gaze on the door. From this side, the conversation in the room is a low hum. “I have something for you.” She looks at me expectantly as I take the small blue velvet Tiffany’s box from my pocket. I open it to display the diamond engagement ring that I had picked out.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I hoped you’d like it.” I take it out, sliding it onto her finger. It feels wrong, not getting down on one knee, but this isn’t real, I remind m
yself. She regards it, sparkling on her finger for a moment. “Are you ready to go in?”
“Of course.” She sounds confident as she takes my hand, weaving our fingers together. I push the door open, and we enter. The room is full, and we are ushered over to a table at the head of the room that is equipped with microphones.
“Good morning everyone,” I say. “We are so glad that you could join us.” I glance at Elise, who smiles at me. “After a rocky start to our relationship, Miss Elise Sawyer and I are happy to announce our engagement.” There is a loud clamor as the reporters all attempt to ask questions at once. In this instance, I defer to Elise, who is a total rock star.
“Please,” she says, “One at a time.” She beams at everyone who raises their hand and asks a question. She plays the role so well, it’s hard even for me to believe this is all an act.
“Miss Sawyer! Tell us how you met.”
She leans forward with a mischievous smile. “Well, some of you may have read my article in Us Weekly. The first time I met Rory was at that interview.”
Another hand shoots up. “That article tore Mr. Everest to pieces. How did you go from there to engaged in such a short time span?”
“You’re right, the article said a lot of harsh things about my fiancé.” She turns to me and smiles. “But I’m happy to say I was one-hundred percent wrong about him. After the article was published, I got a call from Rory, asking if he could talk to me about the piece.” She threads her fingers through mine as if absent-mindedly as she speaks, although I know it’s a meticulously planned gesture. “Of course, I expected him to rip into me. I was surprised when he was nothing but gracious and kind.”
“What happened?” Another journalist scrambles to point a dictation recorder in Elise’s face.
“He told me he was upset about the article. Not that it was published—but upset that I perceived him that way. He asked if he could have a second chance at a first impression. He said that angry, egotistical man I first saw wasn’t him. He’d had a bad day at the office and was sorry it had come across as hostility in our interview.”
“How did he change your impression of him, Miss. Sawyer?”
Elise’s smile grows dreamy. She leans in to talk to the reporter like she’s having a girly chat in the ladies’ bathroom, rather than sitting in a press conference. She comes across so natural and authentic, I’m starting to wonder how things really happened between us. This seems so real.
“He took me to dinner at Per Se, the restaurant by Central Park.” She looks across at me and smiles. “We spent the whole evening talking. If any of you have ever been to Per Se, you’ll know the number of courses gives you plenty of time for conversation.”
There’s a patter of laughter around the room.
“After that evening, Rory and I started seeing more of each other. After a few dates, we couldn’t stay apart.”
A young woman in a pantsuit and wearing a large pair of glasses raises her hand. “Mr. Everest, there are rumors that this whole engagement is a publicity stunt to change your public image. How do you respond to that accusation?”
I keep my cool, leaning into the microphone with a steady composure. “When have I ever cared about my public image?” Another round of laughter. “The truth is, Miss Sawyer here, Elise, is someone who’s not afraid to call me out on my bullshit. She said it like it is from day one. I didn’t like it at first, but I’ll be honest—it’s refreshing to have someone be that frank with you. And I found her candor made me respond in like. I’ve been able to open up to her in a way I haven’t with others before because there is no act with this woman. She wears her heart on her sleeve, says things as they are, and knows her own mind.”
“How does Miss Sawyer get on with your daughter?”
I clench my jaw. “I don’t talk about my daughter in interviews. Next question.”
“Actually, I’ll answer that one,” Elise chimes in. I glare at her, but she continues lightly. “Rory’s daughter is the sweetest little girl you’ll ever meet. She’s very headstrong, intelligent beyond her years. Like all children, she’s worried I’m going to steal her daddy away from her, but she’s been brave enough to open her heart to let me be a part of their lives. I respect Rory’s wishes not to talk about her in interviews. All you need to know is that she’s been a part of this decision, and we’re going forward with her blessing.”
“How did Rory propose?”
Elise smiles, her eyes sparkling. “It was magical. Rory knows it’s always been my dream to be an investigative journalist. One day, we were walking down the street when he stops at a news kiosk to buy a paper.
“We get a coffee and sit on a bench in Central Park. He’s reading, I’m checking my emails on my cell. Suddenly, he seems shocked at something in the paper. He asks me, ‘Have you heard about this?’
“I lean in to read over his shoulder. The headline is ‘Rory Everest in love for the first time.’ There’s a news story underneath all about how Rory didn’t know how many walls he had up until I walked into his life.” She blushes. “It spoke all about how different life was, and how it made him realize how much he cherishes his daughter and longs to be a real family man.
“The next thing I know, he’s down on one knee, opening a box to show this gorgeous engagement ring.”
“How did you react, Miss Sawyer?”
Elise pauses. “I told him I had to think about it.”
“What?” The room explodes into chaotic murmurings.
She laughs and waves her hand to continue. “We’d only known each other a few weeks. I’m not crazy. To be honest, I already knew I loved him. Rory’s different from any man I’ve ever met. Have you noticed how everyone looks at him when he walks into a room? Well, when I walk into a room where Rory is, it’s the other way around. He makes me feel like I’m the only person there. I’ve never felt more loved.”
“So why the hesitation?” The man who asks is short and stocky with a well-chewed pen in his hand.
“Marriage is a big deal and shouldn’t be rushed into lightly. Plus, Rory has a daughter who I’d never want to hurt, and let’s face it—Rory’s lifestyle is hardly the norm. It all seemed a bit overwhelming.”
“What changed your mind?”
“A couple of days later, Rory, his daughter and I were all at a theme park together—Deno’s—and we were having the best time. All three of us had the biggest smiles on our faces all day. It felt right. I realized we belonged together. We were happy together. I’d been scared of saying ‘yes’ to Rory’s proposal for the wrong reasons, but in that moment, I realized I’d said ‘wait’ for the wrong reasons. I was scared people would call me a gold-digger, or say that we were moving too fast, or accuse me of trying to get a story out of him. It wasn’t a lack of love holding me back, but fear.” Elise grips my hand and looks dead into my eyes; she’s tearing up. “But there’s no doubt in my mind—I love this man.”
The press conference ends a short while later, and Elise and I get into my car to return home. I look across at her incredulously as she wipes away a tear, straightens her clothes, and straps herself in.
“Shame they’re not taking Oscar nominations at the moment. I think you’d have a shot for best actress.”
She slaps my arm playfully. “I thought you wanted me to be convincing?”
“You gave me goosebumps. Honestly, even I was starting to believe what you were saying. All that stuff about the proposal, and not saying yes straight away…I think that was genius.”
“You said we’re trying to paint a picture, and that’s what I wanted to do. If I’d have said yes straight away, it would have looked too much like a scam. The hesitation shows I take this thing seriously. That’s what a judge would be looking for, right? A woman who cares about this family.”
This family.
“I thought we agreed not to talk about Grace, though. You know I don’t like bringing her into these things.”
Elise nods. “Unfortunately, in this case, it’s all ab
out Grace, isn’t it? I didn’t use her name. I tried to give her that much anonymity. The thing is, Rory, we’re trying to paint a picture of two people who genuinely love each other and love Grace. I wanted it on record that Grace gave us her blessing. That will look good in court. Plus, it’s true, isn’t it?” She looks worried. “Grace did give us her blessing?”
I nod. “She likes you. A lot.”
“I’m glad.” Elise smiles. “I like her a lot, too. It’s been fun spending time with her these last couple of weeks. We’ve almost finished our Disney puzzle together.”
I didn’t like the idea of leaving Elise alone in my house with my child at all. For the first ten days, I made sure Alice was with them at all times. Despite our arrangement, Elise is still someone I hardly know, and I don’t trust strangers with my daughter.
Then, I started to see the way her company was bringing Grace to life. Whenever I’d get home from work, no matter what time, they were always together, playing games, doing a puzzle, coloring, or cooking together. Sometimes, they were just chatting about something.
Grace adores Elise. Elise treats her like an adult, really listening to her and her reasoning. I can see my little girl growing as a person with her around, having someone to talk to about all the ideas and wonderings in her head.
“She’s looking forward to you moving in.”
“I’m bringing the last of my things tonight. In fact, if you could drop me off at Dayna’s, that would be a big help. She can give me a ride to your place when I’m done. We’ll probably want to talk a while.”
