One that would not end well.
*****
Bella
“Urgh, daddy no,” I whined, praying for him to look at me. “He’s dreadful. I don’t want to go on a date with him. I only told you because I thought you’d instantly see how inappropriate it is, and that you’d finally realize that the Abattelli family is not one that you should be going into business with.”
I wasn’t even sure why my father was giving these vulgar people the time of day. They were crass, rude, and had a terrible reputation in the community. Sure, we’d been losing money recently, and I knew that he was worried about what the future held for us, but there had to be another solution, surely?
“Bella, I just want you to spend an hour with the guy, find out more about him and his family. I’m not asking for the world. You’re very perceptive, and I know you think that they are bad news – if you can prove that to me, then I’ll halt what we’re doing.”
Even as he said that he was hesitant, like he really didn’t want to give up this merger – it was the only thing that would keep his business afloat in his eyes.
“Why can’t Pru go?” I whined. “She loves going on dates,” I finished cruelly. My sister was famous for her… open behavior, but of course daddy didn’t want to see that side of her. He wanted to believe that she was sweet and innocent, his little princess.
“Your sister is engaged,” he snapped back, causing me to roll my eyes. Engaged for the third time in as many years wasn’t something to celebrate as far as I was concerned. “Enrico obviously wants to go out with you. Come on Bella,” he pleaded. “Just do this for me?”
And then he killed me by giving me the puppy dog eyes – the ones that showed me that if I didn’t do this then I was never going to hear the end of it.
“Fine,” I finally replied. “Whatever.”
Thanks Enrico,
That sounds lovely. Friday at 8pm?
Bella
There. At least if I did it early on a Friday, I’d be able to go out afterwards. This shitty ‘date’ wouldn’t have to ruin my entire evening.
“Done. Happy?”
But of course daddy didn’t answer. He was involved in his paperwork once more, so I stormed out of his office and stomped up into my bedroom.
Of course, I wasn’t going to get the privacy that I so badly needed, because I could hear mum and Prudence arguing in her room, just across the hallway from mine, and I had to find out what was going on.
“…I just can’t understand why…”
“What’s going on?” I went around the door with a gleeful look on my face. Me and my sister had been raised by an army of nanny’s – which it seemed that mother had finally started to feel bad about (nineteen years too late in my opinion), and because of this she kept trying to instill discipline. Pru was twenty-three, she was an adult now, she’d already been everywhere and done everything. There was no way my mum was going to win this never ending battle with her.
Luckily, Pru was terrible, so much worse than me, which meant that she needed much more attention than I did, leaving me to live my life in relative peace.
“Just fuck off Bella,” my sister snarled, shooting me an evil look, which just made me happier. Sure, she was my sister and I loved her because of that, but our disjointed childhood, plus my underlying jealousy because of how much prettier and smarter than me she’d always been, had led to an extremely competitive relationship between us.
One that simply grew nastier as we got older.
“Don’t speak to your sister like that,” mum snapped, starting to grow weary. “And Bella, keep your nose out.”
“But mum, I need to talk to you,” I improvised. “Dad’s being really unreasonable again.”
“What is it this time?” she asked, sounding like she wished that she’d never started any of this.
“He’s making me go out with Enrico to find out information…”
“Oh good lord!” Pru jumped in. “He’s making you go out on a date! Shock, horror. Although I suppose for someone as frigid as you…”
She smirked, sending humiliation burning through my body. She was referring to my status as a virgin, which pissed me off more than anything else. I’d confided it to her one night when we’d actually been getting along, and we’d been drunk on peach schnapps, and she’d held it over me ever since.
I just hadn’t found the right person, that was all.
There were so many things that I wanted to yell back. But I wouldn’t. I might make snide comments about Pru’s slutty behavior, but there was no way that I’d just drop her in it in front of mother. Even if she did do it to me. I would remain classy, always.
So instead, I turned and stalked from the room.
*****
Enrico
I rolled into the bar at twenty past eight, knowing that turning up fashionably late was going to piss off this stuck up bitch, but to my surprise she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I ended up searching the place high and low, before sitting at the bar and ordering myself a drink.
At first, I was a little put out – I’d never been stood up before in my entire life – but then I quickly realized that this was actually good news. It wasn’t like I had any interest in my dad’s end game, so at least I could say that I’d turned up and that she hadn’t bothered.
But just as I was getting to the end of my beer, just as I was about to leave at quarter to nine, she breezed in under a cloud of sweet, floral smelling perfume.
Urgh, what a posh, annoying cow!
“Oh,” she said, shocked as if she hadn’t expected me to wait this long for her. Clearly she didn’t want to do this either – I wondered if she’d been talked into it too. Both of our dads keeping an eye on one another, through us. I thought the game playing stopped when you grew up, but clearly not. Adults were still just as bad. “Hello.”
“What can I get you to drink?” As I asked her this, I could see her eyeing the joint with distain. It wasn’t a rundown, shit hole, it was actually a really nice establishment, but she clearly didn’t want to see that. She just wanted to be a bitch as always.
And that was the exact moment that I decided if everyone around me was going to play games, then I would too. I was going to tease and rile up this chick, make her mad and horny, see how far I could push her, then I would leave her all alone. Crazed and by herself.
“Cider?” I teased. “A lager?”
“I think I’ll have some champagne,” she replied snootily, looking me up and down. If she wanted to look at me with disgust too, then she failed miserably. I could see the familiar spark of desire behind her eyes – one that I was very used to seeing – and I realized that she didn’t want to admit it, but that she did actually like me.
Hmmm, that was interesting.
“So…” I handed her a drink, about to ask her something about herself before she jumped in, interrupting me.
“Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush here, I don’t want to be here – and I’m pretty sure that you don’t either.” Okay, she was perceptive. That was good to know. “So maybe we should just finish this drink, and head home. Then we’ve both performed our obligations without ruining our entire evening.”
“Performed our obligations?” I found myself exclaiming. “Wow, that’s real nice for me – the guy who just wanted to get to know you a little better.” I wasn’t sure why I was arguing – she was basically offering me exactly what I wanted – but the way she went about it just got my back up.
“Oh come on…!” she tried to respond, but I was having none of it. I’d affected her now, and that was too much fun to back off from.
“No, do you know how hard it is to work up the courage to ask someone out on a date?” I started to really get into my role. “And then for you to treat me like that… well, it’s just incredibly hurtful.”
“I…”
There was no way I was allowing her to get a word in edgeways now. This was far too much fun!
“And now I don
’t even… if you don’t want to be here…” I could tell that I was actually getting to her, that my stupid little speech was cracking her ice cold veneer, so I decided to land the finishing touch. “I had such nice plans for us too…”
A girl like her, one that had the entire world handed to her on a plate from the moment that she was born, she wouldn’t be able to resist my offer. I knew that she’d be intrigued, and if I combined that with the desire she felt for me, then it wouldn’t be long until she was putty in my hands.
I grab hold of her fingers, noticing a spark of electricity flowing between us, and I turned my tone to sincere. “But if you want to go, I completely understand.”
She was conflicted. She’d spent all week wanting this date over with as quickly as possible, and now that I’d told her to leave, she was too intrigued to do so.
“No, no,” she answered vaguely, as if she wasn’t quite sure what she was saying. “No, I’ll stay. That sounds… yes, it sounds nice.”
“Great,” I grinned, showing her my dimples.
Now I only had one problem. What was I going to do that was special?!
*****
Bella
“So, what are we going to do tonight?” As I heard myself asking those words, I wondered what the hell had happened to me. All of my intentions to come right in being a bitch had just flown out of the window after his rant, and now for some reason, I found myself actually wanting to stay, to spend more time with him.
I’d been so convinced that he was being pushed into this as much as me, that it was a bit of a shock when all of that seemingly genuine emotion came spilling out.
Sure, I didn’t have much experience with guys – as Pru liked to remind me constantly – but I was pretty sure that I was accurate with what was going on here.
Enrico actually liked me!
“We’re going dancing.”
He smiled at me, making me melt inside far more than I wanted to. I didn’t like the reaction he caused within me, it conflicted with what my brain knew was best for me.
“Dancing?!” I exclaimed, taken aback by how unprepared I was for that. “Where?”
“I know this great little club…”
“Oh wonderful.” I practically snarled. “A nightclub.”
But he didn’t react to my snarky comment, he just sent me another smile, and gulped down the rest of his drink.
I imitated him, wanting the alcohol to hit me quickly. I had the feeling that if I was going to be expected to dance, then I would need to be more than a little tipsy to make it work for me.
I wasn’t much of a dancer. Sure, I could move well, but I always felt a little self-conscious that people were watching me, and I didn’t like that.
As soon as my glass was empty too, Enrico gripped hold of my hand and led me out of the bar. I kind of wish we could have stayed there. I tried to act otherwise, but I actually really liked it in there. It had the exclusivity of the sort of venue that only caters for the super-rich, but it also had a nice chill out vibe, that most of them miss out on.
Enrico continued to hold my hand as we walked down the street to wherever he was taking me, and I didn’t actually mind. The guy that I’d briefly seen all those months ago – I realized that I’d made a snap judgment about him without even speaking to him. Just because I knew that his father wanted to buy out our company, and because I’d heard about his reputation, I’d made a decision about Enrico too.
Maybe I’d been wrong about everything. Maybe I wasn’t quite as perceptive as I liked to think I was.
“Here,” he finally announced, as we stood outside of a building so small that it could have been someone’s home.
“Here?!” I asked stunned. I’d been expecting to go to one of the tacky, over the top nightclubs with lame VIP areas that were supposed to be for people like me, but that were always filled with giggly, airhead groupies that drove me mad.
He didn’t say anything. Instead he just tugged on my arm and I quickly found myself in a cool, tiny jazz club that had only a few people inside.
As Enrico went up to the bar, he was greeted like an old friend, which left me wondering what sort of person he really was. I’d assumed so much about him, but now I was finding myself surprised at how different he seemed. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before, and I wasn’t sure what to do about that. I liked being in control, knowing exactly where I stood, and all of this was throwing me completely off balance.
“Come on.” He sat two glasses down on the table in front of me, and held out his hand.
“What?” I asked dumbly, wondering why he wasn’t allowing me to get drunk.
“Come on, I said we were going dancing, so let’s dance.”
“But…” I wanted to protest, but as there was hardly anyone there I couldn’t see what I could say. It wasn’t like I was going to be under the scrutiny of the bitchy upper classes anyway, so maybe I should give it a go. “Okay.”
Instead of standing across me on the dance floor like I’d expected him too, he pulled my body close into his, molding me against him, and we swayed – even though it didn’t really fit in time with the music.
This allowed me to feel comfortable. If we were dancing out of time on purpose, then that was fine.
But as I relaxed, I realized that my heart was fluttering ferociously, that my fingers were trembling under his touch, and that a hot fire had burst into my stomach.
It hit me like a smack in the face.
I wanted him.
I wanted Enrico bloody Abattelli, and I wanted him badly. How was that even possible?
I glanced up at him, wanting to take a discrete look, to confirm that my worst fears were true, but instead I found him gazing back at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
We stayed that way for a while, just looking at each other, and suddenly I noticed a shift in the air. We were moving in to one another. This was no longer a game. We were about to kiss…
So I shoved him roughly away from me, and I turned on my heel, racing from the building before I ended up doing something I later regretted.
I couldn’t kiss him; I couldn’t like him. I just… couldn’t.
*****
Enrico
I should have been over the moon. I’d gotten exactly what I wanted – I’d gone on the date, done my duty, and Bella had left me behind, just as I’d planned. That was what I’d aimed for all along, and that was what I’d gotten.
But somewhere along the line, somewhere on the dance floor, the lines between playing a game, and real feelings had been blurred. As I’d gazed into her eyes, I’d noticed that there was another person inside of her that was screaming to get out, just as there was in me. We were both covering up our true selves, and masking it in something else. We had a lot more in common than either of us had assumed – we had expectations weighing heavily on our shoulders, and neither of us knew what to do about it.
I’d spent my whole life reacting to that confusion by screwing everyone and anyone, just wanting to feel what my lifestyle could get me. But it had only left me empty and wanting more. And it seemed like Bella had reacted by encasing herself in a wall – one that was completely impenetrable. She was a bitch to everyone, hurting them before they could hurt her.
Neither of us knew how to be whole, how to be normal.
And now I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Now she was on my mind all the time, and I was afraid that with my stupid game playing, I’d already fucked it up.
I’d sent her a text just afterwards, apologizing, but I’d had no reply. And it seemed like she’d gone straight home and bitched about me to her father because ever since that night, the deal had been going south.
Of course I hadn’t heard the damn end of it. My dad just knew that it was my fault, even though I hadn’t said anything about the date to him. He probably assumed that I’d done my usual trick of screwing and never calling again, but that wasn’t the case. Not this time.
That guy, that version of me was a d
ick that was never going anywhere in life.
I never wanted to be him again.
Even as I’d been playing games with Bella, I’d only been fooling myself, trying to act even to myself that I didn’t like her, that I didn’t actually want to spend time with her.
But of course, that wasn’t what she wanted. She’d made that perfectly clear.
“Enrico?” One of my dad’s right hand men came over to my desk in the office – where I mostly sat pretending to work, imagining all of the wonderful artwork that I could be spending my time creating instead. “Your father has requested your presence in his office.”
“Why do you always insist on talking like a fucking butler?” I snapped, pissed off that I was about to get yelled at over the date once more. “I know what you really are.”
Boris – I didn’t think that was his real name, but it was what everyone called him – was more involved in my dad’s shady business dealings than this company. He was built like a brick shit house, so I was pretty sure that he was some kind of bodyguard. Someone that got their hands dirty so that my dad could have everything.
“I’m sure… sir,” he finished off sarcastically, before stalking off to my father’s office, indicating that I should follow him.
But before I made it to the room where my dad sat lording over everyone, the police burst into the building, complete with riot gear and a search warrant.
“We’re looking for Mr. Abattelli,” one of them said to me. “I have a warrant for his arrest.”
*****
Bella
It had been really difficult to ignore Enrico since our date – especially since he kept trying to contact me – but I was proud of myself for staying strong.
I liked him. I liked him a little too much, and I couldn’t be around him for that exact reason.
I just couldn’t allow myself to get sucked in to a thing with someone who oozed sex, who clearly screwed around, who I guessed lied to me about the reasons he asked me out. When I was away from the cloud of lust, it was much easier to see that I was suckered by his stupid story, and I didn’t want that to happen again.
In the Arms of the Dragon Princes Page 89
