Substitute

by Rey, Isobel

  ‘Tony?’ Sonia sounded surprised.

  ‘Oh don’t! I know what it sounds like, but it isn’t like that, it really isn’t …’

  ‘It’s OK. Look, believe it or not, Alexia, I think I understand how you’ve ended up here.’

  ‘You do?’ Alexia couldn’t believe anyone understood. She could barely understand herself.

  ‘Yes, I think I do. I told you in the hotel, you remind me a lot of me when I was your age. You’re still finding your feet, in more ways than one. Tony sniffs out prey; he knows when he can get his own way, and he doesn’t show mercy. That would be pretty hard to resist when you’re low, when you’re confused, and – forgive me, Alexia – when you’re young.’

  Alexia closed her eyes. Someone understands. The relief was like a giant exhalation. She felt the knot of tension in her stomach loosen a little.

  ‘Thank you, Sonia, thank you so much. You don’t know how much it means.’

  ‘Sssh now, don’t fret.’

  ‘But Nathan …’

  ‘Nathan nothing. We can sort that out. Are you going to be in Wimbledon later?’

  ‘Yes, yes, I am. With Nathan.’

  ‘OK I’ll see you there. And please don’t worry. These are growing pains, my dear, that’s all. We all go through them; it’s just that you seem to be having several growing spurts at once!’

  Alexia laughed softly. Sonia was so kind, her humour so gentle.

  ‘I know. It’s exhausting.’

  ‘I bet it is.’ Sonia laughed too. ‘I’ll see you later. Just go and have a big mug of tea and keep yourself busy.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘And stay away from Tony!’

  Alexia laughed again.

  ‘Oh don’t worry. I’m going to be standing as far away from him as I can get.’

  ‘Bye, darling, see you later.’

  Alexia put down her phone and breathed out again. She looked through the glass wall into the office. No one was paying any attention to her call.

  The door opened silently as she stepped out of the meeting room and went back to her desk. Almost 9 a.m. Five hours till the car arrived. She sat down and opened her emails. She would bury herself in her work till it was time to go.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The building was so familiar. The green exterior of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon to most people, hoved into view.

  Alexia’s driver had dropped her outside the gates, and she’d jostled her way up to the famous building amid the arriving guests. There were quite a few famous faces, some current and past British players and the usual tennis hangers-on from the world of show business.

  The iconic ivy hanging from the façade fluttered in the cold winter breeze. Alexia put her head down and battled through to the door. Her name was on the list and she was ushered straight through. She looked at the announcement board: a presentation for services to tennis for a long past British hopeful who’d raised the national’s expectations for a brief period, then dashed them again in the face of crushing Continental superiority.

  The champagne was already flowing. She wondered how Nathan ever kept his head bouncing from event to event on a sea of bubbly. But then he didn’t always keep his head. He hadn’t this morning. He had well and truly lost it this morning – for a while.

  She felt a pang of fear and pain. Had she blown it, was it over? He’d wanted her, he’d said so. “God, Alexia, I want you …”

  She shook herself. She had to be breezy, in control – but her mind had other ideas; it was on spin cycle. Was it just because she’d thrown herself at him? Any man would respond to that, wouldn’t he? It wouldn’t mean anything, wouldn’t mean she was special. The permutations fought and festered in her mind, pinning her down on the emotional rollercoaster she seemed to have been chained to for weeks now.

  She wandered through the crowd, trying her best to smile. Men watched her go by, admiring the cool beauty, but she was oblivious to their attention.

  There was a gaggle at one end of the room, clucking and cooing around a person she couldn’t see. She moved around to get a better look. Jim Brooker, their client. The new British hopeful, still only 19. He was young and fit but no pin-up. His skin was still slightly spotty; he hadn’t entirely left his teenage hormones behind. His body was toned, long-limbed, and just starting to grow into the serious masculinity of a top-flight sportsman.

  But without his tennis fame he would never have attracted the type of attention he was revelling in now. Several good-looking girls, probably a few years older than him, were openly vying for his favour. And, to one side, was Nathan. He wasn’t with Jim, but she knew that he was keeping a discreet eye on his young charge.

  He was talking to Sonia. The one person Alexia was relying on to keep her company and away from Nathan, and here she was, with him!

  Sonia spotted her and waved her over. ‘Alexia!’

  The ground seemed to sag beneath her, as if the floor had turned to rubber. Or was it her legs that were failing to support her?

  Nathan didn’t turn. He should have turned; that’s what most people do when their companion spots a friend and beckons that friend to join them. He merely sipped his champagne. Alexia walked over to meet them and Sonia scooped her up and kissed her like a long-lost friend.

  ‘Darling, you look prettier than ever.’

  Alexia murmured a thank you.

  ‘We were just discussing young Jim over there. With any luck he’s going to be a sensation in a few years. You a tennis fan?’

  Sonia was a trooper. She was keeping the conversation light and fresh.

  ‘Yes, yes, I am …’

  ‘Good, I need some decent company at the Wimbledon championships this year. I normally get stuck with some hideous corporate tennis bore because I have to use the corporate tickets you give me.’

  She poked Nathan playfully. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Sonia regarded him coolly. ‘I told you I might steal her away from you, Nathan – well, you can’t begrudge me her company for a few days in June, can you?’ She giggled.

  Nathan smiled again, his professional smile.

  ‘Sonia, you know I always try and give you what you want …’

  He still wasn’t looking at Alexia; he was looking everywhere but at her. He was obviously desperate to get away, to be far from her company.

  ‘Ladies, you obviously have things to talk about, and women’s conversations are usually hampered by the presence of a man, so I will tactfully withdraw and leave you to you feminine diversions.’

  He gave an almost imperceptible bow of the head and moved away.

  Alexia waited till she was sure he was out of earshot. ‘See, I told you he hates me now.’

  ‘No, he doesn’t.’ Sonia smiled knowingly; she looked at Nathan’s retreating figure. ‘I’d say quite the opposite.’

  Sonia took her arm and turned her to face the crowd.

  ‘Look at these people, Alexia; these are the people he has to spend his days with now. Hangers-on, sports bores, corporate junket lovers, and jumped-up playground heroes who earn too much money and think the world should worship them for their talent.

  ‘Not forgetting the women who are only interested in one thing, of course – getting into the beds of the rich and famous or, failing that, getting into the beds of the people who can get them into the beds of the rich and famous. This isn’t Nathan. He’s good at it yes, he knows how to play this world – but he’s an army officer at heart. He’s a proper gentleman. And a proper gentleman needs a proper lady …’

  Alexia looked at her. ‘Well, I’m not one of those any more, am I? Not after the way I’ve behaved.’

  Sonia let out a laugh so loud she startled all the people standing close to them. Alexia blushed.

  Lowering her voice, Sonia said, ‘Are you mad? So some playboy got you hot and bothered. So what? We’ve all done that – doesn’t make us the same as all these star-hunting bimbos!’

  Alexia looked at Sonia. She wanted to b
elieve her.

  ‘Sweetie, you’re a gorgeous girl, and you’re young. You should be able to feel sexual with whomsoever you want. That doesn’t make you easy, it makes you a woman. What matters to a man like Nathan is that you’re real – and that you’re honest. God knows he’s not an angel; he’s had his fair share, I’m sure. Look at him, how could he not?’

  Alexia looked at him. Ramrod straight, tall, masculine, in control, with just a hint of imperfection in that slightly crooked nose. She tried not to imagine him with other women, but that was difficult, after the hotel. She told Sonia about Blondie.

  ‘Well, that doesn’t surprise me,’ said the older woman. ‘You wind him up and then he has nowhere to put all that pent-up lust. He is a man, not a saint.’

  She spoke so much sense, Alexia wanted to believe her; she wanted desperately to believe her.

  ‘Oh God!’ exclaimed Sonia, suddenly.

  ‘What?’ Alexia looked up, and saw Tony’s blond head just above some of the other guests. ‘What’s he doing here? I didn’t know he was coming.’

  ‘Well, he’s here. If I were you, I‘d avoid him at all costs, especially if Nathan can see you.’

  ‘Oh bloody hell, you’re right. I’m going to the loo, I’ll come back and find you when I think it’s safe.’

  ‘OK. If I think he’s heading your way I’ll rugby-tackle him.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Alexia and kissed Sonia’s cheek, ‘You’re a brick!’

  Alexia sneaked behind a large group of people and found her way out of the room and down a maze of corridors, looking for the ladies’. She turned a corner into an empty corridor. She thought she had wandered too far and was about to turn back, when she heard some strange noises coming from one of the offices.

  The door was ajar; she moved towards it and pushed it open. She found herself in a long room cluttered with temporary partitions stacked randomly at one end. It was obviously some kind of function room. She could hear the muffled noises from behind the partitions. She walked silently up to them and looked through the gap between two sections.

  She could see stacks of chairs, the ubiquitous steel-framed variety used for conferences and weddings. One chair had been taken down and someone was sitting on it. It was Jim Brooker, and he wasn’t alone. One of the girls who’d been trying to attract his attention earlier was with him, a mini-skirted redhead, and she was kneeling on the floor.

  Alexia had to suppress a laugh. She clasped her hand to her face to stop the noise exploding out of her.

  Jim was sitting back in his chair, his legs splayed open with his trousers unzipped and his cock sticking up, stiff and waiting. He’d looked too young back in the other room, young and innocent. But clearly he wasn’t either.

  The tennis player was no oil painting, but the redhead eyed his erection appreciatively. If she’s faking it, thought Alexia, she’s doing a really good job.

  The girl moved forward on all fours like a hunting cat, keeping her eyes on his face the whole time. His expression was lascivious. Alexia stood rooted to the spot as the girl took him in her mouth, all the way in.

  ‘Yesssss!’ exclaimed Jim. ‘Oh fuck!’

  He watched the girl’s head as she bobbed on his dick, licking and sucking for all she was worth. He was grinning; he already knew his fame would grant him special privileges, and this was one of them.

  ‘Play with your cunt!’ he ordered.

  Alexia was stunned. Was he really only 19?

  The girl put her hand up her short skirt and stuffed it into her panties. The two continued in this fashion; she sucking and rubbing, he sitting back, hands laced behind his head, watching as she pleasured him. He was loving the attention, and the power, but after a few minutes he got bored.

  ‘Get up!’ he demanded.

  The girl pulled away from his crotch and put her finger in her mouth. She pouted artfully, as if he had taken away her favourite lollipop.

  He patted his thighs as an instruction for her to sit on him. The girl giggled and smiled. She stood up and pulled down her panties. Alexia could see her well groomed pussy, just a tiny little red-haired landing strip. She’d come prepared. She pulled out a condom from somewhere and quickly used it to cover the glistening erection. Very prepared, thought Alexia. The redhead straddled Jim and watched his face as she lowered herself onto his cock.

  ‘Oh baby!’ she moaned.

  Oh please! thought Alexia. How corny was that? Was he really fooled?

  He had hold of her buttocks and he was sitting back like an Eastern potentate, enjoying one of his harem girls. The couple gasped and moaned in unison as she fucked him playfully.

  ‘I want to see your tits!’ he demanded.

  The girl opened her blouse and undid her bra, which fastened at the front. She had clearly dressed with a plan. Her breasts jumped free and bounced like excited, pink-nosed puppies as she rose and fell on his lap with ever-increasing speed. The sight was almost comical, cartoon strip fucking.

  Alexia wanted to leave but found she was rooted to the spot. How did this keep happening to her? She had turned into a voyeur, and not through design. This was the third time in as many weeks she’d watched other people having sex. Romy had told her the world she’d be entering if she took the job at the Fallon agency would be one she’d have to get used to. “They’re a fast crowd!” she’d warned. Alexia had no idea how fast, until now. She felt a pang of jealousy. Why did the whole world seem able to have uncomplicated sex? Everyone except her!

  She watched the girl as she bounced on Jim’s cock. She felt herself getting turned on. It was a comical performance, true, but it was sex, and it was what Alexia needed, needed very badly. She couldn’t believe it, but she was getting wet as she watched the redhead grinding away.

  The couple were close to coming. The girl seemed to be matching Jim’s groaning, to be reaching climax with him. Perfect timing or perfect play-acting?

  And then they came. Him with a grunting, snorting, teeth-baring thrust, her with a girlie “oh you’re such an incredible lover I just can’t help myself” aaaaahhhh …

  What a performance, thought Alexia. He’s not falling for that, is he? But why should he care? He was 19 and a random gorgeous redhead had just bounced on his cock with barely an introduction. And now she’d ridden her tennis pro with gusto, she’d either be trying to make sure she’d be seen about town with him, or she’d be kissing and telling the tabloids.

  The tabloids! Alexia panicked. Was this the kind of thing they were supposed to be protecting him against? How could they? The agency couldn’t stop him having sex. She thought about telling Nathan, but how could she?

  The girl was getting off Jim’s lap and he was doing himself up. Alexia knew she had to get out quickly or be discovered, and she didn’t want that happening again.

  She stole out of the room and shut the door quietly behind her. She was making her way back to the function room when she saw a horribly familiar figure coming towards her.

  ‘Avoiding me?’ asked Tony.

  He was walking towards her and there was nowhere for her to go.

  ‘As it happens, yes!’ she said defiantly.

  He caught up with her. ‘Now, that’s not very friendly, is it?

  She sighed wearily, and shook her head. Behind her she heard the young tennis player talking quite loudly. She turned to see Jim and his redhead walking back to the presentation. Her lipstick was smudged and some of her hair was out of place. He looked perfectly calm. They walked past. Alexia could smell the sex.

  Tony looked at her. ‘My God, you’ve a taste for it, haven’t you? Watching other people screw!’

  ‘Get lost, Tony.’ Alexia wanted to leave, but he had moved in front of her.

  He kept his voice low, ‘Where were they fucking? Down there?’ He nodded in the direction the two had come from. ‘Well, it’s obviously a good spot. Why don’t we pick up where we left off?’

  He moved in on her, trying to move her backwards. Alexia hissed at him, trying to f
ree herself without raising her voice. The corridor was empty but they weren’t far from the reception.

  ‘I said leave me alone, Tony. Don’t you get it? I’m not interested!’

  ‘Come on, I know what you like.’

  ‘Stop it. I told you I don’t want you.’

  ‘Oh yes, you do, you know you do. Stop being such a prick tease’

  ‘Tony, no …’ She was trying to push him away, but he gripped her arm. Then she saw him fall away backwards as if he was on a long string that had suddenly been yanked. Nathan towered over him.

  ‘Get off her!’ Nathan growled.

  Tony was shocked. He stared at his boss for a moment, then shook himself free of his grasp.

  ‘Stay out of this, Nathan. This is between me and her.’

  Nathan grabbed the lapels of Tony’s jacket. His face was cold, emotionless.

  ‘No it isn’t, it’s between me and you. Now, leave her alone, leave this building – and leave the firm.’

  His voice was low, no anger, just a cold instruction and an implied threat. He was well trained.

  Tony breathed hard. ‘You don’t give me orders; this isn’t the army …’

  ‘Want to test me on that?’ said Nathan.

  Tony was no fool. Nathan was a trained soldier, a trained fighter; he was no match for him and he knew it. He stepped back and moved as if to leave. But he looked at Alexia. ‘Bitch!’ He spat out the word.

  Something inside Nathan snapped. With a hollow crack, a right hook connected with Tony’s jaw.

  Alexia gasped as he fell to the ground.

  ‘Don’t test me, Tony. Just get up and leave – now!’

  Nathan was a man accustomed to giving orders, and accustomed to having them followed. Tony picked himself up off the floor, holding his jaw.

  ‘I won’t tell your father about this,’ said Nathan, ‘and neither, I suspect, will you.’

  It was a stand-off. The two men eyeballed each other. Tony’s eyes were simmering with fury, but he knew he’d been beaten. He skulked down the corridor and through the door.

  Alexia breathed out hard. Nathan put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Are you all right?’

  She nodded dumbly.