by Joyce Jordan
“What did Gabe say about it?” This she had to know. Gabe didn’t seem like the guy who would let things go just like that.
“I don’t know. Technically he cannot discuss business issues directly with me. Everything has to go through Rafe or Nate.”
“And he agreed to that?” The poor guy was so into Ana he was willing to lose two million dollars on a job that he could hire someone to do it for way less than half. Kelly grinned as she thought about it all.
“He had no choice because that was the only way I was willing to do the job. Good thing too because I would have probably quit withing an hour of working with him.”
“Why is that?”
“He is like a freight train. This morning we already had two arguments.”
“About?”
“I will get to that. Let me finish about the Dallas trip first.” Ana told her about her morning volunteer work that was partly the reason for the spa day or afternoon rather. And how the bumpy plane ride home had also been part of the reason too. “So I get to the airport and I am on the phone with you and there he is.”
“How did he know you were coming? And on that flight?”
“He wouldn’t tell me, but thank God he didn’t blow up like he did when I left on Tuesday.”
“I still can’t believe you hung up on him.”
“Yeah well, I still can’t believe the day I went to his office on Monday and pointed my finger at him. The day he kept having Andrea call me every few minutes.”
“I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that one,” Kelly replied and laughed loudly. After that they burst into a fit of giggles until they had to stop when their stomachs hurt from the laughter.
“Anyway, he orders food and while waiting for the food to be delivered I go and take a bath. I guess I was more tired that I thought because I fell asleep and didn’t even wake up when he lifted me from the bathtub.”
“You have always been a shower person. But I am just glad you didn’t drown in there,” Kelly said to her friend.
“I know. But that tub was really calling my name. You need to see it to understand. And as big as the tub is, given a few more minutes I’m sure I would have sunk and drowned. With my tub at the apartment it’s hard for anyone to drown, the length isn’t long enough for you to slide down.”
“Did you sleep in the guest bedroom?”
“No, I slept in his bed.”
“And nothing happened?”
“Nothing, but tonight is another story. That’s what he whispered to me before he left.”
“After we are done with the spa treatment, I can’t think of a better way of ending the day. I hope you have made your peace with whatever was troubling you.”
“Sometimes I think I have.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is where the arguments we had this morning come in.”
“I’m listening,” Kelly said all ears.
“Remember I told you about how he refused to let me come home to get clothes?” Not waiting for a response, Ana prodded on. “That’s because he had purchased a whole wardrobe of clothes. Expensive clothes.”
“How expensive? And how do you know they were expensive?”
“They all had their tags on. One piece of underwear alone costs more than what we would spend on a dress or a pair of shoes. We are talking about eight hundred dollars dresses, a thousand, two thousand, a couple I saw for five thousand. Boutiques not department stores.”
“Good gosh Ana. How ever are you going to be able to wear your twenty doller and eighty dollar dresses?” Kelly said with sarcasm.
Ana giggled before she said, “You know we always shop smart and avoid expensive items unless we plurge for a special ocassion. Well this is more like everyday is a special ocassion. I still can’t get over the fact that even the underwear costs more than most of my dresses.”
“I’m sure he just wants to spoil you.”
“Please don’t encourage him.”
“Surely you didn’t expect him to buy you a wardrobe full of clothes from the usual places we hang out at?”
“The point is, I actually didn’t expect him to buy me anything.”
“I know what you mean, it muddies the relationship.”
“Yeah, but that’s not all. When we first talked about me coming to see you, I was going to catch a cab and he totally refused. Said I was to use the car he was providing me round the clock with a driver to boot.”
“That would certainly save cab money.”
“Not helping Kelly,” Ana hissed.
“Sorry,” she mumbled back.
“Then he said next time I travelled I was to use his private jet.”
“Get out of here.” Ana heard Kelly move around in her mud bath. “And you said what?”
“I dismissed the idea right off the bat.”
“If I had to choose out of the three, I would certainly go for the private jet.”
“Kelly! Whose side are you on?”
“Yours girlfriend.” Sighing Kelly added, “But a girl’s gotta dream.”
“As long as you keep it a dream, I have no problems with you.”
“Well, you know we have that Hawaii vacation coming up.”
“No.”
“Ah, you wound me. You know if this were turned around, I would totally accept the private jet. At least for the Hawaii trip.”
“No you wouldn’t. Who are you trying to fool?”
“I hate it when you are right,” Kelly grumbled.
“That’s what best friends are for.”
“Sadly yeah,” Kelly whispered.
“Perk up, you got this spa treatment.”
“I know, believe me. I am grateful. How did that happen by the way?”
“After we had faught and then compromised about the clothes, car and jet, he offered the spa treatment.”
“How did you compromise?”
“We agreed that I would only use the car when it pertains to personal business between the two of us, the private jet was totally scratched out, and he agreed not to buy any more clothes if I accepted what he has already purchased.”
“Not bad. And so after you had chewed him out on that you turn around and accept this?”
“Do you have Gabe’s apartment bugged or what? I swear you keep repeating what he asked me?”
“And you said?”
“No comparison. I am not sure he understood, but I said something about this being a girly thing and agreed would not complain with being showered with spa treatments.”
“Seriously?” Kelly asked not able to contain her glee.
“Yeah.”
“And I get to come?”
“I’m sure we can arrange that? How much would I enjoy it if I came alone?”
“You are right, you wouldn’t. You will just have to drag poor me everytime,” Kelly replied laughing.
Julie and Julie who had both helped them into the mud baths come back and moved both girls to another bath treatment. First they had to shower off the mud and soak in the creamy looking solution for another hour.
“This is heaven,” Ana said soaking deep into the tub with the creamy liquid. “I don’t remember what they said this liquid does, but it is working magic in my body. All I know is that it’s optional in the package we took.”
“Girlfriend, I hear you and I never want to leave.”
“I swear I could just fall asleep and enjoy the expereince.”
“Well, not today. You drowning is not something I want to explain to Gabe.”
Shuddering, Ana replied, “I wouldn’t wish that on you. So how about you keep me entertained with stories from the hospital. But before we get to that, tell me what happened with Brad?”
“Bottom line is the sex wasn’t that good. But worse was the fact that I think he is abusive. I’m not saying he abused me, but I saw signs that my dad told me to look for and I don’t think I want to wait until he abuses me, because by then it may be too late.”
“Seriously? How bad was t
he sex?”
“Chris bad.” Chris had been Kelly’s boyfriend from the time they were still in college. They had gone out for a couple of months but it hadn’t lasted with Chris not performing well in the bedroom department. It was a shame as Chris had been the boyfriend a girl could have wished for with the way he paid so much attention on a girl. “I swear I am tired of going out with guys who can’t satisfy a girl. It’s all about them. I’m better off with my vibrator.”
“You really haven’t given Brad that much chance. It’s only been a week since you decided to go out with him. He chased you for over two months before you would even give him the time of day.”
“I know, but it doesn’t take more than three ocurrences to figure it out. A pity the only guy who was really good to me was a long distance relationship, and I can’t do long distance.”
“I’m sorry Kels. I had hoped it would work out between you two. I’m even more sad that I pushed you with him and if he had hit you or something, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. I guess like your dad always says, that you can’t tell an abusive guy when he is asking you out. Usually it’s only when you are married that most show their abusiveness. But most you can tell when you date if you look for the signs and decide not to ignore them. And I’m glad you didn’t ignore the warning signs.”
“Thanks. I’m sure glad I was paying attention when my dad was talking that day. You know the way he would hold my wrists when I didn’t agree with him, like he wanted to squeeze the blood out of me. I was almost afraid he would leave marks, but fortunately he let go before it got to that. Yesterday he raised his hand I was afraid he was going to strike me.”
“Oh Kels.”
“Don’t worry about me. I will be fine especialy since I can now live vicariously through you. The spa treatments will help too,” Kelly smirked.
“Don’t you worry about anything. I will be the most supportive girlfriend,” Ana chuckled.
“I know, and that’s why I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The next twenty minutes Kelly regaled Ana with stories about the hospital. There was never a dull moment with Kelly.
Julie and Julie came back again and helped the girls from their creamy baths. After another shower they were taken to another room where they soaked in a jacuzzi with mineral water. And after about half an hour they were moved to the blanket wrap room.
“Kelly, this is sheer heaven,” Ana cried getting in between the sheets. Snuggled and warm Ana thought about napping but decided against it for fear of missing out on the experience. “For as long as I live, this I will never forget.”
“Me too. I could easily get used to this lifestyle.”
“Hey, I forgot to tell you Stefano called the other day,” Ana said.
“Really? How is he?” Kelly asked and turned to face Ana.
“He says he is good, busy I think. His career is really taking off.”
“I know. I am so happy for him. Did he say he can join us in Hawaii?” she asked Ana.
“He is not sure yet. So right now we just plan for the three of us, just in case. We probably need to finalise our plans and make our bookings.”
“Yeah, we do. We should do that on Monday after my night shift. I finally managed to get the all clear on my vacation days.”
Ana shrieked and kicked her legs in her bed, “I am so excited. This just makes it so real.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Our first big plurge in forever. It’s going to be the trip to remember.” Ana was excited and couldn’t contain her glee.
“The trip that future trips will be measured by.”
“Definitely. I have to make sure I ask Damien to be on call so he can cover my technical queries while I am away. I don’t want to have to talk code while on vacation.”
“Why don’t you just join forces with him?”
“Right now I would rather work alone. Maybe in future. I will see.”
Their last trip was to the masseuse. Julie and Julie handed them over to two muscular guys who looked like brothers. Aiden was from Sweden and Dirk was from Denmark. They flirted shamelessly with the guys and in return got the best massage they could have dreamed off. An hour later, Ana couldn’t feel a single ache anywhere in her body. Dirk had massaged every part of her body from her face right down to her toes. With the promise of asking for them personally on their trip back, Kelly and Ana left the room and went to change back into their clothes.
Ana saw her phone was flashing and as she checked it she saw a message from Gabe. He was in the lobby. She quickly replied telling him they were on their way down. It was only five fifteen and he had already been here since five ten, according to his text message.
“Hey Kelly. Gabe is downstairs.”
“Shoot. That guy is too punctual. But give me a couple of minutes.”
“Take your time. It’s not like we are late or something.”
“Yeah, but I am hungry. Aiden worked on me real good. If only he were straight,” Kelly said dreamily.
They found Gabe talking to a gentleman who had his back to them as they walked down the stairs. When Gabe stopped talking, his friend turned and they both looked at them. Rafe. What was he doing here?
“Is everyone staring at us? Or is it just my imagination.”
“Everyone was staring at Gabe and that guy we met at the club the other night. But when Gabe noticed you, his attention turned to you and so did everybodys attention too.”
“Well this is embarrassing.” A good thing her boots had a small heel otherwise Ana might have fallen.
“Chin up Summers. After that spa experience you should be feeling beautiful.”
Ana linked their hands for support. “You are right. Let’s give them a show.”
“Atta girl,” Kelly agreed wholeheartedly.
When they reached the guys, Ana extricated her hand from Kelly’s and walked closer to Gabe. She reached up then she pulled his head down and kissed him briefly on the mouth. “Missed me.”
“Oh baby, you have no idea,” he told her.
“Hi Rafe,” Ana said as she turned around.
He had a huge grin on his face. “Ana. You look good.”
“That’s what a spa treatment will do to you. You remember my friend Kelly.”
“Yes, I remember. Beautiful. You are both glowing.”
“Thank you. But all thanks go to Gabe who treated us to an afternoon here,” Kelly answered Rafe.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Gabe said and pulled Ana closer. “Time for dinner if we don’t want Kelly to miss her appointment. Rafe you joining us?”
“Sure. Why not. I’ll follow you.”
Rafe who had driven himself got behind the wheel of his Mercedes SUV. Kelly, Ana and Gabe climbed into Gabe’s Bentley limo. The drive wasn’t too far, and in less than ten minutes they were climbing out and entering a nice french restaurant not too far from the hospital where Kelly worked. They were quickly ushered to a table in a corner. It was nice and private and away from most diners.
When their waiter came to take their order of drinks, Ana asked Gabe to pick a white wine. Sweet. Most of the names on the wine list were in French and she was afraid to pick something that she would end up not drinking. The price by the glass was bad enough to make Ana want to switch her order from wine to a soda or water. But the wine would help settle her nerves which had started when she started thinking about where the night was headed. She was sitting beside Gabe with Kelly and Rafe opposite them, and Gabe’s right hand had located Ana’s left hand and was holding it under the table.
“Ana, I hear you went to Dallas. How was it?” Rafe asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“I did and it was great. I got to see my parents and brothers.”
“So this was a personal trip?”
“No, business actually. A client of mine was having some technical troubles and the contact in Dallas was unavailable, so I had to go.”
“Do you always fly out when you
r clients have trouble?” Rafe asked surprised.
“Sometimes. It depends how serious the problem is or how technical they are, and if I can walk them through the fix. Sometimes I can’t get to resolve the issue even by taking over their computer.”
“So I’m guessing that this client is not technical?”
“Ray can’t even download an app on his phone,” Kelly joined the conversation.
Rafe turned to Kelly and asked, “You know him?”
“Yes, It’s her ex actually,” Kelly replied all eager with information.
“Kelly!” Oh God. What is she doing? Beside her, Gabe had tensed but refused to let go of her hand.
“Ana, do you always do business for your exes?” Rafe laughed looking between her and Gabe.
“If there are no hard feelings I do,” she whispered.
“Oh, do tell. How many more exes are we talking about here?” Rafe asked and leaned towards her, all ears.
“There is…” Kelly started.
“Kelly.” Ana cut her off before she could run her mouth.
“No, let Kelly finish.” Gabe said joining the conversation as well.
Ana stood and said, “I need to use the bathroom.” Both men stood too. “Kelly are you coming?”
“Sure.”
“What the heck is that?” Ana turned to Kelly as soon she they were in the bathroom.
“Ana, there is nothing that you need to be ashamed of here. You are no longer in a relationship with either of your two exes that are now your clients. You need to put Gabe out of his misery. Since you went to Dallas, he has been imagining the worst. Unless you have already explained to him.”
“No I haven’t,” Ana replied and sighed deeply.
“There you go. What’s the worst that could happen? From where I am standing, I see an upside from whichever angle I look from. Besides, you are not talking about your personal relationship with them, but rather your business one.”
“I guess you are right,” Ana mumbled.
“Come again.”
“Don’t push it.”
“Okay, let’s go back then.” Linking her arm to Ana’s, Kelly walked back to their table with her friend. “Besides, I need to make sure he knows there is no competition, I owe him for the free spa.”
“So this is your form of payment to him? I’m glad to be of service to you,” Ana said dripping with sarcasm.
