by Bella Grant
“So what are you going to do if she goes to the press or something? I wonder if she’s tweeting about it.”
“I’m not on Twitter,” he said.
“I am.” Cherise pulled out the amazing new phone and opened the Twitter app. She tried #Waters, #SterlingWaters, #Sterling and got her hit. “Thonggrl69H?”
“What?” Sterling looked at her like she’d sneezed.
“Does that sound like it’s her Twitter handle?” He shrugged. “Well get this: ‘Just had drinks with #Sterling Waters. A millionaire afraid of a real woman!’”
“Billionaire,” Sterling corrected. “And I wasn’t afraid of a real woman; I was afraid of a lunatic.”
“One woman responded saying she thinks you’re really hot,” Cherise said. She scanned the other responses. One person accused Thonggrl69H of lying. Good… There are more like that. “I don’t think you’ve got too much to worry about.”
“Did I look worried?”
“Not especially. But if you had…” He had his phone out, and every few seconds, it would buzz. “Is that Jenna?”
He didn’t look up. “Uh huh.”
Cherise wanted to grind her teeth, but she didn’t. “Things are going well, then?”
“Real well.” Now he gave her his attention. “As soon as I feel like it’s not too premature, I want to bring her to meet Ben.”
“Where’s Ben?”
“I think he’s headed to his winter house soon. Dominica.”
“You’re going to take her to Dominica?”
“And you. I need you there to keep my head on straight.”
Cherise stared at him. Did he not get that this was totally weird? No, you know what, it was all economics. Sterling getting Jenna right where he wanted meant a PhD for Cherise.
She’d leave the details about sleeping with him out of her book, of course, but everything else was fair game. He’d pay off her loans and get her the doctorate, she’d write the book, and it would sell well because it would be about rich, sexy people, and they’d part ways amicably. Maybe she’d get Christmas cards.
“Do you want kids?” she said.
“Kids?”
“Well, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes little Sterling Jr. in the baby carriage.”
“Love’s not coming.”
Cherise made a show of rolling her eyes. “Fine. First comes grudging tolerance, then comes marriage.” She paused. “That looked like more than grudging tolerance, though.”
“She seems cool.” He glanced down at his phone. “I haven’t really thought about kids.”
“Like not at all? How old are you?”
“Thirty-six”
“And with all your money, you haven’t thought about kids? What’s in your will?”
“Big secret. And even when I get married, I’m not changing it. There’s gonna be a prenup.”
“Makes sense. But who’s in the will?”
“My lawyer advised me not to tell anyone.”
“You’re so unnecessarily mysterious sometimes.”
“It’s going to keep you up at night wondering.”
“Hardly.” She was curious, though. It was so much money. Amounts that seemed so big they didn’t even make sense to her. He’d flown them upstate in a helicopter, for heaven’s sake, for an afternoon of rock climbing.
Jenna was a lucky lady. No. She wasn’t. This was the man who proudly professed he would never fall in love. The woman would be spoiled but not adored.
“Anything new on Twitter?” Sterling asked.
Cherise checked, glad for an excuse to do something with her hands. “Yeah, a bunch of people calling her a liar, one of them asking if she lifted your wallet.” Cherise paused. “She didn’t, did she?”
Sterling patted his pockets and withdrew a small, plain, leather billfold. “Nothing gets between me and this little baby.”
“Anything else I can do for you tonight?” Cherise asked. “I have some work to do.”
“For school?”
“Yep.”
“What are you working on?”
“A paper about mating habits.”
“In monkeys?”
“Humans.”
“Oh yeah?”
Was he flirting with her? She honestly couldn’t tell. She shut him right down. “Did you know that when two people kiss, they exchange between ten million and one billion bacteria?”
“That’s gross.”
“Yeah. People talk about sharing a toothbrush like it’s the grossest thing. Kissing is pretty nasty.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and Cherise picked up her laptop, staring at the text of her paper. Really, the topic was about how the female body showed arousal and what the different indicators meant in different social situations, but there was no way she was going to tell Sterling that.
Finally, he took the hint and stood up.
“Let me know how it goes with Jenna,” she said.
“Will do. Have a good night, and let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
When the door closed behind Sterling, Cherise let out a long breath. It was one stupid mistake. She never should have kissed him. Never should have let it happen.
She put her head down and focused on her paper.
STERLING
Time passed. Cherise went home for a few weeks at Christmas to spend time with her family in Johannesburg. She’d settled in at the guest apartment, right where Sterling wanted her. He’d amended her contract to read that it was part of her stipend. It was handy having her so close. She’d taken a leave of absence from school for the spring semester and taken on a bunch of his admin assistant’s duties. She’d go back in the fall, presumably right around the time he and Jenna would be back from their months-long honeymoon. Assuming she agreed to marry him. Things were progressing on that front, and Sterling was packing his suitcase for the flight to Dominica.
Both Jenna and Cherise were nervous about flying in a private plane for the first time. He had decided to take the Cessna instead of the bigger plane because he wanted them to have a memorable flight.
Jenna was meeting them at the airstrip. She’d never spent the night and had told him early on she wasn’t interested in sex before marriage. He couldn’t fathom this. She’d already been married. She wasn’t a virgin. Why wait?
While his head should have stayed focused on sex with Jenna, all his body remembered was Cherise’s coffee-colored skin.
It didn’t matter. Everything was going according to plan. His own brain, his own thoughts, were irrelevant. He needed Ben to see his lovely girlfriend so he could start feeling good about making that last change to his will.
Sterling whistled to Ambrosia, and she limped along after him. Her legs were getting worse. The old girl was tired most of the time. A few days on the tropical beaches would do wonders for her. He clipped her leash on—though she didn’t need it, especially not these days—and banged on Cherise’s door.
“Plane’s leaving!” he shouted.
“Not without me,” she hollered back. She had a point. He wouldn’t leave without her.
She came out in a casual red sundress with big white flowers. Her toenails, showcased by black leather sandals, were painted the same shade of red as the dress. His throat went dry, and he leaned in to take the handle of her rolling bag.
“I can manage,” she said.
“I know you can.” He handed her Ambrosia’s leash. “Take her instead.”
He hoped she knew how special that made her… He wouldn’t hand off his dog to just anyone. That was actually what he liked least about Jenna. She would politely pat the dog’s head, but she didn’t get excited about her or talk to her.
Sterling reminded himself this was an economic union instead of a romantic one. Downstairs, a limo waited for them. Cherise was hardly fazed by them anymore. In the beginning, she’d freaked out and been like a little kid. Now, like a proper socialite, she treated it like any other car. She held the door
for Ambrosia and gave Sterling a frown when the dog struggled into the low vehicle.
“I’ve got an appointment on Wednesday when we get back. I’m going to see about tweaking the dosage of her Rimadyl.” The dog tucked herself into a tight ball on the leather seat of the limo.
“Are we picking Jenna up?” Cherise smoothed her skirt and showed off her long, brown legs.
“No, she’s weird about this stuff. She wanted to meet us at the airport. I think she’s taking a cab.”
“I get it. I mean, kind of. It was weird at first for sure, but this is way nicer than taking a taxi.”
“She’ll get used to it.”
“You haven’t asked her yet, have you?”
“We’ve only been seeing each other three months. It still seems premature. I’ll let Ben sow the seeds.”
“This isn’t cheating him?”
“I’m bringing him a woman I’m interested in spending the rest of my life with,” Sterling said. Cherise looked away, everything awkward all of a sudden. “Which I never could have done without you.”
“Sterling, it was Tinder. I’m pretty sure you could have managed.”
“Well, now, I can’t manage without you.”
“It’s nice to be needed.”
Her smile looked bright, but with her big, dark glasses, he couldn’t tell if it reached her eyes. He scratched Ambrosia between the ears, and she thumped her tail for him. He dreaded the vet appointment next week. He shoved it from his mind and looked out the window instead.
They bypassed the main departure turn-off for the airport and headed in to the back entrance for private and charter planes. Cherise led Ambrosia up the stairs to the Cessna, and Sterling noticed how pained the old dog looked, how slowly she moved.
A man in uniform loaded the bags into the plane, and Sterling waited for Jenna on the tarmac. She arrived a few minutes later in a yellow, checkered taxi. Before she could negotiate it, Sterling leaned in the window and paid her fare.
She got out and wrapped her arms around him. “I hate it when you do that.”
He kissed her mouth, pink with lipstick, knowing he’d get some on himself. “I know. Get used to it.”
She frowned at him, then boarded the plane. Sterling handed her three suitcases to the baggage handler and took in the roundness of Jenna’s ass as she entered the plane. If she’d just agree to sleep with him, this whole thing would be much smoother. His balls hadn’t been this blue since high school.
CHERISE
Cherise marveled at the mahogany and purple interior of the Cessna, but as Jenna boarded, she tried to play it off like she did this every day. Jenna swooped in and kissed Cherise on each cheek and sat down next to her, buckling her seatbelt even though Cherise was pretty sure the pilot wasn’t even on board yet.
“Have you ever seen anything like this? The seats are so comfy! I’ll never be able to fly coach again!”
You’ll never have to, Cherise thought.
“Should the dog be on the furniture?”
“Ambrosia’s fine. When you’re that old, you can do whatever you want, too.”
Jenna’s frown morphed into a hundred-watt smile as Sterling stepped into the plane. He wore a short-sleeved white polo, and hints of tattoos were visible at the edges of the sleeves.
“Are you three ladies ready?”
Sterling took the seat next to Jenna, and Cherise pulled her kindle out of her bag as they talked to one another. How did it make her feel to be one of his three ladies? The odd one out, for sure.
Her bank account suggested that being one of his ladies was a great idea. She’d even started sending a bit of money home to her parents. She felt bad about leaving school, but it would be there when she got back. After all, this wasn’t permanent.
The flight took much less time than she’d expected, and Cherise had to admit Jenna had a point. Coach would be awful after this. She knew she wouldn’t always be riding Sterling’s coattails to luxury, so she vowed to enjoy it as long as she could.
Another limo picked them up at the airport. Sterling and Jenna sat together on one bench seat, and Cherise shared the other with Ambrosia, who laid her head on Cherise’s lap. She stroked the old dog’s head even though she smelled kind of funny. She was a sweet girl, this one.
The limo carried them up into the mountains, through a concrete gate, and onto Ben Bachmann’s estate.
“Waterfalls and hiking trails here on the property. He’s got horses if either of you want to ride. Tomorrow, we can go to the beach. He owns a private one on the southern tip of the island.”
The villa itself stretched out before them, stucco and, Cherise thought privately, almost boring in appearance. Inside was an open floor plan with curved walls, and the first eye catcher was the huge gourmet kitchen. The floors were white tile contrasted with wood cathedral ceilings.
Eric, a member of Ben’s staff, set each of them up in a suite, asked them to relax and clean up, and to meet Ben for drinks on the patio at four.
Cherise’s room looked out over the garden. Several potted palms decorated the space, contrasting with large, loud flower paintings on the walls. She was eager to explore the waterfalls. She’d always dreamed of swimming in the pool under one. Each bedroom had an attached bathroom, Cherise’s with a huge sunken tub in addition to a stand-alone shower. She rinsed the travel grime off, freshened up her makeup, and headed out to the patio. She was early for drinks but wanted to see the pool and the garden.
She could see down to the ocean far below, and she felt like they were on the top of the world. Eric came to attend to her. He stood a head taller than her, his skin so dark it was almost true black. He wore an expensive linen suit and carried himself with a careful posture. Under the suit, she was sure his muscles had muscles.
“Are you from South Africa, Miss Cherise?”
“I am.” She couldn’t tell anything about where he was from based on his accent, a generic American sound.
“How long have you lived in the states?”
“Five years. I did my undergraduate in New York, and now I’m working on my masters.”
They chatted a bit about her schooling, about his growing up in Ohio, and before she knew it, a frail man in a wheelchair rolled himself out onto the patio.
Cherise stood and introduced herself.
“You’re not the one he hopes to marry.” Ben didn’t state it as a question, but he said it kindly.
Cherise dropped her gaze and looked away from him. “No, sir.”
He waved a liver-spotted hand at her. “You don’t need to call me sir. You’ve been working with him?”
“For four months.”
“What do you think of this girl he’s brought here?”
The way Jenna looked at Ambrosia sprung instantly to Cherise’s mind. But really, everything else about the woman was lovely. Cherise forced a smile onto her face. “She’s wonderful. Warm and kind. Very beautiful.”
“Does he love her?” Ben’s tone suggested he knew what the answer would be. Cherise froze, unsure what to say. “Don’t bullshit a shitter.”
Cherise shook her head.
He sighed. “Ah, well. At least it should settle him down some. Can you keep a secret?”
“From Sterling?” Something about the way she said it caused him to narrow his eyes, and she looked away. “Of course I can.”
“He’ll get Bachmann Entertainment Group either way. I wouldn’t give it to anyone else, not even the board. I don’t care who he marries; I just want him to be happy. I thought it might push him to open himself up more. Ah, well. He’s got dogs for love. Ambrosia came with you?”
“She did.”
“And how is she?”
Cherise faltered. “She’s showing her age, sir. I’m worried about her.”
Ben chuckled. “We’re all showing our age. Every day, a little older than the last. It’s a damn shame. You’re young. You haven’t noticed how age wears you down yet.”
She didn’t know what to say to th
at, but thankfully, Sterling stepped onto the patio, one arm around Jenna’s slender waist, Ambrosia at his side. Sterling left Jenna to embrace his mentor. Cherise studied him. Such an odd, multi-faceted man. Cherise shrunk back while he introduced Jenna.
Pink and perfect, she behaved flawlessly. The perfect trophy. She liked Jenna, she did. There just wasn’t much to her. And not in a stupid, vapid way. She liked small boring things, and had a small, boring mind. Being a kept pet would suit her. Sterling had done well to find her.
Ben kept looking at Cherise, and a few times, he’d shoot her a companionable wink. She returned his gesture.
STERLING
Sterling woke early the next morning to go for a run. Once upon a time, Ambrosia would have been at his side, but nowadays, she only lifted her head when he went out. So he headed out into the mountains, wearing only a pair of shorts and his running sneakers. He’d asked Jenna if she wanted to join him, but she declined.
The morning was already hot, the sun pouring down through the tropical foliage. The beach would be like an oven. So much better to be here than New York in January. Ben seemed to like Jenna, though he really seemed to like Cherise—Sterling could tell. Well, good. It was best that they all got along.
The rhythm of his run pounded the thoughts out of him, left him in his runner’s high, and made him feel like a million bucks as he traversed the trails he’d known for years. Up ahead was a waterfall that plummeted into a deep, cool pool. Cherise would like to see it. So would Jenna, though she was more enthusiastic about the beach.
The trail took Sterling along a ridge where he could see down the waterfall and into the pool. Someone swam in the water down below. Cherise! He watched her from above for a few moments, the red of her bikini standing out against the dark of the water. She moved like a swan, graceful and elegant, all long legs and arms.
Sterling took the fork of the path leading down to the edge of the pool.
“Hey!” he called out as he got a little closer. He didn’t want to startle her.
She raised her head, then waved to him. He reached the water’s edge, and she approached, looking like a mermaid or a siren.
