by M J Rutter
My legs ached from the massage and my skin felt to sore, I knew now how a plucked chicken must feel. I didn’t say anything though; Elisa had paid for the whole thing including an avocado salad at lunch time. On our return to the hotel, I offered to buy her dinner to show I appreciated everything, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
“Besides, I have to go and approve some designs in Santa Carla tomorrow,” she explained. “So I will be heading back to the house to pack.” She climbed out of the limo at the door.
“Okay,” I nodded as I joined her, mind you, a few hours to myself after two very busy days was just what I needed. “Thank you for everything, Elisa, I had an amazing time.”
“Well, maybe when I am in London later this year, we can get together.” She said.
“Definitely,” I promised and hugged her goodbye.
“Take care now,” she said as she climbed back into the car. I watched as she drove off and turned to enter the hotel.
Gerald smirked, “Well, look who it is, Grace, the man eater.”
“The what?” I demanded.
He looked at the two men stood with him and chuckled, “Watch out boys, she’ll chew you up and spit you out.”
“Is this Alec’s bit of fluff?” one of the men asked.
“Yes, got her claws into him as soon as she found out how rich he is, nothing but a bloody gold digger.”
“Gerald, that’s not very fair,” the other man said with a frown. “Take no notice of him, love, he is just jealous.”
“Well,” I said crossing my arms in front of me, “he’ll be jobless too if he doesn’t shut that mouth of his.”
“She can’t take a joke, either,” Gerald added.
“For your information, you jumped up, arrogant twat, I don’t know anything about Alec’s finances and nor do I want to know. I have my own money and have never asked for anything from him, but you know what, I am in love with him, real love, not the kind you only seem to find on street corners.” I snapped and walked inside.
I hurried towards the lift. Tears stung in my eyes and I had no idea of why he had upset so much.
“Seriously, don’t take any notice of Gerald, Grace, honestly, the man is a turd.” The friendlier man said from behind. I turned to face him, he had dark brown hair and light blue eyes that lit up when he smiled. “I’m Jake and I have known Alec for years, since you bumped into his life, he is a different person and the change is a good one, believe me.” He smiled. “Gerald is a ‘wannabe’, he always has been. Don’t let him upset you because he is not worth it.” He explained.
“Thank you, Jake. It’s nice to see that not all of Alec’s colleagues are like Gerald.”
I nodded.
“Glad to hear it, though we are not his colleagues, he’s our boss.”
The lift doors opened up and I stepped inside, “Thank you, Jake.” I smiled and the doors closed.
Once in my room I slammed the door shut and kicked off my shoes. Gerald was an idiot, I knew that, but I didn’t understand why he had to be so nasty all of the time to me. I sighed as I gazed around the room, just one more night without Alec, I couldn’t wait to see him and was actually contemplating telling him about Gerald. The man was an imbecile, a pop at me is one thing, but to actually come back and have another go, even after Elisa threatened his job, then he could well deserve getting the sack.
I relaxed in my room that night, my sore body needed the rest. So, I finished reading my book and watched the television until Alec called. We talked for a few minutes and I think I must have yawned about twenty times. I didn’t want to bother him with what Gerald had said to me. He said I sounded tired so I left it at that that and after we said goodnight, I finally drifted off to sleep.
I was woken sharply by a loud thumping noise on my door, I checked my phone to see what the time was and it had just gone three. I pulled my robe over my nightshirt and clambered to the door if only to stop the thumping noise waking anyone else up. Gerald pushed his way into my room.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
“So, you stay here like a princess and we get to double up in the economy rooms. Typical.” He was drunk, I could smell it on his breath.
“I have paid for this room myself, I checked into this room before I even met Alec and I will be checking out when my holiday is over, not that it has anything to do with you.” I snapped, “Now, kindly get out of my room before I call security and have you removed.”
“You gold-digging tarts are all the same,” he snarled.
“Well, I am neither a gold-digger or a tart, so get your facts right before barging into my room and accusing me of anything in the dead of night.” I barked.
“You look like a tart to me, with your perky little tits hanging out of your dresses and that tight arse of yours…”
“If one more swearword comes out of your mouth, Gerald, then I will wash it out with soap.” I threatened. I didn’t use that language and I didn’t like to hear it either.
“Ooh, quite the little lady, aren’t you?” he groaned. I thought he was leaving, but he pushed the door shut and the look on his face petrified me.
“I told you to get out,” I snapped.
“And I am not going anywhere until you show me what Alec see’s in you.” He retorted.
“Alec told me he likes that I am honest, so I will be honest with you. If you don’t leave, I am going to call the police and then I am going to tell Alec. I will press charges against you and trust me, I will make sure you return to the UK in handcuffs.”
He charged towards me and grabbed my wrists, pinning me against the wall, I could feel his ferocious breath on my chest and his anger vibrating through his body.
“Let go of me,” I tried to move, but his strength was too much. He rammed his knee between my legs, “Get off me, now.”
“You might be his bit of stuff, but you do not talk to me like you are my boss.” He snarled through his teeth. “I have to admit, you are attractive though and I would like nothing more to taste those lips.”
“You try and kiss me if you dare,” I warned, shaking like a leaf.
He ducked his head and moved towards me, I smashed my forehead against his face and he let go immediately. Someone started knocking on the door, as he doubled over holding his face.
“Miss Matthews, are you okay?” a voice called through the door. I opened the door and Anton rushed in. “What happened?”
“Gerald is just leaving,” I frowned.
“I am not going anywhere, you bitch.” He snapped and lifted his head, blood poured from his nose and dripped over his shirt.
“Miss Matthews?” Anton frowned.
“Either you leave, or you spend the night on jail,” I warned. “You decide.”
Anton looked at my wrists, still red and burning from his tight grip. “Do you want me to call the police?” he asked.
I looked at Gerald as Jake arrived at my door. “You bloody idiot,” he snapped. “What have you done?”
“Can you get him out of here, please?” I asked.
“Sure, Grace, are you all right?” he asked. I looked at Gerald and swallowed as I nodded.
“I just want to go back to bed.” I replied angrily.
Jake and Anton each took Gerald’s elbows as his hands nursed his nose and escorted him towards the door.
“I am going to have you done for assault.” He barked.
“Please do,” I muttered.
“Looks more like self-defence to me,” Anton added.
“You need to shut your mouth, bell boy.” Gerald barked, Anton purposely steered Gerald so that his elbow hit the door, causing his hand to smack against his bloodied nose. “Ouch, you bloody idiot.”
“Sorry, man, my bad.” He smiled and winked at me.
“Sorry, Grace.” Jake said as he left with Gerald who moaned and groaned all the way down the hall. I shut the door and locked it.
That is when it hit me, something could have happened, anything could have happened. Gerald pe
trified me and I didn’t know what to do next. I allowed my legs to collapse under me and buried my face in my hands allowing the tears to fall.
A knock on the door behind me spurred me into pulling myself together. After all, I had almost certainly broken Gerald’s nose. I stood from the floor and pulled the door open. Jake stood humbly with a pained expression across his face.
“I just wanted to make sure you are alright,” he said.
“As you can see, I am fine.” I lied. “You can come in.”
He stepped into my room and I closed the door. “On the contrary, I think you look pretty shaken up if I am honest.”
“Well, it’s not every day that a lunatic comes to your room and tries to attack you.” I retorted.
“What did he do?”
“He grabbed my wrists and pinned me against the wall, he tried to kiss me so I head butted him in the face.” I replied.
“Good for you, the moron deserves it and the sack. I can’t stand him, I always thought he was harmless, now of course, I know different. Will you tell Alec?”
“Right up until he came to my room, I had no intention of telling him, but now.”
“Well, you have my backing, not that you need it. Where did you learn to fight like that? I think his nose is broken.”
“I took some self-defence classes, as a girl alone in London, I needed something.” I explained remembering my twelve week course.
“I’ll let you get some sleep, Anton is going to notify hotel security and I expect he will be on the next available flight back to London.” He turned at the door, “Goodnight, Grace.”
“Goodnight, Jake, and thank you.”
It was closer to four by the time I crawled back into bed, relieved that Gerald would go soon and that Alec would probably fire him for his behaviour. I managed to fall asleep easily considering. I dreamed about him though, only in my dream he almost raped me and I woke with a startle, shaking from head to toe and feeling sick.
I got up and hurried to the bathroom, looking at my reflection before scooping water into my mouth, I looked so tired and pale. Alec would know instantly that something was wrong. I got dressed as the clock in my room said it was almost seven. I just put on the jeans I had worn to fly over and a loose fitting shirt. If nothing else, Gerald had succeeded in knocking my confidence. I just wanted to blend in and disappear.
I ordered for some toast to be brought to my room and when the door knocked, I expected to see a waiter, instead I came face to face with two police officers.
“Miss Grace Matthews?” one of them asked.
“Yes,” I frowned.
“We understand that there was an incident in this room last night and would like to ask you a couple of questions, is now a good time for you?” he asked.
“Sure,” I nodded numbly standing back so that they could enter my room.
“How do you know Gerald Landry?” the other asked.
“I believe my new boyfriend is his boss,” I answered, not believing I actually called Alec my boyfriend.
“Alec Richards, is that correct?”
“Yes.” I nodded and sat on the arm of the couch. “I have only met him a couple of times, he isn’t a nice human being at all.” I added.
“And you had words with him earlier in the evening of yesterday?” the first officer checked.
“Yes, he was extremely rude.” I confirmed. “If you speak with Jake, he will tell you.”
“We have already spoken with him, Ma’am.” He nodded.
“Then early hours this morning he came to my room,” I explained. “Banging on my door.”
“But you let him in?”
“No, he forced his way in and attacked me.”
“He said that you let him in.” the other stated.
“Why would I let him in? He is horrible and certainly not welcome at three in the morning.” I retorted. “He called me a tart and talked about my um, my body and then he grabbed my wrists, forced me against the wall and tried to kiss me.”
“So you head butted him?”
“I may have moved my head so that it clashed with his face.” I answered. “Let’s not forget though, he had me pinned against the wall.”
“Anton and Jake have confirmed that when they arrive, Gerald was holding his nose.” He nodded. “Okay, Ma’am, he indicated that he wanted to press charges, but when we talk with him about the fact that you can also have him charged, he may change his mind.” He then handed me a card, “When Mr Richards returns from his trip, please have him call this number to clarify a few things.”
“Of course,” I muttered.
“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call us and if Gerald comes back, call nine-one-one, okay?” I nodded. “You do not need to hide in your room, he checked into another hotel this morning. He’s gone and after we have a little chat, I doubt he’ll attempt to contact you again.”
“Thank you.” I said and opened the door.
After trying to eat the toast, I decided I would sit on the balcony and wait for Alec to return. I couldn’t wait to see him in one respect, but I also dreaded having to explain about Gerald. I knew Jake would back me up and I didn’t think for minute that Alec wouldn’t believe me, but I suppose I was not looking forward to upsetting or angering him in any way.
Unable to fight my tired eyes any longer, I finally allowed them to close. I felt exhausted and thought that the excitement of seeing Alec again soon would have been enough to keep me awake, I was wrong.
I woke sharply when my phone started to ring in the living room. I hurried inside and picked up my phone, it was Alec.
Smiling, I answered, “Hello.”
“Hello yourself,” he replied, “what are you doing?”
“I am in my room,” I explained.
“That explains why you are not in mine then.”
“You’re back?” I shrieked.
“I am and I am wondering why I am alone,” he sighed.
“I am on my way up.” I said and ended the call, lifting my key and closing the door before hurrying down the hall to the lift.
I arrived in his room moments later and hurried to the living room where I planned to dive into his arms. When I entered he was talking on his phone. Flashing his incredible eyes at me, I melted, unable to move from the spot I watched as he talked on the phone. I hadn’t noticed his pained expression until he looked up to me again, guessing he was either speaking with the police or Jake, or worse still, Gerald himself, I headed out onto his sunny balcony and gazed at the bright blue sky.
He appeared at my side as I drew in a shaky breath, “Are you alright?” I asked.
“I was, right until Jake’s call, what happened, Grace?”
“Gerald has been a complete and utter arse.”
“When did it start?”
“Thursday, I went to lunch at the restaurant and he started on me, Elisa came to my defence and threatened him with you.” I replied.
“You should have told me when we spoke Thursday night, Grace.”
“You were in such a good mood and…”
“He insulted you,” he frowned.
“And I gave him as good as he gave me.”
“Okay, so last night?”
“He was there when I got out of Elisa’s limo. He called me a man eater and a gold digger after accusing me of being with you because of your money.” I could see him getting angrier by the second, but he wanted to know, there was no point in trying to play it down. “At about three this morning I was woken by a loud knocking on my door, when I opened it, he barged in and pinned me against the wall. He um, he tried to kiss me so I broke his nose by head butting him in the face.”
He raised his eyebrows, “You head butted him in the face?”
“Yes,” I nodded, “The police said he mentioned about pressing charges, but…”
“That won’t happen,” he insisted.
“Why?”
“Because by the time I am finished with him, he will be running for th
e hills.” He explained angrily.
“Alec, don’t you touch him.” I snapped. “I won’t let him get to me by having you arrested, it’s bad enough…”
“He dare touch a hair on your head,” he roared cutting me off mid-sentence. “I can’t even…, I am going to kill him.” He snarled squeezing the railing so hard that his knuckles turned white.
Tears filled my eyes, “Please, Alec, let the police deal with him.” He turned to me and frowned.
“I am so sorry, Grace, so sorry.” He folded his arms around me and held me to his chest. “I just want to make it all better, tell me what you need.”
“This is all I need right now, you and your hugs.” He pecked the side of my head as I cried in his arms. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.”
Eleven
We spent the rest of the morning talking and catching up on some much needed affection. I loved that he had no more meetings or business which meant that we now had just under a week in LA and then a whole week in Vegas. Just us, no business or his so called colleagues.
“I bought you a present,” he smiled and pulled out a small black box. “I was in the city and next to the deli we had our lunch in there was this custom jewellery store and I saw this, it is one of kind and reminded me of your eyes.” He opened the box revealing a stunning white gold bracelet with a small heart pendant hanging from a delicate chain in light green. Each link was the shape of an infinity figure eight, encrusted with white and green gems, it was delicate and extremely beautiful.
“It’s the most beautiful bracelet I have ever seen,” I gasped. “But I can’t except it.”
