I paused a moment, taking in the large empty space, before turning back to face him …
And yes, sure enough I caught his eyes quickly flitting upwards to meet mine.
“I take it you haven’t moved in yet?” I asked.
At this Blake laughed.
“I’m waiting until you’ve worked your magic …”
“Any pieces of furniture coming across from your current place?”
He shook his head decisively.
“I’m not exactly what you’d call … sentimental,” he explained. “There’s a bed and a few wardrobes here already but I want to lose those and start again, right from scratch. With your expert assistance of course.”
I was about to speak when I heard the flush of a toilet and then the sharp click of high heels coming towards us. And from a doorway at the far end of the room emerged a leggy redhead with luminous porcelain skin, dressed in an emerald green, figure-hugging dress, obviously last night’s outfit.
“Blake, baby,” she said in a lazy Southern drawl, not even acknowledging my presence. “I think I’m gonna bail on breakfast after all. Do you mind awfully if I take off now?”
She strutted towards us, bringing with her a strong scent of Chanel No. 5., and as she approached I couldn’t help but let my eyes be drawn towards the deep V of her cleavage, her perfect breasts making me feel so inadequate and boyish in comparison, when I’d felt so confidant and feminine just a few moments ago.
“Gina, meet Jessica,” Blake said, a mischievous glint in his eye, obviously relishing the sudden awkwardness that seemed to have descended upon the room.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Gina said, looking me slowly up and down, before eventually turning her gaze back to Blake. “Call me, honey,” she purred, taking another step towards him until her body was pressed right up against his.
She leant in for a kiss and I briefly saw him reciprocate, his mouth against hers, his hand sliding towards her ass, before I quickly turned my gaze away, pretending to take in the empty room once more, angry at myself for how embarrassed this situation was making me, and angry too at the silly little pang of jealousy I felt towards her.
Once Gina had finally left us alone in the apartment, I felt myself unable to get a certain question out of my head.
I didn’t want to show I cared, but I just had to know the answer.
“Was that your girlfriend?” I asked, as casually as I possibly could.
“God, no,” Blake said, as if this was the stupidest question in the world.
Thank god.
“So, I guess I should look around,” I said, trying to get the meeting back on track.
“Be my guest.”
I took out my notebook, set my tote bag down on the polished marble tiles, then began to walk slowly around the room, again feeling his steely gaze follow me as I took in the large empty space, making a few brief preliminary notes. Although bare, there were still some absolutely beautiful touches: the architecture was fantastic, I just knew I could bring this place to life.
“Want to see the bedroom?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, first walking back over to my bag and taking out my compact digital camera. I knew I’d need to document these rooms in minute detail if I was to make the most of this opportunity.
Blake led me down a corridor, and then up a staircase. At the top, as I passed him, stepping into the large bedroom, empty except an enormous bed, the crisp white sheets rumpled, I found myself taking in his body once again — the sculpted muscularity of it, so clearly defined through his t-shirt — and I found myself responding to it, too, feeling that warm secret place between my legs begin to softly tingle and throb, my mind filling up once more with the kind of horny thoughts that flashed through my head whenever he was near …
My hands sliding beneath the fabric of his grey t-shirt ...
My nails clawing his back ...
My tongue grazing his skin ...
As Blake showed me around the rooms, I tried my hardest to keep my mind fixed firmly on the job at hand, taking photos, making notes and most of all ignoring the growing dampness in my panties.
Blake meanwhile continued on unawares, as usual his mind firmly fixed on getting just what he wanted.
“Thoughts?” he said, as I scribbled a few final lines in my notebook.
“Well,” I deadpanned, “I was thinking black satin sheets, mirrored ceiling, perhaps a rotating waterbed?”
“Very funny,” he said, his face breaking into a subtle grin, and I realized how much of a prize it was to make him smile. “And don’t forget the leopard print curtains.”
I never quite knew where I was with Blake, but in that moment, I could feel the same warmth I’d felt at our first meeting come flooding back.
It was like we really understood each other, and for just a brief second, I felt like I might actually enjoy this job after all ...
§
“Seen everything you need to get started?” Blake asked a little later, running a hand lazily through his thick dark hair, his muscular bicep flashing at me for a tantalizing half second.
We’d made a full tour of the penthouse by now, and I nodded and smiled, eager to start my work.
“Great,” he said.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out some kind of card.
“Here,” he said, offering it out to me.
I stepped forward and took it from his hand: a platinum AmEx card, I realized with disbelief.
“You can use that for any expenses,” he said. “And just email me whatever you think is suitable for a salary and Juliet will be in touch shortly to set that up for you.”
I looked down, a little dazed, at the card in my hand, then back up at Blake, just to double-check he was actually being serious.
I can set my own salary?!
This is unreal.
“You have an iPad or laptop you can use, right?” he asked.
I thought about Greg’s crappy old laptop back at our apartment, the one that took about five hours to boot up, and wrinkled my brow.
“Kind of?” I ventured.
“Ok, so the first thing I want you to do is take that card to the Apple store, pick yourself up an iPad and a MacBook, and anything else you might need, too.”
He cast a glance down at the scuffed old iPhone 4 in my hand and shook his head.
“You might want to think about upgrading that, too. And then, once you’re finished there …”
He paused, looking away for a moment at something in the middle distance.
“Don’t take this the wrong way…”
“Take what the wrong way?” I asked softly when it didn’t seem as if he was ever going to finish his sentence, the silence pulsating between us.
“You need some new outfits. I want you looking stylish. Elegant. Sophisticated. After all, you’re representing me now, Jessica. You reflect on me. And I don’t do Target clothes and drugstore lipstick. Understand?”
I felt the hot, sharp rush of blood to my cheeks.
How on earth could he tell my lipstick was from Duane Reade?
I nodded, eyes fixed on the polished floor, unable to look at him.
“Is that everything?” I croaked, reaching down to pick my bag up with a trembling hand from the floor, wishing I could just sink into the tiles and disappear.
“I’ll see you again in a week,” he said coldly. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with …”
Idiot.
I was so stupid to imagine that we understood each other. In my head, on the way here, this whole meeting had gone so differently: we’d been sitting close together, laughing conspiratorially, our hands brushing occasionally as we discussed our plans, our eyes meeting, our kiss goodbye warm and lingering.
But he obviously doesn’t think I’m anything more than a silly little schoolgirl.
I quickly snatched my bag to my chest and turned, desperate to just get the hell out of there, Blake’s words still ringing in my ears.
I don’t do Target clothes and drug store lipstick …
As he saw me out into the lobby, summoning the elevator, my eye was drawn once more to that second mahogany door, the one on the right.
“Wait!” I called out, a slight tremble in my voice.
Blake turned back to face me, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.
“What?”
“We’ve missed a room,” I replied, nodding to the door on the right, the one he seemed to be hoping I wouldn’t notice.
And at its mention, his eyes grew cold and direct.
“There’s nothing to see in there,” he said, just as the elevator doors slid open behind me.
§
I strolled towards Fifth Avenue, my head still spinning, trying to figure out whether or not I should find what Blake had said insulting. Maybe he had a point. Maybe I should be dressing a little more … elegantly. But then again, who the heck was he to tell me how to look? And what did he want me to do, go out and pick up a bunch of stupid green dresses, like that token slut Gina, who definitely wasn’t his girlfriend?
As I walked, my mind once more turned to that locked room.
What exactly is he hiding from me?
I took out my cell and fired a text to Fallon — You free this afternoon? — knowing that her working hours in the print studio were usually pretty flexible. She replied as I was almost at the Apple store, saying she could meet me in an hour or so.
Oh screw it, I thought, a smile spreading across my lips, my confidence creeping back, as I realized the kind of fun I might have with a billionaire’s credit card ...
§
“You would look totally hot in this!” Fallon said, holding up a black Alexander Wang shirt so sheer you’d be able to see everything through it. At first I thought she was joking, but she seemed deadly serious and I nodded begrudgingly as she thrust the item into my already-overflowing arms.
“This is freaking insane,” she chirped gleefully, obviously relishing the chance to go wild in Opening Ceremony on someone else’s money. “I bought a bag from here and I had to save up for, like, six months. But today we could buy the entire store if we wanted!”
I’d never even been in here before; I usually avoided these kinds of stores, with their intimidating model-like staff, their intense, hipper-than-thou soundtracks, and clothes so cool it wasn’t even immediately apparent which part of the body you were supposed to wear them on.
But I had to admit, although some of the clothes were totally crazy, I’d also never seen so many beautiful, chic items in one place.
Once again, I felt so glad to have Fallon as a friend. I wouldn’t even have known this store existed without her.
I’d known her a little back at Savannah. She’d been a year ahead of me, majoring in Print Making while I’d been studying Interior Design, but it was only a chance meeting a year later, in Ocean Hill, when we realized that we were both living practically on the same block, that truly cemented our friendship. Where Fallon had been icy cool back in college, now she was warm and friendly — introducing me to her friends, inviting me to shows, giving me tips on the best (and worst) places in my new neighborhood. And she was still one of my only close friends in this city outside of Greg, so I doubly valued our friendship.
“Can you keep a secret?” I asked in a low voice, as we waited in line to the fitting rooms.
“Totally,” she replied, unable to keep the excitement from her voice, her big dark brown eyes lighting up in her ghostly-pale face, framed by her trademark jet-black bob.
And so I told her as much as I dared about my situation, mainly my inability to tell Greg the complete truth about my new working arrangement.
“I can see how that’s tricky,” Fallon puzzled. “But you’ll get there in the end. Greg’s a good guy. He’ll understand once you finally find a way to tell him ...”
I don’t know what I’d do without her. I felt so relieved to have someone who didn’t judge me, who just liked me for who I was and supported me in my decisions, even if they were a little crazy.
Although, I hadn’t exactly told her everything about Blake ...
I was still a little dubious about trying on all these clothes when Fallon pushed me eagerly towards the fitting rooms.
“In you go, missy! I can’t do this bit for you ...” she laughed.
Once I was alone in the cubicle, illuminated by the unforgiving electric strip lights above, staring at myself in the mirror, I could see what Blake meant. This lipstick was totally wrong; the shade didn’t suit me at all, and I was supposed to be the one with an eye for color!
I fished inside my bag for a tissue and wiped it off, ready to start again from scratch. And properly this time.
Then, with a deep breath, I began to unbutton my blouse.
§
“Oh. My. God. Girlfriend, you look like a model!” Fallon cried, the second I stepped out of the cubicle. “Holy shit, Jessica. You look fierce!”
I jumped up and down, unable to help from squealing a tiny bit, not giving a damn that I wasn’t playing it cool. Fallon was sooo right. It was a total transformation. I couldn’t quite believe how good I looked.
The shirt was a sheer black, and you could kind of see my bra a little through it, but because my breasts were so small, it didn’t seem quite as obscene a display as someone like Gina – classy rather than slutty. The shirt had looked nothing special on the hanger, I would’ve never picked it out myself, but once I’d put it on I could see that the tailoring was absolutely incredible. The asymmetric hem was perfect and the neckline made my neck look sleek and long, like a model in a perfume advert.
You obviously get what you pay for.
Except in jeans on the weekend, I wouldn’t normally wear pants, and never in a million years would I have dreamed of wearing leather pants. I thought they were for prostitutes, dominatrixes and biker babes, that sort of thing. But these were the most stylish pants I’d ever worn – hugging my slim boyish hips and thighs in all the right places, making me look womanly for once rather than just skinny.
Fallon looked me up and down. “Hold on ... Just one second,” she said. “You need one more thing. You need ...”
She dashed off into the store, leaving me to marvel at my brand new silhouette in the fitting room’s many mirrors.
“This!” said Fallon, thrusting a geometric red Perspex necklace towards me. “You need a splash of color and I think this is gonna be just perfect.”
Wow.
She was right.
It changed the outfit from great to absolutely incredible, and I’d never even considered wearing jewelry like this before. The only thing I ever normally wore was the gold chain my Aunt had given me for my eighteenth birthday, and a small pair of plain stud earrings.
I’d always loved interior design: that magic way that light, color and pattern could transform a room, but until now I’d never thought about the many different ways a girl could design and reimagine her own body, too.
I’ve got so much still to learn ...
At the register, a tall, thin, beautiful androgynous boy with an asymmetric haircut folded each item of clothing into tissue paper as delicately as if it was the most precious cargo in the world.
“These pants are just to die for,” he cooed, holding up the black Rick Owens leather pants. “Olivia Palmero bought these just yesterday.”
“Ooh, check you out, fashionista!” Fallon joked, punching me gently on the arm.
“That’ll be two seven ninety,” he said, matter-of-factly, and it took me a second to realize that he meant two thousand seven hundred and ninety dollars.
I stood there for a second, frozen with terror, before Fallon jogged me into action.
“Come on, slowcoach, we haven’t got all day ...”
I took out the AmEx card, the one with Matthews Inc printed in raised lettering on the side, and handed it with a trembling hand to the boy.
When we’d finished the transaction, he walked around the side of the counter to gi
ve me the bag with both hands, and I felt like royalty. I couldn’t stop thinking of my favorite scene in Pretty Woman – the moment when Julia Roberts is finally allowed to shop in all the fancy stores.
“Right,” said Fallon. “That’s Monday’s outfit sorted out. But we still need to work out what you’re gonna wear on Tuesday! We gotta get you to Barneys, quick!”
§
“So how was the first meeting with Blake?” Greg asked that night over dinner.
It was his one night off this week, and my turn to cook. I’d fixed the only thing I knew how to make to his standard – steak and thick cut fries – accompanied by a bottle of red wine. And I’d made sure to tidy the apartment too, forcing him to go out for a walk while I laid our table with a cute gingham tablecloth, then taking care to change into his favorite bright pink dress …
Actually, if I’m honest, that’s not even the main reason I made him leave the apartment. The bags full of my brand new clothes were also stuffed guiltily beneath our bed, and I needed some time to put all my new outfits away properly without him seeing.
After all, I couldn’t think of a way of explaining that Blake had given me his credit card to buy new clothes, without it sounding kind of seedy or wrong somehow.
Once the clothes were safely in my wardrobe, I knew that Greg probably wouldn’t notice that I had anything new anyway – he almost never did.
And finally, I had to get rid of all those large, high-end bags and all that luxurious, beautiful tissue paper that everything came wrapped in. I felt so bad carrying the lovely, brightly colored paper down to the dumpsters, but there was simply nowhere to hide it in our tiny little apartment.
“Jessica?” Greg said, busting me out of my thoughts. “I asked, how was the meeting with Blake?”
“Oh, sorry,” I replied, flustered, hoping my voice didn’t betray me. “He was okay. Kind of a spoilt asshole really. But I’ll make it work. The apartment, I mean …”
Taming Blake (A New Adult Romance): The Complete Trilogy Page 5
