Just like Grey

by Jessie Cooke

  “Just buying a gift. I need to run.”

  “Wait! Who are you buying ‘Shades of Grey’ for? Are you seeing someone already?” Kelly's voice was loud, and Alex realized she was drawing attention to them. He took her by the arm and led her over near the exit.

  “It's for a friend, and no Kelly, I'm not seeing someone. But I'm not sure what difference it makes to you since we're broke up.” He thought about what Levi told him just as she said,

  “It does make a difference to me. I miss you, Alex. I can't believe you'd find someone else so quickly. Were you cheating on me?”

  “What? No. I'm not seeing anyone.”

  “Really? Because Candace told me that you had dinner with a woman last week…and…” And that was obviously what Kelly was doing at the mall. Candace told her he would be there. He felt a surge of anger. Candace was supposed to be loyal to him. If she was feeding Kelly information, who else was she talking to about things she shouldn't be?

  “Excuse me,” he said, stepping past Kelly and toward the door.

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  “To fire my assistant. Maybe you can hire her over there at Ragged Beauty.”

  11

  Isabelle had been a nervous wreck during her first interview with Rags. She was sure this second interview would be different. She was wrong. She was sitting in the same lobby that she'd sat in only a few days ago…waiting to see at least one of the same people, with her heart slamming in her chest and her palms sweating. She was even having trouble controlling her breathing. She knew the reason she was so nervous was just because she needed this job so badly. She couldn't make it any longer without getting a paycheck…and she'd even spoken with a woman at an all-night diner about working a few over night shifts in the meantime, just so she'd at least have a few dollars tips in her pocket. Of course that wasn't going to help the three day eviction notice that she'd gotten on her door this morning…She took a deep breath and reminded herself to worry about one thing at a time…

  “Isabelle?” She looked up at Lenore. The woman looked like she'd just walked off the pages of Vogue and Isabelle began to second guess her own choice of wardrobe, her makeup, her hairstyle…She pasted a smile on her face and stood up.

  “Lenore, hello again.”

  Lenore smiled back. Her teeth were perfect and incredibly white against the dark burgundy lipstick she was wearing. She held out her soft, manicured hand and Isabelle shook it. “Thank you for coming back in, Isabelle. I am happy to tell you that you are not going to be interviewed by just any executive from Ragged Beauty…but the new owner and CEO herself, and she's brought along her newly appointed COO.” Oh Jesus, as if she weren't nervous enough. When the hell does the CEO of a major company interview prospective employees?

  “That's wonderful,” she said, trying to make sure her voice sounded like she thought it was wonderful. She followed Lenore into the open office door wondering what she had done to piss off karma. Lenore's office was huge and one wall was made up of floor to ceiling windows that looked out across Central Park. But the view didn't come close to matching the beauty in that room. Now, she was intimidated times three. Another woman with wavy brown hair with gold highlights that actually matched the color of her eyes sat next to a man who could have graced the cover of GQ or People magazine's handsomest man of the year. He had dark hair with a sprinkle of gray at each temple, his skin was olive-colored, natural, or tan, she couldn't be sure. He was smiling and his teeth, like Lenore's, were almost blindingly white. His eyes were brown and surrounded by long, thick lashes and everything else about him looked like it was perfectly tailored to fit his presumably hard as a rock body. He stood up and held out his hand as Lenore said,

  “Isabelle Brazil this is Daniel Montgomery and Kelly Valentine.” Daniel shook her hand first. Kelly, who was looking her up and down in a way that made her want to crawl underneath the sofa, stayed in her chair. When Isabelle let go of Daniel's hand, she held hers out to Kelly. She was given a soft touch in return before the CEO that looked like a cover model pulled her arm back and said,

  “Let's get started, shall we?”

  Daniel rolled his eyes, which surprised Isabelle. He sat back down and looked at Isabelle and said, “You'll have to excuse Kelly please, she's not herself today.”

  Kelly gave Daniel a look that should have started him on fire as Lenore took her seat behind the desk. She focused back on Isabelle then and said, “Lenore has gone over your qualifications as a buyer with us…but since we're talking about putting you in our design division over at Ragged Beauty, I'd like to hear what your experience is in that area.”

  Isabelle had to clear her throat, but she was proud that her voice didn't shake as she said, “I honestly don't have that type of employment experience, but my degree did require that I do an internship with a fashion company. I interned at Franco Romano's for six months.”

  Kelly lifted an eyebrow. “Franco Romano's? Doing what…exactly?”

  “I did a lot of things, some of it was gopher work, some of it clerical and for the last three months I actually got to work with one of the design teams that set up the mall fashion shows…” she could tell by the look on Kelly's face that she wasn't impressed with that. She seemed to have a chip on her shoulder as soon as Franco Romano's name was mentioned, or like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Romano's was no Rags, but Isabelle had been impressed with their level of professionalism and the kind way they treated their employees. She was sure someday Franco would leave as much of a mark as Rags had…but Kelly didn't look convinced.

  “That sounds like exactly what we would be looking for, doesn't it, Kelly?” Daniel said. He was staring at Kelly who was still staring at Isabelle. Isabelle could only hope that her hot cheeks weren't bright red.

  “Not exactly,” she said. “What I'm looking for is someone who can dress our models for their photo layouts in major magazine's. I need someone that knows what lipstick goes with her shoes.” She pointedly looked at Isabelle's lightly glossed lips and then down to the toes of her black boots. She'd worn a long, straight, black and white paisley skirt with a collared white shirt that had a scooped neckline and her black boots. It had looked smart and stylish in her bathroom mirror at home, but Kelly's look made her feel like she'd just gone and bought it all off the rack at the Goodwill.

  “Several of my classes were…”

  “I've looked through your file and I've examined your education,” Kelly said, cutting her off. She looked at Lenore then. Isabelle looked at David because she could feel his eyes on her. His dark brown eyes were much softer than Kelly's gold ones and they actually held sympathy in them. “You think she's a good fit, Lenore?”

  Lenore smiled and said, “I think she will be a wonderful asset to your company. I honestly wish I had a place for her here.” Isabelle smiled at the other woman and got a wink in return. Lenore was as beautiful as Kelly on the outside, but Isabelle could easily see that the slightly older woman outshone her from the inside.

  “Lenore, would you mind taking Daniel to the cafe downstairs for a cup of coffee. I'd like to spend some time with Miss Brazil one on one.”

  “Kelly…” Daniel said, almost in a warning tone. Kelly held up a hand at him and kept her eyes on Lenore. Lenore looked nervous and suddenly Isabelle wanted to call the whole thing off and run for the door. She could work at the diner for a while until she got back on her feet. It wouldn't pay her fifteen-hundred dollar a month rent…but who needed a permanent roof over their head anyways? Her stomach felt sick as Lenore said,

  “Sure, of course, it's your interview after all.” She stood up and smiled at Isabelle. “Thank you again for coming back in.”

  “You're welcome and thank you.” Daniel stood up too. He looked even more reluctant to leave than Lenore had.

  “Miss Brazil…”

  “Isabelle, please.”

  He smiled. “Isabelle. It's been a pleasure and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other because Kelly has great
instincts about people.”

  “Save the welcome speech until she signs a contract, Daniel.” Kelly waved a hand at him. He sighed at Kelly, but then tipped his head at Isabelle almost like a bow and followed Lenore out of the room. They closed the door behind them and Isabelle could feel that the air was charged with…something. It was something she couldn't put her finger on, but her head was screaming at her, “Danger! Danger!” Kelly locked her piercing gold eyes into Isabelle's blue ones and said, “How do you know Alex Romaletti?”

  That was one question Isabelle had not prepared herself for. She had wondered if Renay told Lenore who referred her, but she didn't honestly believe she would be the one asked about how they knew each other. She thought back to that morning just a couple of short weeks ago when he'd kindly bought her coffee and breakfast…and then they'd run into each other at the park. A lot had already passed between them and it was hard for her to believe it had been in such a short time. But what to tell Kelly wasn't coming easily so at last she just said, “We met one morning at Mermaid's Cafe and just got to talking. He discovered that I was unemployed and in the fashion industry and he said he had a friend here at Rags.”

  Kelly looked…skeptical? “Isn't that interesting?” Her tone said she didn't find it interesting at all. “You meet a man at a coffee shop…one of the wealthiest most powerful men in the city.” Kelly rolled her eyes and said, “Obviously one that shouldn't be slumming it in just any coffee shop.” Isabelle felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. “Slumming it?” That coffee shop was rated five stars on every tourist website online and it was a favorite in Isabelle's neighborhood. What was this woman's problem? “Strange, don't you think, that you meet this man…what…by accident?”

  “No…” Isabelle was cut off, Kelly wasn't finished.

  “And then a week and a half later, you're interviewing for a job with the hottest fashion company in New York, if not the entire world. Makes one wonder if the meeting was really an accident…”

  “Excuse me?” Isabelle heard the defensiveness in her own tone…but who was this woman? Or at least who did she think she was? Kelly was insinuating that she'd somehow…what? Stalked Alex? Her anger at that unspoken accusation overrode her good sense and the fact that she desperately needed a job…not to mention fifteen hundred dollars to pay her rent by the end of the week.

  “Do you need me to repeat it?” Kelly asked, smugly.

  “No, I heard you.” Isabelle was trying to calm the storm brewing in her chest, but she wasn't having much luck. She sucked in a shaky breath and said, “I'm not sure what you're insinuating, but Alex approached me that day. He struck up a conversation and when he found out I was unemployed and what I did, he offered to ask Renay if she would take a look at my resume. Exactly as I told you.” Okay, it wasn't exactly like that, but she'd be damned if she would tell this bitch Alex saw how hungry she was and bought her a meal. “So Renay looked at the resume and found me qualified and here I am. That's all there was to it.”

  Kelly was still smiling, but she wasn't so pretty anymore. She looked like a crocodile going in for the kill. “First, I'm not insinuating anything. I don't need to insinuate, I know everything. I know he bought you breakfast and ditched his bodyguards to follow you into the park.”

  “He didn't follow me. He happened up on me…”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “Surely you're not that naïve,” she said. “Especially since that night you had dinner with him, didn't you?”

  “Yes, but it was to discuss the job…”

  Kelly laughed. “Either you're stupid, or you think I am. You might just be the most manipulative woman I've ever met, just doing a really good job of looking stupid.”

  “I'm not going to sit here and…”

  “And what? Listen to someone tell you that they see right through you? You were fired from your job because Alex raided the company you worked for. You read somewhere that he was recently single. You stalked him to the coffee shop where he goes frequently, and you made yourself look so pathetic, that Alex, the gentleman, had to follow you and make sure you were okay. The dinner was probably also his way of trying to help out the less fortunate…and maybe you picked up on that at dinner and that's why there was suddenly an ‘accident’ that put you in the hospital and him at your bedside. Oh, and of course, paying all the bills.”

  “I'm paying him back for the hospital bills…” Shut up Isabelle! You do not owe this woman anything.

  Kelly laughed in obvious disbelief and Isabelle wanted to slug her. “I'll bet,” she said. Before Isabelle could respond to that she went on, “Alex showed up at your apartment the other night with a bottle of wine and a doggie bag of some sort. I was told that it looked like a date. Did you start ‘paying him back’ that night?”

  Oh my God! She was watching him. This bitch is twisted. Isabelle was finished with this. Job or no, she was not going to be accused of prostituting herself by anyone. “I'm leaving,” she said, pushing up out of the chair. Kelly laughed as Isabelle grabbed her bag off the glass table in front of her and almost knocked it over as she spun around to face the door.

  “Isabelle, you want to know what else I know? I know you're going to be homeless in a matter of days.” Isabelle felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach, but she kept going. Her hand was on the door knob when Kelly said, “And I'm wondering if you'd be so quick to walk away if I told you that I have every intention of hiring you and giving you a two-thousand-dollar sign on bonus, today…in cash.”

  Isabelle's brain was still on its way out the door, but for some reason, her body stopped moving. She had her back to Kelly as she tried to control her breathing. She told herself that she had more pride than this. Kelly wasn't offering her all of that because of her qualifications for the job…or even out of the goodness of her heart. No…Kelly Valentine had something else in mind and Isabelle was smart enough to know that. That was why she was cursing herself as she slowly turned back around. The smile on Kelly's pretty face when she did, went swiftly from crocodile to cat…with a virtual canary feather stuck to her lips.

  12

  Alex listened to the phone ring four times and once again to the sound of Isabelle's voice saying, “I'm sorry, I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message…” He growled and slammed his own cell phone down on the table in front of him. She was avoiding him, and he had a mind to go over there and knock on her door. It had been over a week since the night they had sex…the night she told him it was “fine.” He had bought the books…and learned more than he ever thought he wanted to about BDSM. He talked to Levi on the phone occasionally as he was reading them. Levi was enjoying the whole process almost too much, but there was no one else Alex trusted to talk to about it. Levi would never talk to anyone about Alex's personal life and Isabelle's reputation would never be endangered by his friend. He needed to talk to someone, especially because he just didn't understand the appeal of tying a woman up and doing anything to hurt her. He did have a fantasy or two of his own about Isabelle tying him up, but the books were about the male being the dominant one in the bedroom and the “playroom,” as they called it. According to Levi, who was apparently more experienced than Alex had ever given him credit for…the books were “vanilla” compared to the actual lifestyle, and that worried him even more. He was just absolutely certain he could never cause her pain, even if she asked him too. Meanwhile, Levi had begun trying to convince Alex to go to a “club” with him…a place where you could request anything you wanted. He said that Alex should try it out with a professional before he tried it out on Izzy. Alex had a list of arguments about that. First off, he wasn't even sure it was what Izzy wanted. He was just guessing based on a book and a few toys he'd seen in her closet. Second, he'd never paid for sex in his life…at least not outright. Levi told him that he paid for it all the time, with every expensive present he bought or credit card he handed the women who had been in his life. While his friend had a point, Alex had spent most of his adult life avoiding think
ing of it that way. Third, what if someone found out? Even though Levi told him that the club was completely anonymous and discreet, he worried about it. He had a reputation in the city. He was on the board of more than one charitable organization, he was on the top of the list for invitations to every major social event in the city…and as much as the social aspect of it wasn't all that important to him, there were his parents to consider.

  Alex thought about the night he and Izzy had dinner and the look on her face when he told her where he'd been born and raised. Westchester. Westchester, thanks to its proximity to New York City was the headquarters to more than a handful of Fortune 500 companies like MasterCard and Pepsi Cola. It was where a lot of executives built their homes and raised their families, sending their children to private or parochial schools. The median income in the neighborhood where Alex had grown up was over a million dollars a year, with most of the families coming in at just over two-million. BMW's and Mercedes Benz littered the curbs in front of the schools and nannies pushed large carriages through the parks on a sunny day. It was a beautiful place to grow up and Alex had a happy childhood. But like he'd told Izzy…things weren't always what they seemed. Alex's ties to the people from Westchester and the society set in New York City now were all for the sake of his parents. It was what he thought they deserved, for the life they had managed to give him. He smiled when he thought of the look on his mother's face the night the Scranton's, one of New York's richest and most powerful couples, had thrown a surprise birthday party for her at the Plaza. Each time that Alex thought about breaking from the society culture, it was that image of his mother's face that stopped him.

  “Excuse me Mr. Romaletti?” Alex was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his security adviser's voice. He'd re-hired him after his rash firing of him the week before. Alex knew that in his business he'd be a fool to forego security completely. He and Mike just had to come to a better understanding regarding his freedom and privacy. He was tired of feeling like he lived in a cocoon. His assistant, Candace, was gone for good, however. Alex forgave a lot in people, but disloyalty was not one of them.