by Ellie Danes
He looked at me with a small smirk on his face. “I hope I didn’t make any assumptions.”
All I could do was smile.
“Ready to go?” I nodded and we walked out of Noja’s into the balmy night air. I fidgeted with my necklace as we waited for the valet. “It’s beautiful. Is sapphire your birthstone?”
“Yes, it is. I’m a September baby.” He stood a little closer, his hands in his pockets. He smiled down at me absently. I knew what he was thinking.
“Would you like to see my home?”
I smiled as the valets pulled up our cars. His black convertible shone under the lights; from the valet’s response, it was a car they didn’t get to drive very often.
“Would you like to follow me, or shall we ride together?” Cain smiled and, as much as I wanted to ride with him, I knew the choice I should make.
“I’ll follow.” The disappointment was apparent in his eyes.
I hopped in my car and we drove down the boulevard, taking the highway to Paradise Hills, an exclusive community with an attendant who manned the gate. Cain lived in one of the most expensive areas of the city and I was suddenly thankful I hadn’t suggested we go to my place.
His driveway curved up to the top of a hill overlooking the river below. I slipped out of my car and just stood, admiring the view.
Cain stepped out of his convertible and stood beside me. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“It’s just breathtaking. I can’t imagine waking up to this view every morning.” I quietly hoped that I would on at least one morning.
Cain smiled and grabbed my hand.
“So, tell me, what exactly do you do?” I tilted my head and gave him a curious look.
“Nothing illegal, I promise. Let’s just enjoy the night. There will be plenty of time for all of that.” He reached around me, pulling me in close. I could feel him pushing against me from behind as we stared at the river view.
“You know, I have never made out with a guy that I didn’t know his last name first…”
“Shhh. No questions tonight. Just me and you. Us. Is that okay?”
I wasn’t convinced, but I could feel him against me. He pulled back, taking off his suit jacket and wrapping it around me. I gulped and nodded in agreement.
“Come on, let me show you something else.” I followed him up the steps to his palatial, Mediterranean-style home. He slowly removed the jacket from my shoulders and put my purse on the large table.
Together we strolled down a hallway with graceful arches and tiled floors. He led me to a room with glass windows that overlooked a pool. The moon shone on the river at the edge of the property. I slid out of my shoes and held them in my hand as I sauntered over to the window.
Cain poured us two drinks of warm brown liquid and turned on some soft music. We said nothing for a while, just sipping our drinks and enjoying the view.
“You are an amazing dancer.” He said, and I hoped we could do it again sometime.
“I had a great partner.”
Cain took my hand and pulled me close. “You know I want you, don’t you?”
My eyes widened and I caught my breath. “I want you, too.”
He smiled and pressed his firm lips against mine. I breathed him in. I could feel myself letting go, wanting him. Before I could get caught up in the moment he pulled away, leading me up the short flight of stairs to this bedroom.
Elegantly hung pictures with red splashes of color gave the room a sensuous feeling and offset the immaculate white bedding on the enormous bed. It looked like a giant cloud.
He took my hands gently and pulled me to him. “Beautiful Jennifer…” With careful hands he took my hair down and loosened it with hands. “I love the way your hair feels in my hands.”
I reached up and touched his, rubbing the soft blackness with my hands. “Me too.” I inched closer, pushing my body against his. We kissed, our lips tasting warm and spicy, like the brandy we had sipped. We were frantic, his hands all over me, mine on him. Suddenly, he stopped and looked at me, stepped back, pulled his shirt and began to unbutton it. I put my hand on his chest and he stopped.
“Let me do it.” Carefully, I unbuttoned his shirt, probably much more slowly than either of us wanted, but I wanted to do this. I slid the shirt from his shoulders and he remained still, allowing me to feel his skin, my hand lingering over his heart. It was beating hard, like the bass we felt the other night at Tarrant’s.
He had a small patch of dark hair but the rest of his sculpted chest was smooth and perfect.
“Now my turn.” Cain smiled a devilish grin. He walked behind me. My heart raced, my breathing rapid. He unzipped the dress and kissed my neck.
He slid the dress off my body and I stepped out of it. Gathering the dress gently, he laid it on a nearby white sofa. There I stood, in my best lingerie, wondering how I looked and what he thought.
Cain’s smooth hands were on me again; he kissed me gently but with all the hardness and passion I had been missing. And then, one big long kiss.
All of the sudden I found myself instinctively pulling at his suit pants, wrestling with them. My hands fumbled in the faint light until finally they were off and we were falling onto the soft bed.
Cain gently rolled on top of me; his firm body pressed against mine and I could feel all of his hardness through the thin silk and nylon that separated us. His strong hands slowly caressed my thighs as he gently sucked on my bottom lip, his warm tongue playing along.
He brushed his hands over the curves of my body, upward, gently touching my breasts through my silk bra. His hot mouth moved to my neck with soft kisses. I quietly moaned, grasping his strong back and pulling him closer to me.
Cain wrapped his arms around me and rolled me on top of him with ease. His hands moved to my waist, up my back and, with a gentle flick, he unhooked my silk bra. I helped it off as Cain moved his hands across my half naked body, the warmth of his hands setting it on fire.
I leaned in, meeting his soft lips with a hot kiss as we rolled again in the bed, the sheets already tangled. His hands slid under my silk panties, cupping my ass, pulling me in hard and then removing them with one deft tug.
I could feel he had somehow already removed his tight, nylon briefs as our hot skin touched in all of the right areas. We moved together, his hands caressing my body and I clamped down on his warm mouth, kissing him fiercely, daring him to press further.
I moved my hands to his silky hair and ripples of ecstasy filled me as he continued to kiss my neck, moving down to my breasts. Without thought I pulled his head close to my mouth and whispered in his ear. “Cain, please.” I moaned with desire.
Cain smiled and, without saying a word, continued to kiss me. I fell back on the bed and lost myself in the waves of pleasure that rolled over me.
Chapter Nine
“I think blue is your color.” Cain had my panties in his hand, passing them to me.
“You think?” I slid into them and cuddled up to him between the cool, silky sheets.
“I do indeed.”
I was totally relaxed, and felt safe—two feelings that didn’t come easily to me when another person was involved. My mind didn’t race, I didn’t feel uncertain, there were no unwanted doubts creeping into my brain. It was just Cain and I.
For a long while, we didn’t talk, just listened to the burbling river flowing over the rocks below. I thought Cain might have fallen asleep. I didn’t want to move. Besides, I was pretty comfortable with my head on his chest.
“It’s been a long time since I let anyone this close to me.” I smoothed the hair on his chest.
“Me too.” He sighed in the darkness. I could feel he was beginning to let down his guard. He seemed vulnerable.
“You were perfect, but I’m talking about a different kind of closeness.” We lay in the coolness holding one another.
“I understand, me too. My last serious relationship ended three years ago and I’m not much of a player.” He stroked my hair and lau
ghed quietly. He turned on his side, looking at me in the dark. I could see his dark, wavy hair, luxurious against the crisp white pillow.
“Did you try to be?” I turned to look at him, leaning on my elbow and I seriously thought about that question for a minute. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
“It’s not easy to be a player in my line of work. Everything I do, everyone knows about. Even if somehow I could, I’m just not that guy, I guess.” His answer seemed genuine.
I was dying to ask him questions about his work, his life, and his current relationship status, but I didn’t want to appear to be too demanding or untrusting. “You know, at some point, I’m going to have to know your last name, right.”
He chuckled. “Right after I make us something to eat. I’m starving, what about you?”
With a nod, I slid away from him and watched him slide on a pair of shorts and leave. I looked at the clock; it was after midnight and I was wondering whether or not I should get dressed and make myself scarce. I wasn’t sure about sleeping—well, actually sleeping—with Cain. I scurried out of bed and put my bra back on. I raked my fingers through my long dark hair, removing some of the snarls.
Cain’s phone vibrated on the bedside table. I ignored it and walked to the dresser to look at the silver-framed pictures, reaching for my dress along the way. One was of Cain with an older couple, perhaps his parents; Cain on a boat with some friends; and Cain with a much younger woman, who I surmised was his sister, since they both had the same devilish cleft in their chins.
The phone vibrated again on the table and my curiosity got the better of me. I walked to the table, deciding whether or not I should look. It vibrated again and I instinctively picked it up. I quickly listened for Cain’s presence but he was busy downstairs.
amurant@the-arena: Everything is a go—see you tomorrow! - Ashley
The Arena? I tossed the phone on the bed. I felt furious and betrayed. I sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling like someone had let the air out of my heart.
Not a player? I am such a fool. Blinded again. I put my dress back on and wound my hair in a makeshift ball on my head. I could smell food cooking and hear Cain humming to himself. I ran past the kitchen door, but not too fast enough.
“Hey, you’re up! Come help me chop up some fruit.”
“Look, Cain, I can’t stay. I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea.” I grabbed my shoes and purse and left him behind. I made a dash for my car in my bare feet.
Cain stood in the doorway. “Jennifer, wait… what’s going on?”
I slammed the car door, my eyes filling with tears. I jammed my car into reverse and flew down the curved driveway, taking note of his address, 800 Highpoint Road. Who the hell was Ashley and why did I care? I went home, took a shower and turned off my phone.
I felt stupid and used. Crawling into the security of my own bed, I buried my head in my pillow and cried myself to sleep.
Chapter Ten
I woke up at about ten and checked my phone. I had two voicemail messages from Cain and about five texts from Aimee. I also received a voicemail from my father.
“Hi, Jennifer, must still be in bed, huh? I need you to come in today. I know it’s Sunday but we’ve got some prep work to finish for Monday. I’ve got Reese coming in too. See you after lunch, around one?”
I couldn’t believe it, but in a weird sort of way the idea of working appealed to me right now. I slid into a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. I’m sure there was a dress code, but it was Sunday and, after last night, I didn’t care about much. I grabbed my work bag and swapped my chic black evening bag for a more casual one. I rubbed my hand across the satin finish, thinking of Cain. I slid my cell phone in my pocket and took off.
The building was quiet and, for a change, it was a cinch to get a good parking spot. But I’d never be able to ride the elevator there again without thinking of Cain. Everywhere I turned I was reminded of him.
I found Reese at the large worktable in our office. He was on the phone, reviewing some files and quickly taking notes. “…So you’re sure these are all tied together? Ok, thanks.” Reese hung up the phone and smiled at me. “Rough night?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I joined Reese at the table and looked at the mess of files scattered across its surface.
He reached over and handed me a thick file. “Check this out. Did you know that Vawter Corporation has about twenty five companies under its banner, with four major online businesses having trouble managing data?”
“I knew about some of the online businesses. The Arena is some dating site. The complaints I saw were about data being stolen.”
“It goes deeper. From what I’ve found, dating profiles are just the start. Members’ credit cards are being charged, identities stolen, there are even a few complaints about members being stalked. All stemming from The Arena.” Reese seemed very proud of his findings, like he had unearthed a huge cache of buried treasure.
The sound of him saying the word “Arena” made me sick. All I could think about was Cain and his message from Ashley, whoever she was. I could see how the company that did shady things would attract shady people. I gathered my thoughts and fired back at Reese. “So all twenty five of these companies are leaking data?”
“Not that we’ve seen yet. But it’s just odd that no one at Vawter ever mentioned anything about these other companies. They’ve only mentioned their relationship with this Pegasus software company, and blamed them. They never mentioned anything any stalking complaints.” Reese rubbed the grey stubble on his chin. It was obvious he had been putting in the hours on this case and felt it was finally paying off.
“You know, I think we might be doing this all wrong. Look at this, we’ve got dozens of people from Vawter Corp to question. Instead of working our way up, let’s work our way down.”
“Bring in the head honchos? They don’t like that so much, but I think you might be right. If we go after every IT guy or manager from one of these companies, we’ll be at this for years. Let’s do that. Go to the top, present what we have, and vet them from the top down.” He leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head, thinking. “You know what, I’m letting you make the call.”
I picked up the phone and called my father. Surprisingly, he didn’t argue with me and said he’d arrange the meeting with Dylan and Trey for nine the next morning. “And Jennifer, make sure you have your ducks in a row. Vawter needs us to get to the bottom of this.” I mumbled some assurance and hung up.
I had ten hours to gather my evidence. If nothing else, the leaders of Vawter Corp would know that they had a serious problem on their hands or that we knew something else was going on.
Together Reese and I pooled our data. I focused on The Arena. I realized I was supposed to be helping Vawter clear their name, but I now hoped to find something, anything, to take down The Arena and Vawter.
I leafed through the files and looked at the notes Reese had compiled. Sheena Michaels was scribbled on a yellow Post-it attached to several pieces of paper. I quickly read through the details. She was very vocal about her experience with the dating website. I checked her credit card information against the list of vulnerable clients and she was there. I read the written version of her complaint—not only had she made several complaints to the company, but she had also been contacted offline by a man purporting to be “Trey, from The Arena.”
“Reese, did you read this Sheena Michaels complaint?” I didn’t wait for his answer. “She was stalked by some guy claiming to be Trey. She never saw the guy, and the police could never track him down. He called her, emailed her, and even left packages for her.”
“Yeah, I saw that. Creepy damn people in this world.”
“We need to talk with Trey about this. I want to see how he reacts to the news that we found this out.”
We continued to work away at the details, lining up mounds of information that just seemed to bust loose. The more we dug, the more we found. All pointing ba
ck to The Arena, not Pegasus.
Reese got up and stretched. “I don’t know about you but I’m going home. We’ve got what we need here, at least for this meeting tomorrow. Listen, I’m going to let you take the lead on this. I’ll sit back and watch. It’s your turn to shine.”
I shot Reese a quick smile. “Thank you. I’m ready.”
“Now go home, get some rest. You look like hell.” I laughed and walked out with Reese.
I bypassed the elevator and took the stairs from the twelfth floor. Reese looked at me like I was crazy, but I couldn’t get into that elevator right now. It reminded me too much of Cain.
Chapter Eleven
I arrived an hour early on Monday morning. I barely slept through the night, tossing and turning, both nervous for today and still angry from Saturday night, but somehow I felt well rested.
I wore my favorite suit, a dark blue skirt and jacket, and felt confident and ready. I left my hair down but pulled back the long sides with a gold clasp barrette. I decided to wear my silver chain with the sapphire pendant. I touched it, thinking of Cain, and a swarm of emotions arose. I shoved them aside; there was a job to do and it wouldn’t pay to break down into tears now.
Stay cool, calm and collected, Jennifer. It’s your turn to prove yourself.
I set my company laptop on the conference table and made sure the connection to the monitor worked properly. Cynthia brought me printed copies of the material, stamped with Dunning, Durst and Chandler. I could see my father’s swanky signature, “Jack L. Dunning,” at the bottom, certifying the findings. Strangely, like most of our interactions, I took it as a sign—an affirmation.
Reese came in and sat at the back of the room. He looked disheveled, as always, with a wrinkled jacket and crooked tie. He wasn’t pretty to look at, but the company investigator had a nose for the truth.
