Page 4 of Viral Affair

Two Years Later

When I entered the club on a busy London street, my right palm itched. I wasn’t a superstitious person, but this normally only happened when I was about to receive some money, but this time I would probably be surprised by someone or something.

I was excited about this new investment opportunity. Thrilled that I was finally partnered with Matthews to run this business with him. It was the beginning of summer in London, and people, as usual, rushed around as if they were running late. The location of this place was great. The club was within walking distance to the financial districts in the city, and Parliament was only a short Tube ride away, so things were looking good.

The club was quiet and dark. Rowan Matthews sat by the main bar. He was hunched over, immersed in the paperwork that lie in front of him, probably crunching his latest numbers. The setup here was very similar to a bar that I remembered so well. A very small bar in Ornos, on the island of Mykonos in Greece where I’d met this incredible girl. It was such an unbelievable night. Her name was Valerie, and she claimed that she worked as an air hostess, but she’d disappeared on me in the early hours of the morning before I’d even had a chance to ask for her number.

We’d had the most intense, mind-blowing sex that I’d ever had that night. When I woke up and discovered that she was gone, I was positively gutted. She hadn’t even left a note, she’d just vanished, and even though I’d looked for her, I would probably never see her again. I was on holiday with my brother, Spencer, and his daughter, Maja. I’d kept an eye out when we’d walked around the town, searching for her, but no one had seen her. It was silly when I thought back on it. I didn’t have her picture, so I had nothing to go on. Only hope that maybe she was out there somewhere, waiting for me to find her.

We didn’t really have much of a chance to talk, because we’d spent the whole night fucking each other’s brains out. I had craved a repeat of that experience every day since. I had no idea where she was from or if she was even British. It was an error on my part, I should have taken her number at least, but things had gotten so wild that I’d fallen asleep holding her in my arms, convinced that she would still be with me the next morning.

“Rupert, good to see you, man,” Rowan said with a smile when he finally noticed me.

He got up and gave me a manly hug. I patted him on the back, returning the embrace. We had known each other for years, and we always got on well, so it was only natural for me to invest in his new business.

“You, too. How’s it going? This place is fucking incredible, man. Everyone in our circle is talking about your girls, soon to be our girls,” I told him, knowing that even my older brother regularly used Matthews’ high-end escort girls.

Rowan was a little shorter than me, but he was very broad and built like a brick shithouse. He had a wide jaw and slightly long brown hair that he tied back in a slick ponytail. He was not the kind of guy anyone would easily mess with, and he definitely didn’t look like your typical businessman.

“The business is booming, what can I say? I’ve been very selective with my ladies, and that obviously pays off, because the clients are very pleased. I have three girls, Tanya, Veronica, and Michelle who are the most popular amongst clients, so I make sure that I reward them from time to time,” Rowan said. He had that mad gleam in his eye that told me he was excited about the future.

“Good to hear it,” I replied, curious about one of the girls, Veronica, because that name was very similar to Valerie. It was a fairly common name, after all. The chances of it being my Valerie were near impossible. My Valerie, well, she wouldn’t work in a place like this. Besides, I had no fucking clue where she was even from. I didn’t have anything to go on. I couldn’t even hire a private detective to track her down for me. “So did you test these girls yourself before sending them out into the field?”I asked, curiously.

Rowan laughed, but then his eyes darkened slightly.

“We both know that I don’t mix business with pleasure. Come on, let’s sit down and discuss the terms. My solicitor has already drawn up the contract and I received your wire this morning. So, we are almost good to go,” he said.

I hated paperwork as much as I hated drinking alcohol from a dirty glass, but since this investment was huge, I needed to make sure all the details were triple-checked. I always liked being in control, it was one of my flaws that I couldn’t overcome.

Over the next hour, Rowan and I discussed how our new partnership would work and how Matthews had run his operations while keeping everything well sealed so far. The Emperor VIP Club provided an exclusive, high-end escort service, and any man who wanted to join the club was required to pay a substantial fee. The girls were thoroughly vetted and all signed NDAs that carried six-figure penalties if any of the names of their clients were ever revealed. Rowan had started small, but over the course of a year, the club members list had rapidly expanded. There were a lot of official names on the books, including my own brother, who was the PM of this country.

By the end of the session, I felt drained. I had spent too long staring at the computer screen.

“I think we have earned some lunch. There is a new place just across the street,” I suggested, checking my watch. I ate every four hours to keep in shape, and when I was working, I never drank. All so I could maintain a good sleep schedule during the week. Whenever I drank even a tiny bit of alcohol, my sleep pattern was fucked.

“Good idea, Rupert. I’m so fucking excited about our partnership! And, I believe we can expand further once things settle down a little,” he said as he packed up his things.

Ten minutes later, we were crossing the street, walking towards the small restaurant that I knew so well. The sun shone and I was in a good mood for a change … more relaxed than usual. Today was an important day. Not only had I invested in a new business, but I’d also made a decision to get back in touch with Rosie— my ex-girlfriend. We’d been on and off for around two years. It was the longest relationship I’d ever held. Maybe this time I can make things more serious with her.

As Rowan rambled on about his conquests, my attention shifted when a red-haired woman emerged from the restaurant, her departure caught in my peripheral vision. In that fleeting moment, every detail aligned, as if the universe itself conspired: her cascade of curls, her petite frame juxtaposed with long legs, and the fabric of her blue summer dress adorning her figure. It was in that electrifying instant that I felt a shock through my body that I became so certain I was staring at my Valerie.

My heartbeat intensified and I suddenly had a flashback of her smiling at me as I admired her soaking bare pussy. Fuck, I needed to pull myself together. This couldn’t really be Valerie, the woman who had occupied my mind ever since that night in my hotel room two years ago.

“Rupert, are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,”Matthews quizzed me, sounding a little worried.

Rowan’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and at the same time the woman turned around. It wasn’t Valerie, but this woman must have noticed that I was staring, because she gave me a shy smile before she walked away.

“I’m … fine, I just thought I saw someone I knew,” I muttered, and a moment later we entered the restaurant.

That was the thing. Apparently, if you keep thinking about that one person, the universe sends them on a silver platter. I was a huge believer in the laws of attraction, but it had been two years. I couldn’t track her down, so it was time for me to move on and start dating someone else. I was thirty-fucking-four, had millions in the bank, and I didn’t want to lead this mundane life alone anymore. A lot of my friends had got engaged or married and started families already. I stayed away from social media because I hated any undue attention, but I was ready to start a family of my own. All my brothers were older, and none of them were settled yet either, and I knew what they would all say. I didn’t care though, I was so fucking done being constantly alone.

We sat and ordered some food. Rowan Matthews kept talking about the club. He’d recently got engaged, too, and I wasn’t sure what his fiancée thought about his new venture. I didn’t want to pry because Matthews seemed happy and content with his life.

“Earth to Rupert, are you even with me, man?” He waved his hand in front of my face.

I flinched, reminding myself to stop fucking daydreaming. I was running a million-pound property business, so I had to get my thoughts in order.

“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment.” I flexed my fingers, refocusing my mind.

---