Page 16 of The Flirtation
“The villa does not disappoint, mademoiselle. Right this way to thecar.”
I didn’t look over at Luke, but I could tell he was looking at me, shaking his head and smiling. When we stepped out through the sliding doors and into the open air, a warm breeze caressed my face and I suddenly stopped in my tracks and realized—really realized that I was on a tropical island. I suppose I hadn’t really noticed how warm it was when I stepped off the plane onto the tarmac, because I was so focused on how I should handle those first few minutes of interaction with Luke (nailed it!), but now it was hitting me how strange it was that I had been so cold when I’d rushed into the terminal at JFK and how pleasant it was to be walking out of this one. It had been too long since I’d had that sensation. Much toolong.
It wasn’tuntil we were both seated and buckled up in the back of the Land Rover that I gathered up my strength to look Luke straight in the eyes. Sapphire blue. Gorgeous. Stunning. Big mistake. Huge. Now I couldn’t come up with some excuse to run away and get my shit together. I was stuck there, inches from him, sharing the same air as him, smelling his subtle cologne, hearing him breathe, and all I could do was clear my throat and look down at my phone, pretending that I had just remembered there was an important email I had toread.
We both seemed to have the same idea—keep asking Samson run-of-the-mill touristy questions as he drove, so we didn’t have to talk to each other. His hand accidentally brushed against mine at one point, and I felt tingly all over my body. How was I supposed to get through five days ofthis?
There wasn’t much of a town that we drove through, it was mostly residential. It was quiet and peaceful but still colorful, and there was just so much natural beauty. My eyes weren’t used to so much sunlight or color. It was all brick and concrete and glass where I lived and worked, and ninety-eight percent of Manhattanites wear black, grey or navy most of the time. Here, I was seeing hints of pinks and yellows and aqua blues that were somehow vibrant yet subdued at the same time—tropical island culture tamed by English culture. People were driving on the left side of the road like in England, but the steering wheel was also on the left, like in America. It was all very odd, and did nothing to ease the sensation of butterflies in mystomach.
As we drove down the lazy highway to our secluded destination, I finally stopped yammering about touristy and businessy stuff long enough to notice the ocean to one side of us, and a long stretch of sandy beach that appeared to be deserted for miles. On the other side, there was nothing buttrees.
The gates to the estate opened slowly, and before proceeding, Samson smiled broadly as he looked back at us and said in a weird fake accent: “Welcome, to Jurassic Park!” and laughed maniacally. We stared at him, dumbfounded. He shrugged then drove ahead. “Sometimes people get thejoke.”
“I got the joke!” I exclaimed. I didn’t want Samson to think I was lame, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting him to behilarious.
“I got the joke too, Samson, welldone.”
He waved at us, dismissively. We had let him down, but we were both suddenly too gobsmacked to worry about Samson’s feelings or anyone’s perceptions of our lack of sense of humor—because the property we were pulling up to was completely fucking ripped-from-the-pages-of-Architectural-Digest-sensational. It wasn’t just a villa, it was a compound. Chandra Villa was a Southeast Asian-inspired luxury beachfrontestate.
We stepped out of the SUV and into an architectural oasis of honey-colored hardwood floors and wood-paneled walls and ceilings. Décor was sparse, focusing on the exquisite design of the building and views out the floor-to-ceiling windows. Towards the end of the patio was an infinity pool that looked out over a private white sand beach and the most beautiful blue ocean I had ever seen. I swear I nearly fainted. The combination of this place and Luke Mason was almost too much for me. Bucket must have used his private account to pay for this place, because I could find no record of the charges on the credit cards or checking accounts that we managed for him. I would have to remember to tell the accountant to deduct part of the cost for business expenses, since Luke and I were there for business reasons only. Was this why Bucket had invited us? Cleverboy.
“Here we are in the main house,” said Samson, as he placed our suitcases in the center of the foyer, in what he described as “the great hall.” “Here we have the dining area, kitchen where our chef prepares delicious food, living room, bar and wineroom.”
“And isthere—”
Before I’d finished my sentence, he said, “Yes there is very strong wireless internet throughout the compound, miss. Our business center offers satellite internet, so you can stay connected withanyone.”
Was it that obvious that I was a borderline workaholic? I glanced over at Luke and saw how relieved he was to hear this news aswell.
“There are five villas off of the main house. Each villa is a private bedroom with en suite bath. You may choose which room you’d like to stay in.” He looked at us andwinked.
Luke and I both practically shouted out that we’d need separaterooms.
“Oh yes of course, that’s what I meant,” he said, I swear there was a twinkle in his eye. “You may each choose your own separate pavilion, with the exception of the canopy suite, which is the large safari-style tent in the center of the compound. Very romantic—Mr. Buck is staying in that one and…” his voice trailedoff.
“And where is Mr. Buck? I should let him know we’rehere.”
“Mr. Buck is playing golf. Mr. Buck would like you both to join him on the patio at five-thirty for cocktails before dinner. If either of you have any food allergies would you please let me know so I can alert thechef.”
I shake my head. “Not that I’m awareof.”
“Nor I. Thank you,Samson.”
“I am, however, mildly allergic to enforced casual patio dining on tropical islands. I hope my cell phone signal is strong out there. In case I need to make some business calls on behalf of Mr. Buck duringdinner.”
“You will have all that you desire out there, mademoiselle.” Helaughed.
I felt my cheeks flush and inadvertently glanced over at Luke, who seemed to be just as amused by me as Samson was. “Right, well then. Better get to my room so I can catch up on my emails.” I grabbed the slate grey carry-on luggage by my feet and settled into the pavilion that was furthest away from the main house, hoping that Luke would choose one in the exact opposite direction. I looked back to check. He was indeed striding towards the bedroom villa on the opposite side of the compound, on the other side of the pool.Great, we’re on the same page then. We both think I’m a freak and want him to stay away from me so I don’t make any more of a fool of myself than I alreadyhave.
At least itmade it easier for me, knowing that I had blown it with Luke upfront, so we wouldn’t have to struggle with sexual tension for our entire stay here. I lay the luggage on the crisp white king size bed and looked around at the suite. It was stunning. The vaulted ceilings must have been forty feet high. The slowly-spinning wood ceiling fan contributed to the sultry environment. I needed to take a shower and change out of my New Yorkclothes.
I unzipped the suitcase and stared down at the jars of marmalade and box of premium extra large size condoms atop perfectly-folded clothes that were definitely not my own. Once I had realized that I had mistakenly grabbed Luke’s suitcase I thought:Ding ding dingjackpot!
Obviously I didn’t assume that he had brought the condoms along to use with me—I was just happy for him—that he had an extra large sized penis—because he was an excellent business associate and he deserved it. I mean, as far as I knew hemight have a girlfriend. Chances were very good that he did. He could be married, for all I knew. Just because he didn’t wear a wedding ring. He didn’t, right? No, I had checked. There were no rings on those long beautiful fingers. However, I decided that I should just think of him as a married business associate. My favorite married business associate with a premium extra large sizedpenis.
And then I realized:He grabbed my suitcase! He’s looking through my slutty lingerie and sad expired box of regular sizedcondoms!
I zipped the suitcase up and flew off with it, in the direction of Luke’svilla.
