Boxed Set: At the Billionaire’s Command – Vol. 1-3 (8 page)

The storm rumbling in my head calmed while I was in Tom’s comforting presence, surrounded by the warmth of his friendship. Tomorrow, I would have to make my decision.

Tuesday, July twenty-fourth. A beep, which I initially took to be my alarm, disturbed my woozy, morning half-sleep. With my eyes half-closed I grabbed my phone, which was on the floor, at the foot of my bed. New text message. In a small box on the screen I saw the name Daniel. I woke up with a start. My heart began to beat, giving me the strange impression that it had previously stopped. Unlock. Click! Messages.

[Did you find the envelope? D. W.]

[Yes.]

[That’s rather brief, young lady. I was expecting more enthusiasm. Were you not taught that it’s rude not to reply?]

[I didn’t realise I'd been asked a question.]

[Don’t play around with semantics. You could've let me know you'd received it. That would have been polite.]

Was that all he had to say? To reprimand me? To teach me manners?

I preferred not to reply.

I had time to have a shower, get dressed and go down to the lobby before I received another message.

[Are you ready for your departure tomorrow?]

Had I sown doubt in the confident mind of Daniel Wietermann?

[I’m thinking about it.]

This time it was he who didn’t reply.

Was he annoyed? Did he not want me to come any more?

So he’d managed to turn the situation around and make my stomach tighten. I started to twitch and couldn’t stand still. I was constantly checking my telephone and pressing the buttons, as if that could make messages appear. Daniel had a hold on me.
Now, to my relief, I could tell Tom how I was feeling. My behaviour amused but upset him. Beep! I jumped. It was Daniel. At last.

[Still just as insolent, Miss Belmont. Have you developed a liking for punishments?]

Leaving me at the roadside afraid that he wouldn't do a U-turn, making me wait for what seemed like forever, letting the threat of abandonment hover over me and then returning victorious, making me cave-in and agree to everything. These were Daniel’s usual tricks. And I folded, I accepted everything, I was happy that he had come back.

One pirouette and Mr Fire resurfaces!

[If it’s you giving them…]

[And who else would it be? I am the only one allowed to run his hands over your body].

[I miss your hands. I can still feel them on me. I quiver just thinking about them.]

[It’s entirely up to you, Julia, whether or not my hands touch you again.]

"Julia! You’re as red as beetroot! Go into the back office, you’ll be more comfortable", said Tom, smiling.

It was true, I would be more comfortable in the office.

[Daniel, you make me feel and say strange things.]

[Julia, I want to make you feel these strange things…]

[That would be wonderful…]

[And to hear you say them…]

[It’s terrible how I wait feverishly for your texts and jump at every beep.]

[I can imagine you all feverish, holding your phone in your damp hands, getting wetter every time you see one of my messages. It arouses me imagining it. My penis is so swollen with desire that it’s getting painful…]

[I’m in a daze just reading your messages. My whole body is inflamed and my crotch is tingling…]

[I want you, Julia.]

“I want you.” I spoke this sentence aloud. I heard,
I love you
. Did I hear what I wanted to hear? Did
I want you
become
I love you
through the prism of my desire? Was it my interpretation?
I want you
. Was that his way of saying
I love you
? After all, there are different ways of saying it. In the film
Port of Shadows
, when Gabin says to Morgan,
“You have beautiful eyes, you know”
, he’s simply saying
“I love you”.
When she replies,
“Kiss me”
, she’s saying
“Me too”
.

I was taking my time replying, then a new message arrived from Daniel.

[Julia, I’m sorry but I have to leave you.]
That sentence affected me like a cold shower. That
“leave”
was unfair, violent and unbearable. I doubted that there was any desire to hurt me in it, I even suppose that the exchange would have continued if Daniel had been able to. And I cursed the annoying individual, man or machine, which had put an end to our messages.
Can our hearts not cling onto anything else but words? Maybe Daniel was right to prefer actions instead.

I barely had time to send:

[Already…]
When I received:

[Until tomorrow.]

Presumably Daniel had contacted me to reprimand me, confirm that he wanted me to go home and make me want to go. All that at the same time, but I couldn’t give the exact percentages. It didn’t matter, the result was the same: I wanted to, I had to see him again.

Tom saw me come out of the office, my cheeks flushed and my eyes wild. We burst out laughing. This wonderful complicity took the heat out of my feelings (and my body) and made me feel free and relieved.

"If tonight is your last night in NYC – and I guess it is – I’m taking you out to celebrate!" said Tom.

"With pleasure, my dear!"

Tom chose a restaurant famous for its cheesecakes; he knew that I loved them. I enjoyed my dessert as if it were my last and then he took me to a trendy bar, where some friends of his joined us. After a few cosmopolitans, I hit the dance floor…

Tom accompanied me back to the hotel around two thirty am. We couldn’t stop saying good-bye, have a good trip, take care, we’ll call each other, we’ll keep in touch, come and see me when you can. There were laughs, a few tears and embraces.

I eventually went up to my room. There, I took off my short cotton dress, which was soaked with sweat from dancing and the hot New York night and went to freshen up in the shower. It was only when I came out of the bathroom that I noticed that a small box had been placed on my bed.

I was convinced that it was a gift from Tom and opened the box smiling in anticipation of a joke or a nice little souvenir. What a surprise to discover a superb watch
(Tercari, of course!)
showing Paris time!

Was Daniel in New York? Why not see me if he was here? Don’t panic. Stay calm. Let’s think about this. Ray. Yes, of course. Ray must have stayed in the area. For Daniel’s business? Or to watch me? Let’s move on.

A piece of paper had been rolled up and placed in the watch strap:
“I just wanted to let you know and promise you,
before you get on the plane in a little while,
that I am really looking forward to having you
by my side again and kissing your soft cheek.
And rest assured that I will
meet you at the airport,
I promise you.
D. W.”

There was something odd about these lines. The tone? The statement? I could not tell. Perhaps for a moment, Daniel had been afraid I would stay in NY, perhaps when I had said
“I’m thinking about it”
?

Three am already. I still had to pack if I wanted to get two or three hours sleep, but before that, I was curious to see what advice Sarah had for me.

It was not yet seven am when I had a last look around my room, at my leather armchair, my old friend. It was time to walk away. When I raised my hand to hail a taxi on the pavement in front of the hotel, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Miss Belmont!"

I turned round. Ray was there, in a black suit, leaning against the open door of a dark car. He smiled and gestured for me to get into the car.

"Ray!" I said, returning his smile and walking towards him.

"Hello, Miss Belmont. I’m pleased to see you again. Mr Wietermann asked me to take you to the airport", he explained, putting my bags into the boot.

Daniel really wants me to arrive safely…

"And do you also have to chaperone me during the flight?" I asked with a hint of irony, making hin laugh.

"No, Miss, I’ll take a different flight. Mr Wietermann will collect you in person in Paris."

What an honour!
I thought, but I stopped myself saying it. I didn’t want to make Ray feel uncomfortable by mocking his boss.

"The packet in my room, that was you, wasn’t it?"

"Yes, Miss."

"Have you been watching me since Mr Wietermann left?" There was no aggressiveness in my question, just curiosity.

"Well… Mr Wietermann asked me to look out for you without disturbing you."

"Bravo Ray. You are a master of discretion. I would never have suspected if there hadn’t been that packet on my bed."

We arrived at JFK International Airport in under forty-five minutes. Ray took care of the formalities and luggage check-in and escorted me to boarding. A few steps after the last check point, I stopped to wave to him. He waved back, while tapping on the keys of his telephone. I was sure he was writing to Daniel…

Nine forty-five am by the clock on the plane, three forty-five pm on my watch. Turn off telephones. Bye bye New York. I was comfortably settled in business class at a window seat (thank you, Daniel!) and my eyes were already closed before take-off. I noticed noises around me, but identified them less and less, as I drifted into sleep, into dreams…

… It was quite dark in the room I was in. But that didn’t worry me; on the contrary the atmosphere was subdued, muffled and sensuous. Long, heavy, dark-red velvet hangings hung on the walls. On the floor, wide dark-coloured carpets decorated with arabesques and flowers intertwined and overlapped. In several places there were small, very low, sculpted wooden tables. On these tables were large golden candle-holders and bowls overflowing with fruit. The aroma of wood, amber and incense was intoxicating. The only sound was the crackling of the fire in the hearth I was standing in front of. The atmosphere in the room was completely overwhelming and entrancing.

I was sitting among a pile of enormous cushions, my legs slightly bent to the side. The dance of the flames hypnotised me. The fire warmed my face and my whole body. I crossed my arms, took hold of the edges of the diaphanous gown I was wearing and slowly raised it over my chest and over my head in a sweeping movement worthy of a dancer. The light of the flames was reflected on my chest, giving it a bronze tint. I ran a hand over the back of my neck and the sensuous movement made me sigh. I felt completely relaxed, slightly unsteady and slightly hazy.
Suddenly, a pair of hands touched my lower back. I was not frightened, not even surprised, I was waiting for them. With their palms against my skin, they slowly climbed up along my spine and continued over my shoulders and down my arms. I could feel the strong, naked torso of a man against my back, draping me in his body.