First Thing I See (7 page)

                Kennedy stared in silence for a moment. 
“Thanks Franklin, I’ll be in in a few minutes.”

***

                Franklin reminded Kennedy about his god
daughter’s ballet recital the following weekend as Kennedy said good night to
the children. 

***

                Wednesday morning Kennedy awoke with a
panic.  His brother was right and he needed to do something before it was too
late.

                This week’s training area was in concierge. 
It was difficult for me to offer advice to wealthy tourists who wanted to see
the best sites of the city, when I had only saw a handful of the biggest
landmarks myself.  Worse, I was sad and a little angry and today felt like I
was being tortured by an onslaught of honeymooners that were all in love and
holdings hands.  I saw Charles enter the lobby from the corner of my eye and I
think my heart may have stopped beating for a second.  It took a minute to
compose myself when I saw Dylan pointing my way from reception. 

                Charles smiled when he saw me and tipped his
hat.  “Ms. York, lovely to see you again.  Mr. Jenner asked me to deliver this
to you.”  Charles extended his hand carrying a large envelope. 

                “Thank you Charles.”

                “You’re Welcome.  I hope to see you on
Friday.  Have a good day, Ms. York.”  Another tip of the hat and Charles was on
his way.

                As I opened the envelope, I wondered if
Kennedy was coming to the city again on Friday.  The thought of him coming on
random weekends and expecting me to be available for “sexcapades” in exchange
for a few dresses made me sick to my stomach.  Even gorgeous and wealthy wasn’t
worth weekend visits from a man who didn’t think enough about me to call once
or twice during the week. How could I have been so wrong about him? 

                Inside was a short note and another
envelope. 
Hope.  I’m sorry I didn’t call.  I screwed up.  I can’t stop
thinking about you.
 
Please give me another chance.   Come to the ballet
with me in Chicago.  Please?  KJ.
  The second envelope held a roundtrip
first class ticket to Chicago leaving Friday evening.
 
 

***

                Wednesday night I laid in bed feeling
surrounded by a man that I had only known a few weeks.  The erotic painting
reminding me of our first night together sat leaning against the wall in my
bedroom, waiting to be hung.  His note and ticket in the kitchen where I sat
and read it at least thirty times before forcing myself to go to bed.   Shauna
was right, I should have been more careful with Kennedy.   The weekend had
obviously meant more to me than him, and I should have known that it was just a
fantasy.  My brain had finally caught up to my heart.   Men like Kennedy Jenner
didn’t do happily ever after with women like me. 

                I tossed and turned for a while.  In my head
I had ended it, but my heart still needed closure.  I reached for my nightstand
and took out the folder Shauna had given me, searching for answers.   I opened
the folder and studied the picture on top of Kennedy with a stunning brunette. 
She had to be at least six feet tall and the legs on display under her short
skirt had to be as tall as me.  My heart shrunk in my chest and my eyes filled
with tears.  I skimmed through the next few articles looking at the pictures
and saw same woman in several shots. 

                The phone startled me and I jumped sending
the folder flying on the bed, papers spilling out all over.    I dreaded late
night phone calls, they almost always delivered bad news.   I answered
hesitantly afraid of what the call would bring.  “Hello.”

                “You weren’t going to call me or come this
weekend, were you?”  Kennedy’s voice made my heart immediately flutter and I
felt a flash of relief and excitement.

                “Ummm..no, I, I, guess I wasn’t.” 

                “If you don’t get on that plane Friday evening,
I’ll be getting on one.” 

                My heart fluttered, and a glimmer of hope
lit deep within me.  Nerves always brought out my sarcastic side.  “Going to
the Caribbean if I don’t go to Chicago?”

                Silence for a moment.  “If you would rather
go to the Caribbean than Chicago, that works for me.”  A long pause.  “Hope, I
don’t know what is going on between us, but I’m going to find out.  I fucked up
not calling for a few days.  I’m sorry.   But this isn’t ending here.   I’m not
good at begging, but I can find other, more creative ways, to make it up to
you.” 

                He had me just by telling that me he was
coming after me if I didn’t get on the plane, the rest was a bonus.  “Okay.”

                “Okay?”  He asked as if he really hadn’t
expected his speech to work.

                “Yes, I’ll be on the plane Friday.”  I
rolled my eyes at myself and smiled.

                “Thank you.  I’ll let you go to sleep, but
you can be damn sure I’ll be calling tomorrow.”

                I laughed.  “That’s good.  Good Night
Kennedy”

                “Good night beautiful.”

                I hung up the phone and gathered Shauna’s
research back into the file without another peek.  Whatever I was going to
learn about Kennedy, was going to happen on my own.

***

                Kennedy called the next night.  And also
sent a huge bunch of wild flowers with a box of hand dipped chocolate covered
strawberries. 

                Friday came and went quickly as I finished
my last day of training in concierge.  Kennedy had arranged Charles to pick me
up at work and bring me to the airport.  The flight was uneventful but I was
nervous and spent most of it fidgeting in my seat.  The man next to me was very
nice and had assumed I was a nervous flyer.  We chatted for a while and he told
me that he was also from New York and taking a weekend trip to visit his
sister.  If I hadn’t been spending most of my waking hours thinking about
Kennedy, I may have noticed the stranger was handsome.

                I saw Kennedy as soon as I stepped through
security.  Our eyes locked and he gave me the full double dimples smile.  I smiled
back and said goodbye to the man I had just sat with on the flight.  I saw
Kennedy eye the man as he said “Maybe I’ll see you on the flight back Hope.” 
And then I was pulled into Kennedy’s arms and his lips covered mine pressing
hard. 

                When he broke the kiss, I looked up and
smiled “Hi.  That was a nice welcome.” 

                “That was Hello.  You’ll be getting the
welcome when we get home.”  Sinister in his husky voice.

                My legs turned to jelly and I thought I
might fall. 
When we get home
.  I liked the sounds of that.  A lot. 

***

                I wasn’t sure what to expect of Kennedy’s
apartment, but whatever I thought was thoroughly overshadowed by the real
thing.   The penthouse suite might conjure up images of luxury, but that didn’t
begin to describe it.  At least five of my apartments could fit in the living
room alone.    An entire wall of floor to ceiling windows with a majestic view
of downtown Chicago and the riverfront.    An enormous stone fireplace and
sleek modern furniture complimented the view. 

                I took a few steps toward the windows. 
“Your view is amazing.” 

                “It doesn’t hold a candle to the one I have
now.”  He stared at me as I stared at the view. 

                I smiled.  “Do I get the grand tour?”

                “You can have whatever you want.” He said it
like he really meant it.

                The tour included a dining room that seated
twelve, three guest bedrooms, a kitchen that a chef would drool over, five
bathrooms, an outdoor deck and ended in the enormous master suite.

                Kennedy turned to face me and pulled me into
a tight embrace.  He nuzzled his head down into my hair.  “Does this conclude
the tour Mr. Jenner?” 

                “I’m surprised I didn’t pull over on the way
here, I’ve wanted nothing but to taste every inch of you since I saw you in the
airport.”  He pulled back slightly to look at me.   “I’ll show you the rest
tomorrow, I promise.”   

                “The rest?”  He started kissing my neck.

                “One floor down is my private office.”  
More kisses. “The ten below that are the corporate headquarters for my
company.”  

                I think my jaw may have dropped open.  But
Kennedy didn’t seem to notice.  He was busy licking the delicate skin behind my
ear and unbuttoning my blouse.  

***

                Saturday morning Kennedy gave me the
remainder of the tour.  Although mostly empty, there were a few people working
in the corporate offices.  Most of them didn’t seem surprised to see the boss
walking around on a weekend, but I got the impression that they were surprised
to see him walking around holding my hand.

                Kennedy told me the ballet was casual, so I
dressed in jeans, a form fitting red v-neck cashmere sweater and chocolate brown
high heeled boots.  I thought it was strange to go to a ballet dressed so
casual, but I’d never been to Chicago and assumed it was just different than in
New York. 

                Kennedy drove us to the theatre in his sleek
black Mercedes, holding my hand throughout the drive.  We parked and walked
into a small theatre and took our seats in the back.  I was bemused when the
curtain opened and there stood four, six year old ballerinas dressed in pink
two twos with tiaras and glitter wands.  Kennedy took my hand in his and gave a
slight squeeze. “Third ballerina from the left is my god daughter and niece Emily.” 
He grinned down at me sheepishly, a boyish smile so contradictory to his
striking masculine face.   That was the exact moment I realized I was falling
in love with Kennedy Jenner. 

                When we reached intermission, Kennedy guided
me outside.  “I don’t usually stay for the whole performance, my brother and
his wife usually meet me across the street at Calhoun’s and we grab a bite to
eat with Emily.  They sit in the front row with all the other video crazed
parents.” 

                I reached up and touched his face and then
put both palms flat on his chest.  “You are a very surprising man, Kennedy.”

                He eyed me warily.  “I hope that’s a good
thing.”

                I nodded and leaned up and kissed him on the
lips.  I kissed him softly, a silent way of assuring him it was a good thing. 
But he took over and quickly deepened the kiss in response to mine.  We both
smiled and he took my hand to guide me to the restaurant across the street.  As
I looked up I was startled by a woman staring at us with daggers from the front
of the restaurant.  I gripped his hand firmly as we crossed the street and her
eyes never left us as we made our way to the door that she was still standing
in front of.

                “Mikayla” Kennedy nodded. 

                “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your
little friend, Kennedy?”  She motioned to me but her eyes never left Kennedy’s.

                Kennedy pulled me closer to him and put his
arm around my shoulders.  “Sure, Mikayla.  This is my girlfriend, Hope.  Hope,
this is Mikayla.   It was nice to see you Mikayla.  Enjoy your evening.”  There
was no time for a handshake, because Kennedy put his hand on the small of back
and guided me into the restaurant. 

                The hostess seated us at a table large enough
for three more to join us, and Kennedy looked at me with stress glaring from
his face.  “I’m sorry about that.” 

                I thought for a moment.  “Is it over with
you and her?”

                “Yes.”  He spoke without hesitation.

                It soothed me to hear him say it.  “Okay then,
what are we ordering, because you are going to need a lot of fuel for later if
you are going to top the evening we had last night.” 

                I watched his shoulders relax and he smiled
a full double dimples smile at me.  He shook his head “No clue.”  He looked
down at the menu still smiling and shaking his head.  “Absolutely no fucking
clue.”

***

                Franklin Jenner was the spitting image of
his brother minus four inches putting him at about five foot ten.  He also had
paler skin and lacked the deep dimples that made me knees week.  His wife,
Lauren was tall and thin with girl next door youthful looks and a smile that
said she was truly happy.  The little ballerina, Emily, had golden curls, pale
blue eyes and obviously had inherited her mother’s penchant to smile. 

                Although the news of meeting Kennedy’s
family was only sprung on me two hours ago, it appeared that Franklin, Lauren
and Emily had less notice than I.  Kennedy introduced us all and Emily
immediately insisted on sitting between Uncle Kennedy and me.

                “Hope, I can’t tell you how happy I am to
meet you.  I’ve heard so much about you in the last few weeks from my brother.”
Kennedy talked about me?  To his family?  I had been nervous about meeting his
family, but now I was excited to learn more about Kennedy from a different
view.

                I smiled.  “It’s nice to meet you too.  I
hope some of it was good.”

                He smiled and looked at his brother.  “Every
word.”

                “Uncle Kennedy, are you going to marry
Hope?”  From the mouths of babes. 

                Awkward silence for a moment.  I hadn’t been
looking at him, not wanting to make the uncomfortable question worse around
people I just met.  But when I looked up, Franklin and Lauren were staring at
Kennedy and Kennedy was staring at me.    He waited for our eyes to lock before
answering.  “If I’m really lucky, Em.”