The Accidental Honeymoon (6 page)

The driver gets out of the vehicle and opens the door for Karin. She looks up at the giant, imposing building. It is a complete contradiction to Ryan’s West Coast home. This Upper East Side mansion screams wealth, power and status.
It is the residence that only a billionaire could call home.

While Karin stands in near reverence to the structure, Ryan walks towards it as though it was some summer rental in Daytona Beach. “I think you’ll like it here,” he tells Karin casually. The young woman is still in too much shock to say anything. She follows her future husband into his Upper East Side residence. The entryway is a dizzying array of Italian marble, and granite busts of Roman Emperors man every corner. Thick columns of pure marble guard the foyer. The entryway is Imperial to say the least.

Ryan leads Karin to one of the home’s three elevators. They ride up to the fifth level. Ryan leads his future wife down a hallway. “I called ahead and made sure your suite was ready. I hope you don’t mind the park view,” the Ryan tells Karin coyly. The young woman opens the door to a bedroom with an unobstructed view of Central Park. She just shakes her head, convinced that the universe is playing a giant trick on her.

“You really know how to impress a girl.”

“I also know how to make a girl throw dishes at my head. Just ask any of my ex-girlfriends,” Ryan jokes.

“I don’t even know how I am going to sleep in this room.”

“Why, is there too much light coming through the window? I can call the Mayor and have him shut off the street light.”

“No. No. I think I’m just going to spend the entire night staring at this room.”

“Oh, no. This room has a really nice bed. You’ll be in lullaby land as soon as your head hits the pillow. Never mind, sleep. Let’s dine.”

****

Much to Karin’s amazement, Ryan arranged to have a change of clothing waiting for the young intern in her bedroom. Laid on the bed is a black dress, which is just her size. She checks the label - Prada. At the foot of the bed is a shoebox, also from Prada. She smiles and undresses. After taking a long, relaxing shower, she gets dressed and looks at herself in the mirror. “This guy has some good taste in clothing,” Karin tells herself.

The young woman notices that the hemline on the dress reaches the middle of her thigh. While it is not short by club standards, one could define this dress as provocative. She puts her right leg out, admiring the definition of her thighs. As an avid snowboarder, the 21-year old’s legs have always been the best part of her body. She loves the fact that the dress also somewhat conceals her middle, which she despises as being a little too wide for her frame. Overall, Karin thinks she could kinda look like the sort of girl would who be seen with a billionaire.

Karin walks out of the bedroom and makes her way towards Ryan’s master suite. The doors to the master suite suddenly open. Out walks Ryan in a suit. Karin just stops and stares at him. The normally casual tech company bad boy is always seen in jeans and a pullover shirt. She stares at Ryan as he walks towards her with his dark suit and confident swagger.
She is turned on.

Ryan looks his future wife up and down. “I like the way that dress looks on you.”

“Thanks. You really know women’s fashion.”

“Oh, I just picked out the sexiest black dress from the Prada catalogue.”

“Thanks. Well, you don’t look so bad yourself,” Karin responds in her attempt to understate how hot she finds Ryan.

“Thanks. I like putting on a suit in New York. Are you ready for some dinner?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

The couple makes their way out of the town home and takes the Bentley to Daniel’s just a few blocks away. They walk into the upscale Upper East Side establishment as though they are on a first date. The maitre d’ looks up from his appointment book and just stares at Ryan for a moment. He is speechless. “Mr. Wilde. Welcome to Daniel. This way please,” the maitre d’ tells the couple.

As the two walk into the dining room, heads begin to turn. Karin can hear the muffled conversations come to a stop. She notices that everyone in the room is looking in their direction. She becomes self-conscious. For a moment, she is wondering if there is something wrong with her dress. Then Karin realizes that everyone is staring at Ryan.

The couple is seated in the center of the dining room. The “power table” at Daniel. Karin feels as though she is on display. People continue to stare. Ryan appears aloof at the attention. It is only when Karin points out all the turned heads that Ryan looks around and acknowledges the diners with a slight nod. The wealthy patrons appear to be returning the nod as though satisfied that Ryan Wilde “recognized them.”

“They were staring right at you as soon as you walked into the restaurant,” Karin points out.

“Yeah. I get that all the time. I guess I am used to it. I hope you can get used to it.”

Karin giggles. “I’ll try.”

Ryan suggests to Karin that they try to Chef’s tasting menu. As a girl from a middle-class background, she has no idea what a “tasting menu” consists of but she is game to try anything that her future husband suggests.

“I like the tasting menu because you get a little bit of everything. It’s like a little surprise coming to your table every few minutes.”

The young intern begins to sample foods that have never touched her tongue before. She feels a rush of exhilaration as each dish is presented to her. Ryan casually enjoys his meal as though this were an everyday occurrence. Karin carefully savors each bite as though it were her last meal.

When the dessert arrives, Karin feels as though she has to say something. Between the flight on the private jet, the dress, dinner and all of the acts of generosity, the young intern believes that some show of appreciation is warranted. “Thank you, Ryan.”

“What? The dinner? It’s not big deal. I’m glad you liked it.”

“No. No. For everything. I feel as though I’ve been, I don’t know, transported to this world where I’m being spoiled at every turn.”

Ryan leans in. “No. I need to thank you.”

Karin leans back on her chair. She can’t really comprehend what Ryan is saying to her. “Why would you thank me?”

“Because you are helping me. You are helping convince people that I am mature enough to run IBS and Emperor Technologies. You are helping me fulfill my dream.”

A server comes to the table with a buffet tray of Parisian style desserts. Written in chocolate syrup are the words, “Have a ‘Wilde’ Night. Chef Daniel.” Ryan shakes his head and laughs. “As you can see, it’s going to take a while before I can turn my reputation around. Normally, I would have a wild night in the city.”

“Well, I don’t want to stop you,” Karin tells him.

Ryan grabs a strawberry and dips it into the silver bowl filled with powdered sugar. He slides the fruit across a stream of caramel and chocolate before tasting it. “Well, maybe we can have a little fun. You know, together.”

“Really?”

“Have you heard of the XX Club?”

Karin’s eyes light up. The XX Club is New York’s hottest new super-secret nightclub. Wealth is not enough to gain entry into this enclave. One must be rich and famous or seriously connected to the rich and famous. “Yeah. I mean, it’s like the hottest club on the planet.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Why not. My meeting with the board isn’t until 11 a.m.”

“Wow. Yeah, that would be cool.”

The couple finishes their dinner and head back into the Bentley. They are taken down to the meatpacking district where the city’s newest hip hotel, the XX is hopping with activity. Just outside, several people are smoking and conversing. None of the city people turn their heads when they see the Bentley. As the door opens, a couple of the smokers look over to see if anyone famous is about to exit onto the sidewalk. When Karin steps out, just about everyone goes back to their smokes. When Ryan exits the Bentley, a couple of heads turn. Those gawkers tap their friends on the shoulders. Soon, everyone outside of the hotel is gazing at the bad boy billionaire Ryan Wilde. Even these jaded New Yorkers are impressed.

Karin notices everyone staring again. This time she is prepared for it. She casually joins her man up the stairs. As they pass right by several of the onlookers, Karin can sense a half-a dozen camera phones pointed into their direction.

When the couple enter the post-modern lobby of the XX hotel, they instantly become the center of attention. One of the hotel’s VIP handlers welcomes the two and whisks them to a “secret” elevator leading to the ultra-exclusive XX club.

“Mr. Wilde is enroute,” the VIP handler whispers into his walkie-talkie. The elevator doors open to a nearly dark room lit only by several candles and purple ambient lighting.

“Here we are,” Ryan tells his future wife.

Karin looks around the room and sees nothing but famous faces. She sees A-list movie stars, music divas, sports stars. In fact, there are more famous people than there are non-famous people.

Ryan and Karin are escorted to one of the four coveted corner booths. As the billionaire bad boy passes the members of the rich and famous, more than one of them appear shocked to see Ryan in the club.

As the two are about to reach the booth, Karin notices a very familiar face coming their way.

“Ryan, hey!” the familiar face tells the CEO.

Karin is able to get a good look at him. Her jaw drops. It is movie star Dean Rutlage. Her biggest Hollywood crush of all time. She just stares at this man that she has fawned over for several years. But she is not the only one star struck. Dean can’t believe he is meeting Ryan.

Ryan looks at Dean but has a hard time recognizing him. As the CEO of Emperor and a full-time playboy, Ryan hardly has time to catch the latest films.

“How are you?” the CEO responds.

“I didn’t know you were in the city.”

“Yeah, I’m here for just a few days.”

“I’m doing a movie for your studio,” the star tells Ryan. For a moment, the CEO doesn’t understand what Dean is saying. Then Ryan recalls that his company Emperor Technologies, purchased the cable company giant Intersky Media for seven billion dollars five years ago. And Intersky Media, in turn, acquired Alexis Studios last year for one point five billion dollars. Thus making Ryan the largest stakeholder in the third biggest studio in Hollywood.

“That’s great,” Ryan responds.

“Maybe you could come to the premier with a couple of your girlfriends,” Dean jokes.

“I have only one girl now,” Ryan responds as he looks over at Karin.

Karin looks at Ryan not sure if he is being sincere.
Oh course, that is not sincere. I signed a contract to be his wife. We are simply playing a role
, Karin tells herself. That’s the rational side of her brain. Then the emotional side of her brain counters with the images of themselves together for the past week. The closeness, the laughter, the friendship.

“I never thought I would imagine that one woman would tie you down.”

“She is a special woman.”

“Congrats, man. Well, I hope you can make it to the premier.”

“l might just do that. Have a great evening.”

“You too.”

As the superstar actor leaves, a waitress comes by ready to take Ryan and Karin’s order. Karin notices that the waitress is giving some extra special attention to Rayn. She is not sure if that is because Ryan is rich or famous or good-looking. Either way, the young intern becomes instantly protective of her future “pretend” husband. She shoots the waitress a look. A kind of “back off” stare.

Ryan sits back and relaxes in the shadows of the booth. Karin lies back next to him. The two nearly begin to hold hands when their drinks arrive. Karin takes a martini while Ryan opts for a Rum and Coke. The couple continue to drink as they watch the supermodels and celebrities dance with each other.

After three martinis, Karin begins to sway to the music. Ryan watches her. The CEO may be a bad boy, but he is not known for his dancing skills. However, the three Rum and Cokes have lowered his inhibitions as well. The couple gets up and begins to dance.
They dance for each other.
Ryan gazes at Karin’s young, fit body while the intern admires Ryan’s seductive movements. About a minute into their dance, a six-foot tall blonde supermodel cuts in. She basically moves her tall body right in front of Karin as though she were not there. The young intern doesn’t like that one bit. Karin grabs the supermodel and pushes her to the side.

“Who do you think you are?!” the supermodel asks Karin in a gruff Russian accent.

“Go find your own man!” Karin shoots back. Ryan watches with a bemused look on her face.

The tall, blonde supermodel goes right up to Karin, staring her down. Karin is nervous. The supermodel’s arms are defined and her body is tight. While Karin is rather fit herself, the model towers over the intern by a good seven inches. The supermodel’s extreme height and physique doesn’t quell the inner fire Karin feels right now. She is not going to allow any woman to get between her and Ryan. Karin pulls on the model’s long blonde hair and throws her on the ground. The two begin to swing at each other. All of a sudden, everyone is looking in their direction.

Ryan quickly pulls Karin away from the model. The supermodel gets up and throws her heel at Karin. “You little whore! I see you on the streets, I will fuck you up.”

“Come on. Let’s fight right now!” Karin yells as Ryan holds her back. The supermodel is pulled back by her friends. The group of six-foot tall models moves their blonde Russian friend across to the other side of the club. Karin is steamed.
She wants to go after her.

“It’s okay. It’s okay!” Ryan tells Karin. The CEO pulls his fiancee back to the table. He motions for the waitress to get them a cool pitcher of water. Ryan holds her in his arms, trying to comfort and soothe the hot and bothered young intern.

“You are on fire, little girl.”

“She was trying to cut in-between us.”

Ryan strokes her hair and laughs. “I never thought I would be the one trying to calm you down. I suspected it would always be the other way around. Here’s some nice, cool ice water. Everything is fine. She is out of the club.”