The Billionaire Banker (12 page)

How long is your contract for, again?’

‘Three months.’

‘Are you sure you can’t increase it?’

‘Billie, don’t be such a witch.’

She spoons more jam. ‘Can we talk about your awful sex now?’

‘He left as soon as he found out that I hadn’t been with anyone else. I was pathetic, Bill. I lay there like a lemon.’

‘How do you mean? Didn’t you have sex?’

‘Sort of. As soon as he entered I sort of gasped in shock.

It was so sudden and…well, painful, and he pulled out double quick.’

‘What?’

Lana bites her lip. ‘It was so embarrassing. He just stopped and left.’

‘What do you mean left?’

‘He got dressed and left.’

‘And said nothing?’

‘He said, “It’ll be better next time.’

‘Fuck me. He didn’t finish?’

‘No,’ Lana said uncertainly. ‘Is that very bad?’

‘Bad! He sounds totally fucked up. Nobody stops halfway for no good reason.’ She chews her cheek and leans forward eagerly. ‘Tell me what happened before he did the deed.’

Lana squirms. ‘Well, he had me dress up in a white frock with white underwear and white stockings.’

‘Oh. My. God,’ Billie hoots and begins to cackle madly.

‘He wanted a whore that he could pretend was a virgin, but when he found he had the real thing in his bed he freaked out and ran away. That is so funny.’

‘It’s not, actually.’

Billie sobers with impressive speed. ‘Sorry, yeah it’s not.’‘Bill, will you teach me some techniques?’

‘I don’t know what I can teach you. I don’t do cock, remember?’

Then she looks at Lana’s distraught face and grins.

‘OK, let’s start with foreplay. Foreplay waist up has to be pretty similar, right?’

‘OK,’ Lana says.

‘The ear is wickedly horny. All kinds of things can happen when it is given a bit of attention. Run your finger along the rim like this.’ She runs her finger along the rim of her own ear. ‘Sometimes you can lick your finger first and afterwards gently blow on the wet rim. But the best effect can be achieved if you nibble your way gently all the way down to the lobe and then suddenly stick your tongue into his ear. If done properly that should drive him crazy.’

‘Really?’ Lana says doubtfully.

‘You should practice on someone else. I’d let you practice on me, but I might start to really fancy you and that would be too weird.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘When you brush your teeth in the mirror in the mornings do you ever look at yourself? You’re fucking stunning, Lana. If I met you in a club, yeah, I’d jump your bones. How about Jack?’

‘No, Jack is pissed off with me. He doesn’t say it, but he thinks what I’ve done is no better than what a prostitute does.’

Billie looks sideways at Lana. ‘I admire you for what you have done.’

‘Oh well, he doesn’t.’

‘He’s just mad because he’s always had this older brother, dead protective complex about you. But the truth is we are all prostitutes. Some women will put out for an expensive dinner, another for a ring on her finger, another for a better lifestyle. You did it to save your mother.

That’s a whole lot better than the rest of us, I’d say.’

‘Thanks, Bill.’

‘Oh, there is another thing you can do to banker boy.

You can tie him up! You’d need a metal bed or a four-poster, of course. This bed here would be useless. I once tied Leticia to her bed and it was real good. I told her to strip naked then I blindfolded her and trussed her to the four corners of the bed. And while she was lying there full of anticipation, I calmly told her I was going out to the shops to get some chocolate and was going to leave her bedroom door open. God, you should have seen the way she begged and then swore at me.’ She chuckles gleefully.

‘Her mother had said she would be back in twenty minutes, you see. I stuffed her knickers in her mouth and went out. Made sure to close the front door with a bang too.’Lana’s mouth drops open. ‘That was some chance you took. What if her mother had come back and found her tied spread-eagled and naked on her bed?’

‘Nah, I had met her mother going up the lift and she told me to tell Leticia that she was going to the hairdresser after and would be at least an hour.’

‘Was Leticia mad at you?’

‘Mad at me. She was quivering like a school dinner pudding. I stuck the Yorkie bar up her fanny and ate it off her. She said it was the best orgasm she’s ever had.’

Lana laughs. ‘Oh, Billie. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to let me tie him to a bed.’

‘You can still try the blindfold. It increases the sensation when you can’t see. You could suggest a game.

Put the egg timer on and he who comes first loses. When it’s his turn, blindfold him and give him the best sucking he’s ever had.’

‘OK, maybe, I’ll try that.’

‘Let me know how it goes, won’t you?’ Billie says with a smile.

Lana looks at her watch. ‘I’ve got to pop into the employment agency so they can tell tear a strip off me for inappropriately offering myself to one of their clients, but before I go; you know the extra money Blake gave me? I’ve decided I want you to have half.’

Billie’s eyes widen. It takes a moment for her to find her voice again. ‘I’ll take the free trip and I’ll take the jam, but I’m not taking the money.’

‘Remember when we were kids and we used to say if we won the lottery we’d share the money. Well… Isn’t this like winning the lottery?’

Billie smiles at Lana. ‘This isn’t the lottery. Besides, what would I do with money?’

‘You could go get your boobs done.’

‘Very tempting, but…‘

‘No buts. Do you want me to turn into one of those people who are generous only when they don’t believe they will ever have the money? Would you give me half if our positions were reversed?’

Billie thinks and grimaces. ‘To be honest I don’t know what I’d do. I think I’m just like everyone else, I want to go out, get wasted out of my mind and have fun, but you’ve always been different. You used to save up to buy violets when you were a child and take the bus to see paintings in the National Gallery. That was probably why I was drawn to you then, even though you wore boring clothes and actually read books instead of waiting for the movie version.’

‘While you painted the toenails of your gerbil bright red…’

‘Hamster,’ Billie corrects, and laughs.

‘Whatever. I know you’re on the dole and can’t show that you have too much in the way of savings so I’ve opened an account in my name at the Abbey and here’s the card. Use it as it is yours.’

Fifteen

he is fastening her hoop earrings when she hears his Skey in the door. Her stomach in knots, she stands away from the dressing table and looks at herself. She is wearing her Pucci dress. The colors look good with her hair. She knows she has never looked so fine, but her heart is in her mouth. She is so nervous her hands are clammy.

She wipes them and rubs lotions into them. Then she slips into her beautiful new Jimmy Choos and leaves the bedroom.

She turns into the paneled corridor and hears him in the sitting room. He is looking down on the lighted view of London and has not heard her footfalls on the soft carpets. It is only when her reflection shows in the glass that he turns.

The crease of his pants leg looks very sharp and his shoes are beautifully polished. Her eyes move upwards.

He is wearing a navy suit and an open soft blue shirt. Her gaze travels to his brown, strong throat towards the deliciously straight mouth and up to his eyes; dark and hooded and so full of secrets. They are watching her intently. Her breath catches. The flowers he sent are behind him.

‘Thank you, for the flowers. They are beautiful.’

‘Come here,’ he says and half sits on the table behind him. His voice is very soft. There is something in it she does not understand. She is nineteen and he is a man of the world. She goes willingly to him. He catches her by her waist and pulls her to him until she is trapped between his thighs. She feels the heat that comes off his body.

‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘I didn’t know.’

She shakes her head. ‘You weren’t to know. It’s my fault. I should have warned you.’

‘You look very beautiful tonight.’

She blushes. He watches her blush, then runs his finger along her lower lip. ‘Are you for real?’ he whispers.

She looks at him without comprehension. He wants to tell her then. But what? Tell her what? There is nothing to say. They are worlds apart. This will end in three months. He is being a fool. The expression in his eyes changes.

His mouth twists. Something cold creeps into his eyes.

‘We’d better go or we’ll be late.’

Feeling the change she steps away from him. She does not understand. Hot and cold. Perhaps it is a game. But he will not beat her. She can survive three months. She thinks of her mother and says. ‘Yes, we don’t want to be late.’Fuck. He wants to kiss that mouth. He doesn’t want to go out. He wants to drag her by the hair to the bed and fuck her until she is so sore she is screaming for him to stop. The sick pull she has on him irritates and angers him.

It is unnatural. He straightens and offers her the crook of his arm. His voice comes out hostile and clipped. ‘Shall we?’She bites her lip. Now he is angry with her. Nothing makes sense. Why is he angry with her? Confused, she threads her arm through his and they leave the apartment.

He drives out of London to Bray. The Fat Duck is nestled in the middle of the English countryside. The women are wearing expensive clothes and the men are all in suits. She has never been anywhere so glamorous, but it is bitter sweet. She has lied to her mother. She is with this man as his whore. And all of this will come to an end in three months’ time. A young man with a French accent settles them into a waiting area and offers them delicate little bites of food and two glasses of champagne. The champagne is compliments of the house. Apparently Blake is well known at this establishment.

‘They are called amuse-bouches, mouth amusements,’

Blake explains and watches as she nibbles on the tiny offerings. Mushroom and hazelnuts with basil oil and salmon mousse. ‘Well?’

‘I don’t think I’ve ever had anything so delicious in all my life.’

The sommelier comes to help select the wine that will perfectly complement the food they intend to have, but Blake knows exactly what he wants.

‘The 1996 Clos du Mesnil.’

The sommelier seems pleased with Blake’s choice. The wine is brought and presented to Blake. When he nods, it is uncorked and a small amount is poured into a deep glass and given to Blake. He swirls it, sniffs it delicately, and pronounces it acceptable. A fifth of Lana’s glass is filled.

She raises it to her lips and tastes it. What passed for wine until now seems abrasive mixtures of grape juice and vinegar. With complicated scents that tease her nose and a distinctively smooth taste that slides down her throat the wine is truly spectacular.

Lana studies the menu with fascination. It is no wonder that this restaurant is so famous. It has a uniquely original menu. There is something called the mad hatter’s tea party with mock turtle soup, a pocket watch and toasted sandwich. Then there are snail porridge, crab biscuits and quail jelly, chicken served with vanilla mayonnaise, shaved fennel and red cabbage gazpacho with mustard ice cream, and something else she can’t recognize served with oak moss and truffle oil.

Blake chooses roasted foie gras to start. Lana sighs inwardly. She is not eating force-fed goose liver.

The waiter looks at her. ‘I won’t bother with a starter, thank you.’

He orders the lamb with cucumber.

‘I’ll have the same,’ she murmurs.

The waiter moves away, and he looks at her strangely.

His eyes are pitying. ‘You can’t read, can you?’

Her head tilts back. ‘Of course I can. I am a qualified secretary.’

‘What was I supposed to think? Jay told me you signed the contract without reading it and this is the second time you have ordered the same as me and you hardly touched your food the last time. Why?’

She decides to be honest. ‘I don’t know which utensil to use to eat what.’

He is so surprised, he leans back in his seat and regards her quietly. Not taking his eyes off her, he raises a hand slightly. Immediately, a waiter comes to his side. ‘The lady would like to see the menu again, please. And hold the earlier order.’

‘Of course, sir.’

He returns with the menu. ‘Would you like a moment with it?’

‘No,’ she says. ‘I know what I want. I’d like the mock turtle soup to start and the poached salmon.’

When he is gone, Blake says, ‘With utensils always start with the ones that are furthest out from the plate and work your way in. I will help you.’

‘Thank you.’

‘So what have you done today?’

Well, I got taken off the books for er…inappropriate behavior so I went off in search of another temporary agency.’

He frowns. ‘I don’t want you to work for the duration of our contract.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I want you to be available to me day and night.

I might want to have you at three in the morning or between meetings in the afternoon,’ he explains brutally, and Lana feels a sexual thrill clench at her lower belly.

‘It should be no problem for you.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Don’t you live on an estate where nobody works and everybody just scrounges off the state?’

She shakes her head in wonder. ‘Wow, that’s one sweeping generalization you’ve just made there!’

‘Why, is it not true?’

‘While I was a child growing up my teachers and the governmental offices where my mother had to go for her weekly handouts, in subtle and unsubtle ways, tried to force into me the opinion you have just expressed. That we were parasites. I always knew there was something inherently wrong about any train of thinking that could so conveniently dismissed all the unemployed and dependent as parasites. But we did seem to be living off others. Then one day I learned the true nature of the parasite and it changed my life.’