“I want you to seduce them.”
Before I could make out what Hardy was saying to me, the alien words.
Not that they were actually alien words, but were so freaking strange.
Who am I to seduce? The couples coming towards us?
I sighed internally when the couples got to us and geez they were both so tall.
The man’s height was competing with Hardy’s and the shiny blonde beside him was just two inches shorter than he was.
Wow.
“Hardy Bensimon.” The man called, balancing his lady arms in his, and throwing Hardy one of the biggest, brightest smiles.
“Jeffery,” Hardy called, coldly.
“You haven’t changed one bit.” Said the man, “Anyways, this is my wife, Aneesa ” the Jeffrey guy smiled so much his one sided dimple just had to expose itself through his scanty bears.
“HI, I’m Aneesa.” The lovely lady offered for a hand shake, but Hardy never took it.
She looked sad, and a whole disappointed
But what did she expect, Hardy was a beast. A gruesome rude one.
Instead, I took the lady’s hand and threw her a big smile as we both shook hands.
“Hi Aneesa, nice to meet you.” I said like I knew what I was doing.
Hardy would bury me alive, but still, she wanted to cry. I would definitely cry if someone did that to me.
The lady’s smile brightened up again as she tilted her head and blinked as she spoke.
“Nice to meet you too Mrs…?
“Joanne.” I helped.
“Joanne,” Aneesa beamed.
“Jeff has told me so much about you Mr. Bensimon and he never mentioned that he had a wife.” Aneesa shook her head with her gummy smile.
“That’s because I don’t have one,” Hardy replied, cold again.
But of course, I am a rebound fiance tonight. Nothing more and less than less if I can pin this down.
“She’s my fiancée” Hardy said the words like his tongue would bleed if he said it properly.
Not that I cared.
I never wanted to come.
“Oh,” Aneesa’s eyes flickered. “Oh, wow” She shook my hand heavily again.
She finally let go, and I felt my hand bleed on the inside.
“You’re dashing.” Aneesa compliment.
I blushed with a smile, I’ve been dying to hear that after dressing up like this for the first time in history.
“No, you’re even more dashing.” I threw back the smile, no because she was. Her height was one to pin on, her curves, her perfectly tanned skin and bright hazel orbs that glowed when she smiled.
“Oh.” Annesa rolled her eyes, with a smile, like I was just returning the compliment, like I wasn’t actually being honest.
“No believe me when I saw you coming, I was taken a bit aback by your really gorgeous height, I almost asked from afar if you were like a model, I almost asked that of you Two, your matching heights, and please Aneesa, you don’t know how gorgeous you look when you smile, I’m pretty sure Jeffery understands when I say your eyes sparkles when you smile…
Shit! I was talking too much, shit no Sherlock, Hardy was definitely going to kill me.
What part of being quiet the entire night did I not understand?
But I couldn’t stop talking, it was definitely the grape juice I had alongside my dinner.
Definitely that.
I am going to fuckin scare them with my blabbing.
“You would definitely pass as one of those fairytale princesses, or should I say queen. Yeah queen.”
And then I laughed, the most nerve wrenching, forced, please-someone-kill-me- now laugh before batting my lashes like nothing happened. Like I haven’t just said what I was supposed to keep all in.
Jeffery and Aneesa’s mouth hung open for a while before Aneesa’s lips curved into a stretched happy smile.
“Well,” She finally laughed. “Um, thank you Joanne. I really didn’t know all that about myself, and well Jeffery says my eyes do sparkle. But thank you for pointing that out, and I know it’s just our first time meeting, but you wouldn’t mind wanting to come to the white Ale-o house sometimes, now do you?”
White Ale-o house?
Now what the hell is that?
I turned to Hardy for help. I know I was in dip shit, but his prisoner was being invited to a freaking White Ale-o house that sounded like rich people’s thing, and he was definitely the only one to ask for help.
Hardy noticed my eyes on him and breathed out a,
“Sure”.
Sure? Like he wants me to actually go?
“Great” Aneesa smiled. “You can join us next week Thursday”
Next week Thursday.? Okay what’s happening.
I turned to Hardy for help. But he just tightened his grip on me and cleared his throat.
“Jeffery, we’ll be taking our leave now,” and with that, he pulled me gently before walking away from the sweet couple, and I heard Aneesa call out “Bye” As we got closer to the door.
Right after we walked out of the room, I noticed a brunette who wouldn’t stop glaring at me, stare at me from the corner of her eyes while talking to two people.
What in the world is her problem..
Hardy and I walked out of the room, and to the quiet back where we met Theodore waiting patiently for us.
“Go start the car,” Hardy ordered Theodore, and he walked away without saying anything.
Hardy turned his back ro me as he breathed out a sigh.
“I told you to keep quiet the entire night, didn’t I?”
Damn it.
“I… I’m sorry” I apologized immediately.
He sighed again, and turned to me.
“But, you have your way with words, you’re good with people, well done. You seduced them perfectly.”
Oh.
Did he just call being social, seduction?
This man was just weird with his words.
“Well thank you” I tried to smile, but he made my smile disappear in an instant.
“But that doesn’t give you the right to disobey me, next time you listen,”
I nodded frantically.
We both walked out of the building which was way close to the hotel I was dressed in, and came to the parking loft of the building, where Theodore could be seen standing beside a really expensive looking car.
I have zero knowledge about cars and brands, but I could tell this one cost more than my life.
“Gowith Theodore, he’ll take you somewhere else. To rest for the night”, and I moved my butt immediately to where Theodore stood, who opened the door for me like the gentleman he was, and got into the car.
We drove out of sight, and when I turned back, Hardy was out of sight
No different.
*
“You wouldn’t mind letting me escape from here now, would you?” I asked Theodore as a joke, a few minutes into the road.
Though I never really meant it as a joke.
He scoffed.
“You would definitely become a hobo here, this is not your country miss Joanne, you took a jet here remember, and no, there’s no way I’m letting you escape.”
“. I know, I was joking”.
He knew I wasn’t.
“Sorry.” Theodore apologized.
“Why are you apologizing?” I scoffed.
“Because… You’re not supposed to be here, this is all your friend’s fault, I know it’s crap and all, I feel bad for you, but you would do the same to you if you were in Hardy’s shoes,” Theodore stated.
Well, I don’t know what Hardy’s shoes feel like, but I definitely will escape, if I can.
Theodore pulled up in front of a quiet estate, after an hour of driving.
On our right was a duplex, painted all black and had bright lights that made the place a lot Less creepy even though it was pretty.
Black wasn’t really my Color.
Theodore and I walked after he did a face scan at the door, which left my mouth completely hung open, and I saw his lips twitch into a smile. He must have found my dumbness amusing.
The house was prettier and rich on the inside, warm too.
Theodore led me to a room that looked completely identical to mine back at the villa and somehow it greeted ‘home’ to me.
Which I hated.
And just before I got in, Theodore made it clear to me.
“Just in case, I know you know it’s just the two of us here. But you cannot escape here, because to leave and enter this house needs a face scan, either from the doors or windows, and well it barely has windows so don’t think anything… stupid, and I’ll be standing out your door all night. ” He said in a promising way.
Wow.
I am really tired here.
“Don’t worry, the only thing on my mind now is sleep.” I said, and immediately Hardy and I’s dream came to my mind and I felt my stomach churn.
“Well goodnight” I rushed my words before slamming the door shut.
I sighed, as I looked around the familiar and warm room, trying to push back some awkward feeling that I was getting. My hands reached for the zipper on my back, but my stiff hands wouldn’t go any further. I tried my other hand but it wouldn’t reach for the stupid zipper.
Wow. Is this what happens when you get dressed by maids?
I opened the door to the room, and stuck out my head, and there was Theodore.
“I need your help.”
Theodore walked in the room and in one go, helped with my zipper, I thanked him as I still felt his hand on my skin.
“No problem.” He let go.
I turned to him with a smile.
We were so close, and he wasn’t saying anything. Just staring down at me.
Shit, it was happening again.
.
…*