Recourse (The Arrangement) (2 page)

The hallway opened up into a dark room. The lights were off. I walked down the red carpet through the heavy wooden door frame and into the darkness. I saw a fireplace in the corner opposite of me, it glowed and crackled as it created dancing shadows on the walls around me. The room was so big that the light was engulfed by darkness as it spread through the room. I glanced at the shadows on the walls and saw books everywhere. There must have been a million of them as they climbed high up all the way to the ceiling.

“What is this, the national library?” I gasped. “Who has the time to read this much?”

I figured this was the study where I was supposed to be meeting the client. It looked as if I was the only person there, so I wasn’t sure what I was suppose to do. I took a few steps inside, trying to peer into the darkness.

As I waited for my vision to adjust, someone cleared his throat, startling me. I squinted into the shadows but couldn’t see anyone.

“Excuse me.” I said boldly.

Nothing but silence echoed back. My increasing heart beat resonated through my chest.

“Hello?” I raised my voice at the darkness. There was no reply. I felt the goose bumps rush down my back as I took a slow step back.

“Come over to the fireplace.” A deep male voice pierced the silence. I stood there for a moment considering my next move. It looked like these were all the directions I was going to get.

I started walking to the other side of the room. As I did my eyes had adjusted to the dark and I could make out more details of the room. I saw desks, chairs, and a couple of statues in the corner. Mostly I was interested in finding a window just in case things got hairy. I must have drunk too much champaign in the car because the next moment I remembered how high the stairs were and shook my head at the absurdity of that idea. “A New York woman plays James Bond. Fails horribly.” I pictured the newspaper headlines in my head. As I walked towards the fireplace I was taken back by how large it was. It took up almost a third of the wall. Various gargoyles nested atop for decorations as if luring you into the fiery hell below. I found it kind of cool. Next to the fireplace was a large leather couch and a very big chair that faced away from the fire. I guess the stranger must have been sitting in it.

“Sit down please.” The words resonated through the room. They definitely came from the other side of that chair.

I slowly sat down on the soft edge of the couch.

“My wife will be in shortly.” The man said.

“Uh,” I paused and peered into the dark. “I don't work couples.”

He left the words to hang in the air.

I sat there thinking that next time I need to start investing in more protection. I had been gripping the bottle of pepper spray in my hand ever since I walked through the front door and felt like it would do exactly nothing. I’ve never even had to use it before, besides the one time I sprayed it outside to see just how it even works. To my surprise it wasn’t a mist, but a single stream that dripped weakly on the pavement a couple of feet ahead as I squeezed the trigger. I doubted I’d have the time to use it if someone rushed towards me.

“What’s your name?” his words jolted me back to reality.

I cleared my dry throat, “Tiffani.”

“With an ‘i’ or a ‘y’?”

“An ‘i’.” I replied wondering what the hell I was doing there. Suddenly a thousand dollars didn’t seem enough. I could already tell I would need to sleep with the lights on for a week to get this out of my system.

“Where are you from, Tiffani with an ‘i’?” I was eased a little by his sudden friendliness. After all there were all sorts of people with their own quirks in this world. Those who commanded the most attention because of their status, one way or another, chose their own ways to deal with it. Some chose booze, some drugs, others work and family. Some preferred extreme privacy. This guy fit the latter.

“Texas, born and raised.” I said, with slight pride in my voice.

“Texas?” he echoed. “Which part?”

“It’s a small town, you wouldn’t know it.” I was getting tired of waiting. My rate was $500 an hour and this guy had better believe his timer was running. Somehow I felt like this was of no concern to him though.

“I used to live in Texas.” He stated calmly. “Are you familiar with the city of Addison, just north of Dallas?”

My mouth dropped open as I heard my hometown come out of his mouth.

“No way.” I muttered under my breath. “What are the freaking chances.” A thought that he must have done a background check on me shot through my head. The sudden fear paralyzed me until I forced myself to think. “No, I use a fake name, I lived in New York for years, there is no way.” I calmed myself enough to resume breathing.

“That is too funny. Are you are from around those parts too?” his voice became more excited. “Well in that case let me say hello to a friendly Texan.”

I watched a tall shadow rise from the chair. I gripped the pepper spray tighter in my hand and switched the safety off.

The fire cast shadows around the room. First I saw shadows disappear from his shoes as their polished leather surfaced from the dark. Then I saw his belt buckle glisten and the white shirt come into focus. I sat tense and tight, ready to jump at any moment and bolt for the door. I stared into the darkness with intensity waiting to see his face.
Just give me one sign and I am blasting you
. As the light from the fireplace slowly exposed his face, my eyes found his. Immediately I let out a yelp and jumped into the air. The pepper spray leaped from my hand and bounced off the bricks and into the flames of the fire. I saw his eyes get wide as saucers and his jaw drop. The next moment my legs gave out and I dropped back on the couch, bounced off it and landed squarely on my ass.

He rushed over to me. “Hey, are you alright?”

Dazed and confused, I stared with a blank expression in front of me.

“Laura, are you alright!?” he shook me by my shoulders until I let out the tiniest whimper.

“Pepper…”

“What? Laura, say something!”

I lifted my hand and weakly pointed at the fire. “Pepper…spray.”

“Oh Christ.” His eyebrows shot up. He rushed over to the fireplace and grabbed the tongs. “Shit, shit, shit.” He rattled off as he tossed apart the coals fishing for the ticking bomb. Finally he found it, grabbed it with the tongs and ran over to the curtains by the window. He disappeared behind them as I sensed a gust of wind rush through the room. A minute later he returned holding the tongs down by his feet. He placed them back by the fireplace and walked over to me. He picked me up with his strong arms as if I weighted nothing and helped me back on the couch.

THE START

“Man that was close. Were you trying to freshen up the place?” His lips curled up. A moment later his brows furrowed, causing a tiny wrinkle to appear between them. “Laura, what in the world are you doing here?” he said.

His words registered in my brain. It was a great freaking question. It seemed like any answer I could come up with would be the wrong one. The truth was worse. I looked up at him. Chase had become a real man. A more distinguished face was now highlighted by small wrinkles in the corner of his eyes. The skin had toughened up and got a deep tan. His thick black hair ran down to his broad shoulders. I looked at those baby blue eyes and the dimples it took me years to forget, and lowered my eyes.

“You have certainly changed.” He said surprised. I braced for impact. “You look…great! I never imagined you wearing something so delicate. I guess we both had enough time to change.”

I shook myself out of the fog. “No shit.” I looked at him. “When did you become count Dracula?”

His brows shot up, a second later his mouth stretch in a wide grin. “Ah yeah, this place is little creepy. It’s been in my wife’s family forever.” He looked around the room, “I guess it is a little dark, huh? We are only staying here over the weekend before heading back out West.”

“Only one weekend?” I let it slip uncontrollably before composing myself. “Talk about timing. So you’re married now?”

He sat down next to me and propped himself up with his big arms.

“Yeah, about five years now.”

“Jesus, time flies.”

“No shit. And you, how the hell have you been? We haven’t seen each other since high school!” he stared into my eyes. I didn’t know what to say, here was a guy who used to be my biggest crush, and now he is married and ordering me to come have sex while his wife is also present?

I sighed. “I think I’ve just been flying blind into the wind all these years.”

He titled his head as his eyebrows bunched, “What happened, did the Texas Tech not work out?” I was impressed that he still remembered my alma meter.

“It was fine,” I said. “I graduated in art design and tried getting gigs. Nobody was biting for almost a year so I decided to move to New York. I got here and found out there was even more competition here. I managed to get occasional freelance gigs but nothing was looking up.I was always broke. One day my friend told me how she made great money on the side going out on dates as a high price escort. She said it was fun and easy. I started to grill her about every detail and decided it sounded safe enough. So I figured I’ll try the girlfriend experience part. If I went on a date and didn’t like the guy, I could always say no.”

He was looking at me with those blue eyes, listening attentively. He seemed to be genuinely curious. I shifted in my seat and pulled my skirt lower.

“So one day I went on a date and came back an hour later five hundred dollars richer. That covered my rent for a month. I decided I liked the money and stuck with it. Have been doing it for about seven months now.” I lowered my head and fiddled with my hair.

“I am glad you like it.” He shot me a smile. “Sounds like it’s great money.” He looked at me and his eyes widened a bit when he saw my hands still shaking slightly. “Jesus, Laura” His brows shot up, “You must have gotten really freaked out before. I am sorry I scared you.” He patted my thigh and shot me a warm smile, “Would you like a drink?”

“Please.” I nodded. Chase pressed his strong arms into the couch and effortlessly lifted himself. When he walked over to the cabinet nearby, I saw his still great ass as it protruded through the dress pants.
What are the chances
, I shook my head
.

“And how are you doing Chase? Last I heard you got into Berkley?”

He laughed, “Jesus it’s been a long time.” He turned around and rubbed his chin as he counted down on his hand by extending each finger. “After my first year I dropped out of Berkley. Got into a start up. It failed within three months. Tried finance. Got fired. Got into another start up. It got bought out. Became a CEO of another. Cashed out at the top. Since then I’ve been an adviser for start ups in the Silicone valley. Now I basically do a few meetings in the morning and spend the rest of the day playing tennis with Amy.”

“Did I hear my name?” a female voice came from the other side of the room.

I turned my head and saw a silhouette of a woman in the doorway.

“Baby, could you please turn on the lights.” Said Chase.

“Hmm… sure.” She said with a slight pause. The room exploded with light and turned it from a creepy dungeon into a majestic and large library. The dark brown shelves stacked countless books neatly on the walls. A big wooden stairway was leading upstairs to the second level.

“Amy, meet Laura. She is my friend from way back, we went to high school together.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was stunning. A mixed blood brunette with a full figure and cat like eyes, her walk was elegant and direct as she approached us. She stretched out her hand.

“Hi, I am Amy.”

“Hi, I am Tiff… Laura.” I corrected myself.

“Nice to meet you.” She shot Chase a quick glance. “Thank you for coming, I hope it wasn’t too far of a trip.”

“Amy, it’s not like that.” He interjected with a chuckle. “Me and Laura haven’t seen each other since high school until today. It was complete twist of fate.”

“Small world.” I muttered.

“Yes it is. Very.” She curled her lips up and looked at me like a cat looking at a mouse.

“Can I get you a drink?” she said.

“Oh, right. We were just going to.” Chase said. “We have some terrific rum here, Laura. I’d wager you never had anything like it.” He turned to Amy, who had already graciously walked over to a big cabinet and opened it up, revealing a well stocked bar. “Honey, I’ll take one too.”

“Sure thing.” She poured us three fingers each and garnished the glasses with slices of pineapple.

“To old friends.” Amy led the toast, handing us our drinks. I felt a little shy drinking to
that
in this particular situation, but hell, she seemed to be taking it a lot better than I.

The rum was indeed delicious, as the sweet cane mixture melted in my mouth leaving a sweet hint of pineapple aftertaste.

“How did you guys meet?” I asked Amy as she turned around the chair and sat down across from me.

“Mmm.” She closed her eyes as she tilted her head back. “Amsterdam. I was in town for a conference, and Chase was one of the head advisers there.”

“Love at first sight?”

She looked at me and cocked her head. “Why do you say that?” I got caught off guard looking into her beautiful green eyes. They fire inside them seemed to burn deep within.

“Uh, well, you are a beautiful woman, and Chase is… uh… too.” I lost track of thought as I glanced toward him. He was openly grinning at me as if I was saying something hilarious. “So… you know, you might have been drawn to each other.” I barely finished, feeling my ears burn.

She crossed her legs and leaned forward. “You’re right, it was love at first sight. He is a great man, I know I am a lucky woman.” She rattled the ice in her drink and finished it.

She put down the glass on the floor and leaned closer. “You are quite a woman yourself, Laura.”

“Uh. Thanks.” I said, unsure what to say. I turned from her piercing gaze to Chase who had bitten his lower lip as if he was trying to stifle his laughter. I shot him a look as I raised my eyebrows.