“Saturday. Ten o’clock,” he reiterated.
Just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone, with only the smell of his manliness lingering in the air. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, wondering if everything that had just taken place had been a figment of her imagination. Saturday was only two days away. It wasn’t nearly enough time to think over something so important. Again, she was kidding herself. She already knew what her answer would be and there was no point in denying the spark of excitement at the prospect of embarking on the perilous path set before her.
4: Premeditated
The two days had come and gone far too quickly. Elsa had peered out her apartment window multiple times hoping to see the pewter-colored Nissan GT-R, but it was nowhere in sight. Apparently the elusive man who made her an inappropriate offer thought he had gleaned everything he needed to know about her. How wrong he was. Elsa was full of little perversions and secrets that she held near and dear to her heart. Things she hadn’t told anyone and the sort of things a simple background check would never reveal.
Two days should’ve been enough time for her to do a little background digging of her own on Victor Laurenzo, aka Mr. Black, but work had kept her busy. With the Saturday meeting looming less than twelve hours away, she tried to do an online search of his name, only to find her internet service was sluggish and anytime his name was entered into the search engine, she would be redirected to another site. It was as if destiny, or more likely fate, were intervening and keeping her from the truth, and maybe that was a good thing. It felt risky not knowing who she was agreeing to start a ‘physical association’ with. A little intrigue never hurt anyone, after all. Or did it? She was fully aware of what she was agreeing to. Okay, so she didn’t know the fine details yet, but tomorrow would bring all the answers she sought.
Sleep that night was fitful and her nerves were frayed beyond repair. After getting up to get a drink of water, she glanced out her bedroom window and there he was, Mr. Black. She stood watching him from a slit in her curtains, trying to imagine what he was thinking about. An orange light flickered inside his darkened car and his driver’s side window rolled down, a puff of smoke billowing out. With his perfect façade, she didn’t take him to be a smoker. Several minutes passed and a nervous fluttering settled deep in her belly and moved downward to the place that she would soon be sharing with Mr. Black. She wanted him, there was no denying it. The glow of the cigarette brightened each time he inhaled and she slowed her breathing to match his.
Prying herself from the window, she slipped on a satin robe and quickly descended the two flights of stairs to the side exit of her building. The sultry Virginia wind whipping outside wreaked havoc on her hair, but it was the least of her concerns. She wanted to see Mr. Black up close and personal and to study his lean, bronze-skinned profile. She wanted to smell his masculinity and to peer into his critical eyes.
Sneaking to the side of the building as quietly as possible, she moved up behind his car, being careful to stay in his blind spot. Just as she moved closer, his driver’s side window slid down all the way and he flicked the cigarette out. A gust of smoke came out along with his signature scent. Music filtered through the open window and past her ears to the sound of Demons by Imagine Dragons. What demons was Victor hiding? Besides his obvious and less than secretive stalking tendencies, that is. A tremor ran through Elsa. She felt ridiculous and breathless like a girl of eighteen as she hid in the shadows of his car just to get a glimpse of the man who wanted to have sex with her. Praying his doors were unlocked, she moved quickly to the passenger door and let herself in, completely taking him by surprise.
With wide, agitated eyes, he glared at her. “Sneaking up on a man is a good way to get your ass kicked,” he grumbled through gritted teeth.
Elsa tried to resist a smile. Mr. Black was quite appealing when caught unaware. “The look of surprise is becoming of you,” she dared to smirk.
Even in the dark, it was hard to miss his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. “Get out,” he barked, reaching over and opening her door.
When he leaned across her, his arm brushed against her scantily clad body and the smell of smoke, citrus and bergamot tantalized her. She wasn’t leaving just yet. The fun had just started. Pulling her door closed, his lips parted in surprise again.
“This isn’t a fucking game, Elsa,” his deep voice boomed.
“Then why are you sitting out here in the middle of the night taunting me?” she blurted, scarcely aware of her own voice.
He blinked long and hard and for a brief moment, seemed to be at a loss for words. After giving her body a raking once over, his eyes rested on her bare feet. “You’re out here barely dressed and not even wearing any shoes. What the hell were you thinking?” his mouth curved into a tight frown.
“I wasn’t thinking,” she moistened her lips nervously.
His mouth thinned in displeasure. “Clearly.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to appear unaffected by his words and leaned back into the leather. “Why are you here when we have a meeting tomorrow?”
Sinking back into the seat next to her, Victor nonchalantly fidgeted with the stereo settings and turned the music up.
“Because I couldn’t wait to see you,” his tone softened.
The coolly impersonal tone of his voice and statement were contradictory to one another and puzzled her. She watched him warily as he glanced sideways, obviously trying to gauge her expression.
“Now get out,” his voice hardened once again.
She sat for several more long moments trying to read his expression but he was a like a deep, dark cavern – bottomless and mysterious. Would he always be like this? Too tired to try and figure him out in the few minutes she had stolen with him, she reached for the door handle and turned her body to leave. She peered over her shoulder one last time to see Victor watching her intensely and she wondered who the hell this man was and what was she doing considering getting involved with him.
“Next time you decide to stop by my apartment, come to the door like a normal person. Sitting out here like a perverted creeper is a turn off,” she sniped just before exiting, knowing damn well she had just bold-faced lied. Everything about this man was a turn on, even his vile stalking tendencies.
Just as she stepped out of the car, Victor spoke, “Normalcy is also subjective, Elsa. Keep that in mind the next time you decide to speak out of turn.”
*
Elsa got only five good hours of sleep before rising early enough to get ready for her meeting. Seeing as Mr. Black had ruined her favorite, she dressed in her second best skirt; a white ruffled mini and a white and pink, lace and satin button down steam punk top. It was modest yet showed off her moderately-sized bust nicely. With her Mary-Jane heels on, lips glossed and hair tousled and pulled up into a loose bun, she drove to the address on the piece of paper – 2500 East Grace Street.
She had driven past it twice already to scope it out. It was a gorgeous brick brownstone with white trimmed windows, and an ornate black double door entrance set behind black wrought-iron pillars. Mr. Black had stated he had just finalized the paperwork on the place and she was eager to see the interior and what he had done with it.
When she pulled up, his Nissan was nowhere to be seen and she feared her antics and remark from the previous night had ruined her chances with him. She quickly walked around the property before making her way to the entrance. Just then her phone chirped with a text message.
Unknown: Key is located under a rock, third bush to your right.