Chapter TWO

Chapter Two- Is He Married or Not?

"Is this how it's going to be every time we go out now?" Becka emitted a long puff of air disdainfully, peering over her shoulder and facing me with a sneer. Just like myself, she was not particularly fond of Greta: the woman on dad's payroll.

Because of some past transgressions, especially the most recent ones( trust me, peer pressure is very real), dad hired Greta, a thirty year old, uptight, strict as a wicked Catholic high school nun, walking prick, to be my bodyguard, babysitter or parole officer or whatever she is- because dad staunchly believes that I now need someone to follow me everywhere I go and keep me in line.

And trust me, I am no delinquent or scoundrel, I just somehow always find myself at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. To be honest, I do not have the firmest backbone and I am putty and easy to manipulate, that's why I prefer self-conceited, self-assured, stern, dominant, older men. I do not like authority, but I truly need it and need to be put in place every now and then.

I would not have much of a problem if dad had hired some thirty something, tall, hot as hell, handsome hunk, in fact I would have been thrilled to have an absolute hottie as my babysitter- but instead I have Greta and I find her absolutely atrocious. At least I will not have to see her sour face for a week, this is the only time I can say thank goodness for Bassa!

"I know," I rolled my eyes peevishly, "can you believe she told dad that we wanted to drug her and I swear I thought he was never going to let me leave the house or see you again." The Wicked Witch Of The North had overheard Becka suggesting we lace her coffee with sleeping pills strong enough to knock her out for a couple of hours so I could go over to Gage's and she ran to dad and told her everything with additional spice- trust me, it did not sound so bad when Becka was saying it.

"Oh I just can't stand her," she whispered in a hushed tone, but the intensity of her contempt was discernable, "Gage really misses you a lot, he literally begged me to hide him in the back of my car and sneak him into your house while the Wicked Witch Of The North is not looking, but that would have been stupid so I turned him down. At this rate, he might start cheating on you, you know how needy that boy can be." She concluded with a sneer.

I sighed deeply. "I know, but there's nothing I can do, it is his fault that I am grounded and can't see him whenever he likes, he shouldn't have forgotten those joints in my room, he got me into a lot of trouble!"

Gage is my boyfriend of three years, he is the typical, stereotypical badboy and his reckless, don't give a shit nature is what initially attracted me to him. My dad hates his guts, he is a delinquent who miraculously has not landed himself in juvenile detention and somehow gets great grades, I'm talking straight As here! I was very infatuated with him as a freshman, but he is not exactly the older, dominant, powerful and potentially dangerous man I crave. Plus, his sex game is not so great. He is a D minus at taking charge and I need an A plus, plus.

"I mean, you are going to Bassa soo…" Becka gave me this knowing, suggestive look and wiggled her perfectly drawn eyebrows.

"Sooo?"

"So who knows who you are going to meet there? I heard that the men there are fire- like super hot and tall and because of their culture, they are naturally dominant and know how to take charge and that's just what you need." She gushed, and I could tell how badly she wanted to be in my position and envied me.

"And what about Gage?"

Ever since mom died and I found out that she's from a family of cheaters, like literally everyone in her family has cheated on their spouses/ partners, I have been endeavoring to avoid getting lumped into the generational curse of infidelity- so as much as Gage annoys the fuck out of me most times, I have been nothing but faithful to him. And when he is not being a jerk, he is the sweetest, most considerate, admirably supportive person and is the best boyfriend ever, that's why I have stuck with him for three years.

Becka simply rolled her eyes like I had asked something utterly foolish.  "You won't have a boyfriend when you are in Bassa, why do you think we are shopping for sexy swimwear? Just forget about that loser, he does not know how to satisfy you anyway. There are going to be a lot of hot, rich, older men from all over the world where you are going, you cannot deny yourself an opportunity to finally get yourself a daddy because of fucking Gage."

"Huh, I doubt they will be hot and I am sure most of them, if not all of them, will be married and if not, have something terribly wrong with them, like be sociopaths or something."

Becka shares my love of older men and I love that about her, but she is very bold and shameless in persuasion and the total opposite of me. Boy would it be a dream if dad's business associates were the hot criminals in suits I read about,  who know how to put a young, undisciplined teenage girl like myself in place - but this is real life, not a novel.

"All I am saying is, keep an open mind." She nudged me on the arm and threw me her trademark salacious wink, before throwing another scandalous, scanty bikini set into the trolley. "And you can't tell me all those men will have potbellies and be ugly and overweight, trust me, there will be some silverfoxes there and with how high the divorce rate is, there will surely be some lonely divorcès there looking to start afresh- plus, I heard that Damien Blackwood is very hot, and that's your dad's boss, right?"

I corrugated my brows in confusion and spotted a small frown which conveyed my thoughts to Becka precisely. Science and IT geek and sexiness do not correlate to me.

"Yes, he is my dad's boss and an even bigger nerd than he is. They went to the same university together and have been in each other's lives ever since. I know he must be some two or three years older than dad because he graduated before him and continued to study even more and eventually took over the company when his father died. Trust me, he sounds like a very undesirable character, my dad tells me he can intimidate anything that walks and everyone he encounters respects him very much. He sounds very scary and he is a science man, so I doubt he is anything close to attractive."

My dad likes to keep his private life and business seperate, so I have not had the misfortune of meeting his infamous boss and since I can be quite ignorant, I do not have a single clue what he looks like.

"Well, is he married or not?" Of course that's all Becka was concerned about, since she has a crush on her dad's topshot Attorney best friend and can't get with him because he is very much married and only sees her as a kid ( I mean he's still calling her kiddo even now and she turned eighteen four months ago) she wants to live her fantasies through me. Jackson Thornton is very hot, I won't lie.

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to recall if dad ever mentioned a Mrs Blackwood or not. "I don't know… I think he is divorced… I remember dad saying something along those lines… I also remember him saying that he is married to his job and does not trust women." I wonder why I have never been interested in seeing even a picture of Mr Blackwood when I know so much about him.

"Well if he is Andreatta's celebrity crush, then he must be hot, plus she can't stop talking about his interview, what does that tell you- he must be hot!" Becka stretched out the words and placed much emphasis on the word hot. Andrea is her older sister, she works for a famous magazine company and apparently she has spent an hour with the prestigious Blackwood heir, feeling like melted butter.

I will have to see it to believe it, the image I have of him in my head is the utter opposite of hot. Becka must be playing a joke on me or trying to get me excited for the trip.

"Well I don't know what he looks like either and I have never seen the magazine covers he's made or the billboards, so let me G****e him-"

"No!" I snatched her phone away from her with the swiftness of a striking cobra. I do not need any affirmations of anything. "I do not want to see him, I do not want to know if he is hot or not!"

"Why not!" Becka stomped her foot once, a display of grouchiness. "What if he is extremely hot and likes younger women?"

"Then I want to be surprised." I told her. I do not know what the living arrangements are for the week, but I will not be attending any of the meetings, obviously, so I might not even see him from a distance at all. "I am tired of talking about my dad's boss and besides, you know it is very important to me to be faithful to Gage."

Becka rolled her eyes for the millionth time, and trust me, her eye rolls exceed insult, mockery and the most snide comment and when they are accompanied by a sneer, the butchering effect is ten times worse.

"Just forget about that helpless twig for once, will you! You are still young, you'll only be turning eighteen in four days, if there is any time to be selfish and do whatever the fuck you want without restraints, it is now! Listen babes, I want you to go to Bassa and have yourself some fun. It is summer, you are young and hot and gorgeous, it is time you used your beauty and stunning figure to your advantage, before you get wrinkles and flabby all over. Take my advice, I am your best friend, I know what you need, you need to loosen up and stop trying to be a Saint. Devils have all the fun honeeyy!! Now I am super bummed that I am not going with you, but that means you have to live for the both of us for that entire week. I want you to let go of whatever inhibitions you have, trust me, sometimes you are such a prude and that is fucking annoying. I want you to step out of that plane smoking and shameless as hell, jump on the first dick you see if you want to! You better make that week a fucking epic one! Now come on, go pay for these so we can get you some sexy dresses in case you will need to attend some posh parties or gala dinners."

I took in Becka's advice and absorbed her words into my subconscious.

But I think I might have taken them too literally.