Chapter 4—Roy

              Prodallos’ crowd was overflowing to the street. The upbeat music could be heard as she walked toward it. She spotted his tall and muscular physique turned in her direction, watching her as she neared. He was leaning against the bar with a drink in his hand. She could even see his smile. While it was clear she had seen him and was walking toward him, he nevertheless motioned her to come to him—he wanted to ascertain everybody knew the exquisite woman coming toward them was his companion.

              The place, Prodallos, was a hangout bar frequented by business people. Located at a street corner a block away from the building where Roy worked, the place was buzzing with life and full almost every night except on the weekends. There were only a few tables for diners, and those were indoors. Most people hung out around the bar, standing or seated on barstools in the open air. He had come early to secure them a nice spot by the bar.

              Roy was sufficiently polite and pleasant; other than the casual drop of a reminder that he was single and available, he never did anything unwelcomed. Not initially, at least. They talked about people at work and Roy answered Gina's queries about Doxxan.  A couple of beers later, feeling a little more comfortable in each other’s company, he followed it up with an insinuation that two good-looking people should be spending that beautiful night together. She simply laughed. He raked his long fingers through his hair. The breeze of wind was fresh. It was fall season, and they were both outside. She was seated on a barstool, and he was standing by her. They only had beers and some finger foods, both declined serious meals for dinner.

              Gina looked stunning seated on the barstool. He stole a few looks at her crossed legs, from the tip of her pointed toes up her calves, her lean knees to where her thighs disappeared under her skirt. There was a tattoo on one of her ankles, but there wasn’t enough lighting for him to be sure of its shape.

              "What's that?" He asked, pointing at her tattooed ankle.

              "Oh, this?" She raised her open-toe stilettoed foot. Her pedicured toenails were on clear display now. "It's Bambi."

              It would be lovely to touch it. "Oh, nice," he said instead, then finished his drink.

              Physically, Roy himself was Gina’s counterpart. He was quite handsome and with broad shoulders that tapered to a lean waist and a powerful core. Muscular yet lean, a disciplined gym-goer with teasing, clear blue eyes who walked with an air of arrogance; knowing the full effect of his looks which did things to the female population. At times, though, Gina caught him with a dull facial expression. Something that never happened with The Boss.

              “The Boss would not like that,” she said playfully when he suggested they should not end the night after emptying a bottle of red.

              “Why? You don’t have to tell him … What does it have to do with him, anyway?”

              “I don’t have to tell him, but I am meeting him early tomorrow over breakfast. He won’t stand being made to wait. I must turn in early," she glanced at her wristwatch. "Oh my! It’s 1 am already!”

              He might seem vain, but Roy was well-mannered. He didn’t push, and he probably shouldn’t. He thanked her for the night and wished they could do it again sometime soon, and it would be good for business if they were to meet regularly. She bade him goodnight. He would’ve liked to do more than the peck she let him plant on her cheek. She shifted her slender waist out of her barstool and got up. He walked her to her car, and they parted ways.

              The following morning was actually not a good time to have breakfast with Gina. The Boss had an important lunch meeting he’d like to prepare for. Abalido & Quinaeros Inc.—his company—was a boutique consulting firm of two hundred people based out of Seattle with consultants and project managers in management, marketing, finance, and technology. A month ago, a European giant in consulting had approached him to assess if he was interested in becoming their partner subsidiary on the West Coast or selling his interest altogether.

              That was heavy.

              But he supposed he could spare an hour to have breakfast with her. She needed his acknowledgment to make up for her mistake earlier that day—he understood that.

              He put on a robe while walking out of the bedroom toward the bar. As he poured his drink, his phone rang. "Hi, Roy," he answered the phone, then listened. Roy had called to give an update on the meeting. They had sorted it all out, he reported. The wonderful Gina had brought the acceptance document to that second meeting which killed any unnecessary argument from his people. "Oh, good," the Boss said. He thanked Roy for the update and they hung up. The Boss realized that Gina had come unprepared to the first meeting, which was terribly unprofessional.

              He took a sip of his neat peaty Ardbeg as he walked back toward the bedroom. Anna—his favorite courtesan—was sprawled naked on his big white bed, exhausted. She bore some resemblance to Gina, from the same lineage but not as graceful nor as sculpted. 

              She was about to crawl to him and pull him back into bed. "I'll be with you, just give me a minute," he said as he walked past the huge bed next to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the streets way down below.

              He needed to warn her not to be complacent. Being toyed around by a lowly employee as the episode today revealed should have punished her enough, he hoped.

              He recollected the visual of her beauty and understood how it helped and why she downplayed the importance of mundane preparations. Her meteoric rise might have made her think she had reached the pinnacle of her competence—she had not—and his big plans for her could not rely merely on her looks—it would help, but only as an edge. Nevertheless, he was proud to witness her vigor to rectify the situation, and her ability to network with people and put them to use.

              Anna rose from the bed, and came up to him from behind. She disrobed him and rubbed her body against his. She had recovered from her earlier exhaustion and was growing rather impatient. Her hands reached to his lower front and stroked it gently, the other cupped the bulbs as if to calm it down. She was insatiable.

              He always looked forward to seeing her, and would love to spend valuable time sitting and talking with her. Unfortunately, he could only spare an hour for that breakfast he promised her. What a pity, he thought.

              He turned toward Anna and devoured her.