Mr. Hayes nearly bowled Tracy over when the car came to a stop in front of Jenna's high rise apartment building. He bolted out of the car and onto the curb. Tracy could hear him breathing hard as he headed towards the steps. Putting his life in the driver's hands, a complete stranger, was torture for him.Jenna giggled as she exited the car, still tipsy from the club. "Oh, this place gets bigger every time I come home!" Jenna said, dancing up the stairs. Tracy handed the driver some money and thanked him. She knew that there was no way Mr. Hayes was going to tip him despite the fact that he had done his job well. At least money wasn't an issue for her anymore. She would just get more from him later to make up for it.By the time that she turned back to the building, the doorman had the door open and Jenna was on her way in. "I love the marble floors of the lobby, too!" She spun in circles, nearly colliding with a man exiting the building. Tracy watched her youthful energy. Tracy knew
As expected, Tracy soon found herself as a floating pair of eyes in someone else's dream. She remembered the link she’d experienced with Jenna as they made love, and figured this must be her dream.She was in a gigantic ballroom, lined with mirrors. It was like something out of Cinderella, or a Victorian-era movie.There were people everywhere, all in fancy dress. Their clothes were more in focus than their faces. Jenna wore a beautiful dress with intricate embroidery. The beautiful pattern was clear, even within the dream as were Jenna's necklace and earrings. Tracy watched as they danced with each other, but in a dream-like trance.Suddenly, trumpets sounded, and everyone looked towards the door. There, in a cream-colored dress, was Jenna. Her arm was locked around Mr. Hayes’ arm, and he was much larger than he was in real life. I suppose he can seem larger than life sometimes, she thought. They were obviously the honored guests of the ball.Ha, Tracy thought. Jenna's in for a rude
"Yes James, I understand... yes, of course... yes... Very good." Mr. Hayes spoke smartly into his phone as he and Tracy rode down in the elevator. Tracy had got used to the morning calls from James and had stopped paying attention whenever Mr. Hayes's phone rang. He hung up the phone as they exited the elevator.The doorman met them with a set of keys. Tracy smiled, knowing that Mr. Hayes probably had the car arranged the moment he’d stepped out of the chauffeured car the night before. His shoulders relaxed as the keys slid into his hand, and he knew he was in control yet again.Tracy was quiet as Mr. Hayes started the car. She was still reeling from her premonition and her discovery of the spring-loaded shoe-heel. The implications were staggering. Tracy tried to figure out what Jenna would gain from killing Mr. Hayes.Was it a financial motivation? Jenna's father was simply an investor and would actually lose money if Mr. Hayes died. Jenna was not in Mr. Hayes' will. Emotional reason
"Who does that!?" Tracy yelled at the empty apartment. She wasn't sure if she was referencing herself or Mr. Hayes. She flung her shoes on the floor near the door, feeling a perverse satisfaction at the way they banged the floor. He had paid for this apartment, not her. The scuff didn't bother her at all. She knew in the back of her mind that she would regret it later, but for the moment it felt like a small way to get back at him.She pulled the dress over her head and threw it on the floor. She went in the bathroom and slammed the dials until hot water came out. She wanted to break everything she touched just to get the frustration out of her system. She stepped into the steaming water and let it wash over her.Hot tears poured out, her frustration and pain finally releasing in the hot water. How could he do this to her? She screamed at the water, wanting to know why he would choose to hurt her like that. He knew that Jenna sparked a small jealousy in her, but to keep throwing it in
There were six people in the upstairs room of the mountain chalet while the rest of the party bustled along downstairs unknowing of the treachery above. John Tice sat in a chair in the corner, his head in his hands. Tracy and Mr. Hayes sat next to one another on a love seat with their hands held tightly together. Greg, the security chief, and James, Mr. Hayes' personal assistant, argued about what should be done, while Jenna sat with her hands zip-tied to a chair.The vial had been small, small enough to fit in Jenna's heel compartment. Greg's men had whisked it away to be analyzed, but Greg had smelled the hidden compartment it came from. "Smell the almond smell? Cyanide. You would have been dead before you hit the ground if you’d drank it."At first, John had fought the men to try to get his daughter released, but had relented when they said that they hadn’t called the cops yet. He was obviously a powerful man, but he knew when to quit. Something about him made Tracy uneasy, as if h
Once Jenna and her father were safely off with the security detail, Mr. Hayes turned to Tracy. "There is one person I can give up control to," he said. He leaned in for a kiss.Tracy stopped him, her hand on his broad chest. "You obviously don't trust me, Mr. Hayes."Hurt crossed Mr. Hayes' face. He was still pretty calm for having almost been killed. "I definitely trust you, Tracy. I've never trusted anyone like I trust you.""I don't believe it," Tracy said, sounding as hard as she had during their first sexual encounter, when she had left him tied up in the bed. Only this time, she wasn't pretending. This time, she was legitimately angry. “If you trusted me, I wouldn't have had to threaten to make a scene. You trusted Jenna more than you trusted me today and it nearly got you killed.”"What do I have to do to prove it to you?" Mr. Hayes asked. His eyes were gray as he watched her, waiting for her to tell him what to do.Tracy grabbed his hand and walked down the stairs. Mr. Hayes s
Two months later...“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tracy asked, fiddling with the diamond necklace around her throat. Mr. Hayes had given it to her on a whim, just as a simple gift, but the that it cost more than her first car still made her anxious when she wore it. “I have a bad feeling about this.”He would just get her another if she lost it, but the idea of casually wearing the worth of a car around her neck took some getting used to. Being a billionaire's girlfriend wasn't always easy. Worth it, but not necessarily easy.“Tracy, John Tice has been my mentor for years,” Mr. Hayes assured her, casually pulling up to the valet. “Nothing is going to happen. Besides, it's just drinks.”Tracy bit her lip. Two months. Two months since Jenna had tried to poison Mr. Hayes. Two months since the young woman then mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth. Mr. Hayes received weekly reports on her whereabouts, but even those remained suspiciously vague. The whole situation with Tic
A thundering crash echoed through the empty kitchen when a towering stack of brand-new, stainless-steel sauce pans toppled over."Damn it," Tracy mumbled, just in time to step out of harm’s way.The stack of cookware, worth thousands of dollars, hit the red tile floor so hard that pans flew in every direction.By the time the last pan stopped clattering and dancing, Tracy could feel a rising tide of frustration in the pit of her stomach. There wasn’t much time left before the restaurant – her restaurant – was set to open, and it felt like absolutely nothing had been done. The kitchen needed to be set up, the employees still needed to be finalized, the design crew still had to finish work on the dining room. And what made Tracy more nervous than anything was her appointment with her new head chef: Gordon Baxter.An esteemed chef with dozens of prestigious awards under his apron, Gordon had only agreed to work for Tracy for a salary that ate up much of the restaurant’s start-up budget.
The whirling, twisting colors of blue and red over white surrounded Tracy. She knew she wasn't dreaming, that both of them were still awake, but the connection was so strong she was able to transcend and enter his thoughts without being asleep.John's mind howled with the invasion. It beat at her with icy winds and blistering heat, but she didn't relent. There was no retreat from this.The form of Jenna filled her mind.Only it wasn't the Jenna Tracy knew.A scared little girl, no more than six years old, peered up at her. She wore a simple white dress with a dark blue bow in brown hair. Freckles dotted her cheeks and innocent eyes stared out at her.“Why did you let her do that to me, Daddy?” the little girl asked. “Why would you let this happen?”“I'm so sorry, baby,” John's voice whispered. “I promised to protect you.”“She is going to take him away from me. You promised me that Paul and I would live happily ever after. You promised,” the little girl pouted.Tracy knew that it wasn
BANG!The gun went off. Tracy saw the brief flash at the end of the muzzle, and the bullet rocketed through the edge of her upper arm. She immediately cried out and fell to the ground, her blood spattering onto the gravel below. Red pain flowed down her arm.Mr. Hayes, whether through his prowess or pure luck, wrestled the man to the ground and climbed on top of him. By the time Tracy was able to clamp a hand onto her wound and stand up onto her shaking legs, Mr. Hayes had beaten the assassin into unconsciousness and was still going."Mr. Hayes," she screamed. He kept hitting the man, pummeling him into a red pulp. He was going to kill him if he didn't stop.He didn’t answer, but she still wasn’t close enough to reach him."Paul!" she cried out, desperate to keep him from making a mistake he would never forgive himself for.Hearing her call him that name made him snap out of his blood-hungry trance. He grabbed the gun from where it had fallen and climbed off of the man, never once tak
After a few restless hours of sleep, they both got up. In the living room, Paul Hayes stood by a large window, watching the dawn slowly creep over the horizon and share her light.Tracy sat on the edge of a pure white sofa, also looking out at the spectacular display. Between the two of them, there was a nervous silence that weighed them both down. Tracy hunched forward, her elbows resting on her knees and her hands dangling listlessly in front of her. Mr. Hayes, was hunched as if the shoulders of his jacket had been lined with concrete.Neither wanted to discuss the true potential of his upcoming meeting with John Tice. The fact that Tice had insisted on meeting in a warehouse on the edge of town certainly didn’t help matters. The whole thing gave Tracy a bad feeling. The pit of her stomach rolled and shouted warning.Tracy opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it when no words came to her.What have I done to this man? What have I started? She looked him over from head to toe an
She hurried through the main lobby. There wasn’t another soul in sight, save for the two front desk clerks who waved her goodbye.Outside, posted against one of the tall, Romanesque columns holding up the reception area, Mr. Hayes waited for her silently. When she finally saw him, after almost walking past without a second look, her heart sank. She didn’t want him to find out like this. There wasn’t even enough time for her to process what Gordon told her, let alone enough for her to find the right words to say to him.She could only imagine what he thought, seeing his girlfriend come out of another man's hotel room late at night. There was really only one thing he could think and it broke her heart."What is going on, Tracy?" His voice was soft. There was a pain there that made her throat tighten.She stopped a few feet away from him and lowered her head."We need to talk," she said. “There's some things you need to know.”He swallowed hard and nodded, eyes dark and sad. The two walk
Inside Gordon’s room at the top of the luxury tower, the fireplace had been lit well before their arrival, warming the room to a toasty temperature in stark contrast to the cold that had settled over the area. A storm had moved in swiftly, smothering everything for miles in a icy blanket.Tracy shivered as she looked around the room, trying to relax. A track of dim, hidden accent lights circled the vaulted ceiling, giving the room an inviting glow. Tracy walked in, her heels clacking on the Italian marble flooring, and tried to take it all in."This place is amazing,” she said softly. It was a beautiful room.Gordon closed the door softly. When the handle popped shut, Tracy tried not to flinch. All that she could think about was the gun from her dream."Have a seat," he said and walked to the bar. "I’ll get you something to drink."Tracy sat down on the edge of the plush couch near the fireplace. Right away, she started to sink in to it. The softness of it put her sore feet and tired
The weeks leading up to the grand opening of Tracy’s restaurant were a flurry of activity. There was a constant stream of vendors and new employees running in and out of the place from morning to night. At the center of it all was the waitress-turned-head honcho who, at the end of the day, felt about as lost as the day she chose to make it happen. The constant tornado of events made it almost impossible to concentrate on anything for more than a minute or two.The first few days, she avoided Gordon. After their sexual night together followed by the disturbing dream, she wasn't sure what to expect from him. But, he behaved as if nothing had ever happened between them. He was the complete professional, which was good because Tracy felt like everything was falling apart at the seams.Fortunately, Gordon stepped in to help, after finding her almost in tears because she got the wrong size onions. From that point on, the two worked seamlessly in tandem in a way that Tracy hadn’t expected. B
"That was nice, Tracy. I've actually dreamed of us doing this ever since that night with you and Jenna," Mr. Hayes said.She struggled to keep her eyes open the entire ride home, though the rhythmic whooshing of passing cars tempted her to the realm of sleep. She struggled out of the car when they arrived and climbed up the stairs, holding onto the banister like a rock-climber dangling from a cliff. Her feet felt like cement and her head felt like it was about to float away.Suddenly, what Mr. Hayes had said in the car came back to her. Mr. Hayes had dreamed about a two man threesome.How did I not know that was going to happen? Why didn’t I see it?As tired as she was, the nagging doubt in her blossoming abilities weighed even heavier on her mind. She wondered whether or not the skill was fading or, even worse, if she was just outright losing her marbles. There were times when she certainly felt like it could be the latter.By the time that Tracy reached the massive, plush bed, her e
“I want both of you to fuck me,” she told him.“Anything,” he said immediately. She figured that he had been prepared for this for some time, ever since she had given him the night of his life with Jenna Tice.Tracy reached over to the throbbing erection in his slacks and stroked it only twice. Her touch made him whimper like a puppy."Good," she said and pushed his hand off of her. "I think we'll both enjoy it."Not a moment later, Gordon came back around the corner with a tart pan in his hand."Ready for dessert?" he asked, oblivious to what had just happened seconds before.Tracy glanced over to Mr. Hayes. He nodded. "I’m ready."If Gordon knew anything about what was going on, he showed no signs of it. Instead, he went right back to work slicing the fruit-studded pastry with a long, sharp knife."Finally, I made a Tahitian vanilla custard tart with seasonal fruits and almond whipped cream. I've been told it's better than sex.” He paused, watching her reaction.Tracy licked her lip
When he was gone, she turned back to the kitchen."What are you working on now?" she asked, watching him with wide eyes. He grinned at her, and the heat of his gaze made her core heat."Ah," Gordon reached into a metal bin and scooped up a small ball of rice. "I made some risotto yesterday and stuck it in the cooler overnight."The way that he moved around the kitchen so effortlessly was amazing to Tracy. Seeing anyone perform a skill that they’ve mastered was a treat, but seeing a chef on her payroll do his thing was even more rewarding. There was an easy dexterity in the way that he handled his tools that was fascinating to her, almost entrancing.Gordon pressed his thumb into the ball of creamy rice, forming a little divot."So I take it and form the risotto around a piece of this amazing buffalo mozzarella that I found just a block from here. Then it gets breaded and fried up really quick."He quickly made five more before dropping them all into a bowl of bread crumbs and tossing