Flatline - Murder | Mystery | Intrigue

Chapter 10

Emile

“So what is she like?” Noah asked as he prepped the pool table. 

I took a sip of my beer and glared at Tony, he just shrugged with a smile. Trust Tony to tell our friends, he was a worse gossip than most women. I sighed, I still hadn’t figured out how to fix the situation with Kay. I needed a grand gesture to rival the grand f*ck up Kimberly had caused. 

I was under no illusion that she would stay free forever or that she would be easy to win over, she would challenge me and put her needs and priorities first, as she should. I found the doormat type of women very unappealing these days. There was something about a strong woman turning to mush in my arms, her eyes begging to please me, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. I wanted to tear down her walls, drown her in pleasure and wrap her up in ecstasy. I was going to show her Nirvana, we’d go there together.

“She’s quite something,” I answered. “Kimberly made an appearance though, she claimed to be pregnant in front of Kay,” I complained. 

“What the hell?” said Noah, surprised. Noah had hated Kimberly from the beginning, claiming she was a self-absorbed b***h. I wished I had seen it then. Noah and I had been friends since we were teens, I knew he just wanted what was best for me, he would always have my back.

“Is it yours?” asked Tony, surprised at the news. I had better make sure he kept his mouth shut about it. I had no idea if the kid was mine, or if there even was a kid and the last thing I needed was for it to be public knowledge. Knowing Kimberly, I wouldn’t put past her to lie about something like that just to keep the lifestyle she had become accustomed to.  

“I don’t know, she claims it is. I want a paternity test though, I don’t believe a word that comes out of her treacherous mouth,” I fumed. “I gave her till the end of the week to move out, I’m done.”

“I hate to say it bro, but I told you that b***h was no good. Thankfully she’ll be gone soon, I really hope that kid isn’t yours or you’ll be stuck with her for the rest of your life, if only as your baby mama,” Noah huffed. He really despised her, but I couldn’t blame him. 

“I hope the new girl is better,” he continued. 

“She most definitely is,” I replied, there was no comparison really. “Firstly, I am the one pursuing her, secondly she has class and style and underneath all that she’s a sexy bad b*tch,” I continued. “I can’t wait to get to know her better,” I explained. I couldn’t really convey the energy between us, the smoldering s****l tension, or how she seemed to be both strong and vulnerable at the same time, bringing out the beast in me. I was determined to have her. 

“I don’t know how, but I will make her mine,” I swore. The guys all turned to look at me in shock; I had never made such a statement before. Noah smirked. 

“Somebody’s got it bad,” he teased. 

Did I? I just knew that I needed to know more about her.  

*_*

Kay 

I surfaced slowly, awareness coming in stages. I felt my body first, then my pounding head and lastly the desert that was my mouth. When my mind finally kicked into gear and therefore my memory, I shot up in dismay. 

Oh. My. God. 

This wasn’t happening, I mean, I had no problem getting all adventurous with James, but Peter? I cradled my aching head in my hands. What had I done? I checked the time, five AM. Good, I had time to fix my aching head before work. I got up and took some painkillers quickly, I couldn’t stop thinking of Peter while I got ready. I needed to organize my thoughts. 

Firstly, he was into swinging?!

He had already kissed me. 

He looked at me tenderly, but also with lust. 

He completely ignored his date as soon as he saw me.

Did that mean he had feelings for me? How did I feel about him? Did whether or not he had feelings for me influence how I felt about him? I was so damn confused. Why had I kissed him back and allowed him to take me that way? I mean, I had given up any ideas of us being together ages ago despite secretly perving on him when I could. Had our ship sailed long ago? I had a feeling it had. My headache was getting worse. 

I was still kind of shocked at my own brazen actions. I had to admit that it was crazy and exciting, but would I do it again? I wasn’t sure. Unpacking my feelings could wait, I had sh*t to do. 

The shower washed away the cobwebs in my head and the painkillers had kicked in, I just needed some breakfast and a huge coffee and I’d be good to go. I got Seth up and soon we were on our way. 

I walked into the office as if last night had never happened, back straight and head up. I had two priorities; set up a meeting with a counselor for Seth and prepare for the meeting with Emile. A quiet, mocking laugh escaped me. It would be yet another awkward encounter, one I had no desire to have especially today, but it was work, I couldn’t avoid it. 

The day had gone by pretty quickly, Seth and I had an appointment with a counselor the next morning, it was convenient since it was Saturday and we didn’t have work and school.

Before I knew it, it was four-thirty and the receptionist let me know that a gentleman was waiting for me in the lobby. The driver was right on time. I grabbed my notebook, coat and handbag and left my cubicle. 

 I entered the lobby and found Emile waiting, I sighed. He looked up and flashed his signature smile at me, I returned a fake and a little exasperated one. 

“Hi Emile, I thought you were sending a driver?” I c*cked a brow.

“Kay, it’s lovely to see you again,” he greeted as he took my hand and kissed the back of it. “I wanted to apologize for the other day, and surprise you.” he continued rather seriously.

“There is nothing to apologize for, you don’t owe me anything,” I replied, matching his grave tone. “Shall we?” I asked, wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere as soon as possible. 

He held his arm out to me and I couldn’t refuse without looking like a b*tch, so I hooked my arm in his and we left the building. I didn’t see a car waiting and looked up at him in confusion. He smiled, an excited glint in his eyes.

“We aren’t taking the car today Kay, follow me,” he explained and led me to a tall building in the next block. We then took the elevator to the rooftop where a helicopter waited. I exited the elevator and stopped in my tracks. 

“What the… Emile, what is this?” I looked at him in astonishment. 

“It’s my apology, please Kay, just come with me?” he asked, holding his hand out to me. 

Shit, I had no choice, but was secretly excited anyway. Izzy was going to lose her s**t when she heard all the stuff that had happened in the last twenty four hours. 

We entered the helicopter, he strapped me in and handed me some headphones. We took off and rose over the city, I assumed the noise would be deafening without the headphones. The pilot greeted us and took us over Table Mountain. As apologies went, this one was phenomenal, I was stunned. The breathtaking views took up all my attention and I didn’t even speak at all. 

We landed on what must have been a private nature reserve and Emile quickly helped me out of my seatbelt and held my waist as I got out of the helicopter. We walked in the fynbos for around ten minutes and came to a cliff, the sight was truly awe-inspiring and once I’d managed to tear my gaze away from it I noticed a view point. It was set up with blankets, pillows and a delicious looking picnic, bubbly and all. 

“Emile, this is really too much,” I stammered as we made our way to the pillows and sat down. 

“Look Kay, I would really like to get to know you better. I know you probably think badly of me considering our last meeting, but I promise you, Kimberly and I are no longer together. She cheated on me and I can’t move past that with her,” he began. “So, all I’m asking is that you be open minded, let’s see where this goes, no pressure,” he continued as he took my hand and kissed it again, a smoldering look in his eyes. It was a promise. 

I blushed, with the amount of effort he had put in, I could probably loosen up a bit. Then another thought occurred to me. 

“Emile, how could you afford all this on an assistant’s salary?” I asked, not beating around the bush. Private helicopter rides were not cheap. He smirked. 

“Actually, I own this one,” he said. My jaw dropped, what? 

“I also own Flatline, along with a few other businesses and clubs,” he continued. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean to deceive you, I just prefer to keep a low profile, Tony gets all the attention and I get to work from the shadows, much less distractions that way,” he explained. 

Shocked, I didn’t know what to say. I took a deep breath and reminded myself not to be blinded by the glamor, I had already seen the dark side of that.