The Perfect Seduction

CHAPTER THREE: SET

Fatigue was something that Neil was accustomed to, working like an animal all his life had conditioned his body to cope but sitting in a plane for nearly sixteen hours was new to him. At his arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport, an older black man awaited him with Neil’s name on a piece of white paper.

It was days like these that he was thankful to have Amber as the best PA, who took her time to make sure that his trip was all taken care of. Neil walked towards the short man, wearing a formal suit even in the scorching Kenyan sun.

“Hello sir, I assume you are waiting for me?” Neil flashed a smile at the older man who smiled back at him too. Neil could not explain how he was drawn to a man that he had never met before. Neil could not help but smile at the older man with greying hair, indeed a sign of wisdom on his part.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Droviski” the older man greeted Neil with an even brighter smile on his face. Neil reached out to shake the older man’s hand and he kindly took Neil’s hand in his.

“Please call me Neil” Neil corrected the older man and the man nodded his head in agreement.

“My name is Andy, people call me papa Andy and I will be your guide for the duration of your trip” Andy informed Neil who felt relaxed that he would at least have a local to guide him throughout the trip. Neil could not help but to study papa Andy with his eyes and for someone who could roughly be in his sixties he was full of energy.

“Well, papa Andy would you kindly take me to my hotel? This sixteen-hour trip has dealt with me harshly” Neil confessed and this made papa Andy laugh aloud, slapping his hands together.

“Trust me, I have worked in this line of work for a very long time and you are amongst the many travelers who complain about the long flight. Now follow me and I will take you to your hotel” Papa Andy told Neil and not long after, he loaded Neil’s belongings onto the trolley and they were off to the car.

The walk to the car was a short one and Amber being true to herself rented out the best car for him to travel with, even though Neil had insisted that she get him the simplest of things. Growing up rich had afforded Neil all the luxuries that life could offer and for once he wanted to feel like he was part of the crowd.

Papa Andy unlocked the door for Neil, which Neil entered as soon the door was shut and they were headed to his hotel. On their way to the hotel, Neil could not help but be drawn to the beauty of Nairobi, the people were all vibrant as they went about their day and no one paid him any attention as he was driving in the car.

Neil enjoyed this atmosphere and he hoped that his entire trip would be as peaceful, for long he had craved for a world where no one would notice him or know that he came from an affluent family. For once, he just wanted to blend in with the crowd and it seemed as though his dream had come true.

“So, do you love the view?” Papa Andy asked Neil from the driver’s seat of the car.

“Yes I love it, one can feel the atmosphere around here” Neil confessed and it seemed that his response made Papa Andy very happy.

“You are right; you see the people in Kenya are very kind and welcoming to all people from all walks of life” Papa Andy explained, these were usually the times when Neil would yawn at a driver who tried to advertise their cities bit Neil found himself enjoying his conversation with the vibrant papa Andy.

“That is indeed nice to hear that I will be welcomed”

“Not to mention that our women are very beautiful indeed— unless you already have someone in your life?” Papa Andy asked. Before Neil could answer the older man, the question did hit him quite hard.

Neil could not remember when last he was on a proper date with a woman who was not just a business associate because his life was overrun by all the work that he had been doing. Between managing the company without the help of his siblings and making sure that he made his family members richer, he had no time for a social life. Perhaps one would even say that he was married to his job.

“No papa Andy, I have no one in my life and I do not think that I have time for a relationship” Neil confessed.

“Oh I too said the same thing when I was younger, then my wife happened, we have been happily married for the past thirty years and with four beautiful grown children” Papa Andy joked and so did Neil, he loved hearing stories where people fell in love but he never saw himself as the falling in love kind of man.

If one were to ask Neil where he saw himself in the next thirty years, his guess would probably be at his job making his next million.

His conversation with Papa Andy continued until they arrived at the hotel and it was then that Neil realized that he liked Papa Andy’s personality even more than he had thought. The older man had so many jokes to tell and he was full of wisdom to part with Neil.

The car came to a halt; Papa Andy got out and unlocked the passenger door, allowing Neil to step out of the car. As Neil stepped out onto the pavement, he smiled, knowing quite well that Amber had ignored his orders yet again. Neil remembered telling Amber specifically that he wanted a small hotel but what he saw before his eyes was far from small, it looked breathtakingly beautiful.

“Kenya International hotel,” Neil said to himself as Papa Andy offloaded his belongings from the car.

“It is beautiful isn’t it?” Papa Andy asked Neil, who was stunned at how quickly the older man moved.

“Yes, it is beautiful, far more beautiful than I had expected it to be if I must confess” Neil responded, placing his hands onto his hips.

“Come on; let us make our way in,” Papa Andy told Neil. Neil followed Papa Andy towards the hotel's entrance, where a lovely door attendant welcomed them. Just like the hotel’s exterior, the interior was breathtakingly beautiful and Neil was even more grateful that there was air-conditioning; standing outside in the hot Kenyan heat was a suicide mission that he was not ready to take yet again.

Neil walked towards the receptionist and the lovely woman smiled back at him.

“Good afternoon sir and how may I help you this lovely afternoon?” The receptionist asked Neil. He could not help but to notice her strong Kenyan accent ring through her words and he loved the sound of it.

 “And a good day to you too madam, my name is Neil, Neil Droviski and my secretary made a reservation for me” Neil informed the receptionist who looked away and she typed away onto her computer and within seconds she looked up at him and smiled at him.

“Well Mr. Droviski we have been expecting you” The receptionist informed Neil and her words had Neil wondering just what it was that Amber had done. Neil waited as the receptionist called the porter and the young man arrived there in no time to take Neil’s bags.

“Here is your keycard sir and I hope you will enjoy your stay at the Kenya international hotel” The receptionist handed Neil his keycard. Neil remembered the process like the back of his hand, the constant traveling and booking out hotel rooms in different countries for business purposes but this particular trip felt different to him.

“I am sure I will, thank you” Neil thanked the receptionist and made his way into the elevator along with the porter, the ride to his room seemed like it would never end and the further they went up in the hotel's eleventh floor, the more Neil got suspicious.

“Do you perhaps know which floor I will be staying on?” Neil asked the porter.

“Here we are sir, the eleventh and final floor,” The young man said excitedly as he exited the elevator with Neil’s bags and Neil followed suit. The red-carpeted floor in the hallway looked exquisite, to say the least, and everything from the ceiling to the floors matched perfectly.

The porter stood aside whilst Neil unlocked his door and just as he unlocked the door and entered, Neil knew that once again Amber had defied his order because what he was looking at was far from a simple room, it was a presidential suite.

Neil tipped the porter and just before the young man could leave the room, Neil stopped him.

“Do you know if I can get another room?” Neil asked the young man who seemed confused.

“Do you not like the room, sir?”

“No I love it, I just think that it is too big for one person” Neil responded, knowing quite well that he had told Amber, his PA that he wanted something small that would not draw attention to himself. His question had stunned the young porter who had never probably had the opportunity of renting out a presidential suite in a hotel room before.

“Well I am sorry sir but it's the season so most of the rooms are booked out” the young porter responded and his answer did disappoint Neil a bit but he tried not to show it.

“Well thank you then, have a nice day”

“Same to you sir” The young man responded to Neil, exiting the room and leaving Neil all by himself in a gigantic sized room.

Neil looked around the room and he could not deny that the African-themed room looked different from other hotels he had visited but a room this size was so common. He could not remember how many times he had stayed in a presidential suite but he had lost count. The experience had always felt the same and here he was, just like any other rich man spending a ridiculous amount of money on accommodation.

Now alone in the comfort of his room, Neil whipped out his cellular phone, changed his card to a Kenyan card, and dialed the number, two rings later Amber answered.

“I see you have found the card that I placed in your bag, so are you loving the place?” Amber asked him. Neil could hear her excitement over the phone and he could not remember her being this happy before, other than when she was around her fiancé.

“It looks great, better than I expected but it seems as though you had—”

“Not obeyed you? Neil, you have been my friend for a long time and all I want you to do is relax” Amber confessed, by now the excitement in her voice had vanished.

“Well I can do all that without a fancy driver, car, or presidential hotel room” Neil tried arguing but Amber was not going to allow him to get away with it. For as long as he could remember, Amber had always acted like a concerned mother even though her behavior irritated Neil, the last thing he needed was someone else watching over his wellbeing.

“I know you can but please do this for me” Amber begged, the tenderness in her words melted Neil’s heart and he knew that he could not say no to Amber.

For as long as he had known Amber she was not one to ask for favors, even when they dated in university she never complained when he would not call her for days at a time because he was studying or whenever he would forget about another date and they would have to reschedule, only for him to forget again.

“Okay Amber, I will do just that, so what will I be doing whilst I am here?”

“Well, I will have the receptionist send you a calendar, in the calendar, there are allocated dates, time, and activities that you will be doing whilst you are in Kenya” hearing Amber so excited about his vacation made Neil wonder if there was more going on than what she was letting on.

“You seem excited to see me leave the office am I that much of an overbearing boss?” Neil asked Amber and hearing her laugh through the other end of the phone had pleased Neil.

“Well I am happy, you deserve a break from all the work you have been doing. One more thing, you cannot contact your family” Amber warned Neil, her warning had him raising an eyebrow.

“I have to at least call home” Neil tried arguing but he was no match for Amber.

“No you cannot and you will not! Look, I know your family, and I know that they will guilt trip you into cutting your vacation short. So under no circumstances will you be calling any of them” Amber warning him, her motherly voice ringing loud into Neil’s ear and sounding a warning that he should not dare call home.

Neil wanted to argue but he knew that Amber was right, for years, he had lived for his family but right now, he wanted to live for himself and if a vocation on the other side of the world would do it then he would simply have to do just that.