Chapter 1
You get the feeling that your boss was undressing me with
his eyes?” I asked as I exited the club, knowing Arrow was not far behind me, I
grabbed a cigarette from his package of smokes and lit up one, I had lied about
my last job but I was faithful to one man and only one man, his boss was hungry
for a female to mount, I knew that Erikson carried some weight in Vancouver
anything to get him off my ass would have done just nicely.
I took a heavy breath inward catching the toxic smoke of the
cigarette, and holding it in my body before expelling it, I looked to the six
foot two man who green eyes held my eyes in their light, He too was blowing
smoke out. An unattractive thing about a man was smoking but on Matt it was
calming. He was my gentle giant, whom loved every little thing about me.
Arrow stood there and shrugged, “Maybe but I didn’t think so
that how he is around all the other women, I didn’t see it, if I did I don’t
care how far I am here I would have laid his ass on the bar floor, and the boys
in the back know that.” I nodded and I
waited for his warm arms to take me in but tonight they didn’t, oh well next
time. I looked up the street to make sure no cars where coming on Pender street
and Arrow and I crossed. We cut up to Burrard Street not holding hands on the
hot, muggy, Vancouver night I took longer to puff on my cigarette watching
Arrow stomp his out, we were quiet as we walked to the train station. The last
one was due in few minutes if not we would have to cab it home or call a friend
to come and get us, and likely if that happened, it would be not to kind
ex-boyfriend Paul. There we were walking to the station and there was Vicki,
the woman whom was always waiting for us before she shut the gate…I hauled as I
saw the gate was already closed, I looked at my watch and then at my phone for
the time, we were on time! “What the fuck Vicki! We are here!” Only to see the
woman turn, only it wasn’t Vicki, “Vicki is on Vacation, sorry, maybe you
should get here 5 minutes earlier, and not smoke.” She turned and I watched her
disappear down the stairs to the trains, I flicked the last of my smoke towards
the street, the only train to get us home from downtown and not make us wait
until three am for a bus was locked behind a gate. I turned back to Arrow for
an answer, he was already looking into his phone for a friend to call at this
point, I looked up the street, and there was an Audi 500 Spyder coming up the
road. The sinking feeling turned into a brick when I saw the license plate say
Donley. The purr of the engine came to a low purr as it pulled to the curb. The
window rolled down and there sat Matthew, I watched as his lips begin to move,
I jumped at the chance to decline his offer. “I think we are ok Mr. Donley, but
thank you for your hospitably.” There done, only Arrow had to say “nice car
boss, I would kill for a car like this!” I shrugged as I knew it was a hot car
but it was out of both our price ranges knowing with my credit and student
loans alone I would never be able to afford a car let alone a house. His
glowing white smile came a thank you to my finace’s kind words.
“Here, why not borrow it for the night, drive her to my
house drop me off and you and your woman can borrow it for the night.” He was
making a move to get out to let us in, I had to stop this.
“No that is nice but I am sure that Jeff the head chef can
come and get us.” A white lie Jeff was in Toronto this week.
“please I insist,” He looked to Arrow, “do you drive?” about
to throw him the keys, Arrow’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights, I knew that
look.
“No sir,” he turned and pointed at me, “Alice drives.”
“And I have been drinking it isn’t wise I be driving such a
nice car.” I was almost pleading he not
give us a ride.
“I trust the both of you, it’s a few blocks away, come on,
Arrow take the front, and Alice can take the back.” Arrow was into pulling the
black leather chair forward hearing it click into place knowing that once I got
it there was no way I was going back to just my mom’s station wagon and my dad’s PT curiser.
“Fine, I will drive it.” Knowing it was a battle I would
never win I might as well make the most of it. I climbed in the tight back
seat, sitting on the side, and Arrow’s long back pinning me to the back of the
car, I looked as Matthew climbed back into the tin can of a car, it was a nice
car.
“I have two of them, one for my girlfriend” he looked at me
as he spoke, “if I ever got one, maybe I can show you, it’s just sitting in the
garage right now, do you want to see it?” In union Arrow and I spoke, “no.”
“Yes please sir!”
“It’s late Arrow and we have the cat at home, let’s just
take the car and go home.” He turned in his seat as we pulled away from the
curb, “Awe Alice, you have tomorrow off, you can come in for a look, come on
five minutes.” Thinking about it, I did have the rest of my life off because of
the cow Christian Erikson found a text on her husband’s phone from me saying I
was going to be late, when she confronted me I told her honestly that I thought
it was her phone, and she thought I was having an affair with her husband and
fired me right then and there. “Yeah you’re right.” I hung my head feeling
shameful. He looked behind for a second.
“You unemployed aren’t you?” I swallowed and nodded,
“She found a text to her on her husband’s phone.” I hung my
head, “I didn’t even get a chance to explain before she was walking me out of
her house.” I pushed my hair back. He
pulled his focus back to the road as the rain became to flow in, like my tears,
he pulled into a underground parking lot, I heard garage doors open and close
then the car took a sharp turn to the left and the engine revved up and put
into reserve. He looked into the back as I was curled up in a small ball, he
saw me, the way most people didn’t, he saw me, and the car became dark. “Come
on guys, I gotta show you what your finace will be driving from now on.” He
pulled his seat forward and helped my black steckers flipflops out of his car,
his hand traveled up to my knee fold before letting go and taking my poorly
manicured hand, ashamed I looked down, he pulled my chin up forcing my eyes up
to his they were green like Arrow’s but they were brighter. He ushered me
around me the car and I looked at the white beauty that sat in the garage.
“Let’s go upstairs and I can get you the keys for the building and the car”
I turned to him pulling my coat closed, “what makes you
think I want a job with you?”
His hand found the small of my back and as it did, my
breathing hitched he had me Arrow never got to me like this, and it was
strange, Arrow is my one I fought long and hard to make us work and I made sure
all my family had met him got to know him, being of Irish decent made it hard
for him to show me his family since he ran away from home with me when he was
only 19 years old, as was I. We were together for eight years and we fought, we
loved, we made us work, and we were getting married. Now there in his boss’s
garage I found myself getting hot and bother by the way his boss touched me.
Arrow was all smiles that I was getting keys to a beautiful car, once he found
out his boss’s advances he would knock him out.
“Now, now, Alice I know you will take it because I know I am
not paying your man enough for you to survive on one income, so why not you
come upstairs with me.” He scanned his fob on the door, and there was Arrow
ahead of us, He pushed the button like an excited kid in a candy store, if
arrow was the girl his panties would have been left in the car, me I was the
smart one, making him work for my attention. The elevator went ding and the
doors opened there Arrow walked in first, and there was Matthew who guided me
in with his hands.
“This is amazing!” Exclaimed Arrow, “who lives here with
you? Do you have flatmates?” I smiled knowing his Irish accent was something I
treasured and it still made me giggle, that was why I fell in love with him the
sound of his voice cooing in my ear. He was always my one, always will be.
Matthew let out a heartly belly laugh as Arrow spoke, “no
mate, No flat mates with me,” I looked at his mouth, it sounded Canadian and it
was heavenly. I had to break this spell but right now I needed money, Matthew
was right, we were crashing on a futon in a friend’s house we moved everything
into storage and there was no way we could afford to live in this city. When I
got let go it was the same day Arrow got his job, and it was only a matter of
time before we moved in with a cousin of mine in Alberta.
The elevator went ding again saying we were on the Penthouse
floor, I watched Arrow almost race ahead of the both of us out of the elevator,
and I broke free of his hands and followed Arrow. Matthew barley spoke as he
let us into his house, “here we are, Alice you will have a spare key to my
office, to my home, the car, and the vacation house in Whistler, you job
entails you have to make me breakfast, make my coffee, make my meetings happen
or disappear if I want them to, you organize the meetings, you hire cleaners to
clean all my houses, or if you can’t get anybody you clean it. Got it?” I
nodded looking around apartment how beautiful it was, there was Arrow on the
deck looking out to the city, the whole apartment had a half wrap deck. “Who
owns the other side?”
He laughed, “Nicolas Fairchild and his pregnant wife Angela.
They are nice, now if I want to have a party you invite any and everybody in
Vancouver I don’t like lots of people in my house but I do it to keep up
appraises, also this is yours” walking to the kitchen bar and presenting me
with an Apple core processer laptop, “it’s yours on loan forever, I want you to
take my notes and my meetings on it, you will be by my side 24 hours a day five
days a week, two days off for personal time and a weekend so to speak. I want
you in tomorrow morning at 8 am and after I want you here at 6 am and I want
you to tell me about my schedule, I will do a dry run tomorrow with you, and my
other assistance left because she fell in love with me and I can’t have that.”
He pointed to the deck but his eyes never left mine, “Since I know you are
marrying my head chef, I don’t have to worry about you doing that with me.”
Also if I have strange woman here I want you to act as if they are married to
me and if you can scare them off.”
He turned to walk to Arrow to join him in his now sparked up
smoke, I called after him “Why not just act like I am your wife and you don’t
have to worry about them being scared, they will just run for ruining your
marriage.” He slowly stopped and turned to me, with a sly smile that came
across his lips he replied.
“I think this will be a beautiful partnership, Mrs. Monroe.”
