Alex had read the text plan and liked it a lot, quite impressed by how good she was, but he would not let her know. Not yet. She was too good to annoy, and fucking sexy with her wavy chestnut hair, plump lips, hazel eyes… and that outfit was a killer. She wore a simple skirt and a common formal blouse, but he could see how beautiful her body was.
"Your plan is acceptable." He said. She was glad that at least he didn't say it was crappy. But this relief didn't last long, after his next words. "But I don't work with 'acceptable'. I work with excellent. Can you give me it, Miss Bakers?"
She looked at him. Those beautiful sensual grey eyes were staring back at her.
"Yes." She answered in a tone that she couldn't recognize as herself.
He smiled and got up from the chair, approaching her.
"Great. I have a few ideas about what should you do. Tomorrow, by morning, I want you at my house." He said, very close to her, but he also thought that he wanted her in his bed. Then, he sent a message to Hopper, asking the man to give Camilla his address. "You must be there at 8 AM." Alex cast one more meaningful glance at her and left the office.
Camilla, who was in a daze, felt her phone vibrating. Hopper.
'Be careful, okay? He kind of has a reputation of a womanizer, Camilla. And he is not someone you would like to deal with.' Was his message to her.
'Thanks for the advice, Hopper. I'll keep my eyes open. Now, can I go home? I have to be at his house by 8 AM, right? Text me his address, please.'
'Sure, go. And I'm sorry for not coming with you, tomorrow. He didn't invite me.'
She grabbed her purse and headed home. When she was opening the door of her car, she heard a noise coming from behind her. She turned around to see what it was and, for her surprise, Alex was there.
"I just wanted to make sure you were not going to sleep here and forget about our date, tomorrow." He said, with his hands inside his pockets.
"It's not a date, Mr. Strauss. It's an appointment." She said and remembered Hopper's words about the man being a womanizer.
He walked in her direction, with a smirk on his face. He was handsome, charming and sexy, no doubt, but also very intimidating.
"As you prefer to call it." He looked her up and down. "Red fits you, I'm sure of it." He didn't look at her again, just turned around and entered his car. His words caught her off guard, so, she gave him no reply.
She shook her head, entered her car and went home.
She took a nice and warm bath. While in the bathtub, she remembered his eyes and his smirk. His features were very masculine and, when she saw him sitting on her desk, her eyes inadvertently fell over his pants and, obviously, on his frontal bulge. He looked big. She was aroused. His scent was very manly and his tall frame made her shiver. How would his touch feel on her skin? Was it soft or rough? She touched herself, thinking it was him. That night, she had sweet dreams.
Her alarm clock was calling for her at 6am, the next morning. She grunted, with her eyes still closed, and turned off the noisy device. She was dreaming about something pleasant. Although she couldn't remember what it was, she just knew that she wanted to go back to that world.
Waking up that early, she had enough time to take a quick shower, eat something and get dressed. She decided to wear a black pencil dress. It was plain, but elegant and professional. As much as she was calling his name while coming, last night, that was just a release. She was not going on a date. It was just business. Her hair was in a bun with a few loose locks on the front. She wore very little eye makeup and nude lipstick. She saw her red one there and remembered his words. She smiled. 'No, Mr. Strauss, I won't wear it just to please you.'
Hopper texted her the address and she called a cab. She didn't feel like driving, this morning. The taxi cab arrived in no time, and she was already on her way. The house was a bit far. Damn, the cab would be a bit more expensive than what she was prepared for. Good thing she brought some more money to eat. Thinking about it, she realized she had left her credit card at home. Oh, fuck!
"We've arrived, Miss." said the driver. She snapped her head to the side and looked out the car window. Wow! Was that his house? It was huge! Dark, made of stone, and looked like a castle. 'It suits him, since he acts like a king', she thought, mockingly.
She paid for the ride and walked to the front door. Before she could knock on it, a tall old man opened it. He was a butler.
"Good morning, Miss, Bakers. The master is waiting. Come with me, please. I'll show you his office." The man had that attitude that many butlers in those old movies had: full of himself, as if he owned the place.
"Thank you."
She followed the old man. On their way, she noticed that the ceiling was high up; all walls were grey and white. It was very modern and classy. No pictures around—none she could see, at least.
"Here, Miss." He knocked and waited for Alex's response. When he heard it, the butler just opened the door and waited for Camilla to enter. Once she did, the man closed the door behind her.
"Hello, Miss Bakers. Long time no see." That smirk. He was sitting on his desk, playing with a pen in his hand.
"Yeah, 10 hours since we last saw each other. So, what is it you want to share with me, Sir?" She stressed the word 'sir'.
"Sit." He said, coldly, and pointed at the chair in front of him. "You know I am in the hotel industry, right? I need the best marketing. My hotels are 5 stars, which, of course, it is not something everybody can pay for. To charge so much money, I must offer the best service. However, how can I convince people to try a night there?"
She thought for a moment.
"Well, you need people with influence who have made use of your services to spread the word."
"Made use of my services... interesting choice of words, don't you think? Would you make use of my services, Miss Bakers?" The way he spoke those words gave her the feeling he meant something else. It had sounded as if he was offering a very different kind of service. Then, she realized her mistake.
"If I could afford the services of one of your HOTELS, yes, I would. Why not?" She had said specifically 'hotels', so, no misunderstandings, now.
He looked at her with amusement. She was going to be pure fun!
"Well, I want you to make it so that my new Hotel, El Dourado, gets much visibility, since it is in another country."
"But, doesn't it already have it? I mean, all wealthy people stay in your hotels. As far as I know, it doesn't need any more publicity."
"True, but I want people in the middle class to know about my Hotels and wish to stay at them. Like a dream come true for them. Do you understand what I mean?"
She did. There were two types of people that used his hotels: famous/rich people from high society or the ones who wanted to belong in this 'wonderful' world.
"Okay. And what is your idea of marketing for your new hotel?" She held her tablet open to take notes.
"You can't talk properly about something, unless you try it/know it. Don't you agree?" He looked intensely at her. She was gorgeous, and her hair was long enough for him to have a good grip on it, while fucking her from behind. Her boobs would move in a sexy way, asking to be kissed and squeezed.
She felt uncomfortable. It was clear that he was thinking something naughty, by his face.
"Yes, I do. But not everybody can pay just to try it. Sometimes, that's the money someone saved during a lifetime."
He seemed to be thinking about something, and then, he said.
"Meet me here, in four hours. That should give you enough time to pack. I want you to have the experience of staying at one of my hotels, the Atlantis. It shares the same premise as El Dorado, so, you can have an idea of what El Dorado is like, and have material to write about it. That being settled, we will be able to discuss ideas about the marketing plan your company is going to use."
She could not believe it. He was speaking as if she had agreed to THIS. Not only that, but also as if he was her boss. He wasn't! He was a client, a special and important one, but, still, a client!
"Thank you, Mr. Strauss, but I cannot go." She spoke bluntly.
"And why is that?" He stared at her, with disbelief. "Why can't you go? You won't have to go to the office, tomorrow, since it's Saturday. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not married, you don't have kids or even one pet waiting for you back home, so that you cannot stay out for one single night."
"It's not about someone waiting for me! I don't go sleeping out of my house, at a hotel, without planning it." She had her eyes closed as if trying to keep her composure.
He approached her slowly, while she was speaking. She only became aware of his presence when he was too close, and his hand was holding her hair, at the back of her head, but not forcefully. She opened her eyes, startled, and saw his face coming down towards hers.
"You will learn, Miss Bakers, that I do not accept a 'no' as a response." He was nearly touching his lips on hers, his eyes never leaving hers. "You will be here in three hours and fifty three minutes. My chauffeur will drive you home and wait for you outside. Got it?" She was speechless. "Got it?" He asked again, pulling a bit on her hair. It was not enough to hurt, but enough for her to feel weird. 'Weirdly aroused'.
"Yes", she mumbled, and, when she realized she almost sounded like she was moaning, she felt the urge to slap herself.
He let go of her, satisfied, and sat on his desk, turning around to look at the window. She understood it was her being dismissed.