What she needed, Jared thought, was a string of boyfriends. That should be enough to give her all the fulfilment she craved. Enough projects to work on. He Jared, would not be one of them though.
He had spent his time visiting Ray's gymnasium in the mornings and enjoying good lunches by himself afterwards. He would then spend the rest of the afternoon walking on the beach quietly by himself, before going to a bar for cocktails and snacks.
When Jared got back to the flat later at night he would not be hungry at all. So Carla would complain about having to eat her takeaways all by herself, but this would not perturb him at all.
Tonight Jared was going to the theatre with Carla, in order to return her hospitality. She had after all allowed him to stay in her flat for a few days.
Her spare bedroom was rather comfortable, with a double bed and a desk to work at. There was also a television set on the stand against the wall and a small balcony, from which he would sit and watch the city activities down below on the street, before going to bed.
He usually waited until he was sure that Carla was already asleep. Then he would slip out to the balcony.
***
On Friday morning, Jared had all his luggage packed and was ready to return home without any second thoughts. Carla had taken the day off from work in order to see him off, although he tried very hard to convince her that it was not necessary and that she should put her own convenience at the top of her list of priorities.
Carla was really flattered by his coming over and was out to make a definite difference in his life.
The only thing Jared knew on his side, was that she was smothering him. He knew his mind and therefore was sure that if he were in love with anyone, he would go to the most ridiculous lengths to please her.
Why? Because she would be the girl of his dreams. However, it was a long time since he had been affected in that particular way by any girl.
At the airport Carla embraced him warmly and in his opinion, rather possessively, just as he was on the point of leaving. She was wearing a dainty, floral mini skirt which just managed to cover her behind. Her hair she wore in loose curls, dangling about her shoulders in a soft, golden-auburn glow.
Jared only hoped that being seen with her would not jeopardize his chances of meeting someone with the potential to dazzle him and change his life forever.
He also realized that his mixed feelings involving his fear of returning to Carminda's territory on the one hand and his haste to leave Carla's smothering company on the other hand, could in fact have the effect of causing Carla to assume that he was emotionally affected by her presence.
She must think I'm acting like a lovesick teenager, he told himself, while he firmly disengaged himself from her arms.
All the more reason, he thought, to make a clean break of it by treating her as coolly as he had done during the course of his brief visit. He had treated her as a mere friend.
Jared would not be doing anything to encourage romantic behavior, no Sir. He gave Carla a brief pat on the shoulder in return and grabbed his luggage, before rushing off to the terminals, almost at a run, leaving her in mid-sentence.
***
The model's house was also huge, but smaller than her sister's. Less lush, but just as strikingly elegant. The gates were also electronically controlled from inside the house, by the use of an intercom system.
As with Carminda's residence, Shannon's also had a uniformed butler, who politely received her guests at the door. His name was Ronald, as Blake soon discovered. Shannon appeared about five minutes after his arrival and dismissed her butler with a familiar smile. A smile which immediately caught Blake's attention.
He was also very impressed by her cool, yet accommodating manner, within the first five minutes of their acquaintanceship. She seemed different from her sister, who was completely aloof.
Both sisters were strikingly attractive and wonderfully charming. From a brief observation today, Blake felt that he would love working with Shannon, yet at the same time, he knew with perfect certainty, that she would not be able to trap him into any form of infidelity towards his wife.
"I am sure we have pretty much to chat about," Shannon said over a glass of whisky on ice.
Blake had asked for plain fruit juice. He did realize that he needed all his wits about him.
"Most certainly," he agreed wholeheartedly.
"I understand that you also enjoy a good game of golf whenever you can?" he asked in an attempt to show her that he was a person who did his homework, even on short notice.
She delightedly affirmed his statement and continued on to relate an incident she had recently encountered at an informal golf tournament.
Blake realized that he would have to settle down very patiently, as this could very likely become a pattern, with him having to learn how to feign interest towards Shannon's stories about her little hobby-related incidents.
***
Laura was happy to be home. She was also relieved to have found Blake at home, even though right now he was out again. She had a very convincing feeling that nothing could go wrong. He had seemed his usual, open-faced self.
Their flat seemed to have lost the cold and forlorn atmosphere it had harbored on the night when she had left here with Monique.
She settled Monique down with a fresh milk bottle and a nappy change, before calling her in-laws to inform them that all was well with her little family.