The room screamed sex. The roaring massive fireplace was on one wall, and another black leather Chesterfield was on top of a bear-skin rug. There was a coffin-shaped table with a silver bowl filled with fresh fruit. A large gap behind that was a California king bed covered in black satin sheets with a fur throw. The gothic four-poster bed frame matched the thick curtains that covered the ceiling-length windows. I walked over to the couch and sat staring at the roaring fire.
Once Zeus situated himself beside me, I popped the cork free from the bottle of champagne and filled our glasses to the brim.
"Are you doing okay?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I mocked.
"You seem to be hurt," he commented.
"Annoyed," I corrected.
"What's annoying you?" he pressed.
"Being blindsided," I answered, "If he told me, I wouldn't have cared, but I'm no whore, and he's not my pimp. The audacity he has to tell me that I'm yours for the night like some concubine pisses me off."
"I didn't-"
"I fuck who I want when I want," I chugged down the champagne in my glass.
"He has respect for you. Otherwise, he'd never bring you anywhere and leave you naked at home," Zeus said, "He loves Eve. That's all. There's over two decades of passion between those two."
His words began to comfort me as I refilled my empty glass. I snatched a few grapes and began to nibble. He allowed me to sulk as the champagne kicked in. I unstrapped my heels and tossed them off to the floor. I massaged my scalp before shaking my head and trying to shake off what was permanently burned into my memory.
"How old is Dimitri?" I asked.
"You're fucking someone and don't even know their age?" he commented.
He was right, "I'm learning a lot today. I may as well learn more."
"Okay," he agreed while drinking more champagne, "Dimitri has known Eve since they were sophomores in high school. They went from close neighbors to close friends to friends with benefits. When Dimitri turned nineteen and started working for me, he met a boss's daughter, Callista, who was seventeen. They started seeing each other more and more. Somehow, one drunken night, he decided to have sex with her and continued to do so as he was still sleeping with Eve."
I shook my head in surprise. The three of them were very young when this happened. They were all so naive and confused. I also saw that Zeus almost had a look of hurt in his eyes, a fatherly hurt.
"At twenty-one, Callista found out she was pregnant," he continued. The only catch was that Eve was pregnant, too, but he was engaged to Callista. She was three months farther along than Eve was."
He chugged down more champagne. As if pouring alcohol into a wound.
"At this point in time, Dimitri was now the COO of the company," he sighed.
"He was very young to have achieved such heights," I commented.
"His potential remains unmatched, even to this day," he confirmed.
He went silent. The sound of the fire clashed with the pounding rain upon the window. Two of the curtains were draped off, allowing the full moon to beam through the darkness. There was a sadness beneath Zeus's rough exterior.
"When Callista told Dimitri, she was expecting what any woman in a four-year relationship would; only he told her the truth. All of it. Laying it out to Callista."
He went silent once more, staring at the fire. I continued to drink while looking at the gothic clock on the wall. Something was bothering him about telling me this story.
"She got upset. Ran, fell down a flight of stairs," he seemed to force out, "She lost her baby that night. There was such extensive damage that she had to have her womb removed as well. She lost both at once."
I froze. My eyes widened in shock. I could almost feel sympathy build within my heart for her. She hid it so well, though now that I think back on her behavior, it makes a lot more sense. The pieces of the puzzle began falling into place.
"Naturally, she was hurt. Found out about Eve and her healthy baby," he continued, "When he decided to marry her still, Callista ensured that he couldn't see Eve. If she ever found out he went near their son, she'd take everything from him and leave him with nothing. The way she was left to feel inside."
"He still has his child with Eve?" I investigated, "How old would he be now?
"He's twenty-five," Zeus answered.
Wow, Dimitri's forty-eight years old with a son as old as me. This was one twisted fucked rich boujee fairytale of a story.
"He comes here to see Eve and Their son, Reign," he finished.
"His son is here?" I asked.
Zeus nodded in confirmation, "You'll be coming here a lot this next month."
"Why here?" I implied
Zeus blinked, "Dimitri trusts me. There's no prying eyes here. There's no one to make him feel guilty for wanting to be with his family."
It was a lot of information to process at once. Now everything made sense to me. I'm only here to keep an eye on Dimitri and vice versa. Neither of them cares about me, making what I'm about to do that much easier. I finished off the champagne and stood up. I turned my back to Zeus.
"Unzip me," I commanded.