Chapter eight
His cheeks turned a light shade of amaranth as he hastily made his way out of the office, his footsteps quickening as he sped up his pace. He desperately tries to contain the damage, tries to get it done as soon as possible, so no one will notice. No one maynotice. Turning a sharp left, he stops abruptly to stare directly into the leering and longing eyes of two very helpful, very endearing staff members. Two very endearing staff members who obviously have been wanting to get into his pants since the moment he set foot in this place.
The female one rests her head on her hand, elbow propped up on the desk and slowly waves at him. He sighs lightly, looking down to see if he has completely covered himself and finds out that they can see more of his bare, shirtless chest than he actually likes.
"Oh God, no", he thinks and immediately straightens his blazer, clutching it tightly with his deft fingers as he's pulling it so that it neatly covers the essential and precious skin of his body. The blush on his smooth cheeks slowly starts to turn into crimson as he turns his head to the right, looking away with eyes lightly widened in minor shock. He then continues his mission and doesn't stop for anything that may or may not cross his path.
Within a solid fifteen minutes, he has managed to quickly put on a grey t-shirt with the blazer on top as the finishing touch. He has also made his way back to the bar, where his friend must've already been (im)patiently waiting for him.
"Bill", Seth kindly greets his friend as he approaches him, placing his hand on his arm for a brief moment.
"Where the fuck have you been?", he says as he turns round to face Seth, not even the slightest bit amused.
"Well, I… um..", he begins, stumbling over his words as he is startled at his friend's response. He frowns and clears his throat, "There was a small accident." He follows this by briefly explaining what has happened, not mentioning -of course- what has occurred in Clark's office. Never would he speak of it, not even to Bill. Especially not to Bill. Never.
Bill seems perplexed, but it's of short endurance because within seconds, he bursts out of laughter and gestures Seth to take a seat beside him, which he does. Bill gasps for air, still laughing uncontrolably as Seth orders his drink and bites onto his lip. Slowly but surely, Seth lifts his head up and looks at his friend. Bill's laughter start to slowly fade away as he notices that his companion doesn't vocally respond, at all. He gives him a glance over, an eyebrow raised, "Everything all right?".
"Yeah", Seth replies short, lightly shifting in his chair as he looks away.
"Okay", he says, not really buying into it, but figures it's better to not tease his little protege as something seems to be on his mind, pre-occupying him. Surely, spillage of red wine on his clothes couldn't have this effect on him. He knew him better than that.
All of the sudden, Seth feels a warm yet soft hand touch his shoulder. It remains there, resting and it takes a hold of his attention. Taking a sip from his whiskey, he looks over his shoulder from the corner of his eyes to see who placed his hand there. "Oh crap", he thinks, mentally letting out a groan. It's one of the staff members, ironically, one who had seen him pass by earlier, semi-shirtless.
"May I speak with you?", he asks, the tone of his voice deep and serious, but polite.
"Sure", Seth responds and remains seated, urging the worker to speak to him in the current setting, which is public, open, safe and not really suited for any personal discussions. He's having none of it.
"I'd rather speak to you in private," Seth looks at Bill, eyebrows frown at each other as he cocks his head lightly, confused, "Just you. Alone". This time, the employee gestures Seth to follow him. He feels rather uncomfortable as this particular staff member had been flirting with him earlier this day. Something about his ass. But, as brave as he is, he stands up, grabs his drink and takes a deep chug. The warm liquid fully hits his throat, the burning sensation bubbling, causing him to lightly cough. He keeps a close eye on the male worker, monitoring him. He has stopped dead in his tracks and turns around, waiting for Seth. Seth swallows hard, a worrisome look on his face, but he decides to take the leap of faith and follows the employee to a silver Art Deco door. He holds the door open for Seth, so that he can enter the secluded room first.
Upon entry, he's immediately slapped hard in the face by several things as his senses turn wild, causing him to take a good look around first. He has entered a somewhat small room, but the ambiance bathes in beauty and glamour. The room itself is opulent and sinfully dark. There are vintage photographs hung upon the mocha-colored paneled wall, accompanied by etched glass panels and photographs of none other than Marlene Dietrich and Coco Chanel. The tufted banquettes are upholstered in an aubergine velvet. The lighting is low, created by Lalique crystal panels and uplighters. A marble bar in the form of a horseshoe is placed in the middle of the room. Its space is fairly limited, with room for about 12 people, maximum. Overall, it's a very luxurious, sensual, romantic yet very mysterious place. It's dark, it's sensuous, it's intimate and divine, with its decoration in thirties-themed tones. And he's completely in love with it.
"Woah", Seth breathes, the scent of white roses reaching his nostrils. He's completely taken aback by the beauty of the room, as it performs a daring, teasingly but welcoming play with his senses.
"It's quite an unique design from Basil Ionides, Scottisch finest designer and architect. She did a marvelous job", the male staff member remarks as he enters the room as well, closing the door behind them.
Seth immediately snaps back to reality and directs himself towards the worker, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Let's take a seat first, Sir", he replies, gesturing Seth to take a seat. The two men take a seat at one of the banquettes, sitting across from each other, face to face.
"My name is James Davies. I'm the hotel's administrator", the employee says as he stretches his hand out for Seth to shake it and he complies out of politeness.
"Seth MacFarlane", he softly breathes, still a little mesmerized by the astonishing room.
James smiles briefly before going back to business, "I hope you're not feeling uncomfortable because of my earlier advances".
"No, of course not", he lies, smiling back.
"Good, because I really was only teasing. Some harmless little fun, you know?", he pauses for the dramatical effect. Seth looks at him with a heavily confused look upon his face, " I need to talk to you about something far more serious."
"It's true that I was trying to win you over," he pauses once more to look Seth directly in the eyes, smiling warmly after connecting their gazes, "But I figured out pretty soon you weren't really playing for my team". Seth modestly cocks his head, curiosity present.
"I saw you checking out some lovely women, including our receptionist", he says, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Seth chuckles in response, showing his pearly whites as an obvious, yet minor blush appears on his cheeks, "I'm sorry about that".
"Don't be. It made a lot of things clear"
A silence slowly hangs over the two young males, lingering between them. It is Seth who finally decides to break it. "If you figured out I wasn't gay, then why are you still trying to hit on me?", he pauses, "No offense".
"None taken", James says, raising his hand to gesture it's all right and the grin suddenly becomes bigger, smirking mischievous now, "I may have done it to provoke someone else as well".
"What do you mean?", he frowns.
"Well, just a little while earlier today, the two ladies at the front desk and I made a bet"
"Ah", Seth says, not really liking where this is going.
"The bet is a small form of competition. To, um, figure out your sexuality."
"Ah", he once more says, his tongue scraping his palate as he casually sits back.
"Now, hear me out. I'm not doing this for you. You obviously don't need any help from me. I'm doing it for them - at least for one of them."
"Which one would that be?", Seth asks, intrigued as he sees the two ladies vividly in front of him, as if they were really there. On the left, a blonde with long flowing yet curly hair stands. Brown eyes stare back. She has a petite yet curvaceous frame, and must be around 5'4'', at most. She has had obvious plastic surgery, judging by the rest of her frame as she's sporting a full E-cup. It's too perfect to be realistic. He doesn't know her name, other woman on the right, he knows her. Elizabeth Clark. She's practically the opposite of the first female. Elizabeth is long with a slender figure, about 5'7''. Her brown hair reaches her shoulders, whereas she has hazel eyes. Her figure doesn't really scream out that she's a woman, she doesn't put herself out there. Not a single curve is shown, in fact, she seems to hide her femininity, whereas lady number one puts it on full display.
Maybe a C-cup?
"I can't tell you. But I can tell you that, even though she won't admit it, you affect her. However that might be. This is just a wild guess on my side and I can be completely wrong here, but I think she might have feelings for you, but knowing her, she won't act on it. And even if I'm wrong, the bet should still force her out of the comfort of her routine and let her have some fun, something she hasn't let herself experience in a while," he looks away, face directed at the ground before locking eyes again, "If she participates, which I doubt".
"Let me guess, you want me to help you on your little quest to let her blow off some steam and relax?," James nods sincerely, "Sounds legit".
James immediately picks up on the mockery as he tries to contain his anger, "Look, I didn't ask you to behave like a douche, I just -"
"Why are you so keen on helping her?", Seth holds his hand up in the air, interrupting.
"I, um..", he looks at the ground, finding that particular crack in the wood very interesting. He lets out a deep sigh, closing his eyes, "Guilt"
"Guilt?", Seth asks for further explanation, a little surprised as an eyebrow is automatically raised.
"Yes", he says, opening his eyes and staring into the brown pools, "About two years or so ago, she came to Claridge's, looking for work. We hit it off immediately, but back in the day, I was still very narrow-minded and tried to believe I was something that I wasn't. I was conflicted, ignoring my true self, where I might've let her on to believe I was genuinely interested in her, on a sexual level. We dated for a little while and we both found out I was a homosexual when I was sucking another guy's face in front of hers. She was devastated for weeks, heart broken. Wouldn't talk to me at all."
James sighs, "I just…. think she's a little, perhaps too much, careful when it comes to men that take good care of themselves, shielding herself from more of the same heartbreak".
"She's terrified of what might happen, you mean?"
"Yes. She's more quiet and reserved ever since. She just needs to let go and have a great time, break through the stone barrier she build up over the years, you know?"
"Why would I help you? Convince me", he playfully pokes the employee, a little devious twinkle present in his eyes as he folds his hands and places them on the table.
"I won't be participating and two women are fighting over you, surely that can't sound wrong. Besides, I know at least one is willing to do whatever it takes to wield her prize-"
"Millions of women fight over me all the time. Why should these be more special than the rest?"
"It should prove to be interesting. There aren't any rules; they can do whatever they want and please. And both are quite a catch, for different reasons. Get out of your day-to-day routine with a little fun, break through the slumbering activities of everyday. This is your vacation, right? When was the last time you had some fun?"
He cocks his head, sits back and crosses his arms before his chest, "I'm not fully convinced yet".
James seems baffled, not sure what to say now, being speechless for the first time of his life. "I'm kidding", he chuckles at the given response and the wrinkles around his eyes magically appear, "Even though you can't decide when I'm having fun or not, I can tell you really care about your friend and that you feel bad about what happened in the past. It might turn out to be interesting, to see what these girls come up with and to see what makes them tick. I might enjoy myself. You know what? I'll help you".
"You just took the piss out of me, didn't you?", James asks, hinting at the last part of their conversation.
"Oh, yeah", the smirk appears again and he gets up, "Was this all you wanted to talk about?"
James gets up as well and opens the door, holding it so that Seth can get out, "Yes. You'll have to figure out who's sincere and who's not, what their personalities are and whatnot, though".
"That's what makes it interesting", he says as he exits the room and immediately spots his adoring miss. Clark behind the bar, sporting a lovely vest as part of her uniform, "Definitely not female".
And the plot thickens!
Sorry for not uploading any sooner. College has started again and I'm currently feeling a bit ill. But, all is well as there's another chapter and it's going places! WHOO, WHOO!
Thank you all for reading and/or reviewing. You're all so kind!