Chapter 32
Sergio's POV:
My father thought me six things about love, I have never forgotten them. He said there was the hook, the search, the courtship, making the plunge, reaffirmation and lastly falling in love. I was in my hotel coming down when the elevator stopped me on floor 3, it was odd but I got off anyway, what are three flights of stairs, right? Wrong!
I stepped out of the elevator and I turned right and that's when the hook happened to me. She came out of her room, locked the door and I was floored, I stopped dead in my tracks and my security bumped into me. The hook is what grabs a man's attention, it makes him notice the woman and encourages him to dive deeper, some men are attracted to a woman's laugh, work ethic, whatever but it comes down to what makes a man look and I was staring. She wore a white dress and her hair was long and it looked like black silk and I was mesmerized. I am a busy man, a powerful man, I don't have time for woman but I was hooked. I followed her down the stair case, making sure to see her room number, keeping a good distance and my security ended up confused and jumbled, I didn't care. I just wanted to know what brought this boazuda to my hotel, boazuda means sexy woman and she fits the profile, perfectly. She stopped in the lobby, looking around as if she is seeing the hotel for the very first time, I don't know, wasn't she looking when she booked in? it gave me a chance to pass her and sit down with a newspaper and watch her, this left my security even more confused as I was on my way to a very important exchange. She sits down across me and she is reading the menu like it is interesting and every now and then I take a peak. She orders her food and when it arrives, her eyes are as big as saucers, I think she is shocked, this makes me laugh, didn't she know what she was ordering? She almost catches me but I lift the paper up again, hoping I wasn't caught.
An hour later she leaves, damn she ate far too long, I am late. I ask the doorman, Pedro to keep an eye on her, I want to know her every move. I rush to my meeting and we make the deal. I like smooth transactions. Then I decided on step two, The search. Pedro tells me she is on the beach and I ask him to get me set up, I act as if this is my usual routine but my security is on the beach with suits and I know I'm looking stupid, I think of ways to get her to notice me and I am completely out of sorts. Normally women come flocking to me. I call my hotel manager and ask her to organize a banquet for all the hotel guest and make sure everyone attends and to send a bunch of red roses to room 26. I just want to keep looking at her.
I listen to her laughing and giggling with Bernardo and I need to see him and get him to give me some information, he leaves to get her a drink and I send one of my men after him to tell him I want to see him in my office later. I decide to sit up and take my shirt off, this isn't a way of boasting, I just need an excuse to look at her, I don't know who the fuck placed my chair but they will pay. For a second, we look right at each other and I see a hint of a smile but she picks up a book and starts reading.
Hours later I think she is asleep because she hasn't moved so I call Bernardo and as we head back to the hotel, I walk right passed her and I see she has a small scar on her knee and a blue belly ring, why do girls like this shit? I assigned two of my men to watch her and make sure she is protected and if she ever needs anything they should make sure it happens but discreetly. I don't want her to know and make her uncomfortable.
Sergio: "Bernardo, what is her name and why is she here? Is she alone? Sit down. I want everything you have on her."
Bernardo:" yes sir, her name is Madam Lilly, she is in room 26, she came alone. Her father booked her accommodation and he asked me to ensure she is safe and has everything she needs, doesn't matter the cost. All her meals are paid for at the hotel but that is all I know sir. Oh, I'm sorry, she checked in last week but the matrons were all talking last week that all she did was order room service and they found her crying multiple times. She hasn't spoken to me or anyone else about it and she has three more weeks with us sir."
Sergio: "Thank you Bernardo, I need you to make sure she gets the black card, everything she wants to use and do in my hotel is free, tell her it is a welcome to Rio card we give all our guest who visits our country for the first time, or whatever, just make something up. I also want you to get closer to her, never leave her side and report back to me. I have assigned two security details to her, she must be safe and I want to know if she mentions a boyfriend, understood? That will be all, thank you."
Bernardo:" no problem sir, thank you."
I have never felt like this before, I have never been willing to share my world with anyone and I don't want to scare Lilly, she can never find out what I do or who I am. Three weeks is not a long time, I need to make a move but tomorrow, tonight I just want to observe. I seat myself behind the reflective window, I can see the hotel floor but no one will be able to see me and I wait and wait but no Lilly. I call my hotel manager and ask her, "I thought I said all guest must attend?" as soon as I finish my sentence she comes down the stairs and I drop the call. She looks like she is looking for someone and Bernardo shows up and leads her to her seat, I imagine that she was looking for me and it makes me smile. She orders her meal and I watch her intently. I love the way she eats, she has a real appetite for food and I see she drinks as well as she eats, the red wine keeps coming and coming and I call Bernardo, "get her to her room safely".
The next day I take the day off and I let my PA, hotel manager, my security and everyone else know that I am unavailable. I wake up early to make sure all the shipments are set to go and that no deals will go bad and I head to the beach, a few hours later I see her, thank God she showed up. She takes off her clothing and walks right passed me, her ass is like juicy papayas, "BUNDA LEGAL" I whisper and she doesn't hear me, I watch her toss her ass from side to side until she reaches the water and then she swims for like twenty minutes. Lilly does everything with such stance and when she strolls pass me again, her front view is even better then the back, she makes me sit up and I take off my sunglasses, fuck, I can't control myself any longer."
Sergio: "Boa tarde senhorita"
Lilly:" Hello, I'm sorry I don't speak, uhm Portuguese or Spanish."
Sergio: "fortunately, I speak English, may I join you?"
Lilly:" sure."
Sergio: "thank you senhorita"
Lilly:" please call me Lilly."
Sergio: "I'm Sergio."
We sit down and my lounger is moved next to hers, she looks at me suspiciously and she asks one of my guys for Bernardo. I want to laugh because she thinks Bernardo can protect her from me, not that I want to hurt her, I probably want to protect this woman more then anything else. This is where step three comes in, Courtship, I want to get to know her, why she ran so far away from home, why is she here alone, why was she crying, I will kill whoever broke her heart. I want to know her dreams, hobbies and….
Lilly:" What do you do for a living?"
Sergio: she breaks my train of thought and she is so direct, I like it. "I own the hotel." That's not a lie but its not the whole truth either.
Lilly:" The owner of a hotel isn't worth thirty thousand dollars. The owner of a hotel doesn't need this much security and I will respect your privacy if you are not comfortable telling me, but I will then ask you to leave me alone because I am in a foreign country, alone and I can't spend time with someone who can't be transparent with me."
Sergio: "Lilly, would you like to have dinner with me tonight? Safely, at the hotel? She just looks at me, directly into my eyes and that's it, step 4, the plunge. Lilly's eyes are like glass, sharp and sparkling, she pierces my soul and I know I have feelings for this woman, lust, love I don't know yet but she is mesmerizing. I know I am attracted to her, I have taken interest in her but what's the next step? I need her to trust me. Would you feel more comfortable if Bernardo joins us? I smile and she laughs.
Lilly:" yes, actually. Bernardo will need to accompany me and I will join you for supper, he can sit at the bar or a table close by but you will pay for his meal and his over time, do we have a deal?"
Sergio: "Yes, senhorita, we have a deal" we spend the afternoon talking and getting to know each other and the conversation just flows. Every now and then she laughs out really loudly and it makes me so happy, we walk back to the hotel, stroll is more like it because I don't think any of us wanted the walk to end. When we reach the door, she greets Pedro and asks him how his daughter is feeling and he just says, "much better today Mademoiselle Lilly." She smiles and says "that's good news". I didn't even know Pedro had a daughter. Everyone, I mean my security, Pedro, all the other guests and the other staff, even Bernardo is staring as we walk through the doors. No one expected to see me with a woman, my life is very private. I walk Lilly to her room and we stand in the corridor like teenagers, "I guess I'll see you later?" I lick my lips as I say this not because I mean to flirt but because I really want to kiss her and she just smiles and nods yes and goes into her room, I walk away sulking because two hours is a long time.
Lilly's POV:
I go into my room and flop on the bed, this is crazy right? I am smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt. I mean, obviously this is just a fling, the man stays in Rio for goodness sake. Maybe the rest of my holiday won't be so lonely after all. It is still sunny when Pedro opens the doors for me to the range rover, I am wearing a beautiful flowy, orange sundress and we both sitting at the back because Sergio has a driver and I am so smitten I barely see the white Toyota sequoia pull up in front of us and a man gets out with a 9mm pistol. His wearing a hoodie and a bandanna that covers his face. The man approached the passenger side of the Range Rover, raised the pistol, and started firing but Sergio's driver had already jumped out and was running towards the man. Sergio pulls me out of the car and I run into the opposite direction and across the street, I see Sergio taking out his gun and there is gun shots flying everywhere and people are running and screaming and I am frozen against the wall. The first two shots came from behind and one of them hit the frame of the rear window of the car we were just in. I am screaming and the next seven shots went through the front passenger-side window, sprinkling the scene with tiny slivers of glass. Sergio sees me and starts running towards me, still shooting at different people and bodies are dropping left, right and center. His security is shooting and suddenly I hear Sergio shouting and his been shot in the leg. All I see is blood, his lying there in the middle of the road and I don't know what comes over me but I run towards him, help him up and we run into the hotel, for a brief moment, I see my dress has blood on it and I am distracted, thinking I was shot. The driver of the Toyota sees his friends' lifeless body and speeds away. Within seconds there are sirens and a crowd and police officers push away the bystanders, Sergio and I go back into the hotel, I am so panicked and confused, he speaks to one of his bodyguards and I catch the last thing he says, "find them and kill them, I want to know who put Lilly in danger, I want to know who did this." Sergio never let's go of my hand and for now, that's great I think to myself, this man has bodyguards, I would rather be with him then alone right now. We walk towards the elevator and once we step inside, I don't know what takes over me but I push him against the elevator walls and launch myself at him, it must be the adrenaline. I pull away and his just staring at me and he whispers step 5, reaffirmation and he turns the wheels on me and kisses me with every inch of his tall, strong and erotic physique. We go up to the 23rd floor and his place is amazing, his never let go off my hand and I am so confused as to why they would shoot at him but I don't feel afraid or worried, I know I am not in danger, I don't know how, I just know I am safe. We go inside and he asks me if I would like to take a shower and wear one of his shirts, I say yes because I don't want to be covered in blood any longer.
Lilly:" Sergio, what just happened?"
Sergio: "Lilly, after you shower, I will answer all your questions, I promise." We spend the night eating and watching Lilly's favorite TV show and it took me an hour to explain to her that I am in a dangerous business and consoling her. We have some wine and then she drills me again and I give in and tell her I run a cartel. I half expected her to run but she just said okay and asked for complete honesty and transparency. I think I am so close to step 6, my father will kill me if he knew I fell in love within a space of two days but when Lilly risked her life for me today and ran to save me, I knew. She is sitting in my white t-shirt and she is always so close to me, it's an intimate feeling. She circles back and asks me how I got into drugs and guns so, I give in and tell her. My mother took me with wherever she went, I later learnt that I was her cover. Who would question a woman with a baby? My mother once dug up a cooler containing a quarter million dollars of drug money from our back yard. Honestly Lilly, I enjoy what I do I wouldn't trade it for anything. I make a lot of money and I have a nice house, this hotel and a yacht, I go on fancy vacations and I pretty much have everything I want and need, except for someone to share it with". She widens her eyes and I laugh out loud, "I am not proposing, all I am saying is you have two weeks and a few days left, spend them with me?"
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