Gabriella sat down on the couch inside the hotel room placing her purse off to the side. She still had so many questions, so many doubts and fears but her judgment was now as tainted. Tainted by the mind numbing sensations that he'd given to her and now that the fog of pleasure was gone she was gripped with by a stark sense of shame and denial. How could she have enjoyed it? How could she have let herself down like that? Where was her pride? How could something that felt so right in so many ways be wrong? Then she thought about the odds that there might not be anything right about it at all, that she'd merely been without the attention of man for so long that anything at this point felt right. Gabriella raised her shoulders as she physically tried to retreat into her own body.
Suddenly, awareness poked its sharp fingers through her. She felt unsettled about everything and the regret of her decisions were beginning to weigh on her. Gabriella had already been stripped of virtually everything she valued. Everything he said merely heighten the frightening sense that she was no longer in control of her own life. What had she done? She offered her body to him in return for the restaurant she felt dirty, used, she felt humiliated. And why did she know, without a doubt, that given the chance, she'd do it all over again? What did that say about her? And, suddenly going all girlie, she cringed and wondered what Troy thought about her actions.
Troy walked over to his computer and signed in. They hadn't said a word since they got off the boat, they hadn't said a word in the elevator. He hadn't even touched her since they parted from the bedroom. Her chest began to rise and fall more rapidly as she watched him pick up his cell phone type away, continuing to ignore her completely. In a panic she got up from her seat and made her way to the bathroom where she closed and locked the door behind her. She turned on the water and got underneath it immediately without even taking off her dress. The cold sprays hit her and she took deep breaths. Her body was sore from the memory of his touch, her legs trembled when she stood and her body felt heavier than it ever had before.
When the bathroom door shut Troy took a deep breath and threw his phone down on the table watching in annoyance as it began to buzz. Standing up he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. There was no doubt about it, now that he'd had her, he knew he couldn't lose her. She was clouding his judgment and giving him so much delight all at the same time. Troy frowned at the sound of the shower being turned on.
Lifting the drink to his lips he swallowed the whiskey in two gulps letting the burn spread down his throat. It had been a bad idea to have her he thought as he looked down at his empty glass. He wasn't going to have a level head about the situation as long as she was around him smelling like mangos and peaches. He needed to think, he needed to come up with a plan. His mind returned to the shower, to her naked body inside it. If she thought she could wash away his touch that easily she had another thing coming. With a smirk he reached for his wallet and the hotel key card and decided to go out for a walk.
When Gabriella came out from the shower her wet dress dripping as she walked through the hotel room, looking around cautiously there were no signs of Troy. Shuttering she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pj pants and an old t-shirt. She changed quickly and brushed out her hair. She climbed into the bed and decided it would be best to fall asleep rather than stay wake with her thoughts.
Troy came back to the room a few hours later and stopped by the bed as he watched her sleep a smirk on his lips as he placed the small bag on the night stand. Turning around, he bend to sit on the edge of the bed, the shift in the bed causing her to stir. "Good you're awake,"
"What do want?" she said wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"We have a meeting tonight, with two designers, you're meeting them in the lobby downstairs," he said removing his shoes.
"Me?" Gabriella sat up now a little more awake.
"That's what you wanted isn't it?" Troy said placing his shoes at the foot of the bed. "After all we're exchanging sex for favors aren't we?"
"Troy I-"
"I mean after all I'm going to sell the restaurant, no use in hiding it," he said getting up from his spot. "The thing is I know you have no money to purchase it from me so this arrangement works out perfectly unless you feel otherwise," he said pausing as he looked back at her. With a smile he got up from the bed and began to undress himself by unbuttoning his shirt.
"Would it matter if I did?" she said coming to the edge of the bed and wincing from the stiff muscles that moved.
"We're married, marriage is about compromising. You have something I want and I have something you want," Troy shrugged out of his shirt and then reached for the bottom hem of his undershirt and pulled it over his head.
"Yeah but I don't even like you. You've turned me into a whore," Gabriella said placing both feet on the floor as she pushed herself up to stand in front of him, after a moment of watching him undress she crossed her arms and braced herself to fight.
"I prefer the term lover," Troy let out a small laugh as he turned to face her reaching to lift her shirt and then for the strings on her pj pants, quickly he untied them. He pulled the waistband of her pants towards him and she came closer to him without a struggle. Her arms uncrossed as they stood face to face his blue eyes staring into her brown ones daring her to push him away. "You see, you might not like me," Troy murmured silkily "but all I have to do is carry you back to that bed and you're one hundred per cent mine."
Gabriella was white with humiliation and self loathing as she looked down away from his eyes. "I'm not yours and I never will be. You've taken my restaurant, my house, my freedom, and now my body but I will never be yours."
"Look at me," he said bringing her chin up so she was forced to look at him.
"Do you have to be so intimidating?" she muttered tautly as she cringed.
"I'm trying very hard not to be" Troy said, "Stop cringing, you don't have to be afraid of me I would never harm you."
Gabriella thought about the kind of harm that had a more lasting effect than mere bruises.
"Are you listening to me?"
"Yes sir," she said in a low whisper that was laced with sarcasm.
"Troy will do just fine, I like the way it sounds on your lips when you come." The sound of his voice made her ears pop and the brush of his knuckles against her abdomen made her insides spark like a flickering candle, her lips went dry and her mind blurred. He was so close to her lips she could feel the faint brush of his breath on them. The light scent of beach and ocean still lingered on him.
Troy leaned in close and without warning stuck his hands inside her pants grabbing her in the most raw and intimate way she ever experienced. "You can say whatever you want but this is mine," he said nudging his fingers between her folds and finding her core.
Gabriella's eyes fluttered shut as she held her breath, making deals with this man was dangerous, and that danger turned her on more than she wanted to admit. She could feel the pool of warmth spreading between her legs with each slip of his finger with each pass of his middle finger over her clitoris.
"I'm sensing by your reaction that your participation is consensual, is it not?" Troy smirked as she swayed a little under his touch.
"It is," she said hesitant to answer him.
"Good now go get ready for your meeting, before I get the urge to have you one more time." Troy said softly. Slipping out of her he brought his hand out of her pants and with his other hand he reached for the bag he'd put down earlier. "You will wear this under your dress."
"I'm going alone?" Gabriella looked at the pair of panties he pulled out from the bag. They were black and different from her normal choice of underwear. They looked like a lacy pair of bikini panties. "I don't understand," she said looking back at him.
"You don't have to, you just have to wear them," he said handing her the panties. "I'll be in the shower if you need anything. They will meet you at the bar at 6pm."
Gabriella took the underwear in her hands and watched as he backed away from her slowly. Her insides were buzzing; she could feel the Goosebumps on her skin and then a shiver in her spine. There was an ache between her legs from his absence and she had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from saying something else.
An hour later Gabriella sat at the bar in a black cocktail dress her hair pulled back in a ponytail as she waited for the designer. When she left the room Troy was just finishing up on his own wardrobe. He was dressed to impress with little to no effort in a simple grey suit without a tie. When she asked him if he was going to go with her he shook his head and said he'd been there in spirit. She put on the panties that he had requested. There were snug and fit like a glove, they were also a little stiff and she could almost feel a wire going through them.
Lifting her drink up to her lips she noticed her phone light up with a text message. Causing her to put the drink down an open the message, it was from Troy.
You look amazing.
Gabriella looked up and around the room in an effort to spot him. She had no idea what he was up to looking back down at her phone she frowned and let out a sigh. She sensed a trap.
"Hello you must be Mrs. Bolton," a woman said as she approached her.
Gabriella turned to see the woman standing beside her with another woman at her side. "Hello," Gabriella said extending a hand to each woman and greeting them with a smile. "You must be the designers; I'm sorry my husband won't be joining us, he's come down with something and sends his apologies."
"No problem at all," the woman said with a smile as she took a seat at the bar next to Gabriella. The other woman who was carrying a book came to her other side and sat down placing the book in front of them on the bar. "My name is Maven and this is Pricilla my assistant/ intern."
Gabriella smiled as she lifted her drink and took a small sip, patiently waiting as they shifted through there things and got everything out on the bar before her. That was when a strange feeling came over her. It took her by surprise and she sat up straighter, as soon as the feeling was there it was gone. Arching her brow she looked at her phone on the bar there was a message on the screen, it was from Troy.
Wanna play a game with me?
Gabriella rolled her eyes as hit the button on her phone and turned her attention back to the two women, "So, what do we have here?" she said peering over the documents and pictures.
"Well," Started the woman on her left. "As we know, colors unconsciously shape many aspects of our daily lives. They influence people's attitudes towards their surroundings as well as having an overwhelming effect on a person's comfort level in a particular situation," Maven said holding out swatches.
"We wanted to think about the type of mood you want people to be in at the restaurant, think about what kind of food is going to be served there, and what kind of customers are most likely to go there." Pricilla said with a small smile as she brought out some sketches from a folder.
"I was thinking warm colors such as yellow, red and orange are very stimulating colors and tend to raise appetite. They promote a positive attitude and outlook on surroundings." Maven pointed to the sketches and Gabriella leaned down to look at them, there was so much detail down to the table plates and napkins. With so many choices she found herself at a small cross road. Her father restaurant was very plain, very simple. He always said his food was the only reputation he needed.
Gabriella paused as she took a moment to put her father's ideas to the side. Of all the things that Troy had been saying for the last three months something was beginning to settle. Her father's restaurant no longer existed. It stopped existing the moment they laid him to rest. The restaurant although didn't really belonged to her did belong to her. It had been rightfully left to her family with the intention of her her cooking in the kitchen. Her heart began to speed up as she thought about all those restaurants she seen in New York, Chad's restaurant an how lost she was in the erotic mood mixed with food.
"I want the restaurant to be romantic," she said finding a small thrill running through her, "I want to share an intimate environment with my guest."
"What are some of your ideas for colors?" Maven asked as she jointed down things on her notepad.
"I want exotic warm colors," her mind shifted back to a restaurant her and David visited in New York, the low lights and candles had made the room more intimate, the hidden away booths that offered privacy. A smiled pulled at her lips, the memory of David flooded her and she was submerged in that time. She could feel her face almost warm from the freezing winter outside, his hands holding hers in an effort to warm them. That was the night they talked about opening up their own restaurant. When sat there for hours talking about their dreams, they planned out every last detail that had been the dream. That was night she knew she found the one.
"Not low lighting I want layered lighting. I'm seeing divided lighting between general, ambient, and task. I want to adjust it to appropriate levels as the daily operations move; I want lighting to be smooth and transcendent." Gabriella said almost memorize by the moment she remembered so many years ago.
Her insides shivered as she shook off the memory and to her surprise it didn't stop shaking as she felt that odd feeling again, this time she felt it vibrating through her with more frequency and her thighs automatically squeezed together tightly. Shaking her head she let out a sigh, "I want the restaurant to be sensual, but family friendly, I want low lighting and intimate places, I want it to look like autumn with hits of a summer night," she said looking down at the drawings and different hues they had for her. Everything they had come up with on their own was Latin, they looked festive and fun but Gabriella didn't want festive, and she didn't like the dancing jalapeño's either. AN overwhelming urge came over her and she felt a wave of pressure in her hips. A small moan escaped her lips and she clenched her thigh for the second time. That was when it stopped.
"Are you alright?" Maven asked.
"Yeah," Gabriella said with a small nod. Her phone lit up again and she picked it up quickly. Trying to hide her embarrassment, her eyes looked down at the screen it was another message from Troy.
Are you aching for me yet?
Gabriella put the phone down and the sensation began again this time she jerked a bit feeling the blood and heat flooded her face. Her underwear was vibrating against her. Instantly she was felt the flooded feeling of embarrassment and excitement ball up in her abdomen. Looking around she searched the bar for him, her breathing quicken, somewhere in this room he was sitting in a dark corner watching her and using some kind of remote to torture her.
"So you want romance, layered light, welcoming comfort." Maven said as she looked at the other woman. "This is very useful to us in our design. I figure there are 5 Master-Level Design Ideas, the key to masterful design in any space is to think about it as a whole and then break that big picture into several small, manageable snapshots. That's what we've done with these design ideas. They are concepts that work together to form an optimal bar and restaurant design," Maven smiled as she spoke.
Gabriella turned her attention back to the meeting going on in front of her. Any minute now she was braced for it, waiting for it, knowing now that the underwear she had on was a sexual wicked game of find and tease. Anger boiled inside her and in some shocking way she hadn't expected, so did arousal.
"Idea #1: Make an entrance." Maven pulled out a blank sketch pad and began to draw a box. "We have to make your customers feel like they have arrived."
"No, I don't want there to be any high end or level of celebrity status associated." Gabriella said looking back at Pricilla, "This is a restaurant on the corner of Maple and Holland, let's be realistic about the customers."
"I understand, so you want an inviting entry." Pricilla said as she motioned to Maven, "I mean the entryway may seem like a small part of a much larger dining experience, but it is also a customer's first impression of the space. So immediately when they walk in you don't want people to turn around because they feel like they don't belong."
"That's ingenious." Maven made notes on her notepad and Gabriella looked up her eyes quickly scanning the restaurant and bar area. "We can make sure it reflects the ambiance of the locale and doesn't detract from it," Maven said as she drew something out.
"And I want Variety I want to add interest with seating arrangements. Not all diners are alike. I want to serve both their tastes with the food and surroundings by providing a variety of seating options. That way, they get to choose their preferred seating." Gabriella felt a smile growing on her lips, she could get use to the idea of getting things the way she wanted. She almost felt liberated by the entire meeting.
Troy watched her as she spoke to the both women, she looked confident, in the moment, alive and vibrant. A smiled pulled at his lips and as soon as he realized it he made it disappear. He didn't want to care so much about making her happy, didn't want to be getting as attached as he was. Girls like her were a forever commitment. They wanted children, love, promises and holidays split between in-laws. Troy shuttered as he looked down at his drink then back up at her. He was thrilled that she'd chosen to wear a black dress for the evening. It was tight to her curves and the contrast against her skin made her look delicious and from experience he knew exactly what she tasted like.
After the second time he turned on the panties he couldn't hide the smirk on his lips when realization hit her. There was a thrill inside him as he watched her still at the bar. Deciding not to interfere again until she was done he tucked the remote control in his breast pocket, which was good timing because as soon as he did Chad fell into the booth seat across from him.
"Where is Gabriella?"
"In a meeting," Troy said as the smile shifted on his face and then disappeared altogether. He lifted his scotch on the rocks and took a small sip as he motioned for the bar tender to send another one.
Chad let out a sigh as he adjust himself better and looked around the lounge area, "So explain to me again why I want to leave my restaurant to come work for you?"
"Easy," Troy said with a knowing look, "More money, less stress and wonderful new business."
"What about Gabriella, I mean she's a chef in her own restaurant why are you brining this to me and not her?" he said with a raised brow.
"Because it's her restaurant I'm offering you,"
The features on Chad's face fell and there was disappointment settling in, "Troy what are you doing?"
"I'm making you an offer, I coming to you first before I go somewhere else, you of all people should respect that."
The waitress came over with the drink and placed it front of Chad with a wink in Troy direction before slowly walking away leaving them in the low lit area alone once again.
"I know what you're doing, I guess the better question is why?" Chad said taking the drink and lifting it to his lips.
"My father is going to sell and I need to head him off at the pass." Troy said looking over to where Gabriella sat as she peered over designs. "I can't relinquish the restaurant to her, not yet. Her relationship with the restaurant is too personal. I cannot rely on her to make the needed changes or see the rehabilitation through."
"Have you talked to her about it?" Chad asked with a grim expression.
"This is a business matter, nothing to do with our personal lives" Troy lifted the glass to his lips and took another sip.
"So her suddenly being jobless isn't supposed to be personal?" Chad said placing the glass on the table. "Why do you always do shit like this man, for once in your life you actually have a shot at the real deal here and your fucking it up because you're thinking with your wallet."
"I am thinking clearly with my mind, and my mind tells me that I need that restaurant in hands I can trust." Troy said coolly, he needed someone who didn't have his emotions on high alert. Someone who couldn't flash a smile and get what she wanted. He needed to stay in control and Chad running the restaurant was his control.
"Troy," Chad leaned in closer, "What's going on? Why don't you trust her?"
Troy was quite as he looked down at his glass, the problem was he didn't trust himself to do what needed to be done if she was involved. The warning signs were already flashing in red and he'd be a fool to ignore his gut feeling now after 28 years of success. "We aren't handling the changes as well as I would like," he said in a low voice.
"Trouble in paradise?" Chad smirked.
Troy felt a nagging feeling in his gut, his eyes picked up and he found her instantly through the crowd of people again. She was listening intently to the designers as they discussed whatever was in front of them. "My father retires next year." Troy said looking up at Chad waiting for a response. When he didn't get one he continued. "I can't keep my eyes on the company and keep this restaurant a float, especially if my father is getting impatient and wants his money now rather than later. If I keep things the way they are this project is going to sink and the last four months of selling this idea to the board of investors and my father is going to go down the drain."
Chad was quite as he watched his friend with concern pulling at his features. "What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to take over mediation between the company and restaurant. Just for a little while and then I will buy it back from you and you can go on your marry way, buy yourself a bigger hut and bring your chair out closer to the tide."
"That is tempting," Chad said a little more cautiously. "So in other words you need someone outside of this little science experiment to hold on to it and mediate between you and Gabriella."
"She thinks I don't know what I'm doing and she been resisting me every step of the way. I need someone inside, on my side."
"A trojan horse," Chad corrected.
"In or out?"
Chad looked around the bar his eyes lowered to his drink and then back up at Troy. "One question."
Troy nodded as he brought his glass up to his lips again.
"You like her a lot more than you want to, don't you?"
Troy stilled as he raised a brow towards his friend. Parts of him were beginning to regret telling Chad anything. He couldn't help it, he had needed to tell Chad about his plans, needed someone to bounce his idea's off and Chad was a very trusted friend. If he couldn't talk to Chad about it he had no business seeing it through. Then again he wanted to keep his feelings about Gabriella to himself. It was hard to believe that when all this started he'd simply been after a one night stand, now after having her he knew one night wasn't going to be enough.
Gabriella was getting under his skin like no one ever had, her smile did things to his equilibrium and she knew when he was lying. He'd heard her laugh once and ever since he had been longing to hear it again, with a laugh like that made it him want to think about a marriage lasting more than two years. His only obstacles were David Pierce, his father, and his fear of trusting her not to run the first chance she got.
"Troy I know you," Chad said with smirk. "This is a power move, and you wouldn't be making it if you thought you could control her yourself." Chad leaned back in his seat as he raised a knowing brow in Troy's direction. "She's a hell of a woman if even you can't control her."
Troy was quite as he tapped his fingers on the table top, "She's different."
"She's your wife," Chad corrected, "You're legally married Troy, if you want my advice drop your daddy issues and quit your job. You hate it there and I don't understand why you need your father's validation." Chad let out a sigh as he looked at his glass and picked it up.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Troy said watching as Gabriella shook the woman's hands. He could hardly tolerate the distance between them. He wanted to be close to her, he wanted to be at her side and he cursed himself because he knew he shouldn't feel that way.
Chad was right he didn't need his father's validation. He didn't need to run his father's company. He also didn't need to prove to anyone that he could make it on his own he done that in leaps and bounds. But he still resented the company, still resented his father for abandoning him to care for it. His fists clenched as he thought about the company going to Ryan. Troy was tired of being disregarded, of coming in second to someone else, of never feeling that sense of ease that everyone had naturally.
"Relax," Chad's voice cut through the fog and Troy's mind cleared as he looked back at Chad.
"She has a thing for an old boyfriend," Troy said not really sure why he said it at all.
"So show her the Bolton charm?" Chad said with a small smirk.
Troy let out a sigh as he looked down at the ice melting in his glass. "Do you realize that I have work for everything, even things that should come naturally I have to work for?"
Chad shrugged his shoulders "if you didn't work for them would you value anything you have?" when nothing else was said between the two Chad continued. "Well as much as I feel differently about this I'll do it." Chad said quietly. "But not because I agree with you, I just don't want you to fuck this up and someone needs to be looking out for her if you're not going too."
"Good," Troy said leaning back in his seat watching as the two women meeting with Gabriella got up from their spot. Troy tried his best to stay neutral despite what he needed Chad to believe. If things went bad which right about now he had a 50/50 shot at, he didn't want to physically own the restaurant, he didn't even want the company to own the restaurant. If it didn't belong to him the restaurant wasn't at risk and he knew Chad would keep it safe until it was time to give it back to Gabriella.
"Under one condition," Chad said leaning forward and distracting Troy again.
"Keep talking," Troy said keeping voice even as he thought about the device in his breast pocket.
"If you sell the restaurant to me, you can't dictate what I do with it outside your business plan if it's in her best intentions or yours."
Well that worked out even better than he had planned. "I see you're still very much a businessman." Troy smiled looking back at Chad. Holding out his hand he nodded in agreement.
"Learned from the best," Chad responded as he took Troy's hand nodded as well.
Troy stood from his seat and held out his hand to Chad, "Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere."
"Not sticking around?"
"I have plans," he said, "I'll get the paperwork to you in the morning."
"I see how it is," Chad said playfully.
Troy patted Chad on the shoulder before taking off. He made sure to walk along the side wall, staying out of sight and reaching into his breast pocket for the device and flipping the switch. Now that the boring part of the evening was done with he had other matters to tend to.