Chapter 3 #2
But… the more she thought about it the more problematic it got, because they’d all be busy, twenty-something professionals with social lives and plans for their weekends.
Even if they weren’t, it would look desperate for Sarah to summon them at such short notice.
Part of her mystique as their mentor and a senior partner at their firm would be burst to realise that the imperious, dominant Sarah was at a loose end for her weekend, and pride meant that she couldn’t bring herself to go down that path.
There was someone else though. Someone who didn’t care about things like that, someone who Sarah hadn’t seen in a little while and who sat outside of her mentoring scheme, separate from all of the hierarchies and the quid pro quo that came with it, someone who saw Sarah sometimes simply because they liked each other.
Camila.
***
Camila was the daughter of a wealthy minor Brazilian aristocrat and client of Sarah's firm who had been desperate for her to build a respectable career for herself rather than going down the path her older brothers had followed of becoming mediocre influencers who got by on their trust funds.
A couple of years before her firm had organised a ski weekend in the Alps for a select group of ultra high net worth individuals, the sort of people with power and influence who could drive significant work their way.
To say that the trip had been high end didn’t come close…
no expense spared on the hotel, on the skiing, on the entertainment.
Three nights for the three partners including Sarah and five clients easily went in to six figures, but it had more than paid off over the two years since in work that had flowed their way.
Five clients… but six attendees at the meals and social events.
Her father had decided that exposure to Sarah and her two colleagues should form part of Camila’s trajectory towards a respectable career, and so at his request she’d joined them all for dinner and drinks each evening.
Camila had, in fairness, been the perfect extra guest. Clearly brought up with impeccable manners and well used to knowing how to act among her father’s peers, she’d made polite and engaging conversation with the others and made a convincing show of being genuinely interested in Sarah and her two colleagues, asking perceptive questions about the legal profession that belied her years.
Sarah also noticed how quite a few of the men found themselves drawn towards her, because not only did she have impeccable manners, she was also really quite beautiful…
objectively attractive, expensively and well-dressed, a figure to die for, but she had the confidence and easy going personality to go well with it.
Sarah had noticed her too but, of course, actively made herself not look because she was in work mode, not make a pass at your client’s stunning nineteen-year-old daughter mode.
Instead, as the only other woman there, she made sure she kept a subtle eye on the other men lest one of them was tempted to try something inappropriate.
It was on the third and final night, after a lavish dinner near to the hotel, that Sarah spotted Camila sat in the hotel lobby bar, on her own, intently looking at her phone. Out of politeness as much as anything she went over to say hello.
“Mind if I join you?” Sarah asked.
Camila looked up and smiled. “Please. I was just mindlessly scrolling. Never a good sign.”
Sarah sat down and they chatted for a while over a glass of wine, the same sort of conversation she’d been having with everyone in the group all weekend, professional mode engaged, right up until Camila admitted with refreshing honesty that she was bored out of her mind.
Three nights at a ski resort and she hadn’t been out once, on her best behaviour in front of everyone else while she listened to endless talk about tax structuring and wealth preservation.
“I’ve heard the nightlife here is amazing,” Camila said, looking at Sarah over the rim of her wine glass with an expression that was half hopeful, half mischievous. “And this is our last night.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Think of it as chaperoning. My father would want a responsible adult keeping an eye on me.” The grin she gave Sarah was pure mischief, utterly unlike any expression she’d seen from Camila all weekend.
It was a glimpse of someone quite different beneath the impeccable manners.
“One drink. One hour. Then I’ll go back to being the perfect client’s daughter. ”
Against her better judgement, Sarah said yes.
One hour turned into several. The club was better than expected, the cocktails were strong, and Camila, freed from the constraints of being on best behaviour turned out to be genuinely entertaining, not to mention irreverent, company.
They danced, they chatted to some guys who tried their luck and were politely dispatched, and they danced some more.
It was on the dance floor that Sarah noticed Camila looking at her differently… not mischievously, not quite, it was more direct than that. There was intent in the look.
Sarah tried to look away. When she looked back, Camila was still watching her.
They drifted closer, and Camila leaned in, her mouth close to Sarah’s ear. “You’ve been looking at me all weekend,” she shouted over the music. “You think I haven’t noticed, but I have.”
“I haven’t…”
“You have. Every time, you look away very quickly.” Camila leaned back enough to look into Sarah’s eyes. “Just like the men, but what makes you different is that I’ve been looking back at you.”
Before Sarah could process the implications, Camila flashed her mischievous grin and kissed her.
The thought occurred that what if everything since the lobby had been Camila seducing her, but that didn’t stop Sarah in the slightest…
she kissed Camila back. Her mind thought about the objections: client’s daughter, nineteen, work event.
But then Camila’s tongue found hers and every last one of them evaporated as Sarah kissed her back harder.
It was the kind of kiss that rendered coherent thought impossible.
They kissed for a minute or two on the dance floor, oblivious to everyone around them, until Camila pulled back, flushed and bright-eyed, and shouted over the music, “Your room or mine?”
Sarah looked at this beautiful, surprising woman who’d spent three days being perfect and several hours seducing her, and felt any hint of resistance dissolve completely.
“Mine. It’s further from your father’s.”
Camila laughed, took her hand, and pulled her towards the exit.
That night… it had been very, very good. It turned out that Camila had quite a bit of experience with women, and when Sarah had pushed her boundaries, taking a dominant role, Camila welcomed it with open arms.
“I’ll try anything once,” she said, and it became apparent that she meant it. They got inventive with whatever was to hand in the room and Camila had responded to everything enthusiastically even though she freely admitted it was far outside her normal comfort zone.
Since then they’d had an extremely casual friends-with-benefits kind of relationship, each woman comfortable that they could message the other with no strings attached whenever they wanted.
Camila was studying at university in London and wasn’t interested in any kind of serious relationship with anyone…
she was genuinely bisexual, equally as in to women as men, and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin her fun by getting tied down.
It had been four months since they’d last seen each other, Sarah realised. It felt like seeing her was overdue. She got out her phone.
Hey, long time! You free later? x
Camila would know exactly what that meant… and Sarah didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Too long! Busy tonight, free tomorrow if that works? x
Sarah thought for a second, mentally rebalancing her weekend.
Work tonight and tomorrow morning, meet Camila in the afternoon.
That would work. Not at her apartment though…
Sarah wanted somewhere different, too much Amy baggage from Wednesday night to deal with.
She needed this with Camila to relax, not relive the intensity of Amy.
Done. I’ll book us into a hotel, will send you details x
Camila’s reply was instant.
Oohhh… how exciting. Don’t forget your bag of toys x
Sarah grinned. Yeah, Camila was exactly what she needed after what had happened with Amy.
***
She spent the next hour getting started on her work, until her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an incoming video call from Hugo.
Taking a second to shift herself into wife and mum mode, she put on her most enthusiastic smile and answered the call, “Hi! How are you all doing?”
“Hi, we’re all good,” Hugo replied. “Guess who has something to show you…” he continued excitedly as a small player of the match trophy was shoved in front of the camera.
“Oh wow, that’s fantastic!” Sarah exclaimed, desperately trying to work out which child it actually was that had won it. “Tell me all about it…”