Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
HUDSON
“ I don’t like it,” Alison complains as we walk back to the garage.
“We got the money we came here for,” I point out to her.
“Yes, but not his heart? He has a deal with Frank, the enemy.”
“Frank isn’t the enemy.”
“He wants your company. I consider him the enemy. That aside, how do we trust him not to inform Frank of all that we did here today? All of this might be a ruse.”
It seems everyone is keeping up a ruse these days, I think and sigh.
I open the file and scan through it. “He is staying as far away as he can from the mess but still has skin in the game. He is funding us through this company.”
“Some fictitious Dominican company?”
“No, it's an actual company. It’s been in existence for ten years now. The CEO is a man named Jamin Rakan. They make fair money, but it’s the value of the company that’ll keep us afloat, and it’s in India, where Frank’s reach is little.”
“What skin does Rakeem have in it then?”
“It’s his company. It’s all in here,” I tell her. It’s well hidden behind numerous other shields, but it is his company, and should we go down, this company does also.”
“He gets a replacement company in America.”
“Yes, but he loses ten years of work. I’m sure he doesn’t want that. What I think is this: He wants me to win this however I can. My win gives him the leverage to do what he’s always wanted. Start a company here in America without the influence of Frank. With the deal he made with Frank, he’ll always be under Frank’s thumb should Frank win. But he’s not an idiot. He plans for all possibilities but knows which he wants the most, so he commits more to the one he wants.”
Alison knows I am right, so she doesn’t argue anymore.
“We should have gone for the easy route,” she says after a while.
“I am not going to marry her,” I insist.
“Of course not. You’re engaged now.” there is spite in her voice.
“Hate doesn’t look good on you.”
“It’s not hate. It’s confusion. You don’t even know who this girl is, and you gave her the diamond ring. That thing is worth over two hundred thousand dollars. What if you get to the hotel and she’s gone.”
“The company will track her down.”
“Like hell, they will. They’ll call you a fool for giving a practical stranger your diamond ring and you can’t take her to court because she didn’t steal it from you. She’s not liable for that.”
“She won’t run away with it,” I tell her.
“You don’t even know where she is right now. How can you be so sure?”
I don’t know, but I feel like I can see right into Juliette’s heart. Maybe that is why I chose to entrust this whole deal to her. She’s different, unlike the others. She has her own dreams, and nothing will deter her from them—not even some diamond.
“I trust her,” I say.
Alison is ready to argue again, but I stop her. “I trust her, and that will be the end of it. I won’t have you second-guessing my decisions.”
She groans and pouts. I know she has a point, but I can’t help what I feel. Juliette seems like the right choice for this. If Rakeem's support proves useful, all of this won’t matter anyway.
All these talks about Juliette cause my mind to stray again, and once again; I’m standing in front of the room, watching her in that nightgown, her breast calling to me. This time, I don’t stand by the door. I wander in and have my seat on the couch. I watch her strip, dancing, gyrating to some music only she can hear. She lets the strap of her gown fall from her shoulder and then to her arm. The gown moves further down until her breasts are bare to me. I find myself moving, floating to them, my palms fondling them, pushing them against her chest and gently guiding her to the wall; she moans into my ears. I can’t get enough of her breasts; I wanted them all over my face. I want my hands all over them. I want her all over me. I roll one of the nipples in my fingers, getting more urging moans from her.
“Hudson! Hudson!” Alison’s voice drags me back to the present.
“What is it?” I ask, clearly irritated that she disturbed my imagination.
“Are you returning to the office?”
“No,” I say. “I have somewhere else to be.”
I have to see Jasmine now. I know I said evening, but I can’t wait till then. I need some relief, now.