Chapter 7 #3
“I’m glad the play went well, Camille. And I just saw the reviews! Fantastic! But why are you up so early? It’s eleven o’clock in New York, which means it’s five in the morning there,” Desiree said, shifting to a good position in bed.
“I didn’t sleep much after the play. I was too hyped up. You know how it is with me on the final night. The place was packed. Today is Friday, so there aren’t any clinicals. I get to hang around the flat and make this a ‘do nothing’ day.”
“I wish I could do the same. I have to report for work at eight.”
“How are things going with that, Rae?”
“So far so good. I’m really enjoying myself just learning the different jobs. The executive team is awesome and like Granddad, they are surprised that I know so much about business, considering I graduated from a liberal arts school.”
“I guess that means you haven’t told your grandfather what you were doing the past three years?”
“No, not yet. I’m waiting for the right time.”
“And how is your relationship with him going?” Camille asked.
Desiree released a deep sigh. “I’m not sure, Cam. He’s usually gone when I get up in the morning. However, I’ve been working late the past few days, and he doesn’t retire for the night until he knows I’m home. But he always did that whenever I came home from school.”
“So, what’s different?”
“He appears more at peace somehow. Whenever we share a meal, he seems genuinely interested in how my day went or how things are going at the office. I think he’s confused since I’ve yet to go to a nightclub.
At the office, everyone knows I’m Richard Sharpe’s granddaughter, so of course, they treat me with respect.
But it’s obvious they have high expectations for me. ”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not at all. I’m more like my grandfather than my father in that regard.
I love being a part of corporate America and the challenges it presents.
My dad, on the other hand, detested it. I think he would have much preferred to be part of the philanthropic arm of the Sharpe Corporation, as my grandmother was.
Dad was always more interested in the social obligations of the company, and he would have been better suited to attending galas, speaking at events, and maintaining the family’s public image or reputation. ”
“I concur with that,” Camille said. “I always thought your father’s alcoholism might have stemmed from the pressure of being put in a job where he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. I think deep down, he knew that he would never measure up to it.”
Desiree agreed with her friend’s psychological assessment of Richard Sharpe, Jr. “I think it’s important to learn the best of both business worlds.
I have always admired my grandmother and the role she played in helping to build and sustain the Sharpe’s dynasty.
However, I also want to learn the corporation’s core business strategies.
And I don’t know of a better person to teach me than Granddad. ”
“How are things between you and Cobra Masters after your blow-up earlier this week?”
Desiree shifted on her back to stare up at the ceiling. Her mouth was still tingling from the kisses they’d shared. “Would you believe that he showed up at the office tonight. Unannounced.”
“Why?”
“To take me home.” She then told Camille everything.
“Sounds like Cobra Masters is one hot tamale, as Melia would say.”
Emelia Sellers had moved into their apartment building when she’d been attending an art school in Paris.
She, Camille, and Desiree had instantly hit it off and become good friends.
Desiree had often heard Melia use that term to describe any handsome, hot-blooded man who captured her attention.
Melia was from the Mississippi Delta, where the ‘hot tamale’ description was commonly used, though it usually referred to spicy food rather than the opposite sex.
“He is definitely that. At least I don’t have to worry about him wanting to go beyond kisses.”
“Why not?”
Desiree told Camille what she had heard in the ladies’ room earlier in the week.
“Wow, Rae. Can you imagine how that woman could have destroyed Cobra Masters’ life and career? I’m glad he managed to catch her in the act. It must have been quite a night!”
“I’m glad he caught her, too. Although I don’t like Cobra, I wouldn’t wish such a thing on my worst enemy.”
“Hmmm… You still want to claim that you don’t like him…even after you let him kiss you?”
“I don’t see why that’s so strange. He deliberately kissed me until I got all hot and bothered, all the time knowing that he wouldn’t do anything about it. That shows just what a manipulator he is.”
“Would you have let him do something about it?”
“No, and you know why.” Her best friend knew her history with men.
“Yes, I do, so what’s the problem? Is it that you feel he should have confided in you about his celibacy? If so, why? It’s a private matter, and most men wouldn’t want such a thing exposed. Especially to a woman he might be attracted to.”
“If our roles were reversed, I would have no problem letting him know my situation,” Desiree said.
“Would you? Need I remind you that you are in that situation, Rae? Not for the same reason, since your decision to abstain from sex is self-imposed, thanks to that asshole Aimery. Still, women in general have no problem establishing boundaries while they’re building an emotional connection with a man.
But men don’t think the same way. They tend to think with the wrong head, and it gets them into all kinds of trouble.
I’m not excusing them—trust me—but that’s the way it is for them. ”
Desiree knew she should listen to Camille’s advice.
She hadn’t graduated at the top of her psychology studies for nothing.
But still… “Then Cobra shouldn’t kiss me into making me want more, Cam.
Especially when he has no intention of delivering.
If a woman did such a thing, she’d be accused of being a tease.
” She sighed, then added wistfully, “His kisses were so hot, they reminded me of how long it’s been since I slept with a man. ”
Camille didn’t say anything for a minute, then finally added in a soft voice, “But think what those same hot kisses were doing to him, Rae. He’s not immune.
After what that woman tried to do to him, I can understand why he’d put sex on the back burner for a while, just like I understood your reasons for doing the same thing after Aimery.
Still, I’m sure it has to be hard for a man like Cobra, whose sexual escapades are the stuff of legends. ”
“Well, I’m not letting him use me to appease his sexual hunger,” Desiree declared vehemently.
“Hmmm, did you ever think that maybe he just likes kissing you? And I think you enjoyed kissing him, too. Sounds like temptation is getting the best of you, and you’re rethinking your own decision not to get involved with anyone, Rae.”
“Even if I were rethinking my decision, Cobra is in no position to do anything about it.”
Camille didn’t say anything for a moment and then said, “Although you know about his vow of celibacy, he knows nothing about your situation, right? What are the odds that you two are in the exact same predicament?”
“Well, just to be on the safe side, I’ve decided to stay out of his way and start avoiding him as much as I can. When he comes over on Thursday nights to play chess with Granddad, I’ll make sure that I’m not here.”
“Do whatever you think you have to. But for now, go to sleep, Rae. You have to get up early in the morning.”
“I will. But I just want to say one more thing. I noticed you didn’t mention anything about Léandre.”
“There’s nothing to tell. Although he hasn’t said anything to me about it, Kassie mentioned tonight that, now that the production has ended, Léandre is thinking about taking a few weeks off to work on a new script. He’s going to be spending that time in a place in the Swiss Alps.”
Kassie, Léandre’s sister, often helped on the production set.
“The Swiss Alps?” Desiree asked.
“Yes. A friend of his offered him the use of his Swiss mountain cabin. I guess he didn’t think it was important enough to mention it to me.”
Desiree could hear the hurt in her best friend’s voice. “I still think you should just come out and tell him how you feel, Cam.”
“I’m not ready to do that, Rae. What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me that I feel about him?”
“You’ll never know if you don’t act on it.”
“I know… Well, goodnight, Rae.”
“Goodnight, Cam.”
After hanging up the phone, Desiree thought about how much, and for how long, Camille had loved Léandre.
All the way back when the two were in high school.
That was a long time for a girl to wait for the boy of her dreams to notice her as more than a friend.
Hopefully, one day Léandre would finally open his eyes.