Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
LOUISA
It’s the end of spring, and I’ve been on a couple of dates with guys I met on the dating app, but none of them were all that interesting, and none went past a first date. Life has been pretty uneventful. I mostly work, walk Pepin, and work some more.
I’m sitting at my desk working when my phone buzzes. I try not to check my phone at work, but I’ve been bad about that recently. I reach over just to see who it’s from.
Matt's name pops up on the screen. I haven’t heard from him in a while, so I’m intrigued. I thought maybe he had moved on to the next girl and forgotten about me. I unlock my phone and go to messages.
Matt
Hello, gorgeous. How would you like to accompany me to a charity ball in a few weeks? It always looks better to investors when a gentleman has a beautiful woman on his arm.
Lou
What’s the date? I’ll check my calendar.
I don’t have to check my calendar; I know I have nothing going on for months.
Matt
Second Saturday in June.
Lou
I’m available. What should I wear?
Matt
I’ll have a gown and shoes sent over to your apartment next week. Let me know if any alterations need to be made, and I’ll send someone.
Lou
That works for me. See you in a few weeks.
I throw my head back and my hands on my face. I let out a little scream, but not loud enough for my upstairs neighbor, Sarah, to feel the need to come check on me. I was really trying to play it cool, but I'm freaking out! A ball? A gown? My mind is running wild with ideas about what it’s going to be like. I never thought I’d be someone who goes to an event like that. I likely never will again, so I’m going to fully enjoy it while I have the opportunity.
It's the night of the charity ball, and I have to get ready by myself because B is traveling for work. I’m fully capable of doing it by myself, but I just enjoy having her around for stuff like this. She always hypes me up and makes me feel sexy, though it would be really hard not to feel sexy in this dress.
True to his word, Matt had a dress sent to my apartment the week after he invited me. And he didn’t just send one; he sent three . One is a deep red A-line sequence gown. The second is a plum-colored silk sheath gown. The third is a long black gown that hugs my top and midsection, then falls loosely on the floor with black straps tied in neat bows on both shoulders with a slit all the way up to my hip.
I tried them all on multiple times and finally chose the black one. He also sent over several pairs of shoes in my size. I bend over and lace up the red velvet strappy heels I picked out, wrapping the velvet ribbon twice around my ankle before tying it off in a bow in the back.
I stand up and check myself out in the mirror one more time before heading out to meet the car.
"How do I look, Pepin?"
I turn to him sitting on the bed and do a slow twirl. Pepin starts panting with his mouth open, so it looks like he's smiling at me.
"Thank you. I think so too."
I kiss him on the forehead and grab my clutch.
On the drive over, I start getting nervous. I'm not sure why it hasn't fully hit me till now. I'm going to be surrounded by hundreds of millionaires, and I'll have to blend in with them. I hope Matt doesn't ever leave me hanging by myself, but I also don't want to seem clingy. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. My dress is tight, and it slightly restricts my breathing, so I take another one .
The car pulls up to a large, beautiful building, and the front steps are littered with people. Camera flashes go off, and people greet each other with side hugs in an attempt to avoid wrinkling their outfits. I spot Matt waiting by the curb for me, and I am so grateful that I don't have to go in alone and try to find him.
When I step out of the car, his chest rises with a deep breath, and a grin spreads across his face. I first step out with the leg that has the high slit in the dress, and Matt's face goes from a grin to pure animalistic hunger. I can see it in his eyes, and it gives me a sick satisfaction knowing that I did that to him. He cocks his neck side to side and rolls his shoulders as if trying to get comfortable in his own skin. I have rarely seen him flustered, so this is very amusing for me.
"I was secretly hoping you'd pick that one." I walk up to him, and he grabs my hand, directing me into a full spin to show him all sides of me. "You are stunning. I'm going to have every investor in the palm of my hands tonight, solely because they will be so captivated by you."
"And what will the wives think of that?"
"My guess is they'll be eyeing the sight of you too." He winks at me.
I roll my eyes and link my arm in his as we walk up the stairs to the main entrance. Matt doesn't bother to stop and talk to anyone on the way in. He is a man on a mission right now. I don't know exactly what that mission is, but I guess I'm along for the ride.
We get checked in, and someone escorts us to our table. The table seats 10 people, and I start to wonder who we will be seated with and if I'll know them. We don't sit just yet, though. Matt takes my hand and starts heading for a hallway tucked away on the side of the main event area .
I'm starting to realize what his mission was, and I can't hold back my smile. I look around as we get further down the hall, checking to see if anyone is down there or if anyone might have seen us come over here.
He quickly pulls me to the side, which throws me slightly off balance, and I grab his arm to stabilize myself. He wraps a hand around each of my wrists, lifts them above my head, and pins me to a wall behind a large pillar.
His face is so close to mine that I can feel his breath on my lips. My body is racing with adrenaline for so many reasons; I wasn't expecting this part of the night to happen so soon, so it takes me by surprise, as does the thrill of someone finding us. I've learned that Matt has a thing for doing sexual activities in places where other people might catch us.
He doesn't press his lips to mine yet, and they are aching for the touch of his.
"I don't want to ruin your makeup before the evening even begins."
He moves his head so my lips are right by his ear and his by mine. He switches his grip on my wrists, so now both of them are in only one of his hands. With the other, he feels across my hip until he finds the top of the slit. His hand enters my dress and runs along my inner thigh until he reaches my center. He wastes no time and pulls my panties down with one hand so they are now stretched around my thighs.
He inserts two fingers because he knows well enough now that I can take it. I gasp into his ear and press my face to his cheek. I'm trying not to smudge my makeup, but I need to be pressed against him.
His fingers move in me and find that sweet spot. I moan at the feel of his forceful hand shaking violently, pulling me toward release. I'm so horny at this point that it doesn't take long for me to come all over his hand.
"Good girl," he whispers into my ear, and it makes my body shake in the aftermath of pleasure.
He removes his fingers and releases my wrists from above my head. He pulls out his pocket square and neatly unfolds it to wipe me off of his hand, then folds it back up. I should be grossed out, but I'm not. Part of me likes the idea of him talking to people all night without them knowing that his pocket square, mere feet from their faces, is wet with my cum. And I know that is exactly why he did that.
I reach down to pull my panties up when he stops me with his hand.
"Take those off."
I look into his eyes as I slowly bend over, pull them down my legs, and step out of them. When I'm leaning forward, I quickly glance down the hallway to make sure no one can see me.
"Those are mine."
He reaches out for them, and I hand them over to him. He stuffs it into his inside jacket pocket and then pats it from the outside, giving me a wink.
He takes my hand and walks us to the nearest restroom, where I go in and clean myself up as best as I can. It's a good thing this dress is black, so hopefully, there won't be an obvious wet spot where I came on my dress. After I'm finished in the stall, I wash my hands in the sink. As I'm reaching for the stack of clean hand towels, someone gets my attention.
"I love your shoes."
I look down at my feet as if I'm not aware of what shoes I'm wearing, then back up at her .
"Thank you. They are actually very comfortable as well."
I don't know who this woman is, but she is gorgeous. She's maybe in her mid-50s but has definitely had some work done to make her look like she's in her 30s. No matter how hard people work or how much money they pay, you can usually tell when a woman is desperately trying to hide the fact that she's aging. But this woman has been pretty successful in staying youthful without looking fake.
"Love that even more."
I don't know what else to say, and it seems a bit awkward to do a formal introduction in the bathroom, so I just smile and dry my hands. She is on the same wavelength as me and doesn't say anything else before ducking into a stall.
I exit the bathroom and spot Matt waiting for me on the opposite wall with two drinks in his hand. I grab my drink from him and tuck my clutch under one arm so I can link the other around Matt's. He walks us back to our table, where several other people are now seated.
My stomach flips, and the nerves I forgot about when Matt was finger-banging me in the hallway have suddenly returned. Before we sit down, Matt takes a moment to introduce everyone seated around the table. Most of them are people who work alongside Matt or are friends from some other facet of Matt's life I know nothing about.
Sometimes, I forget that Matt and I know very little about each other. I always tell myself it's better that way, and I stand by that. If I knew more, it might ruin the essence of intrigue and mystery that comes with Matt.
We eat dinner, which is one of the most amazing meals I have ever had in my life. I am shocked when one of the men at the table complains about theirs, saying it's just mediocre and that last year, the Wagyu beef seemed fresher. I pull out my phone and Google what Wagyu means and was shocked by the average prices I see listed.
It makes me wonder how much Matt paid for these tickets. He probably doesn't even know since it was likely an insignificant amount to him. But out of curiosity and knowing Matt won't be offended, I ask, "How much does a ticket to this event cost?" To make it more humorous and emphasize that I'm not trying to be rude, I add, "I may buy a ticket next year just so I can taste beef better than this, according to that guy." I raise my eyebrows and tilt my head toward the man who, earlier, was complaining about his meal.
Matt laughs quietly. "Do you really want to know?"
I nod. I’m pretty sure I want to know.
"I can't exactly remember," I knew it, "but I think it was somewhere around four or five thousand dollars."
I chose the wrong time to take a bite of my cheesecake and nearly choke.
He laughs again, this time at my expense. "Whatever is left over after paying for the event all goes to charity."
That makes me feel a little better, but I can not imagine spending that much money to get all dressed up and eat a meal. There isn't even any entertainment other than a few speeches, mostly thanking people for the donations they made in addition to their tickets.
After dessert, Matt leans over and whispers in my ear, "There's someone I want you to meet."
"Who?"
"Come with me."
I have no idea where this is going, so I'm, yet again, anxious. My nerves are going to be completely shot by the end of the night from all this excitement. I take his hand and follow him to a small group of people standing together just a few tables away.
Matt lets go of my hand and touches the shoulder of a woman whose dress I recognize, even from the back. She turns around and confirms that it's the woman who complimented my shoes in the bathroom. I can't believe this is who he wanted to introduce me to. So ironic. And now I'm really dying to know who she is.
Matt greets her with a hug, and they exchange brief pleasantries. Then she looks over at me. "Matthew, you have a woman here with quite some taste. I complimented her shoes in the bathroom." I didn't notice her accent in the bathroom, but now I can hear that she's English, like Matt.
Matt smiles and looks between us. "I knew you two would hit it off."
We all giggle, and Matt finally introduces us. "Louisa, this is Erin Freid. She—" I cut him off.
"You're the UK's most renowned female architect. You were featured in Architectural Digest last year. I'm so embarrassed I didn't recognize you at first. It's so nice to meet you." I reach out and shake her hand.
"I'm just glad to hear that someone knows of me for my work and not my face. Every now and then, I have a hard time getting people to take me seriously in this business because I'm just a beautiful woman to them." I love her confidence, but I'm sad that she has to deal with that. Such bullshit.
"Erin, this is Louisa Blake. Louisa is working toward getting licensed right now."
I nod, not able to calm the giddy excitement I feel about meeting someone whose work I have admired for years. "I'm about to take my first licensure exam in a week. I'm very nervous."
"That first one is tough when you don't know exactly what to expect, and you still have all the nerves. It's a very important exam to pass. It can set the tone for all the rest of your exams. I know a few colleagues who took over 3 years to complete all their exams because they failed the first one and had so much fear about failing exams two through six that they put it off for so long."
I was already extremely nervous, but now I feel even more pressure, hearing from her just how important this is. I feel my hands go clammy, and I'm glad Matt isn't holding one right now.
"I'm sure you'll be just fine, though." But I'm not sure I will be fine. "If you were smart enough to take advantage of this buffoon, then I have the utmost faith in you." She points her finger at Matt and laughs at her own joke.
I fake a laugh because, in other circumstances, I would find that very funny. Most people would see me as a gold digger if they didn't know the situation. But Erin sees it for exactly what it is: a young girl enjoying the spoils of having an occasional sugar daddy, taking advantage of our youth and beauty. I like her. But I can't get out of my head right now. I don't even realize that she's asked me a question until I notice them both staring at me, waiting for an answer.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? My mind was somewhere else for a second."
"I asked what your preferred architectural style is if you had full creative freedom."
Erin and I talk for over an hour, mostly about architecture but occasionally about other things if the conversation flowed there. At first, I was trying to impress her, but eventually, I settled in, and it was like talking to a colleague or a friend who has the same interests as you.
"Well, I should be getting back to my wife. I have no idea where she ran off to." She goes up on her tiptoes to scan the room. "Ah, she's over by the bar. Perfect, because I need another drink. It was very nice to meet you, Louisa."
I'm bummed that our conversation is ending, but I'm just glad I made it through without saying something stupid.
She reaches into her clutch, pulls out a small rectangular card, and offers it to me. "Here is my business card. You contact me when you're done with your exams, and we can see if there's a position that might suit you."
I clench my teeth together; otherwise, my jaw would likely be on the floor right now. When I pictured how tonight would go, it was not at all like this.
I take the card from her. It's made of very thick paper and is so well designed. For a moment, I imagine having my name on a card like this.
"Thank you so much. I will absolutely reach out. It was so great chatting with you."
We both stand to leave, and she surprises me with a quick hug. I was expecting a handshake. "It was great chatting with you as well."
I turn around, looking for Matt, and spot him at a bar different from where Erin's wife is. I walk over there and wait by his side, slightly behind him, until he finishes his conversation. He doesn't notice me, but I don’t want to be rude and interrupt. He says his farewells, shakes hands, and turns around. He lightly bumps into me because I am standing so close to him, like a weirdo. Why was I doing that?
"Sorry!"
"Lou, how long have you been standing there?"
"Not long, maybe five minutes."
"You could have gotten my attention." He smiles because what I did was pretty strange, and I realize that.
I shrug my shoulders and give him a lazy smile. "I'm not sure what I was thinking."
He puts a hand on my shoulder and runs it down my arm.
"How was your conversation with Erin? I was hoping she would be here tonight so I could give you an introduction. I didn't want to tell you ahead of time because I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Thank you so much for that. We had a great chat, and she actually gave me her card and told me to contact her when I get my license."
"That's great, Lou. I'm happy for you."
He touches me again; this time, his hands slide around my waist, and he pulls me in, kissing me gently. I look around, slightly uncomfortable doing this in front of so many people.
"Don't worry about them. I hope they're watching and that now they know you belong to me tonight."
I throw my arms around his neck. "And what exactly do you plan to do with your plaything tonight, Matt?
He gives me a devilish grin, and I feel a tingle between my legs. All of a sudden, I remember that I'm not wearing underwear.
"Want to get out of here and find out?"
I nod. "Thought you'd never ask."