Chapter Five
Evangeline
I ARRIVED BACK at my hotel and took a long, piping hot shower. It was something I did every time I was away from home. It was the last remnants of needing to feel clean on the outside when I still didn’t feel clean on the inside. When I was younger, I’d give myself first-degree burns. However, after finding my own unique method of coping with trauma related stress, I’d found that I was able to lessen the heat of the water so that I was now able to cleanse my soul in other ways, so that a shower was now, more or less, a shower.
Tonight, however, it had been a little something else. A moment of pleasure. A moment of self-care. With Shep’s face in my mind as I brought myself to climax with my fingers under the water. Something I rarely did because of the shame, but something the best sexual trauma therapists encouraged in their work. Not that I’d been to a therapist in years . For a relationship like that to be fruitful I’d have to be open and honest, and God knows there was no way in hell that was going to happen.
Writing, and now talking about my past was one thing. I could control the narrative by choosing which parts of my story to include or omit. I learned a long time ago that the quickest way into someone’s wallet was to make them feel good first. Tony Sugar, the first guy to pimp me out after my mother, used to tell me, “Always keep one hand on your john’s cock, and the other on his wallet.” It was a skill I learned all too well. Dealing with my reading public didn’t feel much different sometimes. Tell my story, tug at the heartstrings, and they’ll buy my books. It was a crass way of looking at what I did, but it’s how I felt sometimes.
I wrapped myself in a robe and wandered to the windows looking over the city of Nashville. I was surprised by how tiny it was. You could walk it in less than a day. The way people talked it up, considering how much country music (and religious music) came out of here, you’d think it was huge, but it wasn’t. Maybe four to six square blocks. And with Broadway being the main drag with most of the bars with live music were located, the Ryman and Country Music Hall of Fame streets were pretty much empty and easy to get to.
As I watched the lights play off the buildings, my purse seemed to beckon to me, so I pulled out Shep’s card and studied it.
Should I call him?
I had two more days here and was free tomorrow. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? He changed his mind? Or we went out and had a great time? Besides, it’s not like we lived anywhere near each other, so I wasn’t at risk of starting anything that would require a commitment.
I took a deep breath and punched his number into my phone.
“You got Shep,” he said after two rings.
“Um, hello, Shep. This is Evangeline Monroe.”
“Hey there. How’d the rest of your gig go?”
I smiled. “Ah, really well, thank you for asking. I sold out of the second pressing of my book and my publisher said we’re going to have to go to a third printing.”
“I don’t know exactly what that means, but it sounds like a good thing.”
I chuckled. “It’s a really good thing. My success will help a lot more children.”
“Well, congratulations. That’s quite an achievement.”
I bit my lip, his compliment going all the way to my soul. “Thanks.”
“So, do you have some time for me to take you out before you leave?”
“I really only have tomorrow night, but if you’re bus—”
“Tomorrow’s great,” he interrupted. “Would you like me to pick you up at your hotel, or would you feel more comfortable meeting me somewhere?”
“If you wouldn’t mind picking me up, I’d appreciate that.”
“I’d be happy to. Just text me the details, and I’ll do that. Six work?”
“Six is great.” I smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too. I’ll see you then.”
“See you then.”
We hung up and I texted him the hotel information, then I ordered room service and put on an old black and white movie. The perfect cap to a perfect day.
* * *
Evangeline
T he next evening, Shep arrived five minutes before six and I met him in the lobby. Stepping out of the elevator, he saw me and let out a quiet whistle. “You look absolutely beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I blushed.
I wore a dark blue sweater dress that hugged everything, but it was extremely comfortable, and I could move in if I had to run, (not that I was anticipating the need to, of course). I also wore a pair of tall black boots that matched the ensemble with the one expensive handbag I owned. A black Louis Vuitton Never Full Tote that I’d scrimped and saved for, purchasing after finishing my first project.
“You clean up quite nicely yourself, Chef,” I said.
He wore dark jeans, a pair of cowboy boots that were obviously worn but well maintained, and a blue button down that matched his eyes. Lordy, he was gorgeous.
“Thank you,” Shep said with a chuckle. “My truck’s out front. Are you still comfortable going with me?”
“I’m good.”
We walked out to the front and Shep held the door for me, but he didn’t touch me. Something I both appreciated and hated. He was obviously giving me space but for whatever reason, he was someone I would have welcomed some kind of physical touch from.
Shep met my eyes. “I’d like to take you someplace special, but I need you to swear to secrecy first.”
I laughed. “Oh, wow. Now that is a good line. I have to admit I’ve never heard that one before.”
“No, I’m serious. If I promise to show you something really cool, can I trust you not to tell anyone about it?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “You can trust me to keep a secret.”
He closed my door then climbed into the truck, and we headed out into the countryside of Tennessee, weaving through some of the most gorgeous scenery I’d ever experienced. Twenty minutes later, five of which were spent traveling up a private tree-lined road, we arrived at what I could only describe as a grand estate. The house stood three stories high, and was surrounded by sprawling gardens, all of which were immaculately groomed.
“What is this place?” I asked, leaning forward to peer through the windshield.
“This belongs to a client of mine,” Shep replied, casually, as we rounded the large circular driveway, parking at the top. “I’ve cooked for him and his guests many times over the years.”
“You know the guy who lives here?”
“Technically, he lives in New York, and he’s got other places around the world, but this is the house he brings people to when he wants to impress them.”
“Is that why you’ve brought me here?” I raised an eyebrow. “To impress me?”
Shep shook his head as he pulled the truck into the circular driveway and parked. “I brought you here to give you a meaningful experience that will blow your mind and stay with you for as long as you live.”
Something about the sincerity in Shep’s voice caused a shiver to run down my spine. “Wow. What could possibly be inside that house that could live up to that kind of hype?”
Shep grinned, turning off the engine. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
We got out of the truck and made our way to the front entrance, the large wooden doors opening for us before we even had the chance to knock.
“Good evening, Mr. Waller,” said a uniformed butler as we entered.
“How you doing, Graham?”
“Fine, sir, thank you so much for asking,” the butler replied in a distinguished British accent which made him sound like a character sent straight from central casting.
“How’s that new hip of Alice’s treating her?”
Graham sighed, before grimly replying, “She’s enrolled us in a ballroom dancing class.”
“Sounds like the surgery was success.”
“Apparently, you’ve never taken a ballroom dancing class before, sir,” Graham said with a soft chuckle before turning his attention to me. “And who is this enchanting young woman you’ve brought with you tonight?”
“This is Ms. Evangeline Monroe.”
“Hello,” I replied, unsure of whether I should bow or curtsy. This whole encounter seemed so fancy and formal. In the end, I decided on a handshake, which Graham graciously accepted.
“I take it you’re here to see—”
Shep waved Graham off. “Shhhh, no, no, no. I want Evangeline to be surprised.”
“I understand, sir,” he replied with a knowing smile. “I took the liberty of setting out some refreshments for you downstairs. Please let me know if something isn’t to your liking or if you should require anything more.”
“Thank you so much, Graham. I’m sure it’ll all be perfect,” Shep replied.
“You know how to contact me should you need anything,” Graham said, before turning and leaving us.
“What is all this?” I asked. “Why does the butler know you so well. How many women have you brought here? Why does this place even have a butler anyway if no one is living here?”
“I’ve never brought anyone here before tonight,” Shep replied.
Another shiver.
Shep smiled. “But I have come here often enough to get to know Graham and some of the other staff members.”
“This place has a staff?”
“It’s got a whole lot more than that. Come on,” he said before holding out his hand, which I took without a second thought, suddenly realizing that I’d never willingly held the hand of a man. For all of the ways men had touched me or made me touch them, I’d never known the simple, innocent pleasure of holding hands. Something about Shep made me want to trust him, and while the idea of putting any amount of trust into a relative stranger scared the shit out of me, my fear was unable to override the peace I felt whenever I was in Shep’s presence.
As he led us through the house, I was gob-smacked by what I saw. Every piece of furniture looked to be an antique, some of them quite rare. On every wall hung beautiful masterpieces, one located at the top of a spiral staircase which led to the lower level, stopped me dead in my tracks.
“Is this a real Rothko?” I asked in stunned disbelief as I stood before a painting I’d only ever seen in books and on the internet.
“I’m not sure. If Rothko’s painting are expensive, then my guess would be yes. The place is filled with uber rich guy shit.”
“This piece was sold at auction in 2012 for forty-three point two million dollars,” I said, still in shock that I was standing six inches away from a true masterpiece. No glass dividing us. No velvet rope or security guard from keeping me from reaching out and touching it.
Shep let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of cheddar for one painting.”
“It’s not even one of his top ten most valuable paintings.”
“How do you know so much about art?”
“If I’m curious about something, I tend to study it very closely. When I go down a rabbit hole or begin a new project, I do every bit of research I can on the subject.”
“A self-educated woman,” Shep said.
“I still can’t believe this painting is just hanging on a wall at the top of a staircase right in front of me. Why isn’t this house locked down like a fortress and why is the butler letting us mosey around the place unaccompanied?”
“Oh, this place is like a fortress. There are hidden cameras everywhere, plus sensors, motion detectors, and a security team that monitors it all twenty-four-seven. As for why Graham let us in, in short, his boss trusts me.”
“And why exactly would a multi-gazillionaire trust a chef to that extent?”
“First of all, offense taken,” Shep said with a smile. “Why he trusts me is between him and me, but I will say that when you cook for someone long enough, you get to know them at a very intimate level. I’ve cooked and shared many meals with the owner of this house. He trusts me because I’ve never given him a single reason not to.”
“Okay, enough suspense. What’s this totally mind-blowing thing you want to show me?”
“Not a thing,” Shep corrected. “A who.”
“You’re going to show me a mind-blowing who?”
Shep grinned wide. “Exactly. Come on. Follow me downstairs.”
As we made our way down the staircase, I began to see flickers of light dancing on the woodwork which grew in intensity as we descended. I’m not sure what I was expecting to see downstairs, but I can safely say what I saw next came as a complete surprise. The house’s lower level was a huge dugout superstructure made of concrete and steel. Except for the back wall, which was made of thick glass. Behind that glass was a huge water tank which contained two live dolphins.
My jaw dropped and tears immediately began to flood my eyes. “Are th...those real?” I asked. Even more stunned by the dolphins than I was the Rothko.
“Evangeline Monroe, may I introduce you to Fred and Ginger.”
The pair of dolphins began to swim in tight circles and loops that almost seemed coordinated, as if on cue.
“Oh, my god. They are magnificent. What are they doing...I mean...how...how are they here?”
“The guy who owns the house rescued them from a defunct water park in Singapore. Unfortunately, since they were born in captivity, it’s unlikely they can ever be released back into the wild, so he had a massive saltwater tank built to house them. It’s as tall as the second story and almost as deep underground. The top of the tank is exposed to the sky but isn’t visible from the outside due to how it was constructed.”
“You were right. I can barely believe what I’m seeing.”
Fred and Ginger continued to show off for us. Blowing bubbles and “dancing” around the tank. Giving us our own private show.
“Do you want to meet them face to face?”
“Can we?”
Shep nodded with a grin. “Follow me.”
We walked up a flight of stairs and into a locker room of sorts.
“Go ahead and switch your boots with these,” he said, handing me a pair of rubber goloshes. “They should fit.”
Once I swapped footwear, he handed me a large, yellow rain jacket and I slid it over my dress, then laughed. “I look like I should be on a box of frozen fish sticks.”
“Trust the Gorton’s Fisherman,” he sang, off-key, then cleared his throat. “As you can see, I’m obviously not in Nashville for a singing career.”
I raised my hands in surrender. “I wasn’t going to say it.”
He grinned, sliding on his own rain slicker, then guiding me out another door that led us to where Fred and Ginger were more accessible.
“Hey, man,” a deep voice sounded from my right, and I couldn’t stop myself from stepping closer to Shep.
Shep stepped slightly in front of me and held his hand out to the man. “Hey, Terry, how are you? This is Evangeline Monroe. She’s my guest tonight and I wanted to introduce her to Fred and Ginger.” He stayed between me and Terry, so I didn’t have to shake the man’s hand, doing it with such ease, it didn’t seem weird that I didn’t. “Evangeline, Terry’s the dolphins’ handler. He makes sure they’re well taken care of. He’s been with them almost since the beginning.”
Before I could say anything to Terry, one of the dolphins let out a little cackle and spit water all over us.
“Ginger!” Terry admonished.
I couldn’t stop a snort-laugh as I turned to face the tank and watched as Ginger used her tail to dance backward in the air. “Now I see why I needed to change.”
“Shit, sorry,” Shep said. “I didn’t think she’d come in so hot.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “She’s just playing and that was kind of fun.”
For the next twenty minutes, Terry showed us a few ‘tricks’ the dolphins could do, but for the most part, we just hung out with Fred and Ginger, and I even got to pet their noses. They were the coolest things on the planet.
Terry took a call from the phone on the wall and let us know dinner was ready, so we said goodbye to our dolphin friends, headed back inside to change into our regular shoes. We then made our way down to where we could still see the tank, but now a table had been set up with a candlelight dinner for two.
“Oh, wow,” I breathed out. “This is beautiful.”
Shep held my chair and waited for me to be seated before asking if I’d like wine, and when I said yes, he poured before sitting in his own chair.
“Wait a minute.” I cocked my head. “You’re not going to tell me you own this place, are you?”
Shep laughed. “I’m a regular Bruce Wayne.”
“Fighting hunger by day, billionaire playboy by night?”
“Still working out my superhero schedule,” he retorted. “But no, I don’t own it. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do with all this money.”
“Well, dolphin rescue seems like a good place to start.”
“Yeah, I give Gunnach points for style on that one.”
My eyes widened. “One of the Gunnach’s owns this house?”
“Oh, shit, you’re gonna need to forget I said that,” he hissed.
“Your secrets are safe with me.”
“Damn I haven’t even had any wine yet. I guess I just feel so comfortable around you, I forgot to keep my big damn trap shut.”
I smiled, butterflies forming in my stomach. Comfortable, indeed.
It was an alien emotion to me when it came to men who seemed kind. Kind, soft-spoken men had always done the worst damage, but there was something about Shepard Waller that put me at ease, and I wasn’t sure if that should set off alarm bells or not.
I was banking on him being on his best behavior because he had to bring out the chef asshole at some point, right? Otherwise, this would never work.
For now, I was going to do my best to relax and enjoy the moment. The wine was good, the food superb, and the company absolute eye-candy. What more could a girl want?