Authors: Sabel Simmons
“Is Rissa mad at you,
Daddy?”
Robby’s small hand
crept into Ray’s and he could kick himself for submitting the little boy to the
scene he just witnessed. However, he realized since he ran into her, he just
couldn’t seem to stop himself.
The desire to hurt her
… not just physical pain, but intense pain that demolished her heart and soul,
was like a festering wound in his soul. He wiped a tired hand over his eyes,
squatted down to his son and pulled him close.
“Daddy was ugly with
her, so yes, she is mad at me. I’m sorry, Robert, I shouldn’t have done what I
did with you here.”
Eyes, so much like his, gazed back at
him, a slight frown marring the small forehead. Robert placed his small hands
on Raymond’s cheeks and advised him earnestly, “You should say sorry to Rissa,
Daddy!”
Bette speared a worried glance towards
Clarissa. She was in a terrible mood since she arrived that morning, glared at
everyone, even shouted at the poor porter earlier for not moving his cart out
of the elevator quickly enough.
She frowned and worried
her inner cheek with her teeth. Did Trace do something to her last night … did
they have a fight? She shook her head. No, it could not be, they were not even
a couple. She sighed, stood up and swiftly prepared a tray with hot tea and
biscuits, and briskly walked with her load into Clarissa’s office.
“I am sure you could do
with a nice hot cup of tea by now. You have been murdering your keyboard
non-stop for the past hour!”
Clarissa barely looked
up, mumbled something and continued typing on her keyboard. Bette cleared her
throat: “I said …”
“I heard what you said,
Babbette! Just leave it there.” Bette flinched as if slapped. No one ever
called her by her given name. It was just not done. The hurt she felt at
Clarissa shouting at her sounded in her voice.
“Well, you don’t have
to bite my …”
“Then leave me be!
Can’t you see I am busy?” Clarissa looked up and glared at Bette irritably
and then the guilt struck her as she noticed the younger woman’s expression,
tears glistening in her eyes.
“Oh my … I am sorry,
Bette … I…”
She stood up, but Bette
ran out of her office before she could round her desk, quickly skirting past
the man quietly standing in the door.
Clarissa met Raymond’s
eyes and a shuttered look filled hers. She rubbed her neck, turned around and
stood staring out the window.
“What … haven’t you
drawn enough blood this morning? Are you back for more?”
Raymond slowly walked
into the office, closing the door behind him. Remorse for being the cause of
Bette’s treatment filled his mind. He sighed and pushed his hands deep in his
pockets to keep them from filling with the enticing woman standing in front of
him.
“You should not take
your vexations for me out on innocent people, Clarissa. I am man enough for
any abuse you dish out, but somehow I think you really hurt that young lady
just now.”
He saw her flinch and
his jaw tightened. He came to apologize for what happened this morning, and
here he was, twisting the knife again. He sighed again, waiting for her to face
him, but she stubbornly kept looking out the window, her back to him.
“So, are you going to
turn around and face me, or do you really want me to touch you again?”
She whipped around so
fast it would have been funny if his emotions were not in such turmoil. She
glared at him with venom in her eyes, her arms folded so tightly across her
chest he marveled that she could breathe.
His eyebrow shot high
and a slow grin twisted his mouth. “Now if I were an emotional man, your
action just now would really have affronted me!”
“I am so glad you find
so much fun in tormenting me! So tell me, what have you planned for our
rendezvous this time?”
He
stared into her eyes and noticing the wounded expression, he nearly gave in.
Then he remembered the years of anguish gone by and he hardened his heart. His
eyes came to rest on the dark purplish mark just peeping out of her blouse on
her neck and his mouth tightened.
As if on its own
volition, his hand lifted, pushed away the thin fabric and his fingers lightly
stroked the love mark he had left on her neck. She stiffened, but before she
could pull away, his hand moved around her neck and he drew her resisting body
closer to his.
Holding her gaze with
hot blistering eyes, his head lowered slowly, and then dropped to place a soft
tender kiss against her bruised skin.
Clarissa felt shivers
run down her spine and every nerve ending in her body trembled from where his
warm lips softly caressed her neck to the end of her toes. He pulled away but
kept her close against him. His fiery eyes found hers and they stared at each
other for what felt like hours, but could not have been more than half a
minute.
Then he sighed, pulled
her blouse back to cover the bruise and stepped back from her. He pushed his
hand wearily through his wayward hair and turned away muttering: “What am I to
do with you, Rissa!”
Clarissa strained to
hear him not sure if she heard correctly. “What do you mean?”
He turned back to her
and looked at her through guarded eyes. He opened his mouth and just as
quickly shut it again. He cursed and jammed his hands in his pockets again.
“Ray … what did you
mean?”
“Nothing … I came here
to apologize. I was totally out of line this morning and should not have
behaved the way I did.”
She swallowed her
frustration. She was so sure he was going to say something else…something like
maybe he still loved her and that is why he treated her the way he did. So
much for wishful thinking!
“Yes, you are correct!
You should not have, especially not in front of Robby!” His head snapped up
and his eyes glittered dangerously.
“Meaning I do not know
how to behave in front of my own child!”
“You know the saying …
action speaks louder than words!”
Clarissa realized she
was baiting him and stepped back. Her hands fluttered upwards, but before she
could say anything, he insolently allowed his eyes to burn a blazing path up
and down her body.
“Or do you mean that if
Robby was not present you wouldn’t have minded so much?” She gasped and
sputtered.
“Oh, you … you … I
don’t know why I even bother to try! Why don’t you just leave? And please do
not bother to apologize for something you do mean. Which in this instance, you
clearly don’t!”
His eyes strayed to the
bruise on her neck again and the ruthless grin on his lips confirmed the truth
of what she just said.
“Don’t get me wrong,
Miss Langston. I am not apologizing for leaving my mark on you, only for
treating you poorly during the process.”
The smile spread wider
at her incensed gasp. “How I would love to be a fly against the wall when you
try and explain that love bite to your lover when he knows he did not give it
to you!”
“I repeat you are
crude! You had no right to do what you did!”
The next instant he
stood in front of her, gripped her arms and drew her hard up against him.
“No right! No right!
I had every right! Did you conveniently forget that I was your first lover?
The first one to touch you, to bring you to ecstasy, the first one your body
ever belonged too! The one that taught you the pleasures of the flesh … your
flesh! That made you lose control repeatedly and made your body sing! Oh no
Clarissa, I have every right! You were mine, body and soul … and even though
your soul might have wandered … every indication is still there … your body is
still mine! And I will take it … soon … come hell or high water!”
He spun away and strode
to the door, pushed it open and walking through it, looked at her over his
shoulder and grated out softly, “You might not have any regrets leaving me for
this job before, Clarissa, but by the time I leave this Island, I promise you,
you will!”
“You look pale, Clarissa. Is everything
okay?”
Clarissa quickly wiped
the tears from her cheeks on hearing Retha’s concerned voice. She turned with
a forced smile towards her.
Afternoon Retha, I’m
fine, just tired. The festival takes a lot out of us every year.”
Retha was clearly
skeptical and lifting her hand, wiped a last tear from Clarissa’s cheek.
Inside she seethed. If not for Cecile and Miguel’s interference six years ago,
this beautiful woman would have been the happiest in the world today, for that
matter, Raymond as well.
“Is he giving you a
hard time, love?”
Clarissa swallowed hard
at the knot forming at the back of her throat. How much Retha reminded her of
her mother. Moreover, how much she missed her mother at this moment. Retha took
her hands in hers.
“I am not trying to
make excuses for his behavior, love. It knocked him very hard when you left.
He became a different person overnight. He never laughed, he never smiled … he
just worked. Day and night, until his body could not take the punishment
anymore and he collapsed. Robby was two at the time and we all got such a
fright.”
Clarissa stared at her
with wide eyes. “Collapsed … what …”
“He had an angina attack.
Not a serious one, but serious enough to make him realize what he was doing to
himself.” Clarissa shook her head.
“I do not understand.
Robby is nearly five, which means he was conceived within months after I left.
It could not have been that hard on him! If he was so devastated, where did
Robby …”
The thought of him
falling into another woman’s arms so soon, was too much for her to bear! Even
if it might have been to forget about her!
“Linda and Ray … well
it is not for me to tell you about that. He should be the one to tell you.
They grew up together, but he never loved her in any other way than a sister.”
“Loved…?”
“She passed away six
months after Robby was born. She had terminal cancer. She was only twenty
six.”
“I never knew … I made
a point of not reading tabloid magazines or newspapers. I did not think I would
be able to bear seeing another woman on his arm all the time.”
“After he came out of
the hospital Miguel and he spoke and reunited for the first time in nearly
twelve years. Miguel felt very guilty about the rift they had when Ray was
still a youngster and made amends by guiding him through his recuperation and
forcing him to take a step back and slow down. He still works too hard and
extremely long hours, but at least he tries to be at home most weekends.”
Clarissa pondered on
this for a while. “That is why he never mentioned Miguel or his connection
with him. He always supported my desire to work for the Princeton Group, but
it was clear that he did not respect or liked anything to do with them. What
happened?”
Retha sighed. “It is a
long story, but to cut it short, Ray worked for Miguel while he was still
studying. He was a hot head when he was young and the two of them clashed all
the time. Miguel and Cecile, Rays’ mother, never saw eye to eye and that made
the conflict between them even worse. Every time Miguel and Ray had a fight,
Cecile would interfere. Obviously, Miguel started Ray at the bottom; he was
not going to give him preferential treatment because he was family. Cecile was
livid and it was her interference more than Rays’ that caused them to fight.
She pushed and pushed until even Ray snapped. The three of them had a huge
fight. Miguel said things to Ray that he regretted to this day, but Ray slammed
out of his office, vowed never to return there, that he was no longer family to
him. Miguel and Cecile continued to fight and what was said between them I
still do not know … well …”
She turned and stared
at the clear blue Caribbean ocean with dull eyes.
“Miguel and Cecile had
a brief affair when we were married about two years … after we found out ….”
A lonesome tear escaped
down her cheek. Clarissa took her hand.
“Retha, don’t. You
don’t have to…”
“No, I do. We found
out that we could not have children. Miguel was devastated. He adored children
and we always spoke about having a soccer team of our own. At first, he could
not accept the fact that we would never have our own children and refused to
consider adopting. We drew further and further apart. He spent more and more
time at the office or flew all over the world to attend to matters he normally
had others handle.”
She sniffed and a
quivering smile formed around her mouth.
“Cecile was his PA and
was always by his side. She carried him on her hands and it flattered him. He
felt like a man. I never realized, but at the time, he blamed himself more
than me. He was sure he was the one … well … as I said, she made him feel like
a man and that is when the affair started. It only lasted about two months. I
found out about it by chance when I phoned his hotel room and she answered the
phone. She claimed she came to fetch some paper work, but it was late at night
already. He was in the shower at the time and she knew it would be me when the
phone rang, which is why she deliberately picked it up. She thought I would
leave him and he would marry her. She was over confident. Especially, about
the effect she had on Miguel. I was livid. I immediately got on a plane and
stormed in his room early the next morning, while they were having breakfast on
the patio of the hotel room.”
“Oh no, it must have
been terrible!” Clarissa could imagine what Retha must have felt like walking
in on such a cozy picture.
“Oh, no indeed! To
this day, I still see Miguel’s expression when I walked through the door. He
turned as white as a sheet. Clearly, Cecile did not even tell him I phoned the
evening before. She sat there in a skimpy nightgown with a smile of
satisfaction on her face. I saw red! I stormed over to her, grabbed her by the
hair, pulled her out of the chair, through the room and literally kicked her
out the door.”
“Retha! You did that?
I can’t believe it!”
“He was the love of my
life. I was not going to allow an empty-headed tart to ruin my happiness and
future. Well, Miguel snapped out of it immediately and cried in my arms. That
was the last of it. He never strayed again and accepted that it would always be
just the two of us.”
“And Cecile?”
“That was the worst of
it. She married Miguel’s twin brother less than two months later and Ray was
the honeymoon baby. Obviously, Miguel and Darius had a fall out about that and
they never mended the bridge. Darius passed away when Ray was only six years old.
Miguel was overwrought with guilt and made right by Darius by becoming the
father figure in Rays’ life. He was our sunshine and we adored him. Ray
followed Miguel wherever he went and he ended up spending more time with us
than with Cecile. She did not mind though, it gave her the opportunity to
become the social butterfly she always craved to be. Darius left her a fortune
and a small part of his shares in the Princeton Group, the rest went to Ray.”
“Ray has shares in the
Princeton Group?”
“Yes, fifty percent at
this point, but when Ray and Miguel had the fight, he wanted nothing to do with
it and refuted his claim. Apart from becoming a success and an extremely rich
man on his own and with his shares income over the years that earned interest
all the time, combined with his own hotel group’s success, he is now a
billionaire a few times over.”
Clarissa beckoned Retha
to follow her to the kitchen, where she quickly set to make some tea. Back on
the Patio with the pot of tea and biscuits between them, they settled on the
deck chairs. Both gazed out to the sea.
“Ray was such a happy
child, yet serious at the same time. He aspired to succeed, to be the best at
everything. He studied hard and got his degree in record time. He was happy
to start at the bottom, to learn and have the knowledge of all aspects of the
group, but Cecile was not. She kept telling him he was useless, that he was a
mere clerk in his big uncle’s hotel, even though he owned nearly half of it.
Eventually she wore him down. She was his mother after all and he respected her
for that. She kept referring to Darius, how disappointed he would be to know
his son was a failure at what he himself excelled. Well, he was young,
impressionable and Cecile knew which buttons to push. He started rebelling
against everything Miguel told him to do, they had horrendous fights, until
Miguel had enough and everything erupted in a titanic disaster. Ray denounced
Miguel as family and stormed out. He swore that he would show us all; he would
become a success and an even bigger name than Princeton. It was so sad. That
boy was the son we never had to Miguel. He became withdrawn and aged
overnight. He tried to make amends, but Cecile had adequate time to make the
wounds fester even deeper and Ray refused to talk to Miguel.”
Clarissa felt the love
for this man pulse deep in her heart, stronger and deeper than before. She
suddenly understood so much more than she ever had.
“It was only after a while
that we realized what her real reason was for wanting Ray out of the Princeton
Group. She nearly depleted her inheritance and only had six percent shares in
the Hotel Group. Money … that was what she was after. She tried to get Miguel
to buy Rays’ shares. Miguel refused and made it clear to her that Darius left
it to his son as his legacy, but bought her six percent at an exorbitant price
and promptly ceded them to Ray. The relationship between Cecile and Ray
deteriorated over the years. Ray realized Cecile was only interested in what
she could gain from others and not in his success or feelings.”
“She never liked me.
She always made me feel that I was not good enough for him. Ray always said it
was my imagination, but come to think of it, he never really defended her and
always changed the subject,” Clarissa whispered in understanding.
Retha’s expression
turned painful.
“Well … I just thought
you should know why Ray is the way he is. Your leaving devastated him more
than his mothers’ rejection of him ever did. You, he loved and he is
retaliating in the only way he knows how. Ruthless … it is how he got where he
is today. Ruthlessly worked him to the ground, ruthlessly pursuing success,
life … and love …”
Clarissa realized that ruthless was the
correct word. He was ruthless in the way he treated her, but love had nothing
to do with it. He hated her now … ruthlessly! Moreover, he made it clear
that he lusts after her body … and after the scene in her office; she knew he
was going to pursue that too … ruthlessly.
All around them were gaily-dressed
pirates, tavern wenches and sailors. The spirit of the Pirates’ festival was
present everywhere you looked. The sound of laughter and music filled the air
all around so that even the trees looked as though they were dancing and having
fun.
Clarissa and Bette stood
on the first floor veranda looking down at the festivities below them. Both
relieved that the night so far was a success and no problems have veered its
ugly head. Bette was dressed as a “deck hand”, barefoot, torn shirt and pants,
her hair in tangles with an old knitted cap stuck on her head. Even dressed
like that, she was a beauty.
Clarissa opted for
something a bit more formal and looked super sexy in the finery of a female
pirate. She wore tight black leather pants that molded to her curves, with
black knee high boots over it. The snow-white silk shirt caressed all the
contours of her body and hugged her full breasts. A make believe pirates sword
on a broad belt adorned her hips and her hair hung loose down her back. Big
hoop earrings glittered in her ears and a replica of Captain Hooks’ black hat
sat on her head. The two of them looked like real life pirate and mate!
Her eyes skimmed the
entertainment area below and came to rest at a table next to the pool. Her
breath caught in her throat. Raymond was a picture of rugged handsomeness;
somewhat how Blackbeard must have looked like, minus the beard. He even wore a
black eye patch over one eye!
Bette also caught sight
of him and exclaimed, “Goodness! The two of you look like mirror images of each
other! You could be the Bonny and Clyde of pirates!” She giggled and Clarissa
smiled back.
“I think it is time we
mingled. We can’t allow all these pirates and rough sea sailors to roam free
around here!”
Laughingly they made
their way down the stairs. Some of their regular guests, who wanted to know
more of the festivities to come, almost instantly surrounded Clarissa. She was
in her element, carefree and enjoyed every minute of it. She left the hotel
for the swimming pool area, where the tables were set for dinner, specifically
to accommodate the performance that would be show cased afterwards.
As far as she went, she
stopped and chatted to the guests, leaving smiles in her wake. She was very
popular with everyone on the island, but more so with the guests. Some were
regulars who returned every year for the pirate’s festival and already knew her
quite well.
Suddenly two strong
arms captured her from behind and drew her back against a warm body. She
stiffened and pushed at the arms around her. Immediately they loosened and she
swung around.