Assariyah (3 page)

Her name tag read Shaè, she was a pretty girl and looked no older than twenty-one. She flashed Cameron a smile, revealing her pearly white teeth.

“That is no problem Mr Simmons I remember you from earlier, you’re staying in the ‘Oliver Messel’ suite, if my memory serves me correctly.”

“That’s correct,” he said returning the smile, “I promise to look after my key better.” Clearly flirting, she placed the new set of keys in his hands.

“No problem, I’m happy to be at your service anytime.”

Her blatant disrespect infuriated Jasmina, who gave her, the ‘bitch you better back off my man before I whoop your ass’ look.

At any other time I probably would have kicked the bitch’s ass myself but I was too busy thinking…‘WOW! Did she say the ‘Oliver Messel’ suite?’ I had read in several magazines that it had been Elizabeth Taylor’s favourite place to stay when she used to visit London. As soon as we entered the room I completely understood why. There was an air of elegance and grace. The art of classical baroque and rococo styles combined together was magnificent. I glanced at Jasmina as she spoke the words that I could not get out.

“This is absolutely beautiful.”

I nodded in agreement, the décor had me speechless. My girl was grinning from ear to ear and I couldn’t blame her, she had hit the jackpot with Cameron, she really had.

Room service was ordered, lobster, shrimp and champagne, ‘oooh wee man this was going to be a fun night’, I thought to myself. I no longer felt salty about leaving Tyler, this was so worth it. I could work on getting back into Tyler’s good books later. Right then I just wanted to enjoy sipping on Laurent-Pierre Rose. We spent the whole night laughing and getting to know each other better. Jasmina revealed that she was a medical student and they seemed really impressed with her achievements. She always dropped that she was studying medicine when she was trying to upstage me. Unlike her I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life so I remained quiet on the subject. I felt relieved when Cameron took over the conversation.

Kieran and Cameron had been best friends for ten years. They both shared a passion for business so it was logical for them to enter a business venture together. They decided to start their own advertising and marketing agency about five years ago. For the first three years the company suffered huge losses, the turnover had been pitiful. So bad in fact that Kieran had thought it would be much wiser for them to accept defeat and pack it all in before they lost any more money. However Cameron had refused to give up, the vision he had for ‘La Chase’ was so strong that he refused to let it go and bought Kieran out instead.

Several months later, ‘La Chase’ was still losing money, Cameron explained that he was beginning to wonder if he had bitten off more than he could chew. His long break finally came at a huge conference event for various food and household product manufacturers. Offering his services for a quarter of most leading agencies he landed a huge deal with ‘Unilever’ and ever since then the company’s bottom line had been increasing year after year.

I was impressed by his determination and drive but had been left feeling uneasy within myself. Everyone in that room except me had some type of success story to share and I was stuck at first base.

Chapter 3

Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring…Ring!

The constant ringing of the house phone
was getting on my last nerve. You would have thought that after the fifth ring they would get the hint that nobody was at home. Okay well I was home but not for much longer. I had plans to go shopping with Jasmina but the bitch woke me up around eight, telling me that she was still trying to recover from the last couple of nights that we had been partying and bailed out on me. Never one to miss out on a chance to swipe the cards I decided to go solo.

Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring…Ring!

Who was this lunatic blowing off my phone every five minutes? I had considered pulling the phone out of the socket so that I could get my shit together in peace but changed my mind.

“Hello, who is this?” I asked in an agitated tone, only to be greeted by an automated message from HSBC bank. The bank was chasing me because I had exceeded my overdraft limit. I quickly placed the phone back on the receiver. ‘Man I shouldn’t have answered the damn phone’, I thought to myself. First instincts, when would I learn to stick to mine?

It was time to bounce but not before I completed my daily ritual. A final check in all of the four floor length mirrors in my room. ‘WOW…I’m the shit’ I mouthed to myself at the sight of my reflection in the mirror. Dressed in a pair of skin tight treggings and a T-shirt I was looking mighty fly, there was no doubt that I had the power to stop traffic. With my medium sized breasts, 26 inch waist, full hips, toned thighs and big round booty, I felt like the term ‘cola bottle shape’ was invented just for me. Feeling very pleased with my appearance I threw on a pair of classic Louboutin pumps and wrapped my Loro Piana cashmere scarf around my neck to add the finishing touch.

Barely out of my front door and the hollering had already began.

“Yo sexy, slow down ma,” a guy called out to me from across the street. He was having a laugh if he thought a girl like me would ever give him the time of day. The funny thing about the situation was that he was actually buff but his dress sense was totally wack. He was rocking skinny jeans with an extra fitted shirt, the only thing that worked was his Prada shoes. I didn’t fuck with guys who were in a competition to wear tighter jeans than me. In my eyes they were nothing but dickless cunts with no balls if they could squeeze into that shit. I looked straight past him and kept it moving.

As much as I hated taking it, I opted to go via public transport rather than calling a cab. I convinced myself that it made more sense, firstly it would be quicker and secondly it was a lot cheaper. Since Jasmina had left me in the lurch I wasn’t feeling to break the bank just to get to Bank, where the Royal Exchange was situated. Once I saw the crowd on the platform at Tooting Broadway underground station, I immediately regretted my decision. The Tube was surprisingly overcrowded for a Monday afternoon and it was only 1pm so I hadn’t anticipated the rush hour crowd.

The Tube announcements went off, “Please mind the closing doors.” I managed to slide myself through the doors just before they fully shut. It was baking hot and the smell in the carriage was overpowering. I took a few deep breaths to avoid passing out. You would have thought that people had never heard of Colgate, Listerine, Sure, plain old soap and fucking water.

To make matters worse the driver kept stopping in the tunnel, a twenty-four minute journey ended up taking frigging forty-eight minutes. Why? All because some stupid loser decided to throw himself in front of a train at Stockwell station. I mean if you wanna kill yourself do it in your own time. When we finally arrived at my stop I was so relieved. I promised myself that would be the last time I ever stepped foot on the Tube again. The Northern Line was bloody diabolical!

My journey had left me feeling sticky and lethargic. I wasn’t even in the mood for shopping anymore. I just wanted to freshen up ASAP. Finally inside the Royal Exchange, I walked past a plethora of luxury brands and headed directly for the toilets. I always carried wet wipes with me and pulled them out of my bag to cleanse my face before wiping my underarms. I sprayed Versace Crystal Noir all over myself, immediately releasing notes of gardenia and amber in the room and instantly felt refreshed.

I applied gloss to my lips but didn’t re-apply my make-up, after what I had been through I needed my skin to breathe. Not prepared to mix with a big crowd just yet and feeling quite parched I choose to go to the Grand Café. I found a seat and ordered a cup of tea. It felt good being away from the hustle and bustle of the shoppers.

“Assariyah.”

I turned around to see who called my name and was taken aback to see Cameron standing behind me. He was about 5ft 11” in height with a medium build. With his light caramel skin and deep smooth waves on his head, he looked good but was not really my type. What were the chances of us bumping into each other a couple of days after we had originally met?

“Hey Cameron, I guess it really is a small world after all,” I said, with a smile.

“Actually I’ve found it is a pretty big world,” he replied in jest.

“Haha, so what brings you to the Exchange?” I asked him.

“My office is only a ten minute walk from here so when time permits, I like to take advantage. Let me guess, you’re here to shop,” he concluded.

“Actually I’m here for tea,” I said, pointing to the cup on the table.

“Touché,” he said, laughing.

Cameron ordered a drink and sat through thirty minutes of me moaning about the nightmare journey that I had encountered. He empathised with me and encouraged me to go shopping to cheer myself up. I told him that I wasn’t really in the mood but would go if he promised to tag along.

He placed his hand on the small of my back pushing me gently, “Let’s go,” he agreed.

Agent Provocateur was the first stop. I needed some super sexy lingerie. I had plans to get inside Tyler’s bed so I needed to be prepared. I hadn’t spoken to him since the night I left him at the party but was unable to get him out of my head and was determined to get it on and popping with him. There was so much to choose from in the shop but in the end I opted for the hornette playsuit which was cut out at the waist and hips, leaving very little to the imagination and I loved it. Whilst paying for my new purchase I fantasised about all the freaky positions I wanted to be in. Tyler was definitely getting a call from me that night.

“Damn! Whoever has you in his life is one lucky man and I’d be even luckier if you were my girl.” I was surprised by his random outburst.

“Okay Cameron where is this coming from? Shouldn’t you be saying this to Jasmina? You know, the girl you hooked up with at the party?” I asked him, frankly.

“No disrespect but forget Jasmina. From the moment I laid eyes on you Assariyah I was drawn by your allure and beauty.”

He wasn’t making any sense to me. “So why did you go after Jas?” I asked.

He protested, “I didn’t, she approached me and started
dancing with me. She told me her friend was occupied and pointed you out talking with some dude. I needed a way to get close to you so I seized the opportunity.”

I quickened my pace, leaving numerous shops behind this was the last thing I needed.

“Assariyah please slow down,” Cameron asked.

I stopped where I was and asked, “All that you said back there, were you being serious?”

“I’m dead serious,” he answered.

It was too awkward to look at Cameron so I fixated my eyes on the exclusive diamond collection displayed at De Beers. Hoping to change the subject, I pointed to a pair of champagne cocktail fizz diamond earrings in the window display.

“How beautiful are they?” I said with admiration.

“They would look even more dazzling on you. Just say the words and they are yours.”

“Get outta here, you don’t even know me and you are offering to buy me diamonds. You can’t be for real?” I questioned him in disbelief.

He led us into the store, “I really wish you wouldn’t doubt me so much lady.”

He signalled for one of the store’s advisors to come over to us and told her we wanted the earrings.

“These are one of a kind, your wife has very good taste,” she added, politely.

“She sure does.” Cameron nodded his head in agreement, before I even had a chance to correct her.

“Why did you let her think I was your wife?”

“Because it’s only a matter of time before you are.”

Cocky bastard, more fool you, I thought.

“You’re crazy Cameron.”

“Over you, there is no doubt about that.”

I bit my lips and thanked him for the earrings. I still couldn’t believe he just dropped over twenty-eight thousand pounds in cash to buy them for me. Shit like that didn’t even happen in movies, yet alone to me.

Soon after Cameron asked Derrick to drop him back to his office and to make sure that I got home safely. He placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Make sure you call me, beautiful,” he said, getting out of the car.

“I don’t have your number,” I replied slightly confused.

“When you get home look inside the pocket of the blazer you wore at Jason’s party, I slipped my card in there.”

I called Jasmina as soon as I got home.

“Babe you’ll never guess what just happened to me.”

“What? Tell me quick girl,” she quizzed excitedly.

I told her everything that went down with Cameron from us drinking tea to shopping and best of all about the diamond earrings he bought me. I knew she would be slightly touchy but her reaction was unexpected.

“What the fuck, have you lost your fucking mind?” she hollered through the phone. I didn’t understand why she was getting all hot and bothered, so I tried to make her see sense.

“Calm down Jas, it ain’t that serious, what are you flipping for?”

“Ain’t that serious, don’t give me that Assariyah. You knew how much I liked him and then you have the audacity to call me and flaunt the shit all up in my face. Why couldn’t you just leave him to me? I mean you can have any guy you want.”