Guardian Girl (The Chronicles of Staffordshire) (30 page)

Lenore attempted to read Rory’s lips as he opened the checkbook, but he again leaned down and whispered his offer to the attorney. In a daze, Sizemore turned, letting Rory use his back as a writing surface. Rory removed the check, folded it, and tucked it into the stunned host’s inside jacket pocket. Sizemore grabbed Rory by both arms and bear hugged the young executive.

Rory laughed, accepted the hug, patted Sizemore’s back, and said his polite goodbyes to the senior partner. As Rory moved away, Sizemore withdrew the check from his pocket. He stared blankly at it, his wife coming to his side to see if there was some kind of problem. She took the check, scanned it, and screamed, jumping up and down like a boy band groupie.

Rory cut through wave after wave of elegant, eligible, single females on his way back to his fated, semi-lesbian friend. Over the last few yards he locked eyes with Lenore and smiled.

“I think we can make a quiet exit now, Lenore. I’ve taken care of things with John. He won’t look for you for the rest of the evening. Let's head this way.” Rory extended his arm, offering it to Lenore for a fittingly elegant, surreptitious escape from the benefit. The pair headed through a nearby set of double doors and down the outer hallway toward the elevators.

“Rory, what did you say to John that he would so willingly let me go? You said it yourself. He considers me his ‘secret weapon.’ He is passing up many potential referrals by allowing me to leave.”

“John is a man who understands a fair bargain.”

“And what kind of bargain would involve John releasing me for the evening when he stands to gain so much by holding me captive?”

“It was nothing, really. I told him I was not feeling well and you graciously agreed to escort me home. To make up for your absence I wrote him a check.”

Lenore looked up at Rory. He stared straight ahead. She sensed there was much more than just a “check” involved in order for John Sizemore to offer Rory a bear hug in thanks.

“And precisely what size check did you write, Rory?”

“Not much. It’s a worthy charity. I was glad to help.”

The attorney refused to let her escort escape the witness stand unscathed. “Rory. The check. How much?”

Rory laughed and glanced down at his female companion. “You don’t release your prey once you smell blood, do you?”

“I am an attorney, Rory. I never let go until I have an answer. Now, how much was the check?

“Two million.”

Lenore gasped. “Dollars?”

“Well I don’t usually write my checks in pesos.”

They arrived at the elevator. Rory pressed the down button and stood silently, facing the doors. Still hooked on his elbow, Lenore glanced up out of the corner of her eye. A smirk pursed his lips.

Lenore wiped astonishment from her face and stared at the elevator door, instantly conscious that advertising alone would not offer the ultra-desirable Mr. St. Cloud the ability to write a two million dollar check to Sizemore & Horst’s favorite charity.

“Well is
that
all,” she said, a deliberately unfazed tone in her voice. ”The way he reacted I thought it might have been for ten million.”

Rory laughed, his eyes fixed on the floor indicator. “Would you like me to go back and up the ante? I could easily do ten million if you think it would be more appropriate.”

Rory turned away from the indicator as the door opened and looked at the side of Lenore’s exotic face. He scanned every flawless, lovely inch, his obsession burrowing deep as the seconds flew by.

Teasing Rory with artificial aloofness, Lenore stared at the back wall of the elevator. She hinted a smirk of her own. “No, darling, I think two million ought to keep John happy for quite some time to come.”

She looked up at Rory, grinning ear to ear. “I just hope I’m worth it, dear.”

As the doors closed, Rory impulsively spun Lenore and crushed her to his chest. Bending over to kiss her, he asked…

“Señorita De La Fuente… Do you believe in fate?”

Twenty One

“Just one more floor, Rory. We have the top two floors of the building all to ourselves.”

“Do you always take the stairs, Lenore?” asked the decently conditioned mogul, huffing and puffing like an out-of-breath novice.

“Oh stop complaining, Rory! It is only 10 floors!”

“Lenore, are you certain your roommate will be okay with me intruding? What if she has someone over for the evening?”

“Trust me, dear. She will almost certainly be alone and she will be absolutely fine with you joining us.”

“Well, will you at least tell me who she is? Why are you being so secretive?”

Lenore placed the key into the apartment door. “Oh… I just want to see the look on both of your faces.” Lenore opened the door, sing-songing her introduction for her roommate. “Leeeee-na! Oh Wiiiild Child! I am ho-ome!”

Off to the left and out of sight somewhere in the kitchen, Lena shouted back. “So soon? What happened, Freaky? I figured you wouldn’t be back for hours?”

Lenore heard Lena’s voice coming closer and she put a finger up to her lips, shushing Rory into silence. “Oh, it was such a boring event, dear. Every man I met just wanted to get me into bed.” Lenore quietly snickered and winked at Rory. “I would much rather stay in with you tonight, Wild Child.”

Lenore dropped her clutch on the table by the door and tossed her keys into the porcelain container nearby, creating a characteristic jingle that signaled “all clear” to Lena.

“Well then, maybe you’ll want to cuddle up with me on the couch and share a nice, big bowl of this amazing concoction!”

Lena entered the room with her head down over the bowl, shoveling a huge spoonful of yogurt into her mouth.

She was naked. (Yup. The Wild Child was a natural brunette, alright.)

“You HAVE to try this stuff, Freaky! I mean… It’s amazing! All I did was take some vanilla yogurt, I threw in some corn flakes, and then I added some...

Lena looked up, assailed by the sight of a robust, tuxedo-clad, slab of billionaire beef standing in her living room.

“…honey…

“Oh…

“My…

“GOD!”

“Lena, dear,” Lenore giggled, “I would like to introduce you to Rory St. Cloud.”

Lena stood frozen, spoon in mid-lift, yogurty, corn-flakey goodness dripping back into the bowl. “Hoh-ly shit…”

Seeing the former tennis phenom and rocketing attorney in the buff, Rory grinned and chuckled, refraining from an all-out belly laugh. “Good evening, Ms. Sardi. Now I understand why Lenore wanted to surprise me with the identity of her roommate.”

“Oh shit! HOLY SHIT, Lenore! That’s… THAT’S RORY ST. CLOUD!” Lena pointed at Rory with her spoon full of yogurt, corn flake confection slipping to the floor with a splash. “YOU’RE… YOU'RE RORY ST. CLOUD! Lenore! That’s Rory St. Cloud! Rory St. Cloud is in our living room!!! HOLY SHIT!!!”

Lenore laughed hard and hearty, pointing at Lena’s nakedness. “And you, my beautiful Wild Child, are
quite
under-dressed for the occasion!”

Lena glanced down. Instantly mortified by her nudity, she sped toward the bedroom screaming, slamming the door behind her.

Rory laughed uncontrollably and stumbled to his knees. “MY GOD, Lenore! Lena Sardi? SHE’S your roommate? You live with Lena Sardi! That’s AMAZING!”

Lenore staggered to the couch and fell backward over the armrest, rolling back and forth, hysterical over Lena’s ill-timed, au naturale dining. “Yes, dear, THAT is my beautiful Wild Child! We have been together for more than seven years, since our very first day at Paulson.

Rory glanced around the apartment to get the lay of the land. Still laughing at Lena’s mortification, he casually tossed his jacket onto the coat rack near the front door. He loosened his bow tie and strolled over to a large, brown leather chair opposite the sofa.

“WOW! She’s quite a stunner, isn’t she?”

“Oh Rory… Stunning does not begin to describe my beautiful Wild Child!”

Still laughing, Lenore rose from the couch and walked toward the bedroom. “I better go see how she is holding up. I do not think I have ever seen her move quite that quickly, on OR off the court!”

Lenore flourished toward the kitchen. “Make yourself at home, darling. We have water and juices in the refrigerator, there is coffee and tea in the cupboard, and there is a wine locker next to the kitchen. Just whip up something appropriate, will you? I will be back soon.”

“Take your time, Lenore, this is already more fun than I’ve had in many, many months!”

Lenore knocked on the door to the bedroom, announcing her entrance to the barefoot contessa. She opened the door a crack. The room inside was pitch black.

“Lena? Lena, dear, are you okay in here?” Lenore flipped on the light switch.

“Shut the damned door, Lenore!”

Lenore looked around the room, seeing no one. “Where are you?”

“SHUT THE GODDAMNED DOOR!”

“Okay, okay! I shut the door! Where are you?”

“Over here… on the floor beside the bed.”

Lenore looked but saw nothing.

“The other side, you stupid supermodel!”

Lenore walked to the other side of the bed and found Lena curled up in a ball on the floor, clutching her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. “Lena! What is wrong? Why are you all balled up like this?”

Lena glared at the dense diva. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” Lena thrust out her hand, pointing at the bedroom door. “You brought billionaire Rory St. Cloud home, you marched him into
our
apartment, you didn’t give me
any
warning, I showed up naked with a bowl of yogurt, and
now you want to know what’s wrong?

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND, LENORE?”

Lenore could not help but laugh, an unfortunate reaction that made the Wild Child erupt. Lena sprang from the floor and grabbed Lenore by the waist. Lenore screeched with girlish glee as Lena hosted her off her feet and slammed her to the bed, punching Lenore hard on the shoulder.

“OUCH! What was that for?”

“What was THAT for?
Are you fucking kidding me?
You brought home a billionaire bachelor to our apartment and you let him see me NAKED! Naked, Lenore!”

In spite of her pain, Lenore could not stop laughing. “Well, he is worth $1.13billion, to be precise. I learned that on our walk back from the hotel. By the way… He thinks you are ‘stunning,’ dear! I think he very much enjoyed the view!”

“LENORE!” Lena punched her roommate on the other shoulder.

“OUCH! STOP DOING THAT!”

“LENORE! You never brought
anyone
home before! How was I supposed to know you’d bring a
man
home with you? What ever happened to you being a full-on lesbo and us being together for eternity and all that stuff?”

Lenore smiled, giggled, and exploded with laughter before calming down and rolling on top of her long-time lover. She kissed Lena on the cheek, then on the lips, and then lifted her head to peer intently into Lena’s eyes.

“Lena… If you promise not to hate me, may I let you in on a little secret…?”

“Oh right… I suppose you’re going to tell me…”

Lena felt pounding in Lenore’s chest, saw the brilliant reddish tint in Lenore’s tanned cheeks, and the sparkling glint in Lenore's freaky, amber-brown, supermodel eyes. Her eyes popped.

“SHIIIIIIT!”

Lenore nodded and kissed Lena again, pressing their cheeks together.

“HOH-LY SHIIIIIIT!”

Lenore nodded again, a happy tear wetting Lena’s cheek.

“
Rory St. Cloud
? Rory St. Cloud is ‘
The One’
? You know that after meeting the man... At a
charity
benefit? Lenore, ARE YOU INSANE?”

Lenore kissed Lena again, sucking on her tongue the way she knew Lena loved. Then she wriggled down Lena’s body and briefly suckled her tits, cutting through Lena’s apoplexy with seduction. Lena moaned loudly, her arousal echoing throughout the room.

“Ohhhh… Shit, Lenore… Ohhhh… Oh my God, Freaky... You’re fucking insane… That’s what you are… Oh yeah, Freaky… Suck ‘em, baby… You’re fucking insane, Lenore.”

“I may be insane, Wild Child, but if I am, I am insane with love.”

From beyond the door, the girls’ wrestling, squealing, and shouting attracted the attention of the patient billionaire.

“Lenore…? Lena…? Are you two okay in there?”

Lenore shouted back. “WE ARE FINE! Lena and I were just having a debate over what Camus says about fate in ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’!”

Lena slugged Lenore again.

“OUCH! What was
that
for?”

“Because you’re
enjoying this
, you dopey bimbo!”

Lenore rolled off the tennis pro, grabbed Lena by the waist, picked her up, and tossed her forward onto the bed. Lenore hiked her gown up over her hips and jumped on Lena’s shoulders, reaching back and spanking her roommate’s ass. Then she spanked Lena again. Harder.