King of New York (23 page)

“I’m ever so
sorry,” he says, as he feels bad for bumping into an elderly person. The man
does not reply and he calmly walks away towards where Chad had seen the first
pair of green eyes.

Chad decides to
stop running. He smiles wickedly.

“How can a king run
with peasants?” He laughs quietly as he scopes the immediate vicinity of Central
Park. He knows that the wolves are out to get him but he is the lion of the
concrete jungle and all others are not able to match him unless he allows them
to. He walks towards the direction of where he’d seen the first pair of green
eyes. They have disappeared and the only green that’s visible to him is that of
the Earth’s greenery.

His desire to
continue his morning run leaves him and he returns to his home. Inside, he
makes himself a healthy bowl of cereal. He eats slowly as he wonders who the
men were at the park. His mind is in turmoil as he worries about Sierra’s safety.
He knows that he can protect himself, but she can’t. He starts to wonder
whether he should take her to the function as it will make her more exposed to
those that do not like him.

As he is about
to call her, she calls him. Her voice is sexy and warm.

“I can’t contain
my excitement, baby. I just wanted to say thank you once more for inviting me
and I can’t wait to wear what you bought me, tonight.”

He smiles, unable
to say what he had planned, which was for them to pass on the function. But the
excitement in her voice makes him feel bad and he refrains from disappointing
her.

“I can’t wait
either, babe,” he lies. She blows him a kiss through the phone and it makes him
smile as her soft and almost erotic voice brings warmth to his hard exterior.
They say goodbye and he calmly runs his fingers through his hair.

As he is the emperor
of his empire, he decides when he wishes to go to work, and today he is in no
mood for work, so, like the boss that he is, he decides not to go in. He has
plenty of employees that work for him, and he only goes to keep himself busy
from the perils of being a billionaire.

He watches sport
till the afternoon when his personal Michelin-starred chef comes and fixes him
his dinner. Chad is a man’s man so plenty of protein is incorporated in his
diet. The chef prepares his well-cooked lamb and sirloin steak with a
delectable garlic sauce and slightly roasted vegetables and potatoes that look
amazing.

He eats his food
in silence as the sound of a piano soothingly engulfs the room. The classical
CD plays until the fifth song before Chad finishes his meal and his glass of
red wine. He sits for about ten minutes as he allows the food to digest a little,
before the chef comes to clear the table.

“May I clear the
table now, sir?”

“Please do,
thank you,” replies Chad.

“I hope you
enjoyed your meal.”

“Most certainly.
It was delectable and cooked to my standard. You are a very fine chef indeed.”

“Thank you,
sir,” the chef says as he beams with pride.

“You’re welcome,”
Chad replies, with a low laugh as he sees the look of pride on the chef’s face.

The chef leaves
and Chad goes and takes a little rest before having another shower and getting
ready for the fundraiser.

 It’s a black
tie event so he decides to wear his new tuxedo designed solely for him, and
shipped in from one of his favourite designers in Italy. The best part is that it’s
free, just one of the perks of being Chad Perry. He wears shiny black shoes and
resembles a better-looking James Bond. He smiles to himself in the mirror as
his tall and muscular reflection smiles back at it him.

It’s quite
ironic that Chad doesn’t usually smile with people, with the exception of
Sierra, yet he always seems to smile to himself in times of doubt, happiness
and danger. He laughs at another of his idiosyncrasies and exits the building
to his waiting Bentley.

The driver holds
the door open as Chad gets in and pours himself a glass of cognac. He downs the
drink and listens quietly to the classical music playing in the vehicle.

 He is driven to
Sierra’s home, and then he gets out of the car and waits for his lady. The
passing ladies gawk at him as he stands in front of his sexy and expensive car.
His eyes glisten with anticipation as he sees her inside the building, walking
out towards him.

She looks exquisite,
a vision of emerald beauty. The dress accentuates her curves in all the right
places, but also leaves something to the imagination. Her skin glistens from its
golden tan. Her face is made-up in nude shades of make-up and lipstick. The
main attraction is the emerald dress that Chad had specifically made for Sierra
by the most sought-after British designer there is. All eyes are on Sierra and
he walks up to her and takes her hand and kisses it ever so softly.

To his surprise
she kisses him passionately in front of everyone.

“They need to
know that you are mine, all mine, baby. I love you,” she whispers.

He smiles
wickedly at her as the eyes of seemingly jealous men and women turn away from
them. He holds the door open and allows his stunning lady to take a seat in the
car before he closes it and goes to the other side and enters.

The car is
driven smoothly to their destination. The driver gets out to open the door for
Sierra but Chad tells him not to and instead he gets out and opens the door for
his lady. The place is filled with exotic cars and distinguished ladies and
gents from New York’s high society. Even though everyone is in their finest
attire, all eyes go to Sierra and the emerald gown she has on. She grips Chad’s
hand tightly.

“Don’t be shy,
baby. I’m here with you,” he says, as he notices her uneasiness at the
attention she is getting.

“I’ve been among
some wealthy people in London, but I don’t think I’ve ever been among such a
calibre of wealthy people like today. I feel like they’re judging me.”

“Yes they are.
They are judging you because they cannot understand how someone outside their
social circle can look as breathtaking as you do right now, without even
trying.” She smiles happily and softly kisses him on the lips. “Follow me, my
lady,” he says loudly and kisses her back.

He is right
about the guests wondering how she can look so outstanding, as they ask one
another who she is and, most importantly, how she can get someone like Chad
Perry to publicly display her as the centre of his love and affection. He feels
happy with her hand in his and he kisses it softly.

“I feel like the
luckiest man alive here tonight. I usually hate attention on me, but when I
have a diamond that shines as bright as you do on my arm then I have to embrace
the attention.” She smiles happily as she pushes her body to his and snuggles
next to him. He sees the need in her for him. She looks like she’s afraid of
the wolves around them, but every time she looks at the mighty lion, he sees
that she feels safe in his arms.

As they walk all
the way up the stairs to the vast and stunningly decorated hall, Chad sees
Michael Mason walking towards him.

“Chad Perry of
New York, we meet again,” says Michael, as he shakes hands with Chad and gives
him a manly hug.

“Michael Mason, I
see you like to visit my city,” Chad jokes, and they both laugh. “Thank you for
the invite.”

“How can I have
an event in New York without inviting the king,” Michael says jokingly in a
posh accent. The two billionaires laugh, as does Sierra. Suddenly, Michael’s
eyes shift to Sierra and Chad feels a sense of fury as the wealthier
billionaire looks admiringly at his lady.

“Only the King
of New York can have such a beautiful lady on his arm like the one we have here,”
Michael says, as he eyes Sierra.

Sierra looks
uneasy and she squeezes next to Chad and he wraps her protectively with his
right arm. Chad laughs even though Michael makes his lady feel uncomfortable.

“Thank you
Michael, but I think it’s time that we move on and talk to the other guests,”
Chad says with a slight hint of anger.

This is what he
was afraid of, getting angry at admirers and feeling uneasy around people. He
has never taken a woman to a public function and he didn’t know that he would
be this agitated. In a way he almost feels angry at the fact that Sierra is so
stunning. A waiter comes and offers them two glasses of champagne. He doesn’t
take any but gives Sierra a glass. She drinks it quickly and he laughs at the
way she eagerly downs it. He gives her another glass and this time she drinks
it slowly.

They walk to
their table and take their seat. The fundraiser starts and the cars are all auctioned
off and sold to the highest bidders. Chad makes the highest bid for a rare
painting by
Jean-Michel
Basquiat, a New Yorker whose work Chad admires because of its neo-expressionism.
He likes how the aggression of the dramatic colours complements the prosaic
tones, almost like good and evil coming together like his own inner and outer
being. He will hang it in his gallery later as its iconography mimics an empty
and desolate place, just like the other paintings in his gallery. He also bids
for a pair of diamond studs for Sierra.

She looks amazed
at his gift, and other women give her dirty looks. Chad knows that he is
upsetting a lot of the females at the fundraiser, but he doesn’t seem to care,
until he sees a pair of green eyes staring directly at him from the table
across from his. As they make eye contact, the eyes turn to Sierra and stare at
her as if they know that through her they can get to him.

“Let’s go,
Sierra,” he says quietly as the man with the green eyes leaves the hall and
disappears from the event. Unlike other times, this time she doesn’t question
or disobey him. She willingly follows him out of the building. Michael Mason is
outside speaking with the Mayor of New York.

“Chad; leaving
so soon are we?”

“Yes, we have
some very important matters to attend to,” he lies, “but thank you once again
and perhaps when we are both free some day we can discuss some business.”

“No worries,
Chad. You have a great night; and your lady too.”

“Thanks,
Goodnight.”

They get into
the Bentley and Chad tells the driver to take them home.

“I’m sorry we
had to leave so early, babe,” says Chad icily.

“It’s alright
darling. I trust you and every decision you make, baby,” she whispers as she
holds his hand. She has a certain look in her eyes, almost as if she needs him
to be her protector.

“Thank you,” he
says. He is somewhat relieved but also annoyed at the abrupt end to the night
as he had wanted to spend more time with her among his peers. Even though he
was apprehensive at first, he had wanted to stay for longer. But the look in
that man’s eyes made him want to protect Sierra from any harm.

However he’s
happy to know that she is conforming to his way of life and not questioning
every request or demand that he makes. He kisses her lips softly, and they are
driven into the night back to his place.

He takes her to
the forbidden room and fucks her till she professes her love of his sordid
ways.

CHAPTER 15

Sat in her new ten million dollar
apartment, Sierra reminisces about the passionate and sexily shameful love
affair she has with the elusive Chad Perry. He haunts her dreams whenever she
closes her eyes. She’s craves for more of his sordid ways since he last fucked
her in the forbidden room. The morning after she had admitted her love for his
sordid ways, he had to go London for a business trip and some charity work. He
asked her to go with him but she’d told him she was not ready to go back to
London so he went on his own.

Even though he
is not around, he still makes her wet. While daydreaming about Chad, her phone
rings. It is Thursday afternoon and she’s expecting a call from her friend, Alison,
back in London.

She’d attended
Cambridge and Oxford University with Alison. She was the only one that was
there for Sierra the night that Tom Winters had beaten her to a pulp. She was
the one who had called the ambulance, and for that Sierra had always been
grateful to her. The two friends speak about everything, from university
memories to shopping and men.

Before hanging
up, Sierra invites Alison to fly to New York and pay her a visit. She hears the
excitement in Alison’s voice about the visit and is happy to know that her
closest friend has been missing her dearly.

The phone rings
once more. Sierra is not expecting any calls after Alison, but she picks up
anyway.

It is the executive
from the firm she had applied to. As Uncle Danny had promised, the man on the
phone tells her that the job is hers. He tells her that she will start her new
post on the Monday ahead. She jumps with joy and quickly calls Uncle Danny to
thank him. Finally, she makes her way to the boutiques to shop for her new job
with Chad Perry’s money. It’s quite ironic but she always feels poor around
Chad, even though she is the one that grew up in a rich family. The truth is
that her father’s wealth is pennies compared to Chad’s fortune, and technically
speaking Sierra is poor because her father’s and Chad’s money is not hers and
she hasn’t yet acquired any money of her own.