Opulent (6 page)

I turned off my phone, then this entirely different and amazing-looking woman came out the dressing room. Damn she was gorgeous. Smoking hot. My phone dropped to the floor from the awe. The way it fitted against her. I said. “How many have you chosen so far?”

“Six.”

I turned my lips inwards and licked them, angling my head slightly. The outfit was making her look so desirable and damn sexy. People in the store were gawking. “I guess we’ll make it an even seven then,” I said.

Felicity frowned, a bit puzzled, then smiled. “I'm not gonna argue with you on that one.”

I watched as Felicity conversed with the shop assistants. They were envious of the number of clothes purchased. Especially at the prices on the tag. The expression on her face was something I’ll never forget. The five grand bill, worth the memories I won’t ever forget.

I took a moment to remember my mother. I closed my eyes, wondering if she would be smiling the same way, if I’d ever had the chance.

Felicity tapped the crook of my arm and I looked up with watery eyes. “Are you alright, Chad?”

I paused to let the dark moment subside. “Nothing…the air-con in here is making me sneeze.”

***

We drove back to work with the rear seats were full of bags. I asked the shop assistants to wrap them up in Christmas wrapping. It was the 23rd of Dec and I thought it would be nice for Felicity to open them in front of her family. But she told me her family lived in New York so it was a Christmas alone for her.

Halfway through the journey, I noticed Felicity just staring at me.

“Is there something on my jaw?”

“You have grey hair on your temple.”

“You’re such a crack up. Must be all the stress.”

“Old age, I think.”

I baulked. “Hell, no.”

Felicity laughed. “You can borrow my blonde hair dye any time, you know. Grandpa.”

I turned to her. “I’d prefer to grey.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

I paused. When I turned my head to her, she had that sort of combative look women do when they are not happy about something.

“Yeah… shoot.”

“Why do you keep seeing Vivian?”

I exhaled. “I’ve been asking that question a lot lately. We started great as a team. Hand on heart I put an effort. Then it became–well, is-what you say, ‘benefits with friends?”

Felicity giggled. “Friends with benefits!”

“Whatever. But ever since she got the key account role everything changed. She commenced in the same position you did, as my Personal Assistant. Then the role upgraded to Executive Assistant. I thought by moving her into the key account role it would give us some space, since I wanted to pursue a relationship.”

“I get that Chad, you would have been sick of each other, seeing her at work than at home.”

“Yeah… Only it backfired. She became so career driven that we hardly got to spend any time together. I asked her to move in with me, but she felt that it wasn’t the time. Yet I was going over to hers to sleep with her on her terms.”

I paused for a moment to click on the thought. “Call me rotten but I’m addicted to her sexually. Perhaps you’re right, maybe I am her slave. I let this happen to a degree but that’s the thing that’s messing with me. If I stand up to her I lose her. If I do nothing I keep her but on her terms.”

Felicity flinched. “Either way, the thing is that you’re not
happy.
”

I paused to take that comment in. The more I internalized it, the more it became a conviction. I said, “Vivian feels threatened by you. Her bitchy behavior is getting to me.”

Felicity's eyes widened. “That explains everything.”

“We hired two women before you, and Vivian made it a living hell for them. I have to admit there was a bit of bias in it, since Alex chose them.”

Felicity laughed, then said, “I bet they were bimbos with huge boobs and no brains, huh?”

“You could say that. I hope she’s not making things too stressful.”

“Maybe she’ll back off. I worked till two a.m. in the morning stitching up her preso’s you know. Then she got me to punch in all her sales orders. Then when you gave me that task she went feral on me.”

We pulled up to the carpark. I stopped the car. I opened the boot and was taking out the bags when Alex pulled up in his Red Ferrari. His eyes narrowed, scanning the bags of shopping, and he started shaking his head. “Chad, I gotta talk to you bro!”

I turned to Felicity. “Are you going to be okay with all this, I really need to head out with Alex now.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks again for everything, I do appreciate it all. What are you up to for Christmas day?”

“Spending it with my best friends Jack Daniel and Jim Bean.”

“Huh? You're not spending it with Vivian?”

“Christmas is off limits. It's kinda complicated with her family and all. Hell, I’ve never met them. Vivian was waiting for the right time, if that ever eventuates, to tell her father about me. He’s a bit of a racist. ”

“Really?”

“Yeah… Be sometime before Othello here gets to meet him.”

“What? Who’s Othello?”

“Never mind…”

“C’mon Chad, don’t be such a downer. Come over to my place and spend Christmas day with me. You bought me my presents so you're coming over. It’s the least I can do.”

I paused when Alex tooted, then shouted, “Hurry up, bro!”

“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Felicity took the rest of the bags and then Vivian came out, seeing the exchange.

Oh, was she furious. The way she looked at me, then eyed Felicity with both hands full of bags of designer clothes!

I made haste to Alex’s car and when Vivian started coming over I panicked. “Alex, punch it now!”

Alex was cracking up as he drove off, leaving a trail of black skid marks. Looking in the rear view mirror, he said, “Dude, you better sleep with one eye open. Vivian will be chopping your dick off! Ha-ha.”

I wasn’t amused because she probably would. And my balls.

***

Alex had a craving for KFC so we pulled into the first branch we saw. Alex was a fast food junkie, who joked about his lifestyle. Fast cars, fast women and fast food. He was, fortunately, blessed with a high metabolism which annoyed me since I would literally put on one kilogram of weight from just smelling the fried chicken.

We ordered and sat down at the end of the store. Alex ordered a dinner for two pack for himself. I ordered a chicken salad. I was smirking at the way he ate his drumstick nibbling at it like it was corn on the cob.

He said, “So I get a call from Sione, who tells me that your stock options have been sold?”

“Vivian convinced me to take the Cerberus upgraded offer so I agreed.”

Alex put his ravaged drumstick down, licking his fingers. “Well I tried to renegotiate with Sione to compensate me when I found out.” Alex exhaled and looked around. He was paranoid.

“What!”

“I'm just checking that we haven’t been followed.”

“Spit it out will ya!”

“Sione Suarvea is an undercover detective with the Organised and Financial Crime Agency.

“What! What am I under investigation for?”

“No, no. Bro, it's not you their after. They’re following a money trail of fraud and money laundering with Cerberus petroleum. They’re after Felicity.”

I nearly chocked on my salad, coughing out what got stuck in my throat.

“Mate, that’s bullshit. She’s not involved in any fraud.”

Alex took out a folder and handed me a number of statements. I looked down the page and there was a listing of stock options in her name in Cerberus Petroleum.

I looked up at Alex.

He said, “It’s her, bro. The Trojan horse. Judas Iscariot.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“You said it yourself. The girl had a mortgage to pay. She must have narked to Cerberus the prices Sione was going to pay so Vivian could close the deal.”

“It doesn’t make sense… ”

“Look, I thought Sione was legit too. His intention was to buy your shares in Cerberus Petroleum so he could get a place on the executive board. It all turned to shit when I tried to buy my shares back after you sold to Cerberus. That’s when he fronted.”

“Is Sione going to arrest her?”

“You bet your ass he will. With all the acquisitions Cerberus are doing. She’s gonna get done for insider trading.”

“She didn’t do it!”

“Bro, are you fucking stupid? The evidence is right there and there's a motive. Her name is listed in the Cerberus stock options which will rocket in value in the coming months now that that they have one hundred percent control. It means they can now shut down the oil rigs without interference from the shareholders.”

I hit back. “She was set up.”

“Chad, you are so blinded by the pussy that you're making fucked up judgments. What’s with the shopping that you bought Felicity?”

I shoved Alex across the table. “Fuck off!”

“C’mon bro! Let go of me, think about it.”

I let him go and put my hands on my face. “When will all this go down?”

“Damn you, Chad! You made me drop my chicken. Look, Sione is applying for a warrant for her arrest. It could be in the next couple of days. I don’t know.”

I took another look at the statement, then I said, “Felicity invited me to her house for Christmas. I’ll probe her, then I’ll see what happens.”

Alex looked around, then picked his chicken piece off the floor, peeling off the skin.

I winced.

I said, “Hand on heart. I know it’s not her.”

Then he said, “The only other person would be Vivian… I'm gonna confront her!”

“Alex, don’t do anything, till I’ve talked with Felicity.”

There was this moment of silence when Alex brushed aside his chicken and cleared the table. He took the serviette and wiped his mouth.

“Bro, I have noticed a change in you ever since Felicity came on board. The way your face lights up when you talk with her. The way you got jealous when Sione complemented her. My man-tuition is never wrong.”

“Bah! Can it will ya!”

Alex blinked twice and nodded. “It’s good. I see the connection, she suits you bro even if she looks like a geek.”

***

Christmas day arrived and I made the journey to Felicity’s house. It was seven p.m., darkness had set in and it was terribly cold. She lived on the other side of town, so I realised why she took the bus. Petrol would have been horrendous if she had her own car. Her place was a modern brick and tile house. The suburb she lived in had all similar looking houses. The sort of kit set homes developers build when they get cheap land.

Even before I knocked I could smell the turkey the scent of warm food, suggestive memories of families getting together. Her neighbours were in the festive spirit with Christmas lights that drenched the house. Flickering green, red, then blue.

I tapped on the door.

Felicity opened the door and tip toed, kissing me on the cheek. She was wearing a red dress, with two straps. She looked like Santa’s little helper. I followed her into the lounge. The lighting was dim and I could hear the crackle of the fireplace and smell the scent of pine from the Christmas tree.

I watched the lights on the Christmas tree twinkle it followed a series of patterns. The floor in her lounge was polished wood, with a large white woolen rug on it. The only heat was emanating from the fireplace, it seemed everywhere else was cold.

I lived in a same type of house growing up. It brought back memories of the Christmas struggle. I felt the tense palpitations in my chest. My jaw clenched. My right eye twitched.

Felicity poked my arm and said, “Here’s your glass,”

“Thanks.”

I sat on the rug and then Felicity sat beside me, her knees up against her chest and I glanced at her toes which were painted red with silver glitter.

I smiled. “Attention to detail as always.”

Felicity smiled and took a sip from her glass. She looked different. She had a different pair of glasses with a square style frame that suited her face.

“I love the new glasses.”

“Thank you, Chad. I look less like a nerd don’t I?”

I laughed. “A lot less…”

There was a crackle in the fireplace and my eyes shifted to it for a moment. I made the decision to wait until the next day to tell her about the investigation. I was confident she was not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Felicity smoothed the surface of her arms to spread the tingling heat of the fire as she said, “You looked like a stunned mullet, you know, before I gave you your glass. What is it about Christmas you don’t like?”

I exhaled, adjusting the knot on my tie. I removed my coat to get comfortable and couldn’t help fidgeting with the cufflinks of my shirt.