Pursued by Him (2 page)

“Slow down Summer…are you in the apartment right now? Did you call the police?”

“No…yes...I mean Alyssa called. We’re standing in the parking lot. The police have been going through the apartment and asking us questions.” I could hear Summer fighting back the tears as her voice sounded strained.

“They only took money? Nothing else?”

Summer took in a shuddering breath and let it out. “My keys. Now I can’t even drive my piece of shit car.”

“I’m going to make a call. I want my security guy to come check things out for you…and Summer? You and Alyssa are going to be staying at my place until this gets resolved. I’ll have a car come pick you both up when you’re ready.” The vein in my neck pulsed as I thought about her being in any sort of danger. I wanted to be back home to help her, to take care of her, but I couldn’t be, not right now.

“Thank you Chase. Can I call you later?”

“Absolutely. Anytime.” I looked through the glass doors of the conference room at the waiting group of people. “I’m glad your okay. I need to get back to this meeting, but I’ll talk to you later.”

I waited for her to hang up and then quickly dialed Jake, explaining the situation and telling him exactly what I needed. I didn’t like being this far from her. I slipped the phone back into my pocket and joined the others. I had hoped that they would understand. I took my seat at the opposite side of the table and immediately apologized. “Mr. Hamasaki, my sincerest apologies. I had a personal security issue that I needed to attend to, but my attention is now here.” I bowed my head ever so slightly and continued. “Can you tell me, how is the plant in Osaka doing? Will it be ready next month as we had discussed before?”

The translator quickly explained my question and returned Mr. Hamasaki’s reply. “He says you will be very happy. Everything is ahead of schedule and well under budget. He can’t wait for you to see it during your visit.”

I nodded and smiled in agreement.

Alyssa and I stood at the doorway to the huge mansion as I punched in the key code on the lock. The electric lock clicked and I pushed down on the thumb latch to the door and pushed it open. “Quick! We only have thirty seconds before the alarm goes off, the last thing I need is for the police to show up here and Chase getting a call.” I quickly ran into the foyer and approached the alarm keypad but the alarm was already off. I looked back at Alyssa and shrugged my shoulders. “I guess the staff must have forgotten to set it. Come on, I can give you the official tour, just leave your bags here.”

Alyssa closed the huge door behind her and dropped her bags next to mine in the large foyer. It had been a few days since I had been to Chase’s house. Usually it was at night, once I was done with classes and he had wrapped up at the office. It was my escape from my little box of an apartment, now a potential crime scene. I loved his house. Every time I visited it was a new experience. I wasn’t sure just how large it was, but I knew there were rooms and portions of the house I had never seen, this was going to be my opportunity to take it all in.

“It looks so much bigger without hundreds of people milling about.” Alyssa giggled. The last time she had been at Chase’s house he was putting on a fundraiser. It was a also the time that he decided to let everyone know about our relationship, flaunting
us
in front of everyone. That was definitely a night to remember, but I loved every minute of it.

We made our way into the back living area and I watched as Alyssa stood in the center of the room. She slowly spun in a circle, taking it all in, the huge fireplace at the end of the room and the wall of expensive paintings. I plopped down in the over-size leather chair and took a deep breath. I almost felt as if I was on vacation, but given the circumstances, it was anything but a vacation. I hopped up and made my way toward the back wall of windows and doors that opened to the patio. The view at sunset from his patio was always the most romantic. I reached for the door, instinctively attempting to unlock the latch, but it was already unlocked. I pushed it open and walked outside as Alyssa joined me. “Gorgeous, isn’t it?”  The sounds of the pool fountain trickled in the distance and the sun just started to fall beyond the trees. I turned and smiled at Alyssa. “Come on! Let’s take this tour!” I grabbed her hand and pulled her back inside, quickly shutting the door behind us and leading her down the corridor towards the back of the house and Chase’s office.

I peeked my head inside the elaborate office and pushed the door open just a tad so Alyssa could see inside while standing beside me. Bookcases lined the walls all the way to the ceiling and were filled with practically every business and marketing book ever written. The office was absolutely pristine, not a thing was out of place. Alyssa took a step into the office and I quickly pulled her back. “Hey, can’t I look around?”

“Not in here. This is one of the rooms that make me feel like I’m going into my father’s office at home. It just doesn’t feel right. Besides, I honestly don’t think Chase really uses this room. It looks like it’s more show than anything else.” I grabbed her hand and pulled back into the hallway, as she jumped ahead of me and decided to give herself her own tour.

Alyssa pushed open the door to the room across from the office and stuck her head inside. “Damn, Summer. Looks like he’s got some high-tech stuff in here.”

I peeked around Alyssa and stared at the wall of blinking lights and dimmed monitors. There was equipment with all kinds of knobs and cables stacked neatly in a rack. A huge monitor and keyboard sat on the small desk in the corner of the room. The one lone monitor that was lit at the top left displayed a picture of the driveway. Towards the top of the screen, flashes of light faded in and out as cars past the end of the driveway. “Looks like it’s the security room. Come on, this is the boring stuff, let’s go see the good stuff upstairs already.” I tugged on the back of Alyssa shirt, finally freeing her from the room. I quickly made my way down the hallway to the flight of stairs at the end.

The upstairs of Chase’s house was amazing. The back staircase led to a huge sitting room with four sofas neatly arranged into a square sitting area. A huge television hung on the wall and the back of the room had a small wet bar, complete with a stocked refrigerator. This was where Chase and I spent our time working, when we did work together. It was a much more laid back area than the stuffy office downstairs. I watched, as Alyssa eyes grew bigger as we walked past each of the bedrooms. She stuck her head inside of each one and smiled. Each room was meticulously decorated like something that would be found in a magazine. The hallway opened to an enormous landing that overlooked the foyer where we had entered. The landing split off in three directions. Where we had just come from, towards the master suite and towards the guest suite.

“So, what do you want to see first? The master suite or the guest suite?”

Without answering Alyssa pushed past me towards Chase’s bedroom and giggled. “You have to ask?”

A door shut downstairs, just beyond the foyer, as Alyssa spun and looked at me. My heart pounded in my chest as she stared. “Did you hear that?” I whispered to her as her she nodded in agreement. We both stood still, listening, but the house was silent. “Come with me, let’s go check it out.” I reached into my pocket and clutched my phone as we made our way down the front staircase and in the direction of the noise. Another door closed and the sounds continued from the direction of the kitchen. I stood on the bottom step and looked back towards Alyssa, wondering what we should do. I eyed the front door and debated if we should run.

Footsteps from the kitchen hallway approached as my heart pounded. The beating in my throat made it difficult to swallow, as they got closer. Moments later a figure approached. The small, thin man emerged from the shadows as I stood and stared.

“What the fuck! You scared the shit out of us!” Alyssa yelled over to Jake, Chase’s right hand man.  He was standing in the foyer, unphased by Alyssa’s yell.

I looked at Jake and then back at Alyssa. “Really?
What the fuck?”
I shook my head, astounded at how Alyssa had spoken to him.

“It’s ok Summer.” Jake chuckled. “I’m used to her language already. I’m surprised it’s not rubbing off on me.”

Jake stepped into the center of the foyer as I felt the tension release from my shoulders and then stepped down to greet him. “Well, you definitely scared us. I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”

“Chase called and let me know you two were coming. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect for you.” Jake walked over to our bags and picked up Alyssa’s. “Well, it seems one of you is planning to move in.”

Jake laughed as Alyssa walked over to him and grabbed a bag from his hand. “A girl needs her
stuff.
You never know what I might need, so I brought a variety of clothes, plus my bathroom stuff and–”

“It’s ok Alyssa, I get it. I have sisters.” He smiled at her and attempted to grab the bag back from her. They had a flirtiness between them I hadn’t seen with Alyssa before. “Where would you like me to put these? You can have your pick of any of the rooms.”

“We can get those Jake. To be honest, we aren’t really sure where we are staying, I was just giving Alyssa the tour. I hope that’s alright.”

“You know this place as well as I do Summer. I’ll just put these on the landing upstairs and you can make your decision from there. There’s wine, beer and some food in the kitchen. Help yourselves to whatever you’d like. Chase will be back tomorrow, late afternoon.” Jake carried Alyssa bags to the top of the stairs, making mock huffing sounds as he smiled at her. I pretended not to notice the subtle flirting between the two of them.

Before long Jake had left, locking up the mansion and leaving Alyssa and I to explore on our own. We moved into the kitchen and poured ourselves some wine before we picked up from where we had left off on our tour and Jake had given us both a scare. We made our way upstairs and stood outside of Chase’s room as Alyssa handed me her glass of wine and took off with a sprint. She pounced into Chase room and flopped on the over-sized king bed. “So this is where all the
real
action happens, huh?” Alyssa giggled. “A few months ago, being in this bed was my fantasy. Who would’ve known you’d actually make it come true…at least partially true…here’s the bed, but not the man.”

I rolled my eyes at Alyssa.  I remembered the days when she used to do nothing but talk about Chase. I would have never expected to be in a relationship with him, but here I was. “Alright girl, let’s finished the tour.” I took a big sip from my glass of wine as I escorted Alyssa around the house and finally came to relax in the large sitting area where Chase and I would work. We spent the evening, and another bottle of wine, having girl talk and dreaming of what our lives just might be like if we lived like this everyday.

Alyssa had convinced me to sleep in Chase’s bed. It would be the first time I had ever been in it alone and I felt a bit out of place. I had already made up my mind that I’d sleep in one of the other guest suites, but Alyssa wouldn’t allow it to happen. As Alyssa made her way to the big suite down the hall I slipped into Chase’s room and closed the large double doors behind me. I leaned against them and smiled. It felt comfortable, very comfortable.

I turned on the water in the large shower and undressed, staring at myself in the mirror that spread across the vanity. Chase and I had a few encounters in this bathroom, every one more memorable than the last. I stepped into the shower and closed the door behind me. The hot water streamed across my face and through my hair as I closed my eyes, flashing back to our first shower together. His chiseled and tanned body glistened as the water followed his veins and muscles, running down his body. I could feel the smile creep across my face and my nerve endings tingle at the thought of what we had done. The way he had taken me in the shower, my moans echoing off of the tile and stone walls. I lingered under the water for a few more moments and opened my eyes, almost embarrassed by my thoughts. I quickly finished and dried off. Wrapped in a plush towel, I fumbled through my bag, looking for the comfy tee shirt I had packed to sleep in. I slid it over my damp body, the cotton clinging to my skin and then made my way back to the bathroom. I hesitated as I passed his closet and then flipped on the switch and walked in. His closet was at least four times the size of my apartment. His suits, pants, shirts and shoes were all neatly organized by colors and shades. A large table sat in the middle of the closet with an assortment of ties arranged in a way that only high-end stores displayed them. Chase was a man with a taste for the finer things and his closet showed it.

I walked by the long racks of clothes, brushing my hands against them and stopping at the end of the table were a single dress shirt lay, out of place. It looked as if it had been worn and that Chase hadn’t taken the time to slip it into the dry cleaning bag. I picked it up and took a deep, lasting breath through the material. His scent rushed into my nose and I smiled. I held it close to me as I moved into the bathroom, still carrying the shirt. I held it up in front me as I stared at myself in the mirror, finally convincing myself I had found my nightshirt for the evening.

My comfy tee shirt hit the floor as I stood naked in front of the mirror, clutching the blue, pinstriped shirt. I slipped it around my shoulders and buttoned the two middle buttons, leaving what little cleavage I had on display for no one other than myself to see. I had wished Chase were there to see my selection. I knew he would have approved.  I modeled the shirt for myself, spinning in the mirror and then finally making my way back to his bed, where I slipped beneath the soft, cool sheets.

I buried my face into his pillow as I took another long, deep, sniff and smiled again. I had successfully surrounded myself with everything to remind me of the man I was falling for. I closed my eyes and drifted away into the night, alone.