Romance: New Adult: One Game at a Time - A College Football Romance (Bad Boy Romance) (Sports Contemporary Short Stories) (14 page)

''Come on, let's get you
a drink,''
he said. The pool was large, as big as most municipal pools. It
was housed
in a building with an arched roof and glass doors that opened to the lawn.

''Are they....?'' she exclaimed.

Ryan followed Alina's eyes. He laughed. ''Yer, looks like it.'' In one corner there were
a number of
sun beds covered
in
red leather mattresses. A couple was making love, both
totally
naked, in full view of everybody. The strange thing to Alina was nobody seemed to care, or for that matter even be looking. She, on the other hand, couldn't take her eyes away. The man, on top, was a so good looking, she instantly wanted to swap with the women whose moans were getting louder by the second.

She hurriedly turned away and looked at the pool. It was full of topless
women,
and a few men, who she assumed were Ryan's friends. She counted five guys and sixteen girls. The guys looked so
happy;
it made Alina wonder if any of them would ever be able to settle down with just one woman. Most of them looked to be in their thirties, and she was sure they'd spent the last ten years fooling around with dozens of women at parties like this.
She
'd have to be careful she didn't get involved with a man like that. There was no way she was ever going to share her husband with anybody. She closed her eyes in embarrassment as the woman in the corner reached her climax.

Ryan handed her a drink. A long crystal glass full of real Champagne. She took a sip and then another. ''That's nice.''

''First time you've ever had real champagne?'' he asked.

''I think so.
Everyone calls sparkling wine Champagne but it isn't is it?''

''No Champagne comes from an area in France of the same name. Most of the stuff people think is
Champagne
is just white wine with a few bubbles. ''

A dark girl pulled herself from the pool and came to talk to them. ''Hi I'm Zoey,' she said.

''Alina,
nice
to meet you.''

''You too. Ryan told me you were coming.''

''Are you his girlfriend?'' Alina asked. She was a
very beautiful
woman, the type she imagined Ryan liked.

Zoey laughed. ''No, we're friends. I organize the girls for his pool parties.''

''Do you mean they are call.......''

''Call girls. No,'' Zoey forgave Alina's innocence. ''College friends of mine. Women who like a good time and love having a few dollars spent on them.''

''Oh.''

''Come on, come
into
the water,'' Zoey said.

''I don't have any swimming things.'' Alina shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other. She felt uncomfortable. It was more like an orgy than a party.''

''You're wearing underwear aren't you?''

''Of course,'' she exclaimed.

''Then bra and panties. Second thoughts, topless and panties. Come on.'' Zoey stepped forward and put her hands on the buttons of Alina's blouse.

''I think she'd rather not,'' Ryan said. Zoey looked wounded and dived back into the pool. A minute later she had her legs wrapped around some blonde guy. ''Don't worry about her, she's a nympho. Guys or gals, she doesn't care.'' Somebody turned the music
up,
and everyone got out of the pool and started to dance. ''Are you shocked?'' Ryan asked. His smoldering eyes burned into
hers,
and she suddenly felt very aroused. It was a surreal scene. Here she was,
a serious
young woman, fully
dressed
while a group of women shook their naked breasts at a much smaller group of men while dancing to some hit she knew was, at least, fifteen years old.

''No I'm not shocked. I just haven't ever been to quite such
a ........
'' she wanted to find the right word, to prevent offending him. ''Lively party.''

''No, I don't suppose you have.'' 

He reached into a chair a took a T-shirt. ''Come on, let's go outside and leave them to it.''

Alina was thankful for the suggestion. They walked back onto the lawn and sat down in a couple of wicker chairs. ''I'm glad you're here,'' he said.

''Why did you choose me?'' She'd been dying to ask. Halfway down a glass of Champagne, she dared to ask.

''Because you were the best.''

''I don't believe that.''

''Well, on Monday you will meet Steffi. She'll tell you the same.''

''But there must have been hundreds of applicants from very experienced PA's.''

''Yes, there were.''

She looked at the damp hairs on his inner thighs. They all seemed to be screaming at her to touch them. ''Then I don't understand.''

''Simple. I took a decision a while back to help young people wherever possible. You were the best qualified in the under twenty-five
category,
so you got the job.''

Alina took another sip of her
drink,
but her glass was empty. She realized she'd drunk the rest of it in one go when she was looking at his thighs. ''But that's illegal. Age discrimination.''

''Who the hell cares. I got what I wanted. That's all that matters.''

From that moment, it was quite clear to her that Ryan Jacobson always got what he wanted. ''Well I'm glad you chose me. It's
a great
opportunity. I won't let you down.''

''I know you won't'' he said confidently.

''What kind of a place do you want to
live in
? You can stay here for a few weeks, or as long as you want for that matter. But I'm sure at some point you'll want some freedom.''

''I don't know what LA has to offer.''

''A lot. I have hundreds of apartments in the city. You can have one of your choosing.'' He went to fetch some more Champagne.

It was all too good to be true. Her
own
apartment. ''It depends on what I can afford,'' she said when he returned.

He ran his hand through his hair and sat back. ''What do you mean
afford
?''

''Well, I'm sure LA is very
expensive,
and I don't suppose I'll be able to.....'''

''You don't have to pay for it. Tell you what, tomorrow I'll take you for a ride
round
, and show you a few places. You can
take your pick
.''

Most girls would have been ecstatic about the opportunity to live in a luxury apartment free of charge. But Alina wondered what his motives
were,
and she could only come to one conclusion. He wanted to make her reliant on
him,
so she felt obliged to give herself to him. ''No Mr. Jacobson, I don't want a free place, I'd rather pay for my
own
apartment, even if it's a tiny studio.''

It was the first time Ryan had ever heard a woman turn one of his offers down, and he wasn't used to it. He was sure she'd change her mind when he showed her a few penthouses.

''Okay. Whatever you want.''

''Why do you feel lonely sometimes?'' she asked, then regretted it.

''What do you mean?''

''You told me when we stopped to look at the house after I'd arrived, that you get lonely sometimes.''

He let out a sigh. A half naked woman came outside. ''Come on Ryan, I want you in the pool.''

He waved her away and concentrated on the question Alina had asked. ''I find it hard to trust people. That's why I'm not married.''

She didn't know what to say. She fiddled with her hair and drank some more. ''Why do you think that is?'' The look he gave her made her sit up straight. ''Sorry Mr. Jacobson, it's none of my business.''

''Ryan call me Ryan. It's okay. I'm just not used to opening up to
people;
that's all.'' But she was different he told himself. She wasn't like the girls in the pool. He could never imagine her wiggling her tits around and being frivolous. She was the real deal. Beautiful, serious,
good-humored
, and he imagined one day a perfect wife. ''My dad left us when I was
six,
and my mom couldn't cope. She killed herself when I was ten.'' Now it was his turn to down his Champagne in one go.  ''I shouldn't have burdened you with that. Just ignore it.''

But how could she? He was now even more attractive to her. A man with such a terrible upbringing, a virtual orphan, who had managed to drag himself out of such a horrendous situation and become one of America's richest men. She was sure most people would have turned to drugs and violence. ''But that doesn't mean it will happen to you. I'm sure you could find a woman who would be faithful to you. In fact, I know you could.''

''Maybe. Perhaps one day. But, hey, there's still plenty of life left in the old dog before I need to get tied down,'' he said, his face suddenly brighter. Alina saw through the pretense, though.

*****

On her first day at work, Alina couldn't believe her luck. She was working in beautiful surroundings, with
a great
salary and
an important position in
the company. Steffi was kind to her as were all her other colleagues.

''Why do some people say Mr. Jacobson is bad to his tenants?'' Alina asked when they sat down for a cup of coffee.

''It's the nature of his business I'm afraid,'' Steffi said. ''It's just
economics,
and sometimes some poor unsuspecting people get in the way. But that's life.''

''I understand he buys dilapidated buildings and refurbishes them, then charges higher rents.''

''That's right, just sometimes some people don't want a better apartment where they have to pay more. He's not a bad man, just very driven and focused on  his business.''

''I know he's not a bad man. In fact, he's a very kind man indeed.''

''Are you two talking about me?'' Ryan asked. ''Caught you.'' He was in good
spirits;
Carl had just called to tell him the papers were ready at the solicitors.

''No Mr. Jacobson, we aren't,'' Steffi lied.

''Alina, can you come to my office?'' Alina wondered what she'd done wrong. She followed him. When he sat
down,
he noticed how great she looked. The perfect PA. In fact, he was turned on by her. She was dressed simply but
style-fully
in a black skirt, blue blouse, and black jacket. Any
woman
wearing stockings and heels, as she was, was a likely target for his attention and his eyes soon drifted to her legs. ''I wondered how you were doing on your first day?''

She sighed with relief. ''Very well thanks. Steffi is great, we're getting along just fine.''

''Great. Steffi will be here another four weeks to help you. By then I expect you to know most things. Okay?'' He was different
at
work. Far less relaxed. But of course, he was, he was the boss of a multi-million dollar business, there was no time for fooling around.

''
Go ask
Steffi if there are any messages, please.''

Alina disappeared for a moment and came back with the news that a woman called Cindy had rung, and that the Mayor of LA wanted to speak to him about the development of the Old Post Office.

''Whose Cindy?'' Alina asked when she got back to her desk.

''I don't know, but she
rings
up a lot. I think she's one of his conquests,'' she whispered.

The next four weeks flew past, and Alina suddenly found herself alone, the PA to a
very important
man. She was still living at Ryan's house. Every weekend he'd thrown a party on both Friday and Saturday evenings, some
she
attended, some she didn't. But she'd always left around the time it got rowdy or overly sexual.

One Sunday morning, Ryan had taken her in the Rolls Royce, to a luxury apartment building he owned in downtown LA. He'd taken her in the elevator to the top floor, and shown her two of the most expensive
apartments
in the city. Both open plan with floor to ceiling windows, and
great
views over the city. ''You can have either,'' he'd told her. ''Free, on me.'' He'd almost pleaded her to take one.

''What's
you're
motive?'' she'd asked.

''Because I'm a nice
guy,
and
I
want to give you a good start in life.''

''I don't believe you.'' Then she'd leaned to him and whispered in his ear. ''It's because you want to get into my panties, isn't it?''

''Er....'' It was the reason, but he had to deny it. ''No, of course not.'' He
wasn't used
to being refused. Why would someone refuse such a generous offer? He
simply
didn't understand.