6

Christina

I woke up a bit warmer than usual. The blanket was kicked to the side and someone had their arms around me securely. I almost panicked, but then I remembered last night and Jeffrey and our date. Mostly I remembered our time in bed, that was…amazing. I turned my head to look back at Jeffrey, he was still asleep, but his breathing had changed and I knew he’d wake up soon. I turned around in his arms and his eyes opened, he smiled at me and bent a fraction to kiss my nose.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?”

The warm feeling that flooded my chest whenever he called me beautiful or sexy was back. I smiled shyly and nodded.

“Well, you keep telling me that so I’m guessing it could be true.” My smile widened into a teasing one and Jeffrey chuckled. I felt the warm vibrations against my skin.

“It is true, and I’ll tell you every morning and every night if I have to,” Jeffrey said with a promising tone. I could definitely fall asleep to him telling me I’m beautiful, and wake up to it as well. I was just worried that our relationship wouldn’t last; I was worried he wasn’t feeling the same way I was for him. Then when he said sweet things like that it made me wish I was more secure, that I could at least be confident that we could work out long term, like he hinted.

“What are you thinking about in there?” Jeffrey pressed his forehead against mine and I took a cleansing breath to get off of that train of thought.

“Nothing, nothing…just wondering what we’ll have for breakfast. I never have breakfast food here because I always eat at the office.” I used the admission as a cover up and Jeffrey sighed.

“You really need to get out of that job. Marissa is a weirdly loveable person, but you deserve better. You should be valued where you work,” Jeffrey pressed his lips to mine and then twice more before he pulled away slightly to get up. “We'll go have breakfast at the pancake house on Second Avenue 72nd. They have amazing breakfast there.”

Jeffrey got up and I saw just how big his dick was. No wonder he filled me so completely, he was thick and long. Penises weren’t attractive in general, but Jeffrey somehow had a beautiful cock to match the rest of his perfect body.

“Babe, you have to stop looking at me like that, we might not leave the apartment today,” Jeffrey warned, I glanced back down at his dick and saw it stiffening.

“Well, maybe we could have like a…late breakfast?” I suggested. Jeffrey growled and then pounced on me. I couldn’t help but giggle as he nibbled behind my ear, though my giggle quickly turned into a moan when his fingers found my clitoris.

* * *

We actually managed to make it to the pancake house and it was packed at near one in the afternoon. Honestly, one had to expect any good restaurant in the city to be packed. If it was well known and a local favorite, there was going to be a line, that was for sure. It was almost weird to be going out with a guy. It was definitely crazy that I went out with a billionaire model and had sex with him…many times. Really, it all been kind of surreal to me. Jeffrey was protective of me throughout the entire day we spent together.

Once at the pancake house, he shielded me from the press of people and almost got into a fight with some guy for nearly knocking me over. He was also gentle with me and it all sort of poured into one giant concoction to get me to start falling for him. We got a free table near the storefront window and Jeffrey held out my chair for me like a gentleman before he sat in his own seat.

“So, obviously the pancakes are really good here, as are the hash browns, the French toast is awesome here, too.” Jeffrey was perusing the menu and telling me what was worth trying. I went with the pancakes with a side of bacon, eggs and hash browns. I was hungry after that morning’s exercises.

“So since you have the day off today, what do you want to do after we eat…breakfast?” Jeffrey grinned at me lopsidedly and I melted a little bit, like I always did when he smiled at me.

“I don’t know, there are tons of things to do and I can never choose between too many options,” I admitted, he laughed at me and then shook his head fondly.

“So, how about we go to the Met? Or maybe see a show on Broadway? Have you been able to do either since you moved here?” I shook my head no, feeling guilty about it. “Okay then, I’m definitely spending the weekend with you and we’re going to do a little of everything. I actually have tickets to the Lion King and the NYC Ballet is putting on their summer show at the Lincoln Center.” Jeffrey threw out options and I actually really wanted to see the ballet.

“Could we see the ballet today?” He nodded and pulled out his phone to tap and swipe through it. I remembered that I also had a phone but had left it back at my apartment. Really, what was the use? At that point I only used it for Jeffrey.

“Yes, we can see the ballet today and before the show we can visit the Met.” I smiled. Wow, what things a person could do with a billionaire model. “You know I really love it when you smile, and when you laugh.” I sighed and wished he didn’t have to be so sweet all the freaking time. The waiter came back with our food but before I could dig in, a woman sauntered over to our table, her back facing me as she tried to block me out. Clearly, she was there for Jeffrey.

“You’re Jeffrey Bates, right? The model slash billionaire?” This woman was certainly brazen. Clearly, he was having breakfast with someone, how annoying was that? I glanced from the tall brunette’s back to Jeffrey’s face.

He was trying not to be rude I could tell, though he was quickly losing his patience as the woman wasn’t picking up on his hints that he wanted to get back to his breakfast/late lunch in peace. Not to mention he was with a date! I couldn’t believe I was getting so jealous.

Then my insecurity reared its head and had a way of making me think that I was interrupting their chat. I’m sure the woman was more his type; she was really pretty, tall, and had nice curves, she was…white. I sighed and shut down that train of thought before it could fester and boil. I guess I sighed loudly, because the woman turned her head to glance at me disdainfully.

“Excuse me, I’m on a date and you’re interrupting.” Jeffrey’s tone was dismissive and thank goodness the brunette had dignity, because she actually apologized, to Jeffrey, of course, and then left.

“I’m sorry about that…I really can’t help it now.”

I waved away Jeffrey’s apologies.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about…I know you're a model, and a rich one, at that. People are bound to come up to you and will try and get inside your pants or your wallet…” I trailed off, wondering if I could have offended him with any of that. There went my mouth again just talking without any filter.

“You’ve got that right. The people I meet nowadays all seem so shallow, it’s rare I find someone genuine.” Jeffrey looked at me meaningfully and I gave him a small smile. We were able to enjoy our breakfast/late lunch after that and I found Jeffrey was right about the pancakes and hash browns. The entire breakfast was amazing.

“So, you’ll love the Met. They have all these great exhibits and their collection of art is really diverse,” Jeffrey held my hand as we walked up to the grand entrance of the building. The architecture was beautiful and there were a lot of people going in and out. Jeffrey paid our admission and he acted as my tour guide throughout much of the museum.

He turned out to be quite the art buff and I found it entertaining and endearing that he got so excited when showing me a piece of art he knew a lot about. After the Met, we went to get ice cream, as we were still kind of full from our late lunch/ breakfast.

“You’re kind of great, you know that?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him and smirked.

“Kind of?” I asked him and he gave me a coy smile and shrugged. I lightly punched his arm and we continued meandering down the sidewalk, looking for a table outside the ice cream shop to sit.

“Hey Jeff!” A male voice, thankfully, called out Jeffrey’s name and we both turned around to see who it was. A tall, muscular guy waved from one of the ice cream shop tables out on the sidewalk.

“Oh, hey that’s my assistant, Victor.” Jeffrey took my hand and we walked towards his best friend, who seemed to be on a date. They made a beautiful couple. Victor was dark and handsome with an almost bad boy feel to him and his date was the definition of a blonde bombshell.

“Victor, Vanessa, this is Christina, my date,” Jeffrey introduced us and we all shook hands and exchanged hellos.

“Wow, it’s nice to meet you, Christina. Jeff here had been going on about you in the office.” Victor’s tone was teasing and Vanessa nudged him.

“Really?” I asked and Victor nodded, good humor in his dark brown eyes.

“Yeah, I teased him and he got all defensive over you, it was cute really.”

I smiled and glanced at Jeffrey who actually stuck his tongue out at Victor.

“You can’t talk, Victor, you’re way down the line. Further gone than I am and you know it.” Jeffrey pointed to Vanessa, who looked at Victor with a quirked brow, as if to say, ‘he’d be in trouble if he didn’t agree.”

“Yeah, well I can still make fun of you, pretty boy,” Victor said while looking at Vanessa. They were obviously in love and it actually made my heart squeeze to see it. I didn’t even know these guys; they were just in that blissful stage.

“Blech, you guys are too sweet, wasn’t the ice cream enough?” Jeffrey teased them before he kissed my temple, making me smile. I tried not to let my ice cream melt and was glad Jeffrey thought to put it in a waffle bowl rather than a waffle cone.

“So, what have you two been up to today?” Vanessa directed the question at me and I looked up at her with a friendly smile.

“We had a late breakfast at the pancake house on Second Ave and 72nd Street. After that we were at the Met. Jeffrey is a real art buff.” I glanced at him and he shrugged.

“What can I say, I like art. Later, we’re going to see the ballet at the Lincoln Center and have dinner at Le Pas afterward. I have two extra tickets to the ballet if you guys want to come along?” Jeffrey invited them to sort of double date with us and I couldn’t help but be pleased that he was already introducing me to his friends and wanted me to hang out with them.

“That sounds amazing. I love Le Pas they have amazing lamb chops and pork tenderloin,” Vanessa gushed and looked over at Victor excitedly. “Let’s go with them. I haven’t been to see the summer show yet either. It sounds fun.”

She sounded almost like she was dying to get out and I wondered if Victor had the woman locked up inside or something…well, from the way they were looking at each other, I’d say they probably were locked up together for a while.

“Yeah, we need to get out anyway. That sounds great, when is the ballet?”

Victor made plans with Jeffrey while I asked Vanessa about the restaurant we were going to. It was a gourmet Michelin Star French restaurant that had impeccable food.

I’d never eaten at a Michelin Star restaurant before and knew it wouldn’t be cheap to eat there. I was having a great time with Jeffrey, but he had really been spoiling me ever since our date the night before.

When we all finished our ice cream, we went our separate ways to get ready for the evening’s plans. Jeffrey and I walked back to his car, but he told his driver to stay put for a moment.

“Do you have anything to wear for tonight?”

I knew I had to dress really nice for the ballet, and with the restaurant we were going to, I was sure one didn’t just show up in jeans. I hesitated for too long, though and before I knew it, Jeffrey was telling the driver to take us to the Fifth Avenue shops.

“Jeffrey, you really don’t have to. You’re spoiling me,” I said in soft admonishment.

Jeffrey looked at me and then gestured to himself.

“Christina, I’m worth four billion dollars. If I want to buy you a dress and some shoes then I will.” He took my hand and then we were off shopping. We went to a few high end stores, like Chanel, Armani, and Gucci. If I stared at something for too long, then Jeffrey got it for me, even if it wasn’t for the purpose of wearing it for that night. I so wasn’t used to that level of extravagance. The most I had splurged was on my iPhone that I didn’t even carry with me.

Once we were back in the car, and the driver had loaded everything in the trunk, I simply shook my head at Jeffrey. “I can’t believe you bought all that.”

Jeffrey looked at me in complete innocence.

“Christina, you have to understand that spending on that little shopping trip for me is like grocery shopping. It barely scratched the surface of my bank account. Plus, I’ve never wanted to spoil anyone before like I want to spoil you. Also, I kind of like picking out and knowing what you’re going to wear.

“Like the panties and bra from last night,” Jeffrey grinned at me and I smacked his chest. I glanced at the driver through the rear view mirror, but he was pretending as if he didn’t have ears.

“I can tell when you’re blushing,” Jeffrey said out of the blue. I turned to him and quirked an eyebrow. I knew for a fact that my skin was too dark for anyone to be able to see that. “You bite your lip whenever you get nervous or embarrassed.” Jeffrey pointed out my nervous habit and I rolled my eyes at him.

“I’ve been doing that a lot lately around you. I wonder why that is?” I said sarcastically.

Jeffrey grinned and pointed at his chest.

“That’s because I’m an awesome guy and you know it,” I giggled as Jeffrey kept on grinning like an idiot, which made my giggle turn into a laugh. The driver didn’t go to my apartment, he drove to the Upper East Side and stopped outside of a townhouse. It looked to be three stories tall and was probably huge inside.

“Is this your house?” I asked and Jeffrey nodded while he pulled me out of the car behind him. The driver brought all of the clothes in after us while Jeffrey gave me a tour of his home.

The inside was beautiful; like something you’d see in a Modern Living magazine, but not too contemporary that the space became cold. Through the front doors was a grand foyer with a curving staircase leading up to a family room with a fantastic view of the well-kept garden below, blooming with all sorts of colorful flowers.

Through the family room was an archway that led to a hall that held the study, a bathroom, and a music room. There was a piano situated in the center of the room and a guitar on its stand next to it.

I knew from our conversations that Jeffrey really did play both instruments. At the end of the hall, there was a spiral staircase that led up to the third floor. There were five sets of double doors surrounding a circular common area that was like another family room. The double doors led into bedrooms, but one led into a library. The room was full of books and cozy places to sit and read. Jeffrey didn’t give me a full tour of the master bedroom because we didn’t have time to be thorough.

We went back down to the first floor where the living room, kitchen, and dining rooms were. Then he showed me to the basement which really couldn’t be called a basement, because it was done beautifully. There was a bar set up and a game room, as well. The perfect man cave, I was sure.

After the tour, Jeffrey and I got ready for the evening. I didn’t really know how I felt about him having a guest room that was basically set up for a woman to stay in. There was girly shampoo and soaps in the bathroom, hair products for women, even brand new underwear in the walk-in closet drawers from La Perla. I gasped at the cost of that underwear.

I sighed and had to remind myself that Jeffrey was a ridiculously handsome billionaire and definitely had a necessity for this room when he was not in a serious relationship.

As I showered and got ready, I wondered if I wanted a serious relationship with him…or if I could even handle one.

I dressed in a long evening gown that clung to my shape and was the color of blush red, which went nicely with my light brown skin. I wore silver high heels and accessories, and did a natural look with my makeup, not too much fuss. My hair was loose, but I pushed it to one side so it wouldn’t be in my face as much. When I stepped out of the room, Jeffrey was waiting for me in the common area. He looked like he was going to another GQ shoot.

He wore a black tuxedo and his hair was coiffed perfectly. He looked gorgeous and I knew we would have issues throughout our evening. Women wouldn’t be able to help themselves…he’d probably cause car accidents!

“You look…Christina you look amazing…” Jeffrey’s eyes roamed every inch of my body and his tone was almost in awe.

I bit my lip and gave a small smile.

“Thanks, you don’t look so bad either. I think you might stop traffic,” I joked, though I was entirely serious. How I ended up with Jeffrey Bates is a complete mystery.

“It won’t be me stopping traffic, I assure you. So how about we get going?” Jeffrey offered me his arm and I slipped my hand through to rest on his forearm. When I stepped forward, Jeffrey got a look at my heels and he stopped moving at mid-stride.

“Can you sit down for a sec, I just want to see something…” Jeffrey steered me to a sofa chair and I sat, bemused as to why he wanted me to sit down. He got on his knee and then placed his hand on my calf to lift my leg and reveal my heels.

“We bought these today?” he asked me while caressing my calf distractingly. The stilettos were sexy, they were strappy and showed off my pedicure nicely. I was glad I had decided to get a pedicure while I was out sick from work.

I simply nodded at Jeffrey and he smiled almost mischievously. “I think you’ll be wearing nothing but heels again tonight. Thank goodness this dress doesn’t show off your legs. I’d probably get into fights.”

I rolled my eyes as Jeffrey helped me up and we actually managed to make it to the car that time.

The Lincoln Center was full of people as we waited for A Midsummer Night’s Dream to start. Vanessa and Victor arrived just before we did and we met them in our box seats. I’ve never been in a box seat before and I really could see everything. It wasn’t too high or far away from stage; it was just above the normal seating and offered privacy.

“My goodness, Christina, I know I gushed over your dress enough, but you have to tell me where you got it?” Vanessa leaned over Jeffrey to ask me and I felt kind of embarrassed to tell her that it was from Valentino.

Normally, I’d never be able to afford this dress so it was obvious that Jeffrey bought it for me. Vanessa didn’t make anything of it though, she simply gave me another compliment before Victor drew her attention away.

“You know, it’s okay to tell people who your clothes are by, for all they know you have millions stashed in an overseas account somewhere,” Jeffrey joked.

My heart sped up, though, as he was close to spot on to something my parents left behind for me. My father was a successful investment banker. The best in the State of Pennsylvania.

My small family, though humble we were, gained a lot of wealth through his smart investments. I could just never bring myself to touch any of it. The memory of them would be too hard for me to bear, only because I knew they wanted me to have it, so I’d never have to struggle.

Jeffrey was perceptive, though, and his intense gaze never missed a beat, especially when it came to me. He was about to ask me something, when thankfully, the show started. I couldn’t enjoy much of the first act though, because I was worried that Jeffrey would be upset with me.

He took my hand in his after a little while and started rubbing circles against my skin with his thumb. I relaxed a bit and was able to enjoy the show after that. During the intermission, though, Jeffrey held onto my hand while Vanessa and Victor went to use the bathroom.

“So…was my joke not really a joke for you?” Jeffrey asked me once we were alone.

I looked up at him and slowly shook my head.

“So how come you don’t touch any of it?”

I tilted my head to the side, the answer was obvious, he should know.

“I just can’t get over their deaths, really, and anything they left me is a glaring reminder that they’re gone. The money, especially, is like a message from beyond the grave that they love me and just want me taken care of and that…that kills me when I think about it.” I admitted it all to him and he pulled out his handkerchief to gently dab my tears away.

“I get it, I do. I know you must miss them a lot and it f*cking sucks that they’re gone…but you have to let yourself think about them, baby. Or else you’ll tear yourself up inside. You have to let yourself remember the good times, let yourself miss them. It’s normal and that is what will help you heal.”

Jeffrey’s tone was earnest and heartfelt. It made me want to cry even more, but I couldn’t break down entirely. We were supposed to be having a good time, plus Victor and Vanessa were going to be back at any minute.

Jeffrey cupped my face and kissed me tenderly. He burrowed into my heart at that moment and I barely realized it.

“So…how much are we talking and how overseas is this money?” Jeffrey quirked an eyebrow at me and I giggled.

“It’s…a lot…for me anyway, and it’s in a Swiss account…as well as a French account.” I sighed, I simply couldn’t not tell him everything. My brain just spat out information at him without double checking if I actually should.

“So, I’m guessing around, fifty to a hundred million altogether?”

I simply looked at him questioningly. How he was so spot-on, and why did the actual number matter to him?

“I’m just curious about your dad, it sounds like he was really good at what he did.”

I nodded, he was a veritable genius and one of the few who actually played by the rules. I smiled when I realized what Jeffrey was doing. He was trying to get me to think about them, to remember and not cry as I did it.

“He was. He was the best in the state, probably the entire east coast, and a genius with numbers and patterns. A lot of people came to him for advice and paid him to handle their money. Some paid him a lot more than others, depending on who they were.”

One thing my father kept as a strict rule was to never breach his clients’ confidentiality. Though he’d drop hints, I never knew if my dad really worked for Bill Gates or some regular Joe off the street who simply looked like the guy.