“Marc who? You look absolutely amazing, baby. We could get room service and I could unwrap you.” He grinned, dazzling her with his smile and glint of appreciation.
“We have made plans and are expected at the gallery.” She moved across the room to stand in front of him.
“I’ll buy another gallery and Gerry can exhibit there if it means you’ll stay in with me looking like that,” he said quite seriously.
“We are expected at this one and it’s not a showcase for Gerry, it’s more to give some young, promising, unknown, starving artists a chance to get some publicity on the back of Gerry bringing in the crowds, so I think it’s our moral duty to the art world to attend.”
Tasha stood perfectly still as Jim traced his finger from her jaw down the neckline of her dress and stopped at the small diamanté clip that held the dress closed.
“Then we will have to attend, Natasha. I can’t have starving, tortured artists on my conscience,” he mocked as he continued to finger the clip. “Is this for show or is it really the only thing holding this very beautiful dress closed?”
“It is the only thing holding this very beautiful dress that you paid for closed.” Her words were rewarded with a huge smile.
“I told you your clothes and shoes were for my benefit,” he reminded her, arching a brow as he unfastened the clip revealing her new underwear as the dress gaped open.
“Oh, baby.” He hissed his appreciation of what he saw through gritted teeth. “You know what? I can live with starving artists on my conscience if I get you like this.” He was already pulling her against him.
“We need to go,” she said, a little breathless.
“You can’t leave me like this, Tasha,” he complained, moving her hand to rest on his bulging erection.
She laughed and pulled away to refasten her dress. “I can and I will leave you like this. Maybe that makes for an interesting night, us both feeling frustrated.” Tasha turned, picked up the invitation and placed it in her clutch.
“It will be very interesting, not to mention, hot as hell and satisfying for us both,” he whispered in her ear as he wrapped an arm around waist and walked her to the door.
“Without you flipping out on me, can I ask, should I take some cash or my credit card?”
“If you want to, but you won’t need it,” he said looking every inch the gentleman by holding the door open for her.
As they made their way through the lobby, past reception the snooty bitch receptionist looked up and grinned broadly at Jim before looking amazed at Tasha’s transformation from the jeans and t-shirt clad commoner from earlier to the sophisticated young lady of now.
“Good Evening, Mr Maybury,” she trilled at him. “Miss,” she added begrudgingly.
He smiled at her curtly and gripped Tasha’s hand tighter.
“Bitch,” muttered Tasha.
“Who?” Jim seemed confused about exactly who the bitch was.
“Little Miss Snooty on reception.” Tasha felt new agitation at her earlier experience at reception.
Jim laughed as they left the hotel. “Which way for dinner, honey?”
“There’s fast food if we go right and there’s a steakhouse around the corner with a left, but beyond that I am as clueless as you.”
He led her left meaning they were having steak for dinner.
“What’s the problem with the receptionist?” he asked now.
“She is a stuck up snotty cow with ideas above her station.”
He looked across at her and laughed at her expression of outrage as much as anything. “Would you care to expand on that, honey?”
“When I checked in, in jeans and trainers, she questioned whether I had actually got the right hotel and she and the other guests at the desk all looked down their noses at me, as if I was unworthy of being there. Strangely though, when she found the reservation she was all smiles, presumably realising that the very expensive suite must somehow make me more worthy. Then!” she shouted now. “Then, she said she needed a credit card for security and asked if I wanted to wait for you. So obviously I’m not creditworthy either.”
Jim laughed loudly at Tasha, then annoyed her further when he spoke, “She was perfectly charming when I checked in.”
“I bet she fucking was. But she would be, wouldn’t she? You being rich and gorgeous.” Tasha spat the final word at him.
