Promises Made (BBW Billionaire Romantic Erotica) (Vegas Billionaire) (4 page)

W
hen everything was tallied, Ell
e tried not to reveal her shock at the final price.  She hadn’t even thought to check the price tag on the dress.  The credit slip would cover her purchases, but she hadn’t planned to actually spend that much of it.

Once her purchases were wrapped in cream colored tissue paper and gently laid into ribbon adorned boxes, she started to head back to the small suite she had been staying in since the night she left her house.  The sales woman made an attempt at small talk while she was leaving, probably in the hopes that Elle was some rich customer’s wife and would return to purchase more items.

“That’s really a lovely dress.  What type of shoes do you plan to wear with it?”

Shoes.  Elle hadn’t even thought about shoes.  She did a mental cataloguing of the shoes she knew she had upstairs in her tiny closet and groaned.  “Do you sell shoes here as well, and is it too late to charge them to the credit slip?”

The sales woman gave Elle her first genuine smile.  “Absolutely, we can find some shoes to go with that dress, and I can add them to the credit slip with no issue.”

She guided Elle to a small sitting area, then came back with several more wrapped boxes, which she opened and tilted toward her one by one.  Elle became dizzy with all the different choices, and gave the
other
woman a weak smile.  “Do you think you could
just pick a pair for me?
”

*****

The shopping excursion had distracted Elle from her stress about the upcoming dinner.  Someone was supposed to be by her suite to collect her at eight o’clock.  She checked her watch and saw she still had three and a half hours to go, and no idea how to fill that much time without spending it curled up in the fetal position in her closet.  A shower was only going to take up about thirty minutes of it.

She opened the door to her room to find a flurry of activity.  A makeshift hair salon had been created in her sitting room, and a tiny woman with sleek black hair was flitting about placing palettes of makeup on every empty surface.  She heard Elle enter and yelled toward the bathroom.

“Odette, she’s here!”  She looked back at Elle and continued in an excited voice.  “Where have you been?  We only have three and a half hours and there is so much to do!”  She grabbed the packages from Elle’s arms and shoved them onto a table, sending makeup palettes scattering across the floor.

A tall woman with chestnut brown hair stepped out of the bathroom and handed Elle a robe.  “Get undressed and put that on.  We need to finish the waxing first.”

Waxing
?  Elle thought.  Julien had only mentioned sending someone up for hair and makeup, and nothing about th
is madness.  At least this would keep her from spending the next several hours in the fetal position, even if it did involve the torture of waxing.

The next two hours were spent having her body soaked, waxed, and then smoothed with various potions.  The two women had even brought a table that they had set up in her bedroom.  She thought it looked oddly like the table that her gynecologist used, and realized quickly what it was for when they began slathering hot wax between her legs.

She gritted her teeth through the process and tried to hold still while the two women removed every little hair they could find.  When they were finished, they held a mirror between her legs and she nodded at the job they had done.  It was the barest she had ever been, and she had to admit, it made her feel pretty sexy.

The women had a quick discussion about how they wanted to style her hair and decided on loose curls. The dark haired woman, Giselle, retrieved a set of large curlers and wound them tightly into Elle’s damp hair, securing them in place with small clips.  Once that was done, they sprayed it all with something that  smelled like lavender, then wrapped it all up in brightly colored silks.

The makeup palettes came next, and Elle tried not to sneeze or wrinkle up her face as they applied various powders and crèmes to her skin. 
They would occasionally stop working to stand back and give her a calculating gaze before resuming their work.  Finally, Odette declared her face finished and  both women set about unwrapping the silks from her head.

After the curlers were removed, they carefully smoothed out the large curls that appeared using fingers to lift and separate them.  Elle could see the occasion curl drift across her field of view and didn’t even recognize her own hair.  Whatever they had done, her red strands now reflected the light in a glossy shine.

Giselle looked at the clock and announced that they had thirty minutes remaining.  The two women left Elle sitting in the chair while they tore open the packages she had brought in from Luxuré.  They held up the dress she had purchased and made approving noises, then opened the package containing the strapless bra.

“No.  No bra, not even strapless.  This dress will show lines,” Odette declared, tossing the bra to the side.

Elle had never gone braless before.  Her breasts were too large, she had always thought.  Women with large breasts had to wear a bra of some sort.  She told Odette this, but the other woman only shook her head.

“I’ve seen you naked.  Your breasts are big, but they don’t droop at all.  No bra.”

She realized there was going to be no way to win this argument with Odette and resigned herself to feeling awkward all night.  It wasn’t like she hadn’t planned on feeling awkward anyway, so what was one more thing?

They slid the dress carefully over her head, taking care not to smudge the makeup they had applied, then handed her the stiletto heels the saleswoman had wrapped up for her.  Elle slipped on the heels and tried not to fall over as she headed into her bedroom to peek in the mirror.

She had expected not to recognize herself, but the makeup and hair were subtle.  They had enhanced her hazel eyes with delicate strokes of brown and green so that the flecks of gold they contained were highlighted under her newly waxed and arched eyebrows. 
She still looked like Elle, but a sexy Elle, she thought.

Her long red curls glimmered in the dim light as she lifted a hand and ran it across the revealed top half of her breasts.  She had to admit now that Odette had been right.  She might feel naked without a bra, but it suited the dress.  She only hoped the dress didn’t decide to dip any further.  If Anders had been upset about a note from a server, how would he feel when her manager flashed a nipple at him?

A knock sounded from the door in the other room, and Elle took a deep breath before walking out to find Odette and Finn,  Ander’s assistant, looking at one another confused.  He saw Elle and brushed past Odette into the room.

“Let’s go.  We don’t want to keep Mr. Magnusson waiting.  Today has been trying enough for him.”  He strode from the room, not turning back to see if she followed.  Elle thanked the two women and quickly headed out into the hotel hallway, seeing Finn headed toward the elevators.

They rode in silence as the elevator climbed to the top floor.  Elle had never been on that floor, but knew it was reserved for only the biggest clients.  The elevator doors slid open and she followed Finn down the chic hallway until they reached a large set of double doors. 

He opened one and waved her inside, then closed it behind her as she entered.  She looked back, but he hadn’t followed her, and now she had no idea where to go next.  The room she stood in was large and stately, with several doors leading to other rooms within the suite.  A polished table had been set with serving dishes and silverware for two. 

She walked over to the table and examined the place settings.  There was more silverware for one person here than she had ever used to fill an entire table for five.  She had no idea what half of them were used for, and began to stress out over all the etiquette breaches she knew she would make.

“It’s ostentatious.”  A voice behind her startled her, and she quickly turned away from the table.

Anders stood
in the doorway of  a darkened room and the sight of him made her breath catch.  He had changed into a finely tailored jacket, with a white linen shirt beneath.  The top few buttons were undone and she could see a strip of mouthwatering skin between them.  He wore the shirt un-tucked and it hung over a pair of dark blue jeans that sat snugly against his leanly muscular thighs.

She agreed that it was ostentatious, but wasn’t sure if she should respond.  She didn’t even know why she was here.  This man was too hot to be interested in her in the least.  She still expected him to start laughing at her, or hidden cameras to appear so the entire world could mock her for pretending this could be a real date.

He walked over to where she stood and looked down at the table.  She could smell the rich, musky cologne he wore and felt small beside his towering frame.  Even in her stiletto heels, he was a good five inches taller than her.  He must be at least six foot four, she thought.

“We’re not staying here.  We’ll eat later.”  He strode toward the door, leaving her to trail behind him.  In the elevator down to the hotel lobby, she felt his eyes on her and turned to him.  He looked her up and down, lingering on the exposed skin of her breasts.  When his eyes finally made it up to her own, he gave her a look that she thought would melt her right there.

“Money well spent.”  She blushed, and realized she hadn’t spoken a word since arriving.

She worked up her nerve and asked, “Where are we going?”

Anders answered without breaking the eye contact they shared.  “Diora.”

“Oh.  What type of food do they serve?”  Elle knew she was asking stupid questions, but now that she had started talking, she felt like she had to continue.

He laughed.  “You live in Vegas, and you’ve never heard of Diora?”

Elle looked down, not wanting him to see the embarrassment in her eyes.  It must be some famous five star restaurant that she’d never have found on her own.  She was already here though, so she may as well stick it out and at least have a free meal.

*****

He guided her through the busy hotel lobby with by placing a hand at the small of her back.  She enjoyed the contact, but was surprised that he would make such a casually intimate gesture with her in public.  Ryan had always shied away from her, and she felt like he had been embarrassed to be seen in her company.

When they reached the valet stand outside the hotel, he kept his hand in place on her back while they waited for the limousine to be brought around.  Their driver arrived, and Anders waved him off and held her door himself, waiting until she was settled into place before closing it and sliding into the other  side.

He stared at her during the trip, and she tried not to fidget.  She wasn’t sure which was worse, talking or silence.  If she talked, she ran the risk of babbling and asking stupid questions, but sitting in silence seemed terribly uncomfortable.  Especially with him staring at her with those deep blue eyes. 

Elle felt the limo stop moving and waited while the driver opened her door.  When she stepped out, she expected to see a busy restaurant, but instead was greeted with a large windowless building, with a simple sign that said, “Diora.”  Several cars were in the parking lot though, so maybe this restaurant was going for a unique feel.

Anders stepped out of the limo and handed several bills to the driver, then gave him a brief set of instructions.  The driver nodded and got back behind the wheel, leaving them standing alone in the crowded parking lot. 

They entered the building and were stopped at a long counter with a cash register.  A large, dangerous looking man stood behind the  counter, and Anders approached him.

“VIP room,” he said, handing over a black credit card.  “I’m starting a tab also.”

“You want the full package or just the room?” The large man asked.

Anders smiled and replied, “Give us everything.”

The man nodded and swiped the credit card through a machine, then picked up a telephone and spoke into it quietly.  After a brief conversation, he hung up and led them to a door behind the counter.  Anders opened the door, then paused to let Elle pass.