Steeling My Haart (9 page)

        
An
hour gave her just enough time to shower and style her glossy brown hair in a
simple tight knot at the top of her head.
 
A few stray curls were left hanging to break up the harshness. She had
also treated herself to a new underwear set, to fit better under the stunning
dress she was now trying to fasten.
 
After attempting for a few minutes, Emma walked out in to the shared
area holding the dress to her chest to ask Bruce if he could assist. She wasn’t
prepared for him to be standing there looking absolutely flawless in a double
breasted black tuxedo, his handsome features accentuated by clean shaven skin
and his normally fairly wayward hair styled to perfection. He was the epitome
of handsome and it did funny things to her stomach as she took him in.

        
“Erm…
Bruce… could you help?” she asked shyly, turning around and exposing her naked
back to him under the unfastened dress. Stepping over gracefully, Bruce gently
took the zipper and helped her close the dress. His fingers gently slid up her
back, leaving a tingling trail right the way to the top of the zipper. Emma’s
breath hitched at the contact and she felt another blush creeping over her
made-up face. “Thank you,” she whispered and walked away too scared what she
may see in his face if she turned back, or more importantly what he may have
seen in hers.

        
Grabbing
her clutch and putting on the matching pumps, she took a final stock of herself
in the mirror and when she was satisfied at what she saw she walked back out.
Bruce was standing in front of the floor to ceiling window, taking in the early
evening bustle of the strip and sipping from a glass of dark liquid. She slowly
walked to him with the clicking of her heels on the floor tiles the only noise
in the room.

        
“I’m
ready when you are.” She spoke softly. He turned and a slow smile of
appreciation spread across his face.
 

        
“I
was right. You are going to be the most beautiful woman in the room tonight.”
He set his tumbler down on the table and reached for a small black velvet box.
He walked over to Emma and opening it he took out a simple silver chain,
attached to which was the most exquisite diamond pendant.
 
Leaning in to clasp it around her neck,
Emma could smell the delicate cologne he was wearing mixed with the fresh scent
of his shower soap.

        
“Bruce,
this is too much,” she protested.

        
“Shh.
Just take a look in the mirror, and if you don’t think it completes this
outfit, I’ll take it back,” he proposed.

        
She
wandered to the mirror in the foyer of the suite and agreed he was right.
 
It was just the right size to fill the
expanse of glowing skin between her neck and the low cut seam at the top of her
dress. She felt beautiful.

        
“Come,
we will be late for our reservation if we don’t hurry. The car is waiting
downstairs to take us for dinner,” he said softly.

        
“Thanks
for this, Bruce, but it really is too much. Today has been so amazing, but I’m
afraid were starting to blur lines here.” Emma sounded concerned.
 

        
“I’m
sorry if I’ve made you feel that way, but I know you have been alone for so
long, in fact so have I. So can we just enjoy tonight for what it is and kick
back and relax?” he suggested.

        
“What
is all of this? It’s beginning to feel like a date.”

        
“I
don’t know. I want to keep that smile on your face, and I’m not doing a very
good job of it right now, am I? Let’s just make it dinner between good friends,
nice food, good conversation, and nice atmosphere and see where the evening
takes us. I just wanted to take you out, appreciate your company and feel what
it would be like to spend an evening with a beautiful woman. A woman whom I
know I have a lot in common with. Can we just do that?” His tone was hopeful.

        
“Yes,
we can, but we both have a lot to lose here…” she was interrupted.

        
“Hush.
I know. I won’t let anything happen. Just relax and let’s go see more of
Vegas?” he spoke softly, pressing his index finger against her lips.

        
She
smiled again and as Bruce held out his arm, she tucked her hand into the crook
of his elbow and they headed for the lobby.

        
Emma
was surprised when a black limo pulled up and Bruce opened the door, steering
her in to the rear of the vehicle.
 
He followed and smiled. “Now, this wasn’t me before you say anything.
The restaurant arranged it for me when I made the reservation. It is all
included as part of their service, so sit back and enjoy the ride,” he
explained trying to reassure her a little.

        
“Well,
it certainly beats a cab and I will. I kind of feel like a film star or
something, riding around in a car like this.”

        
“You
certainly look the part,” he replied winking at her and cocking his mouth up in
half a smile.

        
“I
forgot to compliment you earlier, Bruce. You do scrub up well for a guy.” She
smiled back, throwing him a cheeky wink.
      

        
“Thank
you, I’m flattered, but I think it has more to do with the $3,000 tux than my
rocking bod, though.” He tried to joke.

        
“Don’t
sell yourself short, Mr. Jenson, you know you have it and you flaunt it.” The
compliment flowed easily off her tongue.

        
“Okay,
so maybe I do. A bit. But it’s tiresome having ladies falling at my feet all
the time.” Rolling his eyes dramatically and slapping his hand across his
forehead he managed to get Emma laughing and broke the ice once again.

        
Before
long, the limo service was pulling into the Paris Hotel Bruce tipped the driver
well. He took Emma into the hotel and right through to the appropriately named
Eiffel Tower restaurant, nestled at the base of a half-sized replica of the
actual Eiffel Tower. The view from the huge windows was of the strip and it was
starting to come alive as the afternoon drew into early evening.

        
“You
really have brought me to Paris, haven’t you?” she whispered in awe.

        
“Of
course, and we will be having a trip up to the top of the Eiffel Tower after
our dinner, too. I hear this time of year the sunset is amazing from up there.”

        
“That
sounds wonderful! I’ve never been to Paris, in fact, I’ve barely been out of
New York City in the last few years,” she admitted.

        
“It
does you good to get out of there occasionally.
 
I am getting the feeling that you really
don’t have much of a life outside of work, do you?” he questioned gently.

        
“No,
and that’s a story in itself.” Her face fell and the smile she had been wearing
vanished in a flash.

        
“Hey,
don’t be sad, Emma. I’m a good listener of you ever want to talk about it?” He
reached for her across the white linen tablecloth and gently took her hand in
his, gently stroking his thumb across her cool fingers.

        
“It’s
not something I like talking about, but maybe one day, okay? Now lets have a
look at this menu.” She changed the subject swiftly and plastered another
unconvincing smile on her face.

        
“Emma,
trust me when I say we’ve all got our secrets, and sometimes sharing them can
help. I want you to know I’m here for you as a friend, as well as a business
associate. It must be something pretty big. I’ve never seen you with an actual
date and it’s such a waste. One day, Emma, you are truly going to make a man
very happy,” he told her.

        
Sighing
deeply Emma looked at her hand in his then glanced up to meet his sad eyes,
“Yes, it’s something pretty monumental actually but now isn’t the time for that
discussion. I don’t want to go there.
 
It takes me to a place I don’t like visiting. Besides, Mr. Eligible
Bachelor of New York, why have you never settled down? I don’t ever see you
with a date, either, and I always end up accompanying you to those boring
industry dinners,” she probed, a little harder than she meant to, but her
curiosity just got the better of her.

        
As
he looked like he was about to say something the waitress who had come to take
their order interrupted them.

        
“Ma’am,
sir, what can I get for you this evening? I recommend the mixed seafood starter
to share and the sirloin steak is particularly good this evening.
 
We also have, to accompany, the in-house
Sommelier’s wine recommendations too for each dish.”

        
Bruce
looked to Emma. “What would you like tonight? I’m happy with the
recommendations if you are.”

        
“Absolutely.
I love seafood and the steak sounds delicious.
 
Could I take a green salad with mine
please and I prefer mine medium, thank you.” She finished as she looked up at
the waitress.
        
“Same
for me, too, please, ma’am, and we will go with the recommended wine.
 
Could we also have a bottle of sparking
water brought to the table, thank you?” he requested.

        
Turning
back to Emma, he took in a deep breath before replying to her earlier question,
seeming to contemplate telling her something. Exhaling harshly, he said, “I
guess I’ve just never found the right person to settle down with.
 
My father has particular ideas of where
my life should go, being his eldest son and also grand ideas of who I should be
dating and marrying. I’m not interested in the sort of women he wants me to be
with, so I guess it’s better to be the eligible bachelor.”

        
“But
surely you have ‘needs?’” Emma hedged.

        
“Ha.
Yes, we all have ‘needs,’ as you put it, but they can be satisfied without the
need for a relationship and without having to put yourself out there.
 
Surely, you appreciate that. You must be
in a similar position as me if you don’t date.”

        
Emma
started to get uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading.
Just then the waitress arrived with their food saving her further embarrassment.
 
The wine flowed far too easily and they
both enjoyed it as they devoured the delicious food. By the end of the second
course, Emma was full and the various wines had started to have an effect on
her.
 

        
Once
they had finished their meal, Bruce insisted on taking care of the tab.
 
He gently took her elbow and escorted
her to the elevator in the middle of the restaurant that took them to the top
of the ‘Eiffel Tower.’ They stepped out of the acclimatized elevator into the
dry summer heat of the Nevada desert and they were handed a glass of perfectly
chilled champagne. Just as Bruce had promised, they looked out at the view they
were treated to the most stunning sunset. They stood in silence, side by side,
sipping the cool champagne in the balmy evening heat as they watched the last
of the suns rays dipping behind the horizon. As the sun disappeared, the
constant and ostentatious show of lights that made Las Vegas blinked brighter in
the fading light. Each hotel seemed to be adorned with a multitude of flashing
illuminations that mingled to make a riot of color that danced before them.

        
“Come
over here a minute, so you don’t miss the fountains.” Bruce steered Emma to the
other side of the tower and in front of her appeared the amazing show of light
and sound that erupted from the fountains in front of the Bellagio hotel,
situated just across the strip from where they stood.
 
She watched the amazing dancing water
and light show in comfortable silence, soaking in the atmosphere of the city.
She was still just a little bit in awe of just how flamboyant this place was.

        
She
caught Bruce glancing at his watch and just as the fountains finished dancing,
he took her by the elbow again. “We have a schedule to keep to tonight if we
are going to get to our next surprise. Let’s go.” He walked them both over to
the elevator and down once again to the hotel lobby and to the limousine
service. As she took her place in the back with him, his cellphone indicated a
message had arrived.
 
His face dropped
and he excused himself as he shuffled to the other side of the vehicle and
promptly set about writing a message to whoever it was on the other end.

The sudden change in
atmosphere piqued Emma’s curiosity. An array of emotions suddenly crossed
Bruce’s face, but curious as she was, she didn’t want to interrupt him. Something
was clearly wrong, but so questioning him would be too much of an intrusion. To
give him some privacy, she reached into her purse and busied herself by
checking her emails and messages for any major issues from the office.
 
As expected, Jennie had the place pretty
well organized and hadn’t bothered her with much except a brief update of the
day’s comings and goings. The rest of the emails and messages weren’t urgent
and would wait.