Chasing Beautiful (Chasing Series #1) (29 page)

Love.

The man did speak five languages
, fluently.

We’ve been seeing each other daily. Today’s Thursday and he’ll be leaving again Sunday. Long distance with Blake is such a bummer. And since he’s leaving soon, I
’ve decided to surprise him at one of the corporate offices in South Bank.

The idea came when I was walking out of my last class of the day. It was only three in the afternoon and I didn’t feel like going home early
so I immediately hailed a passing cab. The high-rise glass building was magnificent.

I eyed the automatic glass door wearily.
I wasn’t exactly dressed appropriately for office visits. It was nearing the end of August and the weather’s been chilly for the last few days. But today, the weather greeted me with warm rays of sunshine and I succumbed to the impulse of wearing this outfit. I was wearing a well-worn looking short denim skirt, white cami and dark brown cowboy boots with my hair down, finishing my look—a look of a college student no doubt
. Oh well, whatever. I want to see him; who cares what people think? 
I didn’t wear much make-up today. Well, I don’t usually do much when I go to school. All I need is tinted moisturizer, a dab of gloss and a few swipes of mascara.

Should I call him first? Maybe not
.
I wanted to surprise him. I was sure he was going be delighted to see me. Blake’s been insatiable ever since he landed Saturday from New York.

Feeling optimistic
, I strolled to the entrance. It was all glass and black marble tiles with a touch of chrome around the bank of elevators at the far-end of the building. I stopped and greeted one of the polished pretty receptionists—there were six of them. “Hello, I’m here to see Blake Knightly. Can you direct me to his office?” She stopped typing on her white apple computer and glanced in my direction. The auburn hair, blue-eyed woman gave me a cold stare and mocked my outfit with her eyes. She almost laughed at me, but managed to stifle it.
Catty much?

“And
who
might you be? Do you have an appointment?” Her condescending attitude continued.

“I’m Sienna Richards. I don’t have an appointment. This was a spur of the moment kind
of thing. I’m one of his close friends.”

“
Sure you are
. Give me a minute.” With a few clicks, she spoke into her tiny headpiece and started typing. After a couple of minutes (but what felt like forever), she handed me a keycard pass with my name and pointed to the set of elevators. She instructed me to swipe the keycard on the scanner and it would take me to Blake’s floor.

Her forced smile made me leave the reception area without even saying thanks. She certainly didn’t deserve one.
Is that how they receive guests here? It’s pretty scary.
It was worse than going to the dentist.

I was about to get inside one of the elevators when a woman stopped
and faced me with a hateful smirk. I froze. It was the woman from the text message. The picture hadn’t done her beauty justice. She was even more striking in person.

“Yes?”
Here I was, hoping my frosty attitude would send her away.

“You should stop this chasing that you’re doing,
querida
. You will get hurt and you seem like a nice, pretty little girl,” her Spanish accent evident.

“I’m not chasing anyone. I’m here to see my boyfriend. So, if you please,
could you move out of my fucking way,
bruha!
”
Hag.

The woman
laughed like she had all the time in her little, whimsical world. She even had the gall to look amused.

She
was a bitch with a capital B.

“You are
a little spitfire, aren’t you? No wonder my dear Blake can’t get enough. He always loves it rough, wouldn’t you say? But he won’t be yours for long,” her wide bitchy smile in place. “In less than four months, he’ll be officially engaged my dear.”
Engaged? Blake? No, it can’t be.
This woman was bluffing and plotting her way because she wants Blake all to herself.

“Engaged to whom,
you?
Right, like I would believe anything that comes out of that salacious, poisonous mouth of yours.”
What a lowlife. Doesn’t she have anything else to do besides spewing lies and pestering others?

She laughed again in her stupid
, annoying laugh. I was seriously tempted to punch the twilights out of her, but I didn’t want to make a scene.

The women looked thoughtful
for a moment before she spat her venom at me. “How I wish it was me. Papa and mama love him. The lucky lady is Camilla Clayworth. He’s been engaged since he was eighteen. He didn’t tell you, did he? Well, that’s too bad. Well, it was great to meet you, good luck!” She sauntered past me like she was up for Miss Universe.
Is it true? Is Blake really engaged? He never said anything. Well, duh. Start moving and ask the man himself.

I did as she instructed and scanned the keycard with
a shaky hand and the elevator came to life. Floor after floor I went up. The light indicator on the panel was finally on the last floor before the ‘P.’ I was assuming that it stood for penthouse.

With
a silent swoosh of the elevator doors I stepped out onto the carpeted floor. There was another model-type, blonde receptionist behind a desk.
Do all the receptionists in this building look like they just stepped out of Vogue? What kind of a discriminatory workplace is this? A very pretty one. It’s a no brainer why men in suits gawk and pant with all these hot women around all day at work wearing tight-fitting suits. It was no wonder lawsuits are quite common in this arena.

“Ms. Richards? I’m Larissa. Why don’t you take a seat while I page Luke? He should be here shortly to get you.”

Murmuring my thanks, I left to go sit in one of the lounge chairs. I was surprised she wasn’t hostile like the other hellcat in the lobby. Frankly, I was ready for another battle.
And I might get my wish if this farcical innuendo turns out to be true.
I wasn’t naïve enough to think that arranged marriages were abolished back in the medieval period. These things are quite common with the blue-blooded, upper-crust society. And Blake is one of them. I was sure his lineage could be traced as far back as before Christ.

Luke came to
greet me before my butt had time to warm the seat cushion. He genuinely seemed happy to see me, but his mood didn’t rub off on me. I was polite, but obviously it was strained. Who wouldn’t be given the situation?

“He’s just finishing up a call but he should be done soon.” He opened a dark cherry oak door and I thanked him graciously.

Blake’s office overlooked the River Thames and his executive black desk sat right in the middle of the room. He was on a call but looked up when I entered and gave me one of his signature dashing smiles. I lamely waved back and strolled over to the far right floor-to-ceiling glass window and gloomily stared at the view below me. I was nervous and I had no idea how to bring the subject up. He looked happy to see me.

If he
is engaged…then I have to walk away. The big question is, can I leave him?
Blake had become my life. I lived and breathed him. My love for him did not amount to the kind I felt for Kyle. Blake consumed me, my soul.

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts
that I didn’t hear him coming. I was jolted back into reality when I felt his arms wrap around my waist. He kissed and nuzzled my neck before speaking. “When you walked through the door, I was just thinking about you. It’s a good thing we read each other’s minds so well.”

Tilting my head so
he could kiss me, I sighed with a heavy heart when our lips made contact. I kissed him like it was the last time. I kissed with my heart.

“Babe, can we talk?”
My stern voice broke the spell.

“That sounds ominous. Why don’t we go
and sit, shall we?” he guided me towards the other section of the room where there was a sectional couch and a bar of refreshments. Neither of us sat on it. I stood behind one of the lounge chairs, anxious. He leaned against the bar and folded his arms.

“What is it? You’re being odd.”

“Are you—by any chance—engaged?” He froze in shock. His face horrified.
Oh, fuck!

“Where did you get this information?”

“From a relevant source—be honest with me—Is. It. True?”

He exhaled a defeated sigh.
He weaved a hand through his hair and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

“A day before I turned eighteen, my grandfather summoned me
to his study. He told me that the Clayworth’s wanted me to marry their daughter, Camilla. When he broke the news, I wasn’t at all surprised. The Clayworth’s were very good friends with my parents. I grew up with Camilla and it was always spoken between our families that they wished it when the time came. Camilla’s lovely and I didn’t have any qualms about being married to her, so I said yes with one condition. The condition was for them to wait until I was at the age of twenty-five. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way—I’m so very sorry.”

“Have you had sex with her?”

“She lost her virginity to me and on occasion, we would meet up and go somewhere for vacation. It’s been our tradition ever since the agreement—it was our way of getting to know each other.”

“You weren’t planning to tell me huh? I’m just your little plaything on the side until you get married.
I’m a quick fuck for you. I get it. I see everything clearly now.”

He rushed to my side and tried to hold my hand, but I bunched them together until they were white—I c
ouldn’t stand to be touched by him. “No Sienna, it wasn’t like that at all. I wanted you from the first moment. You’ve been my friend—don’t do this. I’ll fix it. I’ll talk to the Clayworth’s.”

“You are a liar. One of the things I asked of you is your honesty and yet from the very beginning you were lying. How many women have you fucked while
being with me? God! I’m so stupid!”

“I haven’t had anyone, except for you.”

“Right, like I should believe what comes out of those lying lips? Forget you. I’m done. Don’t contact me because I’m through with you.”

I was about to reach
for the door when he held me down with his arms, wrapping my body like steel. “I’m sorry—I’ll figure a way out—don’t leave. I love you. I’ve been in love with you. Don’t do this to us.”

I fought
against his hold and he finally released me.

“
How fucking dare you!
You love me?
This is how you show you love someone?” my tears started falling freely. “The pain I feel right now—it’s a hundred times worse than what Kyle ever did to me. This is your
love?
Well, I DO NOT WANT IT! Give it to your fiancée
.
I’m sure she’ll gladly take it, you lying sack of shit! I regret the day I let you in my life,” with that, I left and ran to the elevator.

My heart was beating frantically
.

I didn’t feel relieved until I was in the
safety of a cab.

I was still in a
state of shock. The whole scene flashed vividly in my mind. I ordered the driver to take me to a place where I could find some solace. I didn’t want to be bothered with questions at home from Lucy.

I paid the cab
driver and entered the house with my key. I was on autopilot as I headed for the stairs. When I reached the top, I saw Kyle come out of his bedroom. His huge grin turned into a questioning frown as he got closer. “Sienna, what’s wrong? What happened?” My knees buckled and Kyle caught me before I landed on the wooden floor.

“He’s engaged Kyle. I’
ve fallen in love with a guy who’s promised to someone else.” I started to laugh hysterically at the situation. I reluctantly followed my heart and look where that left me. The reality of not having Blake in my life—never waking up next to him and seeing him smile lovingly at me, was gone. All gone and soon he’ll be doing all those things with the wretched Camilla.

That
image hit me quite literally. I howled from the pain. I cried—like how I cried when I found out my dad had died.

Kyle held me like that until I stopped howling from my pain and gently carried me to his bed
, covering my body with a comforter. He didn’t even bother taking my shoes off. He placed himself on top of the comforter and held me as I cried myself into unconsciousness.

I woke up feeling like I
had drowned and been brought back to life. I checked the clock on the side table, five thirty-six a.m. I felt Kyle still holding me. Bless him, he never asked about what happened. It was always like that with him. I like how he never asks and always waits for me to initiate it.

I was just about to slide off the bed when he stirred. “Hey, why don’t you wash up and I’ll make some breakfast? You didn’t eat last night. You have to eat something.”