Temptation (The Temptation Series) (6 page)

I walked past the sofas and to the
balcony Bi-fold glass doors. I sneaked a peek outside, it was enormous, fully
equipped with a pool, spa, outdoor gym and it continued right around the
building. Turning back to face the entrance I look up, the ceiling was
approximately three levels high with a glorious glass spiralling chandelier.
There was a staircase on the wall near the entrance which took you to the second
floor. I'm assuming that is where his bedroom is, butterflies started churning
in my stomach just from thinking about his bedroom and more importantly his
bed.
Get your head out of the
gutter, Alexis!

"Just round here to the left
is the kitchen, Bryce loves his food and cooks when he gets a chance."

"He cooks, are you serious?
All the money in the world and the man cooks."
 
He has just escalated from sexy,
rock god, billionaire, boss man to
 
perfect
,
sexy, rock god, billionaire,
boss man.
 
The kitchen was to
die for, black marble bench tops that spanned the length of my entire house,
well
maybe not quite.
There were stainless steel appliances and sleek glossy
white cupboards, what stood out the most was a single photo of Bryce and
Lucinda stuck to the fridge, it made me smile, it was such a sweet sentiment

"A kitchen is not quite a kitchen
without something stuck to the fridge, that's a lovely photo of you both."

"Pfft, I look terrible, I had
bad morning sickness that day, Bryce took me down to St Kilda beach to get some
fresh air, then pulls out the iPhone and takes a selfie of us. He seems to like
it though, that or he is deliberately tormenting me by having it on his
fridge." She screwed up her face as she walked past the fridge and back into
the living area. We started to climb the stairs, she is still quite agile for
seven and-a-bit months pregnant. I was pretty much couch bound at that stage
with Nate, with Charlotte I was a bit better, but not like this.

"The second floor is made up
of bedrooms." She opened a door.

"This is my room for when I
stay over, I live in Richmond with my partner Nic." The room was very
spacious and feminine, with a pale pink bed spread, white sheer curtains and
decorative cushions, there was a brand new cot in the corner of the room with a
blue stuffed dog in it. I turned to Lucinda.

"You're having a boy?"

"Yes we are." She was
beaming, and on cue gently rubbed her belly.

"That's wonderful." I
couldn't help but think of Nate, he was my very special little man and I adored
him completely.

We moved along, there were two
other guest rooms and at the very end of the hall was Bryce's room. I almost
felt intrusive as we entered his private space, his master king bed was in the
middle of the room and in front of a feature wall. The ensuite was hidden
behind that feature wall and it was huge. The shower was big enough to fit a
family of four and the spa was deep enough to disappear in completely, he
really did have superb taste in décor. I noticed his after shave on the vanity
next to the sink, Jean Paul Gautier Le Male, one of my favourites, I loved
aftershave and perfume, it was my secret fetish, I think I owned at least forty
bottles myself.

To my delight I could not see any
evidence of a Mrs Clark, or a soon to be Mrs Clark, there were no women's
perfume or toiletries, nor did I see any photos of him with a significant
other. Of course this did not rule out that he could very well be a ladies man
and have no intention of tying himself down to anybody. I plucked up the nerve
to ask Lucinda, after all this tour was simply a means to get to know the real
Bryce.

"Is there a Mrs Bryce?"
I tried to sound as professional as possible and not the slightest bit
interested either way, other than for factual gain.

"No, Bryce is a single as
they come, at first I thought he was afraid of sharing what he has and himself
for that matter, you know, afraid of the whole commitment thing. That or he was
simply too selfish for a relationship, but I've come to realise in recent years
that he just hasn't been tempted yet, hasn't found the right person to whole
heartedly give himself too and I think that is what he is waiting for. My
brother doesn't do things by halves as you can see, if he sees something he
wants, he goes for it and gets it, professionally and personally."

I deliberated what she had said as
we left his room. He was a very powerful man, money means power and he had a
lot of it. We reached the staircase.

"You'd think he'd have an
elevator in here, how are you coping with these stairs?"

"I'm fine and he does. It's
his personal elevator; it starts at his private basement and accesses every
floor, every level in his private residence, the Helipad and the Observatory."

"Observatory?"
 
Next I'll find out he has his own
personal Zoo!

"Bryce dabbles in astronomy;
it really is magical on the perfect night."

Nate would love the Observatory,
he is mad for planets, stars and more importantly Star Wars! I'd been meaning to
take him to the Observatory at Scienceworks, but had never gotten around to it.

We reached the lower level again
and Lucinda opened the doors to the balcony, it was a stunning day and it
seemed a shame this spectacular outdoor space was unoccupied. I could very
easily kick off my pumps and take refuge on one of those comfortable looking
sun lounges. As we walked past various things Lucinda pointed them out.

"Pool, Gym and just around
this corner is the Helipad." The Helipad was not empty, placed beautifully
on the large white painted letter H was a black Helicopter with R44 printed on
it and in gold lettering 'Clark Incorporated'.

"This is the company
Helicopter, it is mainly used for scenic flights and the transportation of VIP
guests, Bryce takes it out every now and again too. All flight requests need to
be approved by him, Abigail will email you the request forms when a VIP is
scheduled and you will need to get him to sign them off."

"Sounds easy enough, but
backtrack a couple of steps, you said Bryce takes it out, do you mean he
actually flies it himself?"

"Yes, he is a fully qualified
Helicopter Pilot."

"Is there anything your brother
can't do?"

"Yes, sing!" I laughed

"Nobody is perfect."
 
But he was close to it
.

We sat on the balcony for the rest
of the afternoon and between answering her mobile on and off, Lucinda filled me
in on what will be required of me. Basically it was whatever Bryce asked for,
if he needed room service; order it. If he needed house-keeping; organise it,
schedule meetings, book flights and accompany him to events and appointments if
required.

We also got to know each other a
lot better. Lucy, as I was now told to call her, was a little younger than me.
She was 32 and lived in Richmond with her partner Nic, who was actually a Nicole,
they had been together for 8 years and had been part of an IVF program for a
year, they were over the moon in love. It was clear Lucy idolised Nicole, who
had rescued her from a very dark period in her life. Bryce and Lucy were two of
three children to Stephanie and Lindsay Clark who tragically died in a car
accident with their youngest son Lauchie when Bryce was 19, Lauchie was only
11. Bryce inherited Clark Incorporated from his father who had a small chain of
hotels in Melbourne and Sydney. Lucy inherited her parents Toorak mansion but
could not bring herself to remain living there so sold it and bought a couple
of smaller properties around Melbourne, she also drank and smoked a lot of her
inheritance away. Lucy had sunk into a huge hole of depression and anger after
her parents and brother passed, Bryce on the other hand had been determined to
make the most of his life and innovatively, expanded and changed the direction
of Clark Incorporated into the multi-billion dollar company it was today. Their
cousin Gareth was the son of Lindsay's brother Charles, Charles had had a love
hate relationship with his brother. According to Lucy he was very jealous of
his brother's money and achievements, when Lindsay died and passed the company
to Bryce, Charles was furious and very bitter towards Bryce; their relationship
is still on thin ice. Bryce and Gareth however were close, hence Gareth being
in the position of Vice President.

"I'm so sorry for the passing
of your parents especially at such a young age, that must have been
unbelievably hard?"

"It was, I hated the world
and everyone in it and I hated the fact that my Uncle Charles became my
guardian, not that he had any control over me whatsoever. Bryce had objected to
the guardianship, he fought it but as he was only 19, he wasn't successful.
Bryce did everything he could to keep me from getting into trouble, but I was
selfish and made his life hell. I didn't realise at the time that my actions
were causing him more pain and that was adding to him not being able to grieve
his own loss. I think what also assisted my rebelling and anger was the fact I
was subconsciously dealing with my own sexuality." She twisted a ring on
her wedding finger.

"I met Nic in a bar, she was
like a ray of sunshine, I'd been in the dark for months and she was the first
thing that made me smile after Mum, Dad and Lauchie's death. I was a mess,
broken and she, well, she repaired me." It was beautiful seeing how much
she loved Nic.

"I'm so glad you found your
Princess Charming." I smiled coyly at her. She laughed.

"That she is.”

"I'm so glad she found her as
well." Bryce was leaning against the folding door, he walked out and sat
next to Lucy. I felt like we had been busted.

"So what has my dear sister
been revealing to you?" He gave Lucy a gentle nudge.

"Nothing, nothing at
all." I reminded myself of Nate when he'd been busted playing his Play
Station after it had been banned.

"Excuse me for a minute, the
toilet calls again!" Lucy got up and waddled away. My heart quickened as I
met Bryce's eye line. He was 'smirking' at me, I looked away.

"Your place is just breath
taking, Mr Clark, sorry I mean Bryce." He stood up and wandered over to
the glass balustrade.

"Do you like heights
Alexis?"

"They are fine, when I have
solid ground under my feet." I got up slowly and hesitantly met him at the
Balustrade, my stomach dropped to my feet and I felt a little light headed. I
stepped back, Bryce grabbed my arms and placed them back on the railing.

"It helps if you don't look
straight down, start by looking out directly ahead.” He stood behind me and
pointed to the Rialto.

“Then move down to something a bit
lower, then lower again until you are looking at the ground." He was right
it wasn't so gut wrenching once you allowed yourself some time to adjust. I
understood why he lived up here, you felt like you were on top of the world and
looking down upon it.

"So Ms Summers,"

"It's Mrs, Mr Clark."

"So Mrs Summers, Na doesn't
have the same ring to it." He turned to me and 'smirked'.

You cheeky bastard

"Have you thought of a
figure, for your salary?" He crossed his arms.

Crap,
I hadn't even given it a thought, I looked down and
noticed the time on my watch, it was passed 6pm.
 
Great that's my cue to leave.
 
Right I can play his game too.
I stepped back, turned and started to walk inside, I called back.

"I don't think you can afford
me."

CHAPTER SIX

The next couple of days went
by quite fast, I’d been here for a week already, Lucy was a great teacher and I
loved hanging out with her. The job so far was quite easy really, the C.A.’s
handle his Room Service and House-Keeping pretty much and apart from politely
meeting and greeting his appointments, there really hasn’t been much more to
it. If it weren’t for the fantastic perve, the electrifying chemistry between
us and the ‘smirks’ he throws me countless times a day it would be the most
laid back job ever! Maybe this was just the calm before the storm?

Bryce hadn’t talked to me
about my salary figure since I so mischievously told him he probably couldn’t
afford me. Truth is, for him I was of no value, I’d happily perve and flirt
with him for free, not sure my family would appreciate that idea though,
especially my husband. Although, Rick was a pretty good flirt himself, so technically
we are sort of even. Rick had asked me what my new salary was going to be, all
I could tell him was a bit more, he wasn’t happy that I hadn’t negotiated
‘properly’. At the end of the day I didn’t return to work for the money, yeah
the money is definitely a big help towards bills and for extra spending. I did
want to be well and truly compensated for the time I was giving up with my
children, but the main reason for returning to work was for my social life, I
needed to get out of the house and amongst other adults in a working
environment; I needed this for my sanity.

Lucy wasn’t in yet and Bryce
was at the Self Defence Class he instructs for hotel guests, he must be a guru
in Martial Arts as well; I wouldn’t put it past him.