CHAPTER 4: WILLIAM

It was close to seven in the evening, and Rebecca had just finished showering. Her damp hair stuck to her breasts and shoulders as she rummaged through her closet for a towel. Her room was a mess. She finally found a fresh towel alongside a birthday gift that Jean, her best friend, had given her. It was the ultimate in lingerie, with a lace bra that was so sheer that Rebecca wondered why anyone wanted to wear it at all, along with a matching fishnet G-string. Of course, it was meant to be a joke. Laughing, Rebecca towelled her hair dry and slipped into the lingerie for fun. She decided to draft out her findings from this morning and binge watch on Netflix for the rest of the evening in this sexy lingerie.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. She hurried to slip on a bathrobe and then bounced toward the door, half expecting to see the pizza delivery guy. But instead, it was an elderly chauffeur.

“Ms. Grey, I am here to pick you up for a date with Mr. Silverman,” he said.

Rebecca blinked. “A date?”

As if on cue, her phone rang. Rebecca sprinted back across her 40-square-foot SoHo unit and picked up the phone. William Silverman was on the line.

“Becca, I’ll be waiting for you at the Silver Lining.”

With that, the phone went dead. There was no way to reject him now. Rebecca felt a surge of anger. What right did he have to force her to meet him under such short notice? Heck, there was no notice at all! She looked at the chauffeur and wondered what to do. Should she reject the opportunity to meet with the CEO of Silverman Corp... or should she just go with the flow?

“Wait a sec,” Rebecca called to the man at the door, and she hurried to her closet and slipped into a pair of jeans and a pale green blouse. She pulled her curly hair into a messy bun and quickly tossed her phone and camera into her sling bag before slipping on her favourite pair of Adidas sneakers. With a quick glance in the mirror, she headed toward the door. But just as she was about to leave, she tripped and fell.

“Damn it,” she grimaced, as she bent down to stuff her spilt belongings back into her bag.

In her rush, she didn’t notice that her Ventolin inhaler had rolled to the corner of the room. Taking one last deep breath, she stood up, smacked her lips, and opened her door to smile at the chauffeur who had been patiently waiting outside.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

WILLIAM

William stood at the deck of the Silver Lining as the remaining rays of sun dipped beneath the ocean. He took a sip from his Richebourg Grand Cru and turned his gaze to the oncoming Bugatti Veyron. It screeched to a halt, and William’s chauffeur, Tony, climbed out of the car, strode to the passenger side, and opened the door. William had to give credit to Tony: the old man could still give drifters a run for their money in his old age. Heck, Tony could drive better than William himself.

As he stood high above them on his anchored yacht, William could see Rebecca Grey climb out of the passenger seat. The wind blew her hair, causing her messy updo to drop and her curly hair came cascading down. She tried to tie her hair back again but gave up halfway through and shoved the hair tie into her bag.

Tony motioned toward William, and Rebecca looked up at him at last. Their eyes locked, and William inhaled sharply. She was beautiful: not in a modelesque way but in a raw, innocent kind of way. It made William feel protective of her. She waved, and he waved back, signalling for her to join him on the yacht.

He saw Rebecca look back at Tony, who bid her farewell. She must have thought they would be joined by Tony, but William wanted to spend some time alone with her, away from all the interruptions that had transpired this morning.

William leaned over the yacht’s railing to watch Rebecca walking up the plank. He stretched out his arm to help her up the final steps, noting how fresh she smelt. Her curly hair was still damp, leaving wet marks on her blouse.

“William,” she said with a nod

“Becca.”

“This is an extremely impromptu interview. I was under the impression that you’d make a formal request to continue our meeting from this morning,” Rebecca fired away, as soon as she steadied herself on the bobbing yacht.

William smiled. It didn’t take much to annoy this woman, but he liked pushing her buttons. “Don’t you like spontaneity?”

“Not when I have to come out to the middle of nowhere,” she grumbled, taking out her phone. William placed a hand on hers and shook his head.

“Let’s really go to the middle of nowhere. Then, you can conduct the interview.”

With that, William handed her his drink, walked to the helm of the yacht, and turned on the engine. A young deckhand helped remove the anchor and gave William a nod before leaving the yacht and removing the plank. The engine revved, and William expertly steered the yacht away from the dock, heading out to sea.

A good fifteen minutes later found them sheltered in a cove, with the moon peeking out of the clouds. William stopped the engine, dropped anchor, and headed down to where Rebecca stood next to the railing. Her back was facing him, and she was admiring the moon.

“It’s beautiful,” she gushed. The wind blew at her hair again, and she rubbed her palms together. 

“As are you.”

“Oh, well, you’re beautiful, too. In a manly way, I mean,” she babbled, obviously unsure of how to react to his compliment.

“It’s windy here. Come inside.”

William turned and walked into the brightly lit cabin, and Rebecca followed behind him. The cabin had a simple but mod kitchen with a sleek, black granite top that housed a stove and basin. A mini-fridge was tucked neatly underneath the bar top, and a long leather sofa was installed next to it. William placed the wine on the bar top and plonked himself onto the sofa. He loosened the tie that he’d been wearing since morning and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, revealing a very well-built chest.

Rebecca stood at the doorway, looking uncomfortably shy. William patted at the space next to him, and she slowly walked over. She was nervous, and he could sense it.

“I don’t bite, Becca. You may start your interview now,” William said as he closed his eyes and leaned his head on the back of the sofa.