The Cartel

Emma sits on a bench and looks out over the ocean. She is on her annual leave and she’s relieved to be away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. She left her cellphone in the apartment because her father is bothering her to much. Isn’t the idea of ​​a holiday, to get away from it all? He keeps sending her messages that she must not put his family name to shame while she is on holiday. He thinks it will do a lot of harm to the business’ name if his daughter had to appear on the front pages of the newspapers.

All the people in his social circles will see it and then his reputation will be ruined. Not that Emma ever did anything shameful for her face to appear on the front page of the newspapers. That is her brother’s job. He hangs out in the nightclubs, get drunk and then get into trouble. The next morning his shenanigens are captured on the front page of all the newspapers.

Like the other day when he ended up in a fountain of one of the prestigious hotels in Sandton with his newly imported Bentley. Their father was beyond himself with rage. He let Tim sleep in jail that night otherwise he would have killed him himself. Needless to say, it was indeed published in every gossip magazine on the market.

Emma is in her own world and doesn’t immediately see the man who comes and stand a small distance from her. He is eating an ice cream as he looks out over the ocean. Suddenly there is a bee that wants to come and sit on his nose. He swings his hand through the air to chase the bee away but in the process knock the ice cream out of his hand. It flies through the air and lands nicely on Emma’s chest. She gets startled by the sudden coldness of the ice cream on her chest. She can feel how it begins to melt and starts running in between her breasts. She tries to get the ice cream off her chest. Immediately the man is by her side and without thinking he tries to get it off as well and sweeps the ice cream even further in between her breasts.

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean for the ice cream to land on you. The bee almost stung me on my nose and when I chased it away I accidently hit the ice cream with my hand. I’m really sorry.”

Emma is furious.

“Keep your hands off me! I’ll wipe the ice cream off myself!”

When she looks up, she looks into a pair of blue eyes that is almost the same colour as the sky. The man immediately remains silent as he looks into Emma’s eyes. For a second or two they stare into each other’s eyes, fascinated by the electric waves that flow through both of them.

Emma manages to look past the eyes to the rest of the face. The man in front of her looks like a French nobleman as described in the storybook she is currently reading. He has brown hair tied in a ponytail behind his neck. He has a noble nose, pertinent but not too big. He has sensual lips that ask to be kissed. His chin is square but fits his face, with a dimple in the middle.

Then her eyes move to the rest of his body. She can’t help herself, because she has to see if this man turns out to be the hero in her storybook. He has broad shoulders and his nicely shaped chest is visible through the tight fitting t-shirt he is wearing. He has strong arms that any woman will love to feel around her and be safe in his embrace. His forearms are muscular and he has the most beautiful strong hands. Hands that can explore her body if they want to. He has a thin waist with shorts that sit fairly low around his hips. He has leg muscles that look like he can be a cyclist or athlete. What an image of a man he is! The only thing that has to finish this picture is the French tabbert, a sword in his hand with a hat on his head. When Emma looks up, Stiaan is looking at her with one eyebrow raised. A slight blush creeps over Emma’s cheeks. How can she stare at this stranger so openly?

“I’m really sorry” Stiaan says again with a smile on his face.

“It’s all right, I’ll wash it off at my apartment” Emma says embarrassed and gets up.

Just as she turns around to walk away one of those beautiful hands takes her by the arm.

“Wait. My name is Stiaan. Will you have dinner with me tonight to make up for this ice cream mess?” Stiaan asks softly and looks deep into Emma’s green eyes.

Emma freezes in her tracks because when he touch her arm it feels like a thousand volts is running through her body and out by her toes. She looks up and their eyes meet again.

“Uh, Emma, ​​my name is Emma” she repeats herself as she falls over her tongue.

She knows she must be wary of the journalists who pursue them but how can she say no to this handsome man?

“It will be nice, thanks” Emma says and Stiaan let go of her arm but slides his finger down her arm.

To Emma it feels like every nerve end in her body is alive. Never before did she experience this electric effect before. It’s weird because she’s a pale girl and no man has ever made such an intimate gesture towards her. A small voice in her head warns her not to fall into this stranger’s trap, but how can a girl say no to a man who looks like the hero from a storybook?

“Can we meet here again at about seven o’clock tonight?”

“Yes, at seven o’clock then” Emma replies almost too soon and looks up into his blue eyes for the last time before she walk away.

After a few minutes she peers over her shoulder to see if he is still standing there and catch him staring after her. Quickly she looks in front of her again and calmly walks to her apartment as she tries to calm her heartbeat. Emma wonders if this meeting was coincidental or planned. She didn’t recognize this man at all. She will have to be careful that he doesn’t find out who she really is.

Stiaan looks at Emma. He doesn’t know what happened here just now, but something stirred in him. He doesn’t know what it can be, but it scares him. He had previous relationships before but no woman ever had such an effect on him. He sees her peeking over her shoulder and gets butterflies in his stomach. He will have to freshen up if he wants to impress this beautiful lady. He quickly calls the Italian restaurant on the seafront to book them a table. Fortunately, this girl didn’t recognize him. He conducts most of his business overseas and only has a satellite office here in South Africa.

It’s seven o’clock and Emma is standing by the bench where the ice cream accident took place earlier that afternoon. She took a shower and washed all the sticky ice cream off her chest with a smile on her face. Actually, when she looks back at the moment, it’s quite funny. She doesn’t see Stiaan yet. She watches as the last rays of the sun reflect over the ocean before it disappears over the horizon. All of a sudden she feels her hair on her neck stand up. She stiffens. It feels like someone is watching her. Carefully she looks over her shoulder. There is no one in sight. Surely she is imagining things. Then she feels an electric wave wash over her and knows that Stiaan has to be near her.

“Good evening beautiful lady, are you on your own?” Stiaan asks playfully behind her.

She smells his aftershave and it makes her light-headed.

“It depends on what your plans are with me” she teases back.

When she turns around, Stiaan is standing behind her, neatly dressed with a red rose in his hand.

“This rose is especially for you” Stiaan says and makes a slight bow.

.

“Thank you very much” Emma says with a blush on her cheeks.

Stiaan holds out his arm for her and she put her arm through his. Together they walk to the restaurant on the beachfront. They walk past all the other restaurants to the farthest point to the restaurant with the most beautiful view. Emma is impressed. She didn’t think he will take her to such an expensive restaurant tonight. When she sometimes accompanies her father on business tirps they eat at all these expensive restaurants. This is one of them. They are taken to their table and it is quite hidden from the rest of the restaurant. Emma prefers it that way. She doesn’t want to be seen by the wrong people.

“Can I order us some wine?”

“It will be nice thank you.”

Neither of them wants the other one to know who they really are. If this is going to be a holiday romance, then it must stay here when they return home. The relationship will probably never go any further in the future. Isn’t that how a holiday romance works? Emma can’t see why not. She hasn’t been in a relationship for a long time so she can enjoy a man’s company for a change. She is not promised to anyone.

“What do you do for a living Stiaan?” Emma asks after the waiter poured the wine and they are looking at the menus.

“My main business is in communication devices” he answers vaguely.

“And you?”

“I’m a lawyer who handles a large company’s legal cases. So do you travel overseas a lot?”

“Most of the time I am in Switzerland where our head office is located. Occasionally I come to South Africa to oversee the operations here.”

They enjoy their meal and talk about everyday things. After enjoying dessert, Stiaan asks for the bill. He pays the bill and they leave the restaurant.

There is a cool breeze blowing in from over the ocean and Emma shiver. Stiaan takes his jacket off and hangs it around Emma’s shoulders. Emma smells his aftershave on his jacket. He offers his arm to her again and they walk back along the beach.

“Where do you stay Emma?”

“I’m in that third block of flats.”

“I’ll walk with you to your front door to make sure you’re safe.”

It’s a beautiful evening and the stars are shining brightly. When they get to the entrance of the apartments, against her better judgment Emma asks “Would you like to come in for coffee?”

Stiaan thinks about it for a second. The temptation is getting bigger to grab this girl and kiss her. He wonders if he will be able to control his body once he has this girl to himself. He looks down into her green eyes and without thinking he says yes. As they wait for the elevator, Emma gets a feeling that someone is watching them again. When they get into the elevator, Emma looks back at the entrance of the building. She can’t see anyone. To Stiaan’s surprise, the elevator goes up to the top floor where the luxury penthouse is located. This floor is reserved exclusively for the richest of people.

Who is this girl really, he wonders. The unit has only the best of everything in it. Something he’s used to, but doesn’t want her to know it. Emma walks to the kitchen and turns the coffee machine on. When she turns around, Stiaan is standing right behind her. Their eyes meet and like a magnet they get drawn to each other and end up in each other’s arms. Stiaan kisses Emma gently, but she deepens the kiss immediately. It’s like the rest of the world doesn’t matter at that moment. There are sparks between the two of them.

Stiaan kisses Emma passionately and she leans into his body. The coffee machine makes a funny sound and pulls them back to reality. Something went wrong and the entire work surface is suddenly full of water. Emma forgot to take the lid off so that the water can run through the filter. She grabs a dishcloth and tries to stop the water, but it run down onto the floor. Her legs feels like jelly and when she steps forward too fast, she slips on the wet floor. Fortunately Stiaan is close to her and catches her just before she lands on the floor.

“Are you okay, did you get hurt?” he asks anxiously.

Emma gets on her feet and looks away from him. She knows that if she looks into his eyes again, she will completely lose control over her body.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

She wipes the water off the counter and dries the floor. Then she starts the coffee machine again. Meanwhile, Stiaan wanders to the large window and see the breathtaking view over the ocean and part of the city. He tries to calm his body but his erection is pressing painfully against his pants. He hopes if he stands here long enough his hormones will calm down. After a few minutes, Emma hands him a cup of coffee and they sit down on the couch in front of the window. There is a silence between them. It is somewhat uncomfortable, because what just happened in the kitchen caught them both off guard. The rest of the evening they talk about their childhood and get to know each other better. Much later, Stiaan gets up to go home. He is struggling too much to control himself. He will have to take a cold shower when he gets home. Emma accompanies him to the elevator and he gives her a light kiss on the forehead.

“Will I see you again tomorrow?” he asks as he looks deep into Emma’s eyes.

“Yes definitely” Emma replies without hesitation.

“All right then, I will meet you at the bench again tomorrow morning” Stiaan says and slides his finger over Emma’s cheek.

It’s feels like an electric cord is being pulled over her face, as the sparks run through her body.

“Night Stiaan” Emma says softly and watch as the elevator doors close behind him.

With legs that feel like jelly again she walks to the nearest chair and sit down. She rubs her finger lightly over her lips and wonders what tomorrow will bring. Satisfied she goes to bed.