Darker Shades of Fear

(Installment 9)

 

 

He found himself standing outside the ornate mansion at the time specified the day before.  The same woman who’d answered the door greeted him wordlessly and allowed him entry.

“Master George is in the billiard room.” She said, brushing past him and disappearing into another room.

Kenny stood, confused and slightly dizzy.  That was awkward.  He surveyed the foyer and shrugged, heading off in search of the billiard room.

He poked around, idly lingering in the halls attempting to locate the one room that eluded him.  He assumed that if he kept moving, he would eventually run into someone who knew where he was supposed to be and direct him.  To his surprise, the house appeared to be vacant.  If he had not known better he would have guess it deserted.  The great halls mimicked his footsteps with a resounding echo.   They had a certain somberness to them.  Undoubtedly composed of grayish marble likely imported from some European nation, their beauty went unnoticed and unappreciated. 

Where he really wanted to go was the room with the piano.  He could neither find it nor an excuse for being there, so it was reluctantly crossed off the list.  He wondered why the man even possessed the instrument in the first place.  He could not play, as Kenny had learned from last night/the morning’s half-heard Q and A.  His wife did not seem the type, and her reaction made a solid case.  Kenny laughed at the idea that the staff would be allowed to even clean the instrument, much less play it.  He shrugged.  He probably owned it for the sake of owning it. 

He finally came upon one of the housekeepers, who lead him to the billiard room.  There he found Klellin seated and waiting, obviously anxious to begin his lessons.  Kenny resisted the overwhelming inclination to roll his eyes and instead shook the man’s hand.

“You’re late.” He observed.

“This house is bigger than the entire fucking city.”

The man chuckled.  “Much cleaner.”  He added.

Oh yes.  This was going to be painful.

“I’ve drawn up a contract; the obligations of the both parties are clearly outlined.  No loopholes, no tricks, just a basic promise on official paper.”

Kenny nodded as Klellin handed him the contract.  He scanned it over, his eyes stopping midway through the second page.

“…termination of services will commence only after employer is satisfied with employee’s progress and deems his services no longer necessary?” He dropped the document to the table between them.

“I see you have a problem.”

“Nice observation.”

“What seems to be the issue?”

“Paragraph eight, heading three, clause six.”

The man fumbled as he gathered up the contract and checked what Kenny was referring to.  He clumsily put his glasses on and his eyes quickly scanned the document.  “Yes, yes... I’m not sure I see the problem.”

Kenny sighed in frustration, “Look a little closer,” He said, “and tell me what you think that clause implies?”

The man was already wavering.  “Well, erm- yes, it means that, uh, you’ll be done here after I’ve learned enough.”

“Allow me to translate this into Laymen’s terms, so you can better understand where I’m coming from, okay George?  Can I call you George?”

The man nervously handed over the document and nodded vigorously.

“Okay, let’s take this slow: ‘termination of services will commence only after employer is satisfied with employee’s progress and deems his services no longer necessary.’  What this means is that I can’t quit for any reason until you say so.  You understand so far?”

He nodded.

“What fucking incentive does this leave me with?  You know something else? Technically, slavery’s been outlawed for quite some time now, and for indentured servitude, I don’t need this job.”

“Yes, of course, I apologize.  We’ll strike the clause from the contract.”

Satisfied, Kenny reclined into the leather chair and caught a glimpse of the man’s wife in the doorway.  He turned his head to face her and smiled.  She’d been watching them.  Once she realized that Kenny had caught on, she quickly turned her head and disappeared from view.  A satisfied grin graced Kenny’s lips as he rested a cigarette between them.

“What?” George inquired in response to Kenny’s devilish grin.

“Oh, nothing.” He lied all too sweetly.

The man shrugged and went back to the contract.  “All right, I think that should cover everything.”

Kenny picked it up and pretended to care as he scribbled his name in his trademark barely legible penmanship.  It looked more like Arabic than English, but he couldn’t have cared less.

George was obviously pleased and signed the document as well.  “Excellent.” He said, shuffling the deck of cards, “Where shall we begin?”

He groaned inwardly.  His wife had better be damn good.

 

An hour and a half of bullshit later, they were thankfully interrupted by the object of Kenny’s ambition.

“Excuse me, boys.” She said, barely crossing the threshold.  She was dressed in an off-white satin robe and not much else.

They both looked up from their cards and focused attention elsewhere.  While her husband seemed to glance through her, Kenny purposely undressed her with sly eyes.  It had definitely gotten her attention, because her gaze shifted from the portly man across the table to his opponent.  She narrowed her eyes in annoyance and glared.

“What is it, love?”

She broke away from the blonde’s eyes and reset her focal point.  “It is your secretary.  It seems that there is a crisis of some sort.” She replied flatly.

George displayed a rehearsed expression of shock and Kenny was never more convinced that he would have the man’s wife in bed tonight.

“What did she say?  Do I have to go to the office?”

“Oh yes.  She said it was very serious.” The Spanish woman replied melodramatically.

“I’m so sorry, love.” he said, rising to his feet, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.  I promise.”  With that, he kissed his wife on the forehead and cast a glance to Kenny.  “I almost forgot.  Kenny, this is my wife, Isabel.”  He turned to her, “Will you please see our guest out?  I must be on my way.”

“Of course, dear.” She replied, in a tone that conveyed that she would do anything but.

“Good, good.” He said, and with that he took his leave.

Kenny offered the same intrusive stare, a slightly evil grin on his lips.  She rolled her eyes and looked across the room, tapping her foot against the floor.  This action only proved that she took notice and urged Kenny on.  After a full two minutes of this, she glanced at him harshly.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” He asked innocently.

She sighed in annoyance.  “Why are you here?”

“Getting paid.”

“Prick.”

“Which one?”

“Both of you!” She replied.

“I don’t think that’s entirely fair,” He replied, “You haven’t even gotten to know me.”

“I already know that you are a friend of my husband and you have a staring problem.”

“I’m not a friend of your husband.  He’s an asshole.  As for the staring… I could say the same for you.” He replied casually.

She laughed, “Me?  When?”

He blew a puff of smoke into the air, “Last night in the study, tonight while we discussed the contract…”

She folded her arms and struggled to formulate a response.

“Why do you let him do this to you?” Kenny asked curiously, grinding the butt of the cigarette into an expensive-looking ashtray.

“I do not understand.” She replied, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” He said, “that your husband is a fucking liar.”

“Congratulations.  That was faster than the rest of his acquaintances.”  She replied, trying to appear unfazed.

“Thank you.” He said, “And you did an excellent job of avoiding the question, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes.  “It does not bother me.”

“Oh.  So he just fucks around and you’re okay with it?”

“As long as I do not have to do it, I do not care.”

Kenny leaned back into his chair.  “Now that’s interesting.”

“What?  You think I could love a man like that?”

“Love is the lie they told us to keep our hearts from dying.  All it did was kill them faster.”  Kenny replied.

She looked at him, her features remarkably softened.  “I do not believe that.”

“You said it yourself.  You could never love a man like him.”

“I never said I could not love anyone else.” She answered softly.

Kenny’s eyes illuminated with understanding.  “It must be lonely for you here.”

“Oh please.”

“Deny it all you want.”

“I do not like you, Kenny.”

“You may not like me, but you want me.”

She laughed.  “You’re insane!”

“Me and the rest of the world.”

“What on Earth would make you think such a thing?”  She asked, crossing her arms.

“You remembered my name.”

“That means nothing!”

He stood and approached the pool table, setting the balls in their respective places in the shape of a triangle.  “It means everything.”

She remained flustered for a few moments, and then decided to change the topic of conversation.  “My husband will be very angry if he finds that you have used his table.” She said.

He thought a moment.  “Would you like to play?” He asked.

She squinted at him, suspicious of his intent.  “What?”

“He couldn’t be angry if we both used it.” He reasoned.  “You are his wife.”

“I cannot play.”

“I’ll teach you.”

“You do not give up, do you?” She asked, conceding.

He smiled, acknowledging the rhetorical question.  He handed her the cue, which she had no idea how to properly hold.  She struggled for a few moments, and promptly grew annoyed.  Kenny wordlessly came up behind her and positioned her hands correctly on the cue with his resting on hers and absolutely no space between their bodies.  It was quite clear that his advance was more than a didactic technique.

“Just aim for the triangle,” He whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

She tried to ignore the signals this sent to her brain and focused everything on the cue and the triangle.  She found this to be extremely difficult as the man behind her kept making subtle moves that she would have assumed accidental had it been anyone else.  She felt her pulse quicken as he breathed deliberately against her neck, close to her ear.  She leaned forward to take a shot and felt him move with her, which did absolutely nothing to strengthen her resolve. 

She managed a solid break but found herself unable to move.  Her body had rooted itself in that spot, unable to ignore his advances any longer.  He seized the opportunity and kissed her neck.  He expected her to protest, but instead she urged him on.  She threw the cue to the floor and turned to face him.  She kissed him hard, almost violently and Kenny wanted it no other way.  He lifted her so she was seated on the pool table and untied the satin belt of her robe.

He knew there was a reason he loved this game.

 

He left the mansion around four in the morning, quite satisfied with himself to say the least.  She was indeed well worth the hour or so of bullshit a week.  It was remarkable how easily she’d conceded.  He’d estimated that it would take at least a week to convince her, but he had neglected the desperation he now recognized as part of her.  It was purely meaningless sex, neither of them having anything but lust for one another.  In fact, the only conversation they’d had was in the billiard room before things got started.  He’d waited until she was asleep to leave, as to not create a pact with a goodbye.  He doubted she would have acknowledged one anyway, which was a good thing.  She wanted nothing more than a fuck buddy and he was happy to oblige.  He could sense her disdain toward him even after they were finished for the night and smiled at the thought as he walked on.

Everything between them was a game.  A primal, animalistic battle of wit and stamina.  It was almost a contest, one that Kenny had won only three out of five times.  He liked the fact that she was just as domineering and headstrong as he was.  Things would most certainly be interesting next week.  If he decided to show up, anyway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Danielle Lovallo