Taming Precious Sinclair (9 page)

Hamilton said...

“Keep the machine running while I’m away Audrey. And keep me informed.”

“Will do.” Audrey said, then she left the plane.

Precious could hear the sound of Hamilton’s foot falls as he approached her.

“Settled in?” With two words; his voice veiled her like soft downy velvet. A sound so comforting, it made her body unwind, relaxing into the curve of her seat. Precious cleared her throat, then she said...

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He buckled in, taking the seat across from her. She noticed that he carried a laptop. He lay the computer on his lap, powering it up once he was seated. Hamilton’s fingers tapped across the keys. Man, she wished she had something to occupy her time. Precious fixed her gaze on the headrest attached to the seat in front of her, then she said...

“Could you please thank your assistant for me.”

Hamilton lifted his eyes. His brows furrowed, because he was confident her thanks had already been conveyed. Precious gestured her head to the rear of the plane.

“The suitcase. She didn’t forget anything. Clothes, undergarments, shoes, toiletries... It’s all there. Could you thank her for me?”

He smiled, saying...

“Audrey’s the best. Best assistant I’ve ever had.”

“But you will thank her...won’t you?”

He frowned, not sure where this insistence was coming from, but he nodded.

“Sure Precious... I’ll let her know that you appreciate her thoroughness.”

“Thanks Hamilton. That means a lot to me.”

Precious didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings. Any woman in Audrey’s position would comprehend her gratitude. By telling Audrey that she appreciates all that she did; in fact, Precious would be reminding Audrey of her duty. By saying
thank you
, Precious would be putting Audrey in her proper place as an employee working for Hamilton Gantry.

She sat back in her seat, much calmer than she’d been earlier when Audrey had still been on the plane. As the jet was being pushed out of the hanger, then it straightened out using its own power. Precious exhaled, because soon they would be up in the sky, leaving LA and Audrey behind. In a little while, it would be just her and Hamilton. The man that had filled her dreams from the moment they first met. A week ago, she would never have pictured anything quite like this.

The plane did a quick up, then down maneuver. Its nose barely straightened out, before it pointed its wings back to the ground. Their short journey landed them in San Francisco. Precious didn’t even see any clouds during their rapid rise and descent. When they landed, the plane followed the towers directions, taking them to another Gantry hanger. But this time, instead of seeing planes, Precious saw a large black SUV with tinted windows. She looked over at Hamilton and he was busy logging off his computer. He spoke while he did this.

“We’re driving from here.”

“Driving where?”

“Outside of San Francisco. Actually, it’s quite a ways outside of the city. A little known place that I’m certain you’ve never heard of before.”

“Try me. Maybe I have.”

“Trust me... You haven’t.”

“I’ll bet your assistant knows. I’ll bet you tell her everything.”

Hamilton rested his elbow on the armrest. The pilot had throttled down the planes engine, bringing it to a stop. He peered at Precious through narrow eyes, when he said...

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, that I’m sure there are no secrets between you two. I saw the way she talked to you. Not like any assistant I’ve ever seen...and believe me, I’ve seen plenty.”

“I’m sure you have Precious... But I think you’ve confused me with someone else. My relationship with Audrey is strictly professional.”

“Professionals don’t allow their bosses to share their cigarettes.”

During their short flight, Precious had sat quiet with idle hands. Across from her, Hamilton focused on his work; choosing not to talk. With nothing constructive to occupy her mind; her thoughts drifted away like an untethered bird. In her brain, Precious had conjured up images of Audrey and that damn cigarette. She still couldn’t get the picture out of her head.

Hamilton frowned, because he’d allowed his habit to govern his behavior. At the time, when he inhaled from Audrey’s cigarette; he’d needed the nicotine to curb rough edges that were beginning to show. He’d not prepared himself to be alone with Precious, and her nearness had already begun to take its toll. Yet, now he was regretting that he’d stolen a puff from Audrey’s cigarette. When his assistant had offered him his own smoke, Hamilton had refused. As much as he wanted to fill his lungs with the nicotine; he couldn’t think clearly knowing that Precious was staring at him.

Hamilton drew in an exasperated breath but his deep inhale had been wrongly interpreted. Precious threw up her hands saying...

“I’m sorry. Excuse my behavior. I’m out of line and I shouldn’t have said that.”

He quickly corrected her.

“No, no... You’re not out of line but you have misinterpreted my relationship with Audrey. Look Precious. What you saw today... Well, yes... Audrey and I are rather close. Closer than most assistants are with their bosses. She’s been with me for six years and yes... I do trust her with most of my secrets but more times than not; the information pertains to my work. As for my personal life... If Audrey knows something about me; she knows it because I’ve chosen to tell her. She manages my calendar so it is important that she recognizes when a situation will affect my schedule.”

Precious wasn’t sure what her face looked like, because in her heart, the feeling was blank. She still couldn’t get one picture out of her mind. The way Audrey stared at him. She knew the look because on more than one occasion, she’d caught herself staring at Hamilton Gantry and she’d seen other women doing the same thing. She knew there had to be more that he wasn’t willing to reveal to her. But she also reminded herself; Hamilton’s personal life wasn’t any of her business. She heard this repeating chorus in her brain, then she said...

“All right. I was simply curious. That’s all.”

Curious my ass, he thought to himself. More than likely, Precious was curiously jealous. But just like her, he wouldn’t explore the subject.

“Okay, now that we have that settled. Are you ready to go?”

Precious still didn’t know where they were going, but she didn’t have the strength to argue with him. They had flown across the country, with time on their side but even now, the Sun had already set and darkness was upon them.

If they were driving someplace, she wanted to get there before it became to late. She reminded herself. They’d been up all day and neither had slept during the flights.

Precious followed Hamilton over to the waiting SUV. While she sat in the passenger seat, he stood outside, a distance from the vehicle. She could see that he’d made a call on his mobile phone. Whoever he was talking to, Hamilton didn’t look at all pleased. She wondered if the topic of conversation dealt with her, or something Audrey had reminded him to do.

The SUV hugged the road, much like the solid white lines dividing the highway. With every turn, the vehicle demonstrated its ability to traverse the terrain. The bright headlights lit the way, curving around turns with ocean views on one side and the wall of a mountain on the other. It was apparent to her that this wasn’t Hamilton’s first trip driving this route. He made sudden course changes without the use of a map and the navigation system wasn’t turned on. The hour was late, and try as she may; Precious couldn’t keep her eyes open. So, instead of fighting with her eyelids, she gave in, allowing them to lower. Within minutes, she was dreaming. And of course, the first face that she saw was Hamilton Gantry. In her dreams he wore his dark shades and two days worth of facial stubble. Like always, he looked magnificent and in her dream, he simply stared at her from across the room. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew that he was watching her. In her dream she found a sense of comfort because no man had ever touched her with his presence like he had. In her fantasies, it was always Hamilton’s eyes that fueled her desire. Even though his gazes were always shaded; in her dreams, Precious new that his eyes were filled with passion. A longing that he reserved only for her.

*********************

Chapter 4

Trading in my designer dress and my spiked heel shoes. Chucking it all for flannel shirts, tight blue jeans and steel toe boots.

Precious filled her lungs with air and the breath was followed by a grunting exhale. She fluttered her eyes, finding herself curled up against the passengers side door. She blinked again, attempting to make sense of things. It was dark, and the vehicle wasn’t moving. When she sat up, immediately she realized that she was sitting in the SUV alone but to the left of her, she could vaguely see the outline of a structure. As her pupils dilated, the assembled form began to take shape. From what she could see, the building looked like a chalet with overhanging eaves. The perimeter of the house was outlined with small solar lights creating a low lit border. There were also stones in varying sizes intermingled with flowerbeds and indigenous foliage. A small rock path trailed around the house but the meager lighting went no further than the front borders. The light wasn’t much but with the help of the moon and the stars, Precious could get a fair picture of her surroundings. Inside of the house, she could see that at least one light was on. She sat up, leaning forward to look through the windshield. In her scanning, Precious didn’t see any other houses or lights in the distance. She wasn’t sure if this house was alone or if there were other houses nearby that she couldn’t see due to the late hour. As she puzzled over this, in the distance, she saw a dark figure approaching from the shadows. Her heart quickened, but the pumping in her vessels settled down, once she realized that the person ambling in her direction was Hamilton Gantry. He was puffing on a cigarette and when he’d finished it; he squeezed the lit end between two fingers. He did this until he was satisfied that the butt wouldn’t flame up, later causing a forest fire.

As he approached the vehicle, he could see that Precious was awake now. He came around to the drivers side. With his remote starter, he pressed a button, to unlock her door. He opened it saying...

“Didn’t want to wake you, so I decided to let you sleep a little longer. I went around back to start up the generator. I also had to turn on the electric box, powered by the solar panels.”

He offered her his hand to ease from the raised vehicle. Precious accepted his kind gesture. When his fingers touched her flesh, his hand was warm and strong. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering what those hands could do to her and the idea of it all, resulted in a blush. She wasn’t sure if he’d noticed because Hamilton began talking while her feet hit the dirt.

“I chose to bring you here, instead of staying in the city. It’s remote enough that we really needn’t worry about reporters or photographers.”

He looked down at her designer shoes. It had not taken much, and already the surfaces had specks of dust and pine needles. He smiled saying...

“And you definitely needn’t worry about picketers. Not unless they’re the outdoorsy type.”

She smiled, but she still wasn’t wholly convinced that being with him was a good idea. Besides, Precious had always hated camping as much as she dreaded the summer house her parents owned up north in Michigan; and that place was ultra modern. The thought of bumble bees, mosquitos and ticks; the idea of it all, pricked her skin. Anything that was creepy crawly sent shivers up and down her spine. However, when she thought about her alternatives; being away from the public was better than any choice she’d dreamed up. Swatting a fly would be far better than dodging flying smoothies or some other random object.

Precious scanned the area, making peace with her surroundings. She held his hand, as he led her away from the car. Hamilton closed the passenger door, then he said...

“It’s late. Much to late to show you around the place. I think its best that you get settled in for the night. In the morning, I’ll give you a grand tour of the place.”

They walked up three steps, leading onto the porch. Hamilton held open the large wooden front door. He stepped aside, allowing Precious to walk in first. The room smelled of pine and something fresh that she couldn’t identify but the aroma was pleasant. The dimly lit room embraced her with its relaxed comforting style. From what she could see, the room was furnished like a homey resort and it reminded her of Hamilton. He was standing to the side of her when he said....