Acts of Deception... - 8. Chapter 8 Desperate Situations...Desperate Actions

Simon scanned the area as soon as he stepped in the club; ‘Run This Town’ was blasting from the speakers as the people grinded each other and danced. He looked to his right to see a couple making out in a dark corner; to his left was the bar.

Who was this girl and why did she think she had enough power to disassemble all his hard work?

He narrowed his gaze as he moved even further into the dimly lit room to get a better look, peeking over the heads of the crowd. He eyed the people seated at the bar one by one, looking for the brunette that was blowing his cover. He finally spotted her sitting drink in hand, turning an unlucky guy away.

Simon’s eyes locked determinedly on his prey, and he headed over in pursuit. As he drew closer, weaving through the crowd, he studied the woman’s expression from a side view. Her countenance was of pure boredom. Her back was to him when she asked the bartender for another round.

Simon questioned in his head how much alcohol the woman had consumed and if it was just enough, would it make his job easier?

A mere second after that thought, he was right behind her. He wondered for a moment if he should surprise her by whispering something in her ear, but thought of a better, much smoother, approach. He sat down on the stool vacated by the man rejected.

The bartender immediately came over to take his order.

“What will it be?”

“Just a beer for me and another drink for this lovely lady here.” He gestured to his left.

Hearing that, Nina turned to her right and eyed Simon curiously. She noticed how he was dressed and scoffed. A tan fitted tee shirt, dark wash denim jeans, and a red bandana tied around his head; his dark silky hair kissed his shoulders. He was definitely not her type. She turned to ignore him, and he spoke.

“I must say, you look lovely in that dress,” Simon said smoothly, eyeing her red, fitted, swoop-back mini. She turned to him and rolled her eyes.

“Thank you,” she replied curtly. The bartender slid them their drinks as Simon stuck out his hand suavely.

“Simon,” he introduced. Nina eyed his hand, and skeptically shook it with her own.

“Nina.”

“That’s a lovely name,” Simon complimented.

“Look, if you think throwing out compliments is going to get me in bed, you’re wrong.” She giggled, snootily.

Simon held up his hands in surrender.

“Hey, I’m only speaking the truth.” He chuckled softly.

Nina rolled her eyes and looked away.

The small talk was really annoying him, and all he really wanted was to get the job done. But if it meant feeding her bullshit that he only meant at the time, so be it. He took a swig of his beer.

“So, what’s a guy got to do for you to give him the time of day?” He questioned.

“What’s a woman got to do to get some peace around here?” Nina threw back.

Simon released a condescending snort.

“Looks like you came to the wrong place, then, eh?” He joked. Nina glared at him, and got up to leave. Obviously the small talk wasn’t working, so Simon decided to take a more forward approach. He quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving the bar. She turned sending him a death dealing stare.

“I think I know something that might interest you,” he pressed his lips into a tight smile.

“I don’t want your number,” Nina scoffed haughtily.

“I don’t want yours,” Simon shot back, honestly.

Nina was shocked by his words and eyed him suspiciously.

“I’m waiting…” She stated impatiently.

“About Heath’s job…” Simon clued.

Nina’s attention was immediately captured and sat back down.

“What do you know?” She demanded more than asked. Simon shook his head.

“Not here, too many…” Simon paused to look around. “Eyes and ears.” He put a first finger up to his mouth to indicate that the information was ‘hush, hush.’

“We could go somewhere quiet,” Nina suggested.

Simon smiled.

“Perfect. Let’s go for a drive,” Simon said and downed his beer. Nina grabbed her purse quickly and they left the bar and stepped out into the night. They walked to his car, and when Nina saw it, she saw dollar signs; he was driving a Bugatti Veyron that was dark blue and black.

Maybe Simon was her type of guy after all.

He walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her to slide in. Once she did, he closed it. He peeked in and smiled, she seemed to feel right at home.

Simon hopped into the driver’s side and started the engine. It revved to life and Nina felt her adrenaline rush. Simon put the car in drive, and tore out the parking lot into the night.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, until Nina wanted some answers. She adjusted herself in her seat and looked at him.

“So, who does Heath work for?”

“Wow, you sure don’t beat around the bush,” Simon said casually with a chuckle. Nina crossed her arms over her chest and waited patiently. Simon turned his head slightly to look at her and said, “Heath works for me.”

Nina bit her lip, even more curious than she was before. “Who are you exactly?”

“Simon Joseph Ferraro, entrepreneur.”

“And what sort of business do you run?” Nina interrogated.

“It’s a very, risqué business, per se,” Simon’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “Not really proud of it, but it puts the cars in my garage.” He said with a smirk. Nina giggled giddily.

“That’s sounds promising,” she commented more to herself than to Simon.

“It is,” Simon nodded. It was silent for a moment.

“Oh, come on! You got to give me more than that,” Nina persisted.

“Okay…” Simon said slowly, all too willing to tell her everything. It didn’t matter, anyways. She wouldn’t be telling anyone. “I sort of have a vendetta against Heath’s little ‘boyfriend.’” Simon scoffed when he said boyfriend. “Like I said, Heath works for me, so of course it’s all a charade.”

“So I was right,” Nina whispered, but Simon heard her.

He smirked. 'So she did tell Alec some things,’ He nodded, thinking to himself.

“Heath is using Alec,” he spoke up after two beats. “His job is to gain Alec’s trust so I can get the money. Then, he’s going to break his heart, leaving him penniless as well as loveless,” Simon explained. Nina nodded, not really caring about Alec at all.

They pulled into the hotel parking lot and came to a stop in front of the glass doors. Simon leaned back, and rested his arm behind Nina’s seat. He turned to her and gave a nod towards the doors. “You wanna’ head in?”

Nina nodded eagerly, just as the valet came to open her door. She immediately headed inside, as Simon gave the valet the keys.

He leaned in and whispered, “Park it out front. This won’t take long.” He walked in after Nina and went to the front desk. He casually leaned on the counter and said, “Room under Ferraro.” The receptionist smiled, and as he got the room key, looked over to the elevators where Nina was waiting, looking at the aquarium in the wall across from her.

“Hey, when you’re done with her, send her to me,” the receptionist smirked, only half joking as he handed Simon the key.

“When I’m done with her, there won’t be much left to send,” Simon said with a wink, and headed towards Nina.

He put his arm around her waist and pressed the button to call the elevator to them. With a ding, the doors slid open and they stepped in, hitting the 12th floor button. He turned and pushed her against the elevator wall, urgently, almost roughly, and started attacking her lips with his own.

She aggressively reached up behind his neck and pulled him closer. The kiss was very heated and almost dangerous when the bell rang, indicating that they had reached the floor. They quickly broke apart and made their way out into the hall.

They searched the doors for the room number and found it; Simon slowly pushed her against the door and started kissing her again. He slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out the key card.

Moving too slow for Nina’s liking, she snatched it out of his hand and turned to jam it in the slot. Immediately after the light turned green, she pushed the door open and dragged Simon in with her.

The room was elegant; A little too elegant for their situation, but Nina didn’t care. It was an elegant hotel; therefore, the rooms were just as much so. They stumbled down the hall to the bedroom and flopped down on the soft sheets of the huge bed. Before they got too far, Simon pulled away.

“Condom?” He questioned.

Nina bit her lip and sat up as Simon rolled off her. She reached down to the floor for her purse and pulled out the purposely-defective condom that she was originally going to use on Heath and handed it to him.

“Here you go. Don’t take too long.” She wiggled her eyebrows. Simon smirked and headed towards the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and locked it.

Simon took the time to evaluate himself in the mirror. His face looked determined, almost smug. He turned on the sink and pulled up the stop to fill it. He then placed the whole condom package, unopened, in the water. He watched, amused, as tiny bubbles streamed through what seemed to be a microscopic hole through the wrapper. “Sorry Nina, you get none tonight my dear. And to think I was actually going to give you one last good fuck.” He chuckled.

He put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. 'No wonder Heath left her,' he thought amusedly. He then unstopped the sink, and removed the condom, wrapping it in bathroom tissue and tossing it into the trash. He unbuttoned his pants and walked out of the bathroom. As he entered the room, he re-buttoned his jeans to make it look like he had tried the condom. Nina looked at him with a smile.

“Are you ready?” She asked.

“Actually, there seemed to be a problem with the condom. It was a bit defective,” Simon, emphasized with a smirk. “I’m going to have to go out to my car and get one.”

‘Damn!’ Nina thought and then replied, “Well, hurry back; I can get a bit… impatient.”

“Don’t worry.” Simon grinned and then headed towards the door. He stepped out, closed it behind him and headed down the hall toward. He reached the elevators and pressed the ‘call’ button. The doors opened to reveal a bellhop, who stepped out casually as Simon stepped in. They gave each other a knowing glance before Simon sent him a sly wink. The bellhop nodded slowly, just as the doors closed between them.

He made his way down the hall to the room Simon had previously exited and opened the door with his key.

Nina couldn’t see him, but she heard the door open.

“Simon is that you?” She called out in a flirty tone. The bellhop stilled his shoulders and crept slowly toward her. “Wow that didn’t take long at all. You must be eager,” Nina continued slyly.

She waited for a moment and then creased her brows in confusion when she felt that ‘Simon’ was taking too long. She attempted to climb off the bed when the figure came around the corner startling her. It wasn’t Simon at all. She jumped in surprise noticing the sinister, determined look etched in the stranger’s features.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as fear consumed her.

“Who are you?” She forced out; though her voice was barely audible.

Her frantic scream was cut short when the man forcefully cupped his hand over her mouth as she tried to back away. Her legs hit the bed causing her to fall. The bellhop climbed on top of her resting all of his weight on her, effectively holding her in place.

With the man’s gloved hand over her mouth, he tightly grabbed her neck with the other, turning her muffled screams into agonizing gasps for air.

The once elegant, spacious room seemed dark and small. The walls were closing in around her. She tried to yell, tried to swallow but to no avail. The sound of her heart beating was so loud it was deafening. Her eyes widened when she felt the frail bones in her neck splinter causing her to choke on her own blood.

She made a failed attempt to grab at his hand, but couldn’t get a grip due to the thickness of his glove, and her weakening state. She kicked in defense trying to scramble free but her efforts were in vain.

He only tightened his grip. Nina was no match for the gloved man. A smug, menacing grin appeared as he watched the life slowly leave her body.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The sound of her heartbeat was faint and the room became dark. Nina's struggle ended as she gasped for air before taking her last breath.

…

When Simon reached the lobby, he made his way past the reception desk, and out the doors. He stopped by the valet, and said, “Told you it wouldn’t take long,” The valet smirked knowingly and handed Simon the keys.

Simon walked to his car, opened the door, and slid into his seat. The smell of Nina’s perfume immediately hit him and he made a mental note to rid the car of her scent later.

He closed the door and revved the engine. The sound sent an adrenaline rush through his veins and he pressed his back into his seat. He reached down and turned on the radio, blasting the music up high, took a deep breath, and tore out of the hotel parking lot.

…

Heath sat motionless, trying to steady his shaky hand watching as Alec stood in confusion trying to focus on the picture.

"How do you know him?" Heath repeated the question in an interrogating manner.

"Him?” Alec repeated stepping further into the kitchen.

“Yes, him." Heath tilted his head slightly showing his irritation with Alec answering his question with a question.

Without warning, Heath kicked the chair from under the table forcefully pushing it out on the other side toward Alec. "Sit down.” Heath nodded to the chair.

"Where did you get that?” Alec pointed to the picture, “Are you snooping through my stuff, Heath?"

Heath rolled his eyes shaking his head. "No... No, I wasn't snooping through your things. I wanted to make you breakfast." Heath sighed, "I was looking for your cooking utensils."

"And you ran across the pictures," Alec said giving a slow disbelieving nod. He crossed one arm over his shoulder while reaching for the pictures with the other one. "I'll take those."

Heath refused and instead pulled the pictures of Alec and Simon out one by one placing them on the table. "You still have not answered my question, Alec," Heath countered while examining the photos in front of him. "How do you know Simon?"

Alec shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” Heath replied quickly almost cutting Alec off.

“It’s no big deal really-“

“Damn it ALEC!”

The loudness in Heath’s voice startled Alec causing him to jump.

Seeing the nervousness he was causing, Heath tried to calm the anxiousness in his tone. “Alec,” he said evenly, nodding his head. “It is a big deal. It’s a very big deal. Trust me.”

Alec sat down slowly at the table eying the pictures of him and Simon. He cleared his throat. This was a part of his life he wanted desperately to forget, a part he vowed would never happen to him again.

"He and I were,” Alec attempted to swallow down the dryness attacking his throat. He took a deep breath. “We were… engaged," Alec admitted shamefully in a soft whisper and lowered his head.

"What?” Heath closed his eye tightly, shaking his head in confusion and disbelief. "You were going to marry Simon?" He questioned, looking stunned. "Oh my god," Heath choked out, feeling as if he had received a blow to the head…. a death dealing blow.

"Heath, what’s the matter?" Alec narrowed his gaze. "How do you know Simon?" He asked reaching across the table for Heath's hand. Heath recoiled at Alec's touch.

Alec stared at his hand for a moment then to Heath in wonderment as he searched out his features.

Alec exhaled slowly. “This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. Everyone knows Simon Ferraro.” He chuckled humorlessly. “How do you know him? The television, the Chicago Tribune…how?” Alec asked in defeat.

Heath eyed Alec carefully listening to the sounds of regret. He tried to tell him. Tell him how he knew Simon, but the words weren’t coming.

“Alec... I,” He sighed exasperatedly. “I…Um...” Again, the words just weren’t there.

“Yes Heath?” Alec gestured, almost pleading for him to continue.

“I…um,” Heath bit back his confession and stood up quickly from the table. “I gotta go.”

“No, Heath... don’t go,” Alec begged while getting up from the table as well. He reached for Heath as he walked swiftly past him.

“Heath, Simon was a mistake, a big mistake,” Alec swore, practically running behind Heath who walked swiftly. He was practically taking two steps to his one just to keep up. Just as Heath made the turn into the bedroom to get his clothes, he was stunned by Alec’s words.

“Heath, please…I’m nothing like him, I swear,” Alec stated in desperation. “Please.” Heath stopped dead in his tracks so quickly Alec ran into his back.

In an act of desperation, as if grabbing for a life preserver, Alec tightly wrapped his arms around Heath’s waist resting his aching head against his back.

Heath took both hands grabbing his head that was about to explode. Alec’s body felt so good against his, he wanted to turn around, and hug Alec tightly…protect him from the likes of Simon, from the likes of him.

He reached down placing his hands on top of Alec’s feeling the warmth of those same hands that hours ago were caressing his skin. He squeezed them firmly before suddenly releasing himself from Alec’s grip. Alec’s body went limp as he watched Heath walk way.

He felt it…that something special between them and he knew Heath felt it too.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands clasped tightly in his lap as he watched Heath with his back toward him getting dressed. He wanted to say something…but what?

Heath quickly zipped up his jeans, but didn’t bother putting on his shirt; he just threw it over his shoulder and walked out leaving Alec bewildered. He didn’t even bother to look at him, which made Alec feel worse.

Tears streamed down his face as he heard the elevator door close.

….

Heath watched the elevator doors close. His head felt as if it were about to explode. He knew there was something personal with Simon, but he never imagined this in his wildest dreams.

Next stop Simon…