Beautiful Lies Read online

  Though I was no one’s lap dog, I decided that I would be cooperative tonight. But there would only be so much of this subordinate crap I would take. I would play the game; it would not play me.

  I could not believe Sig did not stand up for me with that reporter.

  What am I saying? I really should not have been surprised. He has never been my protector, just my money.

  Sig used me too. Before I came into his life, he had a butt-wretched reputation. Klå only survived because of the people who worked under its brand; it had nothing to do with him. Sig’s personal popularity grew only because of me.

  We met at a modeling shoot. He came over to me and rolled some pinched flesh from my side between his fingers. His first words to me were, “You’re too fat. Next.” And that was after I had starved for two weeks for that shoot and was just over one hundred pounds. Sig chose another young woman, who eventually ended up dying from anorexia a year later.

  When Sig told me I was fat, I pretended it did not bother me. I projected the bubbly “artificial” me instead. As I left the photo shoot, Sig noticed how people were drawn to me, or rather what they thought was me. I was putting on airs of course, but Sig did not know that. He saw an opportunity and had his people call me the next day. We went out on a date. The paparazzi went insane. Sig was instantaneously popular all because I humanized him. His brand’s sales soared out of the stratosphere. I moved in so he could so-called mentor and keep tabs on me. I had dated successful men in the past, but Sig was on another level. I became a deity just like him. When the worshippers adored me, it was great. But that feeling came at a tremendous cost. I was doomed to be forever flawless on the surface because I was such a mess underneath.

  And now I was at this gala. I saw Sig’s attorneys walking toward us. I knew Sig was having some kind of legal issue, but he never revealed to me exactly what it was. I assumed the problem centered on his factory in Thailand, which was mired in a child-labor controversy. But I noticed another face with the usual attorneys. It was Cam from the gym.

  The asshole? You have got to be motherfucking kidding me.

  I made the mistake of locking eyes with Cam. Oh my fucking God, it was like his eyes had the gravitational force of black holes. I could not help but be sucked in by them. I shuffled on my feet because my naughty bits felt like they were being pierced with a horny spear. Sweat spurted out of my pores, and my extremities tingled. My breathing became staggered as I fought off hyperventilation.

  As Cam got closer, I could tell he knew who I was too. He was still looking squarely at me. I could not make out if he was pleasantly surprised or disappointed to see me. The attorneys made their way onto the stage where Sig and I were. Cam definitely stood out among the decrepit-looking crew of older men. Introductions were made, with Cam and I making acquaintances last.

  “Hello…Cameron,” he said as he took my hand. He had a very strong handshake but was trying his best to be gentle with me.

  “Lilly. Lilly Amsel. Nice to meet you. Well, officially. We met earlier. At the elevator.”

  “I know. I remember. I definitely remember.”

  Cam and I stood there looking at each other and holding our handshake too long for Sig’s comfort. Sig pointed his spindly finger at Cam and asked Wotherspoon, “Who is this man?”

  “Cam will be handling the financial aspects of the case,” answered Mr. Wotherspoon. “Only the financial aspects.”

  Sig narrowed his eyes. “I hope he has full understanding of the type of privacy I require.”

  “He has been vetted,” said Mr. Slezak.

  I did not hear a word Sig and those old coots were saying. I was too entranced by Cam. I could not believe how he went from that grungy guy at the gym to this exceptional, powerful man. He was filet mignon on a platter, and I was starving. That piece of meat stood in front of me in his perfectly tailored ebony suit. I know it was tacky of me, but I had to examine his shoes. Shoes reveal a lot about a man. If he had on a great suit but his shoes were run-over, it meant he was a fraud. And I was an expert at fraud. I took a slick look down and was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Cam was wearing Allen-Edmonds in basic black, perfectly shined and unscuffed.

  Cam might actually be the real deal. But that remains to be seen. He may be crafting an illusion just like me. But, goddamn, if it is an illusion, it’s sexy as hell.

  Suddenly I heard a familiar voice chirp up. It was Tamara. “Lilly, darling, let’s go take some pictures of you mingling with the crowd.”

  “Well, it was nice seeing you…again,” I said to Cam.

  “Likewise.”

  I stepped down into the throbbing crowd. I dared not look back at Cam for fear that Sig would see. I pretended like everything was normal and took the photos Tamara requested. Even though her flash nearly blinded me at times, I managed to make her shots look impromptu and candid.

  Still, I could see Cam out of the corner of my eye. I was impressed by his body language as he spoke to Sig. His back was pencil-straight, and his demeanor was that of a person to be reckoned with. Most other people cowered in Sig’s presence. Not Cam. His stance let Sig know not to fuck with him.

  Sig, on the other hand, fidgeted ever so slightly. I had never seen him do that before.

  Tamara had taken hundreds of pictures of me, and I was exhausted from all the posing. Not only that but I had talked so much that my voice was growing raspy. Normally the energy of others fills me up, but right then I was spent. Sometimes it really does take a lot out me to become that other person. I needed a momentary escape from the ballroom to recharge.

  I happened upon a secluded balcony. I was fully expecting to come upon a couple of lovers having a tryst, but it appeared to be empty. I was greeted by one of the largest, brightest full moons I had ever seen. It looked like it was so close that I actually reached out to touch it. I laughed at myself, thinking that was so silly.

  The air was cold and brisk. It smelled like New York City. I could not help but take a deep, loud breath. At the top of my inhale, I heard someone clearing his throat. Someone had been watching me the whole time, and I was terribly embarrassed. I quickly turned around to apologize for interrupting someone else’s private time.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I was just going back inside.”

  Cam emerged from the darkness. “No, it’s okay. It’s refreshing to see someone truly enjoying themselves and our wonderful city.”

  I did not feel any more tension being around Cam. I was really quite comfortable. I passed him a smile and asked, “What are you doing out here? I thought you’d be talking shop with Sig and the Wotherspoon crew.”

  “I’ve been out here for a while now. No disrespect but I had my fill of the fake crowd.”

  Oh, my God, is he really talking about me?

  Cam went on. “You look like you’ve had enough too.”

  I realized that this man was under the impression that I was more composed than I really was. A rush of insecurity flooded my brain. I felt the pressure to morph into the centered woman he thought he was talking to.

  “I know exactly how you feel. Trust me, it isn’t easy being around phonies.”

  Did I really just say that? Why am I lying to this man? I side-glanced the night sky just to make sure a bolt of lightning was not about to strike me.

  Cam took a step closer to me and then leaned over, resting his lower arms on the bannister. “So you and Sig…how long have you been dating?”

  Wow. Cam was flirting and feeling me out. My heart pattered as I blushed.

  “For a while now.”

  “A while. Is it serious?”

  “As it can be.”

  “Either you are serious, or you aren’t.” He inched closer to me. “I don’t get the feeling that you’re happy.”

  “Well…”

  I hemmed and hawed. I did not want to acknowledge the painful truth about me and Sig and was incredibly unnerved by the questions. I did feel something for Sig after all. He provided me with a mansion, opportunit
ies, and more cash than I could spend. I was able to socialize with people others found untouchable. Mind you, the sex was meh, but I never thought about cheating.

  I did not have to answer Cam’s question thanks to one of Sig’s random assistants who had come to drag me back to the gala. I told him I would be in, and then he went back inside.

  “Guess I’ve got to go,” I said. And this was good. Not answering Cam’s questions added to my mystique.

  Cam did not respond. He just stared at me for a moment like he was trying to figure out my deal. “Guess you’d better go then,” he said.

  I turned and started to walk away but stepped on the train of my dress. I wobbled as I was about to fall to the concrete. Cam dashed over and caught me in his muscular arms before I hit the ground.

  He cradled me near his chest. “Are you okay?”

  I could smell the musky aroma of his aftershave. “Yes, yes. Thank you.”

  But there was something else. I felt Cam’s massive, thick erection as he pressed against me. He gave me a mischievous grin and pulled me even closer, not embarrassed in the least. I gulped hard and clenched my thighs as my insides released their moist and sticky dew. Panic mixed with desire set in. “I’ve got to go. Right now,” I said, trying not to groan.

  Cam took his time letting me go and then handed me my train. “Be careful. It would be a shame to damage something so beautiful.”

  Oh, no, he didn’t.

  Blood rushed to my face, which felt like it had been set on fire, and my head started to spin. But after I already made a fool of myself by nearing falling on my ass, I was not going to spaz out again. With all the sophistication I could muster, I gave Cam a sincere and classy thank you.

  As I crossed the threshold, I looked back at Cam. His back was leaning against the bannister with his arms stretched to the sides, holding the bars, and his legs crossed at the ankles. He was relaxed, confident. He knew he had something I wanted. His body had become an open invitation for sex. It took all my effort to turn away from that possibility and go back inside.

  I reentered the gala feeling rejuvenated and took my place next to Sig. It suddenly felt a hundred degrees hotter in the room. As I fanned hard, Sig noticed that I was smiling a tad bit more than usual.

  Suspicious, he asked, “What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” I responded coyly. “Absolutely nothing.”

  Chapter Five

  I was absolutely fucking floaty, buzzing around that ballroom like I had taken a few tokes of a fatty. The encounter with Cam left me high as hell, and I wondered if anyone else noticed that my feet were not touching the ground. Somehow osmosis occurred, and some of Cam’s essence had sunk into me. With his juice I did not even have to pretend to be charming. I was disarmingly funny, calming, and enjoyable. I was in the zone. However, I kept a watchful eye on the balcony. I did not want to miss it when Cam came back in.

  Cam strolled back into the party after a long while. He immediately fixed his steady gaze on me as he circled the room, taking slow and deliberate steps. He made sure to stay in the dark outer fringes of the grand ballroom. He was a lion on the hunt, and I was the helpless gazelle trying to hide in the tall grasses of people. Sometimes he was motionless and faded into obscurity. Other times he appeared virtually out of nowhere, putting me on notice that I was still in trouble. He ghosted his way through the crowd and seemed to be lurking in the background of every spot I treaded in that ballroom.

  What was Cam doing? Was he going to take me right in front of Sig? Or would he continue to lie in wait, watching me with those chocolate eyes lined with sooty lashes? I tried to avoid looking directly at him but just could not help it. Those eyes—those dark pools of infinity—were calling me. Beckoning me. Daring me to come back and finish what was started. And I wanted to so very badly. I wanted to feel his hands all over my peachy skin, his tongue probing my welcoming mouth, and his dick deep inside me. But that damn Sig remained leeched onto me, almost as though he knew that someone was going after his woman. More like his property.

  Cam lingered while giving me a come-hither stare. He was waiting for me to break away from Sig. He tilted his head toward the hallway. I knew he wanted me to meet him there. Cam then raised his brow and disappeared into the hall.

  Sig was engrossed in a conversation with a couple of urolagnia aficionados. Sig had been trying to get me to try watersports. Mind you, he just wanted to pee on me, not me on him. It was just another way for him to control and humiliate me. But the piss-slurping couple he was conversing with offered me a chance to escape to the hallway.

  “All this talk about pee is scintillating, really. But if you all would kindly excuse me, I must powder my nose,” I said, trying not to look suspect.

  Wow! I really said “powder my nose”? Is it 1940? Whatever. Fuck it. Just as long as I can get to that hallway.

  Sig gave me a sardonic look. “Can’t you wait? We are having a conversation. That wouldn’t be polite, now would it? Besides, you could learn a thing or two so that you can stop being so prudish.”

  “Normally I would not suggest letting a perfectly good golden shower go to waste, but I do understand how uncomfortable it feels holding back the wet works,” said the male dressed in the vinyl pants. “Let her go. But next time maybe I can drink it instead?”

  “Thank you,” I said as I tried not to hurl and get away as fast as I could. But I was stopped by the female half of the pair. “Do you mind if I watch? All you have to do is leave the stall door open. I can just stand there.”

  “Uh, yeah…I do mind,” I said as politely as I could. My legs were suddenly on autopilot, whisking me away from these skeevy pervs.

  I hurried to the hallway, still freaked out by the deviants in the other room. I looked back to make sure they were not chasing me with catheters and urine specimen containers. After I had attained a safe distance from the ballroom, wanton anticipation of Cam avalanched me. I could not wait for our two bodies to come together—hard and tight. With my mouth parched, I took another turn in the labyrinth hallway in search of pleasure. The hallway was dimly lit with a few small candle sconces and accented by mahogany wood draped with crimson velvet swags. The drifting scent of Cam’s aftershave still hung in the air, and I followed it. Soon the bright lights from the ballroom faded into oblivion.

  “Hello? Cam?” I whispered.

  There was no answer, yet I was undeterred. Cam’s heady scent grew more pronounced; I knew he was close by. I could feel him watching me from the dark. I was vulnerable and maybe a little bit frightened. Not because I thought he would hurt me. But because it had been so long since I felt any sort of bliss—the ecstatic bliss that being with Cam promised—that I feared it might kill me.

  “Please stop teasing me, Cam. Come out. You asked, and I came,” I begged.

  A powerful hand took hold of my arm from behind. I knew it was Cam by the way my body trembled as if a harsh gust of wind had blown through it.

  “Come here, Lilly.” The bass of his voice had such resonance that it vibrated the hallway even at a low volume. Cam turned me around. He pulled me toward his body, and I met his embrace. His heartbeat was thumping hard against his chest, so hard it seemed life-threatening. Cam lifted my face to his. His thick lips grazed mine. His nature rose once again, and I knew where this was heading.

  I started having second thoughts. I was not a cheat and did ultimately aspire to integrity. I had made a commitment to Sig and took it seriously. What was about to happen was not only wrong but dangerous considering Sig’s often sociopathic ways. Cam, however, was unstoppable. His lips glided across my face and down to my neck. I started going limp.

  “Cam, I think we should stop. This isn’t right,” I said with my body giving way to him.

  But Cam did not care. He continued to kiss me softly at first, tempering me, because if he had given it all to me at one time, I would have passed out. But he was in control as he kissed me again and again. His heated hands began tracing my cu
rves. At first he started with my shoulders. Then he moved to the dip in my lower back and finally to the round curvature of my bottom. Cam broke lip contact and squatted. Those hands, those massive hands, found their way under my dress and meandered from my ankles to my knees and were heading to my thighs when we heard a rustling in the dark. Cam stood up, and we both peered behind us toward the darkness.

  “Lilly!” an angry voice shouted. It was Sig. We could hear him heading straight toward us. I looked back toward Cam, and he was gone. He basically evaporated into the blackness like he was never there in the first place. I turned back, and Sig was standing there leering at me.

  “Have you finished pissing yet?”

  “Huh?” I said, still dazed by lust.

  “Pissed? Have you pissed yet? It is time to go.”

  “Oh, uh-huh. I…I…” I mumbled. I was so worked up that I did not have enough blood flow to my brain to form a coherent thought. Practically lobotomized, I looked back at the spot where I had last seen Cam, desperately hoping he would reappear.

  Sig glowered at me. “You have been acting strange all night. I know you are up to no good. I don’t know what it is, but I will find out.”

  “There is nothing going on. I’m not doing anything wrong.” I was a terrible liar and stammered like an idiot. See, this is exactly the scenario I did not want. I had to lie so much when it came to my identity; I did not want to lie about another man too.

  I had to leave Cam alone. Being involved with him would only make me more of a fraud than I already was.

  Chapter Six

  The ride back home was long and quiet. Sig and I sat on opposite sides of the limousine. He looked straight ahead with no emotion. I was still recovering from the rendezvous with Cam. As we crossed the George Washington Bridge¸ I could see the lights of New York fading fast behind me.