Thursday, November 21st
I woke up this morning somewhat refreshed from a good night's sleep, but as I began to pull myself out of bed the realization of how sore my muscles truly were began to hit me. My back was stiff and my shoulders and calves ached as I pulled myself to the edge of the bed and stood to head towards the bathroom. I stretched my arms and fingers as I walked gingerly across the warm carpet and I felt a few pops as my joints reacted in time. As I expected, there was a crème-colored envelope waiting for me when I approached the door.
Slave,
Relax. Today all you have to do is show up. Get dressed and be downstairs by 10:00 a.m.
Moments later when I left the bathroom, I discovered that I had slept better than I had realized. Instead of it being just after eight in the morning like I presumed, it was twenty 'til ten. I was so glad I had taken a shower the night before.
I headed back into the bathroom to brush my teeth, shave, and do my hair as quickly as possible. Then I rushed back into my room to find a comfortable pair of jeans, a dark gray long-sleeve t-shirt, some athletic socks, and tennis shoes. Needless to say, it looked like relaxing would not be a problem.
Once I was comfortable with my appearance I headed out the door and down to the lobby to meet my ride. As per usual the same black Town Car sat waiting for me just outside the door. The only difference was this time when I got in my Asian Princess was not alone.
A woman in her late thirties was waiting for me in the back seat. While she was relatively good looking and I would not have minded serving her at all, I immediately got the feeling she was just there as a formality. Her business suit and ultra-serious demeanor struck me from the second I got in the car, but she chose not to speak until we were a good ten to fifteen blocks from the hotel. The second she did so, all my suspicions were confirmed.
"I represent someone who is a bit of a celebrity," she started. "I am here to ensure that the utmost care is taken in preserving her reputation. As I am sure you will understand, if the details of your encounter were to leak out to the public it could be devastating to her career. Does this make sense to you?"
"Yes," I replied, not quite sure of what was going on, or who she spoke of, but knowing that if she was involved in even a fraction of the stuff I had been apart of in the last couple weeks most people would not be able to handle it.
"Good," she followed. "As a precaution it is only fair that we inform you that if you did try to go to someone, you would be shut down as fast as you got started. We have put some people in place to vouch for her whereabouts during this time so that in case anything did leak out we would be able to deny it unequivocally and slap a defamation of character lawsuit on them so fast their head would spin."
"Okay," I responded, not knowing what else to say and becoming more and more curious about this person with every passing second.
"One last thing," she said. "You will not be meeting her today."
I shot her a confused look and waited for the other shoe to fall.
"She realized that you would have been put through a lot by this time, so she purchased you for two days." She paused briefly and smiled as we pulled into our destination. "So today will be used to get you back to better than new so that tomorrow you do not disappoint."
As she finished she smiled a teasing smile, winked and then reached for the door handle. As quickly as she got out of the back of the Town Car she transitioned to the back of a brand new Mercedes. There appeared to be a woman waiting for her in the back as the car drove away, but the dark tint on the windows forbade me from seeing anything more than the shadow of a woman.
I crawled out of my side of the car and found myself standing at the base of some steps that led up to a quaint little cottage on the edge of a beautiful private lake. Judging by the driveway and some of the landscaping I got the impression this was not merely a home, but more of a retreat or perhaps a bed and breakfast. Upon reaching the top of the steps and opening the door I discovered that it was actually an exclusive spa.
"Good morning!" came the greeting from a lovely raven-haired young lady who met me at the door. "We have been expecting you."
Then she reached under the counter and pulled out a white terrycloth robe and matching boxer shorts. "Please go put these on," she insisted pleasantly, as her bright blue eyes looked through me. "We will be ready in just a few moments."
I stepped into the small bathroom and quickly changed into the aforementioned attire. To my surprise it was even more comfortable than I imagined. Then I placed my clothes in a wicker basket with my name written on it and returned to the area where I had met the young woman.
"Follow me," she said, leading me through the cottage and out onto the deck facing the crystal clear lake. "Have a seat here. I will be right back."
The deck was heated and partially covered to be used as an all-season room, but with the windows slightly open the cool crisp air of November funneled in. There was even a slight hint of burning leaves caressing my nostrils as I reclined in the soft chair she had directed me to.
"Here you go. Drink this," she offered, as she held out a tall glass for me containing unrecognizable contents.
"What is it?" I could not help but ask, eyeing the green creamy liquid.
"It will help you relax and clean out your system," she responded, still holding it out for me to take.
I slowly took it from her and held it under my nose. Its pungent smell startled me a bit and I pulled my head back immediately.
"Its bark is worse than its bite," she promised, snickering a bit at my response.
I took a quick sip. The initial taste was a little strong, but the aftertaste was actually quite pleasant, almost tropical. I decided to go for it and gulped the whole thing down quickly. The flavors of kiwi and tangerine trickled over my taste buds as I swallowed the chalky concoction and felt its coolness fill my stomach.