Monday, 8:29 am
I felt small, gentle hands run up and down my bare chest as consciousness started to seep into my mind. Eyes still closed, I simply stretched and enjoyed the soft caresses, wanting to prolong this lovely moment between the waking world and dreams where every touch felt magnified ten-fold. The fingers making small circles on my chest were accompanied by the feeling of soft lips enveloping mine in a sweet kiss. The tip of a tongue flicked at my top lip, and I tasted a faint hint of mint.
I sighed as I kissed back, careful to keep my mouth closed so I didn't assault the angel waking me up so lovingly with notorious morning breath. I felt the lips kissing me curl into a smile and returned it with one of my own as I tried my hardest to open my eyes for the first time. They met Erin's, her dark pools staring back at me with a gratified twinkle in them. Her smug self-assuredness would have started rubbing me the wrong way by now if it weren't for the fact that she was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
After a pregnant moment, Erin broke the kiss and followed it up with a peck on the nose. "Wake up, sleepyhead."
"What time is it?" I asked. My throat sounded coarse from lack of use.
"Eight-thirty," she said, running her fingernails through my hair. Then she sat up straight and slid her hand to my chest.
I tried to sit up, but the pressure from her hand on my chest kept me on my back. "Eight-thirty?" I asked, "I thought you were going to wake me up at six-thirty!"
Friday afternoon, Erin received a call from Channel Seven requesting an interview with me on Monday morning at ten. She convinced me to go through with it, that it would be better for me to engage with the public to control the narrative as much as possible. She was right. I know I'd only been a billionaire for a little over a week, but it was time I started getting used to it and stopped being so reactionary. I needed to make things happen, not wait for things to happen to me. I agreed, but only if Karl was on stage with me. He was the only one I knew would be up there.
Karl had called me on Sunday to go over a strategy for the meeting and review talking points. According to him, the primary concern was reassuring the world, especially shareholders, that the company was in good hands and would remain stable. The plan was to inform the public that for the foreseeable future, I would let my representatives continue to take the lead and run the company according to Colin's vision. In other words, business would go on as normal. That was fine by me. VistaVision had run smoothly for a long time without my input. Why should I risk fucking things up now?
As I threw back the bedsheets and sprung to my feet, Erin stood up and walked to a panel near the long stretch of black glass that comprised two of my bedroom walls. She placed her fingers on the panel's surface and slowly slid them up. The black glass faded into translucence and gave us a view of the early morning New York City skyline. The corner where the two windows met pointed to the Southeast and allowed me a full view of the sunrise, however, it had some kind of special tinting that prevented the full force of morning light. As a result, I received a pleasant sunrise view without feeling the need to murder someone as I grappled with consciousness.
"Ashlee called late last night to let me know that the press conference was pushed back to two o'clock," Erin said, looking over her shoulder and giving me a sweet smile. "You looked so peaceful that I couldn't bear the thought of waking you up. Especially after all the work you put in this weekend."
I swallowed hard as my gaze traveled up and down the young woman standing in front of the window, morning light shining through the translucent film of what was a pointless robe, highlighting her petite but unmistakably feminine assets. Underneath, she wore a matching lingerie set that accentuated her curves.
Natalie had left town for the weekend to attend a wedding, once again leaving the state of our relationship in limbo. I was afraid of spending the weekend with nothing but my imagination running wild, conjuring scenarios of the sort of things a beautiful, single young woman like Natalie could get up to during a weekend at a destination wedding.
As if that wasn't enough, Helen confessed that she hadn't been as trustworthy as she originally led me to believe. While not completely surprised, my world was rocked by the revelation. Since coming into my money, she had been my rock, and losing my trust in her had left me flat-footed.
Erin and Danielle rescued me from my dark fate by taking me to a high-class strip club for the wealthy and famous. It cost me three thousand dollars to get the three of us in the door. In my limited experience with strip clubs, I thought they were sad places for lonely, middle-aged divorced chads, but I'd been proven wrong about this one. It was classy, colorful, and packed with some of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen. We ended up in a VIP suite engaged in a six-person orgy, then continued the party back at my new apartment.
It worked. Instead of spending my weekend brooding about Natalie and Helen, I had my every need satisfied by five gorgeous women, the last two days had been a blur of alcohol, lust, and laughter. No one had a right to have so much fun in one weekend. Considering the abuse my cock had taken over the last two days, I wondered if I would ever get an erection again. However, as I watched Erin standing in front of that window, silhouetted by the sun's morning rays, I felt my dick stir. It looked like my libido survived after all.
"Thank you, Erin," I said a little breathlessly. "I needed that."
She spun to face me, clasping her hands behind her back as she did a hint of a curtsey.
"Of course, Mr. Upton. I'm at your complete disposal," she said, grinning ear-to-ear. As the next few moments passed in complete silence, I felt an understanding pass between us - a quiet echo of her words before we made love for the first time. I only hoped she could read the tremendous gratitude I felt toward her.
I almost called her over to do something about my growing erection, but she changed tact and pointed to my closet as she made her way toward the door. "Now, if you would like to get dressed and come downstairs, I've got Joel here to make us some breakfast while I brief you."
"Marry me," I called out as she disappeared around the corner. Her amused laugh trailed behind her, fading as she moved away from me.
I quickly walked into the closet and selected a pair of pants and a dress shirt, leaving my bedroom as I was still buttoning the pants and sincing the belt. I slipped my shirt over my shoulders as I made my way down the stairs in the direction of feminine voices drifting from the direction of the kitchen. Two of the ladies had left by the end of the day yesterday, but Danni and Natasha stayed one more night. Were they both still here?
"Oh," I said, coming to a dead stop as I saw Chloe Tanner sitting at the kitchen island sipping from a mug and looking down at a newspaper. Erin stood near the coffee pot and was pouring a fresh cup of Joel's finest. She looked up at me with a big smile. Danni was sitting at a table to the side and was currently peeling off part of an orange before popping it in her mouth. Like Erin, she was dressed in a robe, but hers was silk and more opaque than my assistant's. One side of it had slipped off and down her arm, exposing her bare shoulder. She caught sight of me and gave me a full, radiant smile.
"Morning, Marcus!"
Chloe glanced up from her paper as she was taking a sip and then set down her mug as she said, "Good morning Mr. Upton." Her dark brown eyes traveled up and down my bare chest, but her expression gave nothing away. "How was your weekend?"
