Marco rested his hands on Tanya's bare shoulders and smiled. She had finally stopped crying and calmed down enough for Marco to speak. It had been frustrating hearing her crying out the same phrase over and over. "The bastard has lost it all!" However, he had managed to remain calm despite not getting a word in edgeways.
"It's okay," he said reassuringly. He loved the fact he was in his control, but knew he could not push her too hard. If she rebelled against him the illusion would be spoilt.
"I just want to get to know you a little better. You know, before we meet up properly and you." He hesitated, stroking her face as he did, before adding. "You start work for real." Tanya forced herself to stay still as he spoke. She suppressed a shudder as his hands resumed caressing the top of her arms.
"You are beautiful," Marco said. He added in a commanding tone after letting his previous words hang in the air for a moment. "Kiss me!" Not waiting for a response, he held her chin firmly with one hand, and leaning forward he kissed her. It was just one, hesitant meeting of their lips, but he was still encouraged she did not try to pull away. He began to gently stroke her cheeks with both of his hands, that big smile of his right across his face. He kissed her again, and this time there was just a flicker of a response from her lips. As though she could not supress it.
Outside there was a sudden commotion, and they both heard the loud deep voice of the doorman that Marco had left guarding the entrance to the room. They could not make out the words, but the voice sounded commanding. There was a sudden loud thump, followed by a howl of pain. Then silence.
"Should I go rescue your brother?" said Marco quizzically, looking towards the door. He turned back to look at Tanya, her green-eyes now wide with fear, stared back at him. God, you have beautiful eyes, he thought.
Tanya eventually shook her head. "This mess is all his fault," she wailed, and then after a pause, she added angrily. "Did you see how thrilled he was when you gave him the money? Not a second thought about what might happen to me if he lost it all again. Bastard. I hate him," she spat.
She began to cry again, and complain that he had lost it all. Marco interceded quickly, desperate not to waste more time on her complaining. They had made a deal, and now he was going to make sure she kept to it.
He smiled, and told her it would be okay. He tried to make his voice as calm and natural as possible, despite his growing excitement at having her at his mercy.
"Come here," he said and he kissed her again. He allowed her to pull away, and once again she sat looking at him, unblinking, awaiting his next move.
"You have the most incredible eyes," he said and he thought he saw a reaction. He told himself it was a faint hint of her liking his compliment. Marco laughed at the way he was kidding himself. He pushed her dark-brown hair back off her shoulders and then reaching behind her, he slowly unzipped the back of her dress. Tanya closed her eyes as the zip gradually descended down her back.
"You said we weren't going to today," she said urgently, not really making sense, but it was obvious what she meant. She then anxiously grabbed hold of his hands to stop him going any further. He stopped and looked at her.
"Let me go Tanya," he said calmly. The tone was clear, he was being patient with her, but there was a limit to how tolerant he would be. In a very measured way he added, "Remember you are now one of our special hostesses. It's all about entertaining the client. Doing exactly what he wants. Whatever that is." She reluctantly let go of Marco's hands, and she sat still, watching him, as he lowered the left shoulder strap of her dress with his left hand. He placed his right hand onto her shoulder. Her skin felt soft and warm. As he repeated the process with the other strap, she turned to face him. It looked as though she was about to speak so he reached forward and made her kiss him again. He was fed up with her protests.
"Your incredible," Marco said, his eyes wandering over her body, clearly admiring what he saw. He pulled her to her feet, before kissing her again. They stood, Marco holding her to him, as they continued to kiss some more, before he began to drop to his knees in front of her. Kissing down her body as he descended. When he was kneeling, he pulled her dress down further, revealing a lacy black bra, firmly underwired. He smiled, he had guessed as much. He reached behind her and expertly unclipped it.
Tanya momentarily crossed her arms across her chest, but she did not resist him when he pulled them back to her sides.
"Let me look at you," he said. She did not move again, letting her bra fall silently to the floor. When he told her to, she placed her hands on his shoulders and she braced herself as he pulled her dress over her hips and down to the ground. It took several tugs from side to side, but gradually it came down.
Marco kissed her on the tummy, and then to Tanya's surprise, he stepped back from her, before sitting down on a nearby armchair.
"You are incredible," he said. He made a circular motion with his hand. "Turn around," he said. "I want to admire my prize." She complied, slowly rotating around. "I can't wait till we make love." He added. "But for now, that must wait," he sighed. "You guys can have this room for as long as you want today. I guess you and your brother will have some things to discuss." Tanya blushed, her anger rising again at the mention of her stupid sibling. "Remember don't do anything stupid, keep your end of the bargain and all will be well," continued Marco and then in lighter tone, "I will be in touch. Real soon!" And then he left.
As soon as he was gone Tanya collapsed on the bed, trying to make sense of a very difficult day. She wrapped herself in the duvet, wondering if the doorman had hurt her brother very badly and if she really cared. Of course, she did. He was the only reason she was doing this. To save him! How though would she get through what she had to do? Her stomach tightened at the mere thought of it.
In another room, a few floors apart Marco did the same thing. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, reviewing the day. It was a good job he had gone to the control room he thought, otherwise none of these events would have followed. Perhaps it was time to take a greater interest in his father's business. His mind wandered back to what had happened.
Part two
Earlier that day Marco had wandered into the casino control room, nodding to the two bouncers on the door who stepped aside to let him in. He may only have just finished university, but they knew better than to mess with the boss's son. When he was inside, and the doormen had closed it behind him, Marco stood silently surveying the scene in front of him. He was bored and looking for some distraction, so god knows why he had come here.
Surprisingly his father was there. That could only mean bad news; Marco knew enough to know that already. Anyway, you could taste the tension in the air, and at those times it was only Marco who was brave enough to face his dad. Maybe there could be some entertainment here after all. Winding up his father was Marco's favourite game.
His father had his back to him, sitting in front of a large bank of television screens. It was clear he was staring hard at them, a phone to his ear. All of the screens were showing from different angles the same couple. They were playing roulette. A mugs game thought Marco. Fools, don't they realise the house always win, but people with more money than sense seemed to enjoy losing their cash. Occasionally, those so desperate, there seemed no other way took their chances. Marco imagined this couple were foolish rather than loaded, the ones who could pay rarely got the attention of his father.
His father was asking for clarification on how much the couple owed. Marco could not hear the answer. However, it was clearly a large sum for his father to clenched his fists into a tight ball. Marco watched as his old man's knuckles turned white. He listened as his dad said in a measured tone they would discuss later how this had happened. That was not a conversation that would go well for whoever's mess this was.