Introduction
After the threat of blackmail from the stranger, I was determined to meet them, face them and resolve this issue that had returned to my life, although things were about to go wrong and my nightmare was about to start ...
My first date with Raul
I spent the morning not knowing what to do, and I didn't even go down to the pool or go shopping as usual. The hours passed very slowly, and I couldn't focus, so at 7:00pm I dressed in a white shirt and jeans, and nervously went to the Baritimo Club where the blackmailer had said to meet him. At that time there were still few people, so I could choose a discreet table in a corner.
I ordered a coffee, and I waited nervously. At 8:10 no one had yet appeared, and I was becoming increasingly nervous. What did it mean if no one showed up? I had to get to the bottom of this, and I urgently needed to resolve it as quickly as possible.
While I was absent-minded and still immersed in these thoughts, a man sat in front of me, and I looked up and there he was. I couldn't believe it; who it was in front of me was my own neighbour, Raúl!
Raúl lives in my own neighbourhood and is a man of about 46 years. It is not that we are friends or anything, but the times we have met we treated each other politely and kindly, and he certainly never had the appearance of a blackmailer.
Money he did not need, as he is dedicated to managing a small fortune that his family left him. So, he does not have what you would call a job, but he certainly has money to support himself.
I knew that he is married to a woman named Beatriz, who is a member of a law firm, and whom I see little of, and have barely dealt with, since he is almost always on the road. Raul is also somewhat cold, well, like me. I try to keep my distance, precisely to avoid situations like the one I am in now.
I really didn't understand what Raúl could want from me. There was the possibility that he had nothing to do with this, that he simply saw me here alone, and since we are neighbours, just came over to greet me; but as soon as he opened his mouth, I knew that it was not the case.
Raul said, "Hello Alice ... I see that you have received my package." I replied contemptuously, "So it's you! Yes, of course I received it ... What are you trying to do, blackmail me?"
"Easy Alice," he replied. "Let's have a drink and talk like the good neighbours we are", while calling a waiter.
"Let's get quickly to what you want," I replied in disgust. "I do not plan to stay or have anything to do with you," I said, making a move to get up from my chair.
"No, no, Alice," he said. "... we started badly. But hey, since you are so anxious to know what I want, I am going to make you wait!"
"You son of a bitch!" I said, forgetting my manners. "Let's get to it now and finish this ... I suppose you want money for your silence," I asked.
"Money! How vulgar!" Raul said. "No Alice, money is no issue. But since you insist on knowing what I want, it is actually very easy. You know that a simple phone call to the police will end your wonderful life. What I want is for you to get up quietly and join me. When we reach our destination, who will know what I want!"
"Let's go then!" I said, getting up angrily. "The sooner we get this over with the better!"
Without losing his composure, Raúl left money on the table to pay for the drinks, got up and motioned for me to follow him. He was calm, very calm; he knew he was master of the situation and he did not let my arrogant attitude make him nervous.
We went outside and headed to his car, a BMW with less than a year. Raúl liked luxury and always had good cars, which he changed frequently.
"I came in my car," I said. "Tell me where we are going and I will follow you wherever ..."
"No, leave your car here; you will come with me ..." Raúl said bluntly. "Then I will bring you back to go home with your car."
I did not want to upset him and worsen the situation between him and me, so I followed him and got in his car. Raúl started it in a hurry and took off.
Soon, he turned onto a narrow street, in a not very recommended area in town, and I started imaging the seedy place Raul was taking me to. I developed a knot in my stomach, because I'd never been in the area before, and because his intentions did not seem good at all.
In a few minutes, we arrived at an ugly, old beige building with very discrete parking. It looked like it had been a respectful establishment many years ago, but now just had the appearance of renting rooms by the hours. I had no doubt we had just arrived at a Love Hotel where you just go to fuck.
At first, I thought he must be joking or trying to scare me. But as we entered, his demeanour was clear and I knew he was serious.
My face must have been puzzling, because Raúl looked at me and with a cynical smile and said, "I see you know the place ... Have you been brought here before?" like the pig he was.
"Only by hearsay," I said. I had never been here. "But if you want sex in exchange for your silence, you better find yourself a whore. I will never sleep with you!"
"Oh, but that's what I did..." he said looking at me cheekily, and I caught his hint.
The Love Hotel ... and My Violation
We entered the parking lot. I looked everywhere, scared in case someone I knew recognized me in that compromising hotel.
Raúl took a small black briefcase from the trunk of his car that intrigued me. Would they be the originals of the evidence he had against me, to make the exchange with me, after getting what he wanted in return?