Blissful Awakenings Page 11

  “Exactly. You don’t really need me here. And, no offense, but you don’t really have much going on that you need me to schedule anything.” She shrugged. “But without other assignments from Bo, I don’t have much else to be doing workwise.”

  They were silent for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Courtney wondered how she could fix the situation while Olivia was concerned that she’d maybe said too much. Olivia was finding it easy to speak openly to Courtney after what seemed like a lifetime of working in a cutthroat environment with coworkers who wanted to stab her in the back to take her job and Bo’s previous girlfriends, who were willing to cut her down to her face out of jealousy for the time she spent with her boss. Assisting Courtney was actually pleasant, and Olivia had to keep sternly reminding herself that Courtney was a client and not a friend she could be so open with. She decided it was time for a change of subject.

  “Anyways, enough about me.” Olivia gave Courtney a wicked grin. “What’s this I see that your interest and desires are publicly displayed on the OCS? Did you change your mind about what you wanted to partake in while you’re here?”

  Courtney immediately turned red and ducked her head, not ready for that line of questioning. “Um, yeah. I might have tried out an, um, encounter last night.”

  “What? That’s great, Courtney! I’m so glad you’re taking advantage of being here. That’s the whole point after all.”

  “Yeah. It was...nice.” Courtney couldn’t help a ridiculous grin at the memory of Raife pushing her up against the bedpost.

  “Let me know if you have any questions about anything.”

  Courtney gave her a look, and Olivia immediately laughed and corrected her statement. “Anything about the Temple, woman. Get your mind out of the gutter.” She sobered a little then added, “But honestly, you can also talk to Lisa or any of the other staff on the Pleasure level to ask questions about that kind of thing. Or if you get bored, they can help you find something a little more exciting.”

  Courtney nodded and was about to ask about profiles and how she could look up Raife to see his interests and desires, but they were interrupted by a man walking past their table.

  “Oh, hey! You’re that chick that won the Pleasure Temple thing!” He was with a group of other guys who all looked to be in their early twenties. “Guys! This is that chick who won three months at that sex place!” He turned his attention back to Courtney and pulled out his phone. “Can I get a picture with you?”

  Before Courtney could answer, the rest of his group converged on their table. One of the other men gave Courtney the full once-over, stopping for a moment to stare at her breasts. She wasn’t sure exactly what he got out of that since she was fairly conservatively dressed in a red pair of cropped jeans and a high cut blouse, but he was clearly checking her out.

  “What’s it like in there?” He asked while another guy in the group openly leered at Courtney and Olivia. “Yeah, what’s it like? Did they fuck you in the ass yet?”

  Courtney pulled back in revulsion at the man’s vulgar question, which was followed by his bray of laughter.

  “Time to go,” Olivia said under her breath. She stood and Courtney followed suit.

  “Oh, come on, ladies.” The vulgar one said, walking after them. “Why don’t you come party with us? I bet we’d be a lot more fun than what you can get in the Temple.”

  Olivia paused from where she’d been texting their driver for a pickup. She looked the vulgar man up and down. Then laughed. “I don’t think so. You see, we have actual men in the Temple. Not children pretending to be men.” She smiled then pulled Courtney along in her wake.

  Courtney glanced back, afraid the men might try to retaliate. The vulgar one started to follow them, but one of his friends, the one who had first identified Courtney, grabbed his arm and held him back.

  Olivia tugged on Courtney’s arm to keep her moving. “Come on Courtney. We need to get out of here.”

  Thankfully, their car wasn’t far away. When they were safely in the backseat, Olivia turned to Courtney.

  “Just what Bo and I were afraid would happen. I’m not sure you should do too many outings by yourself until people forget about you winning the contest.”

  Courtney nodded distractedly. She couldn’t get over the shock of the encounter. Not at being recognized, though that had been weird, but at the audacity of those men to be so crass and gross to her face. It felt more like the kind of thing you saw on forums from online trolls. What gave them the balls to treat them like that?

  “Let’s focus on getting ready for tonight, okay?” Olivia said, clearly trying to distract her.

  “You were kind of a badass back there.”

  Olivia shrugged. “After working as an assistant first at Fantasy Island and then as an executive assistant at the Temple, I’ve learned to have a thick skin. Usually, it’s better to just walk away, but sometimes I can’t help myself.” She paused. “Are you okay?”

  Courtney nodded again, then forced herself to take a deep breath to calm her still fast-beating heart. “I’m fine. I just…hadn’t been expecting that. What were you saying about tonight? I thought I had lots of time before I needed to get ready.”

  Olivia turned her phone around so Courtney could see the text she’d received from Bo.

  Bo: Please let Courtney know that we’ll be meeting for an early dinner before the show.”

  “Oh. Shit.”

  “Exactly. We have a little time to get you ready, but we’ll need to move up your appointments with hair and makeup.”

  “I mean, I could just do it myself…”

  This earned Courtney a look. Her immediate thought was how Raife hadn’t seemed to mind her DIY style last night, but then Olivia asked, “Do you really want to do it yourself when you could have a team of professionals do it for you?”

  That was a fair point. “No.” She stifled a sigh and then had to remind herself that she was living most other people’s dreams right now. A life of luxury, Olivia had called it the other day.

  And, she thought with a genuine smile, I get to see Bo again. Her heart rate, which had finally begun to slow down, picked right back up at the thought of Bo. She couldn’t keep a smile off her face for the rest of the ride back to the Temple.

  Olivia left her on her own for half-an-hour so Courtney could get changed into the dress she’d be wearing. It was a blush pink silky affair with spaghetti straps and a low-cut top that draped over her breasts threatening at any second to expose them. It was paired with matching pink heels and made more sophisticated with a slightly darker pink shrug to cover her bare shoulders.

  The chime of something arriving in the delivery system made Courtney jump. She opened the small door to find a box inside with a note taped to it.

  “What’s this?” Courtney murmured to herself. She read the note aloud. “I can’t wait to bend you over while you’re wearing this. Raife.” Her cheeks reddened and she immediately flashed to the memory of his hand covering her mouth as she climaxed.

  She didn’t have much time, so she ripped the box open as quickly as she could. Inside was a barely-there plaid skirt and a matching, bikini-like crop top. Oddly, there was also a small tie and a pair of black rimmed glasses with no lenses.

  Had she not found the card that explained the outfit as a sexy librarian, she would have guessed it was a naughty schoolgirl costume which she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with.

  Librarian, though...

  She smiled. Oh yeah. She could do sexy librarian.

  Chapter 8

  When she got in the backseat of the SUV, Bo was already in the vehicle waiting for her.

  “Courtney, you look...” he paused, taking in her dress while she climbed up into the vehicle. If he was waiting for a nip slip, he’d be waiting a long time. The double-sided tape Olivia had showed Courtney how to use would make sure that didn’t happen.

  When the driver shut the door behind Courtney, Bo was still staring at her without finishing his
sentence.

  “I look…what?” She fished, trying not to grin mischievously.

  “Like a million bucks,” he finally finished, smiling back as the car left the garage and emerged into the evening Vegas sun.

  “Hmm. But not a billion, huh?” Courtney was feeling braver after seeing Raife’s gift. It was nice to know that someone had enjoyed an encounter with her and wanted more.

  The laughter Bo saw dancing in Courtney’s eyes sent a jolt of pleasure through him. It made him happy that she was getting more comfortable in his presence.

  “If that dress slips any lower, it might be a billion,” he joked but his voice had a slight rasp to it and made Courtney flush a little. Was Bo Ryans really attracted to her?

  Maybe this is a real date after all, she thought.

  “So, what’s the venue for dinner?” She quickly asked to change the subject.

  “I thought we’d keep a lower profile tonight. Olivia mentioned that you had a bit of a run-in today with the nastier side of the public.”

  Courtney’s smile vanished as she remembered the man’s gross words, and Bo immediately regretted bringing it up as her mood changed.

  “I should have listened to you, I guess,” she admitted.

  “You can’t stay cooped up in the Temple forever.” At her sideway look, he amended, “Okay, well, yes, I guess you could, but Olivia says you want to see more of the sights while you’re here.”

  “I do. I saw a few things today, but I know there’s a lot more to Vegas than just the casinos.”

  “Like what?” He asked, genuinely curious what would capture her interest.

  “Like, there’s a whole historical tour about the Vegas mob.” Her eyes lit up again, the earlier incident once more forgotten. “And I hear there’s a secret underground tunnel that sounds like it would be fun to see. Just…things like that.” She trailed off. “I’m sure those sound pretty boring to you since you’ve lived here for some time now.”

  “Actually,” he said rubbing his chin in that way that Courtney thought made him look sexy, “I’ve never taken much time to get to know the city.”

  “Really? There’s so much history here!”

  “That’s right. That’s what your degree is in, right? History?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “It was part of your profile information for the contest.” He said, but thought, And I may have stalked you a little. Okay. A lot.

  “What did you study in college?” Courtney suddenly asked him.

  “Mostly economics and business, but I took a little of this and a little of that along the way.” He shrugged. “Nothing too exciting.”

  “What was your favorite class?”

  He opened his mouth to give the boring answer he always gave during interviews, but surprised himself when he said instead, “Philosophy, actually.”

  “Yeah? I wouldn’t have guessed that about you. What made you like it?”

  He paused. “The subject matter was fascinating of course, but I think it was more the way the professor taught. You could tell she was passionate about it, and it made the class a lot more interesting.” Not used to speaking so candidly, Bo started to change the subject but was interrupted.

  “Who was your favorite philosopher?”

  “Well… Marcus Aurelias was always interesting—"

  Courtney barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes but couldn’t manage to keep from saying, “An emperor. Of course.”

  Bo’s mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile before he continued answering, “—but Epicurus had a much more profound impact on my way of thinking.”

  “Isn’t Epicurus the guy who was kind of against sex?”

  Bo tipped his head a fraction. “He’s been quoted as saying, ‘Sex never did anyone any good.’”

  “So…how can he be your favorite philosopher if he’s basically against the very thing you’ve made money off of? The sex business?”

  The grin she received in response to her questions made Courtney wonder what kind of trap she’d just walked into.

  “It might look like I’m in the ‘sex business’ as you put it, but really, I’m in the business of providing people a safe place for pleasure. I know Fantasy Island seems like a twenty-four seven orgy—"

  Courtney almost interrupted to tell him that she’d literally seen an advertisement for a Fantasy Island show that was exactly that but decided it would be best to hear him out instead of potentially pushing his buttons at the very beginning of this date.

  “—but it only got that way because I allowed it to open up to the public. Initially, it was very much like Pleasure Temple where the focus was pleasure. And, while, yes, pleasure might mean sex for some people, for others, it might mean reading a great book all day with no interruptions. Or a foot massage by a trained masseuse. Keeping Pleasure Temple closed to the outside world by banning social media and requiring nondisclosure agreements from our guests has been one way to allow people to come and actually not feel the pressure to participate in sexual encounters.”

  “Huh. I can see how that makes sense. So, what is it that does make Epicurus your go-to guy?” She tried to lighten the mood a little with a smile and was glad that Bo responded with one of his own. She hoped she hadn’t offended him by saying he ran a sex business. That hadn’t been her intention.

  “He prescribed to the idea that we should seek pleasure and avoid pain, but that sometimes pain is unavoidable if our ultimate goal is to achieve a higher level of pleasure. In other words, sometimes we have to make calculated decisions of what pains we’ll go through if it means achieving the long-term goals that bring us the most pleasure.”

  “Hmm.” Courtney mulled that over for a moment. Bo appreciated that she was considering this idea rather than dismissing it with a joke or changing the subject. Some of his past girlfriends had done just that when the topic came up or when he wanted to talk philosophy. It wasn’t that women he’d dated hadn’t been smart, it was that they simply hadn’t been interested in this kind of conversation.

  Finally, Courtney said, “To a certain extent, I think everyone does that, right? I mean, we work in positions we hate, which is the pain part, just so we can make money to buy the things that bring us pleasure, so I guess he’s onto something there.” She shifted in her seat and almost laughed as she watched Bo’s eyes fight not to jump to the droop of fabric barely covering her breasts. “I guess the real question is, is our outing considered pleasure, or is it part of the pain for your job?”

  Bo couldn’t keep himself from grinning as Courtney blushed a little at the audacity of her own question. He liked this side of Courtney and only wished he could have a little more time to spend with her. Maybe it would make her even more brash.

  “Being with you is all pleasure, Courtney.” Bo’s deep voice sent a shiver down Courtney’s spine. “As for the meetings I cancelled to make tonight happen? Those were absolutely pain.”

  The ride ended shortly after that and before Courtney knew it, Bo was helping her down from the SUV. For a short, thrilling moment, his hand found the small of her back, but it was gone just as quickly, leaving Courtney wishing he’d touch her again.

  He’d chosen a well-known Japanese restaurant with a warm, romantic ambience. When the waiter led them to the table near the waterfall feature, Bo felt he’d made the right choice as Courtney noted how lovely it was.

  They made small talk as the waiter took their orders and returned with drinks, but as Courtney sipped plum wine and Bo swirled a whiskey, he asked, “So, your honest opinion now: What do you think of the Temple?”

  “I mean, I’ve only been here for one full day, but so far it’s been really nice. There are so many options for, um, encounters in the OCS that it’s been interesting to flip through them all. I’m also looking forward to having a personal trainer for the first time.” Courtney was proud that she’d managed not to blush when she’d mentioned encounters. “Do you work out on the gym level, or do you have your own private
gym on the top floor?” She was genuinely curious. It would be interesting to run into him somewhere in the building. Like, say, the Pleasure level. At this thought she did blush.

  “I don’t usually workout down there because I have a small gym in my apartment, but I do occasionally use the larger gym to run on the track. There’s only so much treadmill a runner can take.”

  “Oh, you run? Me too! Or, well, I did. I’m planning on taking the opportunity to get back into it while I’m here.”

  From there they fell into conversation about running and what got them started in the sport. Only occasionally did Courtney remember that she was speaking with a famous billionaire—usually when the waiter returned to check on them or replace their drinks. During the rest of dinner, Courtney continually found herself engaged by his questions. It was refreshing to have someone actually listen to her answers, too.

  She began to notice some of his gesturing habits, too. Like that when he wanted to think about an answer, he put his hand to his chin before speaking. Or that, when he could tell how the rest of a story would end, his eyes would grow wide, but he didn’t interrupt to say the punchline. She also noticed that he leaned forward a lot, listening attentively when she spoke. Courtney wasn’t sure if that was just a good habit formed while trying to win over clients or not. If it was, what was Bo trying to win from her?

  For Bo’s part, he loved Courtney’s witty responses. When they’d first met, he’d been taken with her but had been scared she might be too intimidated by him to be herself. Now he wished they could cut straight to the end of this date so he could get her out of that dress and kiss that spot on her neck she kept self-consciously touching when she told the funny parts of a story. Or the way she struggled but continued trying to use chopsticks to eat the sushi rolls she’d ordered.

  Over dessert, Courtney finally found enough courage to broach a subject she’d been thinking about since lunch with Olivia.

  “Bo, I kind of feel like Olivia’s skills are being wasted on babysitting me. I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, and, though it’s pretty amazing to have a personal assistant like Olivia, I also would feel more comfortable if she had other things to do. As someone who’s been a personal assistant, I can’t imagine being an executive assistant to you, and then being downgraded to scheduling poker practice sessions and dinner dates for a newb like me.”