Billionaire Romance Boxed Set 2(86)
“Syria. So lovely you could make it.” Erik pulled the chair out for her. “Every time I see you, it is such a pleasure.”
Syria settled on the seat. The table was elegantly set with glassware, wine, and a tray of cheeses. “It looks amazing.”
“We’re just getting started.” Erik sat across from her. “How are you with pheasant?”
“Sounds delicious.”
He nodded at the concierge. “Let Bertram know.” The man stepped away and pulled the gold curtain closed.
“I’ve never been in a restaurant with private dining like this,” Syria said.
“It’s one of the few in town.”
“You said you were visiting,” Syria said, deciding not to mention when, since that had been at the exhibition, and she’d just caused a scene that disrupted the solemnity of the event.
“I am. You might be aware that the Philippines is undergoing some strife.”
“You wanted to escape the turmoil?”
“It seemed best for the moment.”
Syria wondered how involved he might be, if he were part of the politics there, but she didn’t know enough about it to ask the right questions. “So you will return eventually?”
“Perhaps.”
“Did your — did Aliara come with you from there?”
“Yes. She has been with me for five years.”
“Is she going to go back?”#p#分页标题#e#
“No, I have secured a visa for her here.” A waiter appeared, left two small cups of soup, then silently vanished through the curtain.
“And the other one — Malin. Is she from the Philippines too?” Syria laid a napkin across her lap and studied the silverware, reminding herself outside, in for the order to use them. Still, she waited for Erik to pick up a fat round spoon before selecting hers.
“No, I met her shortly after I arrived. She was at the exhibition as well, although you may not have recognized her.”
Syria thought through the women who had been bound. A Japanese girl. A saucy blonde. And her friend Mia. “I don’t remember her.”
“She was the one in black.”
“Oh, yes. Her face was covered.”
“That’s right.”
Syria bet she hadn’t liked that, judging from her eagerness to get on the set with Aliara. But a submissive probably had no right to complain.
They sipped the delicate soup, creamy and full of flavors that seemed to separate and deepen as Syria savored it. She could live like this.
The moment she set her spoon on the saucer, the waiter arrived to spirit the dishes away. “They’re certainly attentive,” Syria said.
“Until I tell them not to be,” Erik said.
Syria’s heart hammered painfully. What had he meant by that? That they could do things and not be seen or caught?
He reached over to squeeze her wrist. “I did not mean to startle you. I just meant that our conversation would not be overheard.” He sat back. “I think I mentioned I have a position open.”
Syria drew her eyebrows together in confusion. “You didn’t mention a spot for a photographer, only your slave.”
“Yes, as my slave. It is the highest position in my organization, including my business associates.”
“I assume you are not married.”
“I don’t have interest in a wife at the moment. When I want children, I’ll reconsider. But for the moment, I have the need of dedicated company, a woman I can count on to do exactly what I ask of her with elegance, competency, and pleasure.”
“So, like a wife, but without her own opinion.”
Erik smiled. “Ariana had many opinions. She shared them with me often, and sometimes, loudly.”
Syria couldn’t imagine the tiny girl shouting.
He leaned forward again, his strong hands folded on the table. “I prefer this arrangement because I often need an ally at business dinners, someone who can rise to any occasion that presents itself, to possibly corroborate a story, agree about a point, or provide a prearranged counterpoint to help in a discussion.”
“So a kinder, gentler second opinion.”
He smiled, his teeth dazzling, his dark eyes alight. “You are very bright, Syria.”
“Tell that to my teachers in junior college.”
Erik took her hand again, running a practiced thumb across her palm. The tingle from his touch zipped through her body, settling in all the right places. Syria stuffed it down. He was an expert at seduction, but she was determined to keep this all business. She withdrew her hand.
“But what about in private?” she asked. “Is Aliara still a wife then?”
“Yes, we are lovers. That is an important element of the arrangement.”