"We're starting to descend so you should put your things away Elena."
As I powered down my laptop I started to feel giddy about seeing São Paulo for the first time but the thought of having to work with Sebastian's ex-girlfriend was leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I was sure she was going to be pissed that I was the person she had to work with, given the way daggers flew from her eyes when she saw me the night of the gala. The wheels of the plane touched the ground and I couldn't wait to get the initial meeting with her over with.
Chapter Eight – São Paulo Part 2
As we rode in the car to the hotel, I noticed that São Paulo was not what I expected at all. I thought I would see a vibrant, thriving city but instead I was met with gray buildings in all shapes and sizes, high density living, horrendous traffic, iron gates and electric fences surrounded even the most modest homes. I knew that crime was prevalent in São Paulo but once I was there, I could see that the people were truly concerned about it. Even the people I saw walking on the street were much more conservative than I thought they would be, wearing modest clothes and little to no jewelry. As the biggest and most cosmopolitan city in Brazil, it just was not what I expected. I had to admit I was a little bit disappointed and it must have been obvious because Sebastian asked me if something was wrong.
I looked at him and decided to tell him the truth. "I guess I had this pre-conceived idea of what São Paulo would be like and it is very different."
He cracked a small smile and a knowing look fell over his face. "Oh, you're not the first person to say that. Trust me, São Paulo is a beautiful city and you will have a chance to see that later today." He waved his hand around at the buildings. "This is only one part of São Paulo, I will show you many other sides and you will not be disappointed."
His words made me feel a bit better so I sat back and relaxed as I took in all of the scenery on our drive to the hotel. We rode in silence as Sebastian checked email and I checked out the city. When we arrived at the hotel two men immediately surrounded us and Sebastian told me they were his bodyguards.
"They will be with us the entire time we are here so don't be alarmed if you notice them every day. Having bodyguards is one of the things that I have learned to live with, you'll get used to it."
"Why do you need them? Is it that dangerous here?" I was starting to feel nervous about being in a foreign country.
"No, they are not with me because I am in São Paulo, they are with me everywhere I go. There have been a couple of kidnapping attempts on my family in the past so we all have bodyguards. You might not always see them, but they are always there. I see that look of fear on your face but trust me Elena, you're not in any danger. You will always be safe when you are with me."
The bodyguard thing freaked me out a little bit because it never occurred to me that they would be necessary, and why would it? I didn't live in a world where I was so rich that I had to have constant protection. But Sebastian's words telling me I would be safe put me at ease. I was beginning to feel extremely comfortable and natural around him and it was a good feeling.
I was blown away by how beautiful the hotel was and I felt like I was in a completely different city than the one I had just driven through. The hotel was a five star hotel and sat behind what had to be gates that were at least 20 feet tall, and there were two security guards standing by the doors. Once we entered the lobby I was blown away by how elegant it was. It was extremely ornate but not in a gaudy way, and the signature crystal vases filled with beautiful fresh flowers were on display everywhere.
The concierge staff nearly broke their necks to get to Sebastian and me to make sure that we had everything we needed. I had never been fussed over like that in my life, but I had to admit that I kind of liked feeling special. We were escorted to our rooms and I just assumed that I would be far away from Sebastian and he would have a gorgeous penthouse suite or something since he was the owner of the hotel. When we didn't go up on separate elevators I just thought that they were making sure the boss was taken care of first, so when we got to his door on the top floor I casually leaned against the wall fully expecting to be asked to wait outside while they made sure Sebastian was settled.
Sebastian waited for me to enter the room first and I was totally confused. Does he want me to see his room or something?
"What do you think?"
What did I think? The room was enormous and stunning and I wished that I was going to be staying in a room like that. The super rich really did have a chance to live like no one else in the world. We walked around the room and the concierge pointed out all of the amenities and little extras and I was hoping I would be shown to my room soon because I was exhausted.
"Is everything to your liking miss?" The concierge had a friendly smile on his face but I was baffled by his question. I stood there looking like what I had to assume was a complete idiot because my brain did not want to allow words to come to my mouth to answer him.
"Elena? Is something wrong? Do you not like the room?"
I turned toward Sebastian's concerned voice and I glanced at the concierge who looked extremely worried and all I could think was "why do they care what I think about the room"? Say something Elena!
"Your room is beautiful, Sebastian. I'm assuming my room is on one of the lower floors?"
He casually put his hands in his pants pockets and smiled at me, amusement written all over his face.
"This is your room."
What? I slowly looked around the room taking it all in and it just did not make sense. I shook my head silently for a few seconds before I managed to get the words out.
"No, there must be some mistake. Isn't this the top floor?"
"Yes." His eyes sparkled as he continued to watch my reaction.
"So this is the penthouse?" I sounded like an idiot. Nice Elena, way to show how smart you are.
"Yes, and this is your room."
"If this is my room, where is your room?" I blurted the words out instantly regretting them. He didn't have to tell me anything; it was none of my business where his room was.
He pointed to a door in the corner of the room. "My room is right through that door."
What was that? Adjoining rooms? I felt like I needed a drink.
"So we have adjoining rooms?" My voice was suddenly very small.
"Yes, is that a problem?" He raised his eyebrows at me waiting for my answer, daring me to say it was a problem.
"Not at all."
He smiled at me and gave the concierge a tip and thanked him for his service and he left. He closed the door behind him and Sebastian and I were left alone standing in the middle of the room, his eyes slowly roamed over my body and then settled in my eyes.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes." My mouth was suddenly very dry.
"Me too, dinner is in an hour. You can wear the black dress you tried on for me, that should be good enough for now. You can donate it to charity after Clarissa provides you with new clothes."
I did need new work clothes since I no longer wore a uniform and I couldn't afford to buy anything new just yet. Hopefully the pieces she gave me would be enough where I could mix and match them to help stretch the few business clothes I did have. Donate that dress to charity? I couldn't do that because I still needed the dress. It was one of very few nice dresses that I owned and just because Sebastian didn't like it, didn't mean I was going to get rid of it. When I had the kind of money he did, maybe I would have the luxury of donating my nice clothes to charity. Nice clothes in my opinion, anyway.
He turned to walk toward the adjoining door and my questions stopped him in his tracks.
"Sebastian, why do we have adjoining rooms? Won't the others gossip about that?"
He turned around to face me and slowly walked over to me. He stopped about six inches away from me, totally all up in my personal space, and gently put a finger under my chin lifting my eyes to his.
"We have adjoining rooms because we are going to be together during this trip, Elena. You know that I want you and I can't wait much longer. The others won't know because we won't tell them. I'll meet you in the lobby for dinner in an hour."
With that, he turned and walked to the door and entered his room, closing the door behind him.
I was in complete shock with everything that had just happened. I was not going to be able to take too many more surprises because the last few weeks had completely changed my life and I was surprised that I hadn't fainted or passed out from the excitement. The hard worker in me was offended that Sebastian arranged for us to have adjoining rooms. It was arrogant and pompous of him to assume that I would sleep with him at all, especially since he was my boss. But the woman in me was craving his touch and I couldn't wait to feel him kiss me and touch me everywhere. I got lost in my daydream and a loud bird outside snapped me back to reality. I didn't have a lot of time to get ready so it was time to rush. I hopped in the shower, got dressed quickly and threw on a bit of lipstick before leaving my room at exactly 6:57 to meet everyone in the lobby.