Goddess of Song Pt. 03

Then, Asad came down.

He walked up to Damien and spoke with accented English, "You work for Miss Atkinson, right?"

"That's right."

"Mr. Atwan wants to see you. Please come up to his suite."

Damien went up to the 28^th floor with Asad and was led into the lavishly furnished suite. Atwan was dressed in a traditional thawb. He smiled at Damien, "You did not go out with Loretta today?"

"Miss Atkinson went to the spa and only needed a driver. My partner went. It's my day off."

"I see, I see." Atwan nodded, "How long have you worked for her?"

"Since June, so about a month."

"How do you like working for her?"

"She pays our wages on time."

Atwan laughed, "Yes, she's very organized!"

Then his face turned serious, "Listen, uhm, I'm not going to do small talk, I'll just tell you this: I have an important relationship with your employer, and it would not be a good idea if she gets the wrong idea about me."

Damien was silent, but his expression conveyed that he understood the connotation. Atwan continued, "I am very willing to compensate you generously for being professional about it. Are we on the same page?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Good. Would cash be OK?"

"That would be preferable."

Atwan gave instructions to Asad, who went into the bedroom and came out with a stash of US hundred dollar bills. Damien accepted the cash.

"This should be enough." Atwan said, "And just so I'm clear - if you tell her, I will make sure Asad takes care of you."

Damien looked at Asad. "Can I leave now?"

"Yes, you can. Have a nice day...uh, your name?"

"Damien Karlsson."

"Have a nice day, Mr. Karlsson. I'll see you tomorrow at dinner."

Loretta came back to the hotel later in the evening. She looked a little more relaxed, but still subdued. Bryan waited to see if he would get word from Jeanne about the recorder; he did not. It was most likely that the maid returned the recorder later.

Loretta stayed in her hotel room the next day. According to Jeanne, she did nothing but watch movies on her laptop. For her last dinner with Atwan, they were eating at an upscale steak house. David was sad that he could not go - while he cared not for Moroccan or Chinese food, he loved steak.

The last dinner went by exactly the same way the first two went. This time, Damien did not attempt to eavesdrop on them after leaving. He determined he had heard enough and didn't want to risk getting caught.

Judging from Loretta's lack of emotions after dinner, the men determined that the recorder likely yielded no information for Atwan. Either way, the trip was coming to an end, and everyone looked forward to returning to LA.

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CHAPTER 6

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Loretta gradually regained energy after coming home. Being in the safety of her own home and returning to familiar schedules put her back in her elements. Now that the security team had completed all the surveillance updates, things flowed at a comfortable pace.

The new surveillance system also helped solve another mystery. A few days after returning from Vancouver, David went through all the security footage accumulated from the week before and found the cleaning lady had gone up to the master bedroom, only to reappear in the living room later dumping a stuffed bag on the table and sorting through the contents. She was collecting miscellaneous items from Loretta's bedroom, like a used toothbrush, a pen, and apparently a pair of her pantyhose, to sell to the wrong kind of fans. When confronted, she admitted to also having tried to access her laptop. Loretta promptly fired her.

Now there were no more stalkers, no broken cameras, and the nightshift crew made sure the nights were safe. On the surface, all seemed to have returned to normal. Except that Loretta still ignored Damien.

Damien, on the other hand, wanted to talk to Loretta about Atwan. The Vancouver trip disturbed the security team. They could tell something was not right. Though security was technically their only job, it was preposterous for them to ignore the warning signs. Bryan instructed David to continue probing Atwan's dealings while simultaneously urging Damien to talk to Loretta.

"Kill two birds with one stone." Bryan said to him, "If you talk to her, you can get over your lovers' quarrels and you get to find out what's going on with Atwan."

Damien frowned, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Bryan looked at him with sympathy, "Trust me, I've been with my wife for 15 years. I know what lovers' quarrels look like."

"She won't even talk to me. And when she does, it takes about two sentences for her to explode and tell me to fuck off." Damien kicked the ground, "I don't think that leads well into discussions about a shady businessman."

Bryan was undeterred, "Whether you like it or not, I'm designating you as the bodyguard for the private event she's attending next week. Be the driver, talk to her in the car, OK?"

Damien cursed again, "This is not going to end well."

* * *

The "event" Bryan had in mind was another singer's birthday party. It was on a Friday evening. Jeanne had errands to run earlier in the day and said she would meet them at the party.

Damien waited in the driveway for Maria to finish doing Loretta's makeup. When she appeared at the door, Damien's heart stopped beating for a moment.

She wore a black laced low cut dress that revealed her cleavage all the way down to just below her breasts. The dress ended abruptly half way down her thighs and seemed dangerously close to rolling up at any moment. When she stepped into the car, he saw that the dress was entirely bare in the back. Her hair was curled and loosely cuddled her shoulders. Maria did her eye makeup with a smoldering smoky blend that matched her coral lips.

Damien decided he hated Bryan in that very moment. This evening was going to kill him.

They drove off in silence. Damien searched his mind for small talk. He decided on "You look nice today."

He was surprised that Loretta responded, "Thanks. You look nice too."

There was a brief silence, then Loretta spoke again, "Listen...I'm sorry I was so angry towards you. I...I appreciate what you guys have done to keep me safe. I really do."

Damien felt the warmth in her voice, and he almost smiled, "It's OK. I know I shouldn't have run into your room like that."

He heard a soft sigh from the backseat. Then Loretta spoke again, "Are you going to stay with the car at the party?"

"Jeanne will be with you, right? It's up to you. If it makes you feel better, I'll go inside with you."

"Yeah, I think I prefer if you do." Loretta said, "You can get a drink or something."

Now Damien really had to smile, "Are you encouraging me to drink on the job?"

"Well, as long as you can still drive me home safely, I don't care." Loretta looked out the window, "I don't want you to be bored the whole time."

They arrived at the party, which was taking place at the singer's mansion. There was DJ playing music, drinks at the bar, bikini bodies in the pool, and lots of happy party goers. To Damien, it was just another typical LA party.

Jeanne met them inside and immediately whisked Loretta away to socialize with her new "target". Jeanne had recently set her mind to finding Loretta a new tour manager that could help her revamp her upcoming world tour, and her ideal candidate was an attendee at the party. Loretta shot an apologetic look at Damien as Jeanne dragged her away, "Go get yourself a drink and enjoy the party!"

Damien went to the bar. Given his estimate of how long they would be there, a beer wasn't going to hurt. As he sipped his beer, he glanced around the party. He recognized singers, actors, models, and other entertainment celebrities. But there were also lots of other folks that he did not recognize that appeared important. He figured those were the agents, managers, producers, and possibly studio executives.

Loretta and Jeanne were now engaged with the hot shot tour manager by the pool side. Damien could practically see Jeanne's face oozing anticipation. She desperately wanted Loretta to impress the manager.

Then, a brunette wearing a black cocktail dress entered his field of view and his body stiffened. He recognized her as the woman Asad had brought in to the Four Seasons hotel in Vancouver. The woman that he had been paid $5000 dollars to keep hush about.

His gaze followed the brunette through the crowd. As he was pondering whether he should approach the brunette, the beauty noticed his stare and looked back at him. Immediately, her eyes lit up. She had thought Damien was checking her out. She put on a sultry smile and walked towards him. The brunette had a beautiful body and she was not afraid to show it.

"Hi there." She came up to him, "Do I know you?"

Damien wanted to know who the brunette was. Perhaps through her, he could find out more about Atwan. So he said, "I think I've seen you somewhere before."

The brunette narrowed her eyes and laughed, "That is a terrible pick up line." She looked him up and down, "You aren't dressed like you're here for a party."

To avoid unnecessary attention, he had dressed in a button down shirt and dress pants to look more like a bodyguard than a party attendee. Since it was a hot August summer night, everyone else dressed in casual shirts and shorts; some of the guys didn't even bother wearing a shirt and were proudly showing off their gym-trained pecs and abs. Damien noticed he still got a few looks, but since there were plenty of fresh meat around, he had been left alone thus far.

"No, I'm working." Damien answered.

"For what?"

"I'm Loretta Atkinson's bodyguard."

The brunette cast a look at Loretta, then she looked back at Damien, "You are overqualified for the job."

They started conversing. The brunette was curious how he had come to work for a singer and was willing to answer questions Damien asked her. As time went on, however, Damien realized with disappointment that the brunette was simply a small time actress who also worked under the table as a high-end escort. She had been in Vancouver and Atwan had contacted her manager. She had never met Atwan before and was pissed that upon arriving at Four Seasons, Atwan immediately turned her around and asked her to leave. Damien now knew that was because Atwan didn't want Damien to show up at the suite and catch him in the act.

Since the brunette was not able to offer intel on Atwan, Damien lost interest in her. The brunette, however, was now very interested in getting Damien to go with her into one of the host's luxurious bathrooms and enjoy a quick banging session. She leaned close to him. He could smell her perfume and feel the heat of her body as she whispered into his ear, "I know you have to go home with your boss, but we can have fun in the bathroom upstairs if you want."

She licked her lips and grinned, "I can suck your cock. For free."

Damien looked towards poolside and found Loretta staring right at them. Her eyes were wide and she looked angry. Damien took that as her being pissed that he had crossed the line: she said to enjoy a beer, not enjoy a good fuck, to pass boredom. He got up, "I need to go. Have a good night, miss."

He went to Loretta and Jeanne, who had now finished their conversation with the tour manager. "How did it go?" He asked Jeanne.

"Fantastic!" Jeanne was beaming, "We are going to get Mike Faye for the world tour. I am absofuckinglutely excited!"

Loretta, on the other hand, stared at him, but didn't say a word.

Damien figured the best way to stay away from the brunette, or any other semi-drunken sex-seeking woman, for that matter, was to head back to the car. He told Loretta and Jeanne that he'd wait for them at the car and went back outside.

He sat in the car with the windows down as his mind wandered back to the Vancouver trip.

It looked like Lufti Atwan was interested in Loretta for both business and personal reasons. He still didn't know what their deal was, but it had to have something to do with Atwan managing the OneEmirate fund. On the personal end, he had heard enough of Atwan's chatter with Asad to know that he was frustrated that Loretta had not slept with him. He seemed to be telling Asad that Loretta promised sexual favors, but only after she was certain that the funds would come through. However, she was asking lots of questions about the fund, such as the actual value of the collateral and the balance sheet, that he was beginning to worry that she was going to discover the true nature of the fund, which, according to David, was either a fraud, a money laundering scheme, or both.

It was not clear how dangerous Atwan was. The recorder he had planted was so crude that David wasn't sure if Atwan was a rookie or had intentionally wanted Loretta to discover it, just so he could see if she would panic.

Damien sighed. Bryan was right that he needed to talk to Loretta. It seemed like she had warmed up to him tonight. Perhaps she would be willing to talk on the drive home.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Jeanne texted him: come back inside.

He found Jeanne waiting for him at the house entrance with a worried look on her face, "Loretta is dead drunk. You need to take her home before she makes a fool of herself in front of Mike Faye! He hates unprofessional drunkards!"

Damien was confused, "How much did she drink?" He had left them no more than an hour ago and Loretta was perfectly sober back then.

"I don't know. A lot." Jeanne was nervous, "Help me get her in the car, please!"

They found Loretta lying on the couch next to one of her friends. She still had a glass in her hand. Her eyes, however, showed clear signs that she was close to passing out.

Jeanne grabbed Loretta by the arm, "You are going home."

"No." Loretta tried to fight back, "I'm still having fun."

Jeanne tugged her harder, "Please come before Mike Faye sees you and you regret this for the rest of your life!"

Loretta whimpered as she was put in the backseat. Jeanne put the seat belt on for her and, casting one last concerned look at Loretta, turned to go back into the house to ensure that no damage had been done to the singer's reputation.

Traffic on a Friday night in LA was a nightmare. By the time Damien drove back to the house, Loretta had passed out in the backseat. After a few nudges and calls, she remained unresponsive.

Damien cursed as he reached into the back seat and slung her limp body over his shoulder. He carried her up to the bedroom like a sack of potatoes and put her on the bed.

He thought about what to do. While the nightshift was on duty, the guy was not going to come upstairs to watch her closely. He decided to sit on the couch and wait until she woke up. He plugged in one of the earbuds and watched a movie on his phone. The movie served the dual purpose of keeping him awake and distracting him from thinking about Loretta asleep only a few feet away from him.

Four hours and two movies later, Loretta regained consciousness. She sat up, stared at him, and her body started spinning. Damien brought her some water. She drank and struggled off the bed, "I want to go to the bathroom..."

Damien watched her stagger into the bathroom. He heard sounds of toilet flushing, the sink running, then the electric toothbrush buzzing. Twenty minutes later, Loretta emerged from the bathroom. She looked sober now. Her eyes looked brighter than the dead fish stare she had before. He saw that she had already removed her makeup, but she was still wearing that ridiculously seducing dress.

She looked at the clock and realized how long she had passed out. Sleep deprivation was not what she had in mind for him. She looked beaten, "I'm sorry I got so drunk...you didn't have to stay up for me."

Her voice was soft and unguarded. She had that adorable, innocent look again. Yet, every time he tried to talk to her, she would snap and rain hell on him. It was like groundhog day. He was destined to repeat the torture of seeing her, wanting her, talking to her, and being kicked down on forever.

Damien thought that most people in his situation probably would have quit by now. He must truly enjoy getting beat up mentally and physically. He lowered his head and started laughing. Guess tonight was not a good night to ask her about a shady businessman, after all.

Loretta's eyes got wider, "Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing." Damien smiled at her, "Well, now that you're not going to choke on your own vomit in your sleep, I can leave."

He gave one last good look at Loretta, "You'll be alright on your own, right?"

Loretta looked at him with wide eyes. Her expression changed once more. He couldn't quite place the expression, but it was one that felt familiar.

She called out to him.

"Damien..."

He froze. This was the first time she had called him by his name since high school.

Loretta breathed heavily. Her voice was thick with sadness, "Am I pretty enough for you now?"

Damien was stunned and confused. He wasn't even sure Loretta was talking to him. "What are you saying?"

Loretta looked like she was about to cry, "Am I still not pretty enough for you?"

Damien's mind was pulled back to high school. He now recognized the same expression in Loretta's face when he told her he was not going to prom with her. It was the same look of devastation.

He suddenly realized what had happened. Loretta had looked angrily at him at the party because she saw the brunette flirting with him. The brunette had reminded her of Hayley. Somehow, she had overlaid Hayley onto the brunette and interpreted that Damien was once again ditching her for somewhat he thought was prettier. What was unimaginable to him was that somehow, after having been certified a sexual icon by a worldwide audience, she still thought she was competing with the ghost of high school past.

All her guarded animosity had been crumbled by a long evening of frustration and self-medication through intoxication. There was nothing left besides the raw emotions of remembering her defeat from years ago. She was reliving that fateful morning when he dumped her. Only this time she had the courage to confront him: Would things had been different if I had been prettier?

With that realization, he walked up to her and finally found the right time to say what he had wanted to say for the longest time.

His heart pounded heavily as he said, "You had always been pretty, Ettie. I was dumb. I'm sorry."

Loretta stared at him. Giant tears now rolled down her face, but she looked more happy than sad. Her lips were trembling, "Do you want to kiss me?"

Damien's heart swelled. He pulled her into him, "There are a lot more things I want to do to you than just kiss you."

Loretta sniffed and looked up at him with her tear-strewn cheeks. She swallowed hard and slowly closed her eyes as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a gentle, short graze on the lips that nevertheless immediately sent electric currents through both of them. A few more deliberate brief kisses, then, as if on cue, they became furiously entwined in attacking each other's lips and tongue.

He relished in feeling her body. It was warm, soft, and it was once his until he threw it away. He meant it when he said she had always been beautiful. He remembered how her body felt when she was chubbier and at no point did he ever felt it was less arousing. He truly didn't know why his younger self didn't see it the way he did now.

His hands reached up behind to feel her bare back. Loretta sighed and tugged at his shirt, which was prohibiting her from feeling him. They struggled to get his dress shirt off. "I hate these buttons." She cursed. The belt and the pants, however, came off easily.