Real Love Ch. 05

"Actually not at all," Kelly replies. "She's a first class massage therapist and a very good physio too. She just happens to have a very active sex drive and an open attitude about it."

"Sounds like the perfect girlfriend," Brad laughs.

"Maybe in your old life," Kelly smiles. "Now you'll have to get someone more in line with your status. Once we get you in shape, of course."

"Oh yeah. Julian, the personal trainer," Brad says, deliberately looking glum, but kind of relieved to change the subject.

He's all too aware that the conversation with Kelly is creating a little tingly feeling, but the thought of her arranging a casual hookup for him with someone who might work for him makes him more than a little uncomfortable.

"When you've got a rippling six-pack and pecs that women drool over, you can thank him."

Brad shakes his head.

"Kelly, you seem pretty sure I'm going to get plenty of women. I know that my father was pictured with all these different hotties all the time, but I've never been successful chasing girls."

He stands up, going outside to have a smoke and Kelly follows.

"Brad, there's something you should understand about Mr Packard," she says as they walk through the suite. "I only put this together a few days ago, but in all the time I knew him, I never saw him fall in love with anyone. He would date these beautiful women, but only for a few weeks at a time and then he'd withdraw. I don't think he wanted people getting close to him."

Brad sits on a wooden armchair on the balcony and lights up, listening intently to Kelly talk about the man, not the public figure.

"People like Charles and Mr Alden became brothers to him, and in some ways he treated us, me and the other assistants, like his family, but he was always a bit withdrawn, as if there was something he kept inside himself that no-one could touch."

"That's an interesting observation Kelly."

"I think he loved his wife so much that after you and your sisters were born and she passed away, it kind of broke him in the relationship department, that is. I think he wouldn't allow himself to feel pain like that again, so he never allowed anyone to get close to him in an intimate way."

"Sounds like a shit way to live," Brad says, actually meaning it.

"It sounds lonely," Kelly replies. "The thing is, he acted like he wasn't. Now, I just think it was all a front, but I'm sure inside, he was miserable. It certainly explains why he was a workaholic. He didn't fight his disease like he fought so many other things. I think he wanted to die to be with the love of his life."

Brad sits for a moment thinking about that.

"You know, he didn't have to give us up. He had the means to take care of us and I get it. It must be tough to lose your wife when he did, but other people do it and carry on every day."

"Actually, at the time, he didn't really have the means. He was up to his eyeballs in debt for years, taking on as much as he could manage to grow the business as fast as possible. He was in a real technology race and couldn't afford to fall behind, so really, he didn't have the means back then."

"He could have managed," Brad says flatly.

"Maybe," Kelly allows. "The truth is, we'll never know. You can find out a lot of information and make educated guesses, but the only person who knows the rationale behind everything Danny did, was Danny."

"I suppose you're right," Brad shrugs. "Hey, what did you mean earlier when you said someone more my status?"

"Oh, that," Kelly says, taking a seat next to Brad. "I mean that you can't just show up at a black-tie event with some girl who works in the local Walmart and lives with her parents."

"Why not? Lots of good people work in Walmart," Brad says, frowning.

"Because it's not what's expected of you. Perception, remember? Because it's not someone you'll have much in common with and because there would be this enormous gulf between you. You wouldn't be equals, or even in the same social circles."

"Different can be good though."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking down on people or being an elitist when I say this, Brad," Kelly explains. "Imagine a year from now what you have to talk about. She's just had a shit day at work because a customers kid peed in one of the aisles and she had to clean it up. You just flew into town from Hong Kong on a private jet, dumped your stuff in a nearby mansion and met with Giorgio Armani for lunch."

Brad frowns.

"It doesn't mean it couldn't happen though."

"No, it doesn't," she agrees. "But it would take a special kind of woman not to be intimidated or out of her league holding her own in a conversation at a dinner with three movie stars and a couple of millionaires while the media digs into her life for the latest exclusive scraps and scandal. No disrespect to the staff at Walmart or anyone else who works their ass off to put food on the table, but there aren't many people like that around."

"So what are my options then?" Brad asks out of frustration. "It's not that I'm looking for a girlfriend, by the way. I think my life's complicated enough right now."

Kelly chuckles.

"Yeah, I hear you. Okay, options. You should date athletes, actresses, musicians, socialites, anyone with the financial means to retire in their twenties, basically. Oh, and they have to be HOT."

"Why?" Brad asks, not that he objects.

"That's a social profile thing. People will expect you to be confident, on top of your game, so you date beautiful women. It makes you look powerful and it's good for business."

"You're joking," Brad says, but from her expression he can see she's serious. "And that's how I'm meant to live my life?"

"Brad, is there something wrong with dating someone beautiful, talented and successful?" Kelly asks with an amusing smile on her face.

Brad shakes his head, finding this conversation a bit much.

"I think I'm getting irritable. I'm going to try to sleep on that, I think."

"Good idea," Kelly nods. "I'll wake you in a few hours."

Brad and Kelly get up and Brad goes to his bedroom as Kelly splits off and heads for her en-suite so Brad can get some sleep. As Brad strips off and slips under the sheet, he thinks about what has happened since he got out of bed over thirty six hours ago. Adoption, death, inheritance, the cruel twist of fate when it comes to his siblings, Kelly, where he is and what else is happening to him. It's like watching a movie, he realizes, like the series of insane events that has happened to him, is happening to someone in the movie.

His thoughts drift back to Kelly. Brad knows she's hot, and she knows he knows it. He wonders why the hell she even brought that conversation up, telling him she gets herself off in the shower. How the hell is he meant to sleep after that. In spite all of that, Brad falls asleep fairly fast.

* * * * *

"Brad."

"I didn't do it!" he responds quickly as he comes out of a deep sleep.

Kelly is shaking his shoulder to wake him up. She jumps slightly at his response and giggles.

"Have a good nap?"

"Uh.. What?"

Brad opens his eyes, blinking in an attempt to clear his vision. He remembers where he is, exactly where he is, what has happened and what is about to happen, but it feels to him he just nodded off.

"What time is it?"

"It's one. You've slept for nearly five hours."

"Oh, balls," he mutters. "I feel like I just fell asleep a few minutes ago... What time are they arriving?"

"You've got a couple of hours," Kelly grins.

Brad is lying in the middle of the bed on his side and Kelly is sitting on the edge.

"I figured it's time you woke up, had some lunch and then meet with a few people before your sisters arrive, so you need to get up and get in the shower."

He rubs at his eyes and yawns.

"Okay."

"I've already turned the shower on for you so you can walk right in. Towels are on the rail."

Kelly gets up and walks away from the bed, her back to him.

"Move it, sleepyhead!"

Brad looks in the doorway to the bathroom, the soft light in the oval white room is coming from the floor.

"Kelly, is the lighting in the bathroom coming from the floor, or are my eyes screwed up?"

"Clever, isn't it?" she replies. "The white walls reflect the light to give you an even soft light. No harsh lights or shadows on your face."

"It's weird," Brad grunts. "I'm getting up now."

"Finally," she chuckles.

Brad slips off the bed, all too aware he's naked and Kelly is only six feet away with her back to him. He shakes his head and walks into the bathroom, idly noting that there's no door, just an arched gap in the wall. The glass shower cubicle looks roomy and Brad steps inside and closes the door. As soon as it closes he blinks as the glass turns from clear to an opaque white.

The water isn't like a normal shower, but comes from a series of heads and vents, more like a steam clean than a blast of hot water, but it envelopes him in a foggy cloud of warm moisture that both cleans and refreshes him at the same time.

"You in the shower now?"

"Yeah, the glass has stopped being clear," Brad calls back. "Kinda freaky."

He hears her heels click on the floor as she enters the bathroom.

"So here's what's happening," Kelly says.

"You're in here while I'm showering?" Brad says, chuckling as he grabs a bottle of shower gel and sniffs it.

"You can't see me, I can't see you," Kelly points out. "It saves me shouting from outside the room."

Brad smiles and shakes his head at the strangeness of it all. He squeezes out a dollop of gel and begins to soap up.

"When you get out of the shower we'll have some lunch and then Margaret will join us and please do your best not to be crabby with her."

"Is she that annoying?" Brad asks, soaping his chest and stomach.

"Sometimes, but keep that to yourself," Kelly replies. "Then we're off to see Julian, the personal trainer. He'll start putting a program together for you. After that, we see the Doc, then the salon, then back here to get changed."

"How many times a day do I need to change?" Brad asks. "I seem to be going through a weeks worth of clothes in the last twelve hours alone."

"You have something against looking good?" Kelly laughs.

Brad doesn't reply. It's a bit weird soaping his cock and balls while talking to his HOT assistant. He pauses as he realizes he can be standing there jerking off while she sits a few feet away and she's none the wiser. His cock gives a slight lurch in response to the idea, but he shakes his head and moves on.

"So after I get changed? What then?"

"You go to meet your sisters, Brad."

"Fuck," he mutters.

"Nervous?"

"No. Terrified," he admits. "Looking forward to it, but also shit scared, if you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do," Kelly replies. "You done in there yet?"

"Just about."

Brad begins to rinse off all the gel, feeling a lot more awake now than before.

"Cool. I'll step out so you can dry off. There's some shorts and a top on the bed for you."

"You're picking out my clothes for me too?" he questions.

"Just keeping you moving," Kelly calls from outside the bathroom.

Brad cracks the shower cubicle door open, blinking again as the white glass suddenly turns clear, but he can see Kelly isn't in the room anymore, so he grabs a towel and dries off.

Wrapping it around his waist, he steps into the bedroom, spotting a baggy pair of dark blue shorts and a dark green sleeveless T-shirt on the bed. He gets dressed quickly and walks around the suite looking for Kelly.

He finds her sitting on the balcony, a low table in front of her with half a dozen different plates of food on it.

"The chef isn't sure what you'd like for lunch, so he made you up a few platters with different stuff," she explains.

Brad sits down and looks at the dishes.

"Wow."

Kelly smiles.

"Yeah, the chef's fantastic."

Brad can see four or five different types of fish, lobster and prawns. There's chicken, steak, a plate of some sort on crumbly biscuits, different breads, vegetables and fruit, as well as several sauces, dips and garnishes.

"There's enough here for ten people," Brad notes, tossing a prawn in his mouth. "Oh my god, that's delicious."

"I'm allergic to prawns or I would try it myself," Kelly replies, putting a piece of seared tuna and some salad on a plate. She drizzles a dressing over it, then leans back with a fork to eat.

Brad knows it's uncultured, poor etiquette and not a particularly good display of manners, but he simply pulls his chair closer to the table and sticks his fork in the food before him. He's hungry, attacking the steak first, then the fruit.

After a few minutes picking at different dishes, Kelly reminds him not to overdo it as he's getting fitted for a suit and meeting with the trainer, so Brad makes the sad face of a ten year old, puts his fork down and sticks out his lower lip.

Kelly is silently laughing her ass off at his facial expression, thinking he may be easy to get along with and a bit of fun to boot.

To be continued. Stay tuned for Real Love Ch. 06