The Rise of Rachel Price T-Girl Pt. 22

Hunter nodded. "Yes, Sam Spade wrote an article about it. He's out there ripping up wind farms and building new subsidized coal-fired power stations. Ironically, he's really shredding up the Paris climate change agreement. It's basically the response of a large number of disenfranchised poor voters dislocated by years of social progress reacting to an establishment."

Rachel looked muted. "Yeah, okay, I didn't know that. It just seemed weird, right?"

Hunter smiled. "You're young. Democracy is not always comfortable and doesn't always go the way you think it must, but we live by it."

"Why do I suddenly have the urge to sing 'God Bless America'?" Rachel said.

Rachel reached into her cleavage and pulled out a small memory stick. It was little more than a sliver of plastic with metal contacts. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that. Here is Levant's recent email. Turns out the wifi here is easily hacked. FYI, his personal password is 'Rachel.' Original, huh?"

Hunter took the data stick from Rachel's fingers. There was a spark between them. "Thanks, but you need to get out," Hunter said. "You're in danger. You can't go on risking yourself like this."

"I've got a dentist appointment on Wednesday at 12:00, and then I'm going to RE on Union Street. If you happen to be in the cafe opposite, that's good," Rachel said. Then Hunter pushed Rachel against the wall and kissed her. Rachel pushed Hunter away.

"Hunter!" she said. "We are short on time!"

"Sorry, I've also been wanting to do that for ages," Hunter said, his eyebrows meeting in disappointment. Rachel had to resist the urge to kiss him back. Sometimes she was so Rachel so much she forgot what she truly was.

"Another time OK? We can't hide for long. Look, before you go, I want to show you something," Rachel said.

Rachel went to a bed and pulled out a MacBook Air from behind a pillow. She opened the laptop and typed in a password. The screen showed a number of video feeds.These were Levant's personal cameras, the ones he used to watch Rachel about the house. You could see the party as a collage of beautiful dresses and smart suits.

"I managed to hack into this. I can see the house video feeds. It took a few days to break the encryption. I noticed he has a dedicated secure connection to a cluster of compute server farms around the world. He's doing something that requires a huge amount of computing power."

"You hacked into the house security system? You can do that?" Hunter said, clearly impressed. He was looking deeply into her eyes again.

"Yes, I was wearing my lucky stiletto pumps when I did it," Rachel nodded, opening her eyes wide, then relaxing them to the norm. "Yes, I can do that. Am I feeling a little patronized? Oh, yes, I am. Who knew? And that's your cue to get the squat out of here."

Before Hunter reached the door, Rachel felt a bit mad. If she was the actor for Levant, playing the girlfriend. For Hunter, she played the dangerous girl. She grabbed Hunter, pulled him back, kissed him, then grabbed a tissue and handed it to Hunter to wipe his lips again.

"I'm not a good girl," Rachel said. "In fact, I'm a lousy girl. The truth is, I have a very high threshold for personal risk. You're an extreme sport all of your own Nathan. Do you know that? Now get out of here, or next time I kiss you, I will start using tongues." She bit her own lip after saying that. Rachel could do it in a way that was cute; she knew because she had practiced in the mirror. It could drive Levant wild.

She pushed Hunter away, slapped his ass going, and then snapped her laptop shut. Hunter opened the door a little to check the corridor.

"I still don't know who you really are, Rachel," Hunter said about to leave.

Rachel looked over and waved her ass at him. "Really, it's simple. Just check my Wikipedia page."

Hunter left with a huge grin on his face.

The door shut, and Rachel laughed. In a few months, she would be gone again, for good this time. If she was lucky, Hunter would have enough info to bring the Levant empire down. This would keep Levant distracted and off her back. Plus, she realized she liked the power to throw a spanner in Levant's works as much as Levant liked controlling her.

************

Chapter Bed time

Rachel took a deep breath and walked into the master bedroom for the first time with the intention of sleeping in it. This was a big move for her contractually, and they were going to sleep in the same room. The contract said it was to give the impression of their relationship to others. It was early in the morning, people had left others took over some of the guest rooms. Someone had taken over the piano after Jeff Goldblum had kicked off the musician and spent over forty minutes playing familiar tunes. For all the party goers it was time to leave.

She looked around the bed room. She had helped design it, but it was better than she had imagined. The moment she stepped into the bedroom, Rachel was immediately struck by the luxurious and sophisticated feel of the space. The walls were painted in a rich, deep shade of gray, creating a sense of calm and tranquility. The floor was made of polished Italian marble, which added to the sense of opulence and glamour.

At the center of the room was an enormous king-sized bed, draped in the softest, most sumptuous linens she had ever felt. The headboard was an intricate work of art straight from Marrakech, made of hand-carved wood and covered in leather. Beyond the bed was a wall full of floor-to-ceiling windows which overlooked the grand Pacific Ocean. The full moon reflected off the perpetual motion of the waves. Occasionally, a wave would crash and fan up against a pillar left from the failed attempt at an offshore wind farm. The water would fan out like a ice blue peacock in spring.

Levant stepped out of the shower, his tanned, muscular body glistening with water droplets. Rachel couldn't help but steal a glance at his impressive physique, with well-defined abs and broad shoulders. She quickly averted her gaze from his genitals, feeling a twinge of embarrassment at having been caught staring. Levant noticed her sudden shyness and covered himself up with a towel before disappearing into the ensuite.

Rachel took a moment to compose herself, admiring the sleek and modern bathroom design. The walls were tiled in a beautiful mosaic of muted blues and grays, while the floors were made of heated marble tiles that felt warm and luxurious underfoot. A large, walk-in shower with a rainforest showerhead dominated one corner of the room, while a deep soaking tub stood invitingly against the opposite wall.

Levant emerged from the ensuite, now dressed in a set of silk pajamas that hugged his toned physique. He couldn't help but admire Rachel's appearance, noting the way her lacy Versace negligee clung to her curves in all the right places.

"You look fabulous, you really do," he said, his eyes lingering on her smooth legs and flat stomach.

Rachel smiled, though her thoughts drifted to the hectic past few weeks of the home makeover project. The master bedroom was a stunning testament to the work that had gone into the renovation. The sleek, modern design featured black lacquer and polished chrome nightstands on either side of the bed, each with a built-in charging station for phones.

Across from the bed was a gilt-framed mirror, which cleverly hid a TV set behind it. In one corner of the room, there was a cozy seating area with a plush velvet sofa and matching armchairs. The coffee table in front of the sofa was made of smoked glass and brushed stainless steel, giving it a sleek, modern look. The lighting in the room was soft and warm, with recessed fixtures that cast a gentle glow on the walls. Strategically placed table lamps and floor lamps could be adjusted to create the perfect ambiance.

"You should, after all, you chose it. It was in the contract," Rachel thought to herself.

"Happy month seven," Rachel said with a forced smile.

.

As Rachel thought back on the past seven months. The house makeover was a bigger project than anyone had expected. The contractors had only left the night before after one last frantic burst of activity. Then, the cleaners had arrived with Lucy as their overlord, to get things ready for the party. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the incredible experiences she had been fortunate enough to have. From meeting new people and breaking ground on new projects, to short vacations in exotic locations, dinners with friends, sports events, theaters, and award shows, every day had been a new and exciting adventure.

"Are you all ready for the big moment?" Levant asked. He seemed to have drunk a bit too much.

Rachel was slightly tipsy from drinking to, but clear-headed enough to check the beds. In the contract, they had agreed to start sleeping in the same room by this month. Rachel had insisted on separate mattresses. The start of month seven coincided with the house opening. It was late, and the guests were now gone or going back home. There was that same sense of quiet you get after any big event.

Normally Levant and Rachel got on well, they knew what each other was talking about, and they could practically finish each other's sentences. Tonight their conversation was awkward and with out the usual rhythm and flow.

"It feels a bit like a wedding night, doesn't it?" Levant said.

"So I'm just down a wedding dress and a marriage license for tonight," Rachel said, checking the gap between the mattresses.

Levant had a nasty habit of pushing them together. He desperately wanted them to sleep together. Unfortunately, if they shared a bed, Levant insisted she wear a gaff and stay tucked all night. Rachel had complained that her testicles were already shrinking, and the last thing she needed was less time for them to recover. She stuck to wearing dresses so she didn't have to strap up as much. The fashion pages that Rachel watched had already noticed this.

The room was dimly lit, and Rachel could hear the faint sound of music playing in the distance. She wondered what Levant had planned for the night. It had been an exciting and exhausting day, and Rachel was ready to get some sleep. She hoped that Levant would respect her wishes and keep the mattresses apart.

"Would you get married? I mean, technically, it's undoable," Levant said, turning off the lights.

Rachel's eyes adjusted to the dark, and she could see his outline on the matching bed.

"Married for a month sounds like a lot of work. I mean, you would have to change the name on all the fake IDs you generated for me. Then change it all back. So thanks, but no thanks," Rachel said as she got into bed and pulled the covers over her.

She lay down and pulled the gaff down her legs, finally letting Denver's parts emerge for the night. She wouldn't tell him, he wouldn't know. She had the alarm set to waker her before him so she could hide Denver's parts. Levant wouldn't pull the covers back; she knew she was safe. This was really for the staff to consume. It was a public proclamation.

Levant got into bed and turned off the lights. In the stillness, they could hear the sea beyond. "Good night, Cinnamon. If we get married, I'm not going to get you to sign a prenup," Levant said.

Rachel knew he had effectively offered her somewhere between two and five billion dollars for the pound of flesh between her legs. Not bad for something which it would be hard to tell from a mole rat in a police line-up, she thought.

Denver pulled at his scrotum and kept Rachel's voice "That's quite a price tag. But then everyone would think I was a gold digger. If you had a heart attack, I would be in jail quicker than you could say 'slut.'"

"Jane didn't have a prenup," Levant said about his first wife. He had put a picture of her up in the main entrance. She had looked sternly down on Rachel for half the evening.

Rachel's half-closed eyes opened. "What was she like?" she said, lying down in the dark. Sleep eluded her. She had only really slept with Charlie before.

"The first thing you noticed was these fabulous burnt umber eyes looking at you. She found me a poor, rotten wreck of a guy. I was drunk, useless, had nothing, and she was okay with that. I was so angry when I was younger that I did everything I could to piss my parents off, and with Levant money, that could be quite a lot. In fact, I was a playboy - a very good playboy because I was a very bad playboy. The papers loved the sleaze. I kind of went wild with my parents' money... Women are drawn towards me. I'm like a black hole for them - money, drink, parties, drugs. It wasn't a party until I turned up, people said," Levant said.

He paused again, this time to the song of the waves on the cliffs below, acting like a chorus in a Greek tragedy.

"She kind of reached down into the pit and, like the Day of Judgement, pulled me out. She had deep brown eyes, like someone was mixing hazelnuts and gold dust into a chocolate cake mix. She had a whole mouthful of sass - you wouldn't believe it. But she was the first person to ever believe in me. She showed me I didn't have to worry about what everyone else thought. She showed me I could walk by myself. She showed me that I could have a destiny - my destiny. She helped me believe I could be a great man. She made me. She made me a better man than the one she found."

At this, Rachel's chest tightened.

"Do you know what the last thing she said to me was? 'You go knock 'em dead. You show them who you really are, Douglas J Levant. No mercy. No forgiveness. No regrets.' Then the phone went dead. She was on her mobile in the car. We had argued over something unimportant, and she had driven off. A chance to do a deal on a building had come up, and I had phoned her up. She was just sparking with ideas. We were a team then. She had made me in her image, the bold, decisive executive. So, she was turning around to come back to me when the truck hit her. From my end, I heard nothing; the phone went dead. I thought she had just lost reception..."

There was a heavy sigh from the darkness around Levant. "She didn't turn up, so I went and did the deal myself. It was very successful, the best deal I ever did. I was so pleased I couldn't wait to tell her. Then I got the phone call. The funeral was on the day of the groundbreaking ceremony. One hole filling up, one opening. Ironic. "

Levant rolled over.

"That's all I remember. I'm at the ground breaking. The sight was in the bay. You know what color the soil in the bay is? Brown, almost umber clay soil with petechia of limonite and pyrite - the color of her eyes. I find myself looking at the soil at sites and thinking, 'That's the same color as Jane's eyes,' and for a second, I have this slight joy about telling her that. Then I get my phone out, and it's about then I realize she's not there to tell her anymore. That's when you really feel it, you know?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said in silent tears.

"Do you know which site that first big deal was on? Do you know which plans she worked on, the ideas we had together?" Rachel could hardly breathe, her eyes moist.

"No," Rachel said, almost choking on her dry throat.

"It was the refurbishment and expansion of the Thornbury Hotel. Job number one. Then, ten years nearly to the day, I walk in and see you standing there," Levant said. "Giving sass to that man like she did. Kinda makes you want to believe in something, doesn't it? Kind of makes you think you can undo the past and remake the future. Jane used to say that all the time." His voice trembled for the first time. "And in three or four months, you will be gone. Lost again. Gone for good. Kind of makes you wonder what nine billion dollars is for when it can't make someone love you? It's a cruel, cruel world. A cruel world wrapped in a layer of umber clay soil made from petechia of limonite and pyrite."