Seduced by a brute

CHAPTER ONE

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Caitlin climbed into her rented SUV, driving out of the Port Elizabeth airport.

Half an hour and I'll be home, mom.

She delightfully inhaled the salty sea air. If asked to describe paradise, Caitlin would have to be biased and say it was right here in South Africa and without hesitation claim Kenton on Sea to be just that.

A curious smile on her face, she pondered why South Africa was named by its geographical position. If one looked on a map, the country was the most southern point in Africa, separated by the icy Atlantic Ocean on its west and the warmer Indian Ocean on its east. Any more South and one would be right in the middle where the two oceans met.

Caitlin loved visiting Kenton On Sea. The azure blue waters of the Indian Ocean on the one side, and the spectacular, unspoilt Kariega beach and an eco tourist haven on the other side. Unending viewing of bird life, flora, especially the picturesque cycads that were as old as the hills. The most pictorial indigenous natural forest, home to some of the big five animals that tourists yearned to see in national game parks all over Africa.

Another smile had Caitlin thinking of her dad's semi retirement status, as he still did not seem to know how to totally relinquish his hold over the family business. It was like an itch that he just could not stop scratching. So now her dad stayed on the board in an advisory capacity, whilst her brother Stuart headed the organization.

A great visionary he was to, was Stuart, wanting to extend gas pipelines into the neighboring countries, to the North, East and West of South Africa. A civil engineer by profession, Stuart had already put the company on the map in Eastern Europe and Southern Asia. Caitlin's dad wanted her to join the company, but Caitlin was just not content to join the family business.

She had an unhealthy fascination for numbers, and wanted to carve her own niche in the business environment. She was like the hunter who loved the chase, and a confirmed workaholic. Caitlin's mother constantly complained at how much weight she kept losing. Caitlin dare not reveal that on the odd occasion, breakfast, lunch and supper consisted of filter coffee. And on days when her body screamed for food, she would have breakfast at two o' clock in the afternoon.
Though she was not too concerned about the way she looked, to any observer, she was graced with strikingly beautiful features, with an angular face that resembled a porcelain doll and belonged more on one of the modeling ramps of Milan, Paris, or New York, and not in boardrooms with stuffy chauvinistic accountants and veteran corporate strategists. Her complexion was milk white like her mother's, her blonde hair, inherited from her father cascaded like waves to her shoulders. Her eyes, absolutely gorgeous, so piercing, more green than the blue of the ocean depicted a passion for life and fun. Hardnosed and coldhearted accountants were fooled by her looks, she met many across the boardroom table who thought the owner of the blonde looks and ramp model figure were no contest. Exposed by their short sightedness, they were often left dumfounded.

Finally the enormous, tall white building with the chocolate brown thatched roofing came into view. Caitlin purred her pleasure at the enormous weeping willow trees in splendor, its huge branches majestic as it dipped into the lake that ran along the side of The Kenton. It was always breath taking just looking at the surroundings. She loved the cry of the birds, the geese in the water, the untainted air just seemed fresher and nourishing to the spirit.

Their home was huge with many bedrooms, and guest suites, a private suite on the east wing was Caitlin's whenever she visited, overlooking the lake and the cascading willow trees, and the lush forest behind it, having its own entrance, complete with an office, if she needed to work. The west wing was reserved for Stuart, a little bigger than Caitlin's with a distant view of the ocean.