A unknown number appears on the screen of Camelia's cellular phone.
"Should I let it ring and have the voicemail pick up?" She mumbles in contemplation while biting her lower lip. It was Saturday afternoon as she and Gloriana lounged in the family room watching a movie.
"Who is it?" Gloriana asks, leaning her body forward to see the caller.
Camelia holds up her phone.
"Just answer." She replies with a careless shrug of her shoulders.
Camelia stands and shuffles out to a more secluded area of the house as her phone rings and vibrates in her hands.
Swiping the screen she answers. "Hello?"
"Camelia." A soft masculine voice floods the line. "Hello, it's Kivanç speaking."
Her lips part in surprise and her heart lurches in her chest uneasily.
Kivanç.
The handsome man at the charity auction.
"Hello? Are you there my beautiful lady?" His thick accent vibrates loudly against her ear drum. She pulls the phone away slightly from her ear, glancing at the screen.
Camelia frowns and gulps nervously. Clasping her phone tightly she presses it against her ear once more.
"Yes." She replies breathlessly. "I'm still here."
"I do hope I am not disturbing you?" He asks curiously.
"No, ummm no, I'm at home watching a movie actually."
"Hmmm...well how are you?" Kivanç continues as if he never heard the awkwardness in her tone.
"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" Camelia asks pleasantly running her hands over her skirt, hoping she sounded in control.
"I am well. I was wondering if I can have the pleasure of your company for dinner tonight. I apologize for the short notice but I am expected back in Istanbul in two days time and I do not know when I return. I also must admit, I'm quite eager to meet with you and I refuse to leave without seeing you again."
Camelia blushes hotly.
That was bold. His statement sounded more like a plea, if not a little hopeful, as he asked for a short notice date.
Her first date.
It was sooner than she expected he'd phone shortly after the auction. It passed nearly a week ago. She face palms her forehead and begins pacing nervously not knowing how to respond. Most girls would have been ecstatic to be asked out by such a handsome man but Camelia wasn't.
She was scared again, and unprepared– never believing he would reach out to her. But how was she expected to move on if she didn't take chances as she promised herself she'd do? If she didn't step forward she'd be stuck in the same place and never know.
Kivanç's effort was a reflection of his interest. Her inner conscious reasoned. A man who was pursuing me for the first time in my life.
She finally stopped chasing and became chosen. All her life Camelia believed she was making the right choices. Ultimately, they were the wrong choices leading her toward the wrong path, and the wrong man.
Perhaps Kivanç was her future and maybe he was the worst mistake of her life.
"I take your silence as a no. I am sorry if I disturbed you Camelia...." A disappointed Kivanc voiced. A long sigh escapes his lips, misreading her hesitation.
It was time to invest her energy in the present and not dwell on the past.
"No, Kivanç I would love to see you. I-I just had plans with my cousin for dinner and I..." She trailed off.
Gloriana and Camelia were planning dinner later that very same evening after the movie ended.
"I can understand your reluctance." He remarks. "I don't mind if this cousin of yours accompanies us...if this makes you comfortable."
Yes it would, she thinks. At least his sole attention wouldn't be on her alone, she was nervous as it is to be around him.
"I would hate to impose on you by bringing her along." She quickly replied instead. It was uncomfortable to wedge Gloriana's presence in his plans. But she needed her there for moral support.
"Absolutely not. The more the merrier." His tone sounded cheerful and welcoming. "I'm sure you would like to have her with you as a chaperone." He teases. Camelia could imagine a smile lighting up his attractive face.
She blushes again. Gloriana was only a few years older then her, she wanted to add but she bit her tongue.
"Thank you Kivanç." Camelia responds sincerely.
He understood her nervousness. Easing her discomfort and lifting her fears of being alone with him. It was simply sweet and completely unexpected.
"If you don't mind giving me your address, I can escort the both of you to the restaurant. I hope you like Italian?" He asks.
"I love it." She replies quickly. After giving him her address she ends the call and clasps her phone against her chest for a moment before going back to inform Gloriana of their changed plans.
It would be a new experience. To go out with someone who was interested in her for the first time. Admittedly she craved his attention. Kivanç was a genuine man with a good heart. She was conscious of it from the beginning of their meeting. The energy he emitted was uplifting and positive.
Camelia believed in fate. Recalling their brief conversation. It was the driving force that made their paths cross.
For those who seek will always find a way.
Kivanç found that way. Twice now.
After giving him the information they end the conversation. Camelia strides back toward the living room.
"Gloriana go home and get ready. We are going out." Camelia states plopping down beside her cousin once again.
"I already know we're going out!" Gloriana burst out in annoyance and a roll of her eyes. "We still have time." She stuffed her mouth full of popcorn, redirecting her attention back to the movie.
"Nope. We are going out with Kivanç, the man–the bidder I danced with at the auction." Camelia clarified, staring at the television screen unseeingly pondering what to wear.
Gloriana began coughing uncontrollably and a splutter of popcorn bursts from her mouth. Her face turned a dangerous shade of red and her eyes watered. Camelia quickly hands her the cup of lemonade placed on the coffee table before her and pats her back forcefully.
"Choke on a kernel?" She asked.
"Y-yes." She started and cleared her throat before continuing. "The hot blonde?" Camelia nods. Gloriana coughs delicately. "He's the one that just called you?"
Camelia only smiles this time in confirmation.
Gloriana's eyes round to the size of gulf balls. "Am I a third wheel in all this?"
"I explained how we had plans." Camelia shrugged. "He has two days left before he departs to Istanbul...so he invited us both." She purposefully omitted the details.
"That was nice of him. He's sexy as sin too!" Gloriana says dreamily. Camelia shakes her head at her.
Gloriana was always the more outspoken one in the family just like her mother Cici. She was never shy to voice her opinion and flirted with whatever walks on two legs–especially men. A boy crazy female.
"Gloriana behave." Camelia admonished with a little annoyance. For a moment she regretted having her tag along. "I mean it, don't embarrass us."
"Oh I won't." She says as she stood. "See you in a bit!" Waving with a Cheshire smile.
******
It was an uneventful evening, Camelia thinks quietly and blows out a frustrating breath.
All throughout the night Kivanç eyes her longingly.
It was evident he wanted to speak to her intimately. But there was no privacy. Gloriana ends up being in the way, specially in the middle of two of them. Always dominating the conversation and attention, leaving no room for them to talk.
Sitting beside Kivanç in his sleek white Tesla Sedan with Gloriana in the back seat they continue listening to her babble. It reached a point to where Camelia wanted to pull her hair out and happens to spare Kivanç a sidelong glance wondering what he was thinking.
Feeling her stare he shifts his head and sends her a quiet wink as a corner of his lips lifts in a smile. They were both resting their arms on the canopy between them and Kivanç brushes his arm against hers in silent communication.
Their bare skin touch making Camelia blush. She had the sudden sensation he wanted to hold hands watching his fingers twitch closely to hers.
Camelia bites her lip, shifts in her seat and crosses her legs, accidentally exposing more of her thighs in her dark blue dress. Kivanç's eyes zero in on her thighs, she felt it rather than noticed it.
His gaze seared her flesh.
Clearing her throat uncomfortably she keeps her head immobile, staring out into the distance of the night.
"Gloriana, direct me towards your house so I may drop you off." Kivanç announced interrupting her nauseating rambling.
"Yes, I'm just around the block! It's the first house on the right." She chirps happily unaware of the discomfort in the air.
Once Kivanç and Camelia bid her a goodnight, he turns the car around and directs it towards her house which was very close by. Now that the car held only the two of them Kivanç clasps Camelia's hand in his and raises it to his lips to leave a lingering kiss on her knuckles.
In reaction to his unexpected gesture, Camelia's stomach clenches and her toes curl inside her red stilettos. He continues to hold their intertwined fingers against his chest.
Ever the gentleman, as soon as they reach her home's circular driveway he gets out and opens the door for her, holding her hand and never letting go even when he helps her up the steps of her parent's home.
Camelia opens her mouth to begin to thank him, when he twirls her into his arms and bends his head to apply a chaste butterfly kiss on the lips.
It caught her off guard as she stood there as immobile as a garden statue.
Kivanç's lips were soft, gentle and non-pressuring as he lifted them and eyed her lips greedily trying to restrain himself from stealing more kisses. He clutches her by the waist and holds her against him placing a rougher, harder repeated kisses to her forehead. Camelia closes her eyes and inhales his sweet exotic cologne as she rested her hands over his shoulders.
For someone whose never received a kiss from a man before, her reaction was surprisingly calm and relaxed.
"Thank you for tonight." He murmurs, leaning his forehead against hers. "It was very....interesting."
There was humor in his tone.
Camelia couldn't help it, a giggle escapes her lips. Kivanç soon joins her. She lifts her eyes and stares deeply into the deep blue sea depths of his gaze.
"Thank you and I'm sorry about Gloriana. It's apparent once she starts she can't stop." She whispers.
"Next time. It will be only the both of us." He whispers huskily.
It sounded more like a oath, a promise, which Camelia believed.
Sensing the call of his heart which reached out to her, Camelia believed his intentions were true and believed everything he wouldn't do to hurt her.
"Wait for me." He requests, his touch making her realize she never wanted to leave his tender embrace.
He made her feel cherished. Like she was the only girl in the world. She dressed up that evening for him. Wanting his attention, wanting to look good for him and in return he simply made her feel worshipped with only one look.
The promise of change was in the air. Camelia read books to fill up on life, finding comfort in literature. Now, her own story was being written, a marvelous beginning, a adventure brewing into the near future. The power of change was always within her, she just had to learn to let go, open her mind and allow it to go the extra mile where it was never crowded.
Nobody could predict her future, the only way to get one was to create it.
"I will."
Camelia watches Kivanç leave in his car oblivious of the car stationed along the corner.
Watching them.
******
After taking a long shower, having a nice fulfilling meal thanks to Linda, his cook, who would come in everyday to make sure he ate regularly, Stefan strode into his den, sat behind his expansive sleek black desk and adjusted the computer screen.
Scrolling through his emails, he stopped when he spotted the one from Julien St. James. Resting his elbows on the surface of his desk he leaned closer to his computer screen and clicked on the email.
It contained a file about Nathan Diam–the suspect.
It listed his height, age, date of birth, a recent picture and a detailed profile about his life before, during and after his prison time. Stefan focused his hard stare on the man's picture. He was a rugged man, who appeared intimidating, and highly dangerous from the glint in his eye. His menacing glare was dripping with loathing.
Nathan Diam's lips lifted into a challenging smile. The threat was evident in the casual set of his shoulders. Their was a mountain load of hate hidden inside the man. With one look, Stefan judged and concluded that this one individual would do anything to mark his revenge.
He's seen many criminal profiles. He's brought down many like his type. Without a shadow of a doubt, Stefan could verify based on his years of training and expertise, that Nathan Diam was indeed capable of many crimes.
Lips set in a grim line he continued reading.
According to the file, he stole, plumaged and ravaged many companies, leaving high profile business men penniless. He was previously apart of a organized crime group. The offender used his leverage over many and inflicted fear and force to take what he wanted–Blackmailing families, misuse of weapons, the list went on. His threats of violence and the inflictions of pain and suffering was listed part of his criminal profile.
The threatening letter was attached in the file.
Stefan recalled his brief conversation with Annie, Julien's wife. Just before he concluded his meeting she joined them and explained the night about twenty-five years ago when she exchanged heated words with Nathan at the same auction they attended. The letter was delivered to her specifically. Whoever was there was watching and waiting for the exact opportunity.
It wasn't until they arrived home did they discover the contents of the letter.
The auction. 25 years ago Annie's...** flashback**
"I don't think we have ever met, my name is Nathan Diam. I am the one that lost the last bid..."
Annie's eyes made contact with his silk tie, than slowly trailed upward to his wide jaw, nose and lastly ending on his cold penetrating, calculating eyes. She managed the urge to not cringe, struggling to mask the disgusted look off her face.
The man was not handsome, not in the slightest, his features were harsh and uninviting. His body language was cocky, dangerous, lethal even. However, he did not smile, his cold, green eyes bored into hers in challenge and anger as if she were the reason he lost the bid.
"Can I help you?" She asked, mirroring the same cold look.
Nathan's eyebrows rose in astonishment at the unhinged challenge she threw back in his face.
Anger overtook his harsh features as he narrowed his sharp gaze on the young confident beauty. No woman has ever challenged him as she did, standing before him eye to eye. It was obvious she did not know who she was dealing with.
"You have quite the nerve to speak to me like that, little one." He threatens in a dangerously low voice. "Pity I didn't win the bid, I would have loved to break you."
Annie glares, with her chin held up high, feeling her own features harden. "Look at me. Does it look like I give a damn?" She retorts back.
She wanted to scoff in his face, glad she irked his ego, she was not impressed by his intimidation, yearning to slap that hard plained, hideous face of his.
Determined to leave and never look back, Annie moved away when Nathan pulls her roughly by the elbow forcing her to halt her steps while invading her personal space.
She bunched her gown with her fist in anger.
They were standing side by side, his large hand still clasping her arm tightly. Annie looked straight ahead, clenching her teeth together trying to hold back from making a scene in the lively ballroom.
Julien watches from a short distance, narrowing his eyes at Nathan, who was known to be vicious and dangerous. A businessman like Julien, and one of his rivals, Nathan was notoriously known to lack a good standing reputation. He used his money as his power and his threats as leverage, instead of his skill and name.
Many feared the man, he was known to have no mercy.
Julien struggled with the urge to intervene and rip Nathan to shreds with his bare hands when Nathan touched Annie, feeling his own anger rise. A rush of possessiveness coursed through him, wanting nothing more than to protect and shield her from the monster who calls himself a man.
Julien took a step in her direction needing to interfere, his body moving without realizing it until he was a few yards away. Annie continued struggling, working desperately to subdue her actions as much as possible.
"Let me go NOW!" She demanded, venom lacing her words.
"Not yet, little one. You need a lesson on how to treat others." Nathan spoke calmly. "To think I was going to spend millions just to be in your company, its 3.5 million well saved. You're not worth it. Perhaps another time...."
After his wife exited the ballroom and Nathan's insults hanging in the air, Julien explained in depth how he approached Nathan, landing a punch to his face for physically restraining Annie against her will and insulting her verbally. If it weren't for Annie's father Patrick Taverron and Julien's own father Victor St. James holding them both back it would have ended in a blood bath.
Nathan was arrested and charged with assault. Julien furthered his own investigation with the help of private investigators and found intimidating evidence to put Diam away for a long time.
Twenty years.
Stefan took a deep breath and sat up straighter, drumming his fingers on his desk. He already hated the man. He was definitely up to something. It was more of a gut instinct then knowledge.
They still did not have any evidence but the note and Annie's statement. According to Julien and Annie he was their only known enemy. The only person they've had conflicts with in the past. It appeared after reading the content, Nathan Diam was angry, back with a vengeance and ready to teach them both a lesson for putting him away for so long.
The only way to capture a criminal is to think like one.
Stefan had no doubt he will try anything to capture Camelia and use her as leverage over her parents. Another item that will probably be added to his criminal record was attempted tiger kidnapping– a term used when an innocent is taken hostage to make another do something.
Stefan was dead set on preventing it from happening. They would just have to prove his motive and stack enough evidence against him before they can throw him back in prison.
He continued to scroll down the page and came across a picture of the lovely Camelia–the victim.
Stefan leaned forward with wide eyes. She had many faces he was sure to learn about, judging by the soft sweet smile she was wearing which transformed her features. A ghost of a smile appears to his own lips. The pleasure of it warmed his soul. Just as the sun breaking through on a cloudy day.
This innocent beauty was a target. Stefan vowed to do everything in his power to keep her safe. It was his duty, his mission to protect her. He wished he could have seen her again, face to face, considering the circumstances. Stefan leaned back in his chair with hands behind his head, unblinking, eyes focused on her image contemplating several questions that remained about Nathan Diam. Every decision would have to be calculated. He needed to be prepared for the worst.
Julien voiced his worries about how they were to manage altering his identity since Stefan was so notorious and well known. The paparazzi were sharp and quite witty at spotting disguised people of interest. In order to act as her bodyguard and keep his identity concealed, it was imperative Stefan stay under the radar and maintain a disguise.
He would transform into a regular looking citizen nobody would recognize. Stefan recommended the truth behind his identity be withheld from Camelia and the rest of the extended family for safety reasons. It was a delicate matter and a complicated one at the same time. It pained him already that he was withholding the secret to himself. But it was the only way to maintain a professional distance and do his job to the full extent.
The less people knew the less he had to worry about.
A part of Stefan wanted her to know and the other refused. He would miss the twinkle of recognition in her eyes. For the mean time it would have to be enough. To see her again after such a long extended absence would have to be enough. When the time was right and they were getting close, maybe, just maybe he'd tell her but for now it was top secret.
He snatched the cordless phone perched on the side of his desk and dialed a number while starring hard at Nathan Diam's face.
"77 salon, how can I help you?" A female voice greeted him.
"This is Stefan Steel. I need to speak with Robert Miller please."
"He's currently with a client at the moment, may I take a message?" The girl replied.
"No. Tell him my name and that I need to speak with him urgently. He knows me. I'll hold." He said abruptly, drumming his fingers on his black polished desk again.
"Ok...one moment please." She replies with a huff, clearly not liking to be ordered, putting him on hold regardless.
Less than a minute later Robert's voice floods the line, "This is Robert..."
"Robert, it's Stefan."
"Hi Stefan! What can I do for you, man? Isn't it a bit early for your hair cut? I saw you just last week."
"No. It's a personal favor...I need you to change my hair color, I'm on a undercover assignment and need to alter my appearance. Clear your schedule tomorrow, I'll pay you double what you make in a day. I'm going to give you my address, come around noon and bring with you the products you require."
"Whoa! I don't usually make house calls on such short notice..." Robert argued lightly.
"Robert it's important." Stefan insisted in a deadpanned voice. "Pay attention. I said I'll pay you double your average for the day. Be here by noon." He orders.
"Ok don't bit my head off...I'll be there. It must be important." He relented with a little sass in his tone.
"It is. Make sure this stays confidential. I don't want a single soul knowing you're making a house call. And I mean No. One." Stefan warned in a low voice.
"Yes, sir!" His stylist answers in a saluting voice. "What color were you thinking? You're already light, I'm assuming you would like to go darker...?" Robert pondered out loud. Stefan stayed silent, imagining his stylist running a few ideas in his head. "How about we tone it down to nearly black? It shouldn't be too difficult. Consider it done."
"Make sure it's the type of color that is easily stripped if I need to go back to my natural tone."
"Will do. The color will most likely fade out little by little every time you wash it. I'll have to deepen it regularly...Anything else? I need to get back to work before my client gets feisty!"
"Thank you Robert. I know I could rely on you. Until tomorrow." Stefan replied, supplying Robert with his address before ending the call.
Stefan swiveled in his chair, left and right stroking his chin thoughtfully, feeling a days growth of small prickly hair begin to form. Feeling his jaw and stroking it with the back of his knuckles, a thought comes to him. Camouflage. Growing out facial hair and allowing a light beard to form would help disguise is features.
Now the next thing he needed to change was...
His eyes...
His voice...
His clothing...
After he completed his transformation, Camelia and most of the population wouldn't be able to recognize a single one of his features.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading everybody! Extra long chapter (4,200 words), I kinda of made up for the last chapter, where I needed to re-apply the prologue (which was slightly pre-written) back in the story.
How was this one? Lots going on, hope it wasn't too difficult to follow!
Enjoy what you read? Show by voting!
Thanks again!
-Shaz