by Kate
I am going to get Geocities web space for this
but for now here it is and please let me know if you
like it or want more. Email is kateryan@biosys.net.
.........
Port Charles International Airport
Thursday 1:09 pm
"We're not going to argue about this." Eva instructed the airport
caddy, "Remove my luggage from that limousine and place it in the
boot of this taxi."
The man pushed back his cap and scratched his head, unwittingly
dislodging
the carefully aligned strands of his remaining hair.
"But, ma'am - " he protested.
"It's Miss, " she corrected,"And this is not up for debate."
The limo driver had not moved from his militant stance beside the open rear
door.
He did not venture into the conversation, but neither did he allow his
eyes to roam from the young woman with the blazing green eyes and
perfectly
placed features. Her deeply tanned skin and sunstreaked caramel
tresses
bespoke of hours spent in some sunny corner of the globe - and the
unmistakable cut of designer clothes hinted at a discreet stretch
of
secluded beach, wafting of silent money and exclusive guest lists.
"Miss, it's your call but giving up a tony ride for the local cab
service..."
the porter drifted off, catching the resolute set of a pampered chin.
"All right."
The limo driver ignored his summons to open the limousines trunk with
a shake of his head.
"I was sent to pick up Miss Adams." he said with a frightening determination.
Eva watched the exchange with rising anger.
"Fine!" she declared at last, "You can keep it! I doubt any of it is
your size, but suit yourself."
With a toss of her head, she slid into the back of the waiting taxi
and slammed the door. As the vehicle pulled slowly into traffic alongside
the
waiting limousine, she lowered the window and called out to the driver,
"And you can tell my Grandmother I will see her when I damn well please!"
The airport porter shook his head from side to side. He'd spent 28
yeas
encountering such strangeness, but sometimes he still found
himself
flabbergasted by the slices of life it was his lot to bear witness to.
The limousine driver paid him no mind now as he rounded quickly to
the drivers door. He yanked the limousine into traffic, directly on the
tail of the deaparting taxicab.
Eva twisted around in her seat and stared out the back window. The
black limousine gleamed with fresh wax in the lane behind them.
"Driver!" she rapped out imperiously, "Do you think you could possibly
put a little speed on? There's someone
following us I would like to lose."
The driver glanced in the rear view mirror, his round Irish face
crinkling
with good humor.
"Can't break the laws. Fines are pretty heavy..." he trailed off
suggestively,
his thumb and forefinger rubbing together.
Eva sighed elaborately, but a small smile of understanding played around her mouth.
"Yes, I imagine they are. Say, 2 hundred dollars would cover it?"
The man's smile grew to blinding proportions. Eva was slapped back
against the seat as his foot jammed down hard on the accelerator.
By the time they reached the Port Charles Hotel, their circuitous and rather
hair-raising
route had succeeded in shaking the limousine quite thoroughly. Eva produced
two crisp hundred
dollar bills and placed them into the mans beefy fist.
"Thank you. I trust that you will have some trouble with your memory
if
asked about the destination for this trip?"
The man coughed, thought, and coughed again. Eva's eyes narrowed.
"Fifty more, and that's it, you obnoxious hustler."
The cab driver gave her a wink, "That should do it."
She handed over the last bill and turned to enter the lobby of the
stately hotel. Her heels clicked smartly on the richly laid tile of
the entranceway before sinking into the luxurious maroon carpeting.
The marble reception desk was manned by two clerks, identically outfitted
in
dark navy blazers with the gold embroidered PCH logo over the breast pocket.
Eva captured their attention immediately. It was impossible to ignore
that inbred expectation of service without delay ... a trait which
could
only be instilled by those whose bank accounts plumbed bottomless depths.
"Good afternoon." the young male clerk greeted smartly, "May I be of service?"
"I have a reservation. Adams, Eva Adams." she couldn't prevent the small
backward
look, assuring herself that the driver had not somehow managed to determine
her location
despite the cabbie's best efforts.
"Yes Miss Adams" the clerk confirmed, nodding at the computer screen before
typing
quickly on the keyboard. "Penthouse Suite 5."
He retrieved the keys for her, then held them above her outstretched
palm,
"Can I have one of the porters bring up your luggage?"
Evan grimaced, snatching the keys from his hand without ceremony.
"No thank you."
She crossed to the elevators, pressing the button for P-5, then leaned back
to
watch the lights tick off their ascent. She was angry and tired, feeling
the effects
of the long flight from Johannesburg - capped off by the surly confrontation
with
her grandmother's paid minion. She needed a shower and some sleep before
attempting to
determine her next course of action.
Her grandmother's summons had been short, pointed and without subterfuge.
Eva has spent a lifetime
processing her family's twisted psyche's - and she knew without any further
contact that this
was a request she could not refuse. Something was terribly wrong, and in
the volatile
world her family inhabited, it took quite a bit to reach that pinnacle. There
was no doubt
in her mind that she was heading into the eye of the storm, and she would
need a clear head and all her
wits to survive it.
The doors were barely half opened when she rushed through them, eager to
reach the
isolation of her room and the promise of a cool shower and freshly laundered
sheets.
The unexpected jolt of contact took her whole body by force, causing her
to bounce backward in reaction.
Only the quick thinking of the immovable object saved her from sprawling
bottom down into the
elevator. The oxygen had been knocked from her lungs, rendering her temporarily
mute as her
head snapped up to locate the physical wall responsible for her unabalanced
shock.
"Are you all right?" the man asked.
Eva was now rendered mute by something other than the sudden loss of breath.
She bounced from the blue green eyes to the sculpted chin, over the wide
shoulders
and back up to the crowning blond hair, arrested.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked again, tightening the steadying grip on her arms.
Eva shook her head in an attempt to clear it, unaware that this would indicate
to the man a negative response to
his query.
"Just take it easy." he had a deep accent, but she couldn't place it yet.
When he grinned, it
was to reveal a set of perfect white teeth.
Eva's scattered wits returned with a vengeance. She pushed at his arms, and
he obliged
by releasing her.
"I'm fine."
"Sorry about that." his eyes twinkled, "But you barrelled out of there
like a slingshot."
"Yes. I mean...No. Yes -" she snapped, irritated at her inexplicable responses, "Yes, I accept your apology."
When he suddenly swooped down, she backed up in alarm. He reached down to
the carpet and retrieved her keys.
But instead of passing them to her, he turned the tag over in his palm and
examined the identification.
"Penthouse 5." he extended them to her, "Right down the hall here to your right. Second door on the left."
"Thank you." she closed her fingers on the cool metal, sidestepping him quickly.
She was suddenly anxious
to put distance between this unsettling stranger and her equally unsettling
reaction to him.
"I know that because it's right next to mine." he added over his shoulder,
and she could almost
hear the laughter in his observation.
Her steps quickened towards the door - in the opposite direction.