At The Edge of Lust

Chapter 23: The Black & Gold Tower

Shelby was impressed by the car she saw waiting outside at 9:00 am sharp, it was a pearl-white 2018 Mercedes E-Class-AMG, she spied it pulling up outside her house and her heart skipped a beat. Tommy was here, she hadn't been waiting long, she had finished her own preparations early and had just been watching TV and keep an eye on the window. Shelby had woken up early, scrubbed clean and shaved the parts of her that needed it before she sat, applying makeup and answering emails. She was always trying to be productive and had eaten breakfast with her laptop and phone to keep her company. She had people that managed the social media pages of the company but from time to time she actually made posts herself and tried to keep aware of what was being said and again looking for issues that people might be having with their company and the service provided. It was all work because it fed into the success and ongoing growth of her business.

Shelby liked the idea of spending the journey to the city centre in the back of a luxury car with tinted windows. Shelby was dressed in a tailored white blazer which fit her hips and flared her shoulders. A blouse which she had unbuttoned to show a bit of cleavage and a necklace with a chain that ran down in between her breasts. The blouse was adorned with rubies for buttons and red polka dots, tucked into a brown leather belt with a gold belt buckle. She also had on some light-tan, high-rise jeans with flared cuffs. Her shoes were retro-looking strap-pumps with a heel block for extra comfort and matte red to match her blouse.

The chauffeur rang her doorbell. He was a in his mid-forties, an Indian man with a smart grey suit, black gloves and the chauffeur's hat. He stood ramrod straight with a decent medium build and a level of self-possession that spoke of previous service although Shelby didn't ask, she merely observed him in the display that her door camera afforded her before seconds later she opened the door. He smiled as he said, "Good Morning Madame."

"Good morning, Sir." She responded automatically falling into formality.

"I will be your driver for the day, my name is Ali Chaudhry, at your service."

"Good morning, Ali, I am impressed by your presentation, I thought traditionally it was supposed to be white gloves...?"

"Madame, we at 'Lionsfare Logistics' do offer a bespoke service he offered for exclusive clientele but we draw the line when it comes to the colour of gloves we wear, this way it is easier to notice when a driver has been enjoying a bit too much coke." he said with a straight face.

Shelby took a moment and then laughed. "Ok this sounds like it is going to be a good day, in future can we request you specifically?"

"Of course, Madame, you will have to pay for my services, but the jokes come for free."

"Ali, I hope the humour is free otherwise we are in real trouble in this country."

"I couldn't agree more but some of my clients tell me I should start charging, I am between a rock and a funny place..." When he didn't receive a laugh, he went on. "Don't worry however, I will be behind a privacy glass, so you and yours can have your conversations in complete privacy. If you want to ask a question or to hear another joke you can just press the intercom button."

Shelby smiled and nodded at this information, "sounds good to me Ali, let me just do some final checks to make sure, she said touching her blazer pockets and checking her purse and then bringing the suitcase forward.

"Is this all the luggage Madame?" Ali responded still maintaining that same composed demeanour. He offered to and took her suitcase, placing it in the car whilst she locked up the house and made sure she hadn't forgotten anything. All she had to carry was her white leather purse with her phone, house keys and other essentials. I could get used to this type of lifestyle. She thought to herself as she approached the car and the door was opened for her, inside Tommy was waiting.