In The Arms Of A Corporate Stud

No kisses!?

    Alex stepped into the dingy restaurant and nearly turned back on his heels. How could someone work here? Or even eat here? He stared at the peeling paint on the walls, the washed out table covers... This was culinary hell. Then he saw Courtney walking towards him. She seemed to shine in contrast to everything there. She managed to look breathtaking even in her work clothes. The white shirt she was putting on clung to her curves and she'd left two buttons open, revealing beautiful cleavage. Her pleated checkered skirt was short enough to drive his imaginations hyper. She definitely didn't look like anyone's mother.
    "Alex, why are you standing there staring? Get a seat, I'll be with you in a minute."
    "Wait, we're talking here? In this dump?" He got bad stares for that but he didn't care. It was a dump afterall.
    "This dump is where I work. There are few better restaurants in Brooklyn. And no, we're not gonna talk here. But my shift doesn't end till 2. Which is 20 minutes from now. You'll have to wait."
    "Yea, yea sure. I can manage."
    "Good. So take a seat. I'll be right back."
    "Yes ma'am." With that, she left him and entered the backroom. Alex looked around and picked a table at the far end of the restaurant. A teenage girl with so many piercings and hair the color of a circus tent kept ogling him. He didn't even look her way. Then she licked her lips and waved at him. He noticed her tongue was pierced too. He suddenly wished Courtney could hurry up.
    Courtney watched Alex from the small window behind the food counter. He looked so out of place in his tailored black suit and probably Armani shoes. And he looked very uncomfortable too... Why did that make her feel good with herself?
    "So... who is he?" Marge, the cook asked.
    "Oh.. just an old friend."
    "Mmm.. Could he be my new friend? cos he is mighty fine," Lateesha, their resident 'black, sassy waitress' said as she came into the backroom to collect an order.
    "With the way Courtney's been staring at him, I'm sure he's gonna be more than an old friend real soon," Marge pointed out.
    "You guys! It's nothing like that. We're just friends."
    "Yea, that's what Marge said too bout Rob. But now they've got a baby coming."
    "That's true y'know. I kept calling him my friend until he popped the question." Courtney laughed.
    "Y'all are just crazy. Marge, table 12 needs a burger with medium steak, no mustard." And she kept working till 2pm when her shift ended. Then she took off her apron and walked down to Alex's table.
    "What took you so long?"
    "Some of us actually work for our daily bread."
    "I work too. Just in better working conditions."
    "Are we gonna keep arguing?"
    "No, we're not. We should get going." He stood then they both left the restaurant and got into his car.
    "Where are we going?"
    "The Concorde. It's a nice, quiet place. Just down the road."
Alex was going to suggest going to a place that at least had space for two to pass between the tables but the name she gave him was somewhat comforting. A restaurant with a name like The Concorde couldn't possibly be that bad.
    Alex was totally disappointed when they finally stopped in front of the restaurant. It was just a less dingy version of Courtney's work place.
    "You've got to be joking. Courtney."
    "What? It's real nice. C'mon, let's go in."
    "No offense but one bad restaurant is enough for one day," with that, he started wheeling out to the road.
    "And where do you think you're going?"
    "Somewhere we'll get some privacy." Courtney's eyes widened at the mention of 'privacy'. He nearly laughed at her. She was just unbelievable.
     "It's not a hotel, Court. It's just a great restaurant. In Manhattan."
    "I really don't care," but within her, Courtney sighed in relief. He was already making her insides feel jittery, she really didn't need the added provocation of talking in some 9-star bedroom.
    "OK then."
The drive to Manhattan was awkward. Courtney kept trying to draw down her skirt. The stupid thing was very short. And she didn't get the chance to change back into her normal clothes cos of Alex. And now he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was staring at her legs. She sincerely wanted to poke his eyes out.
Alex couldn't help staring. He tried but he just couldn't take his eyes off. Her legs were simply amazing. Why did she keep dragging down her skirt? His subconscious vaguely heard her say something but he couldn't figure out what. He snapped out of his reverie and looked at her face.
    "Did you say something?"
    "I said, you should probably watch the road before we crash into someone," her words came out through clenched teeth. Alex laughed heartily.
    "I'm sorry. You can't blame me though. I was just admiring,"
    "Staring is a better word."
    "Staring. I rest my case." But he kept smiling to himself. By the time they got to The Bourgeoisie Hotel, Courtney had pulled the skirt so much the hem has stretched. When they drove into
the parking lot of the hotel, Courtney looked at him questioningly.
    "This is a hotel." Alex didn't reply her. She nudged him.
    "Alex!"
    "I'm trying to figure out if that was a question or statement."
    "It was a question, damn you!"
    "It's a hotel. Obviously."
    "So what are we doing here?"
    "You have absolutely no trust for me. I didn't book a room or anything. Their bar has very private areas where we can talk. But they've got cameras so don't get any ideas."
    "Me? Get ideas? You've got to be kidding me. I should be telling you that."
By now, Alex had parked the car. He turned to face her and said, "Don't you trust me?"
    "No. I don't." And she stepped out of the car. Alex smiled at himself. It was probably best she didn't trust him. Cos every time he saw those legs of hers, he didn't trust himself either. He stepped out of the car too and they walked into the hotel.
The first thing Courtney noticed was the sheer size and beauty of the reception area. The walls were made of the best marble and there were so many paintings and sculptures placed at different random places that it seemed like an art gallery and not a hotel. Then the next thing she noticed was how everyone was staring at them. Well, probably just staring at Alex cos she knew her work clothes weren't worth looking at. She suddenly felt so out of place.
    "Alex, you should've let me change. I look stupid," she whispered to him. He looked at her and gave her that charming smile of his.
    "Trust me, you look more radiant than all the women here combined. Even in your work clothes," then he took her hand in his and strode confidently past all the stares and whispers. He turned into an archway by the right and walked through a pair of gleaming mahogany doors into a slightly darker bar. It seemed like every other bar to her until Alex walked through a door at the end of the room. This place was different. The atmosphere here was extremely serene and instead of just the usual chairs and tables, every table was screened off by a wall of transculcent white glass. She couldn't see anyone or hear anything from the inside. It was very private. Alex took her to the table at the left end of the room.  A waitress joined them shortly.
    "Good day Leia," he greeted the blonde waitress without even glancing at her name tag. Courtney suspected he'd been here a lot of times. Probably with a lot of different women. Why did that pain her slightly?
    "Good day, Mr. Reeze. The usual, I presume?" That confirmed her suspicion. Alex was known here.
    "Uh. Yea. What drink will u have,Courtney?"
    "I'll just have mineral water." When they'd brought their orders, Alex pulled out a sheet of paper from his briefcase and a pen.
    "I know u have your conditions. But I'll just give u a run-down of everything. First off, we're getting married next week. Very private, very secret. In my house in London. I'll get a guy to bring a marriage certificate for me and get a priest. And we'll need to take wedding pictures too. Just in case."
    "OK."
    "Second, everyone needs to believe this marriage is real. Everyone including both our families."
    "Wait, what?! I can't do that."
    "Court, be sensible. Besides I'm going to lie to my family too. Think I'm comfortable with that?"
    "What do I tell Liam? That you're his new dad? Then in less than a year, you'll leave him too. I can't do that to my boy, Alex."
     "Courtney, I know this is going to be hard. But please, just do this for me. Besides I won't be leaving for good after the divorce. I like your boy too. I'll be coming around to see him."
    "I'm not doing this for you, Alex. I'm doing it for your mom. And what makes you think I'd let you see my son after the divorce?"
    "You are many things, Courtney. But definitely not wicked."
Courtney sighed then said, "I don't want to lie to my son."
    "I don't want you to either. But please..." Courtney simply nodded. She really didn't want to hurt Liam but Alex's mum... besides, Alex needed to spend sometime with Liam. She owed him that much after all he'd done for them. And for the other reason...
    "OK, anything else?" She asked.
    "I'll pay you half a million dollars."
Courtney promptly choked on her drink.
    "What?!"
Alex's eyebrows immediately shot up.
    "Too small? How about a million?"
    "No. No. It's OK. Very OK. Please, five hundred is... Wow." Alex smiled as he watched her sputter over the money.
    "Well, that's it. So, what are your conditions?"
    "No kisses." It was Alex's turn to shout.
    "What?!"

Please vote and comment on my story. Gonna take a while before the next update but until then...
I need a name for Alex's crazy ex-girlfriend. Just comment with any name of your choice. I'll notify on the one I'll pick.
Thanks everyone!