Dancing in the Gray Read online

  The captain came over the intercom and gave the details of the flight and told everyone that they were next in line and should be in the air in a few minutes. Elise heard her phone go off which reminded her that she needed to turn her BlackBerry off. She reached into her purse, and she saw a couple of envelopes wrapped together with a red bow. She pulled the bundle of envelopes along with her BlackBerry out of her purse with one hand at the exact same moment that the airplane started racing down the runway. The force caused her to loose grip of her BlackBerry which landed in the lap of the gentleman next to her.

  The guy next to her was startled by the impact of her phone on to his junk and lifted up his newspaper to see what was going on. The next few moments were very poor lapse in judgment on Elise’s part, and she quickly realized that she did the stupidest thing EVER! While her eyes were bugging out of her head, she started apologizing profusely for dropping the phone on him then proceeded to retrieve the phone herself.

  “Oh my God! I am so sorry! Let me get that!” Elise reached into his lap and grabbed more than her cell phone.

  “Jesus, LADY!” The gentleman yelled at her, but he had every right to. Elise totally went to second base with the dude, maybe even third. She noticed the guy, who was sitting in the single row seat that was to the left of the gentleman she just groped, motion to get up and unbuckle his seat belt, even though the plane just took off and the captain did not turn off the fasten seat belt sign.

  “Holy Shit! I did not mean to grab you like that. I was just trying to get my phone. I am so...so…so sorry.” Elise put her hand over her mouth.

  Mr. Second Base motioned to the dude in seat C that he was ok, and the guy sat back down and buckled his seat belt again.

  “Are you the Air Marshal?” Elise addressed the guy in the middle row seat. “I didn’t mean to grab him like that. I promise that I will not cause trouble on the flight. Do you need to give me a ticket or something? I totally take accountability for being totally stupid.” Elise was trying to make things better but she just kept digging herself deeper and deeper into a hole.

  “Just, stop. He’s not the Air Marshal. He’s my security. And, please just forget about it unless there is anything else in my crotch that’s yours that you need to retrieve.” Mr. Second Base was now looking down at her smiling.

  Elise’s heart started racing. He wasn’t pretty good looking – he was gorgeous. His smile was perfect and white. His eyes were crystal blue, and Elise felt short of breath each time her eyes were brave enough to look into them. His lips were full and his mouth was curled up in the sexiest half smile.

  Elise decided to actually say something, but unfortunately, it probably was not the most appropriate thing to say. “I totally grabbed your penis, didn’t I?” And … there went the sexy smile.

  “Unbelievable.” He closed his eyes and shook his head then turned his body back so it was facing forward.

  “I guess that’s a yes.” Elise whispered in his general direction but finally decided to take the hint and keep her hands and her thoughts within the confines of seat E.

  A few minute passed before the flight attendant came around for drink orders. Elise asked for a white wine in hopes that it would help her forget what just happened. The gentleman next to her ordered a ginger ale. Lightweight!

  Once she received her wine and took her first couple sips, she turned her attention back to the envelopes that were held together with the bow. She opened the first envelope and found two front row tickets to the Foo Fighter’s concert at the Bercy in Paris.

  “Holy Shit!” Elise was talking to herself…out loud, but she didn’t care. Ashley! She loved her best friend.

  “Holy Shit!” Mr. Second Base was now gawking at her tickets. “Are those for this weekend?”

  Elise searched the tickets for the date to see what night. “Yes, they’re for Saturday night.”

  “Wow! Those are pretty hard to come by. They’ve been sold out for a couple of months.”

  “Really? My best friend must have done all this.” Elise picked up the envelopes.

  “Well, she is a great friend. And you must be, too.” There was the sexy half smile again. Suddenly Elise heard Jeremy’s words resonate in her head …. Go to Paris….see the city…..fall in love ……. or have an affair

  “Thank you. That’s really sweet. I think we got off on the wrong foot and since I will be sitting here for the next seven hours, I should introduce myself. I’m Elise. And I am sincerely sorry for accosting you earlier.” She extended out her hand for a handshake.

  Mr. Second Base reached out and grabbed Elise’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Elise. Please, let’s just pretend none of that actually happened.”

  “Ha! Yeah, right!” Elise started laughing.

  “It sounded like the right thing to say, but that’s not really realistic, is it?” Mr. Second Base was smiling and shaking his gorgeous head.

  “Not at all! At least your security guy didn’t have to intervene.” Elise laughed and grabbed his arm as a casual gesture and felt his rock hard bicep. She pulled her hand back quickly when she saw him look down at her hand for a split second. “I’m sorry; I didn’t get your name.”

  “Trey. My name’s Trey.”

  “Well Trey, it was really nice meeting you.” It really was.

  ~

  It had to be one of the most unconventional ways to meet a woman, not that he was even looking to meet one. He didn’t even really notice her until she grabbed a handful of his crotch. He was about to lose his shit on her until he looked up and saw her. She was beautiful.

  She had long, dark brown hair and amber colored eyes. Her face was stunning with its most robust features being her high cheekbones that slenderized her face and her huge, full lips. She was wearing a white silk shirt that was see-through with a camisole underneath it. She had a long necklace with a couple of gold pendants that hung off the chain and dipped into her shirt, sitting right in between her full breasts which continued to grab Trey’s attention.

  Trey watched her as she spoke to Ronald, mistaking him for an Air Marshall. He referred to him as security instead of Secret Service because Trey hated the attention that those two words drew. Ronald had been with Trey for over five years, since his father started campaigning for the Presidency. His father was in his second term, so Ronald was going to be a fixture in his life for a few more years. They had a great working relationship, and he had become a friend and confidante to Trey.

  Elise obviously had no clue who he was, which was fine with him. He hated the attention that the media gave him about being single. Most women were looking for a place in the spotlight next to him or a meal ticket. Trey wasn’t interested in being either of those things to anyone. He was very successful in the world of finance and was about to embark on his own political campaign to represent the 10th District of Virginia. He was all business at this point in his life and wasn’t looking for a relationship or even companionship. But, something about this woman sparked his interest, and it was a bonus that she had no clue who he was.

  She was poised and was adorable as she was taking responsibility for her actions. He couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t see a wedding ring on her finger, so it made him wonder if she was heading to Paris for business or pleasure.

  When he saw the concert tickets, he almost freaked out. He tried to find Foo Fighter tickets when his brother Will announced that his wedding would be in Paris on the same weekend as when they played at the Bercy. But, they were sold out long before. Her friend bought her the tickets – plural. So she must be meeting someone in Paris, and for some reason that thought deflated him a bit.

  “So what brings you to Paris?” Elise continued their conversation which made Trey very happy.

  “My brother’s wedding. He and his fiancée are getting married Saturday in front of the Eiffel Tower.”

  Elise clutched the envelopes to her chest and closed her eyes, “Oh, how romantic.” She took a deep breath and sighed. Very interestin
g.

  “Yeah, he proposed to her there last summer. It was his idea to go back where he actually asked her and get married there, too.” He had to give it to his brother Will; he was all about the romance.

  “Lucky girl! See, all the good ones are taken.” She shook her pretty little head. It sounded like Elise was single. Time to clarify. Maybe there was hope.

  “So, are you with a bad one, or have you just not found your own good one, yet?”

  “I haven’t found a good one, yet.” She stressed the word “yet.”

  “So, are you meeting someone there? Your friend bought you two concert tickets.” Trey motioned to the tickets in her hands.

  “No, this trip is just for me. No business, no drama, just me finally enjoying Paris.”

  “You’ve done business there before?” A woman with a career that hasn’t found Mr. Right, she was the female Trey.

  “Yes, a handful of times. I fell in love with the city, but I haven’t gotten the chance to actually go there and just enjoy it. So I decided to book a trip to reward myself, and I plan on enjoying it.”

  “Then why the hell did your friend by you two tickets?” Why did he care?

  “Wishful thinking, I guess.” She shrugged seeming unsure of what her friend’s intentions were. “She found a good one and now they are married and having a baby in a month. I was kinda responsible for them meeting so now Ashley, my friend, wants me to find the same thing she did. This is her way of dragging a guy across a bar, which is what I did to her husband.”

  “You dragged her husband across a bar to meet her?” He couldn’t help but smile. He could see her making a bold move like that, especially after grabbing his crotch earlier.

  “Yes. I like to make things happen. Ashley was very interested, and she would have never made the first move, so I took it upon myself to do the heavy lifting for her.” She looked proud of herself.

  “And you don’t have a problem making the first move?”

  “Obviously not, since I totally went to second base with you without even knowing your name!”

  Trey laughed hard. She was pretty…. and funny. She put her hand on his arm, again. He liked her touch. “So was that your way of making the first move?”

  “No! It was an accident. I swear!” She was shaking her head vigorously as she held her hands up in front of her.

  “I’m kidding, Elise.” Trey had no clue where all this was coming from. He didn’t have these kinds of conversations with women, especially women he just met. But something was different. She intrigued him. “What else does your friend have in store for you?” He gestured his head in the direction of the other white envelopes in her hand.

  Elise smiled up at him and raised her eyebrows, “Let’s see.” She looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

  She opened the second envelope which contained two tickets to a private late night river cruise on the Seine. The third envelope contained two gift certificates for a couple’s spa treatment at the Guerlain Spa. In the fourth envelope were two vouchers to attend the Paris Roller Skating Association’s skate through the streets of Paris from 10 pm to 1am on Friday night. And the final envelope contained reservations to La Tour d'Argent for Sunday night.

  “I see a pattern developing here.” Her friend really wanted her to share her Paris experience with someone. Lucky guy.

  “Yes. Ashley is usually a lot more subtle than this.” Elise smiled up at him. “Her heart is in the right place. She and my other friend Jeremy told me to find Fun Elise in Paris and bring her back home.” She held up the envelopes, “This is their way of forcing me to find her.”

  There was a look of sadness behind Elise’s eyes. “What happened to Fun Elise?”

  “I thought she was here all along, but my friends beg to differ. I think I’ve been very focused on my career for the last couple of years and didn’t realize that Fun Elise had left the building.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?” Trey was curious to see what this increasingly interesting woman did for a living.

  “I own a cosmetics company. Well, I own it for a few more weeks.” She looked sad about that, too.

  “Why won’t you own it after a few weeks?” Trey felt the need to help her.

  “Buyout.”

  All of a sudden things clicked for Trey. This was Elise DePaul. He read about her deal in Forbes and actually did some consulting with the firm that was buying her company. Her deal was going to make history. “You’re Elise DePaul.”

  Elise’s eyes went wide. She was shocked that Trey knew who she was. “And you must be gay.”

  Trey was caught off guard. “I’m sorry, why must I be gay?”

  “Because, the only men that look like you and know about Elise DePaul cosmetics are gay.”

  “What do you mean look like me?” Trey couldn’t wait to hear her explanation.

  “Gorgeous and well-manicured.”

  Trey was taken aback by her. Everything that was coming out of this woman’s mouth was fascinating him. She was bold and colorful and enthralling. She also knew how to stroke an ego. But, she was also dead wrong, and he needed to straighten something out, “I’m not gay.”

  “Then how the hell do you know about me?”

  “Because I work in finance.” Trey held up the New York Times section he was reading. “Your deal is pretty epic.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t use the word epic. My products are worth every penny of that deal, and the fact that I own the patent of the formula gave me tons of leverage. This wasn’t the first deal that came across the table but it was the best one.”

  “What made you decide to sell?” Trey loved to get the insight of the participants who went through deals like these. It helped him with his consulting and his investing.

  “I knew that I couldn’t take my company to the next level without having to start involving outside influences, and I would end up working three times as hard as I already was. In this scenario, everyone I love is taken care of, my products get to keep their integrity, and I get to find Fun Elise.” She held up the envelopes like a trophy.

  “Well congratulations on your deal. I hope you do get a chance to find Fun Elise in Paris.” He truly meant that. He knew what it was like to throw yourself into your career. It had sacrifices, and Trey was still sacrificing.

  “Thank you. I have six days. I hope that’s enough time.” Elise smiled at him one last time before she started sorting through her tickets and envelopes again.

  Elise reached into her purse and pulled out her iPod. She secured her ear buds and hit play. She reclined her seat back and used the pillow that the flight attendant brought her to cushion her head that was leaning towards the window. She must have been tired, because she was asleep in no time. Trey looked over at her and smiled. It was a bittersweet moment. He was glad that he had such a lively spirit make his long trip a lot more tolerable, but he knew as soon as the plane landed that would be the last time that he would see Ms. Elise DePaul.

  ~

  The plane landed at Charles de Gaulle International Airport seven hours and forty five minutes after it departed from JFK. Elise woke up about thirty minutes before their arrival. Trey was asleep next to her, and she got a few stolen moments to stare at his masculine features as he slept. He was a really handsome man, and she was very attracted to him.

  Elise took a deep breath then took her first baby step to find Fun Elise. She reached down and picked up her purse pulling out all of the envelopes that Ashley left for her. She pulled out one envelope and placed one voucher for the roller skating event, one ticket to the concert, one ticket to the sunset cruise, one of the spa gift certificates, and the reservation to La Tour d'Argent. She grabbed a pen and wrote his name on the front of the envelope with a message that said, “First move.”

  Chapter 3

  It was around 7:30 am Paris time, and Trey was heading to meet his family who were already here. The group travelled up on Wednesday, but due to a mee
ting he had to attend Thursday morning, he was flying solo to France. The rehearsal dinner was scheduled for tonight, and the wedding was set for tomorrow afternoon at 1pm. Even though there was nothing to rehearse, the families wanted to get together for the dinner anyway. Tonight, they were meeting at Le Jules Verne for dinner.

  The whole group was staying at the Hotel de Crillon. Most of the suites were booked for their group or vacated for security reasons. That was one great perk of being the son of the President of the United States. Trey was in one of the Historical Suites which had a lounge area that was separate from the bedroom. He retrieved his keys from the concierge when he arrived and headed straight to his suite where he looked forward to a shower and a little downtime before he met the family for lunch.

  His suite was decorated in typical Parisian style with original woodwork that dated back hundreds of years and had a terrace that overlooked the private courtyard of the hotel. The bell hop brought his bags into the bedroom area of the suite and left as silently as he arrived. Ronald was taking his post outside of Trey’s room. There was a ton of Secret Service staff since his dad was also here, so he wouldn’t be surprised if Ronald would be sharing his detail with someone else.

  Trey ordered breakfast from room service and asked that they set it up on the terrace explaining that he would be showering. While he was in the shower his thoughts instantly went to Elise. He was smitten. She really did a number on him in the few hours that they conversed on the plane. A smile crossed his face when he recalled her grabbing her cell phone out of his lap. She definitely grabbed a lot more than just her device. Trey was getting aroused at the thought of her grabbing him like that purposefully and not on accident.

  It had been a couple of years since he had been with someone. He was being very careful with his personal life knowing that it was a possibility that he would be running for office. He didn’t want any type of negative publicity affecting his chances of being elected into office. He learned from his father’s campaign that if there was a skeleton in the closet, it will be put on display for the world to see. Everyone was looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, even if it was at someone else’s expense.