Bound to Lust

Flight to Freedom

The late afternoon warm air was light and pleasant as the group stepped out of Heathrow Airport. That nauseous feeling she had on the plane had turned into giddiness. She took a deep breath and smiled. Yep, she was indeed in London. She was just itching to do a happy dance but didn't think she could stand the weird looks. After exchanging pleasantries with a man who introduced himself as Mr. Finn, an official of Hedlund Tech, they followed him into a minivan parked in the lot. Their bags were placed in the trunk and soon they hit road. Adeline sat at the back with Peter watching the lovely buildings and sights as they passed by embedding them in her memory.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Peter asked watching the awe on her face. She turned to him and smiled tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, it is. Most of the buildings are old and yet beautiful." She remarked

"That's London for you..."

"Thanks Peter. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you"

He smiled earnestly, "You're welcome. Anyway after major negotiations are done, we could go sightseeing"

"Really!"

"Yeah. We could go see the London Tower and maybe the royal castles"

"Wow, I can't wait." She clasped her hands in excitement and turned to stare out the window again. Awhile later the van pulled up in front of a huge building fashioned in an ancient English period style. It was painted a warm cream colour on the upper floors and gold on the ground floor. The words 'Waldorf Hotel' hung elegantly on the wall. It definitely wasn't a cheap place.

"We're staying here?" Adeline whispered to Peter unable to tear her eyes from the building as they stepped out of the van.

"Seems so" he answered taking in the sight as well.

"You'll be lodging here during your stay. Please feel at home and don't hesitate to partake in whatever activities they have to offer." Mr. Finn said clearly amused by their admiration. It always seemed to have that effect on tourists. Adeline listened attentively to what he was saying with a smile, not because she found what he said interesting but because of his accent. She had always liked the British accent. She found it sexy. Call her crazy but she used to watch British movies just to imitate their accents. Well she still sucked at faking it but now she was in their homeland, she was going to have fun trying to absorb it all. The thought made her chuckle. A young man in a red uniform approached them with a cart and collected their bags inside while they followed closely at his heel. The interior of the hotel was just as elegant as the outside. The foyer was painted gold with an impressive crystal chandelier hanging in the middle. There was large mural painted behind the reception desk where Mr. Finn was claiming their reservations. Quite a number of people walked around either alone or in pairs in all directions. Mr. Finn returned to them with their key cards. Peter and Adeline occupied themselves with the décor of the hotel as he spoke with their superiors, Mr. Hayford and Mr. Mensah, the IT head at the ministry. He left after awhile promising to send them to see Mr. Hedlund, the CEO of Hedlund Tech.

"I see you're pretty excited, Miss. Quaye" Aaron, the IT assistant said as they got on the elevator.

"Yes sir, I am" she replied not bothering to mask her joy, "It's not every day you get to stay in a five star hotel" The others broke into laughter getting off on the third floor. Adeline, Peter and Aaron's rooms were next to each other while Mr. Hayford's and Mr. Mensah's were at the end of the hall.

"You all should rest. We'll meet later for dinner and go over a few things" Mr. Mensah informed and dismissed them. They went to their respective rooms and boy was Adeline impressed. She couldn't have asked for a better room. On the walls were painted extending tree branches against a beige background. The glass windows provided a view of the Olympic size pool and golf course. The queen size canopy bed was laid neatly with fresh scented linen sheets. The pillows gracing it looked fluffy enough. She took off her sandals and stepped on the rug.

"Wow!" she mumbled. They were soft enough to sleep on. She walked into the bathroom and squealed. There was a bathtub and a walk-in shower. An open cabinet stood above the sink with all assortments of bath gels and crisp white towels. The room was just impeccable making her wonder how much it cost. What did she care after all she wasn't paying? She returned to the room and jumped on the bed spreading her arms. She pulled out her phone and begun clicking away. Her folks would envy her, she thought and smiled mischievously.

********

The morning sky was clear and the birds' classical orchestra showed promises of a beautiful day. Adeline stirred in bed reluctant to open her eyes. The bed was just so endearing. The meeting with the CEO was at 9am. It was a few minutes past seven giving her a little over an hour to get ready. She quickly got up and dragged her feet to the bathroom. While brushing her teeth, she walked out to pick an attire to wear. She settled on a dark blue pencil skirt and a white ruffled blouse. She then rushed to the bathroom to finish brushing and took her bath. She slid on the dress, wore her black pumps and put on a subtle amount of makeup. She tied her curly mass of hair up in a bun and stared at herself in the mirror. Satisfied with her look, she said a prayer, grabbed her purse and walked out the room.

She knocked on Peter's door hoping she wasn't late. He came out all dressed in a black well fitted suit. She hadn't really noticed how attractive he was. He was a 6'2 definition of dark and handsome. It seemed the London atmosphere brought out the charm she didn't quite know he had.

He, on the other hand, took in her appearance with utmost admiration. He took a liking to her when she begun working with them. She always looked beautiful even in the simplest of attires. What began as a harmless admiration was turning into something else. He beamed at her as she fidgeted with the sleeve of her blouse.

"You look great, Adeline." he complimented.

"Why, thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." She replied in a fake British accent.

"If you two are done flirting, let's go!" Aaron interrupted as he passed by them.

"We weren't flirting" she protested

"Really..." As if the sarcasm wasn't enough, he had to add an annoying smirk as well.

"Leave the girl alone, Aaron." Mr. Hayford scolded from behind. He dropped the smirk and turned to face his boss.

"Good morning sir!" the trio greeted in unison.

"Good morning. Now let's go have a British breakfast. Mr. Finn will be here soon."

Forty five minutes later, they pulled up in front of a massive skyscraper somewhere in Central London. It stood out among the other buildings with its height alone. One could strain his neck far back and still not see the end of it. Mr. Finn ushered them inside. The lobby was large and bustling with people, both staff and visitors. Adeline noticed security detail at vantage points. Mr. Finn stopped in front of a checkpoint flashing an id on the screen which gave him access. He did it a couple of times allowing the others through as well. He promised them access cards after their meeting that day. They all got on the elevator making small talk all the way up to the 59th floor. The doors dinged open and they got off heading to the conference room. Mr. Finn excused himself as they took their seats. It wasn't long before a young blonde entered asking if they needed anything to which they all refused politely.

"She's smoking hot, isn't she?" Aaron whispered to Peter mischievously. He just shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Just then the door opened and in strode a young man probably in his late twenties or early thirties with Mr. Finn following closely behind. They stood to welcome him as he got to the head of the table.

"Please don't stand on my behalf. Please sit!" he said in a deep accented tenor gesturing for them to sit, "Welcome to London. I'm Noah Hedlund"