Into the eyes

Her clear stilettos clacked softly on the marbled driveway as she approached the well lighted estates of Octavius Bertrand. She lightly bit into her bottom lip as she neared the front entrance, sliding clear polished nails through waist length auburn hair, finally pinning it in an upsweep with hairs framing her face. Eyes stared upon her as she walked up the lighted driveway, dressed in a form-fitting, backless spaghetti strapped silver silk gown. She lowered silver shades from her face, revealing ice blue eyes as she approached the doorman.

“The name is Nastassja Ceranti” she spoke in a soft French accent as she slipped the shades to their original position. The doorman stumbled a little with the guest book as he found the name. He bowed as he nodded her past the foyer entrance. As she entered the area her eyes took in the scenery. A stunning chandelier hung over the foyer entrance. Imperial columns rose high, coiled with cloth in hues of black and purple. Nasstassja smiled at the irony of the cloth-draped columns as she slowly walked into the main sitting area. There she saw five gentlemen talking to each other over drinks. She leaned against the frame of the door, unnoticed.

“Octavius… listen to me. You will do better to deal with Nathan than anyone else” said Servano, talking to the man of the house. Octavius looked down at his manicured hands, seeming not to care of what Servano was speaking about. He wanted to meet his guests and have a little fun instead of talking about the business. Since his mind was made, Servano’s plea fell on deaf ears. Octavius looked up at the man.

“Servano… although I value your business opinion on this matter, I’m not taking head. Mr. Wellington’s portfolio is better than anyone whom presented themselves. And that is whom I am choosing to do business with.” Octavius stood slowly, looking at his circle of business colleagues. “If you would excuse me, I have guests to entertain.” He looked towards the door and saw Nasstassja standing there. He smiled, taking in her stunning appearance. The men seated stood quickly, eyeing and wondering who the woman was in Mr. Bertrand’s home. Octavius walked to Nastassja, instantly grabbing her hand and kissing it. He led her into the room as he cleared his throat.

“Gentleman, this is Ms. Nastassja Ceranti, my date for the evening,” he spoke as he continued introductions. “The gentleman standing to the left is Mr. Constantino Giovanne, followed by Mr. Antony Blake, Mr. Servano Kingsley, and Mr. Jarrod Donovan. “ The men all bowed to her as she smiled softly, eyeing each one of them slowly. Octavius offered her his arm, “Shall we mingle?” Nastassja slipped off her shades and placed them on the table as she slid her hand around his bicep, looking at him. “I’m ready if you are.” She casually placed her free hand to his arm as she spoke of the draped columns. “A nice addition in décor, Monsiuer Bertrand,” she said, smiling up at him. Octavius looked down at her as he beamed. “That idea was taken back when they used to drape the columns of royalty during special events and tonight I feel like royalty.”

They walked slowly into the grand ballroom area, where hundreds of people were dressed in their finest, mingling with the others. Octavius nodded and flashed a bright smile to people he passed, all the while introducing Nasstassja to the crowd. He leaned into her, his voice a low rasp as he spoke, “I am very thankful that you accompanied me on this occasion, dear.” He slipped an arm around her waist as Nasstassja smiled slowly, nodding to a couple they passed, “The pleasure is all mine, after all, when would I have a next time to be part of such American high-class society, Monsiuer Bertrand?” Octavius laughed at her comment as he eyed two men dressed in well-fitting dark-pinstriped suits walked towards them. He held her close to him as the men neared them.

“Mr. Bertrand, your presence has been requested in the parlor room, sir. There is a Xander Wellington here to meet with you.” Octavius nodded as he looked towards Nasstassja, taking her hands into his.

“I will not be but a second, my love,” he said to her, looking in her eyes. She smiled brightly, bowing as she did. Octavius kissed her hands lightly as he allowed himself to be led off with the men. Nasstassja spun around slowly, folding her hands together as she walked slowly across the floor to the stairs. She slipped the pins from her hair as she ran a hand through her hair, shaking it wildly as she walked up the stairs. All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Nasstassja swung around quickly, her hair falling in her face as she eyed the person touching her. The man cleared his throat as he removed his hand.

“Ms. Ceranti, I did not mean to startle you,” Servano Kingsley said, staring at the woman who seemed more exotic than before, “I was only wondering if you needed assistance?” Nasstassja smiled warmly, sliding hair from her face as she spoke. “Monsiuer Bertrand stated that I was allowed to rest in his personal chambers when I became tired. My feet are very tired. Could you show me where they are?” Servano bowed as he extended a down palm, which Nasstassja placed her hand un top of. They reached the top of the stairs and walked down the corridor to the last room as he pushed he doors open. The room was very exquisite, Nasstassja thought to herself, especially for a man to domicile in its walls. Draperies of silk and satin and colorful paintings adorned the walls as small vases and other items were placed all over the room. Servano extended a free hand, waving it across the room, “Mr. Bertrand has a passion of the beautiful, as you see in his decorating and his choice of women,” he stated, looking towards the woman as she smiled, returning the glance. “Would madam care for me to relay a message to Mr. Bertrand that you will be here?” Nasstassja nodded as she walked slowly into the room, clasping her hands together as she looked back at Servano.

“Yes please tell him that I have retired to his quarters,” she said, walking to the couch and sitting slowly, crossing her legs. Servano nodded, taking a deep sigh. “Care to have something brought up for you?” Nasstassja ran her hands through her hair slowly as she shook her head, closing her eyes. Servano bowed and exited the room, closing the doors behind him. She kicked off the stilettos and scurried across the floor to the door, locking it. She then spun around, walking back to the couch as she slipped the gown off over her head. Small wires were made visible as she pulled a small microphone from her bra. “Paradise to HQ do you copy?” she whispered into the mic, trailing her hands down the wires as she pulled them off and slipped the earpiece into her left ear.

“Paradise this is HQ go ahead” said a deep male voice in the earpiece. Nasstassja walked to the window, opening the curtains. “‘First Contact' is a success. Suggest we quickly move into ‘Sweep’ after my command.” There was a small pause on the other end, then someone spoke. “Permission granted, Paradise. Alpha, Beta, Bravo and Omega teams on standby and locking on position. Out.” Paradise sighed as she slipped the microphone back into the inside of her gown. She walked to his closet and pulled out a desert eagle which she placed right under the bed towards the edge and pulled the linen down over it. She quickly walked into the master bathroom and drew her bath, pouring in salts and oils from Octavius’ collection. “I must know your contact for these Monsiuer Bertrand,” she said out loud. Standing slowly, she removed her underwear. She stepped slowly into the tub as she pulled her hair into a knot. As she allowed her body to seep into the tub, she closed her eyes.

Octavius waved to the last couple as he closed the door. He briskly walked into the meeting room as the gentlemen were just arriving in there. Octavius beamed as Servano spoke, “We all are aware of the meeting you have upstairs Octavius, no need to boast.” Octavius laughed, rubbing the top of his head.

“Nasstassja is a stunning creature, isn’t she? And, if you men to retire to the recreation, you will see that entertainment as been established for you also.” he said. “After all the money we have just made, a celebration of this sort is needed. “ The gentlemen stood, smiling as they each walked by Octavius, patting him on the shoulder. Octavius made his way upstairs to his chambers. As he placed his hand on the knob, he found it to be locked. He removed his key from the inside of his dinner jacket and slid it into the lock and pushed the door open slightly, walking in. His eyes danced around the room as they landed on Nasstassja. She stood in the middle of the floor wearing a champagne pink silk chemise, short enough to show her matching undergarments. Her auburn waist length hair framed sleekly to her body as she looked at him with smoldering eyes. She bowed submissively to a smiling Octavius, who quickly crossed the floor, taking her hand and kissing it. “You are as stunning and beautiful as before,” he said, slipping his arms around her. “I see that I picked your size perfectly.” Nasstassja smiled as he kneeled, picking her up off her feet and carried her to the bed. As he laid her down gently, she rested on her elbows and raised a leg, playfully trailing her feet down the front of his suit. He took her foot and kissed her toes slowly, caressing her feet. He sat on the bed beside her as she slid over, making room for him. He stripped himself quickly and laid in the bed, staring at Nasstassja. She crawled near him as she straddled him, slipping her chemise over her head. Octavius’ eyes widen as his mouth gaped open, his hands slowly circling around her breasts. She tapped his hands as she crawled out of the bed, walking to the windows as she pulled the draperies closed. “Nasstassja… no one can see us up here,” he said, laughing to himself at her stupidity. She crawled back into the bed and on top of him, taking his hands and placing them back on her breasts. He moaned softly as she leaned into him, planting kisses down his neck. She raised up to face him, nudging his face with the barrel of her gun. He opened his eyes and immediately froze, seeing the gun. Nasstassja leaned to his face as she placed the barrel in the middle of his forehead, “Now did you actually think that you would have gotten a chance to sleep with me?” Octavius took a deep breath as she smiled at him. “You foretold your own demise, Monsiuer Bertrand.” He frowned deeply, a look of confusion on his face. ”Oh, I forgot. You do not know, do you? The draped columns, Octavius. Columns are draped in the midst in the death of royalty. They are draped in the color of death: purple. You should have been more careful of your color coordination, sire. As she leaned away from him, she smiled and pulled the trigger, placing three slugs in his head.

She walked down the stairs, holding her clothing in her hands as she spotted one of the Bravo team members. “Where is Kuang?” she asked. The man nodded to her and escorted her to the recreation room, where four men laid on the floor with bullet holes in the back of their heads. She looked around and her eyes contacted with those of her unit leader. He walked quickly to her smiling as he extended a hand to her, “Excellent work Paradise. I especially liked the idea of having the female agents disguised as the guests of the Don’s entertainment. The horny bastard only saw sexy bodies and went for it; easy infiltration.” Paradise nodded as she shook hands with him. A man walked to her and slipped his arms around her, pecking a kiss on her cheek as he spoke, “Put some clothes on girl. You are disturbing the workers doing the clean up. ” he smiled and walked off as Paradise pulled the silver gown over her head, tugging and pulling at it to straighten it. Kuang placed a hand on her shoulder and looked around, “Of course you along with Teams Bravo and Beta will split the laundered money found in the estates and on the persons.” Paradise nodded in understanding. “I have already spoken with the teams and everyone has taken what they have wanted. All that is left is the estates, the land and a few cars. So how about it Paradise? Wish to take this as your own and raise a family?” Paradise smiled at the comment as she looked around the area.

“I am not exactly sure about the whole family issue, but yes, I want the estates and the rest,” she said, looking around, already planning of renovations that would have to be made.