Spice and Ice - A Billionaire's Amour

Chapter 2 - Surprise

Her honey-blonde tress tangled within his palms as she lay within the cocoon of his arms, curled up facing towards his chest. Soft breaths teased the hair on his chest as her small body snuggled closer for his warmth. He hoped if this was a dream he did not want it to stop. Her beautiful face upturned at that moment, She yawned and fluttered her eyelashes open. Her big doe-eyes started at him for a moment unfocussed, their soft lime-hues left him speechless. She had a great body, curved at the right places, made to please a man more than once. Dante frowned at the word 'Please.' He did not remember asking for an escort, but here he was with one. She giggled bringing back his attention on her lustrous eyes, "Wanna go ano...ther..." she made a big circle on his chest, emphasizing her need.

He smiled, even now his body was responding with her slightest touch. 'Wait... are those...?' he found her eyes dilated as he peered into them in the semi-darkness of the room. Her pupils looked considerably larger, there was an air of unfocussed liveliness.

's**t,' cursed Dante, "He had been set up." He grew disgusted, He had finally responded to someone, and that someone was drugged to please him. Before he can remove himself from her, she caught him in a longing kiss. 'What hot-blooded male could ever deny such a kiss?' deciding to deal with whatever the scheme the b***h had conspired in the morning. Now it was time for something else.

**

Dante remembered they had continued for the rest of the night. There were numerous one-night stands that he had. None he recalled or needed to remember, but that particular one with the unknown girl - yes he didn't know her name or anything about her - he could distinctly remember, coz of three things. Yes, it was the best and most memorable one, the other, She surprised him in the morning. The girl was drugged and clearly would not have fallen into the situation with him, had he not found blood-stains on the sheets the next morning. And last, but not the least, she had left him, sneaked out before he woke up and left a 100$ bill, beneath a small card, saying 'Thank you for the night!'

The card and the bill, which to his mortification was found by his best friend, Renato the next morning, laughing his head off. Even now, he finds a chance to tease the hell out of him. Renato Guidi walked in the hospital room just then, sipping a cup of warm coffee, "I want one," Dante growled.

"Nope," came the reply in a rather cheery mood, dragging the chair placing it backward. He sat astride leaning on the back support of the chair, slurping the coffee with delish, "You still have to wait for 24-hours."

Dante's eyes narrowed, "Why do I get a feeling that you are happy with my current predicament?" His friend gave a broad smile, "You don't have to wonder. I am pleased, considering this is the first proper rest you have taken in the last few months. Also," he continued making slurping noises, "I like to see you suffer."

Dante gritted his teeth, "Hope they pissed in it."

The remark earned him the reaction he expected. Renato chocked on his coffee, spilling it all over his shirt. "Not funny spoil-sport!" he cussed moving to the bathroom, dumping the rest on the way to tidy up.

Dante had a hearty laugh, which was cut short with a grimace, as his stitches stung. He leaned back and sighed, Renato did have a point. He had not slept more than four hours the past two months. Being the CEO of Lanz corp, a dying company he bought as soon as he finished college, broke it down and rebuilt from scratch. Now as the biggest multinational company, having offices all over the world. Initially, his success developed from buying cost-effective equipment in its raw format, redesigning into affordable exceptional commodities, which in turn paved the way for creating high paying jobs and selling advanced technological goods, in countries otherwise, did not have access to such assets. Now he had expanded more in retail and he had been working to close off a deal which was dragging on for a year. So close to completion and this had to happen. Being a CEO was just a forefront, something to satisfy his family's legacy. His main profession was quite different, his passion and craving for erudition, He had planned and worked for his entire life, a secret which even his family was not aware of.

His eyes remained closed, "What about my other question?"

The silence continued, Dante couldn't hold back his impatience, opening them to find Renato, trying desperately to hold off hysterics. His acts causing Dante to raise an eyebrow questioningly made Renato burst out laughing, taunting, "Of all the ways to get disgraced... Ha, Ha, Ha...getting hit on the head... And to top it off it was the same girl that shook you five months ago." He snorted out loud holding on to his sides, which only earned a few things on the side table flying at him. The ruckus they created got huge, a nurse had to peek in to make sure everything was alright.

"Well did you get it?" demanded a very irritated tycoon. "Sure dude, here," handing him a sizable tablet, Dante played the video feed from the street cams on the night of his attack. When it came to the part where the girl intervened, he gave an appreciated simile, "You can't get a smarter girl than her," his friend commented. Yeah! true. That was why he was hell-bent on trying to find her. The same girl who had the audacity of escaping from him twice. When it came to the part where she thwacked him and hid back in her original hiding place, astonished him.

Such a simple action and they completely missed her from being tracked. "You have to say, the brains in her are not for decoration, or should I say its the survival instincts not to be caught by the predator," he snickered.

Ignoring him, Dante furiously tapped away into the servers other cameras to locate her, but after seeing her in two other videos there was no sign of her. Either she lived in one of the houses near the place where she was missed, or she must have realized the cameras and purposefully avoided them. "Well did you find her?"

"Nope. She is one elusive girl. Yesterday was Sunday. There was no way of tracking her anywhere from the given location. I have sent men to look at all the routes from covering a 10-mile radius since she was walking that night, her place of work or her home should be around there. Be patient and we will get the results." Renato patted him on his good shoulder, his voice laced with care, "Don't worry my friend, This time she won't be able to escape you."

"You better do. I am starting to wonder what a useless friend I have all along," muttered Dante angrily. Renato shook his head, smiling while standing up to leave, "Well why don't you get better sooner and take over, instead of pushing your burdens on others," he paused near the door his expression changing from jaunty to seriousness in a matter of seconds, "The other matter is taken care off, waiting for your decision to execute."

Dante's smile demurely turned sardonic, "Let them sweat for a while, it would be exquisite to kill, after prolonging their hope."

"You are the boss! See you in the eve," he signaled before leaving. Dante relaxed looking at the sky outside his window, he was not called ruthless for no reason. Those who betrayed him or tried to mess with him did not end up well. He doesn't move for the kill immediately, instead, he tortures his enemies with the infinite amount of possibilities before pulling the rug from under them, sending them spiraling into a void, from which there was no escape before pulling the trigger.

He looked back at the screen at the frozen image of the woman who escaped him not once but thrice, "Just wait for me pretty bird, We will soon be together forever."

**

Vera continued to stir the pot lightly humming a tune, smelling the delicious flavors wafting from the soup. It had been two weeks since the incident, with no signs of the tycoon showing up anywhere near, she started to relax. She had been careful, not to get recognized during her commute. Just to be on a safer side, She took leave of her work for two days, traveled to meet her friends, stayed at her aunt's home for the rest of the week, making an excuse of a leaky roof. Though commuting to work from was tiring, it made her feel safe. She involuntarily shuddered remembering the angry look on his face, there was no way she was going to get caught by him.

No matter how hard she tried, her memories kept going back to the hazy night she spent with him. She never knew a Multi-millionaire like him existed until that night. After her last encounter, she continued being plagued by the dreames of the night, not just that night but every one after that. Though it was not unpleasant it was starting to give her a headache. 'Why the hell did she keep remembering that p*****t?' Well for starters he had amazing eyes. Eyes that any woman would drown herself into, dreamy as the starry night. The dark stubble that she loved to run her fingers along his cheeks... "Ouch!" she yelled as she ran her left palm over the hot pot involuntarily.

"What's wrong?" asked Aadiv behind her.

"Nothing, just a slight burn," she pacified, running cold water. It was starting to pinken when Aadhiv jerked her hand to inspect. He stared at her questioningly one eyebrow raised, waiting for her response.

"Its nothing. I was just thinking of something else," She defended.

"Exactly!" he retorted.

"Wha... What?" She blinked unable to comprehend his response.

"You were thinking of something else when you are in the kitchen and that too cooking with the hot pot," his voice was stern, losing patience.

"Tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing is going on." She defended moving away from him, heading towards the refrigerator. "Don't give me that s**t!" warned Aadiv.

"You never make mistakes. Since last week you have been too absent-minded, starring away in space, I have to call you two or three times to get your attention." She ignored him and reached for the ice-pack applying it and moving back to her station.

"Stop ignoring me Vera," he jerked her around locking both her hands with his. "Look at me, Vera come on, Look at me," he urged when she refused to meet his gaze and looked everywhere except him. "Come on Ve, can't you let this friend know what's bothering you?"

Vera started into his dark brown eyes, 'Why didn't I ever fall for this guy?' She questioned herself many times. Aadiv was handsome looking in his way. He was just an inch shorter than her, like most Indian men, He had quite a roguish look, with straight black hair, and dark eyebrows, charming face with beard stache, which always carried a friendly smile. Right now those lips were pinched into a thin line, showing his impatience.

She sighed leaning back on to the counter, "Remember, I spoke about a guy five months ago."

He raised his eyebrows, "So this is all about a guy?"

Vera rolled her eyes at his sarcasm, "Do you remember or not?"

"Well..." he dragged, counting with his fingers, "For a girl, who never dates, works all the time, and it was only once or... wait a moment," he paused thinking, "Yeah, its twice. Only twice she ever talked about any male, or should I say only one male in particular... Ouch! Stop hitting me," raising his arms in defense.

Vera blushed trying to stop his chattering of her personal life, thumping him with a rolling pin, "Yes, yes I do. Now, what about him?"

"Well, I sort of ran into him the other day," She dragged shyly.

"And...?" Aadiv questioned, leaning back on the refrigerator, arms crossed in a relaxed pose.

She blurted out what happened the night she met the tycoon, by the end of it, Aadiv stood speechless, his mouth wide open staring at her in disbelief for a few seconds, "Wait, Are you telling me you saved him first and then, whacked him seconds later, just coz you recognized him?"

Vera slowly nods her head in affirmative, Aadiv bursts out laughing. "Oh, My God!... Ha, Ha, Ha... I wish I was there to see his face...."

Vera smiled, "Well, even if you were, it would be impossible as he got whisked away in seconds," an infectious giggle bubbled up inside her as she realized the stupidity of the whole situation. She started to relax for the first time in two weeks, realizing that confiding in her best friend was helping to get the anxiety off her chest, "Well, he deserved it."

"I am sure he did," he responded trying to get his chuckling under control. The whole kitchen, which did not have more than six people including him, was looking at them peculiarly. He turned glancing at them, one eyebrow raised, "Was it entertaining?"

The others shook their heads sniggering and resumed their work. "Okay! so coming back to the topic," he moved in front of her suddenly forcing her back to lean against the cabinet, anger storming off his face, "What did I tell you about being absent-minded?"

Vera felt chills down her spine. Aadiv by nature was a very gentle person, always smiling, his laughter so free without any underlying meaning. But there were times when he does not control his anger, it bursts out of him all of a sudden without any notice. Vera flinched at his harsh tone. One thing she had learned never piss him off unnecessarily. He tended to be overprotective at times when she usually did not take safety as her priority.

She wet her lips suddenly feeling very dry, "I... I can explain..."

"Explain what?" he cut off sharply. "I specifically asked you to wait, you refused. I asked you to take the subway - you said 'yes,' but then you were so busy admiring the nightlife as if you have never watched it before taking a long way home."

"What if something else happened?" He slammed both hands behind her on the racks yelling, "What if you got shot accidentally? Did you even think of the consequences?" Vera blinked not able to look at his face, looking away, unable to answer his acquisitions.

"Hmm...Hmm.." someone grunted behind them, "If you two love-birds are done, there is a restaurant to run, which is currently brimming up with the afternoon service," Mark, the senior cook snapped at them.

"On it," responded Aadiv without looking away from her. He held out his forefinger pointing towards her in warning, "This is not over yet," and left without a backward glance. Vera released out a shaky breath, and pouted, Aadiv could be overbearing sometimes, but she knew from the experience it was all out of his concern for her safety. The afternoon proceeded without any further incident, but right about the time of closure, in walked two businessmen. Their general stance showed distaste and arrogance that they could not be bothered to visit such mid-level eatery. Aadiv noticed them standing at the entrance for a full minute before the host took the nerve to approach them.

A curt nod from the tall dark-haired one, was all that required to send Samuel, the usually cheerful host of the restaurant, in a panic to find the best table for them.

Aadiv frowned, 'If they did not like his place, which was apparent, why did they choose to dine there out of all the best eateries available in the location?' He moved closer to their table making note of their appearance, They were finely dressed in business suits. Once seated, They did not even bother to look at the menu but ordered a few Italian antipasti and pasta first course.

Aadiv frowned, did they not see the signboard before entering?

Dante sat agitated, did not give a damn as the host sought to explain it was not an Italian restaurant, striving to make them choose other options available - Hmm... as if he did not know it was an Asian eatery. He had visited it twice a few months ago for some business meetings. Striding into it directly through familiarity, not bothering to read the signs after spending the morning searching fruitlessly for the woman. Not until he stood at the threshold did he realize the original rustic Italian ristorante has been changed to an Asian restaurant. He didn't bother noticing the decor initially, but now he took in the changes with a renewed eye. They had changed the decor from rustic to a more contemporary look.

The original ristorante had dark parquet flooring, the walls were left uncovered, leaving the brick walls to enhance the look naturally. The dining tables and benches were made with natural raw wood. Originally, the whole atmosphere of the ristorante was homey but didn't have a conventional lighting system. The fringed lamp, gilded mirrors were supposed to enhance the darkness making the patrons feel more intimate with each other, but all he ever felt was quite a distaste.

But now when he looked around, it didn't look anywhere near the old restaurant, the new owner had changed it from rustic to contemporary.

Gone whére the garish lightings, one section of the front wall was opened up with french windows. The extra sunlight illuminated the interiors. They had kept the flooring and furniture the same, the rest...?

Dante had to blink twice to get a grasp of what he is looking at. Everything was brightened up. There was not a hint of grey or black, from the bright colors of Chinese silk to heavy brocade of Indian tapestries decorated the walls. It was like he was transported to a new realm.

Whenever the kitchen door opened he got assaulted with an array of different savors. As he continued contemplating the scents, a handsome Indian stood next to him, with a smile in a chef's attire. "Good Afternoon gentlemen, Welcome to 'Flavours'

"My name is Aadiv, I am the head chef and the owner of this restaurant. My host informs me you have ordered, dishes that are not on the menu. Can I help with choosing other available options?"

Renato looked at him with a sardonic expression, "Was there any problem with the dishes we asked? If you are the head chef, you must be able to whip up anything, correct?"

Aadiv rolled his eyes inwardly, This was not the first time when his restaurant was visited by difficult customers. Mostly it was street punks or any other wayward customers, who had a lot of time on their hands. But these two didn't fit any of them. Suits immaculate, grim, no-nonsense expressions, and to top it off one of them was ridiculously handsome. Aadiv was pretty sure, they were not just any businessmen, but Billionaires.

So why would they want to visit an ordinary eatery, serving non-Italian cuisine, and want to make trouble during the busiest time of the restaurant?

"Gentlemen, as the saying goes, 'Time doesn't wait for anyone.' "Analyzing and trying to understand it, is not something I can indulge in right now, as you can see," He pointed out the busy tables behind him, "I have customers to serve, and you,-" he addressed Dante directly challenging him with his eyes, "- Look like you already have enough fish to fry." He waited for a few seconds glancing at one another, and continued in a pleasant voice, "I hope we can come to an understanding that this is not your usual eatery and offers something different from what your palates have tested regularly. Also, I am sure you did not walk in blindly, without checking the billboard outside." He paused to wait for there comments but was only met with their austere expressions, which amused him. Signaling Samuel, who rushed over nervously, "If I have satisfied your curiosity of me being a head-chef, kindly continue to order, else..." he pointed to the entrance, "the door stands to your left."

Aadiv bowed a little with hands folded in front as a greeting, "Hope you enjoy our authentic cuisine, Namaste," leaving a nervous host standing to take their orders. Samuel gulped, he had never met such powerful personalities, much less serve them, internally debating how the hell Aadiv stood to give a lecture before them without flinching, "Let me know once you are ready to place the order," placing the menu cards in front of them and backing away silently.

"Well...?" asked Renato, "I like him. Not many people display the guts to talk to us like him." Dante just grunted in response, picking up the overly decorated menu. "Come on, I know you like him too, tat's why you let him get away with his speech."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Dante, frowning at the alien names he was unable to interpret.

"You like his guts, its why this establishment still stands, else right now everyone here would be packing their bags out, and he goes bankrupt," smirked Renato, as he too continued to browse the foreign menu, grimacing after five seconds, "I can't make head or tails of this."

"Yup!" declared Dante throwing the menu down the table turned his head slightly looking for the host. Samuel who was hovering by the next table waiting for any signal, rushed forward to meet him, "Sir?"

"Explain."

Samuel blinked twice, looking from one Billionaire to the other trying to figure out what the single syllable was about. Renato leaned back smirking, pointing the menu with a single look. "Ah! yes," He collected the menus,

"Here at Flavours, we have two specific cuisines, Indian and Asian. You can choose to order from any of them. In Indian cuisine, you have the choice of ordering purely vegetarian 3-course meals - it does not include any meat."

He paused spreading out the menu and pointing out various appetizers and explaining them in detail. "You can try Manchurian balls, the samosas, lentil fritters, and spring rolls. The choice of stuffing is yours it can be modified to fit meat or veg only," His soft trembling voice grew, stronger starting to exhibiting liveliness. Dante felt the change-making him look up at the passionate way Samuel was explaining away the different food choices, "If you look here... these are the choices for Asian cuisine. You can try Sichuan fried beef, steamed noodle rolls, and dumplings."

His voice changed animated, forgetting his previous nervousness, displaying his authority as a host. Dante decided to leave the choice to him. Once Samuel left with the orders, Renato looked around whistling softly, "Looks like we have traveled past in time."

Dante lost interest, his mind reeling back to the reason they entered the restaurant in the first place. Two weeks had passed and they were yet to find her. He ground his teeth at his incompetence. The girl has proved more elusive than he credited her for.

The last of the reports showed her presence in this street, he left his meeting immediately. They both searched the place all morning without a sign of her, eventually famished entering the first restaurant they came across, which bewildered them as they entered the foyer, debating to leave or stay.

"Give it some time. I am sure we are close," reprimanded Renato picking one of the cone-shaped appetizers placed in front of him.

"Mmm... gustoso!" he appreciated taking another mouthful, "You should try this, this is good."

Dante sighed, deciding to deal with his headache later and concentrating on the delicious smells wafting from a variety of colorful dishes place in front of them. Initially, he was reluctant to try the unknown tastes, but once he had a mouthful, the burst of spices in his mouth, made him sit back and wonder, what the hell has he been eating until now.

"Now I understand, why people are getting more hooked to Indian cuisine," Renato relished, trying everything out on the table.

"Buon pomeriggio gentiluomini, Le presento Vera. Mi è stato comunicato che è la prima volta che assaggi la cucina indiana. Come ti senti a proposito... Oh mio Dio! Stai bene?" Vera stood puzzled when she found one of the businessmen bent over to the side coughing in a fit.

The other one dropped the fork he was holding with a surprised expression on his face.