{"id":1559,"date":"2012-06-03T23:42:34","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T04:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theproviso.com\/?page_id=1559"},"modified":"2026-02-23T00:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:48:22","slug":"how-business-gets-done","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/extras\/vignettes-outtakes\/extracurricular-activities\/how-business-gets-done\/","title":{"rendered":"How Business Gets Done"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MAY 2005<\/p>\n

Vanessa: 23<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

VANESSA SMOOTHED HER cocktail dress, the one her roommates had badgered her into:<\/p>\n

Hot pink, with a knee-length bell skirt poofed out with too many crinolines. The bodice squished her boobs and the halter tied behind her neck. Of course, many people would see her naked backside tonight, so she wasn\u2019t sure where this attack of modesty had come from.<\/p>\n

Not only that, but the man who would be escorting her tonight had seen her naked from every conceivable angle.<\/p>\n

There was a sharp rap at the door of her apartment and her similarly clad roommates buzzed with excitement. \u201cHe\u2019s here! He\u2019s here! Vanessa!\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, yes, King Midas<\/em> was here to escort her\u2014all four of them\u2014to the Metropolitan Museum of Art tonight. No, not Ford<\/em>, not her lover. King Midas.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know King Midas, so she was nervous on many fronts.<\/p>\n

The door swung open and there he was, looking dour\u2014Vanessa had never seen him without a smile or an expression filled with passion\u2014his hands stuck in the pockets of his tuxedo, his back hunched a bit.<\/p>\n

Was it possible he was as nervous as she?<\/p>\n

\u201cReady?\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\n

Her roommates squealed behind her, and someone shoved her wrap and clutch in her hands. They surged around her, surrounded Sebastian and peppered him with questions. His smile came out, albeit reluctantly, and Vanessa watched him attempt to interact with the roommates who didn\u2019t know she had spent one glorious summer in this man\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

She knew what was under all those fine clothes and his naked self was far more delicious than his clothed self.<\/p>\n

He looked at Vanessa over the top of her roommates heads and her nostrils flared at the intense look on his face that she knew so well. He\u2019d asked her to accompany him tonight, to get her used to the fame and the attention, to teach her what to do as a semi-celebrity and how to cope.<\/p>\n

He knew the owner of Chez Fricassee, where she wanted to cook, and had invited the man to the opening tonight to introduce her and suggest<\/em> that Vanessa had extraordinary culinary talents and a work ethic to go along with her beauty.<\/p>\n

But then Sebastian had asked her for a week alone, in his suite at the Waldorf. Breathless, she\u2019d said yes and now she\u2019d rather just ditch the grand unveiling of her painting and get straight to bed. She hadn\u2019t had sex since she left him. Not because she hadn\u2019t wanted to, but because she didn\u2019t find anyone as fascinating as he.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years her senior, wealthy, powerful, a celebrity in his own right, and he wanted her<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After that, who could compete?<\/p>\n

All five of them sat in the limo on the way to the Met. Her three roommates vied for Sebastian\u2019s attention, which he granted as graciously as he could, considering he had declared them all a bunch of rowdy kittens. He\u2019d slid a glance at Vanessa, who kept herself apart from him, and said low, \u201cAnd one very sleek cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n

Two of her roommates flanked Sebastian and the third sat on the other side of the second. Vanessa sat across from them, watching, secure and increasingly arrogant about her place in his life.<\/p>\n

And his bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLadies,\u201d Sebastian finally said, exasperated with, Vanessa supposed, their chattering. \u201cPlease<\/em>. When we get there, mingle. Don\u2019t hang all over us. This is supposed to be Vanessa\u2019s night, not mine, not yours. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

They were happy to comply, just to make him happy, but Vanessa knew: Once they arrived, they\u2019d act appropriately and go hunting amongst the other wealthy men who would be there. She could bet that at least two of them wouldn\u2019t come home that night.<\/p>\n

Vanessa would be the third.<\/p>\n

With any luck, their apartment would be empty all weekend.<\/p>\n

The limo came to a stop in front of the Met. A red carpet was rolled out like it was the Oscars and Vanessa\u2019s heart thudded in her chest. She couldn\u2019t hide the panic in the look she cast Sebastian, and his mouth twitched. \u201cYou\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her roommates piled out enthusiastically, Sebastian apparently having been forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to rip that pretty little dress off of you right now,\u201d Sebastian growled low across the expanse. That made Vanessa smile, and some of her jitters disappeared. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sebastian alit from the limousine, then held his hand out to Vanessa. His rock-hard forearm under her hand strengthened her when he pulled her close. \u201cSteady,\u201d he murmured. They stood for a moment for the two or three photographers who meant to capture the unveiling of another Ford painting.<\/p>\n

The fact that King Midas had attended\u2014art hound that he was\u2014had not gone unnoticed. He very rarely attended art gallery functions (preferring instead to purchase his art at auction, through an agent), and he had never, to anyone\u2019s knowledge, attended a Ford unveiling.<\/p>\n

Why not?<\/em><\/p>\n

I need to keep my lives separate. A corporate raider who\u2019s an artist wouldn\u2019t be seen as credible. An artist who\u2019s a corporate raider would be seen as a hack.<\/em><\/p>\n

But you\u2019re well established in both.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s true, but I\u2019m used to the anonymity and I like it. I don\u2019t like celebrity, Vanessa. I\u2019m eccentric, a hermit.<\/em><\/p>\n

King Midas is as famous as Ford.<\/em><\/p>\n

Infamous. There\u2019s a difference. I can keep people away from me with infamy. I can\u2019t with fame.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why don\u2019t you like people, then?<\/em><\/p>\n

They get in the way of my creativity and problem solving. I live in my head, Vanessa. And in bed with beautiful women. I don\u2019t live in the real world and most days I don\u2019t want to.<\/em><\/p>\n

But you\u2019re escorting me to this opening.<\/em><\/p>\n

To give you an extra boost. Think about it. King Midas, speculator of art who snubs Ford, who never laughs in public\u2014if he\u2019s seen at all\u2014and terrifies half of New York society, has deigned to attend a Ford opening with Ford\u2019s model. That boosts the value of the painting, too. It\u2019ll be a nice nest egg for you if you need it.<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you mean, nest egg?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m giving you the painting, Vanessa. I don\u2019t care to profit from the time I spent with you. I don\u2019t know if you know this, but that\u2019s the longest I\u2019ve ever been with a woman and you were as novel for me as I was for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Uh \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Teaching you, watching you learn and unfold, knowing that your only sexual experience was with me and that everything you gave me was what I taught you \u2026 Incredible. And I haven’t been with anyone since you left. Three years ago.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Vanessa had never been so shocked in her life.<\/p>\n

A great many people looked askance at her once they had entered the gallery, and she hesitated, wanting to flee from away from this man she didn\u2019t know, to take shelter in Ford\u2019s arms and bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf<\/em> I go out, I never have a woman on my arm,\u201d he murmured to her in between introductions he made somewhat awkwardly. She had never seen this side of him, and it shocked her, how insecure he was, camouflaged as an aloof contempt for the whole affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen are scared of me. I don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanessa would be afraid of him, too, if she hadn’t spent so much time with him alone. Naked. Making love.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t relax as the evening wore on, though she did, emboldened by the alcohol though wise enough to stop when she had lost just enough of her inhibitions to allow her to be comfortably chatty and gracious.<\/p>\n

She met the owner of Chez Fricassee, and though it bothered her a little that she had this step up on her classmates because of her sexual relationship with a powerful man, she and Sebastian both knew it was more than that.<\/p>\n

Sebastian took her back to his suite and undressed her slowly, did what he had done so many times with the same magic. She knew it would take an extraordinary man to take his place in her bed, much less her heart.<\/p>\n

He surprised her the next morning over breakfast in the sitting room. \u201cKnox tells me you\u2019ve got some pretty grand plans once you get some time in a New York kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

His casual tone didn\u2019t fool her. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to presume,\u201d she murmured, looking down at her plate, thinking about all the arguments she\u2019d had with herself about approaching him as a venture capitalist supplicant like so many others. \u201cDid he show you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said shortly. He was not happy. \u201cWhat you don\u2019t realize is that if you\u2019d come to me as an unknown, I\u2019d have offered to invest. It\u2019s good. I like it. I\u2019m not certain about the location, but with the right ad campaign, it\u2019ll work.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shrugged defensively, conditioned by the fact that she\u2019d been forced to take a full grade lower on her senior presentation because she wouldn\u2019t budge on that point. \u201cThat\u2019s nonnegotiable,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n

He grunted. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to make it part of your marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that,\u201d she replied testily. She\u2019d pointed that out to her advisers to no avail, and Knox wasn\u2019t any more impressed than they had been.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanessa.\u201d She lifted her head to look at him, his expression soft and calm. \u201cI\u2019d like to help you. If you\u2019ll let me. I know\u2014\u201d He waved a hand and looked out the window. \u201cI know this bugs you, but \u2026 I don\u2019t know how else to express how much you mean to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d she breathed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe building\u2014 What you want. It can be done, but it won\u2019t be cheap and it won\u2019t be easy. Knox took the liberty of talking to our cousin, \u00c9tienne. He\u2019s an engineer, an inventor. He says he can do most of what you\u2019ll need, but it\u2019ll take an architect who can work with him. Problem is, \u00c9tienne\u2019s impossible to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have someone in mind. She\u2019s young, like you. Just starting out. She’s talented, but more importantly, she’s got the balls to take \u00c9tienne’s bullshit and hit him over the head with it. But,\u201d he said brusquely, wiping his mouth as if he were troubled. \u201cI need to know that you aren\u2019t going to have issues with me being your lover and your financier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanessa took a deep breath. \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it,\u201d she murmured. \u201cThat\u2019s not it. I can separate the money and the sex. It\u2019s just that \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not obliged to sleep with me to get this done. I hope you know that. So if that\u2019s your problem\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head. \u201cI wouldn’t sleep with you if I didn\u2019t want to. I\u2014 It\u2019s\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat other people think.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanessa, what you want to do\u2014 Building it is the easy part. After the money\u2019s spent and the building\u2019s up, it\u2019ll be up to you to keep it and grow it, because I won\u2019t throw good money after bad. Not even for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gulped. It wasn\u2019t as if that reality hadn\u2019t run that through her head a million times already. Failure was not an option once that building got built.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what I would suggest you do,\u201d he continued, \u201cis flaunt our affair. You\u2019re a beautiful woman. Use it. Turn it to your advantage. Do some photo shoots. Nobody who matters will think it’s about our affair once they see you work. What you do is exploit people\u2019s fascination with you, with our relationship, the ones who have the money to indulge their curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He waited silently for her to think, but she\u2019d already calculated the costs and the risks and though she had dithered about asking Sebastian to finance her, she wasn\u2019t stupid enough to refuse when he offered out of the blue.<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d he said briskly, throwing down his napkin. \u201cKnox can draft the contracts, since he has an interest in protecting both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said he wanted to invest. It\u2019s just the location\u2019s a problem for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll get over it. Let\u2019s go back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

★<\/p>\n

20260222<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MAY 2005 Vanessa: 23 VANESSA SMOOTHED HER cocktail dress, the one her roommates had badgered her into: Hot pink, with a knee-length bell skirt poofed out with too many crinolines. The bodice squished her boobs and the halter tied behind her neck. Of course, many people would see her naked backside tonight, so she wasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1545,"menu_order":4213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1559","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1559"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23567,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559\/revisions\/23567"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moriahjovan.com\/talesofdunham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}