CHAPTER 12

 
 
“Yahooo!” Max shouted out to the pristine
lake below, standing on the balcony, his arms wide apart like he
was Moses parting the Red Sea. The wind blew cold upon his face,
messing up his already brown mop of hair. “I am here, Queenstown.
Wait for me. I’m coming for you tonight.”
“Max, shut up, will you?” Clarice hushed him
while unpacking their luggage.
Clarice couldn’t help being upset. That talk
she had with her friends and Max the other day was still rolling
around in her head. She really wanted Anton’s sperm, but there was
no way in heaven she was going to sleep with him. She guessed her
next best bet would be to go back to the fertility clinic and apply
for that sperm donor again.
“Hmm,” she sighed in sadness.
“Why are you so down, cuz?” Max asked,
coming back from the balcony. “We’re in Queenstown. The air is
fresh, the lake is as clear as the sky above, and we are breathing.
We are alive. I am alive, Queenstown. Can you hear me? I am alive,”
Max shouted again.
Somewhere down below their eleventh-floor
hotel suite, they could hear a distinct shout of, “Yeah, we can
hear you. Now shut up!”
“See, even the people downstairs are annoyed
with your hyperactive mood.”
“So what? They just don’t know how to have
fun.”
“Yeah right.” Clarice eyed her cousin, who
didn’t seem to be affected by anything. Sometimes she just wished
she could be more like him. She shook her head to dispel this
dreary dilemma of hers and continued to unpack her bag in silence
instead.
“Cuz, don’t say you’re still upset about
that talk we had the other night.”
“I’m fine,” Clarice said to reassure him.
She really didn’t want to think about that subject just now. They
were here in Queenstown for her talk at the Dental Hygiene
Conference and for a well-deserved break, so no talking about
unhappy issues.
“You don’t look fine to me.” Max came to
look at his cousin’s face. “Look, I’m sure all will work out. I
promise. I have a good feeling about coming here. I feel all your
dreams will come true.”
“What? Like having a baby?” Clarice
jested.
“I don’t know,” Max said, quirking his
eyebrows. “Just know it might happen if you really want it.”
“Really?” Clarice asked her sweet cousin. He
always managed to put a smile on her face.
“Let me hear you say it.” Max teased
her.
“Say what, you rascal?” Clarice smiled,
shaking her head at her cousin’s childlike behavior.
“That you want your Mr. Anton’s sperm so you
can make the perfect baby with your egg.”
“Max!” Clarice jerked her head up from the
folded clothes to stare at her cousin, who still had that
mischievous look on his face. “Shut up. I’m embarrassed.”
“Oh, come on, say it.” Max tempted Clarice
to confess her desire for wanting a baby.
“No.” Clarice just shook her head and turned
away from Max, but he was being persistent as he followed her
around and around until she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Max, stop it. You’re starting to piss me
off. If you continue to do this, I might not take you out for
dessert. Remember your favourite gelato?” she warned.
“No, I don’t care about that gelato. I want
to hear you say it. Say it, Clarice. Otherwise, I’ll continue to
annoy you.” Max blackmailed his cousin.
“Okay! Okay! I want Anton’s sperm,” Clarice
said just so he would shut his mouth. “Happy now?”
“Very happy,” Max said, then went to the
door. “I’m going out exploring. Let’s have dinner at The Burger
tonight at six after the conference, okay? Then we can go
sightseeing and get that gelato.”
“Yes, sure. And be careful exploring. If you
need anything, just call my cell.”
“I know. And, you, don’t forget to smile,”
Max said, smiling cheekily at her through the cracked door. “Be
happy now. Keep studying those notes. You don’t know when that
cupid will arrange for your wish to come true.”
“Aye, aye.” Clarice nodded her head. When
she heard the door shut, she lay down on the bed and closed her
eyes. Suddenly, something Max had said struck her.
Notes? What notes?
Ah, the presentation notes for her
appearance this afternoon.
Clarice took out her stack of notes from her
bag. Except, along with the presentation notes came flying the
lists and doodles she’d written for her “quest for sperm
research.”
Clarice’s face bloomed red as she shyly
picked up the papers that had dropped to the floor.
How did these notes appear in her bag?
Didn’t she hide them in the safety of her locked drawer?
Clarice cast her mind back to the time when
her friends were deep in discussion mode on the hot topic of
“mission capturing Anton’s sperm.” After that conversation, despite
being truly adamant about not going down the path of the devil, her
mind would not stop thinking about it. She’d bit her lips and flung
all caution out the window to study the art of seduction, just so
she could get Anton to sleep with her.
So the research was underway, without anyone
knowing of course. She started reading romance novels, her favorite
genre, but that didn’t really explain how to get a guy into bed at
all. So she resorted to reading erotic romance, which was
definitely not her genre, but for the sake of research, she had to
take one for the team. It was her habit to read every night before
going to bed, and she’d been doing so for the past week. In total,
she’d read five books and had even taken comprehensive notes.
But dearie, did it give her a nosebleed when
she got to those scenes. When she read the first line, she almost
threw the book across the room, but her curiosity for the unknown
prevented her from burning the whole stack of books in the log
burner. Her mind had now been corrupted with those steamy,
jaw-dropping scenes, but they did give her a clearer understanding
of what she must do.
Sitting on the bed and making sure she was
comfortable, she started skimming through the contents again.
“First step,” she started reading, “to lure
him in.”
She chuckled and shook her head. Yeah, it
was so like her to lure Anton into bed. She could not, in a million
years, see herself luring anyone into her bed, least of all
Anton.
“Step two: say sweet things to him in a
seductive tone, dripping with honey, to turn him on.”
Clarice pondered this statement. Sure she
could muster the “sweet things.” Max mentioned she said sweet
things to him all the time, so that wasn’t a problem at all. But to
say sweet seductive things dripping with honey, she’d never done
that before. Did she even possess such a voice?
“Step three: kiss him,” she read out.
Kiss him? Clarice shook her head. How does
one kiss someone? Then the image of that Casanova popped into her
head, like an uninvited gatecrasher at a party, of that one episode
when they’d accidently smashed their lips against each other’s
outside the bathroom at the Cambodian restaurant.
No, no, no. She shook her head to
dispel the image. Definitely not, most definitely, definitely not.
But she couldn’t help remembering the feel of those lips resting
upon her own, so soft, as he tasted her, teased her, as if
searching for something.
She touched her own lips, remembering the
feel of Hunter’s on hers, tracing her index finger softly along.
Yes, right there. Those lips touched hers right there, so silky
smooth, so velvety, like the taste of a plum, ripe and juicy,
deli—
“Clarice, stop it right now.” She snapped
out of her delirium and slapped herself on the cheek when she
realized she was fantasizing about Hunter. “Why are you fantasizing
about that Casanova kissing you? Step four, step four, read step
four.” Her hands were fluffing around in nervousness, trying to
grab hold of the notes in front of her, and then when the words
came into focus again, she read, “Step four: have seeex with
him.”
Not used to saying the word, her mouth just
wouldn’t cooperate with her.
“Sex?” Clarice asked herself. “Have sex? How
does one do that without love?” She pondered. Surely they needed to
love each other.
What other reasons could drive someone to
seek another person’s bed? Money? Boredom maybe?
Oh, what was she thinking? Clarice slapped
herself again. What she-devil had possessed her to write this stuff
down? It wasn’t like she was going to act out any of it . She was a
woman, a woman with morals and dignity. She couldn’t go around
seducing harmless hot guys like Anton for the sake of sperm. She
would find other ways to get that sperm.
Happy with that thought, she quickly shoved
the notes in the drawer out of her sight before she started
thinking about it again. Then, picking up her presentation notes
this time, she started reading.
It was only a one-hour presentation, so she
should have plenty of time to dress up then meet Max at The Burger
by six.
The Burger was a restaurant next door to
Torque, one of the most prestigious nightclubs in all of New
Zealand. She didn’t know why Max would want to eat there. It was
just burgers anyway, and to get to The Burger, she’d have to walk
past the nightclub.
She so wasn’t looking forward to it. The
last nightclub she went to turned out sour. Then her dilemma about
Anton, the art-of-seduction notes, and the potential baby sperm
resurfaced in her mind again. She felt a nervous shudder run
through her. She shook her head to free herself of this feeling.
She was here in Queenstown anyway, the land of fun, so there was no
use sulking and having panic attacks over these issues. She’d sort
it out once she was back in Auckland.
Yes, let’s present this talk with dignity,
poise, and confidence.
 

 
Who was she kidding, presenting the talk
with dignity, poise, and confidence? Pah! There was nothing
confident or poised about her right now as she eyed her audience,
her nerves a shivering mess. Her hands shook like she was having an
epileptic fit. Thank God she was standing behind the podium and her
mini episode was unseen. Otherwise, an ambulance would be called
and she would be admitted into Queenstown Hospital. And it wasn’t
because she was scared of public speaking. No, far from that. She
was actually nervous because Anton was here, at the Dental Hygiene
Conference, sitting near the exit, talking to a few of the other
hygienists.
What in heaven is he doing here
anyway? was the first question that came into her mind. Yes, he
was the owner of the hotel chain, but did he have to make an
appearance now of all times? She didn’t even know he was here in
Queenstown. Just when she was thinking about him this afternoon, he
suddenly appeared.
She was about to make her presentation and
she didn’t want to think about him just now. It just reminded her
of how perfect the man was for her baby. To be so close yet so far
away. She should just muster up the courage to ask him for that
sperm. Just one single sperm. That’s right. It would be her goal
when she got back to Auckland to just ask for his sperm. At that
moment, while her mind was still mulled up about that prospect,
Anton turned his eyes toward her.
Anton couldn’t help admiring the woman
standing on stage before him, exuding a look of poise, confidence,
and dignity. She was about to present her talk on dental implants.
She was so beautiful, well mannered, delicate and small, like a
china doll that needed to be treasured or else it would break. He
wanted to be the man that would treasure this china doll.
Clarice had to swallow to wet her dry mouth
because that staring contest with Anton was making the back of her
throat feel like sandpaper. Turning to her audience, she finally
broke eye contact with Anton and began to speak.
“Dental implants…” She began, eyeing the
dental hygienists and dental therapists who flew from all over New
Zealand to Queenstown for this particular conference. “How do we go
about caring for implants for our patients…?”
Once she got going, she realized she lost
sight of time, place, and even Anton, who was sitting there
watching and admiring her from afar, her focus solely on her
presentation.
After an hour presenting the many cases of
implants she had preformed and the many ways the hygienists could
help care for them, Clarice found herself with a bottle of wine in
hand as a parting gift and claps and applause on all sides.
The wine, Clarice knew, she would dispose of
through Gracey, since she herself couldn’t drink even a lick of
alcohol, what with her memory still fresh from that embarrassing
episode from that night at the club on the day of her thirtieth
birthday. She could still remember that foul taste of liquor on her
taste buds, and no thank you, she would not be repeating
that experience ever again.
As the applause continued, Clarice basked in
the glory of her audience for an extra full minute before she was
led offstage to find Anton patiently waiting for her.
He hadn’t left yet? Suddenly, her heart
thumped nervously. Could he have known about her plan for asking
for his sperm? She cringed. But she didn’t have to worry herself
long, because Anton walked toward her, then made his intention
clear.
“Can I speak with you in private, Miss
Clarice?”
Private? Why would Anton want a private
meeting with her? What was he planning on doing to her? No one had
ever requested a private meeting with her before. Not ever. Was he
one of those playboys too, like that Casanova Hunter? Did he have
evil designs on her? Or was this her God-given opportunity? Was she
supposed to take the opening and ask him nicely now? Clarice found
herself shaking once again. What to do? What to do? She must calm
herself. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe
out.
“Clarice?”
“Yessss?” She almost jumped into midair, she
was so startled at hearing Anton’s voice next to her ear. Then she
came to realize they were now in very close confinement in an empty
office with the door shut. Her pupils grew larger than a golf
ball.
Anton gave her a warm smile when he realized
he startled her. “I just want to say that I was really impressed
with your presentation today.”
“Ugh… thank you,” was all Clarice could
say.
“Would you be willing to give a presentation
about your cases to our guests at the hotel in Auckland? We want to
provide the extra service for our VIP guests, and since they are of
the older generation, I thought dental implants and oral care would
be perfect to entertain them.”
Oh, is that all? Clarice thought.
Phew! She wiped her forehead that was dotted with sweat droplets.
Then she turned to Anton.
“That would be a splendid idea.” Clarice
agreed, hyping up all enthusiastically. “As health professionals,
we always thrive to encourage our community to take care of their
oral health,” she said proudly, and even suggested, “I could even
ask our hygienist in our practice to come along too so we could
collaborate.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Thank you. We
would really appreciate that.”
Anton smiled warmly. He had never seen a
woman this enchanting before. The first time he saw her was when
she accidentally bumped into him. And he was smitten. Then when he
realized she was the guest speaker for the conference, he had
planned to come along too, just to see her again.
She was professional when she spoke on
stage. Now he wanted to know her even more, so he’d come up with
this plan, for her to present her work to his guests back in
Auckland. That way he could continue to liaise with her and see
her.
In all of his thirty-one years, Anton had
been searching for the right woman to become his wife, to bear his
offspring. He was disgusted with women these days, what with their
lack of respectable wear and their provocative nature. Yes, he was
sure. He was really sure his search for the right wife would end
soon, because he had a really strong feeling that woman would be
Clarice.
“Well then…” Anton smiled at her again. He
wondered if it was okay to ask her out tonight, but then he
remembered he needed to entertain his guests at Torque. Feeling
that neglecting his responsibility wasn’t the way to go, he decided
to see her back in Auckland instead. “Here are my contact details.
I’ll see you when you get back in Auckland,” he said, his voice
shaking with nerves.
“Oh, you can have mine too.” Clarice offered
her card to him, then paused and wondered if it was best to ask
Anton now, but she shook her head. No, she didn’t know him well
yet. It was best to know him first before asking. That way she had
a higher chance of getting that sperm.
As they both exchanged business cards,
Anton’s hand couldn’t help shaking a bit when he accidently brushed
against Clarice’s.
“Have fun for the remainder of your stay,
Miss Clarice,” Anton said all too quickly. After glancing back one
more time, he walked briskly out the door.
“Yes. Thank you,” Clarice said, smiling as
she watched him leave.