Introduction: A young girl's journey into the debauchery of very wealthy and powerful men's private lives.
Sincere thanks to editor Grania2 for support and guidance.
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I first met Ryan during our junior year in college. We had been introduced by mutual friends. Ryan was a nice looking guy, very well mannered. I could tell right away he had some class. Most guys I had dated up till then were rather immature. Of course they were just interested in one thing. Ryan was different, he was driven. He had goals. He was a business major and really into making good grades and making the right connections.
My name is Brooke. I was a fashion design student. Someday I planned to own my own couture firm. I've always loved clothing, and I am fascinated by the different styles. I am tall, five-ten and wear my auburn hair long. I think it looks more professional that way. I've been told I should really be a model, but that career is too short lived. Building my own company, influencing the styles and producing them are where the long-term successes are.
Ryan and I hit it off right from the start. He was the perfect gentleman, and we dated regularly for several months. I was from the mid-west. His east coast accent and culture were exactly why I had come to this area.
Ryan never mentioned much about his parents. I knew they were only a couple of hours drive away. Mine were still back in the mid-west where they would always stay.
Several months after we met, we became intimate. Ryan would occasionally confide only bits of information about his upbringing. We had been seeing each other almost every other day. I loved to sit and just talk. We shared our daily struggles, and our future dreams.
I knew Ryan was an only child. I thought it was sort of cute how he would refer to his parents. He always used Mom and Father, never a reference to his dad's first name, pop, dad or anything else warm. Eventually I got out of him that Father's name was Simon.
We had been together almost a year when my parents came to visit. They had come up east and spent a weekend visiting. They both approved of Ryan. My dad was impressed with his drive to one day run his own business. Mom thought him handsome, and a good match for me.
Shortly afterwards, I began pestering Ryan about meeting his parents. He seemed to keep avoiding the issue to the point that I began to think something was wrong. We were serious about each other I thought, and I really wanted to get to meet the people who could potentially be a part of my future. Almost a month had passed before Ryan finally agreed to drive up to see them. They lived about two hours north of New York City. The weekend weather was supposed to be beautiful.
Ryan is a very cautious driver and it seemed like it took an eternity to get there. We drove through some of the most gorgeous countryside. Soon we were in a very exclusive area. The driveways all had gated entrances, and most houses sat back some distance from the road.
We had just passed a cluster of stately looking mansions when Ryan started slowing down. On the right was a turn off, he turned in coming to a stop in front of a huge wrought-iron gate. Massive stone work at least eight-foot high adorned the edges. The stone wall trailed off into the woods along each side. Ryan honked twice, and almost instantly the gate jolted to life and began opening. I was watching for a first glimpse of the house but saw nothing. We started down a paved drive that wound though what looked like a golf course. The grass was manicured and the vegetation lush. We must have driven at least mile before we crested a hill.
The view ahead stunned me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I remember a chill went through me and goose-bumps popped up on my arms. My eyes locked on a structure maybe a half mile ahead at the crest of the next hill. It wasn't just a house or a mansion it was a more liked a damned English castle.
"Stop the car Ryan!" I pleaded.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, slowing the car to a crawl.
"Wait please stop!" I repeated.
I must have stared at that view for a minute. Ryan finally touched my arm and asked if I was ok.
"Ryan, you said they were well-off, but you never said anything about this."
This was beyond my wildest imagination.
"Ryan, are you telling me this is your home?" I asked, staring at him.
Ryan rather sheepishly admitted "Yes."
He was acting almost embarrassed by the grandiose display in front of us.
The car started moving again. I remember thinking over and over the phrase, "The one percent." This was the super wealthy, the "one percent" that everyone talks bad about at parties.
I was petrified, and I wanted to just turn around and go back.
Ryan blew this off and said, "You'll do just fine."
As the car approached a stone courtyard out in front, an "honest to god" butler appeared at the front door. He welcomed us both, and then escorted us through the most awesome foyer toward an adjoining room. Ryan's parents were there awaiting our arrival. His mother put down a book and stood as we entered. She warmly received a hug from him. I walked over nervously and received the same.
To this day, I can vividly recall my first impression of Simon. Ryan's father was standing right in the column of a brilliant beam of sunlight pouring through a series of two story glass windows. The stiff and proper posture he held, reminded me of some ancient nobleman receiving visitors. Simon extended his hand politely, and greeted Ryan like a guest instead of his son.
Simon was wearing an impeccably tailored Armonti suit which probably cost at least ten to twenty-thousand dollars. His "Forzier" Italian leather shoes were spot-on the latest style. His watch of course, was "Cartier." All told, he was probably wearing one hundred thousand dollars in fashion, and yes he was probably the most distinguished man I had ever laid eyes on.
He was maybe fifty, with just a touch of grey hair at the temples.
I felt like he was sizing me up. Was I pretty enough? Was I refined enough? Was I in love with his son because of all of "this?" I was a total nervous wreck.
Simon shattered all my expectations by walking right up to me. His steel blue eyes locked on me and disarmed all of my defenses. He gave me the warmest embrace. His arms enveloped me like a warm blanket. I felt like a small child in their favorite place.
Within two years Ryan and I were wed. Our wedding was the envy of all our friends. "Father" spared no expense. His son's wedding was not to be outdone. We had a full orchestra and caterer's jumping to everyone's slightest whim.
Our honeymoon in San Tropez was the stuff of dreams.
It was maybe a year into our marriage when passions began to cool. The things I found so important in Ryan at first now seemed to be our biggest issues. His work occupied all his waking time. He was so driven to have his business succeed that he would come home exhausted. Our love life suffered also. What used to be romantic was now just a routine. He'd jump on me missionary style every time, ride me, and grunt a little, roll off, and be snoring within a couple minutes. Hell, I was still in my twenties, I wanted more than that.