Out of Erebus by Sandra Novelly

Chapter One

‘Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed’
Quote from Bhagavad Gita

Gerald Blair, founder and CEO of Blair Enterprises, needed quality representation for the talent associated with the new entertainment branch, Paragon Productions, recently added to the conglomerate of industries that bore his name. A contact in the trade raved about the Cameron sisters.

‘Blair, you simply cannot go wrong with their agency. These women are first-rate.’

Never one to come to a decision without solid evidence, he made an appointment with the sisters so he could chat with them and discover for himself if the glowing reviews this man and others in the industry had to offer were accurate.

Blair found what he learned matched what he’d heard. The sisters possessed good looks and excellent manners and breeding, as well as, adept minds well versed in the intricacies of representation of all types of performance artists.

Their prospective client put her so at ease, Fiona felt comfortable divulging some personal information she felt might be apropos to such a distinguished man as Mr. Blair.

‘Mum made certain we were well schooled in how to conduct ourselves in every social situation,’ she confided to Blair. ‘She was quite a lady.’

‘But,’ Fenella was quick to add, ‘Our father made certain academics were not neglected. We were exposed to great literature, plays, music, and a broad spectrum of cultural ideas. He taught us to respect our minds as well as our manners.’

Charmed, Blair soon employed their agency for his entertainment enterprises on an exclusive basis.

As Gerald grew closer to the women, his interest in one of the sisters took a more personal tone. Fiona he found rather tough and cool, but he became enamored with the softer and’he surmised’more easily led Fenella. Blair and his wife, Patrice, had not been intimate for some time; he found her dull and unappealing’not nearly earthy enough for his taste. Although he did not lack for female companionship, he found assignations with paramours particularly unfulfilling; they were more a matter of swift gratification with no lasting warmth.

Blair desired a relationship with a real woman, not a paid companion.

A clever spider, he spun his web tighter and tighter, careful to always behave as a gentleman should. Fenella and Fiona often met with him to discuss the latest contracts involving Paragon Productions.

‘Fenella, sit here by me. I need you to explain this portion of the contract.’ Gerald would place his chair just a little too close to suit Fenella, be overly solicitous when he seated her, and pat her back as he did so. When she pointed to a sentence in the document, he took the opportunity to lightly touch her hand, another action he’d repeated far too many times for her comfort.

It’s just your imagination she tried to tell herself. Gerald’he had insisted they call him by his given name’is a remarkably generous benefactor, and goes out of his way to introduce both Fiona and me to those we might find supportive or entertaining.

She was wary of men here in the city at any rate. Fenella remembered the ugly incident that changed her life so dramatically as though it were happening all over again…