Bad Boy vs Millionaire (14 page)

The
rollercoaster of my emotions plummeted to the ground. Maybe it hadn’t changed anything.

For
him.

He’d thrown the used condom into a tin he’d had in his car.
How many other used condoms did he have in that tin? How many women? I mean, who even keeps a thing like that in their car? Not that I wanted the evidence of our sex to linger in the alleyway but it seemed wrong.

We
didn’t speak much in the car back to my place. Jack lit up a cigarette and offered me one, forgetting that I didn’t smoke. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes a few times but he didn’t say words that were anywhere near the ones I wanted to hear. I knew I’d said that the sex meant nothing but the emptiness started making a big space inside me. As though I’d only found out what I’d been missing and now it was going away again.

I
shivered.

Maybe
it did mean nothing to him. Maybe it was just another Friday night to him. And I was just another groupie in a back alley. He’d had me now and he could add me to his list. I snuggled into the jacket, trying to get warm. Wondering if I’d ever be warm again. How does a person go from being merged into another to being their own separate self again? Even the jacket smelt like him and stirred things inside me.

Jack
pulled up outside my apartment. He looked over at me and paused, as if he wanted to say something. I waited, not looking at him, hoping it would be okay.

Then
his phone rang.

I
got out of the car, hoping he’d follow me. The water dripped off my hair and the wind whipped against my barely covered legs. I moved slowly, giving him a chance.

He
lowered his car window.

“
Hey, Hannah. Spud’s got himself into a fight at the bar. I have to hurry back and sort things out.”

I
gulped, stemming back the avalanche of emotion rising in my throat. And I nodded and tried to smile. Of course, he had to go back. Of course, he had to save Spud. No need to worry about me. I could be stronger than anyone.

As
he drove away, I noticed someone in the shadows of my building. For some reason, I thought it was Tamaki.

“
So, was it good?” I asked. “Did he put the 'penis' in 'happiness'?”

I
said this just as Hannah took a mouthful of coffee and she snorted and kinda spluttered coffee everywhere. It was funny. Trust me, it was hilarious. Like I said, people think I'm so nice but I can be evil.

“
It was…” She went all gooey and had this disgustingly sick-making look on her face with her gaze looking out the window but her heart staring at something no one else could see ― which was obviously some dirty image of Jack Colt.

“
You have to tell me. It's the chick's code. I need to have vicarious sex with Jack Colt through you.”

“
Hey, you got the boots. You’re the one who said it, that you’d give up Jack Colt for the boots. There was nothing in the deal about telling you all the details.”

“
Spill the beans, Hannah. And I don't mean the coffee beans. I mean the real beans. The dirty beans. The 'ooh, ahhh, no Jack, I can't take it, it's much too huge for me' beans. They are the kind of beans I need. I want the Jack beans. The Jack and the beanstalk.” And then I laughed. A lot. Because I'm hilariously funny. “Also, you get to wear the boots vicariously. I tell you everything about the boots.”

Hannah
didn't look at me.

“
Are you embarrassed? Did something go hideously wrong? Like he couldn't get it up or he's a premature e-jack-ulator? Come on. I’ll let you
borrow
my boots.”

She
glanced around as though afraid someone would be listening in to our conversation. The cafe was completely dead though, in between the before work coffee rush and the 10am morning tea break rush.

“
Angie, stop laughing. You are embarrassing me. And no, nothing went hideously wrong.”

Obviously
not or she wouldn't be looking like that. Still, I was funny.

“
I have many more Jack puns in my repertoire though. At least tell me how big he is. That's all I need to know.”

“
I'll tell you if you stop making those awful puns. It was…” She held up her hands about 10 inches apart. “Oh, that might be a bit much.” And she moved her hands in a tiny bit closer. Then she blushed.

“
And did it work? Did you get him out of your system?”

“
I don't know. I can barely walk today. It was intense.” She blushed again and gulped down her glass of water.

“
Ha, I guess I'll never know the magic that is Jack Colt.”

Despite
the mushy, sick-making, “just been shagged” look on her face, I had the feeling something wasn’t quite right. Hannah’s smile seemed bittersweet.

She
grinned. “But what about Eric?”

I
looked away. The whole Eric thing was a minefield that I didn’t want to go into right then.

Hannah
didn't seem to care though. She was gesturing at the waitress.

“
Excuse me. We've been sitting here for 20 minutes and NOBODY has taken our food order. That is NOT my idea of good customer service. Maybe you should spend less time staring blankly into space and more time doing your actual job.”

The
waitress was new. Well I'd never seen her before and I came to this cafe pretty much every day. She had blonde corkscrew curls and bright red circles of blush on her cheeks. She looked like some kind of doll and even Hannah's comment didn't stop her eyes from shining.

“
What do you want, then?”

Hannah
sighed and asked for menus.

“
Really, Hannah, you don't have to be so snappy with her.”

“
Yes, I obviously do. I am a customer wanting food and she is a waitress serving food. It's a symbiotic relationship which falls apart when she doesn't take my order.”

“
Still, you could've said 'please'.”

Hannah
looked annoyed but what could you do? She shouldn't talk to people like that. It added to my theory that things weren’t all shiny sparkles with her and Jack.

“
So, is Tamaki still around? Are you going to tell him about Jack?”

“
Hell no. Why would I tell him? He has no need to know. And there is nothing to know. It was a one night stand.”

“
Maybe. But you still have to see Jack. You have to work with him. Have you heard from him today?”

“
No, nothing. Not at all.”

“
You're hiding something. Did he send you a mushy text? Did something happen?”

She
shook her head but didn't meet my eyes. There was something else going on.

The
waitress bought over our menus. Hannah glared at her.

“
I can't stick around for food,” I said. “I've got a shitload of work to get done for this assignment. It is insane the amount of work I've got to do. What are you up to today?”

“
I have no idea. I'm not even sure about the band. What if they decide to ditch me and sign up with Blainsley Management? I kind of feel in limbo until I know what they plan to do.”

Hannah
sighed and really did look a little despondent.

“
Huh, surely he's over that. I mean you…” I did a simulation of sex with my fingers.

“
Like that makes any difference. Well, maybe it does, but I'm not pushing things. If that made any difference to their decision, I’d feel wrong. And dirty. So, I have nothing to do. Though, I should try to organise going back to Uni next semester. I really need to finish my degree.”

I
sat up. “Are you moving back interstate? But Hannah, I need you here.”

She
laughed. “I'm thinking of transferring down here. It's not like I need to study interstate. I just went there because my ex, Todd, was going. And, to be honest, I don't really want to be running into him ― or any of my old friends ― every single day.”

Yeah
, I could see that would be a pain especially with the way they'd treated her when they found out she had no money.

“
To be honest, Hannah, I think you should go on managing the band as though the offer had never happened. I mean, they haven't exactly been rushing to ditch you, have they? They'd be fools to get rid of you. You've been a top manager. Hey, if they do sign with Blainsley, will that mean I lose my job too? Because that would suck.”

“
I guess you're right. Maybe I should get them together and just talk this through. I need to know one way or another. But it’s a bad time. I mean, if Jack thinks
that
happened because of the management offer…”

I
nodded. I could see the dilemma here.

“
Anyway,” Hannah said, “how did you know what happened?”

I
wasn’t sure if I should tell her or not, but she did ask.

“
Well, Eric had to take some equipment out to the car…”

Hannah
blushed redder than I thought it was possible for someone to blush. Like glow-in-the-dark neon red. I shouldn’t have said anything!

The
phone rang, totally interrupting my Teen Wolf marathon. I was sure that nobody in the world had anything to tell me that was more important than watching a shirtless Derek Hale doing pull-ups on a doorframe but the bloody phone kept ringing.

I
paused the DVD mid-pull up so that I had something to look at and picked up the phone.

It
was Dad. As soon as I heard his voice, my stomach flopped. I had a feeling whatever he had to say would not be good or agreeable but I could hardly hang up on him.

“
How are things going with Tamaki?” he asked.

“
Well, Dad, about that. Funny how you just happened to set me up with an apartment next door to him. You could’ve asked me before doing something like that.” I picked at my nail polish hoping he wasn’t going to ask me to do something unpleasant.

“
Hey, you’re getting a free apartment, Han. I wouldn’t be whinging if I were you. Now, about Tamaki?”

“
He’s fine.”

Dad
sighed. Well, it was more like something between a sigh and a snort.

“
I
really
need for things to go well for the two of you. You understand that, Hannah. It’s not enough for things to be fine or okay. They have to get along
really
well.”

“
Dad, we talked about this. Please tell me you are NOT serious. I’ll hang up the phone.”

“
I’m not kidding, Hannah.” His voice had an edge of desperation. “I’m in the middle of important negotiations with his father at the moment. If things go well, we are scot-free. If not, who knows…”

This
whole thing was not right. It made me sick to my stomach just to hear him bring it up again

“
So, what if I get on ‘really well’ with Tamaki? Is that fair to him?”

“
Just pretend to be engaged to him― “

I
nearly dropped the phone. How could he even ask that of me? I wanted to hang up the phone and just avoid the whole topic. I’d thought I’d made my position good and clear before I left Japan.

“
Engaged? I can’t do that. I’m not some gold-digging ho. “

“
Hannah, listen to me. Shit is going down here. Big time. I could be extradited from the country. There’s a world of difference between being a random foreigner in this country and being the future father-in-law of some young hot shot. And, if I’m sent back home, it’s jail time for certain. More scandal, more reporters. You don’t want that.”

My
hand trembled so that could barely hold the phone. So much had happened in the previous few weeks that I’d forgotten all that whole mess. Reporters hounding my every move. Photos of me in the paper looking like hell. Not being able to do anything without being mobbed.

I
really didn’t want to go through that again but I couldn't use Tamaki as a pawn in some stupid game either.

“
You just need to give him a bit of encouragement. There’s a cocktail party in a few days’ time. He’ll ask you to go with him. Say yes and act like the two of you are together. You’ll be in the social pages and his father will find out about it. That will give me some breathing space. That’s not too much to ask, is it? It’s not like I want you to sleep with him or anything.”

I
sighed. I guess it didn’t sound too bad. I could do the cocktail thing. I didn't think Dad had any concept of Tamaki as a person rather than just a means of getting what he wanted but I didn’t want to hurt anyone.

“
I’ll agree to go to the party with him but I don’t want him thinking it will be anything more than that. I’m not playing around with his feelings.”

I was pretty sure I’d regret
it but it would buy Dad some time and it wouldn’t be such a hardship to go to a party. Maybe Tamaki would meet someone there. Some other girl who’d be only too willing to go out with him.

“
So, what exactly is going on, Dad?”

“
I need to come up with a million dollars. That’ll get me on my feet and put a dent in the debts. When things start going bad, they keep going. Lots of sharks circling. I just need to reverse this and I’ll be back on top again. You need to do your bit, Han. You are stronger than anyone, remember that.”

Frank
had said he hadn’t done anything illegal but it had to be in some dodgy grey area. I wished Dad would get out of this mess. Before, I’d wanted him to fix everything, to come back and rescue me from my life of poverty and bleakness but now all I wanted was to get rid of the threat that seemed to always hang over me. I wanted safety and peace and to rest.

I
hung up and went back to watching my DVD but the scenes of naked man flesh made me think of Jack Colt. Maybe I should just get him and my dad in a boat and dump them on a deserted island together. Then I could have lots of lovely peace. I could sleep well and not have this pain in my head.

Those
people that phoned Jack, I wondered how much they’d pay to buy out the management contract. They’d have to give us some money if they wanted to manage Storm. They couldn’t just steal them out from us. It might just be a drop in the bucket but it’d be something.

I
snuggled up, cuddling a cushion, trying to imagine my life without all the bother but somehow Jack Colt kept getting off that deserted island and crawling into my thoughts. All naked and dripping wet, straight out of the water, with tantalising bits of seaweed hanging off him. I tried to push the thoughts away but they wouldn’t leave.

Then
I heard a knock at the door. I expected it to be Tamaki, inviting me to the cocktail party but, when I opened the door, Jack Colt stood in the hallway, grinning at me.

“
Hi.” He scratched his head and didn’t say any more.

I
smiled and didn't reply. I didn't invite him in either. I knew it was rude but I needed to have some space between us. Already, with him just standing in my doorway, I had tingles running down my thighs and my nipples hardened against the fabric of my t-shirt. Even though I'd slept with Jack, I hadn't forgiven him and I didn't want the sex becoming a regular thing. I didn’t need that kind of emotional upheaval in my life.

He
leaned on the doorframe though, his forearm flexing. My pulse pounded in my ears. If we were in the same room together, things would happen and I wouldn't let
things
happen. Not again.

“
I came to get my jacket…” he said.

Of
course, I’d not returned it after that night. I didn’t want to admit it but I’d been sleeping with it next to my bed so I could have the lingering scent of him near me.

Neither of us
moved, just stood looking at each other with my body going uncomfortably warm.

“
Hey.”

I
heard Tamaki's voice in the hallway.

Jack
turned and looked him slowly from head to foot.

“
Excuse me, Hannah and I were having a private conversation.”

It
was then I noticed how awful Tamaki looked. When he saw me, he tried to smile but the smile went all wonky until he just gave up.

“
Tamaki, what's wrong?”

I
ushered him inside and Jack followed behind us, obviously not being able to read the atmosphere and realise this was probably not a good time to hang around.

“
They took Vicious,” Tamaki said, his voice quivering.

“
Who did? What happened? We'll get him back.”

“
We can't. It was his people. They saw Angie's poster and called. Then they came over today and took Vicious away. I wished you’d been here. I've been so upset.”

I
put my arm around him. Poor Tamaki.

“
I'm sure it's the best thing for Vicious. He couldn't live in an apartment all his life. And what would he do when you went back home?”

“
I know, I know but I'm really sad for myself right now. I feel like I've lost my best friend.”

Tamaki
sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

“
You should feel glad that Vicious is reunited with his people. At least he's happy. You've done the right thing.” I tried to say it gently, hoping that Jack wouldn't chime in.

“
That doesn't make it any easier.” He stared out the window.

“
Too right it was for the best. Poor little hound. He never liked being in that apartment. You could tell. You're just being selfish about the whole thing.”

I
shook my head at Jack. Why couldn't he just let things alone?

“
Hannah, there are some things in the world that money can't buy. And Vicious is one of them. I offered those people a lot of money but they wouldn't take it. They were so happy to get Vicious back. They said I could use it to buy another dog but, even if I get another dog, it won't be Vicious. The other dog won't love me like Vicious did. He might not curl up behind my knees while I'm sleeping or bounce around in that cute way. There is nothing I can do to get Vicious back.”

I
wondered what I could do to help.

“
I'll make you a cup of coffee. Do you want one, Jack, or are you leaving?” I hoped he'd get the hint and leave but he nodded his head.

“
I'd love a coffee.” He flopped down on the couch, making himself at home. I grimaced as I went into the kitchen. If Jack left, then Tamaki would at least feel as though he could break down and cry or whatever he needed to do. With Jack around though, he’d just keep staring as though trying to hold it all in. As though it'd break some stupid macho code for him to let his feelings out.

“
How’s your head?” I heard Jack ask Tamaki. What the hell was he thinking? Did he actually want to start a fight?

If Tamaki answered, I didn’t hear it.

When I’d made the coffee, I carried it into the deathly silence of the lounge room. The jangle of the coffee cups on the coffee table was enough to put my nerves on edge.

I
wondered if I should go back to watching my DVD. At least that was entertaining. Tamaki’s breathing was ragged and he gulped down his coffee.

“
So, where is my jacket?” I’m sure he just said it to let Tamaki know something had been going on between us.

Tamaki
barely noticed anyway. He kept his attention on the windows.

“
I’ll get it,” I said and walked into the bedroom, giving the TV a loving glance. I'd never get to finish watching that episode of Teen Wolf at this rate and, to be honest, I'd much prefer that the drama remained on screen rather than in my lounge room.

I sat the jacket on the sofa next to Jack but he didn’t leave.
He seemed determined to outstay Tamaki.

“
What are you doing here anyway?” Tamaki didn’t look at Jack but the question was obviously directed at him. “You gave her an ultimatum. You told her you didn’t want to see her for a month.”

“
Well, maybe I changed my mind. Maybe I want to fight for what is mine.”

I
didn’t know if that made me happy or made me want to punch him for being a total sexist jerk. It was so typical Jack. I was pretty sure he only said it to rile Tamaki up. And I was also pretty sure he only came around so he could get more sex.

“
I think I can make my own decisions without being fought for.” I crossed my arms.

Tamaki
turned from the window and looked at me, with a light in his eyes. His face changed as though he was only then aware of where he was.

“
At least I still have you, Hannah. You know about the drinks on Friday night,” he said. Not a question but as though it were fact.

Jack’s
lips curled into a smile but his eyes said a million angry words.

“
Drinks? That sounds nice.” He spat out the words as though defying me to agree to Tamaki's invitation.

I
gulped, remembering my father's desperate tone on the phone and wishing that Tamaki hadn't bought it up right then. I couldn't go back to that situation. It would destroy me. Not only that, it would be the worst possible publicity for the band. But, of course, I couldn't explain that to Jack, not with Tamaki sitting right there either.

“
I bought something for you to wear,” Tamaki said. He pulled a velvet case out of his inside pocket and glared at Jack as though expecting him to leave.

He
opened the case. A diamond choker inside sparkled in the light. A row of shining flowers, intricately fashioned from the jewels.

“
They are flowers for you, Hannah. Because you are
Hana
, flowers.”