The Billionaire's Call Girl: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (18 page)

He kissed her fiercely, his lips hard and demanding on hers. When he tried to open her mouth with his, she did everything she could to keep her mouth closed and try to turn away, but his grip on her neck tightened even further and she felt terror race through her.

He tried again to force her mouth open, kissing her roughly, but she clamped her jaw tightly and refused. In return, he bit her lip so hard that she bled. Felicia cried out and as she did, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, spreading the taste of cigarettes, blood, and filth over her tongue.

Fear and rage and helplessness seared through her and she was sure she was going to throw up again, when suddenly his grip on her was gone and she was standing there alone. She opened her eyes and looked around, drawing her hand up to her mouth to wipe away the blood and press firmly on the cut on her lip.

Mary was at her side in an instant, holding her, as they both watched in amazement as Nick dragged a flailing Vincent down the alley near them. They walked to the edge of the alley and stared in shock as Vincent received the swiftest and most dangerous beating of his life. It was over in mere seconds as Nick used his military defense training and several forms of martial arts to put Vincent in considerable pain and render him immobile. Then Nick walked away as if he had just passed a homeless person on the street without so much as a glance.

He walked up to the ladies and took them both by the arm, steering them down to the corner and across the street quickly.

Nick didn't look at them or speak to them until they were a block away, and then his pace slowed and they turned to look at him. Felicia gasped a huge sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you so much, Nick! I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there!"

He hugged her back and then let her go. "No problem at all,” he said with an almost hidden smile.

Felicia tilted her head and looked at him in confusion. "It's pretty ironic that you just happened to be right there when I needed you most,” she said warily. "How is it that you were there at just the right time?"

Nick smiled in confession and looked at her almost sheepishly. "Well, to tell you the truth, I've never left you. I know you said you and Mr. Johnson broke up, but he asked me to stay in your shadow and keep an eye on you to make sure you were alright. It was my pleasure to do that," he said quietly.

Felicia stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding! It's been two months since we broke up! We haven't spoken at all! He's still having you tail me?" She was incredulous.

Nick shrugged. "Well, he cares a great deal about you. He doesn't want anything to happen to you whether you are with him or not. Myself, I like the job. This is a great neighborhood; except for that useless punk. I have a feeling he will be gone from this area permanently very soon."

Mary raised her eyebrows. "I don't know, Nick; he has lived here a long time. This is home to him. I'm not sure he's going to leave just because you beat him up again, which was fantastic, by the way. Great job!" She winked at him and he blushed slightly and smiled back at her.

     Nick chuckled softly, "Oh, he's going to leave. I just put him in more pain than he has ever felt in his life. He won't be able to move until tomorrow, probably, and when he does move, it's going to hurt for the next couple of weeks. It'll be a long time before he heals from this encounter.

I told him before I let him drop to the ground that he had a choice. He could leave and never see me again, or he could stay and the next time he saw me, it would be the last time he saw anyone ever again. I asked him if he understood me, and I can promise you, he understood me quite clearly."

Both the ladies shook their heads and then Mary nodded at Felicia and said, "We need to get her cleaned up. We were heading over to the ice cream store. They have a nice bathroom where she can wash up, and the ice cream will probably feel good on that lip."

She  turned and looked at Nick with a wide smile and she batted her eyelashes at him. "If you're going to follow us there in secret, you might as well just walk right through the front door with us and get an ice cream. What do you think?"

Nick looked at his shoes for a moment and then looked back up at Mary and nodded. "I think that sounds like a good plan. It would be easier to keep an eye on you two if I was standing right next to you."

Mary slipped her hand through his arm and Felicia smiled at them as they turned and walked toward the ice cream shop. Her panic subsided as had the urge to vomit again, and the further they got from the fight scene with Vincent, the safer and happier she felt.

She looked up at Nick as they walked along and lowered one eyebrow. "You said you've been watching me the whole time, but I am always on the lookout: checking the streets, checking the cars... because of all the media nonsense. I'm really careful about who is watching me and what is going on. How did you do it?" She was wildly curious about it.

Nick inclined his head toward her as he walked arm in arm with Mary. "I am an ex-Navy Seal. We are trained to be invisible. You couldn't see me unless I wanted you to see me."

     Then he cleared his throat and said, "Watching you isn't the only thing I've done. I've also persuaded every member of the press who has come around to try to harass you to leave without a peep. There were dozens of them at first. Every time I turned around, there was a new flock of media trying to sneak into your life here, peep through the fence or through the windows; talk to your brother and sister; or follow you when you would go somewhere, but luckily I managed to keep them all away from you.

That was no easy task, but as more time passes, I see fewer and fewer of them, and it's been getting a little humdrum, to be honest with you. I was glad to get my hands on Vincent again. He keeps walking up and down your street, not close enough to your home to be a threat or to make me go after him, but close enough to put me on guard. I was glad to take him down today, to tell you the truth."

Felicia shook her head as the truth flowed from her unknown guardian. "I can't believe it. All this time, and I had no idea. The media wasn't able to call me because I changed my phone number, and my parents have blocked several calls on their home phone, but I just thought that my side of that whole mess had blown over. I had no idea you were keeping them away from me." She looked up at him in utter gratitude. "Thank you so much."

He nodded and smiled at her, shrugging as if it were nothing. "That's what I'm here for." he said lightly. "I just didn't expect you to ever find out about it, but now you have. To be honest, I'm really glad that you know now."

He looked down at her and tilted his head slightly, "That doesn't mean that you're going to be able to see me, though. I'm still going to keep a low profile."

Felicia and Mary laughed and they entered Murphy's. Felicia went into the bathroom and cleaned herself up. The cut on her lip where Vincent bit her wasn't as bad as she thought it was, but it was swollen and sore, and Mary was right; the ice cream did feel good on it.

They enjoyed their treat and their visit, and then Mary and Nick walked Felicia home again.

The Final
Chapter

It had been two months since the cover had been blown off his secret life and the world hated him. Sales were at an all-time low, his company was tanking more than it ever had, he felt completely separated from the world at large, and the media had only just begun to give him some time and space alone, although they still chased him from time to time.

His thoughts still drifted to Felicia nearly all the time. He missed her like the sun on a cold, dark winter's day. He dreamed about her, he longed for her, and he hurt as he never had without her. Two months into their time apart, he reached a breaking point.,One day, when he heard a report of an attack on Felicia from Nick, his inner turmoil came to a head. He just could not continue any further.

He was sitting with Mariah outside on their patio, watching Christopher play, when he voiced a thought that had been slipping in and out of his mind over the weeks.

"Mariah," he said softly. "I've been thinking about something pretty seriously, and we need to discuss it."

She turned and looked at him with interest. "What is it? Are you alright?"

He sat and contemplated her question for a moment. Only one answer would come to his mouth.

"No, you know, Mariah, I'm really not," he responded in a low voice.

She nodded. "I know. I think this whole thing has been twice as hard on you as it has for everyone else."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have been thinking; since our whole world crashed down around us, I don't think it could possibly get any worse. All these years I was trying to protect us from just this sort of thing and it happened anyway. Now here we are sitting at the bottom of it, looking up... and that's the only place we can go from here. Up. So, since things can't get any worse, I was wondering what you'd think about divorcing me? It's not like our image or reputations could be any worse than they are right now.

I am sorry to ask you, of course, but that would free both of us up. You could go be with David in the public and you two could be a real, loving family raising Christopher. Of course, I would always be around for you both, but we don't have to keep putting on this facade of a marriage for the public because everyone knows it's a lie now.

We could get divorced and run the company as friends, which is what we really are, rather than as husband and wife. Who knows, maybe it will help our image if we're honest with our public."

He looked up at her with pained eyes, eyes that were lost in despair and misery, loneliness and sorrow. Mariah smiled at him and nodded, sending tiny shafts of lighted hope into his dreary heart.

"I think that's the best idea you've ever had. David and I have wanted to be married for years, and it would be nice to raise our son as he really is, with David's last name and in his household. It would be incredible if you were able to find some happiness again on your own. Maybe with Felicia, if she will take you back."

Mariah looked introspective for a moment. "It's ironic that the very thing you were most afraid of is exactly the thing that set you free. Isn't that strange?" She looked at him and smiled and he walked to her and helped her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"It's the strangest thing of all," he said, lowering his forehead to her shoulder and resting it there. "The one thing I feared most might very well be the only thing that sets me free. Who would have ever guessed it?" He sighed and gave a small chuckle.

"Well, the lawyers have had a little less to do since the dust is settling on our scandal, so I'll call one of them and have them draw up the paperwork. Do you want this house or will you be moving in with David?" he asked, waving at the giant mansion behind them.

Mariah shook her head. "I enjoy living here, but it's never been home to me because David is my home. I want to be with him at his house. His place has always felt more like home to me because that's where we have been able to be a family, inasmuch as we could.

So I'll talk to David about it, but I'm going to say that it'll be Christopher and I moving in with him, and then you can stay here. This was your father's home, too. It's been in your family. Maybe you can still create your own real family and share it with them."

Jake shook his head with a smile. "Mariah, you really are one of the most wonderful women in the world. I am so lucky to have married you. I'm really glad that you're going to have the chance to live out your life with the man you really love. Thank you for all that you've done with me."

Mariah hugged him and then looked at him reproachfully. "Well, Jake, this isn't goodbye, it's just a different housing arrangement. We're still going to run the company together, just as we always have. We might need a new logo, though," she winked at him and he chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, we definitely need a company make-over.”  He sighed and picked up his phone to place a call to his attorney. Fifteen minutes later, his divorce papers were being drafted.

In the days that followed, Mariah, Jake, and David, spent a good amount of time packing and moving her things out of Jake's house, and setting up their home for the two of them to live there with her son. It felt like moving a friend to each of them, which is really what it was.

The preparations for the divorce took a couple of weeks to prepare, as there was an enormous amount of separation of property, valuables, funds, and the business to work through, but at long last it was done, and Jake and Mariah went together to sign the divorce papers and see the judge. They walked hand in hand into the courthouse, watching all of the other people around them fighting and yelling at each other, seeing love gone wrong in its truest form, but they held tight to each other's hands and waited.

They were called in to see the judge and he stared wide-eyed when he saw them walking in holding hands. They sat before him and he took out their petition for divorce.

"You are both ready and willing to do this, and it looks as though your lawyers have tidied it all up for you,” he half stated and half asked.

"Yes, Your Honor,” Jake replied. "Really, we're just here to sign it and make it official."

The judge looked over his horn-rimmed glasses at them. "Are you sure? You two seem to get along quite well. Is this really the right choice for you both?" he asked, looking more like a marriage counselor than a judge about to grant a divorce.

They smiled together and nodded at him.

"It is the right choice for us. We're great friends, but we shouldn't have been in this marriage for more than the last ten years. It really isn't the right situation for us..This divorce has been a long time coming." Mariah said with a soft, low voice.

The judge stared at them and finally sighed, shaking his head. "I wish that all marriages that had to end could end the way that this one has. My life would certainly be less stressful."

He flipped through the pages to the last page, signed it, and looked up at both of them.

"This is the easiest divorce I've ever done. It almost makes me sad to do it." He reached his hand across the desk to them both as they smiled at him.

"Thank you, Your Honor," Jake said with a small smile.

The judge nodded as they turned and walked out the door. When they stepped outside, the sun was shining down warmly on them, and Mariah looked at Jake and grinned.

"Doesn't that feel good? Do you know what that is? That is freedom. No more pandering to the public, no more living a lie, no more sneaking around. God, this feels good. We should have done this years ago!" 

Jake shook his head and a smile spread over his face. The weight of the last decade had lifted from his shoulders and his heart, and he laughed with a lightness he had not felt in years. "You know what? You're right. You know what else, Ms. Erickson?" he asked, using her maiden name. "There's no one else in the world I'd rather have as my ex-wife. Thank you."

He smiled back at her and leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, and she kissed him back, and then they hugged once on the steps of the courthouse and she went to her new home at David's, and he went to his home alone.

Jake's house had never seemed so empty, and now that he was there completely alone, it felt as if it was closing in around him. He wished so much that Felicia could be there with him. He had only spent the one night at the penthouse, when he had fallen asleep on her bed with her blouse in his hands. He had not gone back.

It was too painful for him to be in a place where she had been with him and where he could no longer have her. At least within the walls of his familial home, there were no memories of her and she could not haunt his dreams and his heart as much.

He spent the first night of his newfound bachelorhood going through his photos of him and Felicia, spending the evening wishing for her, and reminiscing about the love and happiness they had together.

A week passed and Mariah went to Jake's house to check on him. She found him out mowing the lawn. She stood on the patio and waved at him, getting his attention and then crossing her arms over her chest.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and walked over to her.

"Hey! Back so soon? I thought you'd be planning your wedding right now,” he teased her. "I'd hug you, but I'm covered in... nature." In truth, he was. Grass, dirt, sweat and various things coated him from head to toe.

"Jake!" She shook her head at him. "What on earth are you doing? You're a billionaire, and you have one of the best grounds crews in the city for this estate. What do you think you're doing pushing a lawn mower over this football field of a back yard?"

He shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Just passing time," he said shortly, frowning at the grass at his feet.

She leveled her gaze at him. "Passing time," she repeated as if that was the worst possible answer he could have given.

"Jacob Johnson, get in there, clean yourself up, go over to Felicia's house, and tell her you love her and you want to marry her. Pick up a huge engagement ring along the way. You're free now. Go get her." She shook her head at him and planted her hands on her hips in exasperation.

Jake rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I don't know if she wants me, Mariah. To be honest, I don't think she does. She broke up with me and changed her phone number. She left. She hasn't tried to contact me at all. From what Nick says, she's getting on with her life. I don't feel like I can barge in on that and try and change it for her."

Mariah tilted her head sideways and lowered her eyebrows at him. "Jake, do you feel like you could live the rest of your life happily without her?"

He shook his head as the scenario of his life to come played out in his head, starring him as the eternal lonely bachelor wasting away with unrequited love for a woman he let slip away from him. "No, I really can't." he answered her.

She raised her eyebrows and spoke to him as if it was the most obvious solution in the world. "Then go tell her that. Tell her you love her and you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Ask her to marry you,
ring in hand
, and see what she says. Love like the two of you share doesn't just vanish in two months. She's missing you too, Jake, whether you hear from her or not."

Jake bit his lower lip and looked up at her with some hope. "Do you really think so?" he asked with a small smile, thinking of the possibility.

Mariah nodded briefly at him. "Yes, I know so. The worst thing she can say is no, which puts you right back where you are right now, except then you'd know exactly how she feels. The best thing that could happen is that she says yes and comes back here with you. Don't you think that both of you deserve that chance?"

Jake pursed his lips and nodded. "I do indeed," he said, confidence beginning to grow in him. He leaned over and kissed Mariah's cheek, leaving a sweaty dirty smudge on her skin before rushing off toward the house, and yelling over his shoulder, "Thanks, doll, I owe you one!"

She reached up and wiped the mess from her cheek, giving it a look of disgust.