Whatever He Wants (25 page)

 
     
Realizing he wasn’t going to get another
thing done, he powered down his computer and packed up his laptop. He called
Paul to let him know he could go for the day, mentally reminding himself to
continue that conversation they’d started earlier. Right now, however, he was
too distracted to concentrate.

 
     
He barely responded to the security
guards’ good nights as he strode out the building into the parking garage.
Instead of heading to his house however, he ended up driving. He got on the
highway without a destination.

 
     
His mind drifted to the first time he met
the imposing figure of Sheldon Alexander, which ironically was at the funeral
of James’s father Stephen. He had been nine and had already learned some of the
harsh realities of life. His grandfather having suffered a stroke and had
become wheelchair bound. His mother was hardly home and when she was, she was
drunk or high. He’d spied his mother shooting up in the bathroom once. When she
saw him, instead of telling James to leave she asked him to pull the strap
around her arm tighter while she gave herself some special ‘medicine’. It
wasn’t unusual for things to go missing around the house. His grandfather tried
to cover for her, but James knew his mother stole the items to sell for more
drugs.

 
     
James pretty much took care of himself
because of his grandfather’s limited mobility and his mother’s drug addiction.
School wasn’t much better. The children made fun of his worn clothes that were
two sizes too small or large. He was often dirty because something was always
getting cut off. He was lucky to get one square meal a day let alone three.

 
     
So he was surprised one day when his
mother, who had been surprisingly lucid, brought home a brand new suit and
shoes that fit perfectly. It was the best thing he’d ever own.

       
“Make sure you get behind the ears. Don’t
get out of the tub until you’re squeaky clean.” His mother claimed she was
taking him someplace special. It must be because he couldn’t remember when she
ever paid this much attention or showed any interest in his hygiene or
appearance.

 
     
His
mother also took great care with her appearance, something she hadn’t done in a
long time. She actually looked pretty again. She’d artfully covered the bags
under her eyes and the sores and scars on her face. Her clothes concealed the
track marks on her arms, and how painfully thin her frame had become in her
drug use. Her long blonde hair was arranged in a classy-looking bun. And she
seemed sober.

 
     
He
didn’t ask questions as they rode the bus and walked three blocks to their
destination, which turned out to be a church. He hadn’t stepped foot inside of
one since his grandfather’s stroke. As they walked in, solemn organ music
played and James realized this was no ordinary church service. It was a
funeral. He’d only ever saw one on television. His mother chose a seat in the
back as they listened to the dour minister give the eulogy. At the front of the
church was a closed coffin with several flower arrangements on top. Beside it
was a framed thirty by forty picture of a man who looked oddly familiar though
Jaime was sure he’d never met him before.

 
     
His
mother clutched him tightly, which was almost the most affection she’d ever
shown him. She held on as tears ran down her face and he couldn’t figure out
why she mourned this man. Then he heard the name Stephan and he knew. That man
was his father. His mother had mentioned that name many times yet this was the
first time he’d seen his face. James’s attention remained on that picture as he
tried to commit every feature to memory from the gray eyes, like his own, to
the ink black hair, also like his.

 
     
Sometime
during the service he got the sensation someone was watching him. When he
turned slightly to the left his eyes collided with a man with iron gray hair
and a stern demeanor. James wasn’t sure how long they looked at each other
before the old man turned back around.

 
     
Once
the benediction was read, the pallbearers surrounded the coffin and proceeded
to roll it down the aisle. It was followed by a tall, thin blonde woman, and
with a small blond boy clutching her hand. The boy looked to be around James’s
age.

 
     
As
the coffin passed them, his mother reached out to touch it. The blonde woman
glared at his mother. “What are you doing here? You weren’t invited,” she
hissed.

 
     
Kelly
raised her chin defiantly. “My son has the right to pay his final respects to
his father.” She said it loud enough for the people around her to hear.

 
     
Then
the man with the gray hair approached them and looked at James. He scrunched
his face as if he’d smelled something unpleasant. “So this is the little
bastard.” It was all he said before ushering the woman and the boy out the
church.

 
     
James didn’t know how he ended up in the
parking lot of Noelle’s penthouse. Tonight he needed to just lose himself in
her. When he walked through the door however, she looked to be on the verge of
walking out the door. He didn’t know where she intended to go but she’d have to
change her plans.

 
     
Noelle was barely recognizable from the
girl he’d first met. She wore way more makeup than she needed and her outfit,
while well put together and obviously expensive, seemed wrong on her. Had he
imagined her to be something she wasn’t? Like Gillian who’d made a fool of him.
The longer he stared at her, the angrier he grew. Everything from earlier hit
him all at once and he wanted to lash out.

 
     
She fidgeted beneath his gaze. “I uh…I was
just going to meet my cousin and some of her friends for drinks.”

 
     
He didn’t speak, as he continued to stare
her down, taking in every single detail of her appearance from the high heeled
boots to the jeans that provocatively hugged her hips. She’d lost weight since
they’d been together but her curves were just as tempting. His cock stirred and
all he could think about was how he planned on sinking himself into her tight
wet pussy.

 
     
She ran her tongue across her gloss
covered lips. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you, so I didn’t think it would be such
a big deal to go out. I’m stuck in the penthouse most of the time and I—”

 
     
“Call your cousin and cancel your plans.”
He strode past her and made his way to the bar. After the shit day he’d had
James was in no mood for arguments.

 
     
 
“No.”

 
     
He went about his task without missing a
beat. “Take off your clothes, Noelle.”

 
     
“Did you hear what I just said? I’m going
out with my cousin. It would have been nice if you’d called ahead.”

 
     
James slowly pulled out a glass and a
bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a drink and took a sip before he
acknowledged her. “I heard what you said; now take off your clothes.”

 
     
“You can’t order me around like this!”

 
     
He’d had enough from her. If she wanted to
act like a child he could certainly accommodate her. He refused to put up with
her tantrum. “Five seconds, Noelle or I come over there and do it for you. And
if I have to come over there, I’m going to paddle that delectable ass until you
can’t sit for a week.”

 
     
She literally stomped her foot on the
ground with her hands clenched into fists at her side. “James!”

 
     
“One.”
He took
another sip of his drink.

 
     
“You’re being unreasonable.”

 
     
“Two.” He licked his lips making eye
contact with Noelle, leaving no doubt of his intentions.

 
     
“I’m a grown woman, and you have no right
to treat me this way.”

 
     
“Three.” He put the glass down.

 
     
“Stop this.”

 
     
“Four.”

 
     
Despite her protests he could tell Noelle
wanted him just as much as he wanted her. She trembled and her lips quivered.
The outline of her nipples peaked through her shirt just begging to be sucked
and licked.

 
     
“Five.” He walked from behind the bar and
stalked toward her. He bent down just enough for his shoulder to catch her
midsection as he lifted Noelle off her feet.

 
     
She let out a sound between a squeak and a
scream.

 
     
As he carried her to the bedroom he
swatted her ass. “I think it’s time for a little reminder of who you belong
to.”

 
     
Though Noelle whimpered and kicked earning
her another swat, James refused to change course. Once he tossed her on the
center of the bed he paused for the briefest of seconds and their eyes
collided. That look in the depth of her big brown eyes made him flinch. In the
back of his mind he knew she didn’t deserve this but he could think of no other
way to exhume his pain. After this night, she might hate him, but it wouldn’t
be as much as he hated himself.

 
     
“Are you going to be okay?” Simone walked
into Noelle’s bedroom and sat on the bed next to her.

 
     
A week had passed since Noelle left the
penthouse with only the things she’d come with. All the designer clothing,
jewelry and items she’d brought with the money James had given her were left
behind. The Mercedes he’d gifted her was left in the building garage and she’d
closed the bank account he had opened for her and donated the money for
charity. She wanted no reminders of her stupidity. It was embarrassing how
she’d put up with James for nearly a year.

 
     
She fell in love with an imaginary figure
she’d built up in her head. But in reality James was a controlling egomaniac
only concerned about himself. She’d been a convenient bed warmer for him and
nothing more. The hardest part was finally admitting it.

 
     
“Yes, I’ll be okay.”

 
     
“Noelle, sweetie, you’re allowed to mope
for a few days but you have to come out of your room sometime. You’re letting
that bastard win. Do you think he’s sitting around thinking about you?”

 
     
“I don’t know.”

 
     
“Yes you do. He’s taking his fiancée
around town and has probably set up another woman in the penthouse.”

 
     
Simone’s words were exactly what Noelle
needed to hear but it fucking hurt. “You’re right,” she whispered. “What’s
wrong with me? How could I have put up with that for so long?”

 
     
“Because you have such a good heart and
you want to believe in people. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you
how strong and wonderful I think you are. But I’ll keep doing it until you
finally believe me.”

 
     
Noelle sniffed. “I’m not strong. A strong
woman wouldn’t have let this man tread all over her for so many months. She
wouldn’t have to go crawling back to her cousin with her tail between her
legs.”

 
     
“That’s not true. You didn’t come crawling
back. I invited you back because this is your home and I love you.”

 
     
“I love you too Simone. Thank you for
putting up with me. I swear I’ll find a job and start contributing to the
household bills more. In the meantime I can use the money I’d set aside for
school to help out.”

 
     
“No. I want you to use that money for when
you need it. If Aunt Dot were alive, she’d want you to put it to good use.”

 
     
If her mother was still alive Noelle
doubted she’d be in this situation. “I wouldn’t have this money had you not
helped me. If you hadn’t hired that lawyer on my behalf Aunt Frieda would have
spent it all. I’d probably be married to Walter.”

 
     
Simone grunted in disgust. “I wish I were
surprised at what they tried to do to you but my mother has done far worse.”
Her cousin’s lips twisted in derision. Noelle knew that the disdain Simone held
towards her mother, stepfather and brothers hid a secret pain she rarely spoke
of. It made Noelle even more grateful to have someone who cared enough to take
her out of a situation that could have ruined her life for years to come.