by Scarlet West
We paused, catching our breath and looking each other in the eyes. I grinned and he gave me an inquisitive look. “What?”
“You were right,” I said.
“About?” he asked.
“It is good,” I smirked.
I didn’t mean to spend the night with Blake in his room, but before I knew it, the morning light was pouring through the slit in the window above the waterline, and there was a knock at the door.
“Who’s that?” I asked, trying not to sound alarmed. I held the blankets over my bare breasts, and Blake groaned.
“Room service,” he said.
“You even have room service here?” I asked in disbelief. I knew there was a lot of high end pampering when it came to these sorts of things, but I didn’t know there was such things as room service. I’d been to parties like this before, but I always ended up falling asleep on the deck.
“I do. Not everyone on the boat,” he said. “You want some coffee?”
“Sure,” I replied. He pulled himself out of bed and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist and heading to the door. I was glad I was far enough inside whoever it was dropping off the food wasn’t able to see me. I didn’t want to be seen like this. This wasn’t what I normally did, and I didn’t want the word to reach my grandparents that I was in bed with Blake.
He came back with a tray and set it on the nightstand, shoving the champagne to the side as he did so. “You want more of this?”
“Coffee’s fine for me now,” I said. “Thank you.”
“I do,” he said. He opened the second bottle and poured the glass, then looked at me.
“Oh, alright,” I replied. “But I’m going to need some of that coffee if I have any hope of waking up.”
“Who wants to wake up right now?” he grumbled. “If you weren’t in here I would have told her to fuck off.”
I smiled as I took the cup and the glass, then I sipped on both. Blake walked back around to his side of the bed and laid down, sipping on his own champagne. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. It had been a wonderful night since I got his attention, but I was sure that’s all it was. One night.
I wasn’t about to be the girl who asked for more. But then, there had been so much to our sex that made me think we had more than just lust for each other. I had felt a connection, and I wondered what it would be like to do this sort of thing all the time.
“We’re going to head back to shore in a few hours, you’ve got time to go back to bed if you want,” Blake said. He seemed drowsy, but his champagne couldn’t have been helping.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to head back upstairs yet,” I said. “Though that’s often where I find myself after a night at parties on yachts.”
“Fuck that. Who wants to hang out with a bunch of hungover rich people?” he asked.
I chuckled. “Exactly.”
“Besides,” Blake rolled over slightly, careful not to spill his champagne as he looked at me with the same grin he had the night before. “If you stay, you might get to have a bit more fun with me. If you want to, that is.”
I smiled. I knew there had to have been more between us than what I originally thought. Of course, I was going to leave it to him to make the move, although the mention of getting to have sex again already aroused me.
“Was last night that good?” I teased.
“You were fantastic. I want to have sex again before we get back to shore. Nothing is better than the day after sex,” Blake said. He tossed back his champagne and set the glass on the nightstand, then he turned back to me. “What do you say? Was it good enough to do it again before sleeping off more of last night?”
I followed his lead, tossing back the rest of my champagne then grinning. I set my coffee cup on the nightstand next to me, then I slid under the covers more, letting him run his hand over my tight stomach.
“Yes, I would love to,” I said. I smiled as he eased himself back on top of me.
3
Blake - Present Day
“No! How many times do I have to tell you? You don’t even act like you’re going to sign that contract until you’re sure you have the deal in the bag!” my father, Monty Bogart, slammed his hands down on the desk in front of him. “How many times, Blake?”
“Sorry! I was more worried about the revenue we’re going to be bringing in. Playing hard to get these days isn’t the best way for us to do business, Dad,” I said. “Times are changing.”
“Yes, and you need to learn how to change with them! I told you I want you to take a bigger role in the company, and so far all you’ve done is fuck shit up. I’ve got to make a number of calls to try to smooth this out with the investors if we’re going to make it with this deal,” he shook his head in disappointment, and I clenched my fist.
This had become the normal scene for me. Gone were the days of going to parties and having fun. Now, I was the one who took the heat for all the shit that went wrong with the company. Sure, he would say that wasn’t true, and I was likely the one who was just being dramatic, but it sure as hell felt true.
“I can make the calls,” I said. “I’ll smooth things over with McGregor, and we can go from there.”
“I think you’ve done quite enough with McGregor. That man has been with the company for as long as I can remember, and the fact that you left him standing in the cold is enough to make me sick!” my father shot back.
Another sigh escaped my lips, and I still clenched and unclenched my fists under the desk where he couldn’t see them. He was right. I had made a business decision that didn’t benefit that man as much as it had a new client, but I felt that was the smartest move the two of us could make.
I didn’t want to keep playing it safe when I knew there were so many other things we could be doing with the company. We were losing money trying to keep celebrities happy. Now that there were so many other companies offering the same thing to them, we weren’t the empire we once were.
Oh, that didn’t mean that we didn’t still have our billions. But, when my father saw that we were more than thirty million dollars short, he came at me like a bear. He wasn’t going to let me squander our money, and though I had made the decision with the best interest of the company in mind, he didn’t see things that way.
So, I got yanked into his office, much like a student being sent to see the principal. I hated the fact that the others in the office knew what was going on in here. I was having a difficult enough time getting them to respect me with my father around as it was.
This was only going to make things worse.
“Alright, I’ll let you fix things with McGregor, and I’ll turn my attention back to what we can do to get back that revenue. I’m thinking if we were to explore”- I started, but he interrupted me.
“We aren’t going to explore anything!” he snapped. “You are going to look back over the books and figure out how you fucked this up, then you are going to see what you can do to up the sales with other clients. I’m going to have a meeting with the investors in an hour, and I expect you to be there.”
“How the Hell do you think I’m going to have time for that?” I snapped. “I’m going to be poring over those books to keep you happy, and you want me to take a couple hours out to see your investors?”
“They’re going to be your investors one of these days. You know when I was your age, I was working my fingers to the bone to get this company off the ground. Now, I’m not going to sit by and watch you run it back down there!” he said. He shook his head and I fought the urge to slam my own fists on the table.
My father was getting more controlling – more demanding with age. He was becoming more and more money hungry, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. It wasn’t that I cared. I had long since accepted the fact that we weren’t ever going to be close, but I was sick of him treating me like I was some secretary in the company.
I was going to be the owner and CEO one of these days, and I wanted that respect. Instead, he spent his time telling me ho
w stupid I was. It was remarkable how much my life had changed in just six months, and I wasn’t happy about it.
“Why don’t you throw another one of your parties and we can see if anyone wants to come. We used to make far more money with that then we did with your meetings,” I suggested at last.
“Oh, no, no, no,” my father waved his hand in my face like I was a child. “I’m not going to let you go out there and party again when you’re already having such a tough time with the company. What you need to do is maintain your discipline, and pull this together.”
“I’m disciplined,” I said. “And I’m trying to give you suggestions that will help with this problem.”
“The problem is sitting on the chair right in front of me,” he replied. “It’s a damn good thing we’ve got the Gangs to fall back on.”
I winced. The last thing I wanted to talk about right now was the Gang family. It was true. They did have a lot of money, but my father had been pushing to get me to marry Candace for the past five months.
He was overbearing enough with his harsh demands I told him I’d think about it, but I really wanted little to do with the woman. She was selfish and spoiled, and she knew she was hot. She would throw around her money as though she was famous, and she’d flaunt her body any chance she got.
I’d never slept with her, and I really didn’t want to. But, my father was so set in his plan for the two of us to get together, he didn’t even allow himself to see things from my point of view.
Just like he’d done with my mother, he thought that if the two of us were to get together, we could secure her millions with our billions, and everything would be fine. But, I was determined to save our company another way. We weren’t doing too bad, but we were losing sales. If he would give me the chance to introduce new ideas, we’d be fine.
But, as it stood, he liked to do things the easy way. Well, easy for him. If he could push that girl on me, and break me down to the point I did go through with a wedding, then he could secure the money. Sure, there would be prenups involved, but not enough that would hurt us when the inevitable divorce came.
“Who is this meeting with?” I asked.
“Mr. and Mrs. Velvet,” he replied. “And you aren’t going to be doing any of the talking, do you understand?” he asked.
I sighed. I didn’t want to be trapped in the room with those two and my father for two hours, but there was little I could do about it. He was pushing me to be in the meeting, and I had no choice in the matter.
“If you don’t want me to talk, then why the Hell are you pushing me to be there?” I asked.
“Because you need the experience. You need to get it out of her your head that you can change things in this company, and you need to listen to what Mr. Velvet has to say. The man is very smart, and if you were to pull your head out of your ass for a few minutes, then you could see that,” he said. “Now get out of here, get to the books, and make sure you are in the conference room on time.”
Without a word, I rose. I felt humiliated as I strode out into the lobby, and I refused to make eye contact with anyone. I knew if I did, I’d be picking a fight with them in a heartbeat. I didn’t need anyone’s pity, and I certainly didn’t need anyone’s smirks.
“That took long enough,” Peter said as he fell into stride beside me. I had been so lost in my own thoughts I didn’t hear him come up, and I nodded.
“I got reamed by the old man again,” I said without looking at him. “There are times when I really can’t wait for this to be over.”
“I think most kids of overbearing parents feel that way,” Peter said. “But I guess we’ve got the Velvets coming in. You going to be there?”
“Not through any choice of my own,” I replied. “Are you?”
“Yeah. I’m going to be your partner one of these days, and I was hoping we could pitch some of our ideas to them,” he said with a smile. “Run it by the old man first, of course.”
“He’s adamant against that, so if you want to have a shred of your dignity left, I would suggest you keep your mouth shut,” I replied. I didn’t break stride, but Peter stopped for a moment. He soon caught up with me once more.
“You told him what we’re looking at, right? This is a billion dollar industry. We could climb right back up to the top in no time,” he said.
He was referring to our latest idea. He and I wanted to start with a tech company. It would be worth billions by the time we had it up and running, and with the investment money we could get from the company as it was, it wouldn’t be hard for us to make it.
But, my father was determined to stay out of that realm. He wanted to stay with the makeup and the clothing lines, and hope to God that we were able to climb.
“He thinks that we’re losing money too fast. And in a way, he’s right. But, he doesn’t want to make a gamble at this point. He’s hoping”- I paused. I hadn’t really talked about Candace, and I didn’t want to start now. “He’s hoping for another way to just fall into his lap I guess.”
“Fuck,” Peter said.
“Right,” I replied. “I’ve got to get going. I need to look over the books before I get into that meeting, and times ticking.”
“Yeah,” Peter agreed. He sighed and turned to head back into the lobby, but I strode on. I was pissed off with my father, pissed off at the world. I couldn’t believe the way he treated me, and I vowed I was going to go forward with my company idea.
He wasn’t going to be around forever, and I wasn’t the only one who was running the company down. I hoped the meeting with the Velvets would be enough to satisfy him for now, though I had a feeling it wasn’t going to do much good.
He was always pissed off, and he would always take it out on me. As much as it sucked, I knew I was going to have to accept that. I could do my best to keep him happy, but at the end of the day, there was little I could do besides take his abuse.
I didn’t have the money to go off on my own, and I didn’t want to face his wrath for doing it. I knew if I wanted this company for my own someday, I was going to have to play by his rules in the meantime, no matter how shitty they were.
After all, as he always said:
We were billionaires, and that meant we had to make sacrifices. But, for the first time in a long time, I missed the parties. I missed being the face of the company and nothing else. Hell, I missed getting drunk with people like Frank and Allen.
According to my father, those days were gone. I had other things to do now, and he expected me to do them, whether I liked it or not.
And I sure as Hell didn’t like it.
4
Ashley
I tried to keep pace with my grandfather as he strode through the hall. He was dragging me along on yet another business trip, and I didn’t want to go. I was tired, my feet hurt, and I just wanted to sit down. The last thing I wanted was to sit through another meeting and listen to him bicker back and forth with the other people involved.
I especially didn’t want to go to this meeting. I knew where we were, and I didn’t want to see any of the people who were in this office. Well, I didn’t want to see two of the people who were in this office.
Bogart enterprises, my grandfather’s favorite company and one that I heard had been losing money. He was hoping that we’d be able to work out something with Mr. Bogart that would be mutually beneficial, but the fact that we were here made me sick to my stomach.
I was wearing a loose blouse and pants, finishing the look with a fancy jacket. I thanked God that it was the style now and I was able to get away with it at these business meetings, or there was no way I’d be able to make it.
Especially at meetings like this one.
I’d never cared for any of my grandfather’s clients, but I had more reason than ever to want to stay away from these two.
I was six months pregnant.
Not for one second did I regret what I’d done with Blake on that yacht six months ago, but getting pregnant wasn’t part of the plan. I kne
w my grandparents would be pissed, so I didn’t tell them. They never cared for Blake, and there were many times in my life I heard my grandfather say what I disappointment it was the company was going to someone like him.
To make matters worse, they were both incredibly traditional. They would kill me if they found out that I was pregnant, and I knew that would be the end of me being part of the family. Since I didn’t have anyone else, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
It had been a difficult enough decision to keep the baby in the first place. Hell, there was a day when I thought I couldn’t do it, and I’d almost terminated the pregnancy. But, before I went that far, I knew I wanted the baby, and I was going to have to figure out a way to make it happen.
And that’s when it all started. I had hidden it from the beginning. The morning sickness, the doctor visits, everything. Sure, it wasn’t that hard since I didn’t live with my grandparents and had only been seeing them once every six months. But now, they wanted to be more involved with Monty Bogart, and my grandfather often talked about them moving back to New York.
I had to hide my belly, and was grateful for these clothes to do it. What I didn’t know how I was going to do was hide the baby when it came. Hell, all I needed was for them to give me a portion of my inheritance. I didn’t want to be rich. I didn’t want to be famous. I didn’t want to have my life paid for me.
But I did need some of that money if I would make it in New York.
Both my parents were dead. My mother had died in a car accident, and my father later took his own life. It was largely blamed on the fact that he couldn’t live without my mother, but I later found out that he was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
It was another fact that I’d kept hidden from my grandparents. I loved my parents, and was close with my father. They had never had anything nice to say about him, either, from what I heard, and I didn’t want to further stain his name in their eyes.