by Andrea Bills
He dressed in a rush and sped over to his office. After his third cup of coffee, he printed out his final spreadsheet and started to power down his laptop. Then curiosity got the best of him, so he pulled up Youtube and typed ‘mudding in West Virginia’ in the search bar. He glanced around his office as if anyone would be around to see him watching such a ridiculous video. Once the results were loaded, he clicked on one randomly.
A series of drunk men and women were cheering and clinking beers while old beat up trucks with outrageous lift kits on them sped through the mud just behind them. Mud flung everywhere, but that just seemed to fuel everyone’s excitement. A couple of the trucks got hung up, and then everyone would start arguing over who had the best truck to pull it out.
Cole was completely enamored with the entire concept. These people were having the time of their lives right there in their backyards, for nothing more than some beer money and a tank of gas. Cole couldn’t imagine anyone in his life having fun being covered in mud and drinking beer all day. Anyone aside from Annie; his Annie. She seemed to be able to make anything fun. For the first time in his adult life, Cole wasn’t consumed with his revenge or his abhorrence for his family.
“Mr. Bennett, Mr. Sinclair is here.” His assistant called over the intercom.
Cole stood up and buttoned his suit jacket back together and closed out of the video.
“Please see to their needs and place them in the conference room.”
“Yes sir.”
Cole grabbed his files and filled his coffee cup before he made his way into the conference room himself. He walked in and set his files down before he looked up to greet Ted. When Cole’s eyes locked in on Ted’s new associate, rage filled every fiber of his being.
“Hello Cole.” Trey sneered.
“Oh, great. So, you already know each other?” Ted asked, oblivious to the tension in the room.
“How’s your wife, Ted?” Cole asked, pulling himself together.
“Not good I’m afraid. That’s why I had to move the meeting up. I do apologize.”
“No worries. I consider you a friend as well as a colleague. If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to ask.” Cole said, keeping his attention on Ted while he tried to get his anger under control.
“Thank you, Cole. I feel the same. Like I told you on the phone, Trey is young, but he’s one hell of a negotiator. I just wanted to give you both the chance to meet face to face and bring Trey up to par on how our businesses co-exist.”
Ted sat down, but Cole waited until Trey had finally taken a seat before he joined them.
“Of course. I’ve gone through and printed out our quantities and price flow for the year. There were a few times you all released railcar loads prior to being qualified through my lab. You need to reiterate with your site managers the importance of the process. Two of them had to be rerouted because they were off spec. That’s your cost, not mine, but I know that reroute costs aren’t cheap. Plus, it’s a logistical nightmare.”
“I’m sorry, but are you lecturing us on how to run our operations? If we only had to reroute two cars, out of the,” Trey paused and picked up one of Cole’s spreadsheets looking for the number. “Five hundred and sixty-four railcars, I think that’s a number we can live with.” Trey said tossing the paper back on the table, his eyes razor sharp with posturing and intent.
Cole bit back the response he so desperately wanted to say and instead turned his attention back to Ted.
“The markets are down this year.” Cole said, eluding to the Platts percentage that they based their used oil prices on.
“I know, but you have to take into consideration the upward trend they tend to have throughout the entire year. The contract is for a year, which means we can’t negotiate based on recent prices alone.” Ted bantered.
“Yes, but it’s a good place to start.”
“We’re the biggest used motor oil supplier into this facility, are we not?” Trey interjected.
Cole turned his attention back to the smug bastard. The tension in the air was palpable.
“Where exactly do you two know each other from?”
“Trey here used to beat the shit out of my girlfriend for kicks.” Cole said, his tone lethal.
Ted busted out laughing, shocking Cole.
“Cole, you’re such a bastard sometimes. Don’t give the kid a heart attack on his first trip.” Ted said, having taken Cole’s statement for a joke.
Ted’s phone rang then. He excused himself to take it. Once the door to the conference room closed behind Ted, Cole was on his feet. He circled around until he stood next to Trey. Before Trey could rise to his feet, Cole picked him up by his throat.
“There will be a day in your miserable, shit life that you will answer for what you did to Annie. It may or may not be in front of a judge and jury of your peers. In fact, you should pray that I offer you that luxury. As of now, I plan on being your judge, your jury, and your fucking executioner. The best part? I’m looking forward to it.”
Cole released Trey’s throat, and he went slack and sank back down in his chair, gasping for air. Cole casually strode back over to his seat just as Ted returned to the conference room. The negotiations continued, Ted taking the lead. When they finally called it quits for the day, Trey’s eyes never met Cole’s as he shook his hand and followed Ted out the door.
Cole grabbed his briefcase and his cell phone from his office and left immediately after them. His assistant frantically chased after him, but Cole told her to cancel all of his remaining appointments; Cole needed to see Annie.
Chapter Nineteen
Annie
Cole came crashing through Annie’s bedroom door. His eyes raked over her, leaving a burn in its wake. Her entire body immediately came alive under his inspection. Annie dropped the shirt she had been folding to pack and met his gaze with what she hoped was equal vigor.
“Take your clothes off.”
“Is everything okay, Cole?”
His eyes flickered with something darker at her question. Annie slid her t-shirt over her head and then swiftly removed the rest of her clothes. Cole’s eyes slowly eased down her body. Annie wanted to cover herself, but she urged her hands to stay still at her sides while he observed.
Finally, he moved toward her. He never broke stride as he lifted her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. He placed gentle kisses down her neck as he walked them down the hall to his room. Cole placed her on his bed and covered her with his body. Annie tugged at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against her. Cole ignored her urgent hands, moving his lips down her collarbone. Even though she anticipated his next move, she still sucked in a breath when he ran his tongue across her nipple. The warmth of his breath came and went, covering her in chills. Cole kissed the valley between her breasts, working his way around each of her nipples. Annie gripped Cole’s neck, silently begging him to end his torture, but he refused.
Annie moaned, a mixture of pleasure and frustration, when Cole kissed his way down her belly, her nipples left perked and aching. As Cole descended her body, Annie was vibrating with need. Cole spread her legs and then kissed up each thigh until he was just a breath away from where she needed him the most. Over and over again Cole teased her with his touch; casting her in a haze of indescribable pleasure.
“Cole.” She begged.
His hands raced up her body. He rolled her nipples between his forefinger and thumb. His head dipped down between her legs, and he made love to her with his mouth. Within a minute Annie felt herself finally climb to the precipice of her release. Cole easily tipped her over with his sinfully skilled mouth. Then he moved quickly and sank himself deep inside of her while she was still shaking with her orgasm.
Cole slowly pulled himself out and then sank back inside of her. Each motion in and out was measured and controlled. Annie gripped his hips with her legs and dug her fingernails into his shoulders. She pulled Cole down and kissed him, their tongues moving in the same leisurely motion
as their bodies. Cole broke the kiss and leaned his forehead on hers. She could feel the perspiration there. He was holding himself back, giving her something she didn’t even know she needed.
They weren’t just using each other’s bodies for pleasure. Annie had never experienced sex so fulfilling. Cole adjusted his weight onto one of his forearms and slid his hand down her body until his thumb was stroking her sensitive bud. Annie’s body immediately responded to Cole, just as it had done from the moment she had met him, and ignited with her release. Cole quickened his pace, pounding himself to his own orgasm. Annie slid her hand up his leg and gripped his thigh as he tightened and planted himself deep inside of her, his orgasm rolling through his body.
Cole sat back on his knees, still inside of her. Annie’s body relaxed in complete euphoria. Cole finally slid out of her and moved off the bed, disappearing into the bathroom. The passion they had just experienced had vanished, leaving Annie feeling cold and alone. She slid out of the bed herself and went back down the hall to her bedroom to clean herself and get dressed.
Down the hall she heard Cole’s phone ring.
“Hello.”
“Yes, tell her I’ll be right down.”
“No, no she can’t come up.”
“Damnit, I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Shit.” Cole said, as he yanked his pants the rest of the way up and headed for the door.
Rage filled Annie. Cole apparently had a woman downstairs who he didn’t want to know about her. Annie started toward him, but he put his hand up to stop her once he caught sight of her.
“Annie, I need you to go into your room and stay there.” He said, sternly.
“Ready to go again so soon, are you Cole? You’re such a bastard!” She yelled.
“What are you talking about you crazy woman?”
“I’m not crazy. You’re a pig!”
“You’re a menace!”
“How am I a menace?”
“You’ve been a distraction I don’t need since the day I dragged you out of that office.”
“Well then maybe you should have used Miss Floozy who’s waiting for you downstairs instead of hiring someone to sleep with you.”
“If I needed someone to sleep with, I for damn sure wouldn’t have to pay for it!” He roared in return.
“Fuck you, Cole!”
Annie briefly saw Cole’s eye’s turn dark with rage before she turned and fled to her room. She was glad the tears had waited to fall until she was safely through the door. Cole stomped down the hall but then retreated back to the living room. Annie slid down her door and dropped her head on her knees.
Her biggest fear when she had signed the agreement with Infidelity had been whether or not she would be able to stand the man she would end up with. Annie was more afraid now that she liked Cole more than she should for a temporary situation. Cole was with another woman now, moments after they had just made love.
Annie tried to reason with herself that Cole obviously had other lovers before her, and maybe one stopping by wasn’t any of her business. She couldn’t keep her temper calmed for long, though. They had slept together; they had made love! He should be sending any other woman who shows up at his door packing, not shoving Annie in her room and inviting them in.
Her cell phone rang, distracting her. Disappointment settled in when she saw that it was her parents.
“Hey.” She answered, hoping she sounded more upbeat than she felt.
“Hey baby girl. You don’t sound yourself. You okay?” Her mom replied.
Annie rolled her eyes. Of course, her mom would be able to tell something was wrong. Her mom was like the hound dog of emotions. Annie had never been able to get anything past the woman.
“Just a rough day today. Nothing important.”
“Do you know when you’re coming to visit yet?”
Annie had been so excited at first to take Cole to her hometown that she had immediately called and alerted her parents. Now, Annie wished she could call the whole thing off. The last thing she wanted to do was go anywhere with Cole. She definitely didn’t want him meeting her parents, just so she could tell them in a few months that they had split up too.
“No, I’m not sure Mom. We may not be coming after all. Cole’s very busy, and it’s hard for him to take time off.”
“Oh, I see. Well I hope it works out. Your dad and I miss you terribly.”
“I miss you guys, too. I miss home. Things seem so much easier there.” Annie admitted.
She had wanted out for so long it was a hard pill to swallow that maybe she hadn’t been right after all. Small town living seemed like a dream come true compared to the nightmare she had landed in since coming to the city.
“Don’t give up yet baby. It’s always been your dream to explore and live somewhere different. I know it can be tough, but give it some more time. You’re adjusting to a new city and college all at the same time. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“I guess.”
Annie’s mother sighed. It was the sigh she always used when she wanted to say something but wasn’t quite ready to say it.
“Spit it out Mom.”
“Well baby, it’s just that maybe the problem is these relationships. I just don’t think it’s a good time for you to be dating.”
Annie wasn’t sure how to respond to her mother. Her mom was right. If Annie could do it all over again she would have never gone out with Trey. The possibilities of what her life could have been without Trey’s influence were enough to crush Annie. She’d still have her friends, her schooling, and her love for the city. Trey had killed all of that.
Cole was worse, though, because he was breaking her heart.
Chapter Twenty
Cole
“Mrs. Witt, thank you for coming.” Cole said, welcoming in Nox Demetri’s head of security.
“Mr. Demetri said it was of the utmost importance. I have everything you need here.” Mrs. Witt said, brushing past Cole into the apartment.
Cole smirked. It would take one hell of a woman to not only work for a man like Nox, but a damn tough one to run his security. Mrs. Witt seemed like she had been born for the role. Cole followed her into his kitchen area, where she was already laying out paperwork.
“Coffee?” Cole asked, while he began to make himself a cup.
“No, thank you, Mr. Bennett.”
“Please, it’s Cole.”
The woman looked at him briefly and then ignored his statement.
“Trey Pennington’s family doesn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination. They’re a very public family, but I’m also known to have a few tricks up my sleeve. Your Trey here has quite the rap sheet; all off record or expunged, of course.”
Cole picked up the first sheet in front of him, while his Keurig wheezed behind him as it brewed his coffee. The report was from Trey’s high school years. A girl that he had been dating had told her father that Trey had slammed her against the lockers at school one day because she had been talking to another boy from their class. The report was chalked up to a girl looking to make a buck and brushed under the rug.
The files were filled with reports similar to the high school girlfriend’s and some much worse. A young woman from the college that Annie had met Trey at had reported him to her resident assistant saying Trey had forced himself on her in her dorm room one night. The young woman’s tuition had then been paid in full by an anonymous donor two days later, and she had never said another word about it.
Cole was furious at that girl. Had she stuck with her story and saw it through, Annie wouldn’t have ended up with such a monster. Then a startling thought popped into Cole’s mind: had Annie not been with Trey, she would have never signed a contract with Infidelity and met him. Cole looked down the hallway where Annie was holed up in her room, no doubt fuming mad at him. She was a menace to his life.
The woman was constantly threatening his thoughts. She had distracted him more times than he could count. His neat and tidy apart
ment had constant reminders of her presence because the woman never seemed to be able to pick up after herself.
“Is there anything more you need from me, Mr. Bennett?”
“There’s a man who lives across the hall from Trey. He helped a friend of mine get away from Trey.”
“A Mr. Ray Berkley. He’s a retired Army Ranger. He’s currently in the hospital for multiple broken ribs and a broken leg.”
“Son of a bitch!” Cole said, slamming his fist down on the table.
“You believe Mr. Pennington is the reason for Mr. Berkley’s injuries?” Mrs. Witt asked.
“Absolutely. Had it not been for Mr. Berkley, he would still have his very own human punching bag living with him.”
“Mr. Pennington is on Mr. Berkley’s approved visitor’s list, as he’s the one footing the bill.”
“I need that changed immediately. I’ll not only pay for all of it, but I’d like to have him moved. There’s an empty apartment down the hall. I’ll provide around the clock care for the man, if we can get him out of there quietly.”
“Consider it done.” Mrs. Witt said as she began typing frantically on her cell phone. “Anything else, Mr. Bennett?”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Witt. Please make sure Nox bills me for your services. You’ve been invaluable.”
Mrs. Witt waved her hand in dismissal and then dug in her briefcase to retrieve a card.
“Here is my card. The number changes frequently, but for the next few days while I arrange Mr. Berkley’s move, this number should be intact, should you need to contact me.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
With that the woman left. Cole stared down at the files spread out across his table. He couldn’t imagine what all Annie had suffered at the hands of the man while she had lived with him. The stories in front of him were horrid enough and none of those women had been under Trey’s thumb for as long or in the type of seclusion as Annie.