“He has been dealt with.”
“My son was after all, defending a class mate, it would appear he didn’t start the attack.” Monica persisted.
“The boy in question has received a suspension.”
“Only a suspension? Why isn’t he being expelled?” Monica demanded.
“It’s the first time this particular boy has been in trouble whereas we have been here before with Paul, he’s a regular visitor to my office as you are well aware Mrs Jensen, I would say it’s a jolly good job that you intend sending both boys to boarding school next term, I feel the added discipline will be advantageous to both of them although in my experience, some schools are more interested in receiving their fees than the behaviour of their students.”
Leaving the school with their disgraced son, Michael was fuming;
“Who does he think he is to lecture me on Boarding Schools?” he growled
“He’s just jealous because he doesn’t earn as much as you.” Paul commented.
“I don’t want to hear another word from you boy.” Michael rounded on his son, “Get in the car and keep your mouth shut, I will deal with you when we get home.”
Climbing out of the car once they reached home, Monica stroked her son’s dark hair as he passed her “Go to your room son, I’ll be up in a bit.” she told him, she put her bag on the kitchen table and turned to switch on the kettle,
“Why do you mollycoddle him so much? He’s in the wrong and still you protect him.” Michael asked her.
“Michael, he was defending a girl, I find that quite honourable.”
“He just likes the attention getting into trouble gives him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous Michael, he was doing what he thought was right.”
“Stop defending him woman.” Michael bellowed “He’s a trouble maker, he always has been, he’s the one who knocked Matthew’s teeth out last summer and cost me a fortune in dental bills and you defended him then, he thinks he can do as he pleases because you pander to his every whim, I’m sick of it, it stops now.”
“Don’t shout at Mum.” Paul’s voice from the kitchen door “She hasn’t done anything to deserve that.”
“Paul be quiet.” Monica warned but she wasn’t quick enough to stop Michael as he lunged at the boy and she felt physically sick as she heard the awful thud of Michael’s fist connecting with Paul’s face.
The beating continued for a good five minutes with Monica vainly trying to pull Michael off the boy now crouched on the floor. Michael, his anger finally spent, grabbed his car keys and sped away from the house.
Guiding Paul to the bathroom, she sat him on the edge of the bath and began to clean the bruised and bloodied face, pushing Paul’s fringe off his face, she encouraged him to look at her “You mustn’t come between your father and me.” she told him “I can handle him, you are still a boy, he will lash out at you not me.”
“I hate him.” was all Paul replied.
Monica decided it would be best for Paul if he stayed out of Michael’s way until their flight to Spain and after a brief discussion with her parents, Paul was moved to his Grandparents home for the next two weeks.
Paul immensely enjoyed spending time with Monica’s parents, through them he had learned to speak Spanish and was as fluent as they were, his Grandmother, Paula had begun to teach him everything he would need to know to run a business, something he had expressed an interest in as he desperately didn’t want to work for Michael when he was older but recognised that he would probably have to do a short spell at Jensen Incorporated in order to earn the money he would require to set up on his own.
Grandfather Jackson and Uncle John would take him fishing on their boat, teaching him that he didn’t always need to be tense. Between them they were also the ones responsible for Paul’s future love of cars, Jackson being the proud owner of a Silver Aston Martin DB5 and Uncle John had recently purchased an E-Type Jaguar.
Paul was a welcome addition at the small factory the Paloma family owned to step up the production of their now designer shoes. He learned almost every aspect of the shoe making process and while it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue, he found it immensely interesting and would spend a lot of time with the workers, learning their jobs or even making cups of tea when they were up against a deadline and wouldn’t leave their work stations. His down to earth attitude and fantastic smile coupled with the fact that he would speak their native tongue all day, every day won him the hearts of the Paloma employees.
“He really is one of us.” Jackson commented as he watched his Grandson carry a pile of souls from one work bench to another, laughing and joking with the workers as he went. Jackson’s office was the floor above the factory, glass walled, he was able to survey his empire just by glancing up.
“He is a natural leader; do you see the way the workers respond to him? He does genuinely show an interest in each and every one of them, the fact that he has learnt our language and speaks to them in Spanish has won them all over, he works hard too, Michael should be proud of the boy instead of beating him and suppressing his good nature.” Paula agreed.
“He doesn’t need Michael, he has us and Monica and I have to admit, Charles and Penny have been very supportive of him, I’m sure Michael hates that.” Jackson smiled “We’ll see how they get on when we return home to Spain, then we will decide if Paul should return home or live with us permanently.”
“I know you love the boy Jackson but he isn’t our son, I’m sure Monica doesn’t see this as a permanent arrangement and she will want Paul home before the start of the school year, she’ll want to spend some time with him before he goes to Boarding School.”
“That’s another thing I disagree with, why send the boys away? Paul’s happier here. Look at him, he smiles, laughs and is relaxed around us, do you see him behave like that in his own home?” Jackson protested, he adored all his grandchildren but recognised that Paul needed a little more attention than the others and he didn’t like to think of the boy being suppressed by his father.
“I know how you feel honey.” Paula came to hug her husband “But we can only guide him, he has to make his own path, he knows he can come to us if he needs help and we have a month in Spain to look forward to, Paul loves it out there, he’ll have time to find himself and it means that Michael won’t put a foot wrong all the time we are out there plus Paul will speak Spanish all the time which irritates Michael no end.”
Paul travelled with his Grandparents to the airport where he was reunited with his siblings and Monica who wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly.
“Can’t breathe Mum.” Paul laughed when Monica refused to let him go then when she finally released him “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, I’ve missed you so much.” she kissed his cheek.
“I missed you too, bet it’s been quiet at home without me.” he grinned.
“Understatement of the year dude” Matthew came over and slapped his brother on the back “I’ve missed listening to you fart all night.”
“Matthew!” Monica exclaimed.
“Sorry Mum.” Matthew led his brother away leaving Monica to greet her parents “Seriously dude, you really wound Dad up this time, what did you do?”
“I told him not to shout at Mum and he spazzed out.” Paul replied “He has a mean right hook on him, still, I had a great time with Grandma and Gramps while you were slaving away at school, even earned a bit of money so all’s good.” Paul grinned at his brother then noticed his sister and her best friend “Things have just got considerably better.” he finished.
Matthew turned to see what his brother was looking at “Oh yeah, Mum said Tessa could bring a friend as she gets left out when you and I go off.”
“I love my sister.” Paul said “She has the best friends.”
“Suzanne’s way out of your league bro, there’s no way she’s going to be interested in you virgin boy.” Matt mocked.
“And you have loads of experience I take it? Do y
ou think I care if she’s in my league or not? She’s just so nice to look at; I think this holiday is going to be awesome.”
“I have more experience than you, lost my cherry last week actually” Matt boasted.
“Nice one Matt.” Paul gawped at his brother “Always thought I would be first.”
“You have some catching up to do brother.”
Chapter Two
Suzanne Smith, Tessa’s best friend was a petite blond who had developed early and had an absolutely stunning figure, the perfect hour glass. She had known Tessa since nursery school and subsequently the twins. She had watched the boys grow into tubby toddlers and then teenagers.
The teenage years had been kind to the Jensen twins. Matt had remained stocky and the shorter of the two boys , his love of sport had toned his puppy fat into rippling muscle while his blond hair had been allowed to grow from its normal tight crop and was showing signs of beginning to curl in a most endearing manner. Matt was quick to smile and treated her as a sister making an effort to include both girls in many of his activities when they appeared to be at a loose end but she had caught his appreciative glances when the weather allowed her to wear tiny skirts and even tinier tops.
Paul had grown tall and lean with a naturally athletic body which he had no problem displaying as he would quite often appear in the family kitchen or living room in just a pair of jeans or boxers while seeking Monica to find out where a certain top or other garment would be. He was the quieter of the twins but equally the more confident of the two, he wouldn’t get embarrassed when Suzanne caught him on more than one occasion looking at her breasts encased in one of her tight tops and he would meet her eyes with a cocky grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. Paul had also noticed that she had a particular fancy for dark haired men, recognising that he was exactly her type boosted his confidence immensely. She had no doubt what so ever that Paul had already had the pleasure of exploring at least one of the many females that flocked around him at school. His dark good looks and volatile nature made him her perfect match; she was looking forward to this holiday and seeing just how far she would be able to push him.
In recent years Michael had purchased a private plane, mainly for business use but it came in handy for group holidays such as this and was so much nicer than standard first class. The previous two weeks since he had laid into Paul had been peaceful with the removal of what he considered to be his wayward son from the house. He felt a flash of anger upon seeing the boy now and the way the rest of the family welcomed him back into the fold and he just knew the boy would spend the next month mocking him in Spanish and he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.
Tessa, Suzanne, Matt and Paul commandeered the seats at the rear of the cabin away from the adults. Sinking into the lush white leather seats to await take off and the customary snack provided by the small, highly paid staff, Suzanne noticed that Paul had turned a most unattractive shade of green.
“What’s up with your brother?” she leaned closer to Tessa.
“He doesn’t like to fly.” Tessa replied surveying her younger sibling “It’s not that bad Paul.” she teased “Statistics say that we probably won’t crash”, the plane had begun to taxi along the runway.
“Shut up.” he murmured gripping the arms of his seat as the plane began to speed up.
“Anyway, if we did crash, the plane would just explode into a huge fire ball in a matter of seconds, we wouldn’t know what hit us.” Tessa continued as the plane completed it’s take off.
Paul unfastened his seatbelt and bolted for the bathroom at the back of the plane.
“That was uncalled for” Matt told his sister.
“It was a little mean” Suzanne agreed.
“Oh give up you two, he teases me about everything, this is the only thing that I have to get back at him.”
Monica has also left her seat, chatting with her parents and brother as she made her way to the galley to check their food was being prepared before heading back to check on her children. Noticing the empty seat, she asked.
“Is Paul in the bathroom?”
“Yeah, he went a fantastic shade of green before he took off.” Matt told her.
Monica made her way through the small games room and to the planes luxurious bathrooms, knocking on the only locked door, she called her son’s name. Paul appeared shortly after her knock looking pale and most unwell.
“Come back to you seat son, you’ll feel better when you have eaten.”
She walked with him back to his seat;
“Dude, do you want to sit by the window? The view is awesome and it might take your mind off feeling sick.” Matt offered.
“Because looking at the ground hundreds of miles below is going to make the sickness and my fear of flying any better?” Paul snapped at his brother.
“It was only a suggestion.” Matt huffed.
“Be nice.” Monica warned “I’ll get you all something to eat, try to do something to take your mind off the flight.”
Monica was right of course, Paul did feel better after he had eaten and although it was only a short flight, he decided the best way to pass it would be to sleep. He reclined his chair, turned onto his right side and was asleep in moments leaving the other teenagers to amuse themselves.
He slept so soundly that he didn’t even wake when the plane landed. He was shaken awake by Suzanne and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was eye level with her breasts as she leant over him to nudge him awake.
“That’s a nice sight to be woken up to.” he stretched and met her pale brown eyes.
“You have no shame” she told him.
“Not when you wear tops like that.” he answered, his eyes dropping once more to her breasts wishing they could stay as they were right now so that he could reach into her top and guide the delightful orbs between his lips, he began to smile as he noticed her nipples hardening and once more looked into her eyes “One day.” he said allowing his seat to glide into the upright position, unclipping his seat belt, coming to his feet and enjoying the flush that spread over her cheeks.
Suzanne composed herself, she had known volunteering to wake him up was a mistake but she hadn’t been able to stop herself, she had become so attracted to this boy over the past few months that she had simply needed to wake him just to see the look on his face as he registered her presence. He confirmed his attraction to her by his last comment. As the blush left her cheeks, she turned to face him. “We have a month here, that one day may come sooner than you think.”
A short ride in the fleet of air conditioned Mercedes and the family were at Jackson’s parents’ substantial villa, a gift to them from him once he had made his first million. Matt used to hate the initial meeting of families as Paul was the child that usually got all the attention, his colouring and fluency in the language displaying his more than obvious Spanish heritage this was until Monica had pointed out that the resentment and jealousy Matt felt at these meetings was how his brother felt all the time as Matt was the one who received all the attention from their father.
Once the various family members had found their rooms, the Paloma and Jensen families settled down to an opulent meal followed by a long stroll on the beach, Matt and Paul leading the way throwing a rugby ball to each other. On these occasions Michael felt somewhat left out, he had never bothered to learn Spanish and the Paloma family would gabble constantly in their native tongue with Monica only pausing occasionally to translate for him.
Paul loved it here, the freedom he had was endless, he was popular with the locals and had to admit that he would be happy to live here permanently, if he never spoke English again it wouldn’t bother him. He felt relaxed and calm around these friendly, social people, their sense of family appealed to him as did their unconditional love for their children coupled with the fact that he would be able to wind Michael up to the hilt and wouldn’t have to face the consequences until they got home, he now also had the added attraction of Suzanne and had every intention
of pursuing her.
For the first few days, the brothers spent most of their time either on the beach or in the sea while Tessa and Suzanne worked on their tans only occasionally joining them in the water causing Paul to swim further out to sea as the sight of Suzanne dripping wet in a thin swimsuit turned him on immensely.
Around midday every day, the family would disappear into the villa for their Siesta much to Paul’s irritation as he didn’t like to sleep through the day. While the family slept he would swim or sit in the shade out of the midday sun listening to music or reading. By the fourth day of the holiday, he noticed that Suzanne had also stopped taking her siesta, using the time to hunt for unusual shells in and around the rock pools.
Suzanne and Tessa had drawn quite a lot of attention from the local boys both being fair skinned blondes, they stood out like a sore thumb amongst the curvaceous dark haired girls that frequented the beach and had spent these early days of their holiday fending off over amorous Latin advances.
Glancing up from his book as Suzanne passed him on her way to the beach, Paul paused in his reading to watch the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away, sitting up a little straighter to get a better view as she removed her sarong, dropped it on one of the sun beds and carried on towards the sea. Once she had submerged herself in the water and had settled into a steady swimming pattern, he went back to his book, glancing up now and then to see if she was still in sight.
Getting engrossed in a fast paced chapter of his book, he realised he hadn’t checked on Suzanne in at least fifteen minutes, looking up, he surveyed the beach and then the sea. Nothing! Her sarong was still on the sun bed but she was nowhere to be seen. Coming to his feet, he dropped his book and headed down the beach, by the time he reached the waters’ edge he was beginning to worry, he still couldn’t see her. Wading into the sea up to his waist, he leapt forward and swam in the direction he’d seen her heading in.
He’d reached the small cove before he spotted her standing in the shallows, arms folded across her chest, back ram rod straight as she tried to extract herself from the group of Spanish boys surrounding her. Swimming until his feet touched the sandy floor of the cove, he was by her side in moments, his hand sliding across her back as he drew level with her to confront the boys “Hey, you ok?” he asked .
Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) Page 3