by Pavan Kaur
“Lexi, go talk to him. Maybe he just needs a little push to talk,” Ms. Jackie says.
“I know, and I will,” I say as I make my way back to the hotel. “Thank you for calling me. I needed someone to tell me what to do.”
“Anytime. I'll see you when you get back.” Ms. Jackie ends the call.
Glancing over my shoulder, I throw my phone back into my bag and start walking toward the hotel. Dan has been in contact with the police about Sam for me. I want to try and live my life without worrying all the time, so Dan said he would sort it all out. The last update I got was the police had sent Sam's picture to stations around the states, and a warrant for his arrest is in place. But, that still doesn’t stop me looking around for him.
Taking out my room key, I look down the corridor and smile as a couple giggling to each other walk past me.
Walking into the suite, I look around for Ethan and hear his voice coming from the other room. Walking into the room, I throw my bag on the bed and look at him as he turns around to face me.
“I'll call you back.” Putting the phone on the table, he walks over to me. “I’m sorry. I am. I know you don’t want anything from me, but it’s been bad few weeks. I didn’t handle them the best way.” He stops in front of me, then leans his forehead against mine with his hands on my hips. “We need to talk. It’s time to tell you who's making my life a living hell and who keeps calling me,” he tells me.
“Okay,” I reply. I might finally learn who this Edward and Angie are.
“Edward Cult is my father, the man I’ve hated for years and never want to see. He left my mom for some twenty-year-old and took all the money we had, leaving us nothing. I built my company from nothing—all by myself.” He takes my hand in his. “What I said to you the other day about never being in love, it was the truth. There was a time I thought I was in love, but I was blind. You’ve heard me talk about her. Angie…is my ex-wife.” I take my hands out of his. What? Did I just hear that right? “She used me for my money. Mom and Travis kept warning me, but I didn’t listen. They kept telling me I was seeing the real her. Then, everything was falling apart around me. Edward came back and said he needed money because his whore spent it all. I told him to fuck off and that I wouldn’t give him anything.” Ethan stops for a moment while I try to wrap my head around everything he's telling me.
“So, your dad left you, and is now back because he wants more money? What I don’t understand is what this has to do with your ex-wife,” I say. It’s like he’s started two different stories and wasn’t sure which one to tell me about first.
“When I told him to fuck off, he told me he would ruin me and make sure I was left with nothing, just like him. Three years ago, he tried. I came home and caught my dad fucking my wife. I told them both to get the fuck out of my house and that I never wanted to see either of them again.” Ethan looks at me standing there with my mouth wide open. What a cocksucker, and she's nothing but a bitch. “You would think that was the worst of it, but it had been going on for months. My mom and Travis were right. She was using me for my money, to give to him.” Now what Tanya said to me about being a gold digger makes sense. She thinks I'll do the same thing. “I told her she wouldn’t see a dime because of the prenup. So, for the last seven months, she has been calling, wanting to talk. And now he’s also back in the picture wanting to talk. Mom thinks I should talk to them, but I don’t want to be in the same room with either of them,” he says.
I’m still dumbstruck with everything he just threw at me. I mean, that was a lot of information. “What do you think you should do?” I ask him. At the end of the day, it’s him they want to see, not his mom.
“I don’t want to see them, but they keep calling and that just pisses me off.”
“Then hear what they have to say. At least that way, you’ll know and they can leave you alone,” I tell him. Once he hears them out, maybe they'll finally leave him alone.
“I'll call mom, then have Selena set something up.”
“How much money does she want?” I ask him. I know that was one of the things that got him in a bad mood.
“Six hundred thousand.”
“What?” What the hell do they need that much money for?
“I know, trust me. I’m not giving them a fucking cent. Emily has also been talking to my dad for some reason, so I don’t trust her either.” Ethan pulls me in for a hug. “I need you to know that I hate myself for what I said to you. I hated not telling you why I keep having mood changes,” Ethan says. Kissing me on the head, he tightens his arms around me.
“I’m happy you told me. I want to be there for you when you need to talk. I want us to be able to talk to each other about anything,” I tell him.
“I want you to be there when I see them,” Ethan says, walking away from me to answer his phone. “This better be good news… What time?... That’s fine, tell them I won’t leave until we reach an agreement, so they need to leave the day open.” He walks over to me and mouths the word ‘lunch.’ Giving him a nod, I grab my bag as he continues his conversation.
As I wait for him to get off the phone, I think about what he told me about his dad and ex-wife. I can’t believe someone would go that low for money. How can someone play with another person’s feeling like that? I can see why Ethan was so cold at the start of our relationship. He was worried about having someone around him that would do all this to him again. I get it because I’m the same way. Ethan was the first person I’ve even thought about staying with after Sam found me. The difference between us, is my fear is of Sam hurting Ethan, while Ethan’s fear is of someone taking advantage of him again and taking what he’s worked very hard for.
The reason he’s the man he is today, is because of his dad leaving them with nothing. Ethan has earned every dime he has, and he’s going to make sure no one takes it from him again.
Ethan
I still hate them both, and I know for a fact that no matter the reason they give, I won’t be giving them any money. My dad didn’t think twice about his family when he walked away and took everything. Why would they ,think I would help them?
“A whiskey, and a red wine, please.” Lexi gives the waiter our drinks order as I end a call with my mom.
“We get back home on Sunday so they'll come be at Mom’s on Monday,” I tell her. If they want to talk, then they can do it with my mother there because I know she wants to hear what they say.
“Okay.” Taking a sip of her wine, she looks around the street behind me. “I thought we could go see the White House today,” Lexi says smiling at me. Even with all the shit happening in my life, in the back of my head I keep wondering how long it'll take them to get Sam. I miss the Lexi I had before he found her. She was a little spitfire, with spunk about her. Now, she’s always cautious of her surroundings, even looking at the reflections in storefront windows to see if anyone is following her. Her body stays tense the whole time she's out, and she thinks I don't notice, but I do.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She looks at the menu as she replies.
“What would you have done if Sam found you and you were dating someone? Someone you were in love with?” I ask. She looks over her menu, then glances up and holds my eyes for a moment. “Would you have run away again, even if it meant breaking your own heart?”
“I’ve fallen in love with you, and if it meant keeping you safe, then yes, I would break my own heart.” She looks back down at the menu, but I can’t take my eyes off her.
Lexi is the most unselfish person I think I’ve ever met. She would be willing to live the rest of her life on the run to keep the people around her safe.
“So, you do love me?” I take the menu from her hand, knowing she now seems a little shy with my question. She peers at me through her eyelashes. “I love you, too,” I tell her, and seeing her shy smile has me flashing one of my own. How could I not fall in love with this woman? She's all mine. There's no way I’m letting her walk away from me. Not today, no
t tomorrow, not ever. And if Sam comes close to her, I'll destroy him. “So, the White House then…”
“Maybe some shopping first? I need to plan ahead for an entire day of sightseeing. Which days are off-limits to do anything?” Lexi asks, and I can’t help but smile at her. “I mean, outside of the bedroom. I know you’re always free for sex.” She shakes her head at me, making me laugh.
“I’m all yours until Thursday. I'll be planning out the meeting Friday, the meeting is on Saturday, then we fly back home on Sunday,” I tell her, watching her as she looks at her phone. “Someone more important than me?”
“Yes.” She looks up and winks. “The waiter taking my order is more important that you,” she smiles, looking back at her phone, turning the screen to me. She’s been texting with her brother.
Looking up at the waiter, I place our orders. “What's on the shopping list?” I ask her. I know by the look on her face exactly what she wants. “Are you missing Jimmy?” I'll never understand her love for shoes, but seeing how happy they make her, I'll buy every pair in the store.
“There's a new collection out I want to see. There are also these shoes I want. I thought I would treat myself and break my Red Sole virginity,” he states, and my drink sprays out as I start choking. “Ethan,” Lexi shouts, grabbing her napkin and patting the drink from her top.
“What?”
“You have a dirty mind. Christian Louis Vuitton shoes have a red sole. I don’t own a pair yet,” she says throwing her napkin at me.
I have a dirty mind? She could have easily told me she wants these shoes, but she had to add the word virginity in there. “Any virginity you're losing from now, are the ones I get to break. So, I'll buy the shoes for you,” I tell her. I can't stop looking at her as she's still laughing at me.
“For someone who has sex on his mind all day, every day, you can be funny about some things. I can’t wait to see what you're like when my period comes this month,” she says, chuckling at her own joke.
“I don’t want to know, thank you very much. All you have to say is no sex, and that’ll be the end of it. Nothing else has to be mentioned on the subject," I tell her. Yes, I'm a typical man. I get uncomfortable talking about female issues. I avoid it at all costs.
Lexi continues to laugh. “What…” She stops and picks up a napkin to wipe her tears from laughing so much. “What if I …” She stops again, unable to finish her sentence from laughing so much. “What if I need…” She covers her face with the napkin and I smile seeing her laugh so much over not being able to finish the sentence, so I finish it for her.
“No, I won’t be buying them for you,” I tell her, and she starts laughing even harder. “Oh, good, the food is here.” I’m so glad to change the subject.
“Noted, it won't be mentioned again,” Lexi says, finally calming down from her laughing fit.
I enjoy seeing her like this. I plan on making her this happy for the rest of my life, and from this day on, I’m going to make sure that she smiles like this every day.
***
I watch Lexi walking around the hotel room in her new shoes. “Don’t they look so cute?” she asks, not looking away from the mirror.
How can shoes cost so much? I'm sure her shoes cost the same as some of my work suits. Yes, I have the money to buy them, but I don’t spend that much on myself. If I’m not wearing my work suits, then I’m in plain old jeans and t-shirt. I've never been one to spend much money on anything other than having the penthouse remodeled. The only reason I'm spending it on that, is to remove any trace of Angie ever being a part of my life. I mean, I still carry the wallet I had in college. If it’s not broken, why change it?
“They would look even sexier if you were naked with your legs wrapped around my waist,” I tell her. That causes her to look away from her shoes and I give her a smile and a wink.
“That can be arranged for tonight,” Lexi says, looking back in the mirror at her shoes. She has been looking at them for about an hour now. “I got you something. It’s in the bag.” She points to the bed.
Lying back, I pull the bag over to me. No girl has ever bought me a gift and I know I’m going to love it no matter what it is, just because she bought it with her own money. As I lie on the bed opening the black ribbon on the Burberry bag, I look up at Lexi sitting on top of me.
I pull out the little box and smile at what I know is in there. She bought me a new wallet. Lexi reaches into my jeans pocket and pulls out my old wallet. "Yours is falling apart.” She opens it and laughs when a piece hangs from it. “See what I mean? There's fabric falling off,” she tells me as she starts taking my cards out.
I hate that she spent so much on me, but I love that she cared enough to do it. I can’t remember when someone wanted to do something for me without wanting something in return.
“Do you not like it?” she asks, watching me staring at it.
“I do. Of course I do,” I say, giving her a kiss. “Thank you. You know I'll never get rid of this.”
“Good." She takes the new wallet from my hand and starts putting my cards in there. "Now you have a sexy new wallet that needs to take me out for a nice dinner with dancing.” She has a look in her eyes that tells me I’m going to love what comes next. “Then—” she stops when my phone rings. “For fuck’s sake,” she says, getting off me.
Yep, that shot the mood to hell and back. I grab my phone and swipe to connect the call. “What?”
“Everything has been sent over for the meeting, and Travis sent you an email about the plan changes for the London mall.” Selena is quick and efficient in relaying the message to me.
“Why did he change them?” I ask. I look over at Lexi, who’s sitting on the chair with her legs stretched out on the table, drinking a glass of wine. I can’t help but smile at her admiring her shoes.
“He said there was something he thought would work better. He's planning on sending it all on Friday—”
“No, not until I’ve read it. Tell him I'll email him back.” I snap. We worked hard on that, so I want to see what he changed.
“I'll let him know, is there—”
Ending the call, I walk over to Lexi. Looking up at me, she hands me a glass of whiskey. “You know, one day I’m going to throw your phone out the window,” she says with a smile.
Not saying anything to her, I drink my whiskey. As if that would ever happen. Sitting on the chair in front of her, I pull her legs off the table and place them on mine.
Rubbing her thigh, I think about how things have changed between us and how hard I’ve fallen for her. There are mornings when I turn to face her and drink in all her beauty, happy knowing she chooses to be here with me every day.
“Our wedding day, I promise—no phone,” I tell her, and she starts choking on her wine.
“Excuse me?” she shrieks, downing the rest of her wine.
“When that day comes, and you agree to marry me, that will be the day I have no phone on me,” I tell her again. I never really wanted to get married again, but Lexi brings out this side of me. She’s this bright light that I never want to lose.
Nodding her head, she fills her glass with some more wine, then takes a sip. “So… dinner, what time should we go?” she asks. I let out a little laugh at her changing the subject.
“Whenever you’re hungry.” Placing my glass on the table, I look over at my ringing phone on the bed. Taking her legs off my lap, she places them back on the table. I watch her for a moment as she looks out the window. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about getting married. Walking over to the bed, I answer the phone.
Lexi
Our whole week has been amazing. I've loved our time here. I decided to stay in the hotel while Ethan is at this meeting; I didn’t want to be out alone for so long. Every day this week, I’ve been thinking about Ethan’s comment about getting married. After Sam, marriage was never on my mind, and to be fair, I still don’t believe it is. I don’t want to say anything to Ethan because things could change, and mayb
e in a year’s time I'll see things differently. But, what shocked me more was the idea of marriage was on his mind.
Looking at my watch, I realize Ethan should be here soon, but he did tell me he wasn’t going to leave until they signed on the dotted line. He said he might be out all night if that's what it takes. I have a spa day at the hotel this morning, and I’m about to go down to get my hair cut and colored a little. Ethan kept asking me not to change the color. I wasn’t planning on it, but it’s sweet of him to let me know what he likes.
“Hello,” I say, answering my phone.
“I’m sorry, but I won’t be back until late,” Ethan starts, and I already feel he’s going to be doing a lot of apologizing on this call. “They're changing things in the paperwork, so I have to reread everything.”
“It’s okay. You get them to sign the papers. I’ve got my hair appointment, then I'll see if they can fit me in for a mani and pedi,” I tell him. I don’t want him to think he needs to rush this meeting to be with me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I'll grab something to eat at the restaurant downstairs and see you when you get back.”
“I'll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Ethan, with your workload, you’ll be saying that a lot.” I start laughing. “So, I think to make this up, you make dinner when we get back,” I tell him.
“I’m the one that makes dinner anyway. I don’t think you have cooked once,” Ethan says with laughter in his voice. He's not lying, I hate to cook. I either go out or get take-out.
“Well then, you’ll always be good in my book, no matter how late you’re going to be,” I tell him as I start walking down the stairs.
“Good thing I can cook. Well, I better go. Please charge everything to the room,” he says, ending the call.
Lexi– Now that I’m your girlfriend, can you at least say goodbye before you hang up on me, please?