My Blackmail Baby: Billionaire Bad Boy Romance

by Selena Black

  In the couple of days since the blackmail plot went wrong, Jack remained holed up at home and refused to answer any knocks at the door. He suspected that Alain wasn’t one of the people that turned up although he didn’t know that for sure. The fact that Gloria didn’t come home the night before darkened his mood even more and he’d waited for her to return that day. She was the only person that would likely give him the fifty dollars he owed Alain, but when she didn’t show her face he knew there was only one other option.

  Playing at the club would get him the money he needed although he suspected that might not be enough. Putting himself out in the open meant he could be found and that left him in danger of taking a beating. In the end he knew there was no real choice and he couldn’t hide in his apartment for ever, so he made his way to the club just before the seven o’clock show. Mr. Reynaud had berated him for his late appearance and Jack just stood quietly and let the harangue run to its conclusion without interrupting. All he wanted was the money for performing on stage and he knew that if he didn’t react he would likely get it.

  The fact that Mr. Reynaud paid up front was one of the reasons he liked working for him and on this occasion it might save him. The fear that it wouldn’t still played on his mind after he got the money, but he set his focus on playing when the curtains opened and kept his eye on the crowd. When an hour of the show passed without incident, he thought he might get away without any trouble. That idea disappeared in an instant when he saw Alain walk in.

  Now he was watching the minutes tick past towards the end of the show and his dread grew as that moment came closer. The applause rang around the club when the sound of the music died away and Jack was the first to pack his instrument in its case. With the curtains closed he could no longer see Alain and he wanted to keep it that way. The decision to run was probably not the wisest of his life, but instinct kicked in and made him head towards the door that led to the rear of the club.

  “Mr. Reynaud will be pissed.”

  The voice of the Dandies saxophonist stopped Jack and he looked over his shoulder.

  “It can’t be helped,” he said. “I need to get out of here right now.”

  “Trouble following you around again, is it?” the saxophonist went on and the loud comment brought laughter from some of the musicians.

  “Fuck off,” Jack replied sourly and turned away to end the conversation.

  He stopped at the door to glance out to the hallway leading to the exit. The urge to get out of the place quick came over him, but he knew that it wouldn’t be so easy to tell Mr. Reynaud to fuck off if he bumped into him. A look both ways showed there was no one around and he got his legs moving. He kept as close to the wall as he could and stopped when he got to the exit. The dark alley on the other side of the door was his chance to escape and he grabbed the handle.

  One step outside was enough for him to know that he wasn’t alone and he flinched as the door slammed shut. His decision to run had been anticipated and the angry expression on Alain’s face showed Jack that he was in deep shit. He scrambled to get the money out of his pocket and the fear showed in his voice when he spoke.

  “I’ve got what I owe you,” he said and held it out.

  The vicious slap on his hand sent the bills fluttering to the ground and he dropped to his knees in an attempt to retrieve them.

  “You think I fucking want fifty dollars,” Alain let out through clenched teeth.

  Jack gathered up the bills and was trying to stuff them in his pocket when the grip on his collar dragged him to his feet. The breath was knocked from him as he was slammed against the wall, with the punch to his stomach making him crumple up and drop down to his knees. He wanted to beg for the violence to stop, but couldn’t get the words out. The grimace flashed across his face as his hair was grabbed to make him look up and he closed his eyes as he waited for the crack of a hand across his face. It was words he got instead.

  “Interesting story Candice told me yesterday,” Alain said.

  “I’m sorry,” Jack managed to get out, but he cried out as the grip on his hair snapped his head back to crash it against the wall.

  “To hell with your worthless apologies,” Alain replied in a harsh tone. “What did I tell you not to do when Mark Godfrey was in your apartment?”

  “Not to fuck up,” Jack replied in a small voice.

  “And what did you do?” Alain demanded.

  “It wasn’t my ….”

  Jack’s words ended as his head cracked against the wall again.

  “What did you do?” Alain repeated.

  Jack wanted to shout that it wasn’t his fault, but knew that it would only anger the man standing over him even more.

  “I fucked up,” he said. “But what was I supposed to do? The man got a phone call and needed to leave.”

  “You could have stopped him,” Alain shouted aggressively.

  “How the hell could I do that?” Jack responded.

  The grip on his hair tightened and he closed his eyes as he waited for his head to be slammed against the wall again.

  “You better find a way to un-fuck the mess you have made of things,” Alain told him. “Or so help me, I will ….”

  “How?” Jack interrupted to stop the rest of the comment coming out.

  He grimaced as he was pulled to his feet. The fury was plain to see on Alain’s face and didn’t bode well for him.

  “Arrange another bloody party and get Mark Godfrey at your apartment again,” Alain yelled. “This plan doesn’t fly unless we have something on him, so you better fucking get it.”

  His anger welled up and he couldn’t stop himself. The swing of his arm cracked his knuckles across the side of Jack’s face and he lifted his hand with the intention of doing it again.

  “Wait,” Jack said as the pain of the vicious hit flared. He put his arms up to try and protect himself.

  Alain lashed out with his foot instead and his boot hammered against shinbone. It knocked Jack down to his knees again and he waited for the brutal onslaught to continue then looked up when it didn’t.

  “Give me the money,” Alain demanded.

  “But you said you didn’t ….”

  “Just fucking hand it over,” Alain repeated aggressively.

  Jack quickly plunged his hand in his pocket to get the bills and held them out. They were snatched rather than slapped from his hand this time.

  “Fucking idiot,” Alain went on in a dismissive tone. “All you were required to do was one thing and you fucked it up. It better not happen again if you know what’s good for you.”

  “It won’t,” Jack replied.

  Alain shook his head as he turned to walk away.

  “Let me know when something is set up,” he threw over his shoulder. “And don’t make me come looking for you.”

  The warning was clear, but the panic of a more severe beating receded as Jack watched Alain disappear in to the darkness of the alley. It brought him some slight relief as he sat down and leaned against the wall to recover.

  “Fuck,” he cursed sharply as his head touched the bricks.

  He lifted a hand to run his fingers through his hair so he could check if there was any blood, but they were clean when he brought them down and looked. He then touched them against the side of his face, but the flare of pain made him take them away quickly.

  “Fucking great,” he cursed. “This is just fucking great.”

  He pressed his palms against the ground to help get himself to his feet and gingerly stepped on his sore leg. The pain in his shin made him grimace, but there seemed to be no serious damage and he began to limp in the direction of home. He kept his pace slow to try and let the aches in his body fade although it didn’t really work. His attention was taken from the pain when he saw the light in the window of the apartment and his annoyance welled up.

  “Where the hell were you when I needed you?” he complained when he was inside.

  Gloria’s intention was to get the breakup over straigh
t away, but a frown creased her brow when she saw the condition of Jack. She felt little sympathy for him, however.

  “Been bumping into doors again?” she asked.

  Jack put a hand to his eye and his lips tightened together.

  “Never mind what happened to me,” he snapped. “Why didn’t you come home last night?”

  “Stayed with friends,” Gloria replied.

  “Who?” he demanded.

  “To hell with you,” she answered. “It’s none of your damn business who I stayed with.”

  Jack’s anger swelled at the answer and his voice grew louder.

  “If you want me to be your boyfriend then you ….”

  “I don’t,” Gloria cut in to his words savagely.

  “What?” Jack snapped and his eyes narrowed as he stared across the room.

  “You heard me,” she retorted. “I don’t want you to be my boyfriend. In fact I would be extremely happy if you got the hell out of here right now.”

  Her words seemed to knock the stuffing out of Jack.

  “But …, but …,” he stammered.

  “Oh, just get out Jack,” Gloria told him a subdued voice.

  “I thought we were in love,” he said.

  She let out a derisive peal of laughter.

  “The only person you’re in love with is yourself,” she said. “All I am to you these days is a money tap that you try to turn on when your stupid fucking plans go to shit. I’m assuming one of them did by the state of your face.”

  “That’s not ….” he tried to say.

  “Not what?” Gloria butted in as her anger began to rise. “Not true?”

  “No, it’s not true,” Jack said and moved closer.

  “Don’t come near me,” she warned him. “I’ve packed your belongings already, so just do the right thing and leave.”

  “It’s not the right thing for me,” he told her. “I love you.”

  “Spare me the bullshit,” she told him. “I’m not interested any more.”

  “I don’t understand,” he went on.

  “No,” Gloria snapped. “Then let me fucking explain it. I’ve had enough of your immature, juvenile, uncaring behavior.”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  Gloria’s anger spilled over to shouting and she couldn’t help herself.

  “Like trying to fucking drug someone in our apartment. How about that for a start?”

  “What?” he snapped.

  “I saw you Jack,” Gloria went on. “So don’t you dare try and deny it. I saw you and your slut girlfriend putting something in his drink.”

  Jack was quiet for a moment as he digested the news. The understanding showed on his face when he lifted his gaze to hers.

  “So there was no phone call,” he said.

  “That’s right,” Gloria told him. “There wasn’t a call. I wasn’t about to stand by and watch you treat someone like a piece of shit in my home. So I made sure he got out.”

  “You stupid idiot,” Jack snarled. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “Yes I know,” she said. “I did the right thing. You should try it for once.”

  He stepped closer to her and she could see his anger, but faced up to him. For all his faults, he wasn’t a violent man and she knew he didn’t have it in him to hit her. He glared before turning away to pace back and forth across the floor as his mind ticked over. What he was being told was bad news for him and meant that the chances of luring Mark into another set up were gone for good. The panic welled up at what Alain would do to him, but he choked it down. Thoughts continued to race through his mind and an unexpected one reared up.

  “Is that where you were last night?” he suddenly shouted. “Were you with Mark Godfrey?”

  The accusation caught Gloria off guard and she hesitated too long.

  “No,” she lied, but could see he didn’t believe her.

  “Did you open your fucking legs wide for him,” he goaded her. “I bet he paid you well for that. And you have the nerve to call someone else a slut.”

  “Get out,” Gloria screamed even though she knew that her fury signaled to Jack that he’d touched a nerve.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said and threw a dismissive insult at her. “I wouldn’t waste my energy on a worthless whore like you anyway. I only stayed with you out of pity because no one else would touch you.”

  It was too much for her and she stormed past him to get the case she packed with his belongings before he got home. Marching to the door, she flung it open and threw the case out to the hallway. Jack moved towards her, but stopped before he left.

  “You’ll be sorry for this,” he said.

  “I’m sorry I ever met you,” Gloria replied.

  She slammed the door shut the moment he walked outside and leaned against it. Her chest was heaving and she tried to get control of her breathing. The sudden realization that he didn’t give her the apartment key made her bang her head against the door.

  “Shit,” she cursed.

  It would mean changing the locks to make sure that he didn’t get inside again and she vowed to do that the very next day.

  Chapter 7

  The flowers kept coming.

  In the month since she and Mark first got together the bouquets arrived at her bookstore with a regularity of at least once a week and often more than that. They were always the lead in to a meeting and she wasn’t complaining about that. Being with a caring, considerate man was in complete contrast to the life she’d shared with Jack and something she was enjoying more and more as the days passed. There was only one fly in the ointment, but it was something she tried to ignore in the hope that she was wrong.

  When a delivery man turned up to give her yet another bunch of flowers, Gloria kept her store open in anticipation of Mark walking through the door. For once it didn’t happen and it was dark outside when she got a phone call rather than an appearance by the man she wanted to see.

  “Hey,” she said and teased him. “I got the flowers, but not the man today.” The slight dejection in his voice was clear to hear right away.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

  “Is everything OK?” she asked.

  “Well, I just got out of yet another divorce meeting with my oh-so-lovely wife, if that answers your question.”

  “Oh, that’s not so good then,” Gloria replied. She’d heard enough of the stories already about the marriage breakup to know that things were bitter between Mark and Karen.

  “I thought I would be out of the meeting hours ago, but it dragged on much, much longer than I anticipated,” Mark went on in a resigned voice.

  “What happened?” Gloria asked.

  “Delays, delays, delays,” he replied. “It’s definitely going to court and my attorney is trying to move things on, but Karen and her representative are deliberately dragging their heels. They are coming up with any and every excuse they can to avoid filing the papers as long as they can. I just spoke to my attorney in private. He thinks that it will probably be at least three months before we get in front of a judge and that’s only for a preliminary hearing. It will be a lot longer than that before things are finalized.”

  “That really isn’t good,” Gloria sympathized then tried her best to lighten the mood. “So …, going to see a jazz singer tonight is out of the question then?”

  Mark let out a laugh.

  “Jazz singers are definitely off the agenda for now,” he replied.

  “What about book sellers?” Gloria went on.

  “It’s difficult for me to make it to your store now,” Mark answered. “I literally just got out of the meeting and I’m almost on the other side of the city from you.”

  The disappointment swept over Gloria as she listened. The delivery of the blossoms that afternoon brought her the anticipation of a meeting although that now seemed to be out of the question.

  “Some other time then,” Gloria told him.

  There was a hesitation on the line and she wondered if the probl
ems of the divorce were giving him second thoughts about getting involved with someone. The words he eventually spoke showed her that wasn’t the case.

  “How about you come to my apartment,” Mark said. “We can have something to eat and just relax. I’m not exactly in the mood for going out after the last few hours.”