Heart of Ice

by Jalissa Pastorius

  “Did you ask her to come back with you?” he said taking a seat in the chairs and propping his feet up on Matt’s desk.

  “Of course I did.”

  “And?”

  “She said no.”

  “Denied, once again! This girl is on a roll,” Collum laughed.

  “But I got her to change her mind to a maybe.” He said smugly to his friend. Collum tried to hold it in, but the snickers soon shook his own frame, and the fell from his mouth as his eyes watered. He couldn’t help it. He laughed uncontrollably.

  “Maybe, that’s all you got. You couldn’t do better? Not even a definite yes.”

  Matt slunk into his chair. He hadn’t been made this fun of since…well ever.

  “She’s got you whipped and you don’t even know it.”

  “Shut up. Don’t you have work to do?” Collum got up to exit Matt’s office when his next sentence froze him in his tracks.

  “I’ve made a few calls. She can work here for the company. She’s a genius after all. This company will grow like never before. It’ll become a trillion dollar industry.”

  “Matt, you can’t control her like that. She’s a human being. She’s not going to be happy. It’s your funeral not mine.” He said as he left the office. Matt watched his retreating back. She wouldn’t be that mad. She would get over it and welcome him with open arms. He would give her a phone call later.

  Christina wouldn’t say it. She wouldn’t think about it. She wouldn’t do it. Gah! She sat up quickly in her bed and looked at her phone. Nothing. She got nothing from Matt, no text, call, not even a hello. It made her lip trembled. Screw the bastard. She angrily put her phone down and pulled the covers over her head. She had work tomorrow.

  She was just drifting off into a Matt filled haze when her phone vibrated. The loud sound of the vibrations against the wood jarred her completely awake.

  “Hello?” she said breathlessly into the phone. Matt groaned when heard her voice. She should be here with him, chained to the bed with her legs wide opened.

  “Christina.” He said huskily into the phone. Christina realized she would need a shower after this. She was already sticky.

  “How was your day?”

  “Sadly, very dull. You weren’t here with me,” he told her. He hoped she hadn’t figured out that he was wrapped around her finger. Christina’s heart clinched in her chest. She was falling for the man and fast.

  “Huh” She got distracted from the conversation with her thoughts.

  “How was your day?” he asked.

  “Nothing special. It was filled with Chinese takeout and old movies.”

  “I find that hard to believe, especially with a friend like Sarah who’s bound to keep you on your toes.” Christina forgot. She hadn’t told Matt about the fight Sarah and her had. It wasn’t his business. After all the fight was about him. It was kind of funny; it was always a man getting in between the relationship of female companions. Why was that?

  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to Sarah. I just wanted to relax for a bit before work tomorrow.” She said into the phone. She hoped he couldn’t sense the lie. A chill went down her spine when she recalled how he completely dominated her until she told him all her dark secrets.

  Matt listen to the phone. Her voice sounded odd. He wished he was with her. He wanted to see her face, watch her non-verbal cues, body language. He smiled into the phone. His grey eye angel hand no idea that she would be with him sooner than she thought.

  “Get some rest. I check on you tomorrow. Oh, have a good day at work tomorrow.” He told her smirking into the phone.

  “Bye Matt.”

  “Christina.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Don’t forget, you belong to me.” He said into the phone. She looked at the phone as the call ended. Was that all she was to him? An object? It couldn’t be. She thought about the last few days they spent together in Aspen. He pampered her and cared for her. She didn’t want for anything. She was blissfully spoiled. It was almost like there were two personalities of Matt. The dark one that filled his eyes with ice and the happier one who doted on her. He was still one and the same. She was falling hopelessly in love with the man. She hoped it wouldn’t be her undoing.

  Chapter 11

  Christina yawned; she just finished a lecture and was looking forward to some lunch. It was almost surreal to be back at work and teaching like nothing ever happened between her and Matt. She was starting to wonder if it was just a fairytale; it could have been all in her imagination. Yes…her imagination was the go to place these days. Hot steamy sex scenes, a chisel jaw, hard pecks, she was practically salivating.

  “Ms. Moore?” a student called out to her interrupting her thoughts. She looked around searching for who called her, she plastered on a smile and groaned internally. She had been doing her best to avoid him. Shouldn’t he be gone?

  “Yes, Joshua.” She asked. She hoped her tone spoke volumes. It was a snotty tone that she used to keep people at bay. She wasn’t interested. She longed to be at home staring at her phone and hoping for a phone call. Wait a minute that sounded a bit desperate. How about at home curled up on the sofa with glass of champagne and a good movie? Yes, that sounded much more reasonable.

  “Call me Josh.” He said, taking a step towards her. Naturally she took a step back.

  “No. I will call you Joshua. To use the name you prefer is to invite conversation and friendship, when that is something I am attempting not to do.”

  “Wow, you don’t mince words do you? Well it is something I should expect from the child prodigy.” Christina looked at him and snatched his arm.

  “Will you shut up? Are you out to ruin me,” she asked pulling towards the classroom. Thank God the halls were empty.

  “All I’m asking for is one date.” He said.

  “I can’t. You are a student.” She said rebuffing him.

  “Wrong. I am no longer a student here.” She hated that self-satisfied smirk on his face. She wanted to slap it off.

  “I told you, I have a boyfriend. I was talking to him the last time you tried to corner me.”

  “Again, lies. You see I’ve been watching you for a while Ms. Moore.”

  “Wait a minute, you’ve been watching me. You are a sicko! A pervert.” She turned on her heel to leave the classroom.

  “I guess the other students wouldn’t mind knowing how lucky they are to have a prodigy teaching them.”

  “That’s blackmail,” she gasped stopping in her tracks.

  “See you at seven gorgeous.” He said, walking around her and out the classroom. Could this day get any worse?

  Christina took a deep breath before heading into the staff lounge. She grumbled as she grabbed her lunch and sat down.

  “Congratulations, Christina. I had no idea you were going corporate.” Mandy, a law professor said. Huh? What the hell was she talking about? Mandy was in her early forties and she had taken Christina under her wing when she first started at the university.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked her.

  “Don’t be coy with me young lady. If you wanted to go work for corporate America that’s fine. I just wished you would’ve told me,” she said handing Christina the article in the business journal. Lucky for her they were the only two in the staff lounge. Christina’s eyes flickered across the column. She was going to kill him. Her breathing became ragged as she clutched the paper in her tight fist. There in the paper, was article announcing her as an executive assistant of the chief financial officer also known as the CFO. How convenient for Matt. The position required a relocation to New York.

  “Are you alright?” Mandy asked in a concerned tone.

  “I’m fine,” Christina plastered on a smile.

  “You know you, I’m here for you right.”

  “Of course.” Christina said smiling. The woman had been a blessing in disguise. A lot of the other professors resented the fact that someone her age would be teaching. They argued that she hadn
’t lived long enough to experience the world. She begged to differ. She lived long enough to experience the horrors of the world and realized that people were often cruel. As a child she craved sunshine and daisies and unfortunately she was faced with greedy parents whose only objective was to make money. She stood up and gave Mandy a hug.

  He was so dead. She left out of the lounge to return to her classroom.

  “Christina.”

  She looked up as the Dean entered into her classroom. She felt like she was in episode of Twilight light zone. Why were all these people pestering her? She needed a stiff drink.

  “What can I do for you Mr. Williams?” she asked gathering her items.

  “I am here to wish you well on all your endeavors. If you ever need help, give me a call. You have a great future ahead of you.” He said handing her his card. She stared at him flabbergasted. She had not been expecting that. The old man was a man of few words, she watched him as he exited the lecture hall. She tucked the card into her back pocket. She supposed she might as well cancel her classes for the rest of the day. It wasn’t like she was coming back. She had a bigger fish to fry.

  ***

  Matt sat in the den drinking a scotch on the rocks. Collum sat across from him. He looked at his friend when he laughed.

  “What do you find so funny.”

  “Dude, please tell me you didn’t do this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re a dead man. She’s going to kill you.” He chortled.

  “At least I would die surrounded by lusciousness.”

  Collum choked on his drink. It was clear Matt was after this girl. He just hoped that he didn’t smother her. She was like a delicate flower; if he hid her away she would wither and die instead of blossoming. Matt’s phone rang interrupting their conversation.

  “I am going to kill you!” the voice from the phone screeched. Collum watched as Matt held it away from his ear. He gave his friend a superior look before exiting out of the room.

  “Baby, you agreed.”

  “I said maybe,” she screamed into the phone.

  “Christina be reasonable,”

  “No! You be reasonable. What if I don’t want to work in finance? Ever think about that big guy?”

  “Baby, you’re a genius.”

  “That’s not the point Matt. You better not touch me.”

  “Who said anything about touching? Do you miss me?”

  “No. I don’t miss you. I have a lot going on anyway.”

  “Like what?” he asked curiosity piqued.

  “Nothing,” she whined into the phone. Christina’s blood went cold at the thought of Matt finding out about her date with Joshua. The little bastard blackmailed her anyway. She couldn’t help it.

  “You’re tone sounds guilty. Christina, didn’t we make a deal. You wouldn’t omit anything or lie.” She remembered the last time he used the ice on her body. She was terrified and thrilled all at the same time. It was numbing but the pleasure was intense. Shit she paused too long.

  “Tell me now!” he demanded. She could hear him huffing and puffing.

  “Okay, Matt calm down. It’s not my fault! I’m being bullied.” She whined into the phone. Matt looked at the phone. Did he hear her correctly? Bullied? At this point Collum had returned to the room. He snatched the phone out of his hand. Matt made a move to grab it.

  “Calm down. You’re scaring her.” He told his friend. He watched as Matt took deep breaths.

  “Hello, baby doll.”

  “Collum?”

  “The one and only. Now doll face tell me what’s going on.” If she hadn’t witness the heated stares that he gave Sarah, Christina would have thought he was gay, maybe he was bi-sexual.

  “A student of mine, found out about past. He’s using it to blackmail me into a date,” she said.

  “What?” It was good thing Matt hadn’t heard. The guy would probably be dead.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Joshua Hamilton. He said he was a millionaire.”

  “As in Hamilton Enterprises?”

  “Yes, he was a student in my risk management course at the university.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there.”

  “Collum how are you going to get here that fast?”

  “When is it?”

  “Tonight at seven.”

  “Wear something nice. I’ll be there.”

  “But what about Matt?” she asked.

  “He’ll be fine.” He said hanging up on her and handed the phone back to an anxious Matt.

  “Well what did she say?” He asked him.

  “I am going to retrieve her.”

  “Good I’ll come with you.”

  “You will not. You will stay here and get this place prepared for her arrival.” Matt looked at his friend wide eyed.

  “But.”

  “No buts Dallas. I will not have you chase this girl away.” He told him.

  “You’re doing it again.”

  “What?”

  “Mother Henning me.”

  “Well, quit acting like a damn child.” He said downing his drink and giving his friend a hard glare. It was time to get little Christina out of there, put her in the care of Matt, and if he could screw the nice leggy blonde while he was at it—would be a great day’s work.

  Chapter 12

  Christina stared at her phone as it disconnected. Was Collum really going to come here and pick her up? She wasn’t some package to be pick up and delivered. These men were crazy! She had to be giving off some weird pheromone that rich men were attracted to. She sighed getting into her car. She was not leaving her baby behind. Matt could kick rocks for all she cared. She didn’t miss him. He was crazy! Delusional. Derange. Okay, maybe she did miss him a little. She missed those rough hands, and how he made her feel so feminine. She sighed. Going through the lobby she ignored the stares she got from other people. She guessed they were still shell shocked from the time Matt escorted her out of her apartment that morning. Her face heated up at the thought.

  Rushing through the door with her flaming red face she hadn’t noticed that Sarah let herself in. In her hands was the business journal.

  “Is it true?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “Don’t lie to me.” she said as tears sprang to her eyes, Sarah couldn’t believe that her best friend was leaving her. She had no one else she could turn to. She couldn’t call anybody at home. She didn’t even want to think about her home life. Fear for herself and fear for Christina prevented her from doing so. She took a deep breath.

  “I’m not mad, Chris.” It was then Christina noted the paper in her hands. Christina was still hurt about the words that Sarah said to her, but seeing her tear stained face erased all the hurt she’d been feeling.

  “Shh, calm down. You think I would leave Nashville without you.” She told her friend. Christina had no idea how this was going to work, but if she was working as a CFO assistant, clearly she should be bringing in some money and would be able to help Sarah.

  Sarah breathed a little easier. Christina was the only reason why she made it this far. She had already withdrawn from her classes a long time ago. She just didn’t have the heart to tell Christina. She didn’t need money, she had plenty of that but that was something she couldn’t disclose. Christina grabbed Sarah’s hand and led her to the couch. A glass of chocolate rouge would fix her right up. Christina poured Sarah and herself a glass before taking a seat on the couch. The wine was a deep red with a hint of chocolate. It was mouthwatering and something that she needed right now, especially with Matt doing his take over, Collum coming to pick her up and Joshua stalking her. A depressed sigh escaped from her lips.

  “Tell me, how was it in Aspen?” Sarah asked wiggling her eyebrows at Christina. She laughed at her friend this was exactly what she had been missing.

  “It was so romantic” she said with dreamy eyes.

  “And”

  “Huh?”

  “Spill i
t. How was your first time?” she asked eager bouncing on the sofa.

  “Sarah you are going to make me spill this wine.” She whined.

  “Then spill. Did you go so slow and easy?” Sarah asked with curiosity burning in her eyes. Christina looked at her friend. How was she supposed to say this aloud? She wondered if there was a possibility of her face melting off because it was certainly on fire. She downed her glass of wine.

  “He fucked me hard, rough, and into a mindless state.” She said fleeing towards the bathroom. Excuse me? Did Sarah hear her correctly? She couldn’t have. Not her sweet little Chris. She just dropped the F bomb, and she did it hard and raunchy during her first time.

  “Wait a minute! You’re not escaping me! Get out here. We are going to talk about this like adults.” Sarah said banging on the bathroom door. She laughed as Christina cracked open the door and looked at her with wide eyes.

  “Are you sure you lost your virginity? Because you still look an innocent little puppy,” she said grabbing Christina and hugging her to her breasts.

  “Sarah, you are going to smother me with those things. I’m not as tall as you.” Christina giggled as Sarah released her.

  “Wait a minute did you use any of the toys that you packed.”

  “Crap, I totally forgot about them. Let me check and see if I packed them.” Christina raced to her room to check her luggage.

  “Oh no! I’m going to die from embarrassment. I think Matt has them.” Kill her now. Please someone just kill her now. Damn Sarah and her vulgar ways. The thick hot pink dildo was bound to give her away. Why did she have to pick such a large one?

  “Well, well, well, looks like the little innocent puppy has some explaining to do.”

  “This is your entire fault. Sarah I’m going to kill you!” Christina said leaping up from the floor. She chased Sarah around the condo until they could no longer run anymore. They both lounged on the sectional trying to catch their breath.