Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Mandy
Chapter 2 – Carl
Chapter 3 – Mandy
Chapter 4 – Clayton
Chapter 5 – Carl
Chapter 6 – Mandy
Chapter 7 – Carl
Chapter 8 – Clayton
Chapter 9 – Mandy
Chapter 10 – Carl
Chapter 11 – Clayton
Chapter 12 – Mandy
Chapter 13 – Carl
Epilogue – Mandy
Two Billionaires for Christmas
Copyright 2017 by Sierra Sparks and Juliana Conners; All Rights Reserved.
Cover Design by Cosmic Letterz
Published by Juliana Conners’ Sizzling Hot Press
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Mandy
Chapter 2 – Carl
Chapter 3 – Mandy
Chapter 4 – Clayton
Chapter 5 – Carl
Chapter 6 – Mandy
Chapter 7 – Carl
Chapter 8 – Clayton
Chapter 9 – Mandy
Chapter 10 – Carl
Chapter 11 – Clayton
Chapter 12 – Mandy
Chapter 13 – Carl
Epilogue – Mandy
Chapter 1 – Mandy
I think it was about 8am when I awoke to the birds. There was a lovely pair of song birds that had nested near our bedroom window at the beginning of the spring. They didn’t seem to just mindlessly chirp. There was a real song in their voices. It was a song that normally made me happy.
Looking over to the wall, I followed the design of birds I had painstakingly decorated the wall. Had the song birds inspired it or had the design summoned the birds? I couldn’t remember. There had been a time when walking and decorating the house had been a joy for me, but not now.
Taking a breath of the morning air that was billowing in the open window I rolled over and reached out for Jared, but he was gone. Again. Now the whole vibe of the morning turned to worry. Jared has been so out of it recently and always gone. He never told me what it was all about it. Said it was work related, but I knew it wasn’t. I knew it was something bad. Maybe I didn’t want to see it.
But on that morning, I couldn’t just go running to him again. I had to get ready for my first day on the job. It had taken me weeks to get this position at Dunthrup Industries. With so many of my other friends struggling and out of work, it seemed like a miracle that I could land something so potentially lucrative. A decent salary, benefits after 90 days, vacation and potential bonuses--- If only Jared were more supportive.
In the shower, I pumped myself up mentally. “You-can-do-this-you-can-do-this” as the water ran over my body. I was in pretty decent shape, but I had really wanted to drop five pounds before starting this job. I like my curves, but five pounds would go a long way toward keeping my belly from muffin-topping. Being 5’ 6” and 167, I knew if I just worked at it, I could tighten up. But Jared had me so stressed out and I had eaten SO much ice cream in front of the TV. I got out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror.
“You can do this,” I said. “Other people do it with kids and in third world countries. You can do this.”
Our bathroom was an outdated pink and green. It was a horrific color combination conjured up by the 60’s or 70’s by the previous owner. When Jared and I moved in, we had so much work. We had to tear up carpeting, repaint walls and take down the ugly Safari wallpaper in the basement. Back then, the house was a project for both Jared and I. That’s what had made it special.
I dried off, put on make up and got dressed. I was starting to shape up. I felt I looked a little like Rebel Wilson, but with auburn hair and a prettier face. I sometimes wished I was her. She never seemed self-conscious at all. But with her as my spirit animal, I prepped my coffee mug.
“Yeah, you can do this,” I said, starting to convince myself. “A new job was going to change everything.”
Then I heard Jared clanging around in the garage. I needed to confront him before my big day. Who knows? Maybe he’d have it together and see me off. Maybe he’d be the old Jared; full of life, hope and ambition.
The moment I walked in the garage, I instantly regretted my decision. Jared looked like a cornered rat. He was on the floor of the garage scrubbing away at the floor and the acrid smell of chemicals was in the air.
“Jared,” I said, trying to be in control. “What the Hell is this?”
“Nothing, go back to bed.”
Jared had a gaunt Jesus body and face that I had initially been very attracted to. But he had somehow gotten even thinner. The muscle tone was gone from his face like he was wasting away. His hair, once his best feature, was stringy and greasy. He was wearing his old denim jacket from college. The thing was full of holes, but he kept insisting I mend it for him.
“Baby, I’m starting my new job today,” I said, incredulous.
“So what? You think you’re better than me?”
“I’m starting the job for us! Working for us!”
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“I don’t know what you’re doing! What are you doing?!”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go back to bed.”
“I’m going to work! Are you even listening?!”
The smell of the chemicals was overwhelming. On a work bench, he had poured some translucent substance in one of my baking sheets. It had turned to crystal and was already cracking. That’s when I remembered something I saw on television.
“Oh, my God! Is that meth? Are you making meth?!”
“It’s nothing you have to worry about,” he assured. “I turn it into money like that!”
“I’ve seen Breaking Bad! I know what that is!”
“Relax, baby.”
“Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how illegal that is?!”
“I’m cleaning it up! You see, it’s the smell that gets people. You have to clean up after you cook.”
“Jared, you’re not thinking straight!” I insisted. “If you’re caught, the cops will take the house! They’ll take everything!”
“No, they won’t,” he assured, unconvincingly. “I would just--- I would just tell them it was me.”
“We have to throw this away,” I said, determined.
When I picked up the baking sheet, he immediately rose to his feet. His eyes were riveted on it; like Gollum watching the Precious.
“Oh, my God! You’re a meth addict!”
“No-no-no, baby, I just test the product. I’m not a customer.”
As if to prove he didn’t need, Jared got back down to scrubbing the floor. “
You see, most dealers know not to try it,” he explained. “But I’m not like most dealers. It doesn’t bother me. And if I stay up a few nights, so what? I get so much done!”
“We are through. We are done!”
Jared just laughed. He stopped scrubbing the floor and got to his feet. He shook his skinny finger in my direction.
“You? You’re gonna find another place? Where? When? I’ve been payin’ the bills! How do you think we still have Internet?”
“How long have you been doing this? How did I not see?”
“A week or two or six,” he said dismissing. “You know how it is.”
“No, I don’t know how it is! You can’t do this, Jared! Do you want to get us put in jail?!”
“I don’t normally cook here,” he explained. “I gotta place ou
t in the woods, but the cops found it. Had to come here. Just this one time. To fill my orders.”
“Fill your orders? You moron! The cops have already found you!”
“No-no-no! They only found the shack! I didn’t leave nothin’ behind they could tie to me!”
“Oh, you’re just so sure!” I said as sarcastically as possible.
“Uh-huh.”
“While you were high on meth, you’re positive the cops didn’t find any finger prints or hair fibers or any other evidence because you’re just so careful when you’re high!”
Now I was channeling Rebel Wilson. I was losing it on Jared. He started to shake a little. He looked so frail. I remember a time when he was thinking of getting a motorcycle. I was worried at first, but then I thought he’d be strong enough to handle a bike even with me on it. He used to be strong. Strong when he held me. Now, looking at him, it was like looking at a shadow of his former self. I felt like I could push my hand right through his chest if I had wanted.
“What has happened to you, Jared?! Do you even see yourself?!”
“Me?”
“Yes! You used to be a proud person! You used to have dignity! A job!”
“Oh, don’t give me that shit about a job, Mandy! They laid me off!”
“Yeah and what did you do? You just sat around the house drinking your unemployment checks!”
“Hey! I tried to get my job back! But they said there were cutbacks! That’s just what rich people do! They screw it to people like us!”
“I have a job, Jared! After weeks and weeks of searching, I have a job! That’s what it takes now! The job market is tough!”
“You gonna throw that in my face now?”
The light went out in Jared’s eyes. I really felt in that moment he was giving up. He couldn’t take that his girlfriend had a job and not him. When he worked, he had been supportive of me. He even looked over my resume. Now, looking at him, I couldn’t even imagine Jared pulling it together for an interview. He was just a mess. Sitting back on the floor, he started scrubbing again, half-heartedly.
“You used to be supportive of me,” he said bitterly. “You used to help me.”
“I can’t support this, Jared!” I screamed. “This is the dark path! The Abyss! You need rehab!”
“People don’t get clean in rehab,” he scoffed. “It’s just a scam, Man.”
“Are you even listening to yourself? Do you hear how crazy you sound?!”
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or if he actually believed rehab was a scam. I needed to do an intervention with him, but who could I get? He had systematically alienated all his friends this past year. Even the friends that tried to help him get work had given up. It wasn’t going to work anyway unless Jared wanted to get clean.
“You can’t throw that away,” he insisted. “We need the money!”
“I just got a job!”
“Look, forget that,” he suggested, trying to be nice. “Just stay here. Smoke with me. We can do it together.”
“Oh, my God! No!” I shouted. “Why would you drag me down like that?! I thought you loved me!”
“Drag you down? See! You do think you’re better than me!”
Jared look so hurt. So betrayed. Despite my better instincts, I tried one more time to save him.
“Jared, you don’t have to live like this,” I pleaded. “You can get clean. With my job, I can pay the bills. You just need to stop now, okay? Can you do that?
Jared looked back at me, but his eyes were lost. It was like he couldn’t focus. It was as if he’d forgotten who he was. I knew right there I had lost him. He was a drowning man and I couldn’t let him pull me down.
“Just stay with me. Today?” he begged.
I threw the baking sheet into the trashcan, but I knew he’d retrieve it.
“Goodbye, Jared. If you cook here again, I’m calling the cops.”
I got into my car. It was a cramped, Hyundai Accent from 2002. Jared used to fix it up for me, but it had started running rough a year ago. I was driving on borrowed time or until I came up with the money to fix it.
In the car, I cried for a bit. Jared and I were over, even if I had to linger her for a few weeks. I took a few sips from my coffee, let the car warm up and fixed my make up. This job was all I had now and I had to make it work for me.
“You-can-do-this-you-can-do-this,” I chanted.
I checked my face in the mirror. Rebel would’ve been proud.
“Okay, Mandy,” I said to myself. “Let’s get to work.”
I drove down the street to my new job and my new destiny.
Chapter 2 – Carl
It was a great day to golf. I had Honma Beres E-05 4S in my one hand and a long island iced tea in the other. Franklin was taking forever to tee off and Belinda, as always, was on my jock.
Belinda was pretty. Pretty enough that most men would fuck her and, from what I heard, most men in the club had. But she wasn’t for me. No, not enough meat on them bones. She was blonde, of course, and had starved herself so you could see that flat stomach in that golf outfit along with the edges of her pelvic bone. Great rack, great face, great everything really--- Just not for me. She was a friend and that was enough.
Franklin was a good. Heavy set, balding but still with a love patch he grew back in the nineties. Initially it was all the hair that had not turned gray, but now it was just as white as the rest of what was on his head. I’m sure he would’ve fucked Belinda with gusto if given half the chance. He positioned his ball for the eighth time and it fell of the tee again.
“God dammit!” he muttered. “It’s too fuckin’ windy out here, Carl!”
“Franklin, are you shittin’ me, bro? The way you slice it, you might as well tee off the grass anyway!”
“Oh, fuck you,” Franklin whined.
Belinda laughed. It was that, I-think-you’re-so-funny-take-me-home laugh, but I wasn’t having it.
“Carl,” she cooed. “Are you going to take Franklin up on his merger offer?”
“No, B. Why would I?”
“It’s a good offer. Franklin’s a decent guy. He’d treat you right although I’d treat you better.”
“Dunthrup doesn’t need to do a merger,” I explained. “Our numbers are strong. I didn’t build a business with my brother just so I could give half of it away.”
Franklin finally got his ball on the tee. He sliced the shit out of it.
“God damn!” he said, almost throwing away his driver. “This fuckin’ wind!”
Belinda teed up and prepared to smack one down the fairway.
“God Belinda is hot,” muttered Franklin. “Why don’t you hit that, man?”
“Too easy,” I said. “Besides, I like Belinda. I don’t want to just bang her and then avoid her.”
“Damn, man. Wish I had your problem,” said Franklin. “Since my wife left, dating is a nightmare. You know everyone assumes when you got some money, the women just throw themselves at you. Not in this country club,” lamented Franklin. “Just means I’m rackin’ up the tab with the escorts.”
“Jesus, watch yourself there, Franklin,” I warned. “Wrap yourself twice.”
“Dude, I’m in my 50’s. What’s left for me? I don’t want another relationship. I’d rather have a boat,” joked Franklin. “You though. You don’t want kids?”
“Nah,” I said. “The family life’s not for me. Me and Clayton--- We had it rough.”
Belinda smacked the ball. It landed about halfway down the fairway.
“Our folks were always fighting, always drinking. It was a mess,” I said, remembering the bad old days. “Thank God for Clayton though. He’s my rock.”
“Yeah, but no kids? Whose gonna take care of you when you’re old?”
“I guess I’ll hire a pretty little nurse,” I shrugged.
Just to piss off Franklin, I dropped the ball on the tee from about three feet up. It landed, bounced once and stayed there. I laughed to myself. I could see Franklin stewing out of the
corner of my eye.
“Windy,” I muttered mischievously.
“Fuck you,” said Franklin. “I hope you slice it in the lake and an alligator bites you dick off!”
“Watch this, I saw it on YouTube,” I instructed.
I had been practicing for week this behind-the-back and then forward hit with the ball. I really didn’t even get to expect halfway down the fairway, but it turned out to be one of the most solid drives I ever had. I almost made to the green on a par 4.
“You can’t hit like that!” insisted Franklin. “That’s cheating.”
“Mmm, I like your form,” said Belinda seductively. “You can hit that way anytime, handsome.”
“That’s not fair, B!” insisted Franklin.
“Oh, relax, Franklin. He could’ve hit it with his cock better than you did.”
“Well, fuck it, if I’m going to lose, I might as well be drunk,” said Franklin, pulling out a bottle of J.D. and a can of Coke from the ice.
B and I started to walk down the fairway, while Franklin mixed a drink as he drove the golf cart.
“So I heard you and Franklin talking about your childhood with Clayton,” admitted Belinda. “No good, huh?”
“Wasn’t great, no.”
“My old man was a bastard. I know that song. I can see why you’re not that big on commitments.”
“Aw, c’mon, B.”
“No, I get it, Carl. There’s a reason they call it tied down. And for the record, I wouldn’t want to spoil our friendship either.”
“Thank you.”
“Although for the record, I do like to be tied up.”
I laughed despite myself.
“Jesus, B. TMI.”
From out of the rough, Franklin sliced it over the fairway and back into some more rough.
“Fuck! I hate this game!” he ranted.
“Well, at least you got it further up the fairway,” I said.
Belinda and her caddy discussed her next club choice.
“So seriously, Carl,” Franklin suddenly said. “You can’t do this merger? We want to work with Dunthrup.”
Two Billionaires for Christmas: An MFM Menage Romance Page 1