by Cher Etan
Of course, this was severely reinforced by his grandfather who treated him like an errant child, not to be trusted with adult business. James Maitland was a movie star whose star had shone bright in the nineteen forties and fifties. He’d starred in several Hollywood features and made a buttload of money which he then proceeded to invest really wisely. As a result, he’d turned a few million dollars into a billion dollar empire which had its hand in several cakes. He was behind the production of some major box office hits, plus several emerging businesses that had grown to be household names. He’d never married, but one of the starlets he’d slept with had gifted him with a daughter in the late sixties. They weren’t exactly close but Jaime Maitland received all the perks that having a billionaire for a father could provide…except having that father in her life on a regular basis. Her mother was not a successful actress and eventually died of a drug overdose when Jaime was eighteen. She moved to New York from Los Angeles to attend the Lee Strasburg Theater and Film Institute at the aegis of her father. Mostly though, she just wanted to get as far away from him and the life as possible. She’d grown up surrounded by Hollywood excess, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll and she was sick of it. She had a love of the arts and wanted to do something in that line but she wanted to do it away from the empty noise and artificiality of her life in Los Angeles.
She moved into a studio apartment in downtown New York and got a job at an art gallery. She and her school friends worked hard and played hard, frequenting the dive bars in SoHo over the weekend, wanting to mingle with the bohemians there. One such evening, she was on a date; having coffee with a man she’d met at the art gallery when she looked up and met the eyes of their waiter.
“And what can I get for you today?” he asked. He had piercing blue eyes, black curly hair and the body of a rugby player. Jaime’s mouth went dry.
“Er,” she said.
“We’ll have two cappuccinos and we’ll share a chocolate cake slice thank you,” her date cut in. The waiter, his name was Tommy Leary, did not break eye contact with her the whole time her date was speaking.
“Coming right up,” he said as he walked away. Jaime’s eyes couldn’t help following the sway of his extremely tight ass… until her date startled her by grabbing her arm. He began to regale her with tales of his yacht and sailing on the weekends and his last trip to the Bahamas. Jaime listened politely, all the while making plans to come back as soon as possible and find Tommy Leary again.
She came back the next day and asked for him by name. He emerged from the kitchen, a puzzled frown on his face, clearly not understanding what was happening. When his eyes fell on her however, the frown cleared and he smiled.
“You came back,” he said.
“Of course I did,” she replied.
Tommy straightened up, “I’m off at six, would you like to have a beer with me?”
Jaime smiled happily at him, “I thought you’d never ask.”
*****
Tommy wanted to get his fireman’s license before they wed and Jaime was perfectly content to wait; as long as she knew they would be together one day. She introduced Tommy to James when he came to New York on business and called on her at her residence. Tommy and she were practically living together at the time and so it was he who opened the front door, dressed in nothing but a towel; expecting the pizza guy.
“Oh. Er, hey?” he said to James who looked him up and down impassively.
“And you are?” he asked much to Tommy’s chagrin. After all, the old geezer was the one who had come knocking at his door.
“I’m Tommy. Who are you?” he asked stretching his hand out to be shook. James stared at the hand like it might have the plague.
“James Maitland. Is my daughter around?” he asked.
Tommy straightened abruptly, his olive complexion not exactly reddening but seeming to glow. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “Er, she’s er, she’s right here,” he said stepping back from the door and gesturing for James to enter. Jaime was sprawled on their couch, knitting a cap for Tommy. She was fairly proficient at it, but it still took most of her concentration and so she wasn’t really listening to the exchange at her daughter.
“Hallo Jaime,” her father said and she looked up startled.
“James!” she exclaimed. “What a surprise.”
“I have told you repeatedly to call me dad,” he said irritably.
Jaime ignored that, putting her knitting aside and standing up. “Have a seat. Can I get you some coffee?”
James looked over at Tommy, still clad in nothing but a towel. “You can explain this,” her father said with a flick of his hand toward Tommy.
Jaime looked at Tommy, who shrugged, and then at her father. “This is my boyfriend, Tommy Leary,” she said. “Tommy, this is James Maitland, the man who donated his sperm to my mother.”
Tommy’s head dipped to hide the grin on his mouth as James frowned. “Pleased to meet you sir,” he said.
James frowned, “I wish I could say the same.”
Chapter 3
“It's awkward enough that I have to deal with that Hailey girl; but I’ll concede that one was my fault. I really thought she was a nice mature girl,” Jaime said.
“She was a nice, mature girl; she just also happened to be a man-eating piranha with absolutely no chill who almost stabbed me to death for engaging in some mindless flirting,” Jonathon said.
“Speaking of, was that really necessary?” Jaime asked.
Hailey Flintstone was the daughter of one of Jaime’s ‘widows and orphans’ friends. Her mother had been a first responder when the twin towers collapsed and hadn’t made it out alive. Jaime and Hailey’s father had dated briefly a few years later, brought together by their shared loss. Hailey had been a sweet girl then and Jaime had thought of her when the prospect of James Maitland’s deadline became an issue. She figured that Hailey and Jonathon would get along quite well given their shared history and if they hit it off, they could give wedded bliss a chance.
It had started out idyllic; Hailey was a pretty girl with curly brown hair and gray eyes who smiled a lot and seemed to genuinely like Jonathon. While he wasn’t exactly head over heels for her, she was okay to be around and they didn’t fight so he counted it as a win. The night he was getting ready to lay his proposition out to her though, they visited a club in the village known as Pegu, where Jonathon was well known. Sadie, the waitress on duty, and he had spent a few energetic nights together in the past and they still flirted occasionally. That night had been one of those occasions and Hailey had gotten extremely quiet. She answered Jonathon in monosyllables and he thought maybe it was the wrong time to lay out his proposition as she was clearly in a bad mood.
As he drove her home though, she reached into her handbag and withdrew a small penknife which she drew up and drove into his inner thigh, just missing his femoral artery by like…an inch.
“I don’t tolerate cheating Jonny,” she growled.
Jonathon was too busy trying not to crash the car or faint from the pain to answer. Luckily by some muscle memory his foot hit the brake and he stopped abruptly, the car swishing across both lanes.
“You stabbed me!” he shouted trying to gauge the damage through touch.
“Did you hear me?” she yelled back at him.
He fished out his cell phone and called 911. Hailey was still screaming at him when he passed out from the pain…
*****
“Was what really necessary? Talking to a bloody waitress?” Jonathon answered in disbelief. “You’re taking the side of the mad woman?”
“Of course not Jonny, you know I’m always on your side. I’m just saying…women don’t like it when you pay attention to other women when you’re out with them.”
“I got that thank you,” Jonathon bit out.
“Sometimes though, I wish you’d pressed charges then I wouldn’t have to deal with her at these meetings. She’s always wheedling and crying and begging,” Jaime sighed tiredly.
“Cr
ying for what?” Jonathon asked amused in spite of himself.
“Forgiveness…a second chance…who knows? She wants a meeting with you; said she made a mistake and she’s sorry.”
“No thanks ma,” Jonathon said.
“Well, you might reconsider if you’re really serious about meeting that deadline. At least she’s very available,” Jaime commented.
“I told you, I have a plan,” Jonathon said.
“Yes. That’s what you said about Miriam,” Jaime said with a laugh.
*****
Miriam Cortese was an Italian heiress who was something of a socialite as well. They met through business as Jonathon’s company was sponsoring an event Miriam was hosting. They got on like a house on fire and Miriam had her own money and therefore the prospect of her being a gold digger never came up. Jonathon saw her as the perfect complement to him; physically, mentally and emotionally. Her diminutive yet voluptuous figure complemented his tall powerful frame perfectly. Jonathon’s dirty blonde locks contrasted nicely with her red tresses and his green eyes complemented her dark brown ones. Emotionally, Miriam was all light and happy, floating from one social event to the next without a care in the world while Jonathon worried and sweated his way through life, always bracing for the next problem and covering it up with a cocky grin and a devil may care attitude. Mentally though, they were well matched sharks, always keeping an eye on the prize. They had very different views of what the prize was though. Miriam was out to be one half of a golden couple. She wanted, not Jonathon’s money but his name. She wanted to be associated with the grandson of a great movie star, who was a successful businessman in his own right. Even before Jonathon had decided they would make a good fit, she was in negotiations with an entertainment network to pick up a reality show based on their lives. Jonathon was not against being exploited for profit per se…but even for him, this was just too blatant. And he had a feeling his grandfather would not approve. He was still alive, hale and hearty and well able to change the terms of his will if he felt Jonathon showed impaired judgment. And being on some Keeping up with the Kardashians remake was probably a sign of impaired judgment in his grandfather’s eyes. Jonathon had bowed out, as gracefully as he could. Still he had to contend with months of tabloid rumors as to the reason behind their ‘broken engagement’. The stories ranged from the ridiculous to downright libelous and his grandfather had not been amused to have the family name dragged in the mud like that.
*****
“Who could have predicted Miriam?” Jonathon said in bewilderment.
“Certainly not me,” Jaime said and Jonathon could hear her shrug down the line.
“Still, I have to compliment you for daring to get back into the fray after those two fiascos. But I’d have thought Britney Marshall would have been the absolute last straw.”
Jonathon snorted, “Trust me she was. No more attempted love matches for me. This last one will be strictly business.”
“Oh really. And you say she’s not a gold-digger?”
“Actually, I’ve just known her for a day-“ Jonathon began before his mother interrupted him with a long-suffering sigh.
“Jonny…” she said tiredly.
“She’s no Britney Marshall, I swear.”
*****
He’d met her on the strip, in Vegas; on his annual pilgrimage to Sin City. She was dancing on a pole for the night at a strip club and she’d drawn his eye with long fake blonde hair and her long, long legs and double D breasts. She danced for him and only him, all night. He was drunk, and in love by morning. They spent three days in bed, ordering room service and fucking their brains out. On the third day, they whispered sweet nothings in each others’ ears and Britney proposed that they go down to the hotel chapel and get married. Jonathon had been just drunk enough to think it was a good idea and besides, he had that deadline to keep always in the back of his mind. The bride was dressed in a hot white bikini and Kindra heels by Badgely Mischka. Her veil was a tiara of white flowers artfully arranged in her hair to make her appear as ethereal as a flower child. The combination of innocence and sin blew Jonathon’s mind right out of his head and he said ‘I do’ with no hesitation. They went home to New York two days later and Jonathon smugly sent his grandfather a message that he was a happily married man. He took Britney home to meet his mother and Jaime tried to like her for all of five minutes; but then Britney announced that she intended to keep stripping, much to both Jaime and Jonathon’s surprise. Jonathon hastened to reassure her that he had enough money to keep them both fed and clothed so there was no need for that sort of thing. An image flashed through his mind of his grandfather hearing that he was married to a stripper and he shuddered internally.
Jaime had taken him aside and urged him to get an annulment. While Jonathon could see where she was coming from…the sex was phenomenal and he was not ready to give that up.
“Just till I’m thirty mom, then I’ll cut her loose,” he murmured to her.
Jaime had sighed but said nothing else. She was way too used to indulging all of Jonathon’s whims, ever since his father had died. It was her way of compensating for him losing his father at such a young age.
His grandfather had insisted on meeting the newly weds to ‘personally hand over his gift’. They had breakfast with him at the Four Seasons which Jonathon found strange as James kept apartments in New York for when he was visiting his family. Still, Britney was impressed…until the ‘present’ that James gave them turned out to be an inch thick file chronicling Britney Marshall’s criminal record. There was everything from drug dealing to petty theft to prostitution in there.
“I was young. Everybody makes mistakes,” she said.
“I want an annulment,” Jonathon replied.
The annulment was harder to get than Jonathon could ever have imagined. Britney dug her heels in, she threatened to go to the tabloids with made up stories, she pretended to be pregnant…at long last James cut her a large check that would ensure she was independently wealthy for the rest of her days if she signed the papers. He got rid of her sure, but the price was high and it was paid in distrust and derision. Jonathon had no intention of going through that again.
*****
“I’ve already called Talbot and Barnes to do a background check on her mom, trust me this time I’m going in with my head on straight and my eyes wide open.”
“Well, don’t propose until I’ve at least met her,” Jaime said.
“When can you come to Atlanta?” he asked.
“After the Widows And Orphans event. But don’t you have that thing in Philadelphia after?”
“I can delay leaving here for a day or two if you can come down. We need to nail this down, and quickly. Right now I know she’s a bit desperate. If she finds another way to solve her issues, we’re back to square one.”
“Jonathon Leary what the hell are you talking about?” his mother said in alarm.
“I just mean her mother is ill, and obviously she’s having a hard time getting her the care she needs. I’m guessing she could use some help right about now. But she looks like a resourceful girl; the kind who will think of something if we give her time. We must be SMART about this. Make a time sensitive proposal, lay out the advantages, bang out a contract before she has too much time to think.”
“Sounds vaguely criminal,” Jaime objected faintly.
“Eyes wide open mama, remember that.”
“Okay Jonny,” Jaime said. “I’ll see you soon.”
*****
Leila needed to find flats for the event now that her ankle would not support heels. She found some lovely cappuccino Vince pointed toe D'Orsay Flats to go with her bi-color one shoulder Lanvin gown. The top of the gown was red poppy knit with a washed satin skirt. It had a one shoulder neckline with a wide right shoulder strap and ruffled trim at the gathered waist. The pleated skirt had a front slit along her left leg and an exposed side zip completed the look. It was the perfect dress to show off her assets; her perky breasts and ti
ny waist as well as the substantial swell of hips and long muscular legs. The length of the gown meant that whatever shoes she wore didn’t count and she tied her braided hair in a complicated pony tail knot that left her long neck exposed. She wore a tiny gold necklace that had belonged to her grandmother with her birthstone, citrine, embedded in the locket. She looked like a Disney Princess if she did say so herself. She examined herself in the mirror, taking in every aspect of her countenance.
“Very nice,” Sheila said from the doorway. “Who’s your date to this shindig?”
“Ha. Date? I’ll be too busy running around trying to make sure we don’t run out of canapés to have a date.”
“Yeah but isn’t there like going to be dancing? You said you booked India Arie to perform right?”
“Yes I did, and I’m looking forward to hearing her but that doesn’t mean I have to dance with a date. I’m sure I’ll take a whirl with the guest of honor. He’s James Maitland you know? Some big time Hollywood star of yesteryear and current billionaire. He’s donated substantial sums to our project over the year and tonight he’ll be handing over the keys to premises where we can spread out, have all our projects in one place.”
“Wow, I’m so happy you get to dance with some old guy,” Sheila said wryly.
“Old rich guy,” Leila corrected.
“Yeah that makes it better,” Sheila said straightening up and heading to the living room. She was staying with Raychelle while Cinderella went off to the dance in her glass sandals. The intercom buzzed and the doorman’s raspy voice informed Leila that her taxi was here.
“Okay ladies, I’m off to the ball,” she announced as she swept into the living room to envelope her mother in a hug and kiss Sheila on the cheek.
“Have fun dear,” her mother said. The oxygen mask was sitting on the coffee table; always a good sign.