by A. L. Zaun
Time to pull the trigger in Marin style. Good-bye, first class.
“Kristina, me and you, it’s not going to happen. End of story.”
I slipped my other hand under Madison’s top and found her tits. She loosened her hold around my waist to bring her hands down over my very excited dick, stroking and squeezing me. I closed my eyes and let the sensation wash over me.
Kristina’s yapping continued. “Who the hell do you think you are? You flirt—”
Blah, blah, blah…
“…lead me on, promise to—”
Yada, yada, yada…
“And now, you just dump me like I’m some paper plate?” She paused.
Madison unbuckled my pants, leading me to her room.
“No, forget it.”
Blah, blah, blah…
“…not worth it. I’m sure you’re a bad lay—”
Yap, yap, yap…
“…or gay.”
Does it make me a bad person for not giving a shit about what Kristina thought or that I had no idea what she was saying?
“Take care.” I hung up. “Problem solved.” I grabbed Madison and kissed her hard. “Now that that’s out of the way…”
“I’m proud of you,” she panted, “but you have a conference call.”
“Quickie. Five minutes is all I need.” I smiled as I pulled off her shirt. “This is just a little something to get us through the day.”
If she were anyone else, I would have let the elevator doors close and gone about my day, making her sweat it out, but she wasn’t just anyone else. She was Madison fucking Stuart. She challenged me to be a better man. She didn’t put up with my bullshit. She didn’t cave when I rolled out the charm. All of my life, women had catered to me, given into me, and spoiled me. She didn’t, and I fucking loved it.
Chapter 23
Rick
My car rolled to a stop on the familiar brick-paved driveway of my parents’ house. I sat back in my seat and picked up my phone to make a quick call to Madison. This call wasn’t just a force of habit. I needed a little reinforcement, and I wanted to get my Maddy-fix before I went inside for what I was sure would be an inquisition.
I’d received at least what felt like a million text messages today from my mom and sisters that ran the gamut of congratulating me for my kick-ass sale to wanting to kick my ass for worrying my mother all weekend because I’d gone off to party in New York. No one would think that my mom, Maria Elena Marin, was some weak little wallflower wearing a housecoat and slippers.
Fuck that shit. My mom was the fucking bomb.
She was a savvy businesswoman and the queen of negotiations. She’d taken my family’s home development business from building townhouses in Hialeah to being one of the most sought after home developers in all of south Florida. Coupled with my dad’s engineering background and ingenuity, they had been unstoppable. Wallflower, my ass. She was a force to be reckoned with.
I loved the women in my life. I thought part of the reason I had felt so drawn to Madison early on was that she was strong and smart, a lot like my mom, and protective like my sisters. Most women I’d dated had been intimidated around my family and their presence. Even though Daniela had accomplished the impossible by having them on Team Daniela, she had easily been manipulated by them and me.
I chuckled, thinking of Madison navigating the waters of life with me while my sisters circled around her like sharks preparing for an attack. I thought Maddy just might put them in their place and earn their respect. What they weren’t going to like was that she had an influence in my life that they didn’t have.
I wanted to say that once I’d begun my quest to win Daniela back that I’d gotten my shit together, but I hadn’t. The only thing I’d done was drown my sorrows with Johnnie Walker and self-pity. Those had been the longest two weeks of my life. I had been ready to give up and accept defeat. Daniela would have gone down in history as the one that had gotten away. But fate had brought Madison into my life, and she’d turned everything around for me. It had been a painful process—her castrating me on a daily basis for months, putting me through her ruthless boot camp of no bullshit. Somewhere along the way though, I had fallen in love with her. Like the bubonic plague. I hadn’t known what hit me, but now, I had it bad.
I pulled up her contact info on my phone and smiled like the fucking moron she had accused me of being when I saw her picture. I’d gotten into the habit of calling her after work when I had a fan-fucking-tastic day and needed to tell someone. So, I’d started calling her and never stopped. Of course, each and every time, she had sounded annoyed, like I was interrupting her, but she had been transparent. I knew she loved it.
She answered the phone on the first ring. “I’m working.”
Yeah, babe. That’s why you answered right away. Try again.
She was obvious. I was pretty sure that she’d been staring at her phone, wondering when I’d call her.
“Have you been thinking about me today?” I asked with a cocky grin.
“What part of ‘I’m working’ don’t you get?” she deadpanned.
“The part that can’t wait to see me later.” I ran my fingers along the steering wheel, wishing it were the smooth curve where her back met her ass.
“That part needs to take a number,” she said, annoyed. Then, she lowered her voice and continued in her sultry fashion, “Now, tell me about your day.”
“Amazing. It started off when I woke up to the most beautiful woman in the world leaning over me and whispering how she loved me. Then, I followed her into the shower. She has a hot fucking body, and shit, did she work me over. I got her on an airplane and couldn’t keep my hands off of her—”
“I don’t like her,” she interrupted.
“Are you jealous?” I asked her playfully.
“Jealous?” She laughed. “Absolutely not. She just wants you for your body. Now, tell me about your meetings.”
“You have no idea how much she wants my body. I’ll show you later what I did to her that made her tremble.” I chuckled and then switched gears. “My meetings were great. I’m going to pull this shit off. Fuck, I love what I do.” There was a tap on my window. “Fuck.” I jumped and glared out the window at a pair of annoyed brown eyes that were a little too close. “Gotta go. My sister just scared the shit out of me.”
“Have fun,” she said coyly. I was about to hang up when I heard her say tenderly, “Marin…”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Not to feed your overly inflated ego…” She paused. “But there’s a chance that I might have thought about you a little bit today. Go do your family thing. You’ve already taken up too much of my time.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my ego. You want me and can’t stop thinking about me, and best of all, you’re madly in love with me,” I reminded her. “I have a very healthy estimation of myself.”
“You’re an idiot. Bye,” she chuckled before hanging up.
I wasn’t one to subscribe to that whole fate and soul-mate shit, but maybe there was something to it. How else could I explain the events that led up to meeting Madison? She’d snuck up on me like a stalker in a horror movie, squeezing the living shit out of my heart, crushing me until all that was left was this crazy, undeniable love for her. My mom had always told me that I could conquer the world. With Madison by my side, I didn’t only believe it, I also felt it and did it.
My eyes shifted to the pint-sized tornado waiting for me outside of my car. My older sister, Liz, stood in the driveway, tapping her foot, with her arms crossed over her chest. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her look like she was twelve, not thirty-two. She loved the fact that she would still get carded when she went out with her husband.
“A welcoming committee, nice.” I stepped out of my car and closed the door before leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”
She clung to me and giggled like a moron. “I haven’t seen you since last year. I almost forgot what my f
avorite little brother looked like.” She stood back and eyed me from head to toe. “Looking good. Now that you’re here, the Earth is spinning on its axis again, and all’s well with me and the universe.”
As we made our way toward the house, she grabbed my arm to stop me. “Fair warning, Star is going to wring your neck.”
“What the fuck is up with that? Star? Her name is Estrella.” I laughed.
Liz addressed me in the same tone she used with her kindergarten class, “Leave her alone. You know her friends have been calling her that since high school. She prefers it. Just like you prefer Rick to Enrique.”
“Whatever.” I shrugged. “I’m not calling her fucking Star. Why does she want to hurt me? I haven’t done anything—not that I know of anyway.”
She put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “Don’t play dumb. She wants to kill you because poor Mom was ready to send out a search party when you disappeared.” She straightened up and got as serious as she could get. “Mom is worried about you. You haven’t been the same since you got that promotion, which by the way, congrats on the big sale. Anyway, you don’t come around like you used to. That’s punishable by a lifetime of guilt. You’re always busy. Then, you committed the crime of the century when you left early from Mom’s New Year’s Eve party, something you’ve never done in your life.” She leaned in and whispered, “They’re secretly hoping that you hate your job and will finally come and work for Dad. Me? I think it’s a girl.”
She puckered her recently plumped lips in a smile, and her eyes lit up, but her forehead didn’t move. Then, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, her eyes widened, and a smile erupted on her face. “Oh my god. You said something about seeing Dani and had this look in your eyes.” She started clapping her hands like a little girl and not the mother of two that she was.
This could be a job hazard of being with five-year-olds all day long.
“Oh my god, oh my god. Yes, Rick, yes. Tell me the two of you are back together. Oh my god, that’s it. Yes, yes, yes.” She danced in a circle.
I tried to stop her, but she got even more excited.
“I’ll keep your secret. Oh my god, I’m so happy for you guys. Trust me, once Mom finds out, she’ll be in heaven, and Star will back off. Yes!” She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing the life out of me. She was a runaway train. “I’m so happy for you. She’s perfect for you, and this time, you won’t screw it up. We won’t let you. Oh my god, tell me you had a romantic weekend with her in New York, that you took her on one of those horse-drawn carriages around Central Park. Mom said you sounded like you were with someone. Star, of course, imagined it was one of your, you know, little bitches.”
“Liz, stop.” I peeled her off of me. “You’ve got this—”
The tall, tempered-glass front door opened.
“The prodigal son has returned,” Estrella chided with her arms crossed as she came down the travertine steps.
She looked great for thirty-five. She’d gotten her tits done and a tummy tuck after her last kid. “You better get that hot ass of yours over here and give me a hug, or I’m going to make your life miserable. You know I need to be the favorite.”
Liz rolled her eyes, and I laughed, dragging Estrella into a tight bear hug. I reached out my arm and pulled Liz into the mix, kissing them both on the head.
“I love you both, differently but with the same intensity. Now, where’s Mom since the two of you are being ridiculous? Shit, you just saw me last week.”
We walked inside and into the foyer that had an eclectic mixture of my mother’s latest modern designs. Dark woods and straight lines were mixed with open boxes overflowing with Christmas decorations. I laid my wallet and phone on the table and checked my reflection in the mirror.
“Mami, el príncipe ha llegado,” I called out.
“You’re such a dork. The prince has arrived?” Liz huffed.
Estrella smacked me on the back of the head.
“She can’t hear you anyway. She’s out back with Dad and the kids,” Liz said.
“Which is perfect.” Estrella grabbed my arm tightly and led me down the hallway into one of the downstairs bedrooms. “We need to talk.”
Here we go…again.
“Close the door,” Estrella instructed Liz and then motioned for me to sit on the bed.
I just shook my head as I walked over to the bed and sat down. I was a grown man being bossed around by my older sisters. For some reason, they had always felt that they had a say in my life, especially when it came to the women I dated and my career. I didn’t really care because I did whatever the hell I wanted anyway, but still, it was annoying.
“Hurry up, I’m hungry,” I gruffly told them, leaning my elbows on my knees.
Estrella shot me a look that might have been more effective without the Botox. “What’s going on with you? You’ve lost some weight—”
“Which looks really good on you.” Liz winked and reclined against the dresser. “Do you have a personal trainer?”
Estrella shot Liz a look and shook her head. As the older of the two, Estrella was more no-nonsense than Liz, and she always took her mother-hen role way too seriously.
“Who were you with in New York?” Estrella asked.
“It’s none of your fucking business,” I answered.
My sisters always meant well, but I wasn’t going to talk to them about Madison when they were on a witch hunt.
“Oh, it is my business,” Estrella shot back, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head with attitude. “I had to deal with Mom all weekend while her prince took off to New York without telling her. So, yeah, you owe me an explanation.”
“I agree,” Liz chimed in. “Mom was unbearable. You know we have your back, but you have to come clean with us.”
Estrella moved in closer. “Face it, if you were in New York fucking one of your sluts, I’m going to…” She pulled her lips in tightly, and her eyes narrowed. “Listen, you need to get your shit together. You’re thirty, a freaking professional, and way too old to be in this party-like-it’s-the-end-of-the-world mentality. I understand that you wanted to celebrate, but still, you need to get serious about your life and settle down with someone, or you’re going to end up a lonely old man, living in a room in one of our houses.”
Liz contributed to the lecture they’d been giving me my entire life. “For real, Rick. Ever since you got that promotion, you’ve been off your game, and by that, I mean with Mom and the family. When we don’t know what’s going on in your life, that’s a problem.”
“I love both of you,” I reassured them as I got up. “But it’s none of your fucking business, and I’ll tell you when the time is right. Now isn’t that time.”
Liz pushed me down. “Um, yeah, it is the time. You need to fess up. We’ll keep your secret, but you have to give us something. You can do no wrong in Mom’s eyes, but we’re the ones who have to deal with her worrying about you. So, talk.”
I stood, towering over them. “Your lives must be so boring that you have to meddle in mine. Don’t you have families to take care of and husbands to nag?”
Estrella poked her finger in my chest. “You, mister, have a lot of explaining to do, so start talking. You need to tell me what’s going on with you.”
I shot her a dagger. “For starters, Estrella, don’t go fucking poking your finger in my chest or sticking your nose in my business. You’re not my mother or my girlfriend. You’re my sister, and I fucking love you and will do anything for you, but you need to tone down your Napoleon complex. You’re thirty-five years old. If you don’t know how to handle Mom, then that’s your problem, not mine.”
“So…” Liz smirked, and her eyebrows danced like they had with her earlier assumptions. “There is a girlfriend.”
Liz had come to the wrong conclusion when she assumed that Daniela and I were back together, and even though she had promised to keep her mouth shut, she was trying to draw me out.
Little fucker.
“Fuck my life.” I ran my hands through my hair. I was done with their shit. “I’m hungry. I want to see Mom. I have to be somewhere at eight, so this little inquisition is over.”
Liz blocked the door. “Just answer the question.”
I looked at her ridiculous stance. “You do realize that I’m bigger than you?”
With her fingers, she gave me a come-hither motion. “Give it up, Ricky.”
“Liz…” I sighed, becoming more and more exhausted with their bullshit by the minute. “I love you, but you’re a bitch.”
“Rick, don’t talk to her like that,” Estrella defended Liz. “Confess. Now.”
“The two of you are crazy and need to fucking grow up.”
I shook my head and tried to get around them, but they blocked me.
“Ma!” I cried out, hoping that she would come and rescue me.
Finally seeing that I had no other choice, I caved. “Yes, I have a girlfriend.”
Liz started flapping her arms like a fucking seal.
“No”—I directed my attention to her—”it is not Daniela.”
“What?” Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes cringed in disappointment.
She looked like she’d just learned that Santa Claus wasn’t real.
“What she said—what?” Estrella snapped, arching her eyebrow. “Mom said that you’ve been talking to Daniela. Not that we were totally convinced that anything was going on yet, but we were hopeful.”
In spite of their stupidity, I could tell that they were Team Rick.
Liz looked at her in shock. “You knew and didn’t tell me anything?”
“I thought you knew.” Confused, Estrella widened her eyes and raised her hands.
This is perfect. They could continue with their back-and-forth while I make a clean getaway.
I opened the door, but Estrella caught me.
“Not so fast.” Estrella jumped in front of me, blocking the door. “Who is this girl? Is she someone we have to know about or one of those bitches you like?”