Quilla wanted to cry at the emotion in his voice. “I guess I did gain after all, because I couldn’t imagine a world without him.”
Ran hugged her tightly. “From now on, Quilla Chen, whatever happens, you are a part of this family. I will never forget what you’ve done for my boy.”
She was still feeling the warmth from that hug when Jakob took her back to his apartment. She walked into what could only be described as a page out of a catalogue. Muted colors, black, white, gray blended perfectly. She nodded approvingly at the stuffed bookshelves and of course, his art. She looked at one piece, then turned to gape at him. “That’s a Hopper. A. Hopper. Please tell me it’s a print … no, don’t, I don’t want to know.”
Jakob grinned. “Come here, wench.” He opened his arms and she went into them, tilting her head up for a kiss.
“My family is crazy about you,” he murmured, trailing his lips down her neck.
“It’s mutual.” She wound her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. “I adored them. Asia is great, too; Kit must be a fool.”
Jakob laughed softly. “Don’t be too hard on him; the divorce is hitting him hard. Yep, he’s an idiot, but he still loves her.”
He took her hand and led her into his bedroom, Quilla nodding approvingly at the massive bed. “Well, lookit, our playground.”
Jakob laughed as he slid his hands under the straps of her top and pulled them down her shoulders, stopping to kiss each one. “Quilla?”
She moaned as he freed her breast from her bra and took the nipple into his mouth, sucking and teasing it until it became so sensitized she could barely stand it. “Yes, babe?”
“I’m in love with you.”
A delighted smile spread across her face. “And I am in love with you, Jakob Mallory.”
Jakob chuckled. “Thank God.”
Quilla shrieked with laughter as he pushed her back onto the bed and started to tug her jeans and underwear from her, burying his face in her sex for a second before covering her body with his. She freed his quivering, rigid cock from his pants and stroked it while he kissed her.
“I’m going to fuck you all night long, Quilla Chen ...” And as he thrust into her, Quilla sighed happily, knowing that there would be endless nights like this, with this wonderful, sexy man.
She didn’t know just how soon the fairytale would end …
Jakob dropped her off at home before going into work. “Shall I pick you up from college later?”
“I’d love it, thank you.” She kissed him before regretfully breaking away and opening the passenger side door.
“Hey,” he said as she got out, “Call the movers.” He grinned, and she laughed.
“Don’t worry, I will.”
She went back up to her apartment, still smiling. Yesterday had been a momentous day—meeting his family, finally declaring their love, and then, later, after marathon sex, Jakob had asked her to move in with him. This time, she hadn’t hesitated.
Back in her apartment, she dropped her purse and looked around. They’d joked about movers, but really, they wouldn’t have that much to move. Books, records, art supplies, her clothes. All the furniture had come with the apartment. Quilla realized how compact her life had been before. What would it be like now? She still felt that vague uneasiness over the chasm between their lives, but she loved him. She didn’t want his money, she wanted him. Screw what anybody else thought.
A knock at the door. She grinned—Jakob, back for another kiss? She was still smiling as she yanked the door open, but it faded swiftly.
Gregor Fisk stood in her doorway, his face hard. “Hi, Quilla. I think we need to talk.” And before she could react, he pushed his way inside.
Jakob got to the office and greeted Miles with a beaming smile. His assistant looked amused. “I take it the family meeting went well?”
“Very well … plus, she’s agreed to move in with me.”
Miles, never one to avoid a spotlight, stood and did a celebratory dance. Jakob shook his head, laughing.
“Miles, never change.”
In his office, he sat and reflected. His life was so totally different from six months ago. And he hadn’t finished yet. When Quilla had agreed to move in with him, he’d lain awake, with her sleeping in his arms, and thought about the one thing he still had to change—his work. He was so tired of property. Even though it had made him billions, it no longer satisfied his soul. And then there was Gregor. Jakob shook his head. The best thing he could do was cut him loose; buy him out or vice versa. He didn't need Greg’s sneakiness, his duplicity, in his life. Quilla clearly hadn’t liked him from the start, even though she refused to tell him what Greg had said to upset her. She was protecting him, Jakob, he knew that, but still. Gregor had to go.
Jakob picked up the phone and asked the company’s head of HR to meet him as soon as he could.
Gregor sat without being asked, looking around her apartment with a sneer on his face. Quilla felt her face flush with anger.
“What do you want?”
Gregor smiled. “I’ll make this simple. I will give you a quarter of a billion dollars to leave this city and never come back.”
Quilla gaped at him. “What the fuck?”
“Come on. Don’t act innocent, Quilla; I really don’t have time. You’ve played the game perfectly. Jakob is crazy about you. But I need his head in the game, so to speak, and that means you,” he pointed at her as if she didn’t know whom he meant, “have to go. So ...”
Quilla stood and up and went to open her front door. “Get out. Now.”
He didn’t move. “Come on, now. Two-hundred and fifty million dollars. Just looking around here, I can see that kind of money would be life changing.”
“That kind of money would be life-changing for anyone,” she retorted. “Get out.”
Gregor stood, shaking his head, smiling. “Don’t be naïve, Quilla. This was your one chance for this not to turn nasty. Last chance. Take the money. It’ll be quite the step up for the daughter of a heroin addict and deadbeat dad.”
Quilla’s eyes filled with tears of anger, disgust, and humiliation. “Go fuck yourself, Gregor. You don’t know me or anything about me, and anyway, coming from a coke junkie, you have no room to talk. I don’t give a fuck about money; I just care about Jakob. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t have me followed or whatever it is you’re doing. Leave.”
Gregor stood up as if to leave. Then, in a flash, he was pressing her body up against the wall, his hand slipping between her legs. “And yet you spread your legs for the nearest billionaire.”
Pushing his hand away from her, she slapped him across the face, hard, and with a roar of rage, he grabbed her and threw her to the floor. “Fucking bitch!”
He kicked her, hard, in the stomach and she curled up into a ball. Gregor stood back, trying to calm himself. “Take the deal, Quilla. And I wouldn’t bother to tell Jakob about this—or it’s going to get a lot worse than that, little girl.”
He left her still curled up and not believing what had just happened. She eventually staggered over to her door and slammed it, shooting the deadbolt across before sinking to the floor. She had never been more terrified in her life—terror mixed with anger and disbelief. Fuck you, Gregor, I won’t be threatened. She got unsteadily to her feet and stumbled over to grab her phone.
When she heard Jakob’s voice, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
Gregor drove back to the office. Damn it, that shouldn’t have gone that far … not yet. He sighed. Maybe he’d scared her enough that she’d leave anyway, now. He had to admit—Jakob knew how to pick them—Quilla Chen was beautiful, but he knew a gold digger when he saw one.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice everyone staring at him as he made his way back to his office. When he got there, he stopped. Jakob, Randall, and the Head of H.R., Paul, were waiting.
“What’s going on?”
Ran put a hand on Jakob’s arm as Jakob, his face full of rage, s
tepped forward. Ran spoke, his eyes hard, and he held out a sheet of paper. “Gregor, this is a notice of your termination. You will leave here, after we have spoken, and you will not return. Your name will be removed from the company, and you will receive no financial reparation. In return, we will not contact the police and report your assault and attempted blackmail of Quilla Chen. Do I make myself clear?”
Gregor smirked. “You cannot do that. I have a contract—and half this company is mine.”
Ran’s smile was icy. “Actually, we can.” He looked over to Paul, who nodded.
“Because you were loaned the money to pay for your side of the business—and you have yet to fully repay the Mallorys for that loan, we can default you. Also—there’s an ‘appropriate behavior’ clause in your contract. We have deemed you in breach of that.”
“Put simply, leave now or we will ruin you.” Jakob’s voice was scratchy with rage and Gregor looked at his partner.
“Over some Asian pussy?”
It took both Ran and Paul to hold Jakob back. Ran narrowed his eyes at Gregor. “Get out and don’t ever come back.”
Gregor, realizing they meant what they said, shook his head. “This isn’t over.”
Randall Mallory let go of his son’s arm. “Oh, it is, Gregor. It is.”
“So you fired him? Just like that?”
They were sitting in a crowded bar in the city, at a booth with a table full of empty bottles. Joel and Marley, their drinking companions for the evening, were at the bar, getting along famously. Quilla was tucked into the crook of Jakob’s arm, his lips against her forehead.
“Yup,” he said, drawing away and looking down at her. “Good riddance. I should have done this years ago.”
“What will he do now?”
“I really don’t give a fuck. Besides, Gregor’s got enough money that he’ll never have to work again.”
Quilla shook her head. “I still don’t get why he wanted me out of the way so badly.”
“Christ, who knows what’s going on in that junky head? Drugs have fucked him up. He was always a tool, but never like this. And I might have turned out like that if it wasn’t for you, beautiful, so thank you again.”
She kissed him back, her mouth curving up in a smile. “You could never be like that.”
Jakob looked her over appreciatively. She had a white, floating dress on which made her look ethereal, her hair bunched up in a messy bun. The dress fell to her mid-thigh, her golden-skinned legs so tempting to him. He ran a leisurely hand up her inner thigh and she wriggled with pleasure.
“That dress is driving me crazy,” he murmured in her ear and she chuckled, sighing with pleasure as his fingers made contact with her panties. “I want to fuck you so bad,” he said, nipping her earlobe with his teeth. She grinned.
“Later, gator … our friends are coming back.”
The bar was still packed at nearly midnight. Quilla excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, and Jakob was being grilled by Marley. They were all a little tipsy and Jakob, Marley, and Joel grinned as Quilla made her unsteady way to the bathrooms. Jakob listened to Joel and Marley argue with each other. He liked Quilla’s friend very much—so did his brother, by the looks of it, but Jakob couldn’t tell if it was the teasing between soon-to-be lovers, or two future best friends the first time they met. He’d had way too much champagne, he decided. As his vision blurred, he looked out over the crowded bar, waiting for Quilla to return.
Then his heart began to beat faster and he sat up. Gregor. Gregor was in the bar. The other man saw him and saluted sarcastically. Shit. As Jakob looked on, he suddenly saw Gregor turn and he followed his gaze … Quilla.
God … Jakob stood suddenly, startling the other two who followed his gaze. Joel, knowing Gregor’s face, jumped up too, and all three of them dived into the crowd. With a wrench of pure terror, he saw Gregor get to Quilla first. He saw her turn and register Gregor’s presence with a look of alarm. Then Jakob lost sight of them in the crowed.
Someone screamed. “He’s got a knife!”
No, no, oh God, no …
“Out of my way,” Jacob shouted in desperation and a path started to clear. He got to Quilla just as Gregor disappeared. For a second, Jakob felt relief, but then, as Quilla turned to him, her lovely face pale, her eyes confused, he saw the blood. Her hands clutched to her belly, her white dress turning red.
Blood. Her blood …
As Quilla began to collapse, he raced forward to catch her …
Part Two: Touch Me
Joel Mallory leaned his head against the cool wall of the hospital waiting room. Next to him, Marley Griffin was sitting hunched over, jiggling her legs up and down. It was three a.m., and they’d been waiting for a couple of hours while the doctors assessed their friend, Quilla Chen.
Joel thought back over the last few hours. The laughter, the fun of hanging with his brother and Quilla and her friend in their favorite bar, then the utter horror when in an instant, the world had changed and his eldest brother, Jakob’s, girlfriend was stabbed by a vengeful ex-partner of Jakob’s.
The mad, panicked dash to get help, the flashing lights, Quilla passed out and bleeding in a terrified Jakob’s arms—God. Joel felt sick.
He looked over at Marley. They’d only met that night, but already they’d become good friends, but now the young woman looked hollow and scared. He took her hand and she half smiled at him. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. She’ll get the best care, I promise.”
Marley smiled gratefully. “I’m going crazy waiting. I’m going to find some coffee.”
Alone, Joel sighed. He’d called his dad, who was on his way. Skandar had wanted to come, too, but Joel, mindful of the constant press that followed his son everywhere, told him not to. “Last thing we need, pal, is a media circus,” he told him. “Quilla knows you care.”
The door to the waiting room opened, and a young woman with messy blonde hair to her shoulders came in. She nodded at Joel, then took a seat on the far side. She looked exhausted. In her hands there was no purse, just a set of car keys. Joel realized that she was wearing a nightshirt over her jeans, obviously having had to come out in a hurry.
“Hey,” he said, “you okay?”
The woman looked up, her eyes red from crying, and tried to smile. “Yeah, thanks.” She hesitated. “Teenage sister thought it was a good idea to go out, drink, then got in a car with a guy who was also drunk.”
“Damn … she okay?”
The woman sighed. “Yeah, she’s just getting stitched up now. Scared the shit out of me.” She studied him. “How about you?”
Joel shifted in his seat. “Friend got stabbed. We don’t know how she is yet.”
“God, I’m sorry.”
Joel nodded, then got up and held his hand out to the woman. “Joel Mallory.”
She smiled. “Nan Applebee. That’s awful about your friend … what happened?”
Joel sat down next to her, shaking his head. “Hell, if I know … she’s my brother’s girlfriend and the dude that stabbed her was trying to get back at my brother for firing him. Damn coward. She’s tiny, too; you should see her.”
The enormity of what had happened seemed to be hitting him now, after hours of disbelief. He clenched his fists tightly to stop his hands trembling. “Sorry,” he said when he noticed her watching him. “It’s the cruelty of it, you know? Never seen anything like that before.”
Tentatively, Nan put his hand on his back and rubbed it to comfort him. Joel blew out his cheeks, then looked up as first Marley, and then Jakob, came back to the room. Joel stood and hugged his brother, introducing the others to Nan Applebee.
“Quilla’s going to be fine,” Jakob said, his voice scratchy from stress. “One stab wound, clean, not too deep, but nasty enough. Painful. It didn’t hit any of her major organs. She’ll be here for a couple of days, then they’ll let her out to recover at home.”
Marley stood at his side, dark purple shadows under eyes. Jakob looked down at her and put hi
s arm around her shoulders. “Hey, kiddo, do you want to stay at mine for a couple of days?”
Marley, pale and drained, move away from him, her entire body rigid with tension. “No, thanks. I’d rather be at home.”
Joel nodded. “I’ll take you.” But Marley shook her head.
“No … I’ll get a cab, thanks. I just … never mind.” She turned to go, then stopped and looked back at Jakob. “I don’t want to be the person who assigns blame … but make this right, Jakob.”
Joel stared after her. “Man, she’s angry.”
“She has every right. Look, they say I can stay with Quilla but ...”
Joel nodded. “I get it. Look, I’ll update Dad and the others. What are we going to do about the press?”
Jakob rubbed his face. “God, I hadn’t even thought … look, we say exactly what happened. We fired Gregor Fisk because of gross incompetence and his behavior. He got angry and tried to get revenge.”
“They’ll dig up everything on Quilla they can find—it might get rough.”
Jakob smiled humorlessly. “Not as rough as being stabbed. She’s a fighter; a little press intrusion is something we can protect her from. Can Skandar run some interference?”
Joel nodded. “I’ll talk to him. He’ll get questions, no doubt, and someone from here’s bound to leak it.”
“Maybe we can ask them to sign some NDAs?”
“No.” Ran Mallory walked through the door at that moment and heard them. “We’ve never been the sort of family who runs and hides. We ride ...”
“… out the storm,” said his sons in unison and Ran smiled.
“That’s right. How’s Quilla?”
Jakob told him the news and Ran nodded. “Good. That’s good to hear. Damn that Fisk … I have everyone out looking for him. Hello ...”
He suddenly noticed Nan sitting behind Joel, trying to make herself invisible. Ran smiled and shook her hand. “I’m sorry; we seem to have taken over the waiting room.”
“It’s no problem … oh, hey.” Nan looked over at the door, where a young blonde teenager hovered, her face crisscrossed with butterfly stitches. She glanced shyly at the three men, then at her sister.
Filthy Commitments: A Submissives’ Secrets Novel Page 26