by Jessie Cooke
“Yes Mike?”
“The doorman says that Miss Valentine is here to see you.” Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. He'd been dodging Kelly's calls all week both at home and at the office. He'd told his new assistant to absolutely not give her any information about his schedule, and so far, this one seemed to be holding fast to that…and her job. He was still pissed at Kelly and confused about what it was she wanted or expected from him. What did she hope to gain by keeping tabs on him? She had agreed to their breakup without even so much as a tear in her eye…and she'd seemed happy with the settlement he'd given her. He supposed he should just talk to her and get it over with and then maybe they could both get back on with their lives.
“Okay,” he told Mike, “tell him to send her up.” Alex lived in in the penthouse of a thirty-story building in the center of Manhattan. There was a private elevator that opened directly into his living room and no one got on or off in the lobby without Alex's okay. They were escorted up by security, providing him safety and privacy that he knew was necessary…but sometimes he ached for the kind of anonymity his family had when he was a kid.
“Alex,” Kelly was talking before the doors to the elevator were even all the way open. The bodyguard who had ridden up with her looked almost relieved to push the down button as she stepped out. “You've been avoiding me,” she said to him as she walked not toward him, but toward the minibar.
“Hello Kelly.”
He designer perfume wafted behind her as she pulled off her jacket and handed it to Mike like he was the butler. Alex looked at Mike with empathy and nodded at him to leave them alone. Mike hung Kelly's coat on the rack near the elevator before leaving the room. Once he was gone, as she was mixing herself a martini, Kelly asked, “Why are you avoiding me?”
“I've been busy.” Alex knew that wasn't confronting the issue and he cursed himself as soon as he said it. It was crazy that a man who thrived on confrontation in his business life, hated it in his day to day life. Maybe that was why, he got enough of it at work and he didn't want to be the controlling bully off the clock. Kelly helped him out in this situation however when she said,
“Doing what? Who are you fucking?”
“Are you kidding? If and when I decide to ‘fuck’ someone, as you put it so delicately, it won't be any of your business, Kelly. We broke up, remember? I'm not storming into your home asking you who you are fucking.”
“I'm not fucking anyone. I told you, Alex, I want you back.”
“We both decided it wasn't working.”
“You weren't happy, Alex. You haven't been happy for a long time. But, I have a theory about that now…you're just bored with your life. You have everything you ever wanted, and you don't know where to go from here…”
Alex chuckled. “Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?”
“Don't be crass. Think about it, Alex…you have enough money that we could go anywhere in the world and start over. You could buy a castle in Europe if you wanted to. You don't have to stay here in New York. You could rule the business world wherever you went. We could get married…even start a family if that's what you wanted…”
“Kelly…please listen to me,” Alex was talking slowly and pronouncing each word deliberately. Kelly was delusional if she really thought that was ever going to happen, and he had to nip this in the bud. “We broke up, almost two months ago. You accepted the business I bought for you, the car and the cash and the deal was, we would both go on our way and live our own lives. There was no clause in that agreement that said if that didn't turn out to be what you thought it might…that you could just swoop back in here and pick up where you left off. This relationship has been over for well over a year…just neither one of us wanted to admit it.”
“No Alex, you're wrong. Our relationship went stale, that's true…and I'll take equal responsibility for that. Neither of us put the effort into it that we should and we both got bored. But it's true what they say that the grass is not always greener. I don't like being alone and I realized that I don't want to be with anyone else. I love you, Alex…and I know you still love me.”
“Kelly, this is hard for me…I don't want to hurt you, but the truth is that I don't love you.”
Of all the reactions Alex expected, he wasn't prepared for her laughter. “Don't be silly, of course you do.” She set her drink down and he watched, both curious and disturbed, as she pulled off her blouse. She tossed it aside and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the smooth wood floor and pool around her ankles before stepping out of it. She was wearing a white lace bra and matching thong. She had on white stilettos and she looked hot…but she didn't move anything inside of Alex…or outside. She started toward him and he took a step back.
“Kelly, put your clothes on.”
“I know you want me, Alex.”
He was embarrassed for her and annoyed at the same time. “No Kelly, I don't.” Even as he was rejecting her she reached back and unhooked her bra. She let it slide to the floor. Her breasts were perfect, as they should be, since he'd paid tens of thousands of dollars for them. Still, his cock lay dormant and his head began to pound. “Please stop this, Kelly, you're embarrassing yourself.”
He could see the subtle change in her face as it began to sink in that he really wasn't going to fuck her. But, in true Kelly Valentine…always get what she wants, style…she didn't stop there. She peeled off that tiny little thong and stood in front of him in only the six-inch heels. Her skin was smooth and tan and there wasn't an ounce of fat on her anywhere it shouldn't be. She spent three hours a day with her trainer, watched every bite that went into her mouth and visited her plastic surgeon religiously…and it showed. She looked like Malibu Barbie…or maybe in those shoes, prostitute Barbie. She walked over to the couch and pressed her hands into the arm, arching her back and sticking out the perfectly tanned and sculpted Brazilian butt that he'd also paid for. “Fuck me, Alex.”
Her idea of seduction smelled like desperation to him, and it was a complete turnoff. He walked over to the coat rack where Mike had hung her coat, took it down and carried it over to her. “You need to go.” That was the moment she not only realized he wasn't going to fuck her…but that she'd made a fool of herself trying. He saw the fire in her eyes as she stood up and grabbed the coat out of his hands. “I'll go into the bedroom and give you some privacy while you get dressed. But…I expect you to be gone when I come back out.”
“Why are you being like this? Are you having some kind of midlife crisis?”
“No Kelly…we're just finished. You need to accept that.” He turned and left her standing there, hoping for her sake that she got dressed before Mike came back in the living room for one thing or another. He realized as he walked into his master suite and locked the door behind him that he didn't feel bad at all. The truth was he was quickly figuring out that it wasn't him she loved, it was the lifestyle he had given her and even though she was pulling in a high six-figure salary with the new business already, it wasn't going to be enough to satisfy her. But that was too bad…because there was only one woman he was interested in these days, and that was Izzy.
Alex gave Kelly twenty minutes and breathed a sigh of relief when he went back into the living room and saw that she had left. He picked up his phone, which strangely was no longer on the table, but on the bar instead. Kelly was checking his phone now? He shook his head and then put Kelly out of his mind and called Izzy again. This time when he got her voicemail he left a message,
“Izzy, it's Alex. You won't answer my calls and I really need to see you. I'm going to stop by your apartment in about an hour.” He ended the call and before he made it back to his room to get his coat, the phone was ringing. A knot of anticipation and excitement both coiled in his belly when he saw Izzy's name on the face of the phone. “Well hello there,” he said as he put the phone to his mouth.
“Don't come to my apartment. I'm not there anyways, I'm working.”
“I was glad to hear from Lenore that you got the j
ob at Ragged Beauty.” At first he'd been worried…but it was unlikely Isabelle would ever even meet Kelly, much less that they would know who each other were. “Congratulations,” he went on. “How do you like it so far?”
“Alex, I don't have time for small talk. What is it that you've been blowing up my phone about?”
Alex had never felt such a strong connection to anyone in his life, but he had to wonder if he was making as much of a fool of himself as Kelly just had. He almost ended the call then and there…but something in him just couldn't let go. “I want to see you.”
“I don't think it's a good idea. I'm really busy with work right now.”
“Isabelle…please. Just a few minutes, coffee? Lunch? Dinner? A drink?”
“Alex…”
“Look, I know you weren't happy with the sex, but I can do better…”
There was a long hesitation before she said, “Alex, it wasn't the sex. We just come from different worlds. We don't have anything in common…”
“Remember when I told you that things aren't always what they seem? Izzy, we have more in common than you think.”
“Alex, I have to go. I can't afford to lose this job. Take care, okay? And Alex…please stop calling me.” Her voice sounded sad and it tugged at Alex's heart.
“Izzy…” she didn't even correct him, she just ended the call. Alex, the calm, collected professional, threw his phone against the wall and watched it bounce off and hit the floor. He had no idea what the hell was wrong with him. He didn't get obsessed with women. He didn't chase women. But God, he wanted this one so badly. He went over and picked up his phone. The screen was cracked but it still worked. He called Levi. When his friend answered he said,
“Okay, let's go check out your club.”
13
Isabelle put her phone down on the couch next to her and stared at it. She hated that the sound of Alex's voice sent shivers down her spine. She hated lying to him, but what choice did she have? Her evil new boss had made it a condition of her employment. Kelly gave her the bonus which kept her from being homeless, kept her lights on and kept her and Theo fed until she received her first paycheck…which was also going to be generous. But, as a condition of all of that, Kelly had also promised her that if she saw Alex socially at all…she would not only lose her job, but Kelly Valentine would see to it that no one else in the city would hire her. Isabelle left the office of Rags that day with a lucrative new job, and pains in her stomach. Her self-esteem was lower than it had ever been, and she still couldn't get Alex off her mind.
For the first week she'd been so wrapped up in learning her new job that she hadn't had time to think about much else. She was working twelve-hour days and when she got home at night, she was exhausted and after a meal and a shower, she would collapse into her bed and into a dreamless slumber. But every day during that week, Alex called. He never left a message, but just seeing his number on her phone caused her entire body to react. She was so tempted to call him back, that it was almost painful for to stop herself. But she had the mantra in her head that said, “I need this job. I like to eat. I like to live indoors.” After she repeated it over and over again, she would begin to calm down, and immersing herself in work helped. Today had been the hardest so far however. It was her day off…and no matter how hard she tried or how many irrelevant conversations she had with Theo, Alex was still there, on her mind. When she'd heard the phone ringing earlier, she'd almost answered it. But then a vision of Kelly's face and that evil smile popped into her head. She was surprised when he left a message this time, and terrified when he said he was coming over. She didn't know if Kelly was watching him, or her…but she had the creepy feeling that somehow the woman would know. As a condition of her employment and that two-thousand-dollar cash bonus right off the bat, Kelly made her promise not to see Alex. Accepting that felt wrong and it made her feel dirty somehow…but she hadn't felt like she had any other choices.
Isabelle closed her eyes and an image of him, naked, hard and beautiful faded out of the dark corners of her subconscious and back into the light. At least Kelly could take that from her, or the masturbatory fantasies she had late at night in her bed. Alex still wanted her, that much she was sure of thanks to his constant phone calls. She almost wished that he didn't, it made it harder for her to know she couldn't have him. Even that one little quickie they had that night was better than never touching him at all. At least she had a memory to draw on when she took out her toys at night.
She was rubbing the exposed skin of her stomach between her shirt and skirt and that thought made her slip her hand underneath the waistband. Her fingers made it to the top of her satin panties when her phone started ringing again. Flushed, excited and thinking it might be Alex again and she might be able to masturbate while she spoke to him, she picked it up without looking at it and breathed out a husky “Hello?”
“Wow, nice voice.” At the sound of the man's voice she didn't recognize, Isabelle pulled her hand out of her skirt. It was silly, the man couldn't see her…but the mood was gone.
“Um, who is this?”
“I'm sorry. This is Isabelle Brazil, right?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Levi,” he seemed to hesitate over his last name before finally saying, “I'm a really close friend of Alex's.”
Isabelle was confused. Why would Alex's friend be calling her? “Okay.” She didn't know what else to say.
“I know this is weird…trust me, it's only going to get weirder. But let me start by telling you that Alex Romaletti is the greatest guy I know. He's smart, tough, aggressive in business and kind and compassionate in real life…”
“Did Alex ask you to call and sell me on him?”
“Oh no way! He'd be so pissed if he knew I was talking to you. Look Isabelle…I've known Alex for years. I know his family. I know everything about him. Trust me when I say that when he likes someone, he goes out of his way to do whatever makes them happy. Alex likes you…”
“I'm sorry…Levi? Was it?”
“Yes.”
“You're right, this is weird. This is real life, adulthood, not middle school. I don't mean to sound rude, but I just don't feel comfortable talking to you about Alex, and especially not about myself, or my personal life.”
“Isabelle, I know that you won't take his calls. I'm not asking you to tell me what that's about, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and take a chance that I can trust you and tell you that Alex thinks you don't want to see him because you thought the sex was bad. Like I said, I've known him a long time. He's like a brother to me. He doesn't talk about his sex life to anyone, ever…not even me. There's something different about you for him, Isabelle. He wants you so badly that he's willing to go way outside of his comfort zone…in the hopes that you'll want him too. He called me tonight and agreed to do something I suggested but was sure he'd never go through with. Sometimes I just shoot off my mouth…but he told me to set this up for tomorrow night and I just couldn't do that knowing that it might make his chances of being with you even worse…”
“Levi?” Isabelle was beginning to worry that the man who had called her was a little bit crazy. “I should really go.”
“Wait! Please! I know I'm babbling. Let me put it this way, when Alex first started making money, he didn't spend a dime on himself. What he did do, was make sure his parents had everything they worked for but couldn't afford their entire lives, and he set up charities and…”
“Wait…his parents couldn't afford…? He grew up in Westchester, he told me that. It's pretty evident that he's no stranger, or newbie to money.”
“Oh damn, he didn't tell you, did he?”
“Tell me what?”
“His mother worked as a nanny/maid for one of the top executives at a Fortune 500 company. His father was a groundskeeper at that same estate. They were immigrants, Isabelle, here on work visa's. The only reason Alex had the opportunities he had was because his parents basically sold themselves to those greedy assholes
so that he could go to the best schools and get the kind of education he needed to get somewhere in life.”
Isabelle was stunned. She had her issues with people that had money…corporate types. She was an army brat early in life, but when she was twelve, her father was killed and her mother re-married two years later, to a man that was very rich. Isabelle never understood what he did, exactly. He was in the tech business, but that was as much as she knew. What she did know was that his kids who were both teenagers at the time, treated her like she was the poor relation. They made fun of her for stupid things like not knowing what fork to use, or how to dress for certain occasions. She did have them to thank for her career however. Her interest in fashion developed from all the hours of study she did on her own, trying to learn how to fit in. She had nothing but time then since she had no friends in the tight-knit, wealthy community they lived in, her step-siblings shunned her, and her mother was too busy being a society wife to notice her any longer. That part wasn't really new. Isabelle was used to her mother catering to her man and remembering she had a child second. When her father was alive, her mother was an army wife first and everything else, including being a mother, second. Isabelle didn't know words like dominant and submissive back then…but they had applied anyways. Her mother submitted everything to her men…even her identity. Isabelle hated the way her own father had spoken to her mother and treated her more like she was a slave than a wife. She loved her father, and he was good to her, so she blamed her mother for not standing up for herself. Her mother was lost when her father died and when she finally pulled herself out of the deep depression she'd fallen into, the first thing she'd done was go out and look for a new husband. She found one, just as dominant and controlling, only with a lot more money. Isabelle's resentment continued to grow as she watched her mother once again change into exactly what her husband wanted her to be. She only spoke when she was spoken to, she never expressed her opinions, she wore what she was told to wear and even her makeup and hair were critiqued…by him. She resented her and intensely disliked him…and that all turned into a seething hate one fateful night when she was seventeen years old.