by Harper West
Baron set down a few books, walked over to me and patted me on the shoulders.
“Well, as long as you’re happy, so am I.”
He went back to putting the books away before asking, “What about the American investor? Have you heard from him or told the guys about what’s going on?”
That was the last thing that I wanted to think about, but then again, I never did hear back from him. I had plenty of dreams about him, though. None of them sexual. It was always him walking into the bookstore, demanding the keys, and me leaving in tears. I didn’t want to let Baron know that I was still somewhat nervous. After all, I knew damn well that he could walk in through that door at any moment.
“He was probably bluffing. Trying to scare me into marrying him or something. You know how some men can be, Baron.”
“Do I ever,” he sighed with a roll of his eyes.
I shrugged. “Not a peep from him since that night he came in here. No threatening emails, no phone calls, and not even a message on social media. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“Maybe he went back to the states,” Baron said.
I continued sweeping, hoping that was the case. If that guy was so wealthy, to begin with, then he’d have no problem finding a Sugar Baby back in America. “We’ll probably see him on one of those ‘Real Housewives’ shows.”
Baron let out a loud laugh. “As much as I’d love a Sugar Daddy, can’t say that I’d want to be on one of those shows. The women are too mean.”
I nodded and continued sweeping, picturing Baron on one of those shows. He would tear those women apart, and it would be amazing to watch.
I moved over to the bookcases, focusing my attention on a big pile of dust in the corner. Just then, I heard a ding. I peeked out from behind the bookshelves to find the American investor, and this time he had two other men with him.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I whispered to myself.
After flattening my dress, I came out and approached the men.
“Hello, sweetheart. Remember me?” He looked down at me in such a condescending way that I wanted to kick out his kneecaps. “These are two of my business associates, Hank Monroe and Johnny Wilkerson.”
They held out their hands, but I refused to shake. “What do you want?”
“Surely you haven’t forgotten, honey. We’re going to turn this place into a nice hotel.”
Baron and I watched as the men walked around the bookstore, pointing at different areas while nodding their heads.
“I think this would be a great place for the front desk,” I heard one of the men say. “And over here, well, you could easily install some elevators.”
“What about room for a pool?” the other one asked.
The investor pointed to a back window, through the window and into the yard, where Baron and I often ate lunch. Their hands waved around to indicate how big of a pool they could fit.
I pictured myself pushing them into the deep end and then watching them drown. How dare these men to try and take away my grandfather’s bookstore.
They came back around to the front of the store, where Baron and I were standing. I wanted to corner the two men he brought with him and ask them why my property. Out of all of the places, they could put a hotel, why was it necessary to do so there?
I couldn’t find the words, though. I felt defeated.
I turned to the investor instead. “Why are you doing this to me? There are so many other places they could build a hotel.”
“Because I own this property, and it’s not making me money, tootsie.” He put his unlit cigar back in his mouth and leaned forward to touch my chin, but I pulled away just in time.
“You seem rich enough to me, what with that sports car and all. Or are you such a bastard that you have to be swimming in so much money that you can’t even see?”
The two men opened their mouths. They weren’t expecting such a fight from a small woman like me.
The investor pulled me aside. I followed him but quickly pushed his hand off of my arm.
“Remember my offer, honey pie?” I wanted to throw up all over him. “Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll be generous and let you think about it overnight, just call me in the morning with your final decision.”
“You think that I’ll marry you?”
“Judging by how protective you are of this bookstore, yes, yes, I do. I know that you up and left your whole life in America, baby. That’s how passionate you are about running this place. You don’t want to see it turned into a hotel, do you?”
The hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. “Why not just let me run it, then? Besides, you don’t seem like the marrying kind.”
“Because I need arm candy, baby. Before you make your decision, remember that I will expect you to be 100% faithful. I, on the other hand, can do what I want. I travel a lot, and you wouldn’t want me to get lonely in hotels.”
My face must have been turning every shade of red.
He continued, ignoring my angered glare. “I can tell that you’re a bit of a feminist, too. That’ll have to go. It’s too humiliating, and I refuse to be humiliated. Oh, and I’ll need you available for events. It’s a good deal if you think about it. With all of my money, I’m always doing something.”
He pulled out his wallet and proceeded to show me a stack of hundred dollar bills.
“You can shove those up your fucking ass,” I growled through gritted teeth.
He chuckled and started to walk away. Before he rounded the bookcase, he turned back to me, stepping so close I could smell the stench of his breath. “And one last thing, yes, I can still get it up. That means that whenever I’m in the mood, so are you.”
He put his hands above my breasts, but I knocked them off before he went any lower.
I watched him leave with the two men, and Baron came running over to me. “What did he say to you? Even I couldn’t hear a word because he was talking so low!”
I couldn’t answer Baron right at that moment. It felt as though I had hit rock bottom. I walked over to my grandfather's picture and ran my finger down the front.
“Grandpa,” I said as a tear strolled down my face.
I clutched it to my chest. Baron put his arms around me. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of selling this place."
I shrugged, not knowing what else I could say. It was happening. My world was crumbling once again.
“I’m closing the store for the day,” I whispered, putting the picture back on the wall. “I just really need to be alone right now.”
“Sweetheart, maybe now isn’t the best time to be alone. Let me help you. We can figure this out together.”
I looked up at him and shook my head. He sighed and nodded. He understood this was a decision I’d have to make on my own.
After closing up the shop, Baron said goodbye to me, and I went upstairs. I closed all of the blinds, sat on the couch, and just cried.
About an hour later, my phone went off, and I knew it was one of the guys, but I couldn’t even bring myself to answer it. They would see that I was upset, and I’d have to tell them why.
I needed to sleep on everything before making a decision, and I knew if I saw them, I would make a decision based on my feelings for them, not what was best for the shop. But at that point, I had no idea what was best. I stood up and wiped off my face, heading downstairs to grab some paperwork from the office. I wanted to know what the contracts said. I had found them just a couple of days before but hadn't had time to read them over.
As I sat in my grandfather's office, smelling hints of his comforting scent, I ran through each line of the contract he had signed. It was a standard lease agreement, and it seemed pretty ironclad. There was even a section that talked about the landlord's right to terminate the lease if he decided to sell. It was worth a shot, reading them, but they backed me even further into a corner.
I put the contracts in a folder and set them in the filing cabinet. Before I flicked the lights o
ff, I glanced back at the picture again. My life was never going to be the same, I could feel it in my bones.
Chapter 17
Alexia
I went upstairs to my apartment, the place I had called home for those last few months, and locked the door behind me. As my back leaned against it, I closed my eyes and tried so hard to fight back the tears that began to flow. In addition to running my grandfather's bookstore, my grandfather had also lived in that apartment. Calling the place my home was another way for me to remember him.
It wouldn’t be the case anymore, though.
As I made my way into the bedroom, I realized that it would probably be the last night that I’d be sleeping in it. The investor and I would be sharing a bed, and that thought alone made me want to vomit. I’d gone from having everything I’d ever wanted, to losing it all in an instant.
I pulled out a box from my bedroom closet. It was a white trunk covered in quilted fabric, which had pink and blue roses. I remembered the first time I’d seen it in a craft store window, out shopping with my grandfather.
“Grandpa,” I had said. “Can I have that?”
He patted me on the head, then leaned down to get closer to my ear. “What will you put it in, dear?”
I was too young to know, so I shrugged and smiled at him.
He had chuckled and smirked. “Well, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
He went in and bought it for me, and it wasn’t long before I was filling it up with mementos. Specifically, items that he had purchased for me, such as children’s books from Ireland and letters he sent me.
As I sat there, alone, on the floor of my bedroom, I slowly began pulling items out of it. The first was a picture of my parents on their wedding day. They looked so happy, smiling for the camera while posing behind their wedding cake. Even my mother, the selfish woman that she was, made me yearn for the days when all three of us were a family. I ran my hand over my father’s face, wishing that he was there to help me.
The next picture I pulled out was of my grandfather, standing proudly in front of that very bookstore. He had such a big smile on his face, and his large, bifocal glasses made me smile. Everyone always said they were too big for his face, but that was the look he wanted.
“I like to stand out,” he had always said to me. “Blending in is for boring people. Promise me that you’ll never be boring, Alexia.”
I wiped tears away from my face and put the pictures to the side, just as my phone started ringing. I didn’t need to look at the caller I.D. to know who was calling. At that point, Liam and Ronan were the only ones who called me non-stop. It killed me to avoid their calls, but it was all I could do just to hold myself together at that point.
Then I pulled out a stack of letters, all of which had come from my grandfather while my dad was at war. We were close even before my father had died. That’s what made losing him even worse. It wasn’t just that he had abandoned everything in his life for me.
He was always my guardian angel, almost as though he knew that life would not be fair to me.
I started reading one of his letters just as my phone went off again, and this time I looked at the display. It was Liam calling.
Oh, Liam. I’m going to miss your red, spiky hair and all of the ways you make me laugh.
I watched as it went to my voicemail, then placed the phone down to read the letter.
Dear Alexia,
It’s grandpa again, writing to you from Ireland! Have they told you about Ireland in school yet? When they do, be sure to tell them all about your grandfather and his bookstore.
I think about you all the time, especially when someone buys a book that has been turned into a play. Are you and your father still acting scenes out? He’s sent me some videos of the two of you doing so, and you have his bold personality. You are a fearless little girl. Promise me that you will never change.
Well, I have to get back to running the bookstore. One day I hope you’ll see it, as it’s my pride and joy. I can just picture you running between the bookcases, talking with the customers, and telling them your favorite stories!
Love,
Grandpa.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
After putting the letter and pictures back in the box, I fell into a crumpled mess on the floor, rocking myself as I sobbed. The memories were too much for me. It reminded me that I was about to lose everything to a creepy, insecure jerk.
My phone went off again. It was right in front of me on the floor, and I saw that it was Ronan calling.
I started thinking about all of the times he and I were together, both with and without Liam. He was someone that I could genuinely see spending the rest of my life with, along with Liam, of course. We could talk for hours about operas, symphony, and classic literature. I had never met a man like him or Liam before, and now I never would know what it would be like to truly have a happily ever after.
Knowing that I’d have to have sex with the investor, to say the least, made me want to throw up, especially after having the best sex of my life with the guys. Before Liam, no man had ever made me climax more than once in bed. I was used to never having any orgasm at all.
They changed all of that for me.
As I continued crying on the floor, my mind kept going back to the guys. If I didn’t take the investor's offer, then I would have nothing keeping me in Ireland. Where would I work? What would I do? Even though I loved the guys very much, it wouldn’t be enough to feed me, shelter me, and clothe me. Without the bookstore, I’d end up going back to the states.
I laid there for quite a while, but somehow, I managed to pull myself together. I made some tea, put on pajamas, and then sat at the kitchen table, thinking everything over. If I didn’t take the investor’s offer, then I could stay with Liam and Ronan but not have a job. In addition to being unemployed, there’d be the lifelong guilt of having sold the one thing that belonged to my grandfather.
If I did take the investor’s offer, then I could still run the bookstore and keep my grandfather’s memory alive. I’d also have to become his wife, do as he instructed, and have sex with him. Even though he said he traveled a lot, something told me he’d have associates watching my every movement.
On the other hand, Liam and Ronan never tried controlling me. They loved how independent I was and how I didn’t need to rely on them for anything other than a good time. If I chose the investor, all of those good times would be gone. The only fun things we’d do would be up to the investor, and I knew damn well that he wouldn’t care about what I wanted.
It was all about him having some arm candy and a place to park his pathetic penis at the end of the day.
I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with Ronan and Liam, and I never thought that I’d be a woman who could be with more than one guy at once. Yet. Ronan and Liam were so opposite they complimented each other. So many women complained about not being able to find the perfect man, but with Liam and Ronan, they somehow made it feel like I did find one.
I didn’t know much else about the investor, either. Who was he, besides a wealthy man with an expendable income? Ronan and Liam worked in media, had beautiful places and drivers to drive them around town. What could I expect with my new life? Would I be forced to cook and clean, or did the investor already have women to do that for him? Would he have other women in bed with him, too?
I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. Yet the choice was painfully clear to me.
I had to keep the bookstore. I would never forgive myself. I would never find anything that completed me like the bookstore did.
After finishing my tea, I went into the second bedroom, which I had turned into an office. With a heavy heart, I pulled out a pen and paper and wrote a letter to the guys explaining everything.
Dear Liam and Ronan,
In a million years, I never thought that I would get to meet two men like you. I also never thought that after doing so, that I’d have to write such a letter.
The man at the bar that night, when I met Liam, is an American investor who wants to sell the bookstore to men who want to turn it into a hotel. I had made it clear that wasn’t an option, but I don’t have the money to buy it myself. So, he offered to let me keep it but under one condition: that I become his trophy wife.
I have been struggling with this ever since I met you guys, and I thought everything was fine until he showed up today with two buyers. The last thing I want to do is marry him, but this bookstore is the only thing left that connects me to my father and grandfather. I simply cannot let it go.
I know that I will never be able to forget you. The times we’ve shared have been some of the happiest moments in my life, and I cannot believe that we won’t be together as a family.
I will always love both of you more than you know.
Love,
Alexia.
I folded the letter and put it in an envelope, and decided to have a messenger take it to them in the morning. I put it by the door and climbed into bed, hoping to sleep at least a little. But sleep never came. My mind was far too heavy.
The following morning in the bookstore, I tried to make sure that I was the first one there, but the investor was already waiting for me.
“How did you get in?”
A cigar dangled from his lips, once again unlit, and his suit was far too big. “I own this place, sugar.”
I placed the envelope behind the desk and tried to keep my stomach from churning.
“So, what’s your answer.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Yes.”
Even as I said it, I felt physically ill.
“I knew you’d come around.”
Baron walked in and made eye contact with me, and I could feel the color from my face starting to drain.
“You’re going to make one hell of a trophy wife, you know with that body and those breasts, wow baby. You’re going to make some of my friends jealous. But if they’re good, I just might have to share you.”