After some of the best mind-blowing sex I've ever had in all my life, and dinner prepared by the contributor of said mind-blowing sex, I didn't know what to expect. Especially after unwillingly having hope that this could be my second chance at happiness. Only, apparently Alexander had other plans. And he abruptly drops off the face of the earth. Taking my hope for something resembling a happy marriage with him.
I tried not to care or get my hopes up whenever I went to examine his father, but I couldn't help it. And each time Alexander was conveniently nowhere to be found, a small part of me was left disappointed.
First, one week passes.
Then two.
And then a month with no word from him.
He's not even responding to my updates on his father's condition, which makes me think maybe his absence from my life is a personal choice. That the time we spent together meant more to me than it did to him.
Which... fuck.
Still, as his wife, I expected more from him.
I probably shouldn't have, but I did. Because the way he pursued me made me feel like maybe there was something there. Something more.
Maybe I was wrong.
Now I'm regretting my decision to ever sleep with him. Worried those moments were just par for the course for him, while my mind was being completely fucking blown. And he's not talking to me for me to be able to ask him why he's ghosted me.
A simple phone call, response to my texts, or anything other than silence would have sufficed.
But I guess that's too much for me to ask for.
I don't know what kind of girl Alexander is used to, but this girl knows when to cut her losses. So, when Karen invites me out for drinks with a few of her rich friends, I agree. It's better than sitting in my empty house thinking about a guy who clearly isn't thinking about me.
Husband or not.
I just hate that I didn't put up a better fight.
That I didn't stick to my guns.
That I allowed him to get underneath my skin.
"Raymond, this is Evelyn. Evelyn, this is Raymond." Karen introduces me to one of her friends.
He's no Alexander, but he'll do just fine.
Did I really just go there?
Shaking my head, I push a smile to my face and shake his hand.
"The pleasure is all mine." He takes my hand in his and brings it up to his lips. Kissing the back of it like a gentleman.
My cheeks instantly heat up and I blush. Turning away from him.
I've never been one to handle being complimented.
"Change of plans ladies. There's an upscale event a few blocks away and as the owner of some of the hottest nightclubs on both the east and west coast, I must show my face." Raymond tells us.
"Really?" Karen narrows her eyes at him. "We're supposed to be showing my beautiful friend here a good time. Notworking."
"I know." He smiles sheepishly. "And I'm sorry. But I can't pass this up. Besides, with such a beautiful woman on my arm, I want nothing more than to show her off to the world."
Karen shakes her head, but she doesn't protest.
A short time later we're taken to one of Raymond's nightclubs where a glam squad and team is standing by to dress us for the evening. And my mood dies a little thinking back to when Alexander did this exact same thing.
Fast forward an hour, and we're on the road again. With me being noticeably distant. But Raymond's too much of a gentleman to call me on it.
"We're here." He says a half an hour later as we pull up to a super Swanky Hotel in the heart of Los Angeles.
Camera's start flashing immediately, and the four of us exit the limousine we've pulled up in. Stopping to pose for the cameras. That's when I remember my agreement with Alexander. The one where I agreed to be his wife publicly even though privately there's been nothing between us for the past month but silence.
Not like before.
His father's treatment is complete, and he's in remission. Save for the public events I'm still obligated contractually to go to, there's really nothing left between us anyway. Still, I place some distance between Raymond and me just in case someone recognizes me. I wouldn't want to be branded a cheater publicly for a relationship that doesn't even really exist.
We move into the crowded ballroom of the hotel where classical music, conversation, and laughter buzzes throughout. And as soon as we walk in, all eyes are on us. With women admiring our gowns and jewelry, while men admire us for completely different reasons. Then the whispers start.
Isn't that Alexander King's wife?
Have they separated?
Is she with Raymond Waite now?
What a lovely dress she's wearing!
She truly knows how to make an entrance!
Does this mean Alexander is single again?
No sooner had the question been posed did I come face to face with the devil himself. His cologne taking hold of my senses before his intense gaze roots me to the spot.
And I'd like nothing more than to slap him across the face.
Sliding his hand across the small of my back, he pulls me to his side. Opposite of Raymond. Making sure to place himself between us while we smile for curious onlookers.
Meanwhile, Raymond places a smile on his face like this was all planned. But he and Karen's date, Marshall, exchange wtf looks.
"Lose the tosser?" Alexander says through a forced smile. Still pretending that this was all planned.
Also, by tosser, I'm assuming he means Raymond.
"That would be rude, don't you think? Especially since he was the one to invite me... not you." I plaster a smile on my face as well. Then, turning to him, I tell him, "If you wanted me here, you should've invited me. Isn't that what husbands do? What you're paying me for? To be your pretend wife at these ridiculous parties. Speaking of, where the hell have you been, Alex?"
"Now isn't the time or the place for that discussion. I'm serious... lose the tosser."
"No."
Alexander's gaze turns cold and his mask slips for a nanosecond before he recovers. He's probably not used to hearing the word no or being rebuffed by a woman. But before he can say anything else, however, I walk away from him. Joining Karen and the others who have pulled ahead of me to make their way over to the bar.
"Do you know him?" Raymond asks once I've returned. He and Alexander locked in an intense stare down.
"Unfortunately." I nod.
"Who is he?"
"Ray, that's Alexander King." Marshall educates him.
I watch as Raymond's rich brown texture pales into a sickly beige. "Thee Alexander King?" He asks.
"The one and only." Karen confirms for him.
"How do you know him?" Raymond asks me.
"Holy shit..." Marshall's eyes widen. "You're his wife."
I guess my cover is blown.
"I am." I nod. "Though I'm considering a change of scenery."
Most of our business has concluded, after all. And clearly he sees no need to keep up appearances. So, there's no reason for me to continue pretending to be his wife.
Other than the fact that I owe him a kid.
"Does he know that?" Raymond asks. Swallowing hard.
I follow his gaze over to a familiar hulking figure that seems to be heading our way.
The sight of Benji approaching with a menacing look in his eyes would make any sane man quake in their boots. And the closer he gets the more Raymond seems to shrink into oblivion to avoid him.
"You're a beautiful woman, Evelyn. But I'm afraid I must call our night to an end." Raymond tells me and quickly disappears into the crowded room.
Damnit.
Coward.
Benji stares after him as he approaches me. His facial expression softening once his gaze meets mine. "I'm sorry, Mrs. King, but Mr. King has requested that I take you to his car."
"Like hell," I shake my head. "Tell him I said he can go to hell."
"I am to use force, if necessary." He flashes me an apologetic smile.
"Excuse me." I blanche.
Pulling out my phone, I text Alexander.
ME: Leave. Me. Alone.
ALEXANDER: Either we leave, or I go find the bloke you came in with and make him regret ever setting eyes on you. Your choice.
Glancing up from my phone, I find an angry Alexander staring back at me. The look on his face telling me, my coming with him is more to stop him from hurting Raymond than it is anything else.
But I don't care.
I came here to have fun tonight, and that is exactly what I'm going to do.
So, I fire off another text to tell him exactly what he can do with his threat.
ME: Fuck. Off.
Rather than text me back, he pounds back what's left in his glass and disappears into the crowd.
Good.
I don't know what makes him think he can ghost me for a month and then show up out of the blue barking orders at me.
After ordering a drink, I say a toast with Karen, Marshall, and Raymond who has decided to return to our little quartet. And taking him by the hand, I force him to waltz with me. Giving him my undivided attention because I'm secretly hoping Alexander is watching.
We're halfway through our third waltz when Alexander comes out of nowhere to stare Raymond down until he backs away from me and leaves. Taking me by the hands he hopes to pick up where he left off, but I've had enough, and I exit the dance floor with Alexander hot on my heels.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice Benji closing in on a panicked Raymond and turn to face Alexander. My anger now matching his.
"Call him off." I demand.
"Come with me." He demands.
My anger reaches its boiling point, and I slap him as hard as I can across the face. Bringing the attention in the room to the two of us.
"If you're not at my car in five minutes, I'll have Benji break every bone in his body for every minute you're not there."
Alexander pushes past me toward the door, and my gaze shifts over to a frightened Raymond with Benji standing at his back. Too close for his reason to be anything but a threat.
Damn him.
Sighing, I flash both a worried Karen and an angry Marshall an apologetic smile. I have no choice but to leave because I am afraid of what an angry Alexander might do to Raymond if I don't.
He and Benji both escort me out of the hotel, down to the car waiting for us. Once I'm inside, Benji climbs into the driver's seat, and we take off.
"You have a lot of nerve." I glower at Alexander who seems pleased with himself for ruining my night. My arms folded over my chest. "I haven't heard from you in a month. You didn't even have the decency to answer any of my calls or my texts. How dare you interfere with my date tonight."
"So, it was a date." He has the nerve to narrow his eyes at me like I'm the one in the wrong.
"Yes! It was. Not that you care. You've made it very clear I don't matter to you. If I did, you would have called or at least responded to my messages."
"Don't be so dramatic." He huffs.
"Dramatic?" I glower at him.
I rear back to slap him again, only, he catches my arm mid swing, and pulls me onto his lap. He's rubbed me the wrong way, and he knows it. So, he tries a different approach.
"Not that I owe you an explanation, but I had to fly to New York on business. It's been non-stop board meetings and meetings with potential clients from the moment I got off the bloody plane. You know what it takes to run a company, Evelyn. Just like you should know that the last thing I want to hear right now is how I didn't give you enough attentionthis past month."
Fine.
I won't tell him anything.
I'll just keep my mouth shut, and when I slap the taste out of his mouth again, he can figure it out for himself.
"If you want my attention you know how to get it. And if you'd like to keep it, you know what I want. I shouldn't have to cater to your ego for you to know that even while I am away and doing business, you are always on my mind."
What a sweet and yet messed up thing to say.
Clearly, he's never been with a woman who stood up for herself before. I'm not going to let him walk all over me. No self-respecting woman who knows her value would put up with this. No matter how amazing he might be in bed.
My dignity is not up for compromise.
"Now I know why Stephanie Mills left you. I'm guessing she got tired of waiting for you to get a clue." I take a stab at his ego. "You may be great in bed, and you have all the potential in the world to be a truly great husband, but you haven't the faintest idea how women truly work."
And another thing...
"Wanting to hear from you has nothing to do with my ego. It simply means I care enough to want to make you a part of my day. If you cared enough, you would've done the same. But clearly, you do not. So... take. Me. Home."
"This marriage is a business arrangement. Which means caring about your feelings isn't a requirement." He says to me coldheartedly. "You're thinking with the wrong head. Besides, Stephanie didn't leave me... she's dead."
***
Uncomfortable silence settles between us. With my words rendering her speechless. Stoking the fire in her eyes and snuffing it out at the same time.
If I could grant her request, I would.
But I can't.
I'm tired, I'm jetlagged, and all I've been able to think about this past month is holding her in my arms.
Until now.
"Instruct your driver to take me home." Evelyn demands for the second time.
First she pushes me away when I tell her I want her, and now she's cross with me for not wanting her. I cannot figure her out. And yet she intrigues me to no end.
"No." I refuse.
Anything worth having is worth fighting for.
I may have ghosted her this path month, but it doesn't mean she hasn't been on my mind.
"This is kidnapping."
Annoyed, I call for the driver to pull over. When he does, Evelyn readies to bolt from the car, but I gently grab her by the wrist to stop her.
"If you step out of this car, I won't come looking for you." I warn her. "Ever."
"Good." She stuns me by replying. "I don't want to be with you anyway."
"I never said I didn't want to be with you."
"You didn't make me a priority, either."
"Make you a priority? If you want me, just say the words, Evelyn. I promise you they won't hurt."
Yanking free from my grasp, she again stuns me by climbing out of the car and slamming the door. Intent on making her way back home on her own.
And calling my bluff.
"Would you like me to wait, boss?" My driver asks.
Fuck.
Getting out of the car, I go after her. Which gives my security team a heart attack. Catching up to her, I grab her by the arm and take her phone out of her hand. Hanging up on whoever she's talking to.
"Let me go." She demands.
Quieting my anger, I release her arm, but I keep her phone. I know she won't leave without it, and I just want to talk.
"Boss, being out in the open like this..." Benji shoots me a warning look.
"I am aware." I give him a look that says we'll leave when I'm ready.
Evelyn's face reddens with embarrassment that she's putting me in this situation again. Mentally kicking herself for not being able to control her emotions, and I find it amusing that she verbally scolds herself like no one is watching.
Defeated, she climbs back into the car. Retaking her seat and buckling herself in. Rather than look at me, though, her gaze trails out the window. Our little argument far from settled.
My driver pulls back onto the road, and we arrive at King Investments a half hour later, where we take the private elevator up to my penthouse suite.
"I'm sorry." Evelyn apologizes. Then she clarifies. "For forcing you to put your life in danger to stop me. Not for being angry with you. I'm still angry with you. You could've reached out to me, and you didn't."
"You're right. I could've." I nod. Acknowledging her feelings. Then I add. "And if you were mine, I would've. But this isn't a relationship Evelyn, it's a business arrangement."
The anger in her eyes winks out. Replaced by another look I can't put my finger on. Though if I had to guess I'd say it looks a lot like regret. Which makes me regret having to pull this card in the first place.
"Right." She speaks barely above a whisper. Her eyes lowering to the floor before trailing to the window. Shutting me out completely.
Fuck.