Breakfast was pointless, even washed clean of all perfume, Chelsea oozed her subtle, noxious odor. He was sure it was her then and not what she wore. All the seduction from the night before was gone. She was irritable and crass, not to him but the staff at the restaurant. They had to wait, not even five minutes, but it was more than enough for her to demand to see the manager.
"This is a very important breakfast for us, do you understand that?" She asked the mustached gentleman that came to her shortly after they were seated at a table she didn't like, "I have never been so insulted! He made a reservation over an hour ago, there's no reason you should have had us wait. I could ruin this... this establishment," she drawled, "with one simple call to my publicist. You want me to do that, huh?"
The man was flustered. Nate was embarrassed, but it was par for course with her. Why had he even thought this time would be different, "Chels chill," Nate said from across the table.
"I will not chill! He treated us like low-class citizens," she said to Nate as if the man wasn't even there anymore. "I am an Oscar winning actress. My face should be framed on the wall," she said gesturing to the far end of the restaurant where cherry wood frames boasted some of the classic actors and actresses of days gone by and others more popular in modern time.
"I'm the boss, remember?" He reminded her, it was all he had in his pocket. Usually when she worked herself up to this kind of tizzy they left in a huff and she had them chauffeured to another place in a rage and sat back primly as a new set of staff catered to her every whim, only too happy to please her and have her business at the expense of the other not so fortunate restaurant.
"Right," she sneered in his direction, cocking her head dramatically at him. She hated him. Really, truly hated him. How dare he tell her what she could and couldn't say to the obviously out of touch manager. If it wasn't for Sofia, waiting for him to go to her, Chelsea would let him know just how little she actually thought about him too. But she wouldn't because he couldn't choose Sofia. It was all about keeping Nate from her. The manager should have known better than to treat her like the rest of the population, he deserved a piece of her mind. Nate shouldn't be comparing her to anyone, especially not that woman. He would not leave her for Sofia. He could not. If she had to make nice with the staff to placate his ridiculous demand, she would... this one time. But... she would never come back and already had her hand on her phone to tweet her disgust.
"Nevermind, sir. We're fine," she said waving the manager with her hand, without so much as a glance in his direction. They didn't talk while they waited for the food, instead Chelsea made her case, laid it all out before him as best she could. The way she saw it, he needed her. He needed the name recognition she afforded him. They needed to stay together to keep their family unified, because a break up, after this many years, would ruin them both and the kids in the press. His affair with Sofia had already caused him problems, taking it to the next level would leave him with nothing but endless legal headaches because of her and her family's "businesses" she said, with air quotes. Everyone knew Fedrico Reyes thought he was above the law and played by his own rules.
"You really need to think Nate. Do you want to lose everything? Do you want that kind of publicity? Do you want to throw your dad's firm to the wolves? Seriously?! You're willing to ruin him over your fancy for a woman? You've got too much at stake. Whether you pick me or not, you can't leave for her. She'll ruin you. She's no good for you."
Chelsea's words lingered as they ate. She knew she got to him. Despite the fact that her breakfast was too cold and had taken too long to come, she felt satisfied. He was second guessing himself. There was too much for him to give up, to lose. He belonged to her, Sofia lost. But, to seal the deal, one last appeal to his biggest appetite. She slipped her shoe off and rubbed his leg under the table, slowly snaking her way up, up, up. He watched her, impressed with her ability to look completely innocent and uninterested above, while she teased him below.
"One more for the road?" She asked, raising one eyebrow in his directions.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled.
They paid the bill and climbed into the back of their limo.
"Drive for an hour, and do not bother us," Chelsea said to the driver before she crouched in. She locked the privacy window, then turned to Nate licking her lips devilishly. "Time to make sure you know just what you'll be missing," she said kneeling before him. This time, he needed only to sit back and revel in her seduction. She unlatched his belt, his pants, pulled down his zipper, and eased his pants down a bit, exposing his growing erection. She looked up at him playfully and stroked the shaft gently a time or two before licking all the way up from the base with her long, wet tongue. Then, she took him in. Unlike the fury and passion of the night before, this was a deliberate seduction and tempered with breaks, to calm him, then pull him time and time again back to the brink of climax. It was all an effort to remind him of what she could do for him, but it suddenly felt like domination to Nate. He was putty in her hands, eager for whatever she would do next, however she would stroke him. He hated that feeling. She was controlling him, he was letting her. The world might bow to Chelsea's whims but he decided she didn't own him.
"Enough," he said when he was on the edge of orgasm once again and felt her pull away. She looked up and he saw defiance reflect in her eyes. She demanded control, always had. She would obey but only to keep him from leaving. He didn't care, he needed the release. He laced his fingers in her hair holding her there, and finally she gave him what he needed. He would miss the sex the most, of that he was sure.
"You better not forget how good I make you feel."
"Impossible," he said taking her onto his lap after fixing his pants and belt. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled into his neck for the rest of the ride, feigning the powerlessness, she knew he was looking for.
His bag was waiting for him when they got back. Before he left, though, he wanted to say good-bye to his kids. Tyler, was still passed out in his bed. Nate woke him. He was bleary eyed, disheveled and unshaven. Nate wondered if he had found a way out of the house last night to party or if he just didn't look good that morning. The guard hadn't mentioned it, the tabloids would tell if he had been spotted anywhere.
"I really don't think you should do this Dad. It's because of me, right? Don't leave Mom because of me. Don't... please." It was always like kids to blame themselves. Nate's guilt stuck him in the gut. The man in Tyler wanted to protect his mom, it tore at Nate. It wasn't his fault... not all of it, his addiction and troubles were his choice not Chelsea's. Sure the way she insisted that they cover for him ate away at Nate and drove them apart but this choice wasn't Tyler's fault. Hearing his son blame himself actually made Nate resent Sofia, not for the first time. She insisted he leave Tyler too. It was the most unfair of all the demands made. He hugged his boy hard. He loved him, he remembered all the firsts; first smile, first step, first run, the growing-up, the having fun. There were many good memories but they were covered over with a mountain of Tyler's poor choices that were destroying them all. Still, the good was there. Nate didn't know if he'd be back and didn't want to make a promise he wouldn't keep, instead he clapped the boy on the back and nodded a final, silent, good-bye. Tyler was already laying back in bed when Nate turned to look back at him from his bedroom door.
Then Nate turned his attention to his baby girl, sweet little Sarah. She was waiting, hands fidgeting in anticipation, at the bottom of the grand stairway. Her face glowed, her smile always melted him. She seemed stronger that morning, sparkling in a pretty yellow dress, than she had been in quite a while and jumped up high into his arms and hugged him tightly when he came down into the foyer. Her nurse and Chelsea were also waiting.
"Oh Daddy, I can't wait!" Sarah said grinning mischievously into his eyes. "I can't wait to have a real mommy! You don't even have to come back," she looked suspiciously at her mother then cupped her hands over his hear and whispered, "you can take me now and we can go be wif Sofia forever!"
Chelsea crossed her arms defensively. She detested their secrets. She contorted her face viciously in front of Nate's eyes, her hate for the girl impossible to hide. He resented Sofia, true enough, for including Tyler in the things he must leave to be with her, but Chelsea's treatment of Sarah absolutely repulsed him. Sarah hadn't done a thing to deserve her mother's spite. He didn't blame his sweet daughter in the least for wanting a real mother and for wanting to leave Chelsea as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, princess, I won't leave without you," he promised, setting her back down. He gave Julie a "don't let her be alone with her mother" look the nurse knew all too well. She knew she mattered little in the rich family's drama but prayed silently that Nate would leave Chelsea for good, Sarah had already suffered too much at her mother's hands.
Nate walked to Chelsea and gave her a curt peck on the forehead, still fuming at her reaction to his good-bye with Sarah. He reached for his bag, took his sunglasses off the table and hit the road.