Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) (10 page)

“I do.
 
Why should
we limit Streamed just to video?
 
Why not music, television, and books?
 
Amazon and Apple aren’t the mainstay everywhere.
 
There are global opportunities that we
must consider.
 
There are areas
that they still haven’t infiltrated.
 
At least not according to my research, and I researched the hell out of
it.”

“I couldn’t agree more.
 
Even if we can only launch Streamed into a few key markets and become
the
market there, we win.
 
I think
Alex, you and I will make a great team.”
 
He paused.
 
“I heard what
happened to Alex and you after my birthday party the other night.
 
I’m sorry that happened.
 
Is Alex all right?
 
I heard he’s in the hospital.”

“
Was
in the
hospital.
 
Just sprung.”

I spun around at the familiar voice that came behind me to face
Alex.
 
I put my hand over my mouth
in disbelief.
 
He was in a
tux.
 
He was perfectly
groomed.
 
His face had been cleaned
up—I saw only a hint of his abrasions through what must have been some
skillfully applied makeup.
 
Bernie and Blackwell,
I thought
.
 
He winked at me.

“You look gorgeous,” he said.
 
“But you always do.
 
Have there been many photos taken?
 
I’m assuming there have been with you looking like that, love.”

Before I could respond, he looked at Henri.

“It’s good to see you, Henri.”

I wanted to reach out and hold Alex, but that would be
inappropriate in this situation, so I restrained myself.
 
Instead, I reached out for his hand and
squeezed it fiercely in my own.
 
He
responded in kind, and I could feel the heat pass between us.
 
I was dizzy with relief.
 
Alex was on his feet.
 
He was dressed for the evening.
 
At that moment, I was certain that I’d
never be happier than I was then.

Henri Dufort was no fool.
 
He reached for Alex’s free hand and held it in his own.
 
“You look well,” he said.
 

“I feel well.”

“And you’re in love.
 
It’s obvious.
 
We
French—we feel the energy.
  
It overcomes us.
 
We know
the importance.
 
Business is
important, but so is love.
 
And
you’re in love.
 
You’re finally in
love again, Alex.
 
After all these
years.
 
And with this gem of a
woman.”

“I am.”

“It’s fantastic.
 
Go home and be with her.
 
There’s no need to be here for me.
 
Take her home with you.
 
Be
together.
 
We’re not going to lose
any time.
 
Jennifer and I just had
a meeting of the minds.”
 
He nodded
toward me.
 
“By the way?
 
This one?
 
This one is smart.
 
This one has sold me.
 
This
is the one I want to lead the project.
 
You too, of course.
 
But you
have a lot on your plate, which I appreciate.
 
So, I want this one on my team.
 
She’ll make it happen.
 
Don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely.
 
You’ll be in excellent hands with Jennifer.”

“Then I’m fine for tonight.
 
Right now, you two need to be together.
 
Especially with you fresh out of the
hospital and after what happened at my birthday party.
 
Go on.
 
I won’t be so kind when we meet in the next few days.
 
I’ll want results and plans and
strategies.
 
But tonight it’s time
to be human.
 
I remember what new
love felt like once, before my Claire died.
 
And I can only imagine what you’ve been through these past
few days.
 
Peachy will find someone
else to sit next to me.
 
Look
around—take your pick of who’d like to have a seat at that coveted
table.
 
In just a few words,
Jennifer already has me excited for Streamed’s future. So, go.”

“Henri,” Alex said, “I didn’t show up to stop the
conversation.”

Henri look at me and then at Alex.
 
“What you two need to do is continue your own
conversation.”
 
He started to move
away into the crowd, thus emphasizing his point.
 
“We’ll meet soon.
 
At Wenn.
 
I’ll come to you
because I know you’re still recovering.
 
You know what I expect from you.
 
Just lay it out for me.
 
We’ll talk.
 
We’ll
laugh.
 
We’ll conquer.
 
We’ll go forward.
 
I already feel happy and ready for the
next steps, but we go forward wisely.
 
My assistant will be in touch with yours.
 
C’est tout.
 
Allons
.”

And Henri Dufort disappeared into the crowd.

CHAPTER TWELVE

When I turned to face Alex, he had that endearing grin on his
face that I’d missed so much.
 
It
was the one he usually wore when we were headed to an event and—after
being molded and transformed by Blackwell and Bernie—I’d take the
elevator to meet him on his floor at Wenn.
 

At that moment, I was aware that we were the center of
attention.
 
Yet, in an odd way, it
felt like we were the only two in a room filled with hundreds of people.
 
He was still holding my hand when he
lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it.
 
For a moment, his lips lingered there.
 
Then he pressed his cheek against my
hand and closed his eyes as if in relief.

I’m in love with you
, I thought while running my fingers
through the side of his hair.
 
Everything
I worried about in the past is gone.
 
You’re a good man, Alexander Wenn.
 
I’m sorry for all of the walls I pushed up—they were a product of
my fear.
 
I regret all of it.
 
I trust you, I’m in love with you, and
I couldn’t be happier to finally be here with you.

“How?” I asked him.
 
“They said you were staying the night.
 
How did you get out of the hospital?”

He looked at me and shrugged.
 
“I told them that I missed my girlfriend,” he said.
 
“I said I might have a heart attack if
I didn’t see her tonight.
 
They
considered that for a moment, and then they released me.”

“Come with me,” I said.
 
“Over here, where it’s more private.”

I took his hand and led him through the crowds to the far left
corner of the room where there were fewer people.
 
I stood in front of him and pressed my back against the wall
so no one could see me.
 
With his
back to the room, no one could see his face.
 
It wasn’t perfect, but it was as discreet as we could be
given the circumstances.
 
I reached
up and kissed him fleetingly on the lips because I knew that any sign of public
affection was frowned upon within this society.
 
But Alex didn’t seem to care.
 
He leaned into my kiss and probed deeper.
 
When we separated, it felt unnatural,
kind of like a tearing away.
 
I
wanted to hold him in my arms, but this place was denying me that.
 
I could see my frustration mirrored in
his own expression.

“We can’t do this here,” I said.
 
“I know you’re hurt.
 
I know we can’t be completely intimate tonight.
 
But if we could just lie together on
your sofa—”

“We’re leaving.
 
I’m making love to you.
 
I’m
fine.”

“It’s too soon.
 
I’m worried.”

“My doctor gave me the golden pass.
 
I’m good to go.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.
 
“The golden pass?”

“That’s right.
 
I’m
a machine.
 
I told my doctor my
plans, and he told me not to go crazy.
 
I asked him to define crazy.
 
That stumped him.
 
He
checked my pulse again, and peered into my eyes with one of those lighted
scopes.
 
He apparently saw nothing
of concern, so he released me.
 
He
said, ‘Go crazy.’”

“You don’t know how relieved I am to have you here and to know
that you’re well.”

“Want to see how well?”
 

He kissed me more passionately than he had before.
 
He reached down and cupped my ass in
his hand.
 
He gripped it and
squeezed it.
 
I felt his tongue
slip into my mouth.
 
And when his
stubble traced along the curve of my neck, I felt a moist warmth spread between
my legs as my body tingled and became alive.
 

I knew we shouldn’t be doing this here.
 
I knew it was inappropriate and that
some people would be offended and irritated, but Alex knew this crowd better
than anyone, and he didn’t seem to care.
 
When I whispered in his ear that we should go, he just sort of growled
and kissed me harder.

That’s when the explosions of lights went off.

“Don’t stop there,” a familiar voice said.
 
“This is your big moment, Bob.
 
That’s right.
 
Shoot away.
 
Light them up.
 
Capture
their obscene little moment of mutual fireworks.
 
Everybody’s been talking about it.
 
But why leave their indiscretions just for us?
 
Let’s photograph it for the entire city
to see.”

Due to the rapid flashes of lights, I couldn’t see who was
talking.
 
But I knew that
voice—it belonged to Immaculata Almendarez, and it was clear from her
tone that she was seething.
 
I
wanted to take her down for doing this to Alex.
 
Nobody in this city knew who I was, but they certainly knew
Alex.
 
And what she was doing was
trying to publicly humiliate him.
 
To my surprise, Alex seemed unaffected by the commotion.
 
He turned to the camera with such a
look that the lights stopped flashing.

“Hello, Immaculata,” Alex said.

She didn’t respond.

“So, suddenly you can’t speak?”

Apparently, she couldn’t.
 
She said nothing.

He looked at the cameraman.
 
“Fine, then.
 
Let’s think of her as the world thinks of her—a nonexistent,
unhappy, bitter drunk.
 
I don’t
know who you are, sir, but I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Jennifer Kent,
whom I haven’t been with in a few days for reasons you might have read
about.
 
Or not.
 
Either way, are you ready for your last
shot?
 
Because this
will
be your last shot.
 
I can promise you that.
 
But I won’t cheat you.
 
We will give you a shot to remember.
 
And then you can give it to whichever
paper you’re working for.”

“The
Post
, Mr. Wenn.”

“So Page Six?”

“This has Page Six written all over it.”

“Actually, what’s
about
to happen has Page Six written all over it.
 
Are you ready?
 
And you, Immaculata?
 
Are
you ready?”

“Go to hell, Alex.”

“And spend the rest of eternity there with you?
 
No thanks.
 
I see no shame in having a moment with the woman I
love.
 
So, take the photo—if
you can handle it.
 
And by that, I
mean both of you.”

I noticed that Tank had moved beside the photographer.
 
He towered over him in such a way that
his sheer muscular girth and his broad shoulders had nudged a very pissed off
Immaculata off to the side.
 

Alex whispered in my ear.
 
“Kiss me like you mean it, OK?”

I bit my lower lip.
 
“You’re wicked,” I said.

“Just in love.
 
Why
not share it with the city?
 
Some
have been waiting for this day for too long.
 
I want them to see how lucky I am.”

“And how lucky I am.”

He cocked his head at me when I said that, and then he very
carefully wrapped his left arm around my waist and kissed me with such
intensity that I barely was aware of the lights as they began to flash.
 
Except for those in my head, of
course.
 
Those lights were going
off in ways that were as wonderful as they were all consuming.
 
I was lost in them and in him.
 
When he pulled away from me, the
cameraman stopped.
 
I looked over
and saw Tank beside him with his hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Did you get your shot?” Alex asked.

“I did, Mr. Wenn.”

“Do me a favor, will you?
 
There are two ways you can play this story.
 
You can use one of the more salacious shots you got earlier
with the help of Immaculata, and that will get a buzz.
 
Or you can use one of the more romantic
shots we just gave you.
 
It’s no
secret that the press in this city has been waiting four years for me to fall
in love with another woman.
 
Time
and again, your own paper has asked when and if that will happen.
 
So, why not answer that question with
one of those shots?
 
Because it has
happened.
 
If you choose that
route, Jennifer and I will sit down for an interview with the
Post
after
we get married.”

“You’re getting married?” Immaculata asked.

“I am if she’ll accept.
 
But unlike you, Immaculata, I have respect for others.
 
And I respect Jennifer too much to rush
her.
 
As soon as I know, I’ll let
this fine young man and his paper know.”
 
Alex turned to him.
 
“That’s
a promise, but only if you do us the courtesy of choosing the proper
photographs.
 
If an announcement is
made, I’ll personally make sure that you’re the photographer who covers the
interview.
 
That should assist you
in your career.
 
Does that suit?”

“What gets run is really up to my editors.”

“I understand that.
 
That’s why you need to tell them everything I just promised you, and
sell it to them.
 
My word is
good.
 
You and I both know how much
my pending nuptials—if I’m lucky enough to earn them—are worth in
this city.
 
Fair enough?”

“Fair enough.”

“I hope to see you sooner than you think, if you catch my
drift.”

“She’s a lovely woman, Mr. Wenn.”

“I appreciate that.
 
And I’m a very lucky man, considering the quality of some of the women
in this city, which is rather base.
 
Consider the woman who brought you over to us tonight, for example.
 
So, I hope to see you soon?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Take care, Bob.”

As Tank led the man away, I heard him say, “Mr. Wenn remembered
my name....”

Immediately, Immaculata started to leave with them.
 
Since I knew that if Alex put his hands
on her, it would only lead to further bad press for him, I was the one who
intervened and spun her around.
 

She glared at me.
 
“Get your hands off me, you stupid little bitch.”

“Get out of here, Immaculata,” Alex said.
 
“Get out of here now, or I swear you’ll
regret it.
 
I’ll have you
blackballed.”

“You don’t have what it takes to have me blackballed,” she
said.
 
“Since your silly cunt of a
wife died, you’ve become a pathetic excuse of a man who is willing to settle
for this slut.”

A gasp went through the crowd.

“You called his wife a what?” I asked.

In defiance, she threw the glass of champagne she’d been
holding in her hand into my face, causing another audible gasp to ripple among
us.
 
I now had every right to
protect myself.
 
With everything I
had within me, I pulled back my hand and slapped her so hard across the face
that she fell to the floor.

“Police!” Immaculata screamed.

“Best if we leave now,” Tank said, handing me his handkerchief.

I patted my face dry, told Alex to stay back, and then leaned
down and got in Immaculata’s face.
 
“Fuck with either of us again, and I swear that’s just the
beginning.
 
Call his wife that name
again, and I’ll beat the living shit out of you.”

She started to get up in a way that appeared aggressive since
her teeth were bared.
 
I decided it
was indeed aggressive and slapped her again, this time so hard she collapsed on
her back and started to writhe on the floor with her hands covering her
face.
 
She was such a drama queen
that she started to pant and squeal as if someone had shot her.
 
Please.
 
I leaned lower.
 
“You threw a drink in my face.
 
People witnessed it.
 
I felt
threatened and have acted only out of self-defense.
 
You and I both know that Alex can and will ruin you
socially, so I’d lick your wounds, recognize your mistakes, and leave us the
hell alone.
 
If you come after us
again, he will ruin you in this town.
 
Now, lay off.”