The Solitary Billionaire (4 page)

Minx turned, she felt his
eyes follow her as she stormed out of the room towards the safety of her
bedroom.

***

She felt a confused mix of
emotions as she lay on her bed, painting her toenails bright red.
 
Minx felt worn out from the constant drama
and felt like moving to a luxury Hotel in St. Lucia to enjoy the rest of her
holiday in a peaceful environment.
 
She
was surprised how much Stanley Marx dominated her thoughts.
 
She felt he appeared selfish and emotionally
dangerous.
  
He was incredibly skilled at
making her feel inadequate.

Minx decided to practice
singing scales and humming loudly.
 
Her
mother always told her to belt out a tune whenever she was upset.
 
This always made Minx feel better.

***

Stanley Marx stared
pensively out the window in the kitchen eating his lunch.
 
He heard a women singing in the
background.
 
He was taken aback.
 
The last time he heard music in the house was
when his wife was alive.
 

“Who’s that singing?”

“I think it’s the girl,”
huffed Joe as he paused to listen.

Stanley Marx continued
eating and watching Joe.

Finally he put down his
knife and fork and smiled.

“She’s bloody awful, if I
had a voice like that, I would not be singing in public,” his mouth twisted
with wry amusement.

***

Minx Valour was wakened by
the continuous knocking on her bedroom door.
 
She stood rather shakily and tried to suppress
her nerves.
 

She pushed open the door
and saw Stanley Marx looming over her.
 
He rubbed his chin in quiet deliberation and inhaled the light flowery
scent she liked to wear.

“Mrs Valour, I’d like to
apologise for upsetting you earlier,” his hooded eyes appraised her as she
glanced nervously up at him.
 
Her mouth
felt dry.

“Forget it.”

“I’d like you have dinner
with me tonight for eight.
 
I’ll come out
of my gloomy study for such a special occasion and I promise I’ll be on my best
behaviour.
 
I might even try to stay
sober,”

 
“All right, I’d like that.
 
Thank you,” she said politely, giving him her
best smile as she awkwardly shut the door.

***

Minx Valour slipped on a green
velvet wrap dress and a pair of chic black pointy stilettos.
 
She wore her blonde glossy locks swept to one
side with a neutral make-up.
 
Minx Valour
was known for her flawless, glowing, and dewy looking skin.
 
The curvy beauty sashayed by a handful of
servants as she entered the communal dining area.
 
Stanley Marx sat at the large mahogany table
waiting for her.
 
She thought he looked
surprisingly dignified in his blue suit.
 

They shared small talk for
the few minutes it took Matilda to return with their salmon starter and chilled
white wine.
 
They shifted seats as an
almost palpable discomfort settled over the room.

Minx picked up her glass of
white wine and glanced at Stanley Marx, across the table from her.
 
“Why do you live like a recluse, Mr Marx?”

“I don’t consider myself a
recluse.
 
I am surrounded by servants and
Jake.
 
I have my two dogs.
 
They are playful and incredibly loyal,” he
leant down to pat the two huge and majestic creatures sitting by his feet.
 

“What about friends or
dating?”

“I stopped trusting people a
long time ago.
 
Most of them are nice to
your face but behind your back they have a giant carving knife and are stabbing
you in the back,” he said bitterly as Matilda handed him a glass full of ice
and whiskey.

“It sounds like you have a
bad experience,” she whispered gently as her ice-blue eyes widened.

“Years ago, I surrounded
myself with fake people.
 
They flattered
my ego and agreed with everything I said, simply because they considered me a
man of tremendous wealth and importance.
 
The only people you can trust are family.
 
I no longer have that.
 
My parents died when I was in my twenties, and
my son and wife died in a car crash.
 
I’m
sure you read all the speculating in the tabloids.
 
I could have had those trashy papers shut
down for printing such ridiculous theories.
 
Nobody knows what happened that night, apart from me and my wife and
she’s dead.”

“I’m sorry,” Minx said
softly.
 
The silence stretched between
them.

“We had a fight that
night.
 
There was a storm coming and we
argued.
 
She said she wanted a
divorce.
 
I told her that she could go to
hell.
 
I would never let her take my
boy.
 
I would fight her in every court in
the land.
 
Turns out, she did take him
away from me, permanently.”

“I’m sorry,” Minx leant
over and put her hand gently on his as their eyes locked.
 
He was taken aback, but didn’t pull his hand
away.
 
He liked the silky, sensual tone
in her voice.
 
The silence continued between
them as Matilda cleared the table.
 
Minx
gave a smile of appreciation as Matilda placed a main course of Sole with
ginger oil and coconut bread in front of her.
 

Minx desperately hunted
around for a change of subject.
 
“You
have a beautiful island, Mr Marx.”
 
Her
eyes were pitiably wide and bright.

Stanley Marx cocked his
head to one side and gave her a boyish grin.

“Thank you, Miss Valour,”
he said as she detected a sarcastic tone to his voice, “It offers complete
privacy and I have no desire to move, I’m too old and battered by life.”

“You are not that old,” her
tone was soft.
 
He stared at her impassively.

“I read some articles you
wrote for a social column about growing up in Dublin.
 
I was impressed with your writing ability.
 
It was hugely witty,” he said, “You made some
sharply mocking observations about life.”

“I wrote that column two
years ago.
 
How did you dig that out?”

“I did some investigating
myself.
 
You’re middle-class, catholic
parents separated when you were eight.
 
You’re father remarried his secretary whom you can’t stand.
 
You studied journalism in college and you
have become one of Ireland’s most sought-after models.
 
You like a challenge and something that
pushes you out of your comfort zone.
 
I
guess that is why you requested to spend a week with me,” he said with a wry
grin.

“Anything else?” she
enquired sarcastically.

“You’ve had a boob job.”

“You certainly did do some
investigating,” she confessed, blushing.

“Would you like to know why
I agreed to you coming to stay with me for the week?”

“Yes,” she said, her fingers
trembled slightly as she picked up her glass of wine.

“Jake showed me a picture
of you holding the winning ticket on the Internet.
 
You slightly reminded me of my wife, Greta.
 
You are not as beautiful in the flesh though,
she was a spectacular beauty, but you have similar features,” he stared into
her eyes, Minx held his burning gaze.

“I met her in Monte Carlo,
I was a tax exile.
 
She was this magnificent
beauty.
 
I was a billionaire playboy with
time on my hands, as I’d already made my wealth.
 
I fell in love,” he paused.
 
“It was only after we married that I found
out the truth.
 
She had numerous affairs
with my closest friends and business partners and enjoyed parading this in my
face.”
 
He closed his eyes and took a
deep breath.
 
He sounded drunk.

“She had this wild side, I
was unable to tame.
 
She told me, she
only married me for my fortune.
 
Towards
the end, she knew the only thing I cared about was my son.
 
I adored that boy,” his eyes turned bleak as
he ran his fingers through his shaggy mane of silver hair.

The silence was suffocating.
 
Matilda placed a fresh pot of coffee,
sugar and milk on the mahogany table before leaving for the evening.
 
They did not notice Matilda putting on her
cardigan and closing the door softly behind her.

“All my life, I’ve
experienced rejection, there was parental rejection, Greta rejected me in
favour of other men, but my boy loved me.
 
He didn’t love me for my money or the fact I
was a property and shipping tycoon.
 
He
loved me, simply because I was his Dad.
 
I spent most of my time looking after him, while Greta was out attending
social events and courting other men,” Stanley Marx gave a broad smile and
sipped his powerful drink.
 
Minx’s eyes
softened and compassion etched on her lovely face.

“That fateful night, Greta told
me, she was leaving me and taking my boy with her.
 
I offered her the lot, my business, mansions,
property, everything.
 
She would become the
richest, most powerful woman in the world.
 
She accepted my offer.
 
I would
get full custody of my son and she would take everything else,” he paused.
 
“We had one hell of a fight that night,” he
murmured as his burning eyes stared intently at Minx, “still, I got what I
wanted, my boy.”

“I’m so sorry, Stanley,”
Minx whispered as her eyes clouded with tears.

“I should never have let
her get into that car with my boy, there was a huge storm and we both had too
much alcohol.
 
She was only driving five
minutes down the road to the servant’s cottage.
 
But she never made it.
 
The last
time I saw him, he was bawling and begging me to take him back to the safety of
his nursery,” his voice quivered.
 
Nothing prepared her for the empty blankness of his eyes.

Minx got up from her chair
and leant down to wrap her arms around Stanley Marx.
 
He could feel her trembling like a leaf.
 
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her
hard.
 
She kissed him back with equal
intensity.
 
His hand moved up from her
shoulder and into her hair as his tongue expertly explored her mouth.
 
His tongue swirled around her mouth and he
tasted divine.
 
He hadn’t shaved; Minx
felt his stubble brushing roughly against her porcelain skin.
 
His kiss became more demanding as she used
all her willpower to push him away.
 

“It’s late, I should be
going to bed,” she whispered softly.
 
Her
cheeks were flushed and her hair tossed.
 
His hooded eyes watched her intently as she fixed her dress.

“What are we doing?
 
You are young enough to be my daughter and I’m
a grumpy 50-year old with a protruding stomach.”

”I like the fact you have a
soft, sentimental side.
 
You hide it
well,” she said softly.

“Shall I walk you to your
room?”

“No, I got it.
 
I’ll see you tomorrow,” Minx said awkwardly
as she turned and sashayed out of the room.
 
Stanley Mark was lost in thought as she walked sexily out of the room.

Minx Valour closed the
bedroom door and sank onto her bed.
 
She
smiled wickedly and her eyes were alit with a salacious gleam.

Minx Valour had just kissed
the notorious billionaire recluse, Stanley Marx.
 
Desire bloomed deep in her belly.
 
She closed her eyes and gave a sigh of utter
contentment as she curled up beneath the duvet and fell asleep.
 

The End
– Part 1