Whatever He Wants (16 page)

 
     
“So
you’re not going to make this easy for me?”

 
     
James
was now more than mildly irritated at David’s arrogance in thinking he was the
same boy who’d desperately wanted to please the people who’d constantly
rejected him. It was clear to James, David still thought very little of him.

 
     
James
took several shallow calming breaths before replying. “I’m not sure on what
planet you can come unprepared to a business meeting to ask for a large sum of
money for nothing.
And on the strength of what?
Why
should I give
AlCore
a dime? The only way I’d even
consider it is if I was offered a sizable stake in the company and at which
point, I’d have my accountants running through the books with a fine tooth
comb. Plus a management team of my choosing would be put in place, but that’s
only if there was a proposal for me to review.”

 
     
“So
that’s it?” David sneered. “You want
AlCore
. I should
have known better than lowering myself by coming here. I thought I could appeal
to your sense of decency because we’re…” he trailed off as if finishing the
sentence would scorch his tongue.

 
     
James
raised a brow. “What David? Say it.
Because we’re brothers?
Isn’t that what you used to tell me when we were younger so I’d take the rap
for you? So you could use me when it was convenient for you and forget about me
when it wasn’t? If that’s what you had in mind, that’s quite unfortunate for
you because those days are long gone. So, unless you have a serious business
proposition, I’ll have to decline any assistance you’re looking for.”

 
     
David
bounded out of his seat. He no longer hid the disgust he probably felt from the
second he stepped into the office. “Screw you, James. You think you’re so
mighty,
lording
your success over our heads. Behind
the money and nice clothes, you’re still just a junkie’s son. Oh, you can buy
your way into our circles but you’ll never truly belong.”

 
     
James’s
ears burned in his anger but he used every bit of will power he possessed to
not to leap over his desk and beat the shit out of that self-important bastard.
“Seeing as how you made the ultimate sacrifice by being in my lowly presence, I
bid you a good day.”  And with that he picked up a pen and examined
documents on his desk, not really seeing any of the words swimming on the
pages. He wouldn’t give that asshole the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to
him.

 
     
“Son
of a bitch,” David cursed. He slammed the door behind him.

 
     
The
confrontation with his half-brother had left James in a foul mood for the rest
of the day as memories from the past resurfaced—memories he’d fought hard to
put firmly behind him. Yet here they were again with a vengeance.

 
     
 
As if sensing his mood, Paul had tip-toed
around him for the remainder of the day, although it did nothing to assuage
James’s ire. He’d barely managed to get through the remainder of the morning
without completely losing his cool. Deciding he needed to get out of the office
he sought out one of the two things that always eased his tension, and as he
didn’t particularly feel like going to the gym, he headed to the penthouse.

 
     
James allowed the sting of the hot shower
spray to flay his back, letting it administer scalding lashes. Despite turning
the nozzle to its hottest temperature, the physical ache was easy to ignore
with the various emotions warring through him. 

 
     
He could do the decent thing and cut
Noelle loose but something held him back. It annoyed him how she’d managed to
get under his skin in such a short time.  After all, Noelle was no
different from any of the other women he’d kept. She was just a better actress.
With that in mind, James managed to firmly stow away any residual guilt he’d
experienced from their encounter. He wouldn’t think about her beyond their
arrangement and he most certainly wouldn’t think about what transpired with
David earlier.

 
     
He may have come from humble beginnings
but now that he was on top, he intended to stay there. He’d have the life he’d
always deserved: the money, the trophy wife and the social status. And no one
would deter him from his goal.

 
     
Noelle didn’t hear from James for two and
a half weeks, although Paul called to let her know James would be out of the
country for a week. That didn’t account for the other week and a half. And
knowing he was in town and not visiting hurt like hell.

 
     
After he rolled out of bed the last time
they were together, he headed for the shower and stayed there for a
considerable amount of time. At the very least, she expected him to come by her
room to say goodbye but he didn’t, leaving her feeling used and discarded.

 
     
Most women would have packed their bags
and got the hell out of there but she couldn’t bring herself to
  walk
away. The man seemed to have weighed her down
with invisible chains she couldn’t break from. There was another side to James
he hid from her, a side he didn’t think she saw. It was in his eyes the last
time they were together. Noelle wanted to take whatever pain he carried away.
But once again, he’d shut her out. What kind of masochist was she to take this
kind of emotional abuse?

 
     
During his absence she stayed in the
penthouse most of the time, trying out her mother’s recipes and adding her own
twists to them. She’d only leave the penthouse to take a walk around the block
for the sake of getting fresh air. After a week with no word from James, she
went out more, mostly to go shopping for things she believed James would like
to see her in. She kept in contact with Simone via the phone and pretended
everything was fine and dandy, despite the fact she was a big ball of anxiety
as she waited to hear from James.

 
     
Noelle missed him so much she had trouble
sleeping and could barely eat. The culinary confections she made were given to
the guards at the front desk and the doorman. She went down one dress size.

 
     
After two weeks she was tempted to call
Paul and ask if James was traveling again but she had a feeling he wasn’t. As
it turned out, there was no need to contact Paul because he showed up two weeks
into James’ mysterious absence. Hearing the knock on her door one day startled
Noelle because she wasn’t expecting anyone. The only two people allowed past
the guards without receiving a call from them were James and Paul. James never
knocked so she knew it had to be Paul, though she’d only met him when she first
moved in to the penthouse.

 
     
Her only interactions with him had been on
the telephone when he called to check in on her to see if there was anything
she needed. He was always polite, but very crisp and businesslike, making sure
no familiarity developed between them.

 
     
“Hi, Paul,” Noelle greeted once she opened
the door.

 
     
He nodded. “Miss Greene? May I come in?”

 
     
She stood back, opening the door wider to
allow him entrance. “Sure. And please, call me Noelle. I thought we settled
this already.”

 
     
The polite smile he shot her way told
Noelle he had no intention of complying. “James wanted me to stop by and check
the faucets. He said something about the water pressure being off the last time
he was here. Have you had any problems with it lately?”

 
     
“No. I
gotta
admit
,
I’m surprised to see you here. Normally you
just call to see if everything is okay.”

 
     
“Usually when there’s a problem with
maintenance, I stop by to see for myself what’s going on so, I’m able to
accurately describe to the repairman what the problem is. “

 
     
The explanation seemed plausible enough
but there was something about his statement that didn’t really hold true.
Noelle could sense there was something Paul was holding back but she decided
not to call him on it. Besides, being the type of man James was, she doubted
his EA would be here without his knowledge. “Okay,” she finally responded. “You
know where everything is. I’m going to finish frosting my cake.”

 
     
Paul raised a dark blond brow. “You baked
a cake?” The surprise was evident in his voice.

 
     
Noelle shrugged. “I didn’t have much else
to do. There’s only so much shopping I can do before it gets boring.”

 
     
“I can imagine. Well, if you’ll excuse
me.”

 
     
“Sure.”

 
     
By the time Paul returned from his
inspection, Noelle was viewing her handy work. Not only had she tried a
variation of her mother’s recipe, she’d tried her hand at piping to recreate a
cake she’d seen on television.

 
     
She didn’t realize he’d entered the
kitchen until he spoke. “Everything seems fine but I’m going to call the
plumber anyway just to make sure. I’ll call and let you know when you should
expect someone.”

 
     
Noelle barely spared him a glance as she
continued to study what she’d created. “Okay. See you later.”

 
     
“You made that?”

 
     
“Yes. What do you think?”

 
     
Paul approached the island. “I think
that’s pretty amazing. I didn’t realize you were so talented. It’s almost as
fancy as those cakes you see in bakery window displays.”

 
     
Noelle beamed under his approval. It
wasn’t often someone complimented her on something she did. “Well, how about
seeing if it’s as good as it looks. Let me cut you a piece.”

 
     
He held up his hands in protest. “No.
That’s okay. I had a big lunch.”

 
     
“So, I’ll cut you a little slither.
Please, won’t you try some?” She wouldn’t have pushed in other circumstances,
but being alone in the penthouse for the past couple of weeks was driving her
nuts, and having company broke the monotony. “Please,” Noelle softly begged
when she noticed his reluctance.

 
     
“Okay. I guess I can give it a try.”

 
     
She had a feeling his capitulation had
more to do with politeness than him actually wanting to try her concoction.
Whatever his reasons, she ignored it and sliced him a piece of cake, serving it
to him on pristine china.

 
     
Paul forked a sizable bite into his mouth
and froze. His eyes widened slightly before he began to chew slowly.
“This…”  He took another bite. “You baked this?”

 
     
“Yes. It’s my mom’s old recipe with a twist.”

 
     
“And you decorated it and everything?”

 
     
“Yep.
Don’t sound
so surprised,” she responded dryly.

 
     
“I didn’t mean to offend but besides the
cake looking great, it tastes fantastic, even better than the junk I’ve been
forced to try with my sister.”

 
     
“Your sister bakes?”

 
     
“Not on her spoiled little life. No, she’s
getting married at the end of the year and we’ve visited caterers and bakeries
for the reception. I must admit, this beats all the ones we’ve tried so far, at
least in my opinion. You have a gift.”

 
     
Noelle grinned, content to have someone
enjoy her culinary treats besides the security guards who claimed she was
making them fat. Not that they minded because they always eagerly accepted
whatever she had to offer. “Then I’ll cut a piece for you to take to her.”

 
     
He forked another mouthful past his lips
and moaned. “To be quite honest,” he spoke with his mouth full, “it may not
make it to her.”

 
     
“Then take the entire thing with you.”