Whatever He Wants (17 page)

 
     
“I couldn’t.”

 
     
“Sure you can. I wasn’t going to eat it
anyway. It would only end up with the guards downstairs. But be prepared for
dirty looks from them when they see you walk out the door with a cake.”

 
     
“Seriously Miss—Noelle,” he amended when
she raised an admonishing eyebrow. “I don’t want to impose.”

 
     
“Please, Paul. You’d be doing me a favor.
Besides, it’s not like I need the extra calories. I just bake because it’s one
of the few things that relax me. My mother and I used to bake together when I
was little. She worked hard to make ends meet, and there were times I rarely
saw her because she was pulling extra shifts to pay a bill that got behind. But
every week she set aside some time for me and one of our favorite pastimes was
baking. Doing this keeps her with me.”

 
     
“How old were you when you lost your mother?”

 
     
“I was eight. It was especially tough
since my father died before I was born—an accident at work.”

 
     
“So where did you stay after that?”

 
     
“I went to live with my Aunt and her
husband.” A shudder wracked her body as she thought of the years she’d spent in
that house. Even though she hadn’t lived there in over three years, she was
shaken to the center of her being as the memories came flooding back.

 
     
“Noelle, are you okay?” Paul placed his
hand on her shoulder.

 
     
“Huh?” She snapped back to attention.

 
     
“You were somewhere else for a second. Is
everything all right?”

 
     
“Oh, yeah.
Sure.”

 
     
“I take it you weren’t happy living with
your Aunt and Uncle.” He turned a bright shade of red after asking the question
as though remembering he wasn’t supposed to be curious about her. He quickly
removed his hand and straightened up.
“My apologies.
It’s none of my business.”

 
     
Noelle shook her head, not wanting him to
feel uncomfortable around her and draw back inside his shell of professional
politeness. “No need to apologize. I’m the one who bought it up. And no, things
weren’t great with them, but I guess I should be grateful for the roof over my
head, the clothing and food they provided me. At least that’s what they kept
telling me. If it wasn’t for my cousin Simone, I don’t know how I would have
made it without going bonkers.” It was weird finally saying out loud what she’d
always felt about living with her Aunt and it was even stranger the person
she’d confess this to was James’s Executive Assistant. All she knew was it felt
good to unload. To her relief Paul didn’t seem
put
off
by her admission.

 
     
With a sigh, he placed his plate on the
island. “Noelle, may I be frank with you?”

 
     
She gulped. That sounded ominous.
“Uh, sure.”

 
     
“Look, I could possibly get fired for what
I’m about to say but…I think I’m a pretty good judge of character, and you just
don’t seem like the type to walk away from this arrangement unscathed. Why are
you really here?”

 
     
She opened her mouth to reply but as the
meaning of his words suddenly hit her, she immediately shut it again.

 
     
“I think you know where I’m going with
this right?”

 
     
She turned her back to him to hide her
expression. “In other words, you don’t think I’m good enough or glamorous
enough to be here. But it really doesn’t matter what you think does it? James
chose me.” Noelle wrapped her arms around her body, afraid to turn around and
face Paul.

 
     
“Yes, he did and I can’t imagine what he
was thinking. But you and I may have our wires crossed here. I’m not saying you
shouldn’t be here because you’re not good enough. I meant you’re too damn good
for something like this. Noelle, I’m not telling you this to hurt your feelings
but you’re not the first woman James put up in this penthouse. For as long as
I’ve worked for him, there have been dozens. Some don’t last more than a few
weeks, some months, but none of them last past a year. But those are the kind
of women who live the life. Most of them already have other rich benefactors
not long after they leave. You just don’t strike me as the type to give herself
to someone for financial gain.”

 
     
Her cheeks burned at his assessment. Even
if the words were true she didn’t like being so exposed. She finally turned and
faced him. “What do you know about it?”

 
     
He shook his head, his expression full of
pity. “I’m the one who makes sure everything runs smoothly and makes sure the
women are happy. You’re not like the others, and that leads me to believe
you’re here because of your feelings. James can be very charming when he wants
to be. Trust
me,
I’ve seen him in action. But as there
have been others before you, there will be some after you.”

 
     
Deep down, she knew he spoke the truth but
to admit she was wasting her time with a man who only saw her as a convenient
fuck was not something she was yet willing to accept. “And what makes you so
sure?”

 
     
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not telling you
this to be cruel. I just want you to be aware so when the time comes for this
thing to end you won’t be hurt.”

 
     
“How do you know James hasn’t developed
feelings for me?”

 
     
Paul shook his head with that
compassionate gleam entering his blue gaze. She was starting to hate that damn
look. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his smart phone. After taping a
few buttons, he held it out to her. “Here, take it and read.”

 
     
Noelle didn’t want to but couldn’t stop
herself from reaching for the phone. On the device was an article from a local
newspaper, the society section. Her heart seized in her chest when she spied a
picture of James with a beautiful redhead clinging to his arm like a limpet.
She was everything Noelle was not: tall, gorgeous, and poised, with an air of
sophistication about her which screamed confidence. This was the type of women
she imagined a man like James would be with. Seeing this picture was like her
worst nightmare come true. Under the picture was a caption of that read:
Hotel magnate James Rothschild and Socialite
Eleanor Harrington at the Cancer Awareness Benefit. Sources have revealed an
engagement is on the horizon for this couple.

 
     
Noelle handed the phone back to Paul. She
went numb. There was the evidence staring her in the face. Here she was holed
up in this damned penthouse while James squired around his potential perfect
trophy wife. But did she have the right to be upset when he’d made no promises
to begin with? He’d been honest, and it was only her foolishness which made her
ignore what was staring her in the face. He didn’t care for her and possibly
never would.  But that glimmer of home nestled deep in the recesses of her
heart refused to die. And as long as the little kernel remained intact, she’d
forge ahead. She bit the inside of her cheek so hard the coppery taste of blood
filled her mouth. She focused on the physical pain so she wouldn’t have to
think about the emotional ache.

 
     
“Noelle will you be okay?” he asked
gently.

 
     
She stood still in an attempt to get
herself together. It was several silent moments before she trusted herself to
even move without bursting into tears. Noelle nodded. “I’m sure you’re a busy
man so I won’t keep you. Let me wrap this cake up for you. And I really hope
your sister enjoys it.”

 
     
“Shit,” Paul cursed under his breath as he
racked his fingers through his neat blond hair. “I was out of place. I
shouldn’t have said anything.”

 
     
Noelle shrugged as she moved mechanically,
going through the motions of boxing up the remainder of the cake. “If you’re
worried whether I’ll tell James about this conversation forget about it. I
won’t mention it.”

 
     
“If I cared about that, I wouldn’t have
said anything in the first place. You’re a genuinely nice person. And I just
want you to be careful okay. May I have your cell phone please?”

 
     
“Why?”

 
     
“Please?”

 
     
“Fine,” she let out with an exaggerated
sigh. The phone was on the counter. It was the one James had provided for her
in case he needed to get in contact with her. The one he never called. She
picked it up and tossed it to Paul.

 
     
He began pressing buttons and before she
could ask him what he was doing another cell rang. Paul reached into the inside
pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out another phone and showed her. “This is
my personal phone. The number is in your phone now. If you need anything at
all, even if it’s just to talk, give me a call.”

 
     
She snorted. “Isn’t that your job?” Noelle
knew she was being surly, but facing the realization she was nothing more than
a glorified whore kind of put a damper on her mood.

 
     
“Noelle, I’m serious. If you need
anything, just call me okay?
Either on my business or
personal phone.
Okay?”

 
     
“Sure you won’t get in trouble with the
boss for mingling with his side piece?”

 
     
“Don’t denigrate yourself like that.” He
looked as though he wanted to take a step forward and offer comfort of some
sort but thought better of it. “I’m really sorry, Noelle.”

 
     
“Not as sorry as I am.” She handed Paul
the cake and turned her back to him again. She refused to let him see her cry.

 
     
And despite what Noelle was now aware of,
she knew she’d stay.

 
     
 
James sensed something was different with
Noelle. Ever since he avoided the penthouse for several weeks something in
their relationship had shifted. Noelle still gave herself to him freely, but
still, something was off.

 
     
She dressed differently. Her clothes were
flashier, more revealing and form fitting. Her hair had changed as well. He
wasn’t up on the latest coifs but he assumed she’d added hair extensions that
fell down the middle of her back. Noelle even wore colored contacts, and
different colors. When he’d visit, sometimes her eyes would be blue. Once they
were green. Another time they were hazel. Rarely did he see her natural dark
brown shade which secretly he preferred. She even wore more makeup than when
he’d first met her. While she still presented an attractive package, he missed
the fresh-faced women he’d met originally, though he’d never admit it.

 
     
Her dramatic makeover however, wasn’t the
most noticeable change in her. There was a distance between them on her end
that hadn’t been there before. He’d never required her to be his friend or even
chatty. She no longer asked him about his day and Noelle no longer volunteered
tidbits of information about herself. Now when he arrived, she dropped whatever
she was doing and would head to the bedroom with barely an acknowledgment.
Though he loathed admitting it, he hated the change. But to say something would
somehow alter things in a direction he wasn’t willing to take them in.

 
     
The smell of fresh baked goods infiltrated
his nostrils the second he stepped over the threshold. Baking seemed to be the
one thing that remained constant with her. It made the penthouse feel like a
home. James headed to the bar to pour himself a drink, expecting Noelle to pop
out of the kitchen to give him the vague greeting he had become familiar with
recently.

 
     
He was halfway finished with his drink
before deciding to go to her. James was a little annoyed as she came out of the
kitchen. She must have heard him come in. It wasn’t as if he’d been
particularly quiet. When he walked into the kitchen, however, it was to find
her hunched over the island, with white ear buds in her ear and a pencil in
hand. Noelle appeared to be sketching something that held her attention to the
point that she hadn’t noticed him enter the room.