Whatever He Wants (23 page)

 
     
 
“Noelle. I hate seeing what being James’s
mistress is doing to you. You’re not handling it well.”

 
     
“Can we not talk about it?”

 
     
“Fine, we won’t talk about it now, but
when will we? When you’re in the hospital? I know about the migraines. I’m the
one who gets your prescription refilled.”

 
     
She shrugged.
“So what?
I get migraines. It’s not so uncommon. Look, are you going to try this cake or
not?” Noelle grabbed a plate and knife. Ignoring that pitying look on his face,
she cut him a generous slice. “Here you go.” She tried to inject as much cheer
in her voice as possible.

 
     
Paul looked as if he wanted to say something
but decided against it. “Sure. I love to try whatever you make. I come for the
company but stay for the cake.”

 
     
She relaxed now that the subject had
changed. Noelle watched with anticipation as he forked a generous amount of the
sweet treat into his mouth. No matter how many times he gushed over her
creations she was always anxious to get the verdict when she made something
new. His eyes widened for a moment before closing in what appeared to be pure
ecstasy.

 
     
“What the hell did you put in this cake?
Crystal Meth? Crack? This is…” He took another bite and then another until the
slice was nearly gone.

 
     
She grinned at his pleasure. “Glad you
liked it.”

 
     
“Liked it? That’s putting it mildly. I’ve
tried just about everything you’ve made and
its
all
be fantastic but this is a whole other level. You have a gift, woman.”

 
     
“You’re exaggerating. But I’m glad you
like it.”

 
     
“I never lie about my food. Your cake is
out of this world. Mind if I take some home to my sister? She’s liked
everything you’ve made so far as well. She wants to know why you haven’t gone
into business for yourself. And I completely agree. This is better than
anything I’ve ever tasted in any bakery.”

 
     
Noelle shrugged, a little embarrassed
about the praise he heaped upon her. “It’s something I enjoy doing. It makes me
feel closer to my mother.”

 
     
“And I think she’d be very proud of you if
she tasted this.”

 
     
She could feel a blush warm her cheeks.
“Thanks Paul. It’s really sweet of you to say.”

 
     
“If you ever get serious about your
passion then I could help you. Since I’ve been your guinea pig, I’ve taken all
your leftovers home and shared it with my sister and her roommate. They love
your baking as much as I do. And as you know my sister is getting married in
about five months. She’s contracted all of her vendors except a baker. My
sister is very particular about what she wants and she wanted me to ask you if
you’d considered doing the cake for her wedding.”

 
     
Noelle gasped. She was honored to be
entrusted with such a task but she didn’t believe she was ready to share her
creations for commercial consumption. “I just bake for fun. I find it hard to
believe there isn’t at least one bakery your sister likes.”

 
     
“We’ve tried over thirty bakeries and
establishments in other states. We even drove two hours out-of-state to try a
cake from a bakery she’d seen in a bridal magazine. Nothing is as good as what
you’ve made. You’d be compensated. Name your price.”

 
     
“I’ve never made a wedding cake before.”

 
     
“But I’ve seen what you can do. With your
artistic background you could make something delicious and pleasing to the eye.
Would you at least think about it before you say no?”

 
     
“Well…”

 
     
“Please?”

 
     
Paul had really been a good friend to her.
It was hard to say no especially since she enjoyed baking so much.

 
     
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

 
     
He moved around the counter and gave her a
big hug. “Thanks friend! You’re the best.”

 
     
Noelle laughed. “I didn’t say yes yet.”

 
     
“Maybe not but I can be very persuasive.”

 
     
Noelle had no doubt about it. She only hoped
if she did agree to do this for him she wouldn’t be in over her head.

 
     
“We can duck out of this thing as soon as
we finish making the rounds.” Eleanor’s left hand rested casually on his arm,
the five carat diamond engagement ring he’d gifted her with the night before
glistened on her finger. They’d ultimately decided to wait a few months to
announce their engagement in an attempt to not make the courtship look like an
arrangement of desperation on either side.

 
     
James stared at that elegant hand, so
smooth and perfectly manicured. He wondered what his ring would look like on a
different hand, one with shorter fingers, skin that was extra smooth and dark
brown. He quickly shook that thought from his mind. What the hell was wrong
with him? Was he deliberately trying to sabotage himself with these ridiculous
fantasies? Maybe this was a sign that it was time to make a change.

 
     
Get rid of Noelle.

 
     
As a matter of fact, no more mistresses
until after he was safely wed and Eleanor was pregnant with their first child.
Noelle had become more of an irritant lately, inconveniently creeping into his
thoughts at the damnedest moments. Whenever the temptation became too great for
him to stay away from her, Noelle would stare at him with her big doe-like eyes.
He felt guilty for even touching her. He didn’t need that shit.

 
     
He’d end it tonight.

 
     
“James?” Eleanor tapped him on the
shoulder.

 
     
“I’m sorry, Eleanor. What were you
saying?”

 
     
She gave him an accessing look. “You have
a habit of drifting off into space when we’re together. It can’t always be
about business. Is it another woman?”

 
     
Eleanor was too perceptive for her own
good. Even if she was correct, there was no way he’d ever admit it.
“Why would you think that, when I’m standing with the most beautiful
woman in the room?”
He took her hand and raised it to his lips, for a
light kiss.

 
     
“Charming.”
She
smiled. “But we both know this isn’t some grand love affair between the two of
us. I don’t mind your extracurricular activities as long as you’re discreet.
Requiring your full attention when we’re together shouldn’t be too much to ask,
however.”

 
     
“You’re right of course, my dear. Shall we
mingle?”

 
     
She smiled at him. “Yes. I see Daddy over
there. Let’s go over and say hello. He was quite pleased when I told him about
the engagement. I’m sure my mother has already called the local papers.
There’ll probably be an article about us in the society pages tomorrow.”

 
     
They were stopped several times before
making it across the room to Eleanor’s parents. Most of the interceptors were
interested in doing business with James while the others had already heard of
their engagement and wished to congratulate them.

 
     
By the time they got over to the
Harrington table James was ready to leave. There was nothing that bored him
more than making small talk with people he wouldn’t associate with outside of
these tedious functions.

 
     
 
“James! Good to see you here old boy,” Gregory
Harrington greeted him a little more robustly than necessary, grabbing James by
the hand and slapping him on the back.

 
     
James couldn’t help but be more than a
little amused at the man’s warm attitude toward him. What a difference a few
years and bad business deals made. “Good to see you as well, George.”

 
     
“We should have a round of champagne to celebrate
the wonderful news. Champagne for the entire table,” he gestured grandly. Never
mind the champagne was free, it was all about the show.

 
     
Maryanne Harrington sauntered over to them
with her arms outstretched. “I was so pleased to hear the news.” She grabbed
James’s hands and squeezed them. “Welcome to the family, James.”  She
leaned forward and brushed air kisses on each cheek.  She then turned to
her daughter. “You know this means we have tons to do before the wedding. We
have to book caterers and find the perfect venue and go shopping for your
trousseau. You two simply must consider honeymooning in Fiji. Your father and I
went there when we were married. Oh, listen to me go on.” She giggled in a way
that reminded him of a school girl rather than a mature matron.

 
     
“Now, dear, we’ll have plenty of time to
talk arrangements.” George then led James away from the table just out of
earshot of Eleanor and his wife. “So you finally did it, my boy. I couldn’t be
more pleased.”

 
     
James smirked. “Thank you. I appreciate
it.”

 
     
“I’m sure you’re aware Eleanor could have
married anyone she wanted. Thad Richardson had been sniffing at her heels for
ages. I was quite fond of him, you know. He and Eleanor practically grew up
together. His parents were great friends of ours and he’s a fine upstanding
young man, but my daughter had her heart set on you and I’m loath to stand in
her way.”

 
     
In other words, Richardson had a more
suitable background was what George actually meant. The Richardson family
however, had fallen on even harder times than the
Harringtons
,
and George was willing to settle for money over pedigree. The message was quite
clear. Even though the man needed James way more than James needed him, the
older man couldn’t let things be without getting that dig in to put James in
his place. “And I aim to make Eleanor happy. She won’t regret her decision.”

 
     
Harrington nodded. “Let’s see that she
doesn’t. Now that we’re practically family, perhaps we can meet up for golf
this Sunday morning for a seven o’clock tee time. Afterwards we’ll brunch. I
have a tip on an investment you may be interested in.”

 
     
And so it began. James was expecting this
but he didn’t think it would be this soon. He glanced over his shoulder to see
Eleanor speaking with her mother, probably discussing wedding arrangements. He
happened to catch her eye and she smiled and winked at him.

 
     
Yes, he’d definitely picked the right
partner and soon the life he worked so hard for would be his. And things would
go even more smoothly once he ended things with Noelle.

 
     
James and Eleanor stayed at the gala
longer than either had intended. Once word of their engagement had gotten out
they were bombarded with several well-wishers and people haggling for wedding
invites. Eleanor seemed to take all the attention as graciously as he expected
her to, while James was slightly annoyed. He couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t
happier.

 
     
By the time they left the function,
Eleanor suggested they go back to her apartment for a nightcap. After a few
drinks their light chatter turned into kissing and heavy petting. While
Eleanor’s kisses were pleasant and aroused him as they would with any man,
something wasn’t right. The chemistry was missing; it was as if both of them
were simply going through the motions. James figured it was something they
could work on. He refused to acknowledge his disinterest had anything to do
with Noelle.

 
     
After a few more awkward attempts at
foreplay Eleanor finally put an end to their make-out session when it was clear
neither one of them was really into it.

 
     
“We have to save something for later,”
she’d laughed. James, secretly relieved, didn’t argue and they made
arrangements to see each other again over the weekend. It was just past
midnight and while he could have gone to the penthouse to see Noelle, something
held him back.