Whatever He Wants (35 page)

 
     
“Why didn’t you just prove him wrong and
make
AlCore
a success?”

 
     
“Like I said, nothing would have been good
enough for him. The highlight of my life now is visiting the old man’s room to
share with him how far our stock has plummeted. I’m surprised he hasn’t had a
heart attack over that. If I had my way, I’d stick him in a substandard nursing
home but Gillian said it wasn’t good for appearances. So there you have it. And
I’m not telling you any of this because I want your goddamn pity. I actually
don’t know why the hell I told you that.”

 
     
“So you’re letting the company go
bankrupt. I understand you may resent your grandfather but what about all the
workers who’ll lose their jobs?”

 
     
David shrugged. “Isn’t it a sign of the
times? Big companies go under, people lose their jobs.”

 
     
James wanted to point out how unfair it
was to punish innocent people in order to fulfill a vendetta but he stopped
himself. Hadn’t he done exactly that? Besides, David wasn’t in the right frame
of mind to listen. Maybe he’d look into purchasing
AlCore
to salvage as many jobs as he could but for now, he allowed David his
vengeance.

 
     
“What will you do now?”

 
     
David shrugged. “Maybe I’ll bum around
Europe for a while and then buy a little hut in the Caribbean and set up a
harem of island girls. I have a nice little egg nest stashed away in the
Caymans Gillian doesn’t know about. That should set me up comfortably for a
while. Maybe I’ll even start my own little business, if for nothing else to
prove to myself I’m not the piece of shit the old man thinks I am.”

 
     
“If you need my help—”

 
     
“I need to do this on my own. Receiving
help from you would defeat the purpose.”

 
     
“Fair enough, but even I’ve needed help
building my empire. At the very least I can offer you advice.”

 
     
David opened his mouth but closed it with
a nod.

 
     
James wasn’t sure what else he could say,
so he made a move to leave. “Well, I’m glad we had this talk. I don’t know if
we can ever be friends but hopefully we won’t stay enemies. Take care of
yourself.”

 
     
James was almost out the door when David
said, “Our father…he wasn’t a bad man. He was just incredibly weak. I think he
would have acknowledged you had it not been for the old man. That’s why he
provided for your education. It was his way of saying sorry.”

 
     
“Thank you for that,” James said softly
before walking out the door and finally letting go of a past he’d
misinterpreted.

 
     
Once James got into his car it was as if
his own inner GPS led him to Noelle’s bakery. He had no right to be there and
knew she didn’t want to see him but his soul called out to her. If only he
could see her face he’d feel better.

 
     
He found himself parking in front of the
bakery and heading inside. Like the last time he’d visited, the shop was quiet,
but judging from the near empty case in the front, they’d been busy earlier.

 
     
A teenage girl was at the register while
another girl stood behind the counter. “Welcome to Dot’s Bakery. How can I help
you?”

 
     
“Uh, I was wondering if Noelle was in.”

 
     
The blonde behind the counter smiled.
“Sure. I’ll go get her.” She went to the back and returned with Noelle who had
flour stains on her apron and a bit of the white dust on her cheek.

 
     
Her lips thinned to a disapproving line
the second she saw him. “I thought I told you—”

 
     
“Please, Noelle. I need to speak with you.
Please.”

 
     
She hesitated for a moment. Perhaps she
heard the desperation in his voice but after giving him a long stare down, she
finally nodded.
“Fine.
Come to my office.”

 
     
She led him to the back through the bakery
area, to a small office where a desk took up most of the space. The table was
full of sketches of cakes and cupcakes and what looked like recipes.

 
     
Noelle closed the door and then folded her
arms across her chest. “Well?”

 
     
James was so overcome with emotion he
didn’t know where to start. He walked until they were only inches apart and the
floodgates suddenly opened. James fell to his knees, brought his hands to his
face and cried.

 
     
Noelle was stunned. She’d never seen a
grown man break down like this before. It was hard to believe this was the same
James she’d parted with. His shoulders shook, and his sobs were loud and
pain-filled. It sounded as if he was crying from the pit of his soul and
someone had ripped his heart in two and left him broken.

 
     
Even though he’d hurt her, Noelle took no
joy in seeing him so shattered. Unable to take any more of James’ suffering,
Noelle went to her knees and wrapped her arms around him in comfort. He pulled
her closer and buried his face against her neck.

 
     
Noelle doubted these tears were about her
but he chose to share them with. She figured it must have taken a lot for him
to become vulnerable in front of someone else. She rocked him gently from side
to side and stroked the back of his head as the tears flowed down his face.
Noelle wondered how long James had carried this burden as she wished she could
take it all away.

 
     
She wasn’t sure how long they remained on
the floor locked in a tight embrace but finally James tears subsided to muffled
sniffles. When she felt the brush of his lips against her neck, Noelle believed
it to be a mistake but then he did it again. She stiffened, releasing her hold
on him and planting her palms against the wall of his chest.
“James,
not now.”

 
     
James held her tighter. “Noelle, please,”
he murmured and rained kisses over her face. His cheeks were stained with
tears, his eyes were red and his pain was still evident. She told herself this
was for comfort, but her body said otherwise. Her nipples pebbled to painful
peaks and
an almost
unbearable warmth built up within
her core. What had started out as a means to sooth a fellow human turned into
so much
more.

 
     
She turned her head to dodge his seeking
lips, not wanting to surrender so easily, but James was not deterred. He untied
her apron, pulled it over her head and immediately began to fumble with the
buttons on her blouse.

 
     
She should have pushed him away but Noelle
missed the feel of James against her. Noelle responded to him like a fine tuned
instrument under the hands of a musical virtuoso. As he pulled her blouse apart
and buried his face in her cleavage, Noelle fumbled with his belt bucket.
Managing to get the belt undone, and his pants unzipped she reached inside his
pants until her fingers circled his hardness.

 
     
Noelle shivered in anticipation,
desperately needing him inside of her. She’d regret this act later but for now
all Noelle could focus on was how good his cock felt in her hand and how it
would be even better plowing into her pussy. Already her juices flowed and her
body ached with need for him.

 
     
James gently guided her down until her
back was against the floor. Instead of unclasping her bra, he reached inside of
it and pulled her breasts out. He took one turgid tip into his mouth and sucked
greedily. Noelle moaned, feeling like she’d burst any second. How many nights
had she lain in bed touching
herself
while imagining
it was James’s hands? This was so much better than a dream. The circumstances
weren’t ideal but she’d deal with the consequences later.

 
     
James covered to her other nipple with the
same voraciousness, nipping and licking as Noelle sobbed his name. “Oh, James,
what are you doing to me?”

 
     
“Something that has only
been in my fantasies for the past several months.”

 
     
Her hand, still wrapped around his cock,
gently pumped his hard shaft for several strokes. James grabbed her wrist,
stopping her. “I need you now, Noelle. Please don’t say no.” He eased her hand
away from his dick; with a moan James then undid her pants and worked them down
her hips.

 
     
Noelle lay on the floor, helpless to do
anything other than shiver with need for him. He made short order of yanking
her panties off and tossing them aside. He pushed his pants and boxers down,
releasing his cock to her hungry gaze. It was just as magnificent as she
remembered, long, thick hard and ready for her.

 
     
He pushed her thighs apart and guided his
cock to her slick entrance in hurried movements. James slid the tip of his cock
along her slit before pushing past her labia just enough to tease her clit.

 
     
Noelle bucked her hips against him eager
to be filled. “Stop playing.”

 
     
A ghost of a smile crossed his face before
he surged forward, pushing so deeply inside of her, their bodies fused into one
harmonious being. “Ah, so tight,” he groaned with his eyes squeezed shut. “I
missed this so much, missed you.”

 
     
Noelle didn’t want to hear that because it
would turn this moment into something else entirely, something she couldn’t
handle. So instead Noelle concentrated on her baser needs and the way his cock
felt deliciously stretching her walls until she didn’t think they could give
anymore.

 
     
James lay still on top of her. “Give me a
second. I just want to savor this moment.” His warm breath brushed the side of
her face. James planted his hands on either side of her head and braced his
arms to support his body as he began to move inside of her, slowly at first and
then gradually picked up speed. “So damn good.
So wet and
tight.”
His eyes were still closed as he seemed to delight in this
stolen moment the two of them shared.

 
     
Noelle ran her hands down his chest and
lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. They moved in time with each other as a
trail of fire scorched its way throughout her body. It felt so right even
though her mind screamed this was so wrong.

 
     
Apparently not getting what he needed,
James let out a growl, grabbed one of her legs and raised it over his hip
before thrusting mercilessly into her channel. His cock went so deep it almost
hurt, but it was the kind of pain that made Noelle
want
more of it. James was like a berserker, taking all she had to give. She could
barely keep up with him but somehow she managed to until her climax hit her so
hard. Noelle screamed at the top of her lungs. “James!” Stars danced before her
eyes after the intensity of her orgasm but James kept going almost as if he
couldn’t stop.

 
     
Noelle braced herself for another ride on
the James rollercoaster. He took her to heights she didn’t think imaginable.
James was insatiable but finally, after releasing a primal yell of his own he
shot his seed deep inside of Noelle. She opened her arms to him as he collapsed
on top of her.

 
     
She hugged him tightly, holding him close
and not wanting the moment to end because when it did she’d have to remember
the bad. Things were so damaged between them Noelle didn’t think they could be
fixed. So she needed to pretend, if only for a little while.

 
     
But that was not to be, because a knock on
the door interrupted the comfortable silence that had fallen. “Noelle, are you
okay? I thought I heard you yelling.” It was Pamela, one of her helpers.

 
     
“Uh, yeah, I’m good. I’ll be out in a
bit.” She silently congratulated herself for managing to sound semi-normal.

 
     
“Okay…if you’re sure.” Pamela seemed
hesitant.

 
     
“I’m fine, really,” she called out,
completely embarrassed now because she was positive her employees had figured
out what she was doing in her office. It was a good thing Paul wasn’t in today
or else she’d get an earful from him.