What Money Can Buy 3 - to Have & to Hold (3 page)

"Will we ever lead a normal life, Jason?" I asked, running a delicate finger down the swoops and
curves
of his hard pectoral muscles. "Can you really just drop everything and be an everyday guy? Is that even possible?"

He turned to me and kissed my forehead. "It's entirely possible. In fact, it's almost certain to happen. One thing I realised over the years is once you
step away
from the limelight, once you lead a normal, boring life…
w
ell, let's just say there's no fun in that. Journalists don't have much to write about when all you do is hang out with your wife and take the garbage out once a week."

"Is that what you really want, though? When you think of everything you've built, all the success you've
had
, doesn't it seem almost a waste to give all that up?"

"Been there, done it, Lauren. Like I've already said in the past, I'm a billionaire. I never have to work again. I'd rather enjoy the results of my success while I'm young, with you and with our children when we have them."

I smiled. "Children? Well, we haven't talked about that. I don't know if I can handle another little Jason running around."

"Or a little Lauren."

"Oh, that would be so sweet. One of each!"

"Steady on."

"That was lovely what you said earlier, about all the people you feel responsible for. I can understand why you don't want that burden
any more
but it was lovely nonetheless to hear it. That's
a side of you
nobody ever gets to see."

Jason sighed. "I'm like Peter Parker. With great power comes great responsibility."

"So you're like a business superhero?" I laughed.

"Something like that. I grew up without any responsibility around me. There was no ambition, no aspiration. Maybe that's why I'm the way I am."

It was rare for Jason to talk about his parents. Both died several years ago – his father many years before his mother, who had been left with the mess of debts and unpaid bills that Jason had been forced to clear up.

"My dad was a loser, Lauren. One of the laziest people you'd ever meet. It
's
ha
r
d to say something like this about
a
parent, you know? But I never respected him. He wasn't violent or abusive or anything like that. He was just bone idle. I'll never forget the day he came home from work and decided he wasn't going to go back. That was fair enough, he hated his job. But he had responsibilities, too. He had a mortgage to pay, a wife and child to support. When it came down to it, he didn't give a shit. I remember my mother screaming at him, begging him to explain how they were going to pay the bills without his salary. He just shook his head, looked straight past her at the TV and muttered that he wasn't going back."

I r
a
n my fingers through Jason's
tousled
, dark hair. "Unbelievable. How did you cope?"

"Well, I lost my pocket money for a start. My mother needed it to
help
keep the roof above our heads. We ate crap, barely ever ha
d
the heating on and we just clung on. I remember, even as a child, barely a teenager, thinking how absolutely fucking selfish he was. That lack of ambition, that total absence of drive shaped me. In a funny way, I guess I have him to thank. I started my first business at 16, formed King Enterprises at 23 and was a millionaire – on paper, at least – by 28. I just kept going after that. By my mid
-
thirties I was one of the youngest billionaires in the US."

"What did your parents think?"

"I wouldn't know. My father never took an interest in me after I left home and the feeling was mutual. He probably died in front of the TV, sat on his ass with a remote control in his hand. My mother, as usual, was left to pick up the pieces. I sorted her out financially, of course, but we had no real relationship. As much as I resented my father for how he had been, she was a willing accomplice. She adored him and let him get away with
it
. His passive aggressive bullshit resulted in her being a willing partner.
Do you know t
he most annoying thing?"

I looked up at Jason and shook my head. "What?"

"Both of them spent their entire lives complaining about how poor they were. They always made out they were poverty
-
stricken,
that
nothing good ever happened to them. Life had dealt them a bad hand, they never had any luck – all that bullshit. The truth is, they never made an effort to remotely break out of their pit of mediocrity. I wish I could say being successful and driven is in the DNA, but I'm proof that
's
not true. If anything, I'm the antithesis of my parents. I'll never let my children grow up with such low expectations."

"That doesn't mean they'll heed your advice, though. You can't beat yourself up if that happens."

"No, Lauren, but I'd hate myself for not trying. If our kids don't want a better life for themselves, that's ultimately their choice. But I'll do everything I can to make sure I encourage it –
we
encourage it – or I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror." He gently kissed my lips and took my face in his hands. "That's why I'm quitting the businesses, Lauren. I want to devote my life to you and to our children, to give them something to aspire to beyond just money. I don't care what they do or how they do it, as long as they love every second and don't settle for a mundane existence when they could have so much more."

Something told me Jason was going to be an amazing father.

***

The next day, Michael Bridges came to see me. Jason was out of the office that morning, and he e-mailed me to say he wanted to discuss some of the points raised at the meeting regarding Jason's departure. I was immediately wary of his intentions. With alarming predictability, he disappointingly proved me right.

"You've made Jason weak," he sneered. "Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful that he's so happy. Sets my heart aflutter. Well, it would if I had one."

I crossed my arms defensively. "Is there a point, Michael?"

He walked over to me and stood too close for comfort, invading my personal space. I stood my ground, my heart beating fast with nerves and
the sight of
his imposing frame before me. I shifted slightly on my high heels, trying to maintain my composure.

"I can see what he sees in you, Lauren." He ran a hand up my left arm before lifting my face to his." You are an absolutely exceptional piece of ass."

I took a step back. "Watch it, Michael. You're on dangerous ground here."

His eyes narrowed and he smiled at me menacingly. "You really do have him wrapped around your little finger, don't you? Jason was unwavering before he met you. I'd never known anyone so committed to making money. Then you turn up, swanning around in your high heels and your tight little blouse." He looked at my cleavage. "Tell me, Lauren, do you always leave your top button undone or am I getting a special treat?"

As he walked towards me, I instinctively slapped him across the face. I didn't think, my muscles just moved. I felt my breathing suddenly grow heavy, panic setting in slightly. I wasn't in control. He had me rattled.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?"
h
e said, rubbing his face. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around me, placing one hand on my ass and pulling my hair back with the other. I cried out as he ran the tip of his tongue up my neck. I felt a bulge form between his legs, pressing against the front of my skirt.

"Now then, my dear," he growled. "I want you to show me just what it is you've got that brings down the billionaire." He pushed me against the office wall, releasing my hair and bringing his hand to my throat. He didn't apply enough pressure to
choke
me, but enough to warn me that he was serious. As he had me pinned, he brought his other hand around to the front of my skirt and lifted it up, placing his fingers against my panties.

"Get your hands off me, you bastard,”
I growled.
“You have no idea how much you're going to regret this."

"Oh, but your knight in shining cotton isn't here, is he? It's just you and me now, Lauren. If you think I'm going to support Jason leaving this company, then you will do as I say. I'll consider having a word to the other shareholders, on one condition."

"Which is?"

"That I get to taste the pussy that convinces a man to walk away from everything he's built."

"Fuck you," I snarled.

"No, Lauren, I think you'll find that once I've licked you into a state of complete
arousal
,
I
will be the one fucking
you
."

With every ounce of strength I had, I brought my knee up and slammed it between his legs. I felt the crush of his balls against my skin, like I had punched him directly in them will all the ferocity of a
heavyweight
boxer. His eyes rolled back in his head as he let out a low moan and collapsed onto the floor, clutching between his legs and curling up into
a foetal
position.

"You…
i
nsolent bitch…"

I adjusted my clothes, regaining my dignity and composure. "You're a pretty strong guy, Michael. But
all your strength i
s meaningless when you share the same anatomical weakness as every other scumbag guy I've ever met." I picked up a handset off the meeting table. "Security? Could you come up to my office please? I have someone I'd like you to escort out."

He slowly began to raise himself up, unable to fully stand straight. "Put the phone down. There's no need for
that
, I'll leave. You haven't heard the last of this. If you think I'm going to let Jason leave this company so he can run off with a slut like you, you're sadly mistaken."

I replaced the receiver. "Someone from security is coming up. If you don't want to embarrass yourself further, get the hell out of my office now."

Michael glared at me for a second, and I refused to break my stare back. Eventually, he staggered away, slamming the door shut behind him.

I collapsed into a chair, adrenaline suddenly turning to raw emotion. I burst out crying, desperately trying to keep my sobs as quiet as possible. Jason was right. He did have to leave this company. There was no place in our lives for people like Michael Bridges
any more.
I had never been treated like that by another man and vowed to never let it happen to me again.

"I'm going to kill the scrawny little bastard."

I had never seen Jason so visibly angry before. He paced around our apartment, his fists clenched, his blood obviously boiling.

"That's not going to achieve anything, Jason, except send you to prison. And in case you hadn't noticed, we've already spent an awful lot of money on a wedding that I'd rather you were able to attend."

He stared out
of
the window, his palms resting on the frame. "I'm not going to stand for it, Lauren. That son of a bitch has far too much control in the company anyway. I'd rather beat seven shades of shit out of him and let him do his worst."

This was one situation where the sensibility of a woman was needed. "This isn't about putting people in hospital, Jason. This is about tackling the problem head-on. We need to go on the offensive here. You've already said he has a weakness for pretty things, right?"

Jason spun around and looked at me, his eyes narrowing. "That's not strictly true. He's a fucking pervert, more like."

"Okay, even better. So if Michael Bridges, confirmed pervert, has this particular weakness…
t
hen it makes sense that we exploit it."

"Where is this going, Lauren?"

I walked up to Jason and put my hands on his chest. "Simple. We set a classic honey trap for him."

"With who as bait?"

"Me," I smiled.

Jason shook his head. "No way. Absolutely out of the question."

"Sorry, Jason," I smiled. "I'm overruling you on this one. Besides, I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Our pre-wedding party is in two days at the Carlton..."

"And he isn't invited."

I took a deep breath. "No, but he will be. I'll email him and ask him to attend. I'll make sure he knows there's something I want to discuss with him. If he
'
s as predictable as I think he is,
he
will end up in our hotel suite
without much prompting
. You just need to keep yourself out of the way."

"And you're going to do what, exactly, Lauren?"

I leaned forward and whispered my entire plan into Jason's ear.
When
we finally looked at each other, we both broke out into
broad smiles
.