by Ford, Mia
Ted laughed maniacally. And then a look of pure evil washed over his face. I stepped back but I was against the wall. He had me cornered. Ted got up in my face again and he finally looked like the evil that he hid so well. How had I ever fallen in love with this fake man? That’s all he was; he was a charlatan. I’d been duped. And now I might never get out of it. I felt sick.
“You bitch,” Ted growled. “You ever threaten to call the cops on me again and you’d better call a coroner too, because you will be taken out of here in a body bag. I’m not going anywhere. This is my place now. This is my world and I’m in charge. Don’t think for a moment that I won’t kill you. And then all the money becomes mine. Remember that… you have a good motive to keep me happy. Now shut that kid up. Do the best you can.”
Ted started to walk away. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at me with disgust as I slumped to the floor in tears.
Ted said right then in his most agitated voice, “How can an orphan ever parent anybody? Poor kids.”
I don’t remember how long I sat there and cried.
Chapter Sixteen
Ted
I curled the barbell up one last time and held the move at the end, letting the isometric part of the exercise do its job before finally setting the weight back down on the ground. I let out several deep breaths and stood up. My body was tired. I’d killed it in the gym today. Staring at myself in the mirror, I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink. I was just finishing up a stellar workout and I was feeling and looking pumped. I never got tired of looking at myself in the mirror. There was just something about seeing myself and being so genuinely pleased with what I saw that made me happy. Too bad other people couldn’t feel the same, but they weren’t me.
I toweled off and walked out of the gym. It was going to be a good day; I could feel it. As I started up the steps headed towards a hot shower and good lunch, I heard female voices talking. Oh, yeah. I remembered that Leia was interviewing nannies today. It was about time. She hadn’t seemed too eager to replace the last one we had since that one decided to quit for family reasons (whatever the hell that meant) and it was obvious that Leia was getting too happy with doing everything for the kids herself while letting other things slide a bit. That wouldn’t do. It was bad for business and it was annoying for me. I hated having her around all the time. I had to constantly endure her dirty looks.
It had been four days since the fight that night in the nursery. I’d let the beans slip about my plan right from the start and I’d said some pretty harsh things to Leia. But what did she expect? She was always coming down on me, always whining about the screaming kids (it was practically all she talked about) and she once again basically called me a worthless bum, even if she hadn’t used so many words. The intent was there. I was not stupid. I could practically read her mind. She was that transparent. There was nothing she could hide from me.
The sight of her in total anguish and tears as I walked out of the room was priceless. I’d won that fight so easily. Hell, I’d broken her down to the ground with just some mean words. It felt good knowing that I was really in control of my own destiny. I’d known I was, but to have it actually be out in the open without any pretenses felt great. I was happier and more stress free than I’d been in a while. I doubt that Leia had noticed, but she’d been avoiding me a lot lately. She preferred to sleep in a guest room and had hardly even uttered a word to me. I couldn’t really blame her, but I was starting to get a bit lustful.
I figured I might have to make nice one of these days to get some action. Or I could just start exploring my other options. Yet, I had to be careful about that. All Leia had to do was hire someone to tail me and get some incriminating photos in front of a judge and my goose was cooked. No, I wasn’t going out like that. Hell, I’d been on the other side of that a few times. I knew that game all too well.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun.
“Hey, there,” I said as I walked into the living room where Leia and an attractive young woman were sitting across from each other on the couches.
I was not wearing a shirt and I was still fairly sweaty from my workout. Instantly I locked eyes with the woman sitting across from Leia. She was a natural redhead with sweet eyes, a nice smile, and beautiful legs which were crossed over one another giving only a hint of what was lying between them.
Leia was shocked for a moment at me being there and probably even more shocked that I was shirtless. But she recovered well and played the dutiful host.
“Laney, this is Ted, my husband,” Leia said.
I reached out and shook Laney’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Laney said. She tried to hide her eyes from my gaze, but I could see the spark of attraction there.
I knew that Leia could feel the tension in the air and it smelled delicious to me.
“Laney and I were just finishing up,” Leia said.
“Great,” I said. “Have you worked with kids before?” I asked Laney.
“Yes, as I was telling your wife, I just finished working for a family of six for the past three months. They are moving out of state, so that’s why I’m looking now.”
“Outstanding,” I said.
“Laney has excellent references and a wealth of experience,” Leia said. “Although we still have some more interviews, unless Mary Poppins herself stops by, I’d say Laney is our frontrunner.”
Laney smiled and blushed slightly. It was sexy and I couldn’t resist feeding the feeling.
“Well, I certainly would hope so,” I said blatantly staring down Laney’s blouse at her cleavage (small, but perky looking) and then letting my gaze drift further south to take in her slender, smooth legs.
Laney shifted uncomfortably as she watched Leia watching me. It was perfect.
Leia cleared her throat. “Um, well I’ll give you a call later to let you know.”
Laney nodded a bit angrily and walked towards the door ahead of Leia, obviously disturbed by what had just happened.
Leia shut the door behind her and turned at me. She was furious. It always made her look so sexy.
“What in the hell were you thinking?” Leia demanded.
“I was thinking Laney, you, and me—that would be a sweet afternoon.”
“You are despicable,” Leia said. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“You wouldn’t believe a lot of the things I’m capable of,” I said with a laugh.
“You say you want me to hire a nanny to help with the kids and then you sexually harass the best candidate during the interview. Are you high or something?”
“I’m high on life,” I said. “Besides, would you really want someone who looked like that being so close to me all day? You trust me way too much. Or was that your plan? You catch me and a hot nanny on some nanny cam and then it’s all over the internet and you sue me for divorce where I’m left without a pot to piss in. Please. I’m on to your bullshit traps.”
Leia ran her hands through her hair and squeezed her neck as she squealed in rage and frustration. “You are so paranoid. Seriously, you should be in the funny farm. You are not normal.”
“That’s open to interpretation,” I said. “Besides, if a chick like that can’t take a joke, what do you think she’d be like as an employee? What type of questions did you ask her anyway?”
“I didn’t ask her how she dealt with sexual harassment from her employer,” Leia said. “And what difference does it make to you? I hired the last nanny we had. Did you have something to do with her leaving?”
I shrugged. “I doubt it. She left of her own accord. She was working out ok, I thought. Why would I want to get rid of her?”
“Why do you do anything?” Leia asked. “I swear, I’m so sick of your games. How much do you want? What will it take?”
“What?”
“I’m serious. How much will it take for you to go away? Fifty million? A hundred million? I’m at the end of my rope and I’m
willing to pay you to go away.”
I laughed. “Wow, I never thought you’d try to buy me off. The offers are tempting, but I don’t think so. You see I have big plans and those plans depend on a solid stream of cash flow; not a limited amount.”
Her eyes went wide. “A hundred million dollars is a limited amount?”
“It has a definite number attached to it, so… yeah.”
I wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily. But later as I thought about it I almost decided to accept the offer, but this was not what I initially wanted. I had big dreams and when I had the means available to me, why would I stop at that small amount compared to the fortune I had access to?
Besides, it would mean admitting defeat and I wasn’t going to let that happen.
“I just don’t know how to deal with you,” Leia said. “Why are you this way? I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
“No, you don’t deserve it, but you didn’t deserve to be born into a billion-dollar family either. I was born into a poor one. So, let’s not start talking about what each other deserves. Let’s talk about what is. I’m going for a ride. I’ll be back later.”
Once I was on the open road with my motorcycle, I felt at peace. It would tie your head in knots listening to Leia talk and whine about how bad she had it. The woman I’d met last year had a sense of humor and she was excited about the future. She wanted things. But she had changed and decided to become some boring family woman and now she was really a drag to be around. Everything she thought of or wanted to do had the kids at the center of it. I couldn’t have competed if I’d wanted to.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit rejected, and even though I told myself that I didn’t give a care at all, it still hurt. And it pissed me off. Leia was going to start giving me better treatment. I was not going to play second fiddle to those little bastards.
Chapter Seventeen
Leia
I put Alex back in his crib and covered him with a blanket. He was so peaceful when he was sleeping. Glancing over at Nicki I found myself wondering how two amazing miracles had come into my life so quickly. No matter how awful Ted had become and the things he said and did to me, I could never allow myself to fully hate him because without him I would not be the happiest mother in the world. I’d dreamt of being a mother since I was a little girl, but nothing could have prepared me for just how strong my love for my children would be. I loved them so much more than I loved myself. No matter what Ted did to me, as long as he never hurt my children then I could be happy.
I watched the boys a few minutes longer, watched as they slept and cooed softly in their adorable, precious little baby voices. They were so innocent, so clean. It was confusing when you thought about how we all started out as such perfect, pure, blank slates and then the chaos of the world began to chip at you. It sculpted you and tweaked you, day after day until that innocence was barely there anymore. I prayed that I would be able to shelter my boys from all of the evils and the darkness in the world for as long as I could, but I wasn’t delusional. Eventually, they would start leading their own lives gradually growing independent and that darkness would be there waiting for them. All I could do was to train them to be strong enough to resist it.
Stepping out of their room I closed the door softly behind me. I decided to go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea. I’d had a busy morning and I wanted to relax just a little bit. Luckily I was able to have our butler Joseph watch over the twins while I was working. Ted had left early that morning and hadn’t bothered telling me where he was going. This was hardly unusual.
I finished boiling the water and poured myself a cup of hot, green tea. I was just about to sit down with it and relax with a good book I was reading when I heard Ted’s car pull into the driveway. I braced myself, unsure of what type of mood he would be in.
I got my answer the moment he walked in.
He saw me there at the counter stirring some sugar into my tea. I startled him briefly. Apparently, I was the last person he wanted to see at that moment. It actually gave me a kind of perverse satisfaction to irritate him. Any little thing I could do to create tension inside of him was fine with me. The way he treated me he deserved so much worse. How was I still married to this wretched man?
“Do we have any food?” Ted asked opening the fridge.
“I believe Joseph fixed some grilled chicken for lunch with some baked potatoes.”
“Grilled chicken?” He slammed the fridge shut. “God, I’m so sick of this health food shit. I’m a man, dammit. I need some real food. What the hell?”
“Well, ask Joseph to fix you whatever you’d like tomorrow. I gave him the rest of today off. I’m sure we have supplies.”
I found that keeping my voice calm and unaffected could really send him off the rails. It was a little game I played, one of the only ways I had of getting revenge on him. And I hate to say that I relished it.
“I don’t want to wait for something to be made,” he replied. “I would like to come into the house just once and have a good, hot meal ready for me. I don’t want a sandwich I have to fix or some stupid health junk that I can hardly get down because it’s so flavorless.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked casually sitting down to the table with my tea.
“Yes, something is wrong. Leon Baxter backed out on our deal.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that he isn’t sure I’m the right guy to get into business with right now. I’m telling you, it’s that son of a bitch Mercer. That prick has black balled my name all over the place and I can’t get anyone to even take a meeting with me now. I’m worried…I’m worried that it’s just not going to happen for me. Maybe they are all right and I am a joke.”
Ted grabbed a bottle of whiskey out of the liquor cabinet and began drinking straight from the bottle.
“I’m sure there will be other meetings,” I said. “Don’t let it get you upset.”
“Oh, you love that, don’t you?” Ted said. “Every time I come home feeling like a failure you sit there acting all arrogant and smug. You know that you bought everything here and that you keep me like some punk. You are laughing at me, aren’t you? You think I’m a failure. Hell, you think that I can’t do anything by myself, don’t you?”
I cleared my throat. “Ted, I don’t think that at all. Stop being paranoid. Just sit down and relax. Enjoy yourself for once instead of living in a big ball of stress.”
“Stress? What the hell would you know about stress? You don’t actually do anything. You think I don’t know who is really running your daddy’s company? It sure as hell isn’t you and you are a fool if you believe otherwise. It’s all bullshit. I’ve talked to the men and women who run that company and you wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what it really takes.”
I wasn’t going to listen to this. I got up and started walking out of the kitchen.
Ted grabbed my hand back violently. My tea collapsed to the floor shattering the cup and spilling in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“I’m getting me some respect,” Ted replied. “I will have respect in my own house, you got me? I want you to fix me something to eat.”
“I’m busy,” I said. “I worked all morning. Fix yourself something or eat what Joseph made.”
I started to walk away and Ted grabbed my arm again. He was jerking me around hard, his nails digging into my flesh.
“What are you doing? You are hurting me!”
“You bitch. I haven’t begun to hurt you. I bet you did it, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You turned them all against me. I know you have power and influence. What’s to stop you from using it to buy off all the investors so they won’t buy into my company? I wouldn’t put it past you. You did it, didn’t you?”
“Are you crazy? Listen to what you’re saying.”
“Answer my question!”
“Of course not! That
’s insane!”
“You are nothing but a piece of trash,” Ted growled. “You think you are so much better than me. Well, I’ll have you know that you aren’t worth the dump I took this morning!”
“I hate you,” I said.
I started to go back upstairs. The kids were probably awake by now with Ted’s yelling, the bastard.
“Where are you going?” Ted roared at me. “We are having a conversation!”
I laughed. “Really? That’s what you call it? You are beyond hope.”
I was almost to the top when I felt Ted’s hands on the back of my head. He grabbed a handful of my hair and lifted me up until my feet almost left the ground and I just dangled by my tiptoes.
The pain was excruciating pulsating through my skull and pounding in the top of my spine.
“I’m going to teach you the meaning of the word respect!” Ted grunted in my ear.
He dragged me by the hair of my head down the hall, jerking and pulling me along violently. My feet slipped, skidded, bumped, and clanged along the floor as I tried to keep my footing. I tried to resist but it was only making the pain hurt worse. What was he going to do to me? I’d never seen him this enraged. He’d lost it and he was going to hurt me seriously. I’d seen it coming for months, but somehow I never really let myself believe that it would happen. But here it was. I can’t remember a time when I have ever been so scared.
I was going to die that day. There was no doubt in my mind.
The door to the nursery slammed open with a huge shove from Ted. He pulled hard on my hair and put his whole weight behind it as he flung me across the room where I slammed into the wall. I saw stars for a moment. The pain in my head scattered all over my skull echoing from the roots and branching outward. A pit of nausea rose within my gut and I wanted to vomit all over the floor, but somehow I held it back. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
“You think you are better than me!” Ted yelled. “I’m sick and tired of being disrespected by you. With everything I do for you and our family, this is how I’m repaid. My own wife decides she is going to sabotage me. You have to get up pretty early in the day to pull the wool over my eyes.”
