by Nikki Bella
Chapter twenty-six
Samantha
The estate was surrounded by press and outside the gate; they were clamoring for a sound bite from my father about the embezzlement charges. They had received anonymously a package and those in my father’s pocket felt obligated to act despite his pleas to the contrary.
“I know who did this and my political career is gone. The court has decided to press charges and I was lucky to get house arrest until I have to appear to answer to the charges. I have convened this family meeting because I want you to know how serious the situation is.” It had been two weeks and Nicholas was nowhere to be seen. I went looking for him curious to know why he would attempt to derail my father’s career.
“He’s been your best friend for longer than we’ve been married and I never took him for being this vindictive. Are you sure there isn’t something you want to tell us about the reason why he might make this kind of declaration of war?” I wanted to hate him, but there was no way that he was going to do something this heinous without thinking about the consequences.
“I’ve tried to shield the both of you from those deals not exactly legal. I couldn’t hope to win the political race without considerable backing. Someone came to me and made me a deal I couldn’t refuse. I regret what I did, but I only did it because on paper it seemed like the right idea. I was the one who betrayed our friendship and how he found out is not the issue.” This was the first time I was hearing anything about this and it was no wonder Nicholas had taken steps to make sure my father knew not to trifle with him.
“It’s no wonder he hasn’t been in touch and every attempt to reach out to him has come back with nothing to show for it.” I’d almost washed my hands of Nicholas without knowing all the facts. He still cheated on me and that was a poison pill to swallow.
“I don’t need a lecture and what I need is for somebody to do damage control. I took what was left in the campaign funding to hire a shark of a lawyer and a personal representative. He’s known as a fixer among certain circles and if anybody can weather this storm it’s going to be him. I do need to make amends for what I did to Nicholas, but I can’t do that if he’s not willing to listen to reason. I know he’s still in town and he’s hiding out in his penthouse.” I thought he had flown the coop, but there had to be a reason why he was sticking around.
It could’ve been as simple as watching my father’s world come tumbling down one brick at a time or maybe he was regretting sleeping with another woman behind my back. Could it be that he was looking for a second chance and maybe my nights of crying myself to sleep were over?
“I am willing to go to him on your behalf and get him to give you a second chance. He’s undoubtedly hurt by your betrayal and seeing you can only lead to violence. Mother is right and at least we know the reason why he hasn’t been in touch.” This would kill two birds with one stone and my father was willing to listen to anyone to get this monkey off his back.
“I’m glad that you’re willing to do this for your family, Samantha. You know what it takes to get things done and you have that in common with your mother. Do what you can, but if I know him as well as I think I do, I don’t think that you’re going to get past the doorman.” He underestimated my womanly charms and I would find a way to knock down any door along the way.
My father left the room to take a phone call and those balls he was juggling before was nothing compared to the law breathing down his neck. The press was willing to pay top dollar for his story, but it meant going in front of the cameras and admitting what he had done. He wasn’t willing to do that without exhausting every measure before throwing himself at the mercy of the public.
“I know what you’re doing and losing him to another woman must really stick in your craw. I’m sure you have the misguided notion of making him see you as the injured party. Don’t cave easily and you won’t do yourself any favors by falling on your sword. He needs to grovel and to beg for forgiveness before you even contemplate taking him back.”
“I believe in starting over and I know that his heart is one of the good ones. Telling father anything about me and Nicholas would be counterproductive. We don’t even know if he’s going to listen and I’m not even sure that I want him back after what he did.” I felt like I needed some closure and a way to finally put this behind me one way or the other.
“It’s taken a lot for me to keep quiet about your dalliance and what he did left you in pieces. You’ve had more than enough heartache to last you a lifetime. Don’t abandon your principles over a man with dimples who has the ability to change your mind.” It was too hard to breathe and sleeping at night meant that I was tossing and turning in my own denial.
“I am grateful and I know things could be vastly different if he were to use what we had together against my father. I would say he is showing remarkable restraint considering how he feels everybody is against him. Jackson fired the first salvo and that wound was still fresh when he learned about what father did.” Nicholas had circumvented what my father did and whatever markers he had was used to stop a hostile takeover.
He barely scraped out without losing his shirt, but those who felt it necessary to attack had found out what it was like to have egg on their face.
“You’re my daughter and having you was the one good thing in my life besides marrying your father. I would gladly take a bullet for you and you know what they say about unconditional love. There is nothing purer than a mother’s love for her daughter and that’s a special bond which can never be broken by any harsh words spoken in the heat of the moment. Go and do what you need to do for yourself.” She wished me luck and my father didn’t need to know the extent of the reason why I was going over to see him.
“It’s not going to be easy and I have no idea what his state of mind is these days. Losing me and having his two best friends attack him for no other reason than financial gain is something that would break any normal man. Can you imagine what losing his best friend to suicide is going to do to him?” I did regret my part in ripping a hole in his heart and I was still smarting from seeing him cuddling up to another woman.
I prayed to come out of this in one piece, but I knew that Nicholas had a hold on me like an iron grip. He was my strength and guidance in a world that was unpredictable. I didn’t want to spend time fighting, but this wasn’t going to end until we had it out.
“The one thing your grandmother taught me was that anything worth doing is never easy. You can’t live without him or at least that is what you have convinced yourself. He makes you lose control of your senses. It’s nothing to be ashamed of and every girl has that one man who makes them do things against their better judgment. I don’t want him to be the one who got away unless the damage is beyond repair.” She was a wealth of advice and I had learned a long time ago to listen to her.
“It’s nice to hear you talk to me like I’m an adult and not some little girl.” She was there when I scraped my knee and she was the one who taught me how to bake. I didn’t get a chance to do it very often, but I did enjoy creating something with my own bare hands. She was one in a million and everybody said their mother was the best, but she was exceptional. She managed to raise a family and be the woman behind the man at the same time.
My father was normally a cool cucumber, but these were high stakes and they were causing him to lose his composure. His hair was an unruly mess and it didn’t look like he had dressed himself. His shirt was untucked and he wasn’t wearing a tie.
I was part of this madness and the family had a funny way of getting underneath my skin. There was nothing that I wouldn’t do to protect them. That was no more apparent than giving my virginity to a man who left my heart lying in the street like it was road kill.
We had always found a way to come together and this latest attack was not going to shake our resolve. My father wasn’t giving up and he was making a stand on the crumbling foundation of his political career.
I grabbed my keys on the way out the door and I
was terrified of seeing him after everything that had transpired between us. Talking on the phone wasn’t going to be good enough and this was something that had to be done in person. I wouldn’t know if we had a chance until we came face to face.
Chapter twenty-seven
Nicholas
The lights were dimmed, but I could see the sun trying to break through the surface of the drapes. I had no idea what time it was and the last few days had become a blur of one bottle after another. I’d found salvation at the bottom of a bottle and my drink of choice became tequila.
I had left strict instructions to be left alone, but I had the semblance of mind to stick it to both Jackson and Samantha’s father. I’d watched the fiasco of the press tearing him to bits and it brought me no satisfaction like I thought it would.
I lifted my face and looked around at the carnage which had come courtesy of my own hands. Drinking made me angry and the angrier I got the more that I wanted to trash what was left of my life. Jackson had felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of my wrath.
His attempt to outbid me left him to wonder who was driving the truck. I had pulled in a lot of favors and they were ones I wanted to keep for a rainy day. It didn’t seem like the weather was going to change anytime soon. It was raining litigation and I was left no other recourse than to act.
I heard about his suicide and apparently, he had made a lot of promises which he couldn’t keep. Seeing the report on the news about his death sent me into a tailspin which I wasn’t sure how to recover from. I only wanted to teach him a lesson not realizing that the debts he owed had come due. He had a lot riding on those contracts and when they were gone he was left with nothing but recrimination.
I heard the elevator and I managed to stand up even though my head felt like a 10-pound weight. I was ready to cut a switch off of the person that was going to deem it necessary to interrupt my solitude. I was grieving in my own way and ironically, the only person that could ever reach me during these times of crisis was Jackson.
The door opened and the fire poker I was brandishing fell from my hands with a very loud clang on the floor. Standing there like an angel from heaven sent down when I was at my lowest was the woman I owed everything to.
“You shouldn’t have come here and don’t you think I have hurt you more than enough? I see that your father is not going to go down without a fight.” I’d heard through the Grapevine that he was recruiting a cutthroat lawyer and a well-known publicist. He was going to have his work cut out for him, but if there was any shortcut to an uneasy victory in court then he would find it.
“I know you’re not going to believe this, but he’s very sorry for what he did. There were people holding him to the fire using his greed against him. They saw him as an easy way to go after you and it was just lucky that you found out about it in the nick of time.” She looked lovely in a red dress that barely covered the essentials.
“I haven’t even thought about him and I have better things to do than worry about his feelings. I never saw it coming and I was lucky to get a heads up. You can’t possibly believe any of what you see here today is because of him. You’re lucky you came alone, but I’m in no shape to tell you what you want to hear.” My eyes were bloodshot and I could see my reflection on the glass surface of the elevator behind her. I did look frightening and something to be avoided at all costs.
“The doorman was very adamant, but I slipped past him when he was in the middle of a frank discussion with his wife. It was fortuitous that she showed up when she did and maybe there is a reason for all of this which we can’t see at the moment.” I was going to have to make some allowances for the doorman and he was going through a nasty divorce.
“You said what you came to say and you can leave the same way you came.” She was no longer the scared little girl I remembered when she was younger and standing before me was somebody with an invincible ability to survive any misfortune. I envied her and hated her at the same time for not allowing what I had done to keep her from picking herself back up.
“I want to know the truth.” I didn’t know why, but it brought to mind an old movie which was currently in my collection.
“You want the truth…you really want the truth…you can’t handle the truth.” I burst out laughing and being under the influence of alcohol made me susceptible to my own ranting.
I was still holding the last of the tequila and I placed it up to my lips only to have it slapped from my hand. It crashed to the floor and whatever liquid sustenance was now lost to me in a scatter of broken glass.
“Jackson would never condone the way you’re acting. He would be the first one to call you on the carpet and I feel it’s my duty to step in where he can’t. I can handle the truth, but I don’t think what I saw that night was what it appeared to be. Standing here in front of you, I see you for who you are and I know there had to be a reason.” She was locked and loaded and I could feel the fire in her soul.
“What does it matter? I ruin lives and it would be best for you to run in the opposite direction. Looking at you makes me feel like I’m drowning without a life preserver. I feel hot and hazy when I’m looking at you, but maybe that’s just the liquor talking.” There were bags underneath my eyes, but the one thing she was not going to find was a female form lying underneath me.
She grabbed me by the white robe I was wearing and it wasn’t even cinched tightly. She pushed me back until I fell into a chair and then she leaned forward with her perfume becoming something of a lie detector.
“Tell me to leave and you’ll never see me again. If that is what you really want then all you need to do is say the words. Be careful and what you say next is going to be the difference between how we’re going to spend the rest of our lives.” She had my undivided attention and her finger on my lips with her painted purple nail was enough to break the stalemate.
“I don’t want you to be here.” I had no idea how I was even able to get those words out of my mouth.
“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t feel it from inside. I want you to try again and put a little more emphasis on the words.” She was tapping my chest in defiance and I took a deep breath before grabbing it in my fist.
“It wasn’t what you believed it to be and I set it up to make you leave me. I felt bad about what I did and I was never going to stop being with you. I used my friendship with the woman you saw me with to give me a way out. I was a coward and I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me.” She was staring at me and then the straps on her dress lowered until I saw her in a two-piece ensemble which left my tongue dragging on the floor.
The flimsy material was almost see-through and her nipples were very well pronounced. I squirmed noticeably in my chair, feeling the rising phoenix from the ashes and knowing she was responsible for my reaction.
“You make me so mad, but I have given you all of my loving and there’s no taking it back. I’m crazy for you and the anger I feel from you trying to make me look like a fool is drawing its own conclusions.” Her bra fell into her hands and then she grabbed the sides of her panties and made my eyes follow them all the way down her luscious legs until they were around her ankles.
“I don’t deserve you.” She was the only person who made any sense in a world where there were doubt and confusion. I thought I had it all together never realizing the Damocles sword swinging above my head was courtesy of my two best friends.
“That’s the one thing we agree on and you have a lot to make up for. The one thing I don’t regret is giving you my virginity. I only wish that it was done under better circumstances. I was desperate, but I don’t think that I could’ve done any better than offering you the gift that keeps on giving.” Her mound was bald as a cue ball and the wetness seeping along the lips drew my mouth to her like I had no will of my own.
She lifted her leg and placed her foot on the inside of my thighs. She was using her bare toes to tickle my family jewels and I gasped from the slight sensation which was only going
to get better over time.
“I don’t need your pity and if you don’t leave now then I won’t be responsible for what happens next.” This was her one chance to save face, but it didn’t look like she was willing to leave without showing her resolve.
“This isn’t pity and you might be the biggest idiot when it comes to knowing what a woman wants. Let me spell it out for you and it appears that I’m going to have to make you understand. I have always been yours from the moment you sealed the deal in the hotel room.” She had found me when I was vulnerable and I had no choice but to give in.
I gave her the chance to leave and that window of opportunity had closed with the feel of my lips touching her sex. Her words were breaking through my despair and her taste was enough to awaken all of my senses. I touched the softness of her inner thigh and I felt her quiver. I drove the insistent spear of my tongue into the wet folds of her orifice.
I was welcomed by a tight embrace, twisting around the invading force of my tongue and I felt alive for the first time after hearing the news of my friend’s demise. It was a delight served hot from the oven and my hand was priming the metal pipe between my legs.
Getting it out of my pants was becoming more difficult because of my diminished capacity. I still knew what I was doing, but I was feeling no pain.
“Let me do that for you.” She very easily reached into the opening and pulled me out to where I was surrounded by the warmth of her fist. The way that she was moving her fingers delicately up and down the shaft was causing me to lose focus on what I was doing.
I had to concentrate, delivering some of my best work and forcefully injecting a finger so that I could touch on that bundle of nerves inside her known as her G spot. She was shaking and my tongue retreated long enough to attach itself to her clit. It was quite enlarged and I easily consumed what was becoming her Achilles’ heel.
