The One That I Want

by Zuri Day

  He picked up his cell phone and called her again. Voice mail. “Lola,” he breathed into the phone. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish with these divorce papers. It’s not happening. Did you wake up this morning and decide you didn’t love me anymore?” Jon ended the call when he saw an e-mail notification pop up on the left side of the computer screen.

  The St. Regis Aspen Resort confirmed Lola’s reservation. Jon opened the e-mail and saw that the reservation was for two people. “Oh, hell no!” he exclaimed. “I know damned well that she . . .” Could he really blame his wife if she had turned to someone else? Yes! And no. But at Christmas? This holiday season was always supposed to be special for them. It was definitely important to his business. Video games and software always sold well at Christmas. His games actually provided the bulk of his fortune. But had he lost sight of what was really important?

  Lola.

  He thought he was making the holidays special for his wife. They always had a special day where they exchanged gifts and spent a day together. He always thought that she understood why he was so driven to succeed. He had to take care of his mother and his wife. He had to make sure the women he loved the most had everything they ever needed.

  Watching his mother toil away for rich Florida housewives when he was a child taught him that money made everything better. It had been the same lesson his brother, Langston, learned as well. Langston and Jon ran JMJ Technologies together. It had been Langston’s idea to create the JMJ Sports subsidiary and do video games because they were moneymakers. He, just like Jon, wanted to take care of their mother because she had to work so hard for them after their father’s death.

  Mama Joseph had an oceanfront home that her boys paid for and staffed. Jon would’ve gladly allowed his mother to live with him and Lola, but Mama Joseph said she didn’t want to be a burden to her sons and she was capable of taking care of herself. Lola had welcomed Mama Joseph to the home as well, Jon recalled. He loved the fact that his wife and mother were close.

  How in the blue hell was he going to explain a divorce to his mother? When Lola and Jon married ten years ago, Mama Joseph told him not to lose her.

  “She’s special, Jon,” she’d said after their ceremony. “And you two are going to give me some pretty grandbabies.”

  “A little too soon, Ma. We just said ‘I do’ twenty minutes ago.”

  “And?” she’d replied with a giggle. “I have to depend on you to give me some grandkids because that Langston, he takes after your father’s brothers, not looking for a woman to settle down with for more than twenty-four hours.”

  “In that case, you may have some grandkids out there already.”

  She’d frowned and pinched his arm. Then in Spanish, she’d told him that he wasn’t too old for her to take him over her knee. Lola had been so beautiful that day. Dressed in a white lace dress that skimmed her knees, her then shoulder-length brown hair had been pulled up in a tight bun showing off her beautiful face and sparkling eyes. He had been so in love with her that day. He’d promised himself that he was going to make her happy for the rest of their lives.

  They were still living and he was not going to let her divorce him. Jon knew damned well that Lola still loved him. He just needed to know why she thought leaving him was a good idea.

  “I know she’d better not be in Aspen with another man,” he mumbled.

  Chapter 3

  Lola hated flying without her husband. There was no way she could sit there and hold Tashmir’s hand when the plane hit turbulence. So, she’d have more wine.

  Tashmir rolled her eyes at her friend as she stopped the flight attendant for another drink.

  “What?” Lola asked.

  “I’ve never known you to drink this much.”

  “Two little glasses of wine is a lot of drinking to you?” Lola took a sip of the cheap Chardonnay and wanted to spit it back into the cup. When did I become this woman? she thought as she drank the wine.

  “Lola, I hope you will at least call Jon and let him know that you’re all right when we land.”

  She shook her head. “When we land, I’m going shopping. We need skis.”

  “You need skis. I’m looking for a cute ski instructor,” she replied with a grin. “Because if you think I’m going to sit around and watch you wallow in wine, you’re daft, my girl.”

  “Whatever, and you are so not going to hook up with someone at Christmas. Who does that?”

  Tashmir took the wine from Lola’s hand. “Who wraps divorce papers in Christmas paper and delivers them to her husband?”

  Lola sighed and shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? My husband ignores me. I would’ve been willing to stay and talk to him had he not missed our dinner reservation. And before you start, that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

  “Dinner reservations? You sound like a spoiled brat and I know you’re not one. What’s really going on with you two?”

  Lola sighed and leaned back in the seat with her eyes closed. “I can’t tell you the last time I made love to my husband. I thought maybe he was doing what rich men do and he had a mistress.”

  “So, he is cheating on you? I would’ve never thought Jon was that . . .”

  “He’s not cheating on me. I had a private eye follow him over the summer and he really is working that much and all the time. The investigator felt so bad that he didn’t even charge me for the surveillance. I felt like the worst wife in the world.”

  Tashmir shrugged. “You had questions.”

  “Yeah,” Lola said. “So, that night, I was going to come clean to Jon about what I thought and how I felt. He didn’t get home until after midnight and he was so excited about this game he and Langston developed and the IPO launch. I was happy for my husband. His dreams were coming true and this was what we’d always talked about in that one-bedroom apartment in Orlando.”

  “And you knew there was going to be a lot of work that he had to put into this company.”

  “By now, he should be able to relax. Even if it’s just for one day. Even if it’s just Christmas,” Lola said. “It doesn’t matter. I’m tired of being ignored by my husband. I almost wish there was another woman. Then it would all make sense.”

  Tashmir closed her eyes and groaned. “You’re seriously insane. You want your husband to cheat on you so your divorce would make sense? No more wine for you.”

  “Whatever, heffa!”

  Jon closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he spoke with the woman who’d answered the phone at the hanger where he kept the JMJ jet. “What’s your name?” he asked, interrupting her rambling about most of the pilots being gone for the holiday and she didn’t know if she could find anyone to fly him to Aspen and then be on standby to fly him to another destination.

  “My name is Cheryl,” she said. “But—”

  “Cheryl, either find me a pilot or your supervisor. At the end of the day, I’m getting to Aspen. You can make it happen or you can spend the New Year looking for a new job.”

  “Sir, I . . .”

  “Listen, I’m sorry. I have to get to my wife and I’m a little upset right now. I’m willing to pay double.”

  “Hold on, Mr. Joseph.”

  The seconds felt like hours as Jon waited for Cheryl to come back to the phone. Was Lola sipping wine in front of the fireplace with another man? The man who’d convinced her that leaving him was the right thing to do? Jon vowed to punch that man in the face the moment he laid eyes on him.

  “Mr. Joseph,” Cheryl said, breaking into his thoughts. “I can have a crew ready in an hour.”

  “Thank you,” he said. After hanging up with the hanger, Jon called Langston.

  “What’s up, big bro?” Langston said.

  “I need you to roll out of town with me,” Jon said without preamble.

  “Man, I’m not trying to do a family Christmas trip. I have plans. Besides, you and Lola don’t need—”

  “I need to go find Lola and—”

&nb
sp; “Find her? What in the hell is going on? Was she kidnapped?”

  Jon sighed, not really wanting to say what he thought out loud. If he said his wife was with another man in Aspen, then it would make it true.

  “Jon!”

  “She left me. She’s in Aspen with some dude,” he said, his voice deflated like an old helium balloon.

  “You’re shitting me, right? This is your attempt to get me to join you on this family Christmas trip.”

  “Langston, do you think this is something I would joke about? Lola served me with divorce papers, wrapped in a Christmas box.”

  Hearing his brother’s laughter incensed Jon, and if he could’ve reached through that phone and put his hands around Langston’s throat, he would have in two seconds.

  “That’s funny to you?” he snapped. “My damn wife left me and gave me divorce papers for Christmas!”

  “Okay, okay,” Langston said, getting serious. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I’m going to Aspen to get my wife back by any means and if I have to knock a man out . . .”

  “You need some backup? What time do I need to be ready?”

  “Get to the hanger as soon as you can.”

  “Are you sure she left you? I mean, you two have . . . Maybe you’re wrong about this. I know for a fact that Lola loves you.”

  “These divorce papers says something different. See you in a half hour.” Jon hung up the phone and was tempted to toss it across the room. Instead, he went upstairs and packed a bag. As he rushed around the bedroom, he noticed a picture on the middle of the dresser. It was him and Lola standing in front of a Christmas tree. Her smile was brighter than the silver lights on the tree. She was dressed in a skintight strapless gold dress, her hair pulled up in a bun and she wore the sparkling diamond earrings he’d given her for Christmas that year. He picked up the picture and stared at Lola.

  “It’s not over and you are not going leave me,” he whispered, then held the picture frame to his chest. Jon packed the picture in his overnight bag and headed for his car. He sped down the highway as if he were being chased by Crockett and Tubbs. Jon needed to get his wheels in the air and find out why Lola wanted to throw their marriage away like a week-old Christmas tree.

  Lola and Tashmir stood outside of Theory, because the ultra-trendy desk clerk at the St. Regis said it was the place to shop. Lola figured some retail therapy would keep her from thinking about Jon. The snow was a plus, much different from the weather she’d left behind in Miami, but it didn’t wash away the yearning for her husband to be by her side.

  “It’s cold out here,” Tashmir said. “And let’s remember, you’re the one who loves snow—not me.”

  “All right, I was just looking at those boots.” Lola pointed to a pair of tall black snakeskin boots.

  “Jon will—”

  “I’m not buying shoes for him.”

  “You and I both know this divorce isn’t going to happen. You’re going to buy those boots and put on something short, black, and tight, and you and your husband will get back on track.”

  Lola rolled her eyes and grabbed the boots in her size. “Jon is at a Christmas party right now and probably not even worried about me because he has to get orders for his new game.”

  Tashmir shook her head. “I understand your relationship has never been about money, but you knew who Jon was when you married him.”

  “And he knew who I was, too,” Lola said. “All I’m asking for is for some quality time with my husband.”

  “Have you told him this?”

  “Hard to talk to someone who is never home. We’re like ships passing in the night. I’ve been working with the Miami Children’s Hospital so much, they think I’m on salary.”

  “All right,” she said. “But there’s nothing wrong with that. The Christmas party you planned for those kids was amazing. And all the Santas with the gifts, I thought that was special.”

  “Those babies needed something to smile about. It’s hard being sick period, but in the hospital at Christmas?” Lola shrugged. “It’s not hard to make kids happy.”

  “You and Jon looked pretty happy that night.”

  Lola rolled her eyes. “And after the party, I did put on something tight, short, and black. Jon went back to the office.”

  “Ouch.”

  Lola zipped up the boot and wiggled her foot. “Merry Christmas to me.”

  Tashmir crossed over to a rack of black dresses, picked up two frocks, and held them up to Lola. “Which one screams, seeking a Christmas fling?”

  “Whatever,” Lola said. “Like you would.”

  “Stranger things have happened. You’re getting a divorce. I like the lace,” she said as she hung the other dress back on the rack and headed for the dressing room. Lola laughed and took the boot off. She couldn’t help but think about how Jon would react to her in those boots and one of those black Grecian dresses.

  Like he’d even notice, she thought but picked up one of the dresses anyway.

  “That dress and those boots are going to be fierce,” the saleswoman said as Lola held the boots in one hand and the dress in the other.

  “Thanks.”

  She looked at Lola’s left hand. “Oh, he’s going to have a wonderful Christmas night.”

  “I’m sure,” Lola said tersely, then headed for the dressing room.

  Langston poured himself a glass of scotch as he watched Jon pace back and forth. “This is unbelievable,” Jon mumbled. “I don’t understand why she would do this.”

  “If it was any other woman, I’d be right there with you. But for Lola to do a complete one-eighty, you had to do something.” Langston sipped his drink. “Tell the truth, you and that hot secretary of yours have been sleeping together.”

  Jon stopped in midstep and shot his brother a death glare. “If that wasn’t a twelve-year-old scotch, I’d crack that bottle over your head. I’m not the one cheating.”

  “Are you sure that she is?” Langston asked. “And, man, sit your ass down! You’re stressing me out. I swear this is why I don’t put my eggs in one chick’s basket.”

  “Lola isn’t a chick. She’s my wife and I’m not going to lose her.”

  “That was pretty coldblooded to serve you on Christmas. You should just cancel her credit cards and see how she and her gigolo enjoy their holiday in Aspen.”

  Jon sat down across from his brother. “This isn’t about money. Lola isn’t like that. Hell, she was there when I was working two jobs, barely making ends meet, and never complained.”

  Langston shrugged and drained his glass. “You just never know someone.” He poured his brother a glass of scotch.

  “Tell me about it,” Jon said as he took the glass from his brother’s outstretched hand. Jon downed the scotch in one gulp. He held the empty glass up for a refill.

  “Slow down, partner. The last thing you need to do is get shitfaced, walk into the resort, and make an ass of yourself. We still have to think about the launch of the new game and company stock.”

  “Do you think I give a damn about any of that right now? My wife. Filed. For. Divorce! My wife is spending Christmas with another man.”

  “I swear, I just don’t see Lola being that evil, man. Christmas has always been special for you two. Like a damned Christmas card or something.”

  Jon leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Christmas with Lola had always been magical. Two years ago, she’d enlisted his mother to help cook all of his childhood favorite dishes for dinner. And she’d served them dressed in a sexy Santa outfit—a thigh-skimming red dress, knee-high black leather boots with a five-inch heel, and no underwear. Every time she’d bent over to pick up something that she’d accidentally, on purpose dropped, Jon had gotten a view of her smooth, round ass. As soon as it had been time for dessert, Jon only had eating one thing on his mind: Lola. He’d scooped his wife up in his arms and lifted her on to the table.

  “Merry Christmas to me,” he’d whispered as he pushed her barely there dre
ss up around her waist.

  “But we haven’t had dessert yet.”

  “Oh, I’m about to have my dessert right now.” With that, he’d swiped some icing from his mother’s caramel cake and smoothed it across Lola’s inner thighs. Then he’d methodically licked the confection from her smooth skin, making his way to an even sweeter treat, the pulsing bud hiding between her wet folds of flesh. Lola tasted better than any chocolate-covered strawberry, she made him feel as if he’d been the luckiest man in the world when she’d walked down the aisle and into his arms.

  She’d supported his dreams, even when it didn’t look as if they’d ever come true. Now that he had everything and could give her the world that he’d always promised her, she wanted to walk away? That didn’t make sense at all.

  “What?” Langston asked, catching the far-off look in his brother’s eyes.

  “What if I really lost her?”

  Langston shook his head and crossed his long legs. “First of all, I think she’s trying to get your attention. And if it’s attention that she wants, you have to get it to her. When you see your wife, snatch her up and get her away from Romeo. Take her someplace special and get to the bottom of this. I’m not one to believe in undying and everlasting love, but you and Lola belong together. If I have to lock this dude in a trunk until you two get back on track, then I will.”

  Jon gave his brother a fist bump and a small smile. Part of him prayed that he was wrong about Lola being with another man. Then a light bulb went off in his head. Tashmir would know. But would she tell him anything? After all, she was Lola’s best friend. Just as he was about to pull out his cell phone, the captain announced that the jet was approaching Sardy Field, the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, and they needed to turn off all electronics and fasten their seat belts.